The Political Chinese Fire Drill

(c) André Karwath

The picture above is of the Pansy, from the French pensée, meaning thought. The flower is symbolically representative of the Age of Enlightenment and the Freethought movement and Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds opinions should be formed on the basis of logic, reason and empiricism and not authority, tradition, or other dogmas.  This picture will be found identifying a series of posts addressing the roots of classical liberalism, republicanism, and the Republican Party today.

Role Reversals

The New Left redefined the term ‘liberal’ at the same time that the Moral Majority redefined the term ‘conservative’.  Where the founding fathers adhered to classical liberalism, advocating civil liberties, political freedom, limited government, economic freedom, and republicanism, liberals of today stand virtually as the antithesis of what was once liberalism.  Likewise, the conservative movement in this country that was built upon maintaining the libertarian and republican principals of our founders has made a pronounced shift towards the theocratic right.  Both parties have also become more Federalist, advocating a larger centralized government with more power and control to the disadvantage of our civil liberties and our states.

 

“It is the job of centralized government (in peacetime) to protect its citizens’ lives, liberty and property. All other activities of government tend to diminish freedom and hamper progress. The growth of government (the dominant social feature of this century) must be fought relentlessly. In this great social conflict of the era, we are, without reservations, on the libertarian side.” William F. Buckley, 1955.

 

Originally, conservatives in the United States were to be found in both parties and the modern conservative movement coalesced around opposition to the New Deal.  The big political shakeup began in the sixties, with the Nixon-Rockefeller compromise prompting a schism with ‘Goldwater’ Republicans; while Civil Rights legislation prompted Southern Democrats to battle the New Left for control of the Democratic Party.  

 

The Chinese Fire Drill

The shift in conservatism within the Republican Party from classical liberal and republican ideals to the social conservatism of today can be traced directly back to the political party controversies of the sixties and seventies.  With Goldwater Republicans stressing Judeo-Christian values in opposition to communism, the Republican Party became more attractive to Southern Democrats and evangelicals.  As the Republican Party moved towards the authoritarian right, libertarians moved to the left finding refuge in the ‘new’ Democratic Party or within their own nascent Libertarian party.

 

Today's Right

From Falwell’s Moral Majority, to Robertson’s Christian Coalition, to Dobson’s Family Research Council, to Graham’s Vote Biblical Values campaign the Christian Right has a pronounced influence on the Republican Party platform.  The key question we need to ask ourselves is this pronounced influence positive or negative when it comes to getting out the voters and getting the vote?  Todd Akin, Richard Mourdock, Linda McMahon, Tom Smith, and John Koster all embroiled themselves in controversy over abortion and rape and all fell flat on Election Day, soundly trounced by their pro-choice Democratic opposition.

 

The critical issues facing our nation today are not religious in nature they are financial, economic, libertarian, and republican, the Republican Party needs to return to its roots.  We are not the Christian Reform Party! If we attempt to be, we will continue to get our ass handed to us by the electorate.

This article kicks off a series examining where we came from, where we are, and perhaps where we need to go.  We seriously need to decide what is most important to the Republican Party and the nation, and what we can and are willing to compromise on.  Look for the pansy to highlight articles on this them, and as a second added benefit I am sure it will separate out those of us too immature to resist 'pansy' jokes.

 

Cheers!

 

~Finntann