May
27
Conservatism has too many voices
May 27, 2009 |
Published: May 27, 2009
Washington Times
The election of Barack Obama opens the door to the implementation of a new-left program, which I have called the “new socialism.”
Grounded in fear after the Sept. 11 attacks and Wall Street panic and fueled by a great anger and frustration with the Bush administration, a long-sought program of the political left is under way.
The political rules that have developed over years - seniority, campaign-finance restrictions and pork-barrel politics in both parties - may make it difficult, if not impossible, to arrest this leftist program.
The nation’s only hope rests in the conservative movement, which must provide the intellectual underpinnings for new and different directions for America.
Comments
18 Comments so far
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Property Rights
amen Governor (please note the amen is not capitalized — as to mean that while religion is important to me, it is not the foundation of my support for Conservativism).
Hope all is well… keep speaking the TRUTH!
Very good article Governor Gilmore. Our children are being taught in school that government is the answer to everything. It isn’t a suprise that the majority of our colleges and universities are bastions of left wing ideology. All you have to do is actually speak with some of the students and you learn real quick how off the chart extreme they are on social and economic matters. Why has this become the norm in our society? Until the GOP really comes out in force and truly stands for something other than being a softer kinder version of the leftist Democrats then they’re simply wasting time. Over the past 15 to 20 years the GOP has slowly drifted leftward in an effort to snatch away votes from so called ” Centrist ” Democrats and other Independents. This is exactly what Senator McCain tried to do in his 2008 campaign and it failed. When a political party makes it’s tent too big it crumbles from within because all of the competing factions will eventually turn on each other and tear down the party. A unified front is crucial indeed but it has to be a front unified on basic fundamental beliefs and principles in order for it to work and sustain itself.
[…] Virginia Patriot, and my newest friend, Jim Gilmore makes a valid observation: Conservatism has too many voices. […]
You raise some VERY valid points. Without a central issue, the Conservative movement dilutes itself.
I knew there was a reason I liked you.
Governor Gilmore has again given voice to our thoughts and has expressed what largely is suppressed in the popular media. What is happening now is the beaurecratic equivalent of those temporary buildings they buildt on the Mall in DC to serve the military’s needs during WW I. When the government required temporary housing again for WW II it didn’t have to look any further than those “temporary” WW I buildings, which were still standing some 20 years later. As the economic crisis frightens us into draconian measures which we are assured are “temporary,” I fear that these new controls, such as over the banking and financial system will be in place long after the crisis has passed. In fact, they probably will prolog the crisis by preventing financial institutions from putting their resources to their highest and best use due to the regulatory burden imposed. When capital cannot flow freely, we cannot invest in our country’s economy and, without a vibrant economy, we cannot continue to keep our military strong. In short, over-reaction to the current crisis may prove even more dangerous than the crisis itself in the years to come. A social welfare state is a formula for economic stagnation, as we have seen in Europe and Japan, but, once those temporary buildings go up, that infrastructure just seems to stay in place and become part of the regulatory architecture. Once established, it creates vested interests in its perpetuation and becomes increasingly difficult to scale back. Ultimately, it puts a choke hold on the very capitalist engine that drives our economy. Once again, Governor Gilmore speaks to the common sense of ther American people.
please go to google.com and then type Regent University School of Law and rip-off. You will be able to see what the GOP stands for and what their goals are.
If real Conservatives do not stick together then it is finished. All these so called Republicans who say we must be more like the left to get votes angers me to no end! We have tried that and it has back fired on us time and again. I don’t know why a Republican would want to be anything like a Democrat on most issues (I’d like to think we can find some common ground with a few sane Democrats) Unless we pull together and get candidates that are willing to speak the truth and stand behind what real America wants and believes in then what is left? Obama won because there was no leader to form behind so the people chose the next best thing a catch phrase and a promise….. Lead the people like our Forefathers or even Ronald Reagan and we can’t lose! If we wimp out to Democrats and try to emulate them while calling ourselves conservative we will lose… if we break out of our shell and stop being bullied by liberals and show courage under fire and leadership then we can rebuild our country and put an end to this non-sense once and for all!
Lisa
Virginia
You need to call it what it is Fascism”.
Fascist governments forbid and suppress criticism and opposition to the government and the fascist movement.
Fascism opposes class conflict, blames capitalist liberal democracies for its creation and communists for exploiting the concept. In the economic sphere, many fascist leaders have claimed to support a “Third Way” in economic policy, which they believed superior to both the rampant individualism of unrestrained capitalism and the severe control of state communism. This was to be acheived by a form of government control over business and labor.
Gov Gilmore: Do not kid yourself. The Republican Party is in the final stages of destruction. That destruction has been brought on by those of us in the party who have missed the opportunity to set both a moral agenda and high standard to which all Republicans must be prepared to meet.
Frankly, in my mind it is OK for the majority of Democrats to embrace the likes of Adam Clayton Powell in the 1950’s, The Kennedy’s in the 1960’s and 70’s, Bill Clinton, Jefferson from Louisiana, Barney Frank, Maxine Waters in the 1980’s and 2000’s. That is because it is who their constituency is.
It is not all right for the Republicans to even tolerate the likes of Ney of Ohio, Cunningham of California and Foley of Florida.
Republicans elected to our national offices have the total responsibility of policing their own. To take the position of “who knew”? smacks of a Democrat excuse.
We have one hell of a long way to go to find our way again. Until we get down to reestablishing ourselves as a moral, honest party for the people, we will continue to be marginalized.
The moral low ground has already been captured by the Democrats and as long as we continue our effort to reach conciliation with those who have a tolerance for immorality, political and personal dishonesty, the voters will be unable to distinguish who we are and what stand for.
Bruce Bennett
The moderation of my comments are as follow:
Opportunity abounds. The opportunity of which I speak, is for the grass roots to take back the party and implement an agenda that will restore the values to our country upon which this nation was built.
Bruce Bennett
With all due respect, saying that there are too many conservative voices is something we hear often from “establishment” politicians. What we need is for the office holders (our representatives and employees) to listen to the people… who are speaking loud and clear. We can work together but we need for the so-called fiscal conservatives to stop bashing the social conservatives and treating those valuable voters as a drag. Everyone, right and left looks to education as the answer. This really looks like the speaker is the smart one and they have to bring all the ignorant schlepps up to their standard.
The people are not that stupid - in spite of electing the silver tongued shyster - that if someone actually runs as a conservative, enumerating the values and benefits and ignoring the moderation of consultants, they have a good chance of victory.
Public opinion may not suggest so, but the Democratic Party is just as divided as the Republican party.
Abortion, gay marriage, taxes, global warming, are all major issues that divide the Democratic party. Republicans need to focus on exposing this reality.
Here is my prediction: As Obama’s policies fail, a new leader within the Republican party will sprout. Just give it a little time.
The GOP is not acting; they are reacting and dancing to the Democratic tunes. There is no leadership in the party today and the biggest noise coming from the wimp Republican leadership is requests to buy books and donate money to help ward off the liberal attack. I will not donate money to people who are more interested in getting re-elected than they are of the welfare of the nation.
If this country goes down or becomes a nation no better than a banana republic run by dictators, it will be at the behest of Politicians greed!
Setting a base we all can agree upon and moving forward from there is a reasonable plan. The alternative is not an option
When did you come over from the “dark side”? What caused you to change your tone from the extreme antiabortion diatribe you gave to the Fairfax Republican Committee that completely turned me off?
Thank you for doing so.
Until I am sure that the antiabortion theocrats whose agenda is to impose their beliefs on me are not allowed to do so, I will not support the conservative or Republican party even though I have voted for them until last years election-since 1959.
Donald: I’m pretty sure this is what Governor Gilmore has believed his entire career.
Governor, I agree that the conservative movement is splintered and does not have one voice and, worse, no leader we all endorse. Can you suggest specific actions that all levels of the movement can take to win back our members?
It is refreshing to hear the view of so many knowledgeable,educated and concerned citizens.
However, I believe they all miss the point. In most regards, the battle is over. THE US HAS ALREDY BEEN CONQUERED. We are a dictatorship NOW. It is a tribute to the conquerors that you can not even identify them.
Each individual battle conservatives try to address is predisposed to failure. This is because the fact that we have already been conquered has not sunk in. An example is any issue related to Freedom of Speech. We have already lost this freedom. Try being politically incorrect in the work place, media, large private party etc. You will quickly lose your job, promotion, even many friends. But you can be politically correct in any environment, as loudly as you choose. Try verbally commenting on your opposition to gay rights and see what happens. Now try loudly supporting gay rights. The communists called it the ” Communist Party line”, we call it being “politically correct”. Same thing.
Dictators, when they are in power, can tighten the chains as they see fit. Today the chains are firmly in place, but are still relatively loose. If the conservative movement ever gained momentum, the chains will just tighten quickly, the movement will be gone. The Patriot Act allows those designated by the administrators to be declared “domestic terroists”, round them up and make them dissappear. No trial, no proof, straight to hidden locations for waterboarding.
But the confusion on the real issues is what dooms the movement from the start. Keep listening to the media tell you how “free” you are. They know most citizens, if they hear it enough, will beleive it regardless of the obvious falseness.
Face it, the battle is already lost, you, your children and grand children are slaves now.