Brooks

My Blog

• The Nexus Between Social and Fiscal Conservatism

  • 1 Vote
  • 4 Comments

  Sat. Nov. 22, 10:46am EST

  Throughout the course of the Bush administration, political adversaries have been allowed to completely 'redefine' social conservatism, and to a degree, conservatism in general. As are many social conservatives, President Bush was a fiscal liberal. The term "compassionate conservative" was coined to describe this amalgamation of liberal fiscal spending policies, with strong religiously-based social conservatism. In spite of spending more on social programs and entitlements than the previous two Democrat presidents combined, Bush was castigated as a right-wing 'extremist' and 'Neocon' by those on the left. His inarticulate ability to combat this onslaught of criticism, exacerbated the problem, and the image of conservatism as a whole, suffered greatly. Fiscal conservatism was lost completely, and social conservatism was vilified by the left. The response from the Republican party was to attempt an experiment in 'moderation' of traditional conservative principles. In the attempt to 'moderate' they completely abandoned the core principles of conservatism, and tried to adopt a sort of 'conservative liberalism' and pass it off as some new age answer and solution. It simply didn't resound with the American voter, and culminated in the failed candidacy of John McCain. If you are going to elect a Socialist, it's best to elect the man who is being honest about what he is, and not the one who is trying to convince us he is really Conservative.

   

  The post-election punditry has revealed two distinct ideological trains of thought. Liberals and Moderates believe the Republican party needs to continue being "moderate" and chase after the ever-elusive 'independent' voter. To cast aside social conservatism altogether, and replace it with Libertarianism, incorporating some sensible fiscal conservative viewpoints. The problem is, this is the road we've been heading down for the past decade, and this election proved that ideology doesn't generate enough votes at the ballot box. While there are some good things to be said for Libertarianism, there is a reason the Libertarian candidate generally gets less than 2% of the vote in the general election. Don't take me wrong, many of my personal viewpoints are very 'libertarian' and it's a wonderful concept in principle, but it doesn't work in practicality. Libertarian philosophy depends on a society being 'responsible' and our society is clearly not. If every American could be individually responsible, Libertarianism could work, and would be the ideal and optimal ideology. However, to believe this possible, is the right-wing equivalent to Liberal Utopia, it will not ever work in our diverse and irresponsible society.

   

  This brings me to the second train of thought, and the one I think Republicans must adopt, if they hope to win elections again. A return to core conservative principles on both fiscal and social issues. This idea is not without it's own set of challenges, namely, countering the negative image built over the past 8 years, against social conservatism. If you ask the typical liberal to define 'social conservative', chances are, they will mention the 'evangelicals' or the 'religious wackos' and proceed to tell you how social conservatives want to impose their religion and morality on us all. To them, the words 'social conservative' and 'religious nut' have become synonymous, and there is simply no way to divorce the two. This is a stereotype which must be overcome in the future, and the voter 're-educated' on the merits of true social conservatism.

   

  Many Republicans will say, we need a return to the "Reagan Philosophy" and the thing that made Ronald Reagan wildly successful, was the profound and brilliant connection he made between social and fiscal conservatism. Indeed, it was the social conservative policies of personal responsibility and respect for life and equality of man, which enabled the fiscal conservative policies to work, and the fiscal conservative policies promoted the importance of social conservatism. They worked together to form a prosperous and rewarding ideology, which was extremely popular and widely accepted. Regan wasn't some "religious wacko" and didn't come across as some stuffy moralist trying to impose his will on society. He was pragmatic, and used common sense reasoning, coupled with the idea and concept of American Exceptionalism. The "shining city on a hill" had as much to do with the morality and ethics of the people, as the capitalistic entrepreneurial spirit.

   

  The nexus which conjoins social conservatism to fiscal conservative principles, is personal responsibility. Without this connection, fiscal conservatism can be vulnerable to criticism as cold and greedy capitalism, as there is no impetus for prosperity or belief in the people. Through social conservatism, this belief is fostered and enabled, and is the catalyst by which fiscal conservative policy becomes promising and rewarding to every American. The belief that we are all created equally and endowed by our Creator, the inalienable rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness, is the cornerstone and foundation for all the things which comprise fiscal conservative policy. It is this connection and association which needs to be made again, and the direction in which the Republican party should go. Dispel the myths and innuendos about fundamentalist religious wackos, yet embrace our founding principles of all men being the product of creation and endowed equally with personal liberty and freedom. Make the case for why fiscal AND social conservatism has to work together for a better America, and Republicans can make a comeback in a very real way.
  tags: conservative republicans ideology reagan

• Beer!

  • 2 Votes
  • 0 Comments

  Mon. Nov. 17, 10:47pm EST

  I stole this, so you may have seen it around already, but I thought it was funny....

  BEER
  Humans originally existed as members of small bands of nomadic hunters/gatherers. They lived on deer in the mountains during the summer and would go to the coast and live on fish and lobster in the winter.
  
  The two most important events in all of history were:
  1. The invention of beer, and
  2. The invention of the wheel. The wheel was invented to get man to the beer, and the beer to the man.
  
  These facts formed the foundation of modern civilization and together were the catalyst for the splitting of humanity into two distinct subgroups:
  1. Liberals
  2. Conservatives.
  
  Once beer was discovered, it required grain and that was the beginning of agriculture. Neither the glass bottle nor aluminum can were invented yet, so while our early humans were sitting around waiting for them to be invented, they just stayed close to the brewery. That's how villages were formed.
  
  Some men spent their days tracking and killing animals to BBQ at night while they were drinking beer. This was the beginning of what is known as the Conservative movement.
  
  Other men who were weaker and less skilled at hunting learned to live off the conservatives by showing up for the nightly BBQ's and doing the sewing, fetching, and hair dressing. This was the beginning of the Liberal movement.
  
  Some of these liberal men eventually evolved into women. The rest became known as girlie-men.
  
  Some noteworthy liberal achievements include the domestication of cats, the invention of group therapy and group hugs, the evolution of the Hollywood actor, and the concept of Democratic voting to decide how to divide all the meat and beer that conservatives provided.
  
  Over the years, Conservatives came to be symbolized by the largest, most powerful land animal on earth, the elephant. Liberals are symbolized by the jackass.
  
  Modern liberals like imported beer (with lime added), but most prefer white wine or imported bottled water. They eat raw fish but like their beef well done. Sushi, tofu, and French food are standard liberal fare. Another interesting evolutionary side note: most of liberal women have higher testosterone levels than their men. Most social workers, personal injury attorneys, journalists, dreamers in Hollywood and group therapists are liberals. Liberals invented the designated hitter rule because it wasn't fair to make the pitcher also bat.
  
  Conservatives drink domestic beer. They eat red meat and still provide for their women. Conservatives are big-game hunters, rodeo cowboys, lumberjacks, construction workers, firemen, medical doctors, police officers, corporate executives, athletes, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and generally anyone who works productively. Conservatives who own companies hire other conservatives who want to work for a living.
  
  Liberals produce little or nothing. They like to govern the producers and decide what to do with the production. Liberals believe Europeans are more enlightened than Americans. That is why most of the liberals remained in Europe when conservatives were coming to America . They crept in after the Wild West was tamed and created a business of trying to get more for nothing.
  
  Here ends today's lesson in world history.......
  It should be noted that a liberal may have a momentary urge to angrily respond to the above before forwarding it.
  
  A conservative will simply laugh and be so convinced of the absolute truth of this history that it will be forwarded immediately to other true believers, and to more liberals...just to yank their chain.
  
  Have a great day!

  tags: beer humor

• My Veterans Day Story...

  • 3 Votes
  • 3 Comments

  Wed. Nov. 12, 06:07am EST

  I can remember as a boy, my Grandmother explaining to me, why my Uncle Buck walked with a limp. "He was shot in the war," she said. Through the years, I would ask him about it, just curious as a kid, I suppose. He never really would go into detail about it very much, but later, when I was well into my 30's, I can remember him talking with my Dad and I one day, and he told 'the story' of how he was wounded in combat. He was serving in the Airborne Rangers during the Korean War. His unit had become trapped behind enemy lines, and was trying to get back to safe territory, when a tank spotted them and opened fire. A mortar went off just several feet from where he was standing, and nearly blew his leg off. It blew him into a ditch, where he was barely conscious, and the North Koreans thought he was dead, and moved on, he managed to eventually escape from the area and was rescued, sent to the M*A*S*H unit, and eventually discharged, where he returned home to undergo months of rehabilitation and surgery. It was there he met his wife, my Aunt Annie Ruth, they have been married more than 50 years.

   

  Several years ago, my cousin who was like a step brother to me, (my parents raised him), was found dead at his home out in the country. He lived alone, no neighbors for miles around, and it had been weeks since anyone had heard from him. His body was discovered in his truck in the driveway, he had been there for days in the hot sun, and was badly decomposed when they found him. After the coroner came and they removed the body, Uncle Buck went out there and moved the truck out of the way before his mother came, and afterward he told my Dad, the smell, it was awful... reminded him of those days in the war, he said. That afternoon, perhaps as a way for him to 'cope' with what he had been through, he talked a lot about his experience in Korea. He told about villages they would have to 'clear' and how they couldn't take all the people prisoner, nor could they allow them to remain, because they would blow themselves up to kill you, if you gave them a chance. They literally had to mass kill these people in their homes. There was no other choice, it was what they had to do to survive. War is horrific, and imagining what it must have been like for him, this man we all knew and loved as our jocular kindhearted Uncle, is amazing.

   

  I called Uncle Buck today, he is 80 years old, and I thanked him for his service to this country. I've never done that before, but today I felt especially compelled to do so. We talked for about an hour, and when I told him that I appreciated the sacrifices he made and what he did, he replied... "Oh, it was nothing, we just did what we had to do... So, how have you been doing?" He didn't feel the need to be thanked or appreciated for what he did, he wanted to change the subject, he was just glad to hear from me and was more interested in knowing how me and my family were. Maybe it's because they don't want to remember the horror of what they experienced, maybe the memory of those poor innocent people who were the casualties of war, is too much for them to bear? I think of all the years which passed by before I knew 'the story' and all the years from then, before I knew the 'whole story' and just how horrible it really was, and I wonder how a man could maintain his sanity after such a thing. They don't talk about it, it's locked inside of them, a nightmare that will never go away, and this is what they live with each day, quietly without fanfare or celebration. Today is Veterans Day, and I honor all who have had to endure this most heinous experience and live with it all their life. Your sacrifice for this country does not go unappreciated. You are all heroes, in my book.

  tags: veterans

• Obama Wins...Nancy Starts Writing Checks!

  • 5 Votes
  • 8 Comments

  Mon. Nov. 10, 07:47am EST

  The ink on the President Obama Extra Edition newspapers is not even dry yet, and already, Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats are spending our tax dollars like drunken sailors on weekend leave. I guess they figure any spending done before January 20, can always be attributed to Bush, and they won't have to count that in their totals when critics raise the issue of the bloated national debt under the Democrats.

   

  The latest government bailouts are going to the Big 3 automakers, and a second helping for AIG, please? If I were one of the other struggling sectors, I would be a little pissed at AIG for breaking in line. It's like my ex-brother-in-law at Thanksgiving, he was always first in line, and before everyone could fix their plate, here he was getting a second helping of the sweet potato casserole! WTF, dude? There IS a protocol here!

   

  Nevertheless, the Democrats are poised to break all records for deficit spending, they are certainly just getting warmed up. It's ironic, because one of the many things they found to criticize Bush about, was his deficit spending. This was one of the key things they found resonated with Conservatives across the board, and they used it for all the political advantage they could, but now that they have won, things are different.

   

  My concern is, where does it end? We poured $700 billion into 'bailing out' the lending institutions, in hopes it would free up money to lend to consumers, but every indication is, the money is being used for acquisition, and not serving to help what it was intended to help. Granted, the wooden arrow industry is doing very well now! This time, it's the auto industry, supposedly because they provide so many jobs, and are hurting so badly in this economy. Well, maybe the problem is the way they do business? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact the product they make, has nearly $4,000 worth of union benefits tied to it, and it's a piece of crap no one wants to own? Naaah, it's those greedy rich people who have more money than they need, that's the problem!

   

  Obamamaniacs are quick to point out, Reagan proved the national debt wasn't a problem, but he pushed for a balanced budget amendment, and his economic plan only allowed for a huge national debt as long as the economy was prospering and deficit spending was being cut. Every economist who isn't insane, will tell you, we can only sustain the current rate of deficit spending for a certain amount of time, then you so devalue the dollar, the entire economy collapses. We are on our way to economic collapse at a record pace under this Democratic leadership.

   

  Perhaps Congress is out of touch with America, and they don't understand, EVERY sector is hurting right now! Textiles, technologies, agriculture, construction, utilities, city and state governments... the list goes on and on. Lots of people are in line for the sweet potato casserole, and they are all very hungry.
  

  tags: deficit national debt spending

• Redefining Republican Politics...

  • 5 Votes
  • 25 Comments

  Thu. Nov. 06, 12:38am EST

  I just love how liberals are all breaking their necks now, to tell us conservatives what we need to do in order to "fix" our party. It seems they think we need to completely abandon anyone who holds their religious views as important to them, anyone who doesn't advocate for gay marriage and abortion, and anyone who doesn't basically subscribe to liberal views on gun control, universal health care, and 'separation of church and state.'  Yeah, if we could just throw those people in the river and deny them any political voice at all, that would "fix" the Republican party!
  
  I'll tell you what the problem is with the Republican party, it is the infiltration of moderate thinking pacificsts like Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, and John McCain. It is the acceptance of liberal-minded colleagues, like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. It's the tolerating of lap dogs like Lindsey Graham. It is the mentality of both the Bush presidents, who threw fiscal conservative principles overboard, for the sake of a few 'moderate' votes. If this election taught us anything, it's that 'moderates' aren't the answer to our problems.

  In the after-election data, we find that 7 out of 10 'moderates' voted for Obama, 2 out of 10 accidentally voted for McCain, and one accidentally hung himself while trying to vote. These people do not define the Republican party, they never have and never will. We are conservatives, we have a strong coalition of core conservatives, with strong core conservative values. The problem in this election was our candidate! He was not a conservative, couldn't bring himself to be a conservative, and was too honorable to lie about it convincingly. McCain is a great man, a real American hero, and as a 'moderate' he has been (barely) tolerable in congressional power, but he was not who we needed to lead our party.
  
  Is Sarah Palin that person? I don't know, but she certainly energized more conservatives than John McCain, and I have to think, she has at least a chance of being the 'future of the party' in four years. When you look at the crowds she drew and the response she got from them, in such a relatively short period of time, it rivaled that of Obama... Even the Obama supporters were making comparisons between Palin and their candidate. She certainly has something to offer, and the ability to articulate it to the masses. We can't ever return to the days of Reagan, the 80's are over, but we can still stand for core conservative principles of limited government, less government intrusion on our lives, lower taxes, and family values. Palin could certainly be the person to deliver that message. Whether she will or not, remains to be seen.
  
  One thing Republicans simply can't afford to do, is listen to liberals tell them how to "fix" their party. Since the Republican invasion of 1994 in Congress, they have been attempting an experiment in 'moderation' for the sake of 'getting along' with the Democrats. Look at where it has gotten them. Each election it seems, republicans move a little more to the left, a little more appeasing the liberals, hoping and praying this will swing a few votes their way, while completely ignoring the hard core conservative base, and this time, the base completely abandoned them. Republicans simply can't win elections trying to appeal to liberals. Stand on your principles, dance with the one who brought you, don't mollycoddle and placate liberalist ideology in some idiotic attempt to sway liberals to your side, it doesn't work. We have core principles as conservatives, we seek leadership who will stand up for those core principles and not back down. We are sick of leadership who feels the need to 'go along to get along' or water down our principles and beliefs for votes that never materialize. And we are especially sick of liberals dictating what we should believe in, how we should believe, and who we should or shouldn't look to for leadership.

  tags: republicans