thinking out loud . . .

You wrote:

“Helping the more liberal guy win by peeling votes and enthusiasm away from the more conservative guy sure isn’t going to do it.”

I supported Ron Paul in the Republican presidential primary race instead of the more socialistic guys (McCain, Romney, Huckabee, Thompson, Giuliani). None of them have supported the numerous pieces of legislation that Ron Paul (and a few others) have introduced over the past 30 years to reduce the size, cost, and intrusiveness of government. All of them have voted for various tax increases and new government programs. Even Tancredo (who I had thought wasn’t too bad), voted for the unconstitutional bailout of the banks.

I supported Chuck Baldwin of the Constitution Party in the general election instead of the socialists, McCain and Obama (both of whom voted for the bailout).

Thousands of compromises that so-called conservatives have made over the past 75+ years (at the federal, state, and local levels of government) are the reasons why the Republican Party has lost many of its supporters and elections to Democrats. Most of those compromises at the federal level have been blatant violations of the plain language of the U.S. Constitution. Bush’s and other Republican’s support for the “No Child Left Behind” act (instead of attempting to abolish the unconstitutional federal department of education, as Reagan wanted to do) and the Medicare Prescription Drug program (instead of attempting to end all unconstitutional involvement by the federal government in health care) are just two examples.

Ron Paul and Mark Sanford, the governor of South Carolina, are two Republican officeholders who have proven that they will not violate their oaths of office to uphold, protect, and defend the U.S. Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic. (Sanford recently made it clear that he’s the only governor in the U.S. who will refuse to accept money from the federal government as part of another unconstitutional bailout scheme.)

Here’s my answer to your question, “How do you get that genie back in the bottle?”

Support only those Republicans, such as Ron Paul and Mark Sanford, who will not violate their oaths of office.

Democrats, such as Obama, are driving us over the cliff by exceeding the speed limit while Republicans, such as Bush and McCain, are driving us over the cliff at the speed limit. I will not support any politicians who are driving us over the cliff at any speed. More than one million people who voted for Ron Paul in the Republican presidential primaries won’t support those politicians either.

The subjects of a non-interventionist foreign policy and national defense (as opposed to using the U.S. military pre-emptively in undeclared wars as a national offense) and the protection of our civil liberties (as opposed to Bush’s Patriot Act) are probably where you disagree the most with Ron Paul, me, and more than a million of his supporters. Following the U.S. Constitution in those areas is also essential for Republicans to regain the supporters that have been lost.

From Letters of Marque and Reprisal

“In October 2001, Ron Paul, U.S. representative from Texas, introduced bills H.R. 3074, Air Piracy Reprisal and Capture Act of 2001, and H.R. 3076, September 11 Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001, to authorize the U.S. State Department to issue such Letters. Private U.S. citizens would then be able to hunt down, attack and collect assets from terrorists who have or are planning to commit hostile acts against the U.S. and its citizens.”

“The Founders of the U.S. Constitution included Marque and Reprisal in addition to authorizing Congress to declare war, so that in some cases, the U.S. government would not have to engage the military and have a costly war. The risk would then be concentrated on those who chose to engage in the reprisal. This empowers private citizens to protect themselves and other Americans.”

Of course, as with other matters, following the U.S. Constitution isn’t the basis for the decisions that most Republicans and Democrats in the federal government make.

I was very involved with Ron Paul’s campaign. The Republican Party establishment worked to prevent Dr. Paul from winning the nomination. I’m aware of thousands of young people who would have supported Obama if Dr. Paul had not been a candidate who spoke to them (mostly via the Internet) about the plain truths of the U.S. Constitution. Those thousands would have become millions if Dr. Paul had received the nomination and had the opportunity to debate Obama one-on-one on nationwide TV broadcasts.

Charles, the questions I have for you are these:

1. What are you going to do to rid the Republican Party of the socialists (or liberals as you refer to them) who do not uphold the U.S. Constitution?
2. Will you continue to support those socialists in the Republican Party only because they’re not as bad the socialists in the Democratic Party?

I enjoy having this opportunity to discuss my views on your blog. The problem with doing this, though, is it takes far too much time to write for what I assume is a very small number of readers. So, if I don’t reply to anything that anyone writes in response, it’s because I prefer to continue spending time educating people who are receptive to understanding the ideas of limited, constitutional government; individual liberty; peace; and prosperity that Dr. Paul explains so well.

Chas, I know that my language may be somewhat intemperate some of the time. It’s not because of any desire to win an argument, though. It’s because I have a sense of urgency about where our country is headed. I believe you are as concerned about the direction of our country as I am. As I’ve written to others who identify themselves as conservatives, I think of myself as someone who would have been on Thomas Jefferson’s side in the arguments that he had with John Adams and the other Federalists. Even though those same arguments appear to be the nature of the most of the disagreements between conservatives and libertarians today, I also know that Jefferson, Adams, and others were able to set aside their differences, cooperate to write the Declaration of Independence, and win the American Revolution against their common enemy, the King of Great Britain. It’s with that spirit of cooperation that I think conservatives and libertarians can find a way to become allies to defeat our present common enemy, the socialists.

I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

For peace, freedom, and prosperity,
Steve

 

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Wow! That’s a lot! Steve, I really appreciate your taking the time to write that all out for me and my still-tiny audience. There’s a lot there for us to chew on. I think I’m going to move your comment into the post section so everyone can read it and comment on it.

Funny that you link to Letters of Marque and Reprisal, because I recently re-encountered the phrase while exploring Congressional v. Executive war powers and realized I didn’t know what the phrase referred to. Your link helps me get started on researching that.

My questions for you come from honest inquiry. Right now, I’m probably closer to the views expressed by Lorin than to yours (in terms of what to do in the here-and-now to restore [written] constitutional government to the U.S.). I’ll let you know when I have answers to YOUR questions.

Again, thanks, I could tell right from the start that, even where you and I disagree vehemently, you are very respectful. That’s rare and I appreciate it immensely.

Blessings to you and your house today. chas