The Conservative Bulwark

I've had several people comment to me over the last couple of weeks regarding Arlen Specter's departure from the Republican party. Their initial statements sound something like: "Well it hasn't been a good week for you guys, huh?"

First of all, I really don't appreciate being lumped in with the phrase "you guys". I am Conservative. I am not a Republican. Second of all, Arlen Specter has been a Democrat for years. He never really left. Many moons ago, when he actually began his political career, he was a Democrat. He jumped to the Republicans shortly thereafter. So, this whole idea shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

Specter masked the reasoning behind his jump in the familiar guise of "the Republican party has left me". Though that reasoning is quaint and cute, anyone that's been following the state of Pennsylvania through the years knows that Specter was going to be a sitting duck in the next election cycle...all in the name of a Democratic shift in the state. He probably would have lost the Republican primary...and who knows, he may lose the Democratic primary, depending on who runs against him. Add in his idiotic comment about Jack Kemp (he basically said that Kemp would be alive today if those pesky cold-hearted Republicans hadn't been so stubborn and obstinate) things may not go as he had planned.

His reasoning behind the switching of parties dovetails nicely with something that Colin Powell said last week. Powell was being interviewed on CNN when he said the following: "I think the party has to take a hard look at itself. There is nothing wrong with being conservative. There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don't object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority."

As I understand it, Gen. Powell is saying that in order for the Republican Party to survive, it must move to the center. And its ok to have conservative values...you just have to put them on the sidelines to win elections. He also indicated in the interview that he still considered himself a Republican. Well, with all due respect to Gen. Powell, his theory is bogus. I'll add in that any one that voted for Barack Obama is no true Republican or a Conservative. I'm not sure what the exact designation would be, but I sure as Hell know what its not.

One thing I've noticed about many criticisms of the Republican party lately (and trust me there are plenty to be leveled its way), the one I find most intriguing, is the one detailing how conservatism must move to the center to pick up extra votes. I guess the Republican party can thank itself primarily for being placed in this infuriating position.

The Democratic party is never asked to move more to the center to shore up more votes. Their PR machine has been honed to perfection through the years and they've become masters at utilizing their right arm media outlets in carrying their "message" to the public. Republicans must get back to the root of Conservatism, if they're going to have any chance of survival. What are those roots, you ask? Simple:
1. Fiscal Responsibility
2. A small, efficient government
3. A strong national defense
4. Support Capitalistic values

If they do those four things...they're golden. However, due to the mess that we're now in, (no thanks to the GOP) its going to take monumental efforts to put this country back on the right track. Joe Scarborough had an excellent article on May 7th in TIME magazine outlining this. Here's a quote of his that sums it up nicely: "Perhaps most damaging to the Republican brand is the fact that GOP leaders have allowed themselves to be defined too easily as rigid ideologues, blindly faithful to an unyielding agenda. Because of that, Obama has been able to move America dangerously leftward while blaming Republicans for the partisan divide."

Need more fuel for that particular fire? Don't think the Obama administration is getting a little out of hand? Here's some interesting tidbits stemming from the first few months of Barackapalooza:

- The President can now fire CEOs of private corporations
- Entities can no longer give back or pay back loans to the federal government until said government has enough control to impact those entities' decision making processes
- Banks must undergo "stress tests"...oh and these "tests" vary from bank to bank, depending on how much the Feds like you
- Taxpayer money is now funding efforts to help Chinese prostitutes learn how to drink responsibly while on the job...I am not joking.
- The U.S. government will borrow almost 47 cents for every dollar spent this year...that means our deficit is going to be almost $2 trillion .
- Unions have an even stronger grip around the throat of the White House. I'll point to the present day examples of Chrysler/GM and the state of California.

We're now nearly 4 months into the Obama Administration and we've already seen historic power grabs by the executive and legislative branches of government into the private sector of our country. Apparently only our mighty imperial government knows whats best for us. I'll leave you with this...just as a friendly reminder:

When the private sector becomes more and more a pawn of the federal government...that's getting a good jump on the road to fascism.