Jan 26, 2012

Have Social Conservatives Sold Out?

If the Barry Goldwater-Ronald Reagan legacy embodies what most observers think of as traditional, small-government conservatism, there have always been those on the right who stress character and morality first. I too am socially conservative, in that I believe human life is sacred, societal health is dependent on the health of the family and our religious traditions and heritage should be observed, protected and even promoted. I actually believe having a small or limited government would naturally promote all of these things.

Jan 25, 2012

Newt’s Victory is Tea Party’s Loss

Sen. Rand Paul has said that Newt Gingrich “goes against everything the tea party stands for.” This might be an understatement.

The tea party originally stood for one simple but important message: Stop spending. For tea partiers, the “Troubled Asset Relief Program” or TARP was the litmus test and any Republican who supported it faced the wrath of the movement. Explained Utah tea party leader David Kirkham in May 2010:

I think it’s a matter of fiscal or financial responsibility … What the tea party people are about and the vote for TARP and the vote for the bailout was, in our opinion, pretty fiscally irresponsible, and that’s what’s raised the ire of most people.

Jan 9, 2012

Santorum Isn’t a Reagan Conservative

When Rick Santorum’s nephew endorsed Ron Paul in an op-ed in The Daily Caller this week, he wrote: “If you want another big government politician who supports the status quo to run our country, you should vote for my uncle Rick Santorum.” Santorum respectfully and lovingly dismissed his young nephew’s endorsement. The senator said his nephew was just “going through a phase,” and later added: “I am a Reagan conservative. I am not a libertarian. And the people who are calling me a big government guy are libertarians.”

In an interview with Reason magazine in 1975, Ronald Reagan said:

Dec 28, 2011

Why the Establishment Really Fears Ron Paul

As Ron Paul has risen in the polls, so has the frequency of attacks against him. “Any stick will do to beat a dog” goes the old saying, and the whacks against Paul range from reasonable to ridiculous. Expect the attacks to continue. Expect them to get more ridiculous.

And expect the worst attacks to come from Republicans.

Dec 19, 2011

Why Conservatives Must Adopt Ron Paul’s Foreign Policy

Many Republicans love Ron Paul’s limited-government philosophy but have problems with his foreign policy. This is understandable given the state of today’s Republican Party. But what many Republicans probably don’t realize is that Paul’s foreign policy is part of his limited-government philosophy — and it’s a crucially important part. If the American right does not begin to at least consider Paul’s foreign policy, it will continue to forfeit any hope of advancing a substantive conservatism.

Dec 14, 2011

Does Newt Gingrich Want the Constitution to ‘Die?’

American conservatism has long been synonymous with protecting and promoting the U.S. Constitution.  Barry Goldwater explained what it meant to be a conservative leader in his  famous 1960 book “The Conscience of a Conservative”:

The turn will come when we entrust the conduct of our affairs to the men  who understand that their first duty as public officials is to divest themselves  of the power that they have been given. It will come when Americans, in hundreds  of communities throughout the nation, decide to put the man in office who is  pledged to enforce the Constitution and restore the Republic.