The Three Faces of The Republican Party
The conservative party has always been the Republican party and the Republican Party has always been the party for conservatives. That is what brought me to the Republican Party, those conservative principles and that respect of the Constitution that we have always assumed of Republicans. If you are a conservative, a real conservative, chances are, you are a Republican. Chances are, you value all those conservative values like individual freedom, fiscal frugality and small government. Chances are, you have looked around and don't see much of that in the federal government today.
We don't see real conservative ideology at work in the federal government today and we didn't see it a few years ago when Republicans had all the power. The reason for that sad state of affairs is apparent if we step back and look at the Republican Party and listen to the arguments within the Party. What you will see and hear are three variants. One, the quiet one, is the traditional conservative position. It's there still arguing for reduced spending, tax reform, shrinking the size of government, keeping the government out of peoples' business, property rights, taking care of home before fixing other countries and all those other conservative ideas we conservatives all long to see our country live by. In the forefront, you will see the Religious Right (definitely not conservative). It is distinguished by its drive to redefine the spirit of the Constitution and reshape government into a religious-based (theocratic) form. The Religious Right doesn't care how much taxpayer money is wasted or how government mismanagement is crumbling the American way of life, because they believe there is no tomorrow. George Bush is the flag bearer of the Religious Right and doing everything they want. Hiding in the shadows and somewhat more insidious, is the pro-corporate anti-individual and anti small business element. This face of the Republican Party pushes for growing the power of certain big corporations and moving as much taxpayer money as possible to the corporate coffers. This is the fascist face of the Republican Party and Dick Cheny is the capable helmsman. The power and success of the fascist element of the Party is evident in places like Iraq where companies like Blackwater have more authority and protection that our service men and women. There, in the world the fascists embrace, corporate interests rise even above the lives of our soldiers.
Out of The Frying Pan
There really is only one reasonable way out, reasonable but not easy. We can't compromise on our conservative ideals and still be conservatives. We can't, for example, give in to the current Republican big government big spending edict without, by so doing, becoming something other than conservatives. There needs to be separate parties. It is tough to do. Everyone wants to keep the power of the current consolidated Republican Party, so we have to decide between what we really believe in and the power of numbers. Unfortunately, as the Republican Party becomes more and more the voice of the church and corporate America, it moves farther and farther from conservative values. That means, real conservatives must decide whether to abandon real conservative ideology or make a big change of, or in, the Party. It would be a bold move. It would be jumping out of the frying pan and into a whole new world.
The New Party(s)
In my world (if I were king) we would just simply kick the theocrats and fascists out of the Republican Party and return to conservative principles. O.K., we can't kick anybody out of any party. So, what about a Conservative Party? I would propose a Conservative Party, a Theocratic Party and a Fascist Party. I know, the theocrats would probably want to be called The Army of God or something like that and the fascists would probably want to be called the Business Party, but who cares? Just get these weirdoes separated out so people quit calling them conservatives, because they are NOT conservatives! I believe a conservative party that has returned to genuine conservative values would pull the majority of the independents and swing voters into the party. It wouldn't attract the hardcore liberals, but it would attract reasonable centrists across the spectrum. It would certainly be attractive to true constitutionalists. There is a Constitution Party, but it exhibits little respect for the Constitution. It looks like a splinter of the Religious Right, definitely not conservative. Can there be a separation of the real conservatives and the others in the Republican Party? That's a tough question. The religious components of the Party surely want to hold it all together. They expect that the real conservatives will become theocrats (probably assume they already are) and abandon the individual rights positions of conservatism. The fascist components will surely not want to give up the power of numbers because their ideology is so repugnant as to not stand on its own. It wouldn't be easy, it wouldn't be popular, but it would be good for conservative ideals and it would be good for the country.
Freedom is not the right to make everyone do what you want. It's only the right to tell them what you think they should do .. - Jenny Jerrome
