John Derbyshire mourns the death of conservativism:
It still looks hopeless. Does this mean I’ve turned on George W. Bush? Nah. Just lost what enthusiasm I had. I’d still vote for Bush over any Democrat, but I really can’t take too much more Bushism. Iraq... New Orleans... Medicare… Our president — my president, since I voted for him — really does believe that the feddle gummint can accomplish absolutely anything just by spending boxcars full of money. When did conservatives ever believe this? And didn't even Americans at large stop believing it around 30 years ago? And when does this open-borders insanity end? A whole quarter of my town has been turned into a vicious slum by illegal immigrants. Why doesn’t the federal government do its job — round them up and deport them?
It never ceases to amuse me to hear liberals complain about the daunting specter of conservative political domination. It may be that the Republican Party is dominant at the moment, but only by moving steadily to the Left. The only mistake that the Democrats have made is to move too far to the Left so that the Middle falls into the Republican camp.
Yes, people like Pat Robertson and James Dobson make a lot of noise. But the fact that we're even debating gay marriage is a sign of how far the American people have moved politically. It was 'conservative' President Bush who created the Medicare prescription drug benefit. Can you imagine Barry Goldwater contemplating such a measure?
Conservativism (and libertarianism) are dead ends. The American people have completely bought into government as the solution to all of life's problems. In both the economic and social domains, liberalism has won the ideological struggle.
So congratulations, liberals. The Revolution might not be moving as fast as you want it to, but victory is yours.
Saturday, October 01, 2005
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5 comments:
Could it be that we as a people have become so lazy that we would simply prefer that the government do and be all for us? The new tax form, 1040-IMSTUPID, would look like this:
How much did you make?_______
Send it in.__________________
Sign here.___________________
This would solve a lot of tax problems, wouldn't it?
phew. john, i'm relieved to hear news of the victory. a great weight off my shoulders ;) maybe now that you've resigned yourself to the fact, you can get to work on your celebrity crush list, eh?
phew. john, i'm relieved to hear news of the victory. a great weight off my shoulders ;) maybe now that you've resigned yourself to the fact, you can get to work on your celebrity crush list, eh?
Yes, Mother. Right away.
Michael, I like your tax idea. But I would prefer to move the country to an entirely "voluntary tax" system. It would involve a huge number of lotteries.
Maybe it would be better called a tax on people who bad at math.
Joel,
You may not be looking to the government, but many are. It is a need that has been created by every lame politician and political wanna-be who will promise anything to anyone in order to get votes.
Was it LBJ who perpetuated this dependency when he "promised a chicken in every pot"? Lofty and idealistic goal toward ending poverty and hunger, but enough folks fell for it and continue to do so every single day. The success of political campaigns indicates that there are enough "sheep" in this country who will continue to fall for it from generation to generation.
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