It is overly simplistic to divide our nation’s citizens into political divisions such as liberal, conservative, independent, and libertarian. Even though there are official, recognized national Party organizations that represent each of these segments, there are cross-currents and threads that weave in and out of each and between them all. While the very survival of each Party depends on the “true believers” that make up its core; the fact is that most of each Party’s members are not true disciples, but rather folks that tend in the general direction of the Party’s policy positions. You might say it is the political house they feel most comfortable in.
The dirty little secret in American politics is that many Republicans are closet Democrats and many Democrats are closet Republicans. They grew up in a Party and just never bothered to change that affiliation. They find comfort knowing that in the general elections, they can vote any way they wish. For most American voters, the Party label they wear carries very little obligation. At any given moment in time, the number of Republican or Democrat voters is a very fluid number. The fact is that a significant portion of each party’s members will cross over and vote for the other party when properly motivated. What happens in the voting booth stays in the voting booth.
I have always been fascinated by the logic of those states that hold “open primaries”…allowing members of one Party to participate in another Party’s primary contests. Regardless of how they may vote when behind the curtain, voters do register their affiliation with one party or another. Why in the world would a state allow registered Republican voters to have any say whatsoever in whom the Democrats select as their candidate in an upcoming race, or vice versa? This decision strikes me as one that should be at the exclusive discretion of the individual Party. This is just one of the odd political quirks that we find in American politics and it is only one of many ingredients that make our political drink a strange brew indeed.
If you take the time to seek a definition of conservatism or liberalism, you best beware. It is an unfortunate truth that the veracity of that definition is typically questionable and will vary widely based on the source you choose. My personal distinctions between the parties have always been that conservatives favor a more limited and smaller government, liberals favor a broader and larger government, libertarians favor hardly any government at all, and independents favor various parts from each of the three. I happen to fall in the latter category.
When considering the evolution of Republican conservatism and Democrat liberalism over the last couple of decades, it strikes me that an interesting trend has developed. As I mentioned before, each Party has a core group of fundamentalists that are necessary to insure the ongoing survival of the Party. Some of these folks are simply administrative in nature and take a rather intellectual approach to ongoing support for an academic, political philosophy; you might call them team management. But there is a significant group of others who are quite rabid in support of their agenda and readily fall into the category of ideologues. These people are often referred to as the radical elements of the Party. In their political world, there is little room for compromise, they have no compunction to achieving political victory at the cost of civility, and they harbor an innate desire to crush the opposing party and achieve total political dominance.
Herein lies what I consider to be the current distinction between our two major political parties, resulting in the trend I alluded to. The ideologues in the Republican Party clearly have a major influence on the Party’s policy positions. But while that influence may at times be outsized, it is not omnipotent. It is subject to the mitigating effects of moderate elements within the Party that while guided by the strictly conservative mantra, are more inclined to a compromise of moderation in actual governance. However, when we consider today’s Democrat Party, the ideologues are pretty much in complete control of the Party. I believe it is fair to say that the tail is wagging the dog. A good illustration of this is the recent vote in the House of Representatives on the Women’s Health Protection Act.
Before we look at the actual vote tally, it is useful to remember that a U.S. Representative in the House represents anywhere from a portion of a county in a particular state up to a handful of counties in a particular state. The House is composed of 435 such elected officials. Given the fact that a U.S. Representative serves a two-year term and the entire House is up for a vote in every election cycle, it is nigh on impossible to find a better real-time snapshot of America’s political face than that of the House political composition. To emphasize that point, let us note that the current House composition is 220 Democrats, 212 Republicans, and 3 vacancies. Given the fact that a simple majority rules in the House, this means that the Democrats must maintain strict Party unity in order to pass any legislation.
Bearing in mind that the 220 Democrats in the House represent constituencies scattered all across this country; let us revisit the aforementioned legislation entitled Women’s Health Protection Act. Here is a good summary of that legislation: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/24/1038931908/house-democrats-abortion-rights-bill . In this specific instance, only one Democrat in the House voted against this bill. Under any standard you may wish to use, that is a pretty united stand on policy. It is certainly fair to say that the Democrat House vote on this bill represents the Democrat Party position.
I have often written in this blog about the issue of abortion and how it is such a divisive and emotional issue for many Americans. It is an issue dominated in large part by the extreme elements on either side of the subject. When you examine the language of this legislation and consider the fact that it essentially removes all restrictions on abortions in America, it is nothing short of breathtaking to note that only a single House Democrat voted to oppose this bill. This is a perfect example of a Party being ruled by its ideologues and radical elements. I submit that it is impossible to accept that of all the Democratic Representatives scattered across this nation, only ONE is opposed to unlimited abortion without restriction.
One might make the argument that in certain circumstances, a particular vote in the House is more procedural than substantive and many votes are taken with the understanding that it will entail little consequence. That may be true; but there is no escaping that a vote is an official record of either support or opposition to a specific, detailed piece of legislation introduced as a bill and that vote represents the position of a certain U.S. Representative. To think that with the miniscule exception of one Representative, every…single…Democrat in the U.S. House essentially voted for unrestricted abortion up until the moment of delivery is nothing short of incredible. It is living proof of the old axiom about the inmates taking control of the asylum.
Before moving on to the links for current events, I will make one further point about our two predominant national parties. While both conservatives and liberals hold among themselves radical elements that are intractable and unreasonable, I have always felt like there is one fundamental distinction between the mainstream conservative and the mainstream liberal. While a conservative will enthusiastically advocate for their policies, one of their overriding principles will always be the fundamental, constitutional right of self-determination and independence. Put another way, one of their primary beliefs is the right of an individual to live according to their own beliefs and values, as long as they do not encroach on the liberties of other individuals. When a conservative moves from the status of individual citizen to that of elected official, they generally maintain allegiance to this principle. They will promote their conservative policies for government, but continue to honor the position that if an individual American wants to live a liberal lifestyle…then that is their right.
A liberal takes a different approach. Part and parcel of modern liberal philosophy is the belief that they know better what is good for the people than the people know for themselves. They embrace the nanny state. Possessing this attitude as an individual citizen is a fundamental right under our Constitution; they have the privilege to live their lives as they choose as long as they do not encroach on the rights of others. However, when a liberal makes the transition from private citizen to that of elected official, it is my opinion that they continue to cling to their personal liberal beliefs and do all within their new-found authorities as an elected official to foist those personal beliefs on the populace as a whole. In their quest for a new and better America shaped according to their liberal belief system, they lose track of the fundamental liberties and freedoms accorded each individual American under our Constitution.
I believe this is what we are currently witnessing with the Biden Administration and the Democrat Party control of Congress. I consider this approach to governing to be an abuse of power, a distortion of our democratic process, and a political over-reach that will ultimately result in significant pushback…pushback sufficient to effectively remove the Democrats from their current position of majority rule. The question is: How much damage will our nation absorb before this repudiation occurs? Let’s move on to some current events.
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Each of us should carefully consider why, when federal tax revenues have been at historically-high levels for some time, the government needs access to the details of every private citizen bank transaction that exceeds $600?
https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/yes-biden-is-proposing-that-the-irs-spy-on-your-bank-records/
Think about how truly bizarre it is that our government might very well have been funding the very research in China that spawned the corona virus in the first place? How stupid can we be?
I am amused by the mainstream media’s outrage at the increasing number of vulgar public displays of disdain for our President. Where was this protest when President Trump was in office? It is fascinating to watch how much longer and to what extreme lengths the media will go to cover for the incompetence and ineptitude of the Biden Administration.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/cnn-tips-scales-for-biden-at-town-hall
https://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2021/10/high-anxiety.php
CNN is, of course, an unofficial member of the Biden Administration: https://www.dailywire.com/news/this-is-just-the-kind-of-chaos-the-american-economy-needs-cnn-praises-u-s-labor-shortage
It never ceases to amaze me how clueless the Biden Administration can be and how they continually treat the public like they are morons. How can they say stuff like this with a straight face?
Going back to my opening remarks in this piece, President Biden and the Democrats are focused and very intent on transforming this nation in a very fundamental way. It behooves all of us to pay close attention to exactly what they are saying and what is happening all across our country.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/10/dont-let-democrats-turn-the-u-s-into-europe/
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/10/inflation-is-here-whats-next/
Our government has adopted the philosophy that as long as the cause is worthy, we as a nation can spend as much as we want with no limits or consequences. There will be consequences. Debt does not just go away. We are spending our way into oblivion and future generations of Americans will bear the costs.
https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/10/ten-reasons-to-cut-debt/
