THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 317, December 3, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
CHAMBLISS VICTORY REFUTES PUBLIC BREAK WITH CONSERVATISM
By Christopher G. Adamo
CONSERVATISM & THE REPUBLICAN PARTY: THE KEY TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY'S FUTURE AS A VIABLE &
SUCCESSFUL MAJOR POLITICAL PARTY IN THE U.S.A. -- NOMINATION OF UNAMBIGUOUSLY CONSERVATIVE CANDIDATES
FOR PUBLIC OFFICE & AGGRESSIVE PURSUIT OF THE CONSERVATIVE PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA
FULL STORY:
Georgia voters validated the Reaganite template for victory once again on December 2, 2008. In a runoff election for U.S.
Senator, incumbent Saxby Chambliss won handily over Democratic Party challenger Jim Martin, with an advantage of
nearly fifteen percent.
How could this be? Republicans, and particularly Conservatives, we are incessantly told, have been politically exiled
since 2006 and are in complete disrepute these days. More often than not, Chambliss is considered a reliable
Conservative. Worse yet, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, whom the media characterizes as a political pariah, vigorously
and visibly supported Chambliss, especially in the last few days of his runoff campaign.
In contrast Barack Obama, fearing the symbolism of a public rebuke of his empty “change” rhetoric,” never went to
Georgia to campaign for Martin. Since Obama did not carry Georgia in the general election, the prospect of supporting a
losing candidate posed a definite risk to the “messianic” facade that he has cultivated so meticulously during the past
few years.
Instead, he once again essentially voted “present,” producing a commercial or two on behalf of the Georgia Democrat,
while remaining safely outside of the state. But it is widely known that Obama, as well as the U.S. House and Senate
Democrats in Washington, held out great hopes of the filibuster proof Senate majority that a Martin victory might have
helped facilitate.
These unfolding events are confusing and inconsistent, at least to those who accept the opinions of the “mainstream”
Democratic and Republican punditry. According to the “conventional wisdom” of Washington insiders from both
parties, John McCain would have done better to ditch Sarah Palin, whom they believed to be a drag on his ticket. But, in
a seemingly contradictory fashion, Chambliss involved Palin heavily, while McCain was only nominally visible. As a
result, Chambliss won his race, and with a far wider margin than McCain accrued on Election Day.
Meanwhile, from token “Republican” David Brooks of the New York Times, to his ideological counterpart
Kathleen Parker of the Washington Post, presumed experts on Republican Party strategy have been busily
deriding Palin during and after the 2008 presidential campaign. Their verdict: Immediately expel her and her kind for the
good of America and the Republican Party.
It is no surprise that Beltway Democrats would loudly promote a losing Republican “strategy” of watering-down and
ultimately abandoning Conservatism, since such a tack can only improve Democratic Party fortunes. But it is somewhat
puzzling that “Republican” political hacks would journey down the same path.
In complete defiance of their “wisdom,” both prior to November 4, 2008, as well as during the Georgia contest of the
past few days, Palin attracted far larger and more enthusiastic crowds than Chambliss could ever have acquired on his
own. Few among the political mainstream would dare suggest a comparable public reaction, had Vice President-Elect
Joe Biden, the candidate of the winning Democratic Party ticket, attempted a similar campaign stump for Martin.
Such an exuberant response to the losing vice-presidential candidate would, according the District of Columbia wizards,
seem totally contradictory to their regular forecasts of what America wants. In the wake of each Republican setback, the
“experts” incessantly advocate “moderation” and “moving to the political Center.” Yet, it is they, and not the
straightforward Conservatism of the Chambliss campaign, who have been consistently wrong for over three decades.
In the aftermath of the presidential election, McCain staffers leaked derogatory stories about Governor Palin, in a
transparent effort to derail any political future to which she might aspire. Yet, the reality is that her antagonists were
revealing much more about themselves, and the fatal flaws of the McCain political apparatus, than they were about the
Conservatism of Sarah Palin.
Noisy declarations of the “need” for the GOP to eject its Conservative element, and in particular the maligned “religious
right,” predictably erupt after every election in which Republicans lose ground. Yet, these are regularly contradicted by
events such as the December 2 U.S. senatorial election in Georgia, where both Conservatism and the issues of importance
to the Evangelicals with whom Palin is closely identified, were forthrightly validated.
By providing the contrast necessary to delineate between traditional Republicans and Liberal Democrats, Palin generated
an enthusiasm for the McCain ticket that had been completely absent prior to the announcement of her as his running
mate. And, while her presence on the ticket was not sufficient to neutralize voter disillusionment with McCain, she
unquestionably displayed the ability to enhance the standing of an established Conservative like Chambliss.
This lesson, so crucial to the future of the GOP, needs to be grasped and learned once and for all. Conservatism, real
Conservatism, resonates with heartland America, and wins elections. The people of this country have little interest in a
Republican Party that seeks to define itself as a milder and cheaper version of the societal dissolution and erosion of
American greatness offered by the opposition. If voters really want that, they can get it in its undiluted form from the
Democrats.
Saxby Chambliss correctly grasps the situation, crediting Palin as the individual whose support and involvement “fired
up” the base. He further admonished recalcitrant Republican “Moderates” of the need for the GOP to return to “those
basic core values” of Reagan Conservatism.
In Georgia at least, Chambliss restored the traditionally Conservative image of the GOP, thus cementing a resounding
victory. And no amount of biased media coverage, contrived financial calamity, or voter fraud from ACORN could derail
his effort. The viability of the Republican Party depends on its willingness to adopt this approach to modern politics as
the key to its future.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
-------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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