No Compromise.

I have grown weary of hearing the calls for bi-partisanship.  The calls for “reaching across the aisle” and “bucking your party.”  And yes, I’m even tired of that sacred word that hushes the most stubborn of partisans: Compromise.  Compromise in terms of leadership or lack thereof.  Compromise with ulterior motives and double-speak.  Compromise that hurts our country, indeed our world.

To some this is counter-intuitive and in stark contrast to the common wisdom put forth by much of the media.  But the truth is, moderation & compromise have a dark and sordid past when it comes to governing nations.  It gave us “The Great Society,” which ensured generations of poor on welfare and the end of the need for a father.  It gave us the “New Deal” & Medicare, which are quickly bankrupting our country.  It gave us the Munich Pact and the Gaza Strip.   It empowered North Korea to acquire nuclear weapons and is on a steady path to do the same with Iran.

Some would say it gave us the Constitution and the Emancipation Proclamation, but that is only partially correct.  In order for the founders to compromise with one another they had first to establish that they were immovable in their stance against King George.  For him there would be no compromise.

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The Battle For My Child Begins

From the moment my daughter first got on the bus for school this year, I knew that there was a possibility I’d end up in a battle for her mind.  I knew from the experiences of my brother and his children that teachers were tasked with trying to make their students as little like their parents as possible.

I fooled myself into believing that in the small southern town that I live in, I’d not run into these problems until middle school or perhaps even high school.

Turns out it starts in Kindergarden.

Put down the signs

As our country spiraled into a black hole of debt and entitlements, I found myself puzzled that the free market of ideas hadn’t responded how I had hoped it would.

Just as nature abhors a vacuum, society normally finds a bright light to fill the void in times of crisis.  George Washington in the Revolution, Martin Luther King in the 60’s, Reagan in the 80’s and so on.  As we stepped into Barack Obama’s dream of “fundamentally transforming America” I became fearful of the future while confident in America’s resilience and Her incredible ability to produce precisely the person we need at exactly the moment we need them.

I knew  in my heart of hearts that if Obama became hell bent on destroying the country that someone will rise up to counter his efforts and thwart his opportunistic form of Progressivism.  As the Tea Parties began forming across the nation, I thought to myself “Ahhh, this is where he/she will come from.  Rising up amongst the throngs of people and offering an alternative to this mess!  Just in time to stop Healthcare from passing too!!”  Alas, this was not to be.  Healthcare passed and I looked around as though I’d been stood up on a date asking, “Where’s my leader?”

In response to “The Republican Pro-Life Plank”

I was originally simply going to write a response in the comments section of Vassar Bushmills blog titled “The Republican Pro-Life Plank, a Philosophical Stance or a Political Stance? Or Both?” but decided that it was a complex enough subject with enough people on both sides of the issue that it was more appropriate to simply spell out a counter argument in my own diary.

The first issue I have with the point of view expressed is the premise. This is not an issue that needs any moral standing in order to be conservative. The simple fact is that the founders of this country believed that there were granted rights and that there were natural rights. Natural rights include life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness. They saw the truth in these rights to be self evident, as in beyond contestation. To deprive an American citizen of life completely at the behest of another (in other words not a death row inmate who was convicted by a jury of his peers) is to deprive them of one of the most basic natural rights. A right which our government, according to our founding documents, does not have the authority to grant or deny. You do not have to be a Christian to subscribe to this point of view, nor do you have to be a “Bible thumper.” This is basic stuff related to our founding and for conservatives is the only step we need to go to in order to defend the pro-life position.

“Come to Jesus” at CPAC 2010

It happened this weekend at CPAC. It was the first time I’d ever attended a conservative convention and all the way up to 6:00 pm on Saturday, I thought that I had figured out what this convention would mean to me and how it would affect my outlook on the 2010 elections, the Republican Party, Libertarians and so on. I could not have been more short-sighted in my original estimations.

The hour or so that Glenn Beck was speaking was nothing short of inspirational and could very well have been life-changing for me. This had less to do with Mr. Beck himself although his oratory skills and presentation abilities were impressive. (For the Fox News challenged, watch via this special interweb link. Go. Watch. I’ll wait.

Back? Awesome.

My Conservative Pledge

http://www.myspace.com/presidentialpledge

To the pledgers in this video:

Where were you for the last eight years? Where were you when we were attacked on 9-11? Where were you when the world agreed that Saddam had WMD’s? Where were you when the media was lying about our President? Where were you when the Iraqi’s were suffering? Where was your compassion for them? Where was your desire to be amicable with people you disagreed with these last eight years? Where was your “Understanding”. Where was your friendship? Where was your bipartisanship? Where was your hope? Where was your restraint?

For eight years I’ve seen hatred, loathing, anger, ignorance, violence, suppression, oppression, blacklisting and all together a bunch of meanies. I’ve seen Bush called a Nazi. I’ve BEEN called a Nazi. I’ve been told that I support blood for oil, that my beliefs are archaic and that I’m a racist. I’ve seen my God spit upon. My beliefs mocked. My heroes destroyed and my integrity impugned. I’ve seen my country’s soldiers used and spit out for political gain. I’ve seen marches and been told that dissent is the highest form of patriotism. I’ve been told that everything I stand for and believe in is murder, greed and fascism.

And now. After all this YOU are pledging to me that you will change because of one man? One man will make you different and cause you to be reasonable and you fully expect that I should and will reciprocate? You expect us all to come together after this and act like the last 8 years didn’t happen? As Obama steps forward and has the same reactions to Gitmo & Iraq and NOW you understand the complexities? Now you can have intelligent debate without insulting everything I stand for?