THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 29, February 10, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
REAL CONSERVATISM IS ABOUT PRINCIPLES, NOT PERSONALITIES
By Christopher G. Adamo
THE NATURE OF THE VOTER BACKLASH THAT GAVE THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY, U.S.A., CONGRESSIONAL MAJORITIES IN 2006
& 2008 & THE PRESIDENCY IN 2008: A WIDESPREAD NATIONAL BACKLASH AGAINST THE POLITICAL RIGHT & A
CLEAR SHIFT IN POPULAR SENTIMENT IN FAVOR OF THE POLITICAL HARD-LEFT & ITS RADICAL PUBLIC POLICY AGENDA, OR
A BACKLASH AGAINST THE FAILURE OR REFUSAL OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY TO EFFECTIVELY COMBAT SUCH
TREACHEROUS IDEAS OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY & THE RADICAL LEFT? VOTER REJECTION OF CONSERVATISM IN
FAVOR OF LEFTWING LIBERALISM, OR VOTER REJECTION OF A WEAK & IMPOTENT REPUBLICAN PARTY LEADERSHIP THAT
HAS DONE VERY LITTLE OR NOTHING TO STEM THE FLOW OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INTO THE U.S.A. OR RESIST THE DRIVE
TO DESTROY AMERICA'S FREE MARKET ECONOMY & REPLACE IT WITH SOCIALISM
FULL STORY:
It was an odd week for a staunch Conservative to be in agreement with Barack Hussein
Obama. In the wake of Republican Scott Brown’s dramatic U.S. Senate victory in
Massachusetts, Democratic Party leaders were stunned and shaken. But, as usual, they
quickly gathered themselves and coordinated a strategy of interpreting Brown’s
election in terms that they hoped would minimize damage to their agenda.
And this effort was led, of course, by Ptrsident Obama himself.
In keeping with this ploy, the Narcissist in Chief attempted to proffer the
absurd notion that, somehow, a Hard-Right turn in Massachusetts was actually
a ringing endorsement of him. According to Obama, “The same thing that swept
Brown into office swept me into office.” And for those who might have missed
his meaning, he added, “People are angry and they are frustrated. Not because
of what’s happened in the last year or two years, but what’s happened over
the last eight years.”
Nevertheless, the lone grain of truth in Obama’s statement vastly
overshadows his transparent attempts at obfuscation and self-aggrandizement.
The towering reality of this situation is that his ascendancy did not result
in any way from those overblown speeches of the last year or two (Obama’s
empty promises of “hope and change”) but from a public rejection of the
general national course plotted by President George W. Bush and those
all-too-compliant Republican “moderates” in the U.S. Senate and U.S House of Representatives.
Neither the 2006 mid-term Democratic Party gains nor the 2008 electoral catastrophe
represented any national shift to the Left. Rather, they embodied a
widespread backlash against a Republican Party that had done too little to
combat such treacherous ideas. On one major issue after another, from
outrageous spending binges (which, admittedly, now seem minuscule in
comparison to the abominable fiscal excesses of the Obama/Reid/Pelosi cabal)
to the attempts at granting amnesty and defacto citizenship to the twelve
million plus illegal aliens, to the abject abandonment of constitutional
principle in implementing campaign finance “reform,” Heartland America felt
completely betrayed and forsaken by virtually the entirety of the GOP.
Republican majorities in both houses of Congress, supported by a Republican President,
simply should not have allowed such legislative atrocities to occur. Yet, the
Beltway-insider mindset prevailed over traditional Republican principle, and
the sentiments of those lowly peasants in the hinterlands were cast aside.
So, in November of 2006, and again in 2008, angry and disenfranchised voters
responded in kind on Election Day. But, lest anyone misrepresent their
motivation, the Conservative upsurge of the past year should have dispelled
every doubt as to the true sentiments of those at the grassroots.
The “Tea Party” movement, mocked and maligned by Democratic Party mouthpieces and
their media minions, is alive and well. Traditional America, seeing its
heritage being obliterated and the constitutional foundations of the nation
decimated, is rising up and making known its resolve to restore such things
for itself and its posterity. “Politics as usual,” either from the Democrats
or the Republicans, which translates into societal breakdown and the
institution of the “nanny state” (either on the fast track or one that is
somewhat slower, depending on party) has been soundly rejected.
At this crucial time, it is imperative that the authors of this movement
remain steadfastly committed to principle, and not be swayed by prominent
personalities. And, at such a time, it is not surprising that Arizona Senator
and former presidential candidate John McCain is among the attempted
“hangers on.” But what did come as an enormous shock and disappointment was
the willingness of former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to aid in this
subterfuge.
Up for re-election this year, McCain suddenly found himself in a truly
contested primary race against former Republican Congressman and
Conservative powerhouse J.D. Hayworth. By all rights, McCain has committed
more than enough treachery against Conservatism to warrant a voter-sponsored
retirement. And it is inarguable that, on an issue-by-issue comparison,
Hayworth is much more closely aligned to Palin than McCain has ever been. So,
for Palin to labor on behalf of McCain’s reelection effort represents a
devastating blow against those principles.
Even more reprehensible is what this episode says of McCain’s abject
disingenuousness as a politician. By calling on Palin at this time, he
proves his knowledge of what resonates with voters, and what adjustments to
his reputation would help his electoral bid. Yet, that is an image that
Hayworth, not McCain, actually deserves. Were McCain to be honest with his
base and consistent with his past, he would instead have asked Joe
Liebermann, a Connecticut Liberal, or Arlen Specter, the former “RINO” now
turned Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania, to visit Arizona and burnish his
image for the voters. For it is with their likes that McCain’s true
sympathies lie.
Sarah Palin has received nothing but vitriol from Liberals in both major political
parties, including many from McCain’s own staff. Even members of his own
family have expressed complete contempt for the precepts that define Palin.
Conversely, real America has ignored such derision and consistently rallied
in support of her.
For whatever allegiance she feels towards the man who reluctantly chose her
as a vice-presidential running mate (his first preference was Liebermann),
Palin offers her loyalty at great expense to the very movement of grassroots
Conservatism sweeping the nation that she so eloquently sought to advance in
her Nashville speech on February 6.
America will have lost a great opportunity, both in real substance and
symbolic significance, if Hayworth loses to McCain in the Arizona Primary .
And with so much hanging in the balance, Palin needs to be publicly asked
which of her guiding principles align more closely with McCain as opposed to
Hayworth, and, therefore, how a McCain re-election would benefit her vision
for the nation.
Ultimately, as the reality of that event (if it does indeed transpire), and
Palin’s complicity in it, sinks in with the American people, it is her own
connection to them that will have been fatally undermined. Those fighting to
restore the freedom and goodness of this nation will have no other choice
but to move beyond this breach of trust, and remain committed to their
principles, or face a potentially insurmountable setback to their effort.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
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 has been active in Wyoming politics for many years and
is a managing partner in Best American Buy (www.bestamericanbuy.com), an
e-commerce business that markets American made products including the
incomparable Abigail Adams Bedspread Set from Bates Mills. Contact
information for Chris Adamo, and his archives, can be found at
www.chrisadamo.com
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Conservative & Free-Market Analysis of Government, Politics & Public Policy, Covering Political, Legal, Constitutional, Economic,
Cultural, Military, International, Strategic, & Geopolitical Issues
Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity