Pragmatic Conservatives

An interesting article by Rick Martinez in the Raleigh, North Carolina,  News and Observer today revealed a simple truth that had become obscured.  I was not familiar with Rick – but upon reading several of his articles, I hope to pay more attention to him in the future. 

The truth is that “political parties are about acquiring and holding political power…”  You must look elsewhere for defenders of political ideals.  That is why the Conservatives may be the biggest losers in this election cycle – even if John McCain is successful. 

The truth is that the intellectual power of Conservative ideals of a William Buckley or Newt Gingrich must be applied through the political structure of parties in power as practiced by Newt and Ronald Reagan to produce pragmatic and practical solutions which can be understood by the voters. 

The process of rehabilitation of the Conservative Cause must start today.

My source: http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/martinez/story/1103579.html

Bring back pragmatic conservatives

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Rick Martinez, Correspondent

Regardless of who wins the White House five months from now, conservatives will end up the biggest losers in this political cycle. As the candidacies of Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama demonstrate, conservatives are finding fewer friends these days in the arenas of power.

If conservatives are as smart as they say they are, they'll start today on their political rehabilitation. Let me suggest a few tips to help them get started.

GET THEIR HANDS DIRTY AGAIN -- Conservatives have confused calling a talk show, reading a blog or attending a conference with old-fashioned grass-roots political field work. When conservatives complain about the lack of a like-minded presidential choice, I remind them of the candidacies of Sam Brownback of Kansas and Duncan Hunter of California and Tom Tancredo of Colorado. That these three were among the first to drop out of the presidential contest proves that conservatives have forgotten the cardinal rule of politics: Success depends on money, organization and Election Day mobilization. Simply voting isn't enough.

END THEIR BLIND DEVOTION TO THE REPUBLICAN PARTY -- Conservatives have forgotten that political parties are about acquiring and holding power, not upholding political ideals. I get a kick every time a conservative complains that minorities blindly vote Democratic without examining how that party's policies are detrimental over the long term to African- and Hispanic-Americans. That's a fair criticism. But it's a criticism conservatives fail to apply to themselves.

Limited government, sound fiscal and monetary policy and the protection of personal freedom are bedrock conservative principles. Yet government expansion, spending, deficits and the erosion of civil liberties (primarily under the Patriot Act) have exploded under Republican administrations. Republicans have reeled in conservatives by utilizing the argument that tax cuts lead to greater revenues. True, but the rest of the story is that under Republican governance, more revenue has led to even more deficit spending.

Republicans don't have a great domestic policy record, either. From 2001 until 2007 when they essentially controlled Congress and the White House, next to nothing was achieved on school choice, lasting tax reform or energy legislation leading to additional environmentally sensitive domestic production.

EMBRACE INTELLECTUAL LEADERS, NOT EXCORIATE THEM -- William F. Buckley Jr. transferred intellectual leadership of the conservative movement to Internet pundits and broadcast commentators. Their rhetoric increasingly centers on the premise that all Democrats and liberals are bad, while most, but not all, conservatives and Republicans are good. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is one Republican conservative intellectual who is enduring the wrath of the right, ostracized because he's urging conservatives to develop environmental policies beyond "just yell no"

In his book "Contract With the Earth" and in other forums, Gingrich argues that conservatives can convince the public that technology spurred by private and public sector innovation can produce better environmental and economic outcomes than old-school legislative limits and litigation. Yet many conservatives dismiss Gingrich, not because of his ideas but because he challenges them to engage ideas and people with whom they typically disagree.

BECOME PROBLEM-SOLVERS AGAIN, NOT JUST IDEOLOGUES -- Conservatives sanctify Ronald Reagan but don't practice the most important lesson he taught. Reagan was a practical problem-solver who wouldn't let ideological perfection get in the way of real but incremental progress. He often responded to critics who believed he conceded too much to congressional Democrats by saying that half a loaf was always better than none.

Right now the conservative Heritage Foundation is running a "What Would Reagan Do" campaign. Too bad it wasn't front and center last summer when immigration legislation was making its way through Congress. Reagan would have crafted meaningful reform as a first step to rebuilding and modernizing immigration policies. Instead, conservatives killed any chance of reform and preserved the lousy, porous immigration polices that led to 12 million people living here illegally. In other words, no loaf.

Unfortunately many conservatives view political rehabilitation as compromising conservatism's core. Hardly. It's learning to reapply principles in politically effective ways and keeping relevant the values that, as Reagan often recalled, made America a shining city upon a hill.