These are truly extraordinary times, politically, in our nation…
Certainly, for many years, The Republican Party was thought to be the more conservative of the two major parties, however, over the last ten years, the conservatism in The Republican Party seems to be slipping away more, with each passing year.
Not many events prior to the failing of our financial markets, the subsequent bailouts, the recession, the election of Barack Obama, and the continued far-left agendas being considered in Washington D.C., have I seen such a collective effort for true conservatives to lay their foot down and say, enough! I must admit, I am now one of those conservatives who feel we are in a sink or swim moment in our nation, and no longer have much time to watch our great nation be compromised further into the abyss.
That being said, over the last few years, I have listened to former Speaker of The House, Newt Gingrich, articulate some great political, and economic arguments; as well as the great books, and videos he and his wife continue to churn out. In my opinion, Newt Gingrich, politically and socially, appears to be truly conservative…
Which leads to this interesting congressional race in New York State between Doug Hoffman (Independent) and Dede Scozzafava (Republican)… Admittedly, I have not really followed either candidate, nor do I know much about the policies either candidate espouses; however, the big news seems to be that such names as Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Rick Santorum and Steve Forbes are backing Doug Hoffman, as they feel he is the more conservative candidate out of the two. As a Conservative Independent myself, I am all for their support of Doug Hoffman, and completely understand their rationale for backing him as well. That being said, I have now heard two interviews where Newt Gingrich articulated the Tenth Amendment argument,…
- “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” - … which I have also found very compelling… I believe Newt Gingrich’s premise is, if we want politics to be local, then we should be letting the constituents of New York come to their own conclusions about which candidate best represents their concerns, in their communities, as well as their voice of the national stage. Indeed, Newt Gingrich, as brilliant as he is, does have a very valid point to which any constitutional conservative would certainly respect. As someone who also respects our Constitution, and feels as their our elected officials “desperately” need to get back to legislating in accordance to our great Constitution, I would also like to “respectfully” submit a counter-argument to Speaker Gingrich… If the federal government had respected our state sovereignty and Tenth Amendment rights, over the last 100 years, is it possible that we would not even be having this conversation today? In theory, Newt Gingrich is absolutely on the right side of this issue, and if we are to get back to a constitutionally respecting government, then we “must” let the local constituents be the decider’s of their elected officials; however, the problem seems to be, the federal government has encroached, and involved itself so much in state politics, and state law-making, that as a nation, and understandably, we have now become overly concerned that a person from (e.g.) New York, elected to Congress, can still profoundly influence laws that will effect several other states, in regards to domestic policies. Is that the way it should be? I don’t think so… Is that the current reality? It is indeed. Therefore, in our nation’s current state, and in my opinion, there is not really a right or wrong answer. If Dede Scozzafava is elected, we may not have the most conservative candidate, but if the nation keeps involving itself in local politics, we may never get back to The Tenth Amendment and state sovereignty that many of us conservatives so desire. Therefore I will say, please use your best judgment, as I will use mine… Mark
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Saturday, October 31st, 2009 (url)
Please also see:
Conservatives and The Constitution
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The two party establishment in Washington DC
Saturday, October 31st, 2009 (url)
I know there are several conservative Americans who are a little disappointed with people like Newt Gingrich, and Michael Steele, for not endorsing the more conservative candidate, Doug Hoffman. I can understand why people would be disappointed, and personally, I would always endorse the person who I think is better for the job, and our country, over some party allegiance; however, I can totally understand their rationale for not going for a third party candidate as well.
In fact, I recently heard Mike Huckabee and Rush Limbaugh saying similar things, in reference to third parties… Third parties will split the vote, and we will end up with more liberal Democrats etc. Personally, if I had to make a choice, I would take a moderate Republican over a far-left Democrat any day.
That being said, we are at a time in our country to where it has become imperative to select the people who we feel are best qualified, over the person who has the better chance of winning because they are backed by some powerful party and all it's money. If we continue to compromise our values for the sake of party alliances, then we will forever be stuck with the status quo, and never see the desperately needed reform in our federal government.
Again, I completely understand their rationale, and I still respect Newt Gingrich, Michale Steele, Mike Huckabee etc. as much as ever. Change is not easy for everyone, but over time, if a few people start getting elected, running on a Conservative Party ticket, then I would not be surprised to see people like Newt Gingrich getting behind them.
At this point, in our history, we really do need to remain united with like-minded people, and all of those who sincerely want positive change for a better America, based on conservative principals.
As conservatives, we should have high standards, but let's be careful to not make them so high that no one is worthy…
On social issues, we are going to have differing opinions… some people believe the federal government should have a bigger role on social issues, and some, like myself, feel as though each state should make their own laws in regards to more personal issues. After all, aren't we, as conservatives, already "fed" up with the federal government's intrusion into our lives? Why would we want to give them even more power to intrude?
In my opinion, in national elections, I think it is important for conservative Americans to rally around the core issues that most Americans can relate to, while working to get the federal government out of the social, and much more personal issues, that should be handled by each state, respectfully. After all, isn't that what The Tenth Amendment is about?
Saturday, October 31st, 2009 (url)
WOW! Shocking to me…
After Newt Gingrich supported Scozzafava, and put his name, reputation, and experience behind her… after dropping out of the race, she went on to endorse The Democrat candidate.
That certainly was not a very dignified thing for her to do after Newt endorsed her.
I hope that people like Newt Gingrich will stand firm for "Conservative" candidates going forward, even if they are not running on a Republican ticket; otherwise, this is the kind of thing we can expect.
My feeling is, even if Scozzafava would have made it to Congress on the Republican ticket, she would have amounted to another party-flipping Arlen Specter.
We desperately need less political expediency, and more firm, and honest leadership in this nation. The people are awake, and they will not be as easily fooled anymore.
Monday, November 9th, 2009 (url)
After some further thought, it dawned on me, isn't the tenth amendment really about the limitations that the federal government has over the states, and the people of the states?
In other words, the federal government is (in theory) constitutionally limited to how much they can influence state governments, and the laws of each state; but as far as I can see, there is nothing that says, the people, and the legislators of each state, should not attempt to influence the people elected to the federal government, or the policies of the federal government.
Therefore, I see no reason why fellow Americans should not bond together, and get behind the election of state legislators, even if they are from different states, and do not have a direct vote for those respective individuals. This would make much more sense in the case of Senators and Congressman, as they can directly influence other states through their votes in Congress.
Now, prior to 17th (1913) Amendment, the state legislators actually voted for The Senators of their respective states. Clearly, we have deviated very much from the initial intents of our founders.