Recently there's been a lot of speculation about why the mood on the right has turned so sour. Some observers attribute it to the lack of leadership at the top of the Republican Party, the surreal reality that Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh have more influence than do elected Republicans. Others say it's a poisonous combination of economic angst and racial hatred. But there's a more obvious explanation: we're witnessing the death throes of conservatism. The right-wing ideology that ran the US for thirty years has proven to be a total failure and the passage of health care reform was the final nail in its coffin.
In case you've forgotten, classic conservatism promised to keep us safe, reduce the size of government, lower taxes, and manage the economy. Republican broke each of these commitments.
Keep us Safe: Conservatives/Republicans used to poll much stronger than Liberals/Democrats on national security. Then came 9/11 and the debacle of the Iraq war, where the GOP lost credibility. Despite the transition from the Bush to the Obama Administration, there has been little change in the military budget (+ 3 percent). Not surprisingly, voters now see little difference between Democrats and Republicans on this issue.
Shrink Government: Conservative ideologue Grover Norquist famously promised, "Our goal is to shrink government to the size where we can drown it in a bathtub." Nonetheless, the Federal bureaucracy grew during the Bush presidency. Now the Republican base -- frustrated with the failure of their leaders to follow through on this promise -- has turned to the futile pursuit of "state's rights" or, as Texas Governor Rick Perry has proposed, the notion of secession from the USA.
Lower Taxes: Beginning with the Reagan Presidency, conservatives have argued that much of the Federal government is a waste of money and, therefore, Americans shouldn't have to pay for it. As a result, the marginal tax rates for individuals and corporations were diminished until today they are roughly half of what they were in 1980. However, while Federal revenues diminished, expenditures surged. During the Bush Administration, the Federal deficit became a serious impediment to US economic growth. Not surprisingly, voters now trust Democrats more than Republicans on economic issues such as taxes, the deficit, and the economy, in general. While voters are suspicious of taxes, in general, they are now willing to tax the rich and to enact penalties on corporations that don't play by the rules.
Manage the Economy: Since the Reagan Presidency, conservatives have maintained that Democrats are "social engineers" who only know how to lash together ineffective Federal social programs. In contrast, conservatives claimed that Republicans are "professional managers" who know how to run government like a business. Eight years of George W. Bush -- touted as America's first "CEO president" -- proved this to be a lie.
The promise of competent management covered a more sweeping assertion: conservatives knew best how to manage the economy. The thirty years since Reagan was inaugurated witnessed the heyday of the Chicago School of Economics that promoted deregulation by arguing that markets were inherently self-regulating and no matter how severe the setback markets would quickly return to equilibrium. This conservative theory touted "efficiency." "productivity," and "trickle-down equity" as the inevitable byproducts of laissez-faire capitalism. The result was a savage increase in monopoly capitalism and inequality, and the loss of eight million jobs. The performance of the Bush Administration and 2008's financial meltdown destroyed the last pillar of conservative orthodoxy.
But it's not only conservative ideology that's failed. As UC professor George Lakoff brilliantly argues in Moral Politics, conservatives have a different worldview than liberals do. Conservatives believe in the "strict father" model: the world is dangerous - there's an angry mob at the gates of fortress America - and what's required are strong, righteous men to lead the US.
The conservative worldview proved a delusion. The supposedly strong, righteous Republican leaders turned out to be incompetent. Worse yet, they often favored their own interests over those of then public, they abandoned the common good for the personal good. In reality the strict father was an abuser.
During the past few weeks, the Catholic Church has been in the news because of continuing allegations of sexual abuse. The image of the strict religious father has been compromised. So has the conservative image of the strict political father: Conservative politicians have systematically abused the public interest.
So it's no wonder that the mood on the right has turned sour. Everything they were taught has proven to be wrong: the pillars of conservative ideology have crumbled, as has the dominant metaphor. Republican leaders have betrayed their followers.
As a result, right-wingers are thrashing in pain from the death of conservatism. They don't know what to believe in so they reflexively unite in opposing whatever liberals propose. It's understandable, but it doesn't contribute anything to our joint challenge to make the United States safe and prosperous.
No reform, no capital investments, no upfront expenditures for long-term prosperity, just wars, cronyism and a comfortable ride on auto-pilot for decades.
We have a constitution dedicated to the general welfare and did have a protectionist CREDIT system based on Hamilton's economic theories.
Whenever we have stuck to that policy, protected, nurtured and directed investment into national industry and infrastructure, we have thrived.
Whenever we have embraced the imperial monetarist, free trade ideology, we have had panics and depressions.
Why have the rich become richer and the poor become poorer? All the result of a conservative economic policy of Laissez faire.
It was proven in the 19th century that it does not promote the common welfare of the people.
The laissez-faire period ended when large monopolies were broken up and government regulation of business became the norm.
AND THEN along comes Reagan.
Our country was number 1 to live in then, now its number 13. That is a fact.
Very, very few people in American politics want a truly free market. Most people want the government to intervene for one reason or another. A true free market would not have 'growth' policies or 'social welfare' policies. It would have no policies. In a true free market, the TARP companies would have died for their sins, as they should have. Don't confuse Republican corporate socialism with a free market.
Since they insist on using the misnomer I did the same.
A free market economy is an economy where all markets within it are free. This requires protection of property rights, but no regulation, no subsidization, no government-imposed monopolistic monetary system, and no governmental monopolies.
Whenever the free markets fail, you can just argue that they weren't free enough.
How can this thesis ever be falsified?
By pushing the republican party further to the right is redefining them as confederate republicans. Listening to them this week end at their conference showed that they are the confederate party already. I've never seen such anger from a bunch of people - the speakers were all elected officials of many years - whose conservative policies and principles have dominated the country for years. Many of their speakers helped passed the very laws that created this mess.
I guess President Obama needs to have another leadership forum with them, since they are not true conservatives, but confederates they will not get it.
This path has been trodden before. We know where it leads. The ash heap of history is littered with failed experiments of this kind. Tyranny.
The ignorance and hypocrisy are better comic relief than anything on TV. Those who have been teabagged don't even realize what the funny taste in their mouth is, but they sure do like it.
Someone forgot to tell FAUX News and Wingnut Radio. Limbaugh and Beck have got the Faux Tea Party channeling "a morph" of Ayn Rand and Jesus Christ. How freaky wierd is that?
Conservatism may be on the ropes, but this little scuffle is far from over.
Right will prevail, it can not fail !
Where are those Constitutional amendments banning @bortion & same-sex marriage that the Right said it would make happen?
Oh that's right, they don't exist. Just another con-job by conservative politicians to get the people who buy their lines to give them whatever little money that they have.
Didn't some famous Emperor say that? Romulus... something or other, I think.
However, Reagan soon discovered that his supply-side advisers were wrong. Tax cuts, instead of reducing the deficit, caused the deficit to balloon.
At this point, Reagan would change strategy. He would blame the U.S. Congress for the record deficits that accrued during his years in office. Reagan would say that Congress was responsible, because Congress did not slash spending enough--meaning domestic spending, since Reagan always championed increased military spending.
Reagan chose to ignore the fact that his own Republican Party was in control of the Senate from January 1981 to January 1987, and that Congress actually spent less than what he originally had asked for.
Federal deficits would continue unabated until the presidency of Bill Clinton when fiscal responsibility would finally be restored. President Clinton would achieve a balanced budget (and even record surpluses) in large measure by restoring higher taxes on the wealthy.
The Clinton years experienced great economic growth because the Conservatives demanded the Repubs to bring spending under control and lower the deficit. The markets responded during those years with a robust economy and sustained economic growth. That was the "contract with America".
It was the Repubs who demanded the "balanced budget"..... There actually was some cooperation to move the country forward economically. Clinton won the Presidency because "it's the economy stupid"
Conservatives are saying that now "What about the economy/?"
Please support UR Statement with facts.......
Now here's a non fact: "Conservatives believe the economy is important and fiscal responsibility is a priority"
We have had the previous 8 years under Republican rule and there has been little 'fiscal responsibility'
So now Sir, 305rider - U want to trust the same US Govt to do UR Health Care?
view in windows media player
http://confraternidad.net/health-care.asx
We'll call this post by Bob Burnett,
The Dem Decision that "Jumped to Conclusions without Consideration of All the Facts"
I'll have to hand it to U Bob, this is good motivation to stir the "Blog Pot". UR bound to get a lot of responses on this. Make some "bullet points" to support UR "Leap over the Edge" and UR there at the Wrong Conclusion.
At least UR in the company and the association of your choosing, UR "birds of a feather flocking together" flying into a hurricane of historic opposition......
Many have made statements like U, and the orators of such hype always end with "eating a lot of crow". I hope U like how it tastes. I remember the statement that came out of Emory University that said "God is Dead!". Well the Dem Lib atheist that said that I guess expected everyone just to agree and "go on down the road". However the majority did not agree with the Statement. It actually started quite a firestorm. So with UR post, U have accomplished that........
or call the "Tea Party People". U know they want us to get back to the basics, and quite frankly those conservatives are in a majority at present, just pick
UR poll.......
A BAD HR LAW is not the last word or last nail in any coffin because they have not died, but it is a "call to battle", and no one in this country has seen before how the current conservatives will respond. Most would call this a Resurrection and not a death. And for the record most people in this country believe Jesus rose from the dead......
However just as the 1965 Emory University radical, atheistic professor was allowed to make his claim, God did not actually die. Even today 78% of Americans believe He exists and most would probably say He's not a liberal.....
far from the truth. And we R talking about truth here.......
a. As for National Defense and its relation to Conservatives and Liberals, the majority R disappointed over the IRAQ war. Many believe our resources could have been used differently and the numbers R still out. We hear about few benefits in security or results that can be measured quantitativly or qualitativly. This does not mean that they do not exist. If in fact history bears this out that it was another
Vietnam, we painfully remember Repubs (Nixon) and Democrats (Johnson) share the
outcome of that war.
So unless Obama gets us out of Iraq in his term, he will share the responsibility of the IRAQ War. It appears that he is hawkish in Afhanistan. However many view his Muslim heritage as one who would not be tough enough on rogue regimes like Iran. Most Conservatives think negotiations with Iran will not produce satisfactory results .....
The only people that believe what you say about President Obama's 'Muslim heritage' are the same clowns who use that as a veil to hide their real reasons for being against President Obama.
By Jerome R. Corsi © 2010 WorldNetDaily
The real revolutionary, Ledeen claimed, is Mousavi's wife, Zahra Rahnavard, and the real question is why Ayatollah Khamenei allowed her to be positioned that way in the 2009 presidential election.
President Obama reacts
Under increasing pressure to support the protesters openly, President Obama commented that the world was "watching" the Iranian protests, a mild statement of rebuke to Khamenei's thinly veiled threat to use violence to stop street demonstrations.
The contrast was stark to President Reagan. In 1981, when the Polish government imposed martial law to suppress the Solidarity uprising that had started in Gdansk, Reagan told a press conference, "We view the current situation in Poland in the gravest of terms, particularly the increasing use of force against an unarmed population and the violations of the basic civil rights of the Polish people."
Reagan is also remembered for directly challenging the former Soviet Union in his speech at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin on June 12, 1987, when he taunted, "Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!"
full article
http://www.wnd.com/index.php?pageId=111484
9/11. At present Conservatives and Liberals need to work all out and together to get the US house in order financially with a sound economy as if we had been attacked and in a war. But the declaration that the Conservatives R dead will limit that effort and taunting Conservatives to "GO FOR IT" is far from a unifying effort.....
As for our allies, we have a staunch ally Israel in the Middle East, and most agree that we should keep this alliance strong. Obama's recent "cold shoulder" to Israel may weaken our position and presence in the Middle East.
Conservatives see a Govt with misguided priorities and unrealistic expectations. They see a big Govt out of control "cooking the books" like the broke Corporations they bailed out. These R conservatives that want to reign in whoever is out of control in Congress, whether it's Dem or Repub. Why were all their friends given a safety net to fall into a nice place on the beach in the Bahamas and Arruba?
That's got to end and it's the Conservative's Resurrection that will make that possible, so for UR sake Burnett, U better hope the Conservatives R not dead....