MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

Ruminations On Conservatism

• Posted by MacStansbury on December 30th, 2005 filed in John, Politics    

It was something about the Katrina coverage. There, in front of the world, was a solidarity of compassion; Bush 41 was standing with Clinton 42. The symbolism was that there are things that are neither Left or Right, that we need to come together to do some things. But there’s something not quite right about the picture.

The former Presidents representing “both sides” of the political spectrum really don’t. This is what’s wrong: Bush is a moderate centrist, and Clinton is moderate leftist. But beyond that, Bush isn’t really thought of in high regard (overshadowed by Ronald Reagan), while Clinton is the hero of the Democratic Party. It was that perception of weakness, along with raising taxes, that led to his defeat during his re-election bid in 1992.

Even now, the two families appear to have some odd alliance. While it’s not ideological, it’s telling that the Bushs can befriend the Clintons, even if it is just because of their position. It’s that casual relationship that got me thinking about just what Conservatives believe these days.

A while ago, Rush Limbaugh, on his radio show, detailed how he had to describe some of the pillars of Conservatism. As I thought about it that weekend, I really couldn’t name, off-hand, what they are. Sure, I can rattle off “lower taxes, dead terrorists,” but what are they, really? My own ignorance is altogether too common.

Oh, and let’s get real, going to Wikipedia may not be your best bet. Especially if it’s now 2:30 in the morning, and you’re stumped as to where to get information. But maybe that’s because I’m being to general, I should focus on the party that claims Conservatism as it’s own, the Republicans.

Golly, after figuring out the toolbar at the Republican Party website, motherloade of info in the I got this 2004 Republican Party Platform. And you had me at “hello:”

RONALD REAGAN
believed that people were basically good, and had the right to be free.
He believed that bigotry and prejudice were the worst things a person could be guilty of.
He believed in the Golden Rule and in the power of prayer.
He believed that America was not just a place in the world, but the hope of the world.
As Ronald Wilson Reagan goes his way, we are left with a joyful hope he shared.
May God bless Ronald Reagan and the country he loved.

That’s a quote from President George W. Bush at Ronald Reagan’s Funeral Service in 2004. It was another defining moment in my life, as the President on which I base all my political philosophies was laid to rest. A discussion with my father revealed some things to me.

We talked about how he was activated in 1961 as part of the Berlin Wall crisis. He told me about how John F. Kennedy ran on a platform of lower taxes, and strong military. It was one of the reasons that he was happy to go (to France, the jerk). He believed that he was doing the right thing.

We’d discussed, at length my Summer Camp in the desert, and how it only emboldened my patriotism. I believed, and still believe, that one of the responsibilities that America has now is to spread freedom around the world. As we talked, I grew more aware that the greatness of Reagan was not that he found out some great truth that was yet undiscovered, but that Conservatism is truly a defined set of goals. I was reminded that he called the Vietnam conflict “a just war,” as it was just another example of that pillar of strong national defense.

Another pillar that Reagan reminded us of was economic responsibility. He took a lot of flack for what was affectionately called “Reaganomics.” I found one definition from William A. Niskanen The Concise Encyclopedia of Economics:

“Reaganomics” was the most serious attempt to change the course of U.S. economic policy of any administration since the New Deal. “Only by reducing the growth of government,” said Ronald Reagan, “can we increase the growth of the economy.” Reagan’s 1981 Program for Economic Recovery had four major policy objectives: (1) reduce the growth of government spending, (2) reduce the marginal tax rates on income from both labor and capital, (3) reduce regulation, and (4) reduce inflation by controlling the growth of the money supply. These major policy changes, in turn, were expected to increase saving and investment, increase economic growth, balance the budget, restore healthy financial markets, and reduce inflation and interest rates.

In his campaign, George W. Bush tried to channel Reagan, and for that matter, John F. Kennedy, and anybody else who had the same idea of getting the government out of your pocket. Unfortunately, Bush didn’t have the luxury of 8 years of low-level conflicts to really play with those economic theories. In two wars, and facing a rebuilding of major portion of the Gulf Coast, plans for more fiscal policies have been curtailed. However, even with all the the detractors, the economy is improving beyond some people’s expectations, considering.

I started writing this in September, long before the current news about the economy came out. I was trying to figure a way to make it sound as timeless as possible; but, it can’t really be taken out of time. There is no way to remove the President from his circumstance.

How are we going to judge President Bush, without first looking at the situation he was in, and his response to it? Doing what was in the best interests of his countrymen, doing what was right. He saw that we were at war, and we needed to get our enemy where they were.

It was a tough decision, one the he’s taken sole responsibility. I wrote a while ago about how there are pillars of conservatism, basics that define what we believe. Doing the right thing, and taking responsibility for your decisions, more than anything else, that’s what I believe conservatism is.