MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Pillars of Conservatism: Economics

• Posted by MacStansbury on September 26th, 2005 filed in John, Politics    

Thinking about how we’ve got this Big Tent and whatnot in the current Republican Party, it seems that conservatives are starting too lose focus on just what we are for. Since Bush got into office, the conservative message has been buried under a constant din of the opposition’s calls for everything but progress. It’s time to remind our own selves what we believe. In that light, I’m going to present some of the pillars of the conservative movement.

Until I start to see this getting articulated elsewhere, I’m going to continue to bring up the subject of conservative values. It’s important to keep reminding ourselves what we believe, because the modern Republican Party is a diverse bunch of free-thinkers who don’t mindlessly follow their leader. This is both a blessing and a curse, as sometimes that very free-thought is used by the opposition to attack.

Now, far be it from me to explain how the polices of conservatism work, since I’m from the South, thus a dumb hick. In fact, other than mad Google skelz (skills, old people), I’m pretty much as average a person as you’re gonna find. But, since I have the ability to read and comprehend, I think I’ll be able to at least show you the people who do know what they’re talking about. And remember, this is far from the definitive work on the subject. Rather, this is just something to make all the smart people in the audience start to write and talk about crap that actually works instead of kooky protesters all the crapping time.

Now, I figure there’s no better place to start off this series than with economics. As a youth in the 80s, I was a first-hand beneficiary of Reaganomics. Too young to understand that this was not a common practice, I figured that everybody would want smaller government and lower taxes. And even today, I still don’t understand people who want to take more money from people. That said, I can understand the motivations of people who want to raise taxes, and punish the rich.

But let’s not get caught in that very trap that I was leading us into, huh? The first thing you were mentally preparing yourself was a defense of your beliefs, wasn’t it? It’s so common, nowadays, to get off-track from communicating the message of how tax reform and letting people keep more of what they make is better for America, and the world. Never let it be said that America is the only one who benefits when she becomes a richer nation.

George W. Bush said this as part of his 2004 election campaign:

“The role of government is not to control or dominate the lives of our citizens. The role of government is to help our citizens gain the time and the tools to make their own choices and improve their own lives. That’s why I will continue to work to usher in a new era of ownership and opportunity in America.”

What I would really love to see is that put into effect. There were many campaign promises made that fall right into the Reaganomic playbook; decrease government spending, reduce the tax rates, reduce regulation, and encourage growth to stymie inflation. These are not magic tricks, nor are they really new concepts. John F. Kennedy ran on a platform that included this fiscal policy. What I find amusing is just how similar the approach that JFK and W used in their campaigns, in regards to fiscal policies.

But this shouldn’t be a surprise. When the conservatives bolted from the Democratic Party in the 60s, they handed the keys over to the same people who’s mindset was that your money was theirs to spend. A policy that your money was yours was relatively novel, as late as 1983. But now it is one of the pillars of modern conservatism in American politics.

Now, here’s your assignment: I’m not a scholar, so I’m asking for your help. There are people much smarter than I, wasting their time covering Mother Sheehan, and refuting Katrina relief corruption story after story. How about instead of writing yet another story about these distractions from reality, try telling the world about how conservatism is creating something better?

During the 2004 Republican Convention, I felt a great sense of pride when Arnold Schwarzenegger told us about how he wanted to be a Republican because he heard Richard Nixon talk about those very qualities. Not just taxes, but all the other things that make conservatism work. My challenge to you is to start reminding America just what we can do, instead of what we didn’t; I’m tired of chasing rabbits.