A Republic, if you can keep it…

I haven’t posted an article since October. As anyone who read the last article will know, I was particularly upset at the so-called conservative chosen to run as the Republican nominee for President. I was unhappy for a myriad number of reasons, some of which I detailed in some of my other articles but mostly because of the fact that John McCain is not a conservative. Now, the problem with running a non-conservative for a conservative party is two-fold: First, he can’t win because the conservatives won’t vote for him and can’t get excited about getting out a vote for him, and second, he dilutes the electorate and changes the public’s perception of what a conservative is, ruining future conservative political victories.

Sarah Palin helped to energize the party faithful (sorry, that’s not me) but failed to make enough of a difference due to a successful Democrat attack strategy that made her look like a complete idiot and a McCain strategy that assisted the Democrats in that effort. Those conservatives that believe in principles and not party stayed home or voted third party in November. I hate to say I told ya so…

Of course the conservative blogs and magazines are filled to the brim with prescriptions for the revival of the Republican Party. Move to the center, move to the right, return to conservative principles, etc. The truth is that only the principles matter. Parties are corrupting influences and they will always promote the accumulation of power rather than the enhancement of freedom for the electorate. You are seeing the rise of the Liberal Party’s accumulation of power, now. It will be very disturbing because it is more committed to group-think than the Conservative version (think Contract with America).

Expect the green revolution to drive much of Obama’s agenda and Global Warning to be the catalyst for much of the “change” we see in the next four years. Expect government giveaways to become the norm and inventive methods of extracting the revenue from the citizens of this country to expand exponentially. Bad driver fees, licensing fees, speed cameras and their automatic ticketing, enhanced police traffic enforcement and many other revenue-raising tactics will dominate the scene over the next few years. Remember, “buzzed driving is drunk driving“. Yes, and texting while driving is the same as driving dangerously.

What all of this means to me is increased government presence in my life and less individual freedom. Both parties are signing up for this prescription, not just the Democrats. John McCain would have happily signed the same bills you will watch a beaming Obama sign. I don’t want a party that changes its principles to get me into the fold. I want a party that changes its principles because the principles are the right ones to hold for a free and prosperous citizenry. When the Republicans pay more attention to that prescription, they might gain a member.