The REalPUBLICANS

Today, I will start out with a bit of a cliche, but just stay with me for a minute.

We are a rudderless ship, set adrift in a sea of ideals that are foreign to our true nature, yet somehow appealing to those that are weak or purely seeking power.

When I say “we,” I am talking about the Republican Party of course.  This is how I view the current state of our party.  Over the last decade we have be hit twice - first is the inclusion of those that call themselves Conservative that do not even attempt to adhere to the beliefs out of which our platform was built.  The second is the complete lack of genuine Republican leadership for more than a decade.  What I am getting at is that if you ask someone to name some leaders of the Democrat Party they will likely respond with Nancy Pelosi or Harry Reid.  They have become household names to some extent.  What if you ask someone who is the current face of Conservative Republicans?  Well if it was 10-14 years ago the answer would have been Newt Gingrich - incredibly efficient and effective at defining the platform based on ideals and actions of what could/would be done - not just glittering generalities, good feelings, and “change.”  Who would people mention now?  Robert Byrd?  John McCain? John Boehner?

Truth is that none of these men are seeking to unite and redefine a damaged Republican party.  None of them are supportive of a nationalized campaign that was so instrumental in the Republican Revolution of 1994 lead by Newt Gingrich.  There is nothing that you and I as everyday citizens can point to and say “Yes, that is what I support . . . That is what it means to be Republican.”  The result is every man for himself . . .

We don’t need some shallow, flashy show piece - all marketing, no substance.  We don’t need to run on a platform of “Well, at least we aren’t George W. Bush.”  What we need are genuine ideals that can adhere to the tenets of Conservatism that have been updated a bit to be more relevant to current issues.  Will Newt Gingrich be the person that fills the leadership void to propell the Republican Party to the forefront again?  I, of course, do not know - but I do know that I would rather see someone new and fresh.

Any ideas?

After my first post the other day, I got to thinking seriously about what I truly think/believe in - what my genuine feelings are on various issues. While I agree with the majority of Conservative Republican stances on issues, there are several in which I do not. Here is a quick and dirty list - I intend to go into each of these in detail in future posts.

• The Environment - This one might be one of the most baffling stances most Conservatives have.  While I do not subscribe to the opinion that mankind has caused the current iteration of global warming, I embrace conservation and the development of alternative energy.  This only makes sense - after all, isn’t the root of conservation and Conservative the same?  It also makes sense economically and as a National Security issue to not send $700+ Billion annually to foreign (and hostile) countries.  No matter what the cause of the problem is, truth is Conservatives are supposed to be self-reliant, right?
• The War On Drugs - Perhaps the most expensive war in history, not only in monetary terms, but also in the destruction of life.  For me, this issue really just boils down to the legalization (or at the very least, decriminalization) of marijuana.  How many lives have been ruined when some kid gets busted with a bag of pot on him?  How many people could it benefit medicinally?  Here is a big one for me - how uptight can you really be to not allow the cultivation of hemp?  I do not smoke pot, nor would I want my children to; however, we need to re-prioritize here if we want to make any progress.
• The Death Penalty - Supporters of the death penalty usually cite Biblical reasons to why Capital Punishment is condoned.  An eye for an eye - right?  Well, I would never profess to be a Biblical scholar, but let me point out the folly of their argument.  The idea of “and eye for an eye” is taken from the Old Testament and reflects the ideals of a time before Jesus Christ.  When Jesus came on the scene, he destroyed traditional thinking with the verse in Matthew 5:39
  

  “But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

  In addition, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2267) states that death should be an option only when the person is an immediate danger to society.  For example - killing a person who is running through a college campus on a shooting rampage is permissible.  Electrocuting or injecting someone who is incarcerated with no chance of harming the public anymore is not acceptable.

What I have attempted to do here is to re-frame some core Republican values in a truly Conservative light.  I am not just some jelly-spine moderate that is trying to soften my views to make them more socially palatable.  I feel that I have applied critical thinking in effort to redefine my party’s platform that not only reflects a more up-to-date consciousness but a more accurate vision of Conservatism.

This may not be an exhaustive list; however, these are the most important to me.  Perhaps this means that I am on a quest to change the definition of a true Conservative.  Even in light of these beliefs, I feel that the recent national examples of Conservatism on display in Washington, D.C. have fallen short of what they say they hold as core beliefs.

Just a few moments ago, Barack Obama was elected as the 44th president of the United States.  Of course this is a momentous occasion due to the racial implications; America may no longer have the racist stigma that has been like a plague since our inception.  I am happy to (nearly) be rid of the current administration and I am looking forward to a charismatic and eloquent president for a change.

However - to be blunt - I am pissed off.

I am mad about what has happened to the Republican party over the last 12 or so years that has turned it from the party of reform, big ideas, limited government & spending, and, perhaps the most important, the party of personal responsibility and freedoms.

Soon after I started paying attention to national politics in about 1994, things started to go downhill.  At what now seems to be the pinnacle of the Conservative movement in America, our Republican Congress put together list of ideas that seemed to resonate with me, as with most Americans, in such a way that I thought it was a signal of great things to come.  Unfortunately this great beginning I thought I was witnessing turned out to be the swan song of a party I had only recently come to identify with.

Since then it has been one black eye after another as career Republican politicians have completely abandoned the platform that was integral to bringing so many core Conservatives into the party.  Instead of growing and reflecting the values of the base, they have opted to keep inching toward the center - sloughing off pieces of our platform like dead skin.  Somewhere along the way they bought into the notion that, in order to build upon their momentum in previous elections, they must begin to appeal more to the middle and historically wishy-washy independents.  When Republicans govern as Democrats we all lose.  Why vote for impostors when you can vote for the real thing.

The lines have faded into one; there is little significant difference between the two parties and, as such, the Republican party is merely a punchline and genuine Conservatives feel they have no party to turn to.

So in a fit of self pity and doubt for the future of our nation, I have done the only thing I could at this point - I made this blog.  I am not sure what will become of it or even if I will even put much effort into it past this evening.  I have many ideas that I would like to get down and define - more for myself than for potential readers; however, I don’t know if I have the inclination to find the time to make it happen.

Perhaps I will talk with you soon - Mathew