Residual Forces

I got an email today from a friend in the political realm about my post earlier Pawlenty - Throwing Unity And A Common Message Aside For Personal Gain, AGAIN!!!!. His point of contention:

It’s the reason we’ve been getting are arses kicked. The Republican Party has been cynical and unprincipled. Our ideas, to the extent that we have any, are stale. You can’t read any survey and argue that Republicans don’t have a problem.

I don’t see where he’s arguing that we need big government or conservatism doesn’t work.

Truth be told this was the Pawlenty quote from the story that really got to me. 

“You actually have to have some ideas that are relevant and meet the needs and concerns of people,” he added. “I think the Republican idea factory has been a little fatigued lately. We need to have some new ideas.”

The lesson that Republicans needed to learn, and some have, is that we abandoned our conservative principles for “new ideas” and attempted to “meet the needs and concerns of people” by acting like liberal Democrats handing out checks, entitlements, creating new programs and record spending in the early 2000s. 

We, as Republicans, tried to have “new ideas”, only they weren’t new, and they were as far from conservative as possible. We tried to triangulate to win. Rather than fight the socialist agenda, we slapped lipstick on it, didn’t raise taxes, only some fees, and tried to steal the win from Democrats. The only problem is liberalism won and we (conservative Republicans) lost big. 

Pawlenty is guided not by conservative principles, and if his pollster Fabrizio is to be believed, actually by the polls. See my posts on Fabrizio for more on why I have such a problem with Pawlenty defining conservatism and this whole idea that conservatism needs to be redefined and designed. 

Freedom Foundation of MN, State of Conservatism Conference

Quota Based Politics - Further Thoughts on the SoCC

I Have The Feeling McCain’s Campaign Will Infuriate Conservatives Like Me In 08

It wasn’t just this story that triggered the Olberman-esque rant today. It was watching the last few years while Pawlenty molds the Republican party to his image and tries to redefine conservatism into liberal light, but with less taxes, but fees that beget more spending don’t count. 

Yes! Republicans need to learn a valuable lesson from 2006.

That lesson is not to forget what drives the base of the party in lieu of the mystical search for the moderate swing vote, rather than join the debate over whether we need to abandon individualism and personal responsibility for the nanny state. Pawlenty has argued for nanny state policies and has given credibility (if not undying support) to numerous liberal policies as Governor. 

He has argued against limited Government. He has made Minnesota Government bigger, more intrusive, and banned freedom, restricted liberty, and made it harder to pursue happiness and decide one’s own fate. We are forced to burn food in our cars and trucks. HE has allowed our energy companies to bypass checks and lifted accountability to consumers so that he can be perceived as a Green Republican. State spending has gone up at a pace that even George Bush should blush at. 

I ask you, where has Pawlenty argued for limited Government? Where has he governed as a conservative? Sure he has his moments, but as a whole, I don’t think you can call him a conservative Governor. Sure, he may be the most conservative Republican Governor Minnesota has seen, but his leftward drift these last few years is not promising for a conservative like me. And now that he is on the national stage arguing that conservatism cannot go on with out a major overhaul, well, I’m petrified he may succeed. 

I am a conservative first and Republican second. I am a Republican because, by definition, this party is supposed to stand for what I believe. And here we have a guy, running for Vice President, who is trying to unravel everything that countless other conservatives have fought and died for. 

A true conservative leader is one who knows what they believe in and fights for it. Pawlenty is not fighting for conservatism these days, but rather to redefine it and change its course so it is his yellowbrick road to the White House. 

A true conservative leader would look at the road Democrats want to take this country down and do everything in their power to educate the voters as to how devastating it would be. That may mean losing some battles. That may mean losing some elections or being unpopular. But if what is best for this country as a whole is not worth fighting for, over and above winning a single election, they by God why bother?

I’ve been at Republican meetings and events where Pawlenty was lecturing the party faithful over their principled stands and demands for accountability to our platform. I’ve seen the liberal policies and unprincipled stances in order to accomplish things on his personal agenda that are in direct conflict with conservative principles. 

Politicians will come and go, let’s not change everything just for one of them. Pawlenty is enjoying his 15 minutes of political fame right now on the national stage. He wants to be Vice President or maybe even top dog. A Republican cannot do that unless he is a conservative, or have media adoration. So Pawlenty is trying to redefine the party to meet his brand of Republicanism. 

He calls it Sams Club Republican. And while I do admire the idea conservatives finally speaking to the common man, I don’t appreciate it being done by sounding like conservative ideas are dead on arrival. Conservatism is what this country was founded on. Personal responsibility, freedom and liberty through limited government, local control not a top down bureaucracy who dictates rather than represents the people.

Pawlenty’s term has not been the high water mark for that in this state. The Twins Stadium, Hiawatha, Central Corridor, Northstar, smoking bans, Health Impact fee, Ethanol, Biodiesel, his green initiatives, 10% spending increases, and government intervention into multiple sectors of our economy and free market should be more than enough examples. 

I refuse to sit back and see conservatism thrown under the campaign bus again in 08 and beyond. I would have hoped that the years of Republican control nationally that lead to the blood letting of 2006 would smack some sense into the populists who occupy our highest levels.

I would have hoped the lessons learned through the Amnesty battle and over Domestic Energy Independence since 06 would have given Pawlenty the spine he seems to need to believe that if conservative principles would have been applied before then, rather than this new rush to appeal to special interests and polls to win elections, that we would have never been in this mess in the first place. 

All I am asking is that we don’t let a populist guy like Pawlenty speak for us as movement conservatives or worse, high jack the party of Reagan for the opinions of a slick pollster. If so, we haven’t begun to see what a bad election looks like. 

If we must adjust our positions so that people will vote for us, what happens when someone else comes along and offers them more? 

Please look at the “Words To Live By” in my right sidebar.  I believe these are a couple great quotes that conservatives need to remember everyday and Republicans can never forget. 

“You’re just petty politicians, who’d sooner sign onto the wisdom of a tyrant in another country, than the demands of ticked off voters in your own.” (Neil Cavuto June 2008) 

“A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers. (Ronald Reagan March 1, 1975)