Dear Mr. Buchanan
While there have been moments where I have been enamored with your thoughts, there have also been times where I am shocked and confused by your thinking from a logical conservative standpoint. However after reading your interview I must question my view on conservatism.
Your point that the abandonment of a moral foundation of our party is a sharp stab of truth. We are not winning on conservative cultural ideals. Arguably the efforts to win on a moral foundation are needed but would fall on deaf ears and lost votes. I must agree that we are fragmented as a group, and that we are suffering a moral decline. It is true that technology is robbing us of the boundaries of decency we used to have. Any 10 year old can download hardcore pornography with less than 5 clicks of his mouse and this is just one symptom of a larger problem.
This argument lends itself to the question "Do I as a Christian choose not to vote for a pro-choice republican on that basis alone?" (I'll answer that in a moment).
The good news Mr. Buchanan is that conservatism is not dead. It, like the constitution, is a living, breathing entity that is capable of flexibility to meet the demands of the times. I see the actions of this generation in their willingness to fight on the front lines. My generation (X) is far more religious oriented and morality bound than the Boomers were. I see adoption being more widely accepted, and this thinking will lead to the decline of the acceptability of abortions. I see the Minutemen taking up the torch of watching the border to call attention to illegal immigration. In short, I see good people standing up for what is right.
I see a map that is over 90% red in republican carried counties because we are not trying to beat the constituents with a bible as we focus on winning seats against the greater evil.
I see a future where true conservatives will be permitted to focus their attentions on truly conservative issues because they set aside the more challenging morality issues and focused on not losing to liberals. So in my question about my vote above, it is better to vote FOR the pro-choice republican than it is to withhold or waste a vote against a party whose core is so far liberal as to be against everything I believe in. Look at the Ross Perot factor in 1992, I believe the outcome of 8 years of Clinton proves my point nicely.
Maybe our "Conservative Republican" party today shares more attitudes with the "Conservative Democrats" of the JFK era. I concede the prospect on the overall war against liberals seems bleak. We must accept that the laws in this country are free and open to allow individuals to take personal responsibility for themselves. That responsibility is definitely a cornerstone of any conservative thinking. The government can not legislate morality because the plurality will never submit themselves to it. We must strive and pray for more Christians to choose the right way in the face of temptations made possible by our constitution.
However it may be, as a fellow Christian we both know there will be a moral decline but that there can only be one victor. The war was won 2000 years ago, we just have to hold on to that in faith.
Now Mr. Buchanan, I would ask you to continue to serve as our conservative anchor and conscience of the party. We need men like you to be heard and to represent where we came from and want to eventually be again. You can't do that from a pathetic 3rd party platform and expect to change anything. If nothing else, your opinions will matter as much from outside the party as my thoughts in this blog do.
Respectfully yours,
d
Your point that the abandonment of a moral foundation of our party is a sharp stab of truth. We are not winning on conservative cultural ideals. Arguably the efforts to win on a moral foundation are needed but would fall on deaf ears and lost votes. I must agree that we are fragmented as a group, and that we are suffering a moral decline. It is true that technology is robbing us of the boundaries of decency we used to have. Any 10 year old can download hardcore pornography with less than 5 clicks of his mouse and this is just one symptom of a larger problem.
This argument lends itself to the question "Do I as a Christian choose not to vote for a pro-choice republican on that basis alone?" (I'll answer that in a moment).
The good news Mr. Buchanan is that conservatism is not dead. It, like the constitution, is a living, breathing entity that is capable of flexibility to meet the demands of the times. I see the actions of this generation in their willingness to fight on the front lines. My generation (X) is far more religious oriented and morality bound than the Boomers were. I see adoption being more widely accepted, and this thinking will lead to the decline of the acceptability of abortions. I see the Minutemen taking up the torch of watching the border to call attention to illegal immigration. In short, I see good people standing up for what is right.
I see a map that is over 90% red in republican carried counties because we are not trying to beat the constituents with a bible as we focus on winning seats against the greater evil.
I see a future where true conservatives will be permitted to focus their attentions on truly conservative issues because they set aside the more challenging morality issues and focused on not losing to liberals. So in my question about my vote above, it is better to vote FOR the pro-choice republican than it is to withhold or waste a vote against a party whose core is so far liberal as to be against everything I believe in. Look at the Ross Perot factor in 1992, I believe the outcome of 8 years of Clinton proves my point nicely.
Maybe our "Conservative Republican" party today shares more attitudes with the "Conservative Democrats" of the JFK era. I concede the prospect on the overall war against liberals seems bleak. We must accept that the laws in this country are free and open to allow individuals to take personal responsibility for themselves. That responsibility is definitely a cornerstone of any conservative thinking. The government can not legislate morality because the plurality will never submit themselves to it. We must strive and pray for more Christians to choose the right way in the face of temptations made possible by our constitution.
However it may be, as a fellow Christian we both know there will be a moral decline but that there can only be one victor. The war was won 2000 years ago, we just have to hold on to that in faith.
Now Mr. Buchanan, I would ask you to continue to serve as our conservative anchor and conscience of the party. We need men like you to be heard and to represent where we came from and want to eventually be again. You can't do that from a pathetic 3rd party platform and expect to change anything. If nothing else, your opinions will matter as much from outside the party as my thoughts in this blog do.
Respectfully yours,
d
posted by Possum at 08:20
<< Home