The Pink Flamingo :: When Did “Conservative” Mean Goose-Stepping Loss of Individuality?

Yesterday evening I finally realized one of the problems bothering me when it comes to today’s non-Republican conservatives. How about a quote from Ann Coulter:

“…And I think what happened today demonstrates that the movement conservatives, or the radical right wing as we're being called, is the one with the power in this relationship, the power in the country. That is to say, as I have been arguing since the Roberts nomination, yes, it would be fine if Bush nominated a wonderful, qualified conservative like Janice Rogers Brown. Even if she's defeated, that is a victory for Republicans. Yes, get the Democrats on record explaining that what they mean by "right-wing activist" is, you know, parental notification before a 12-year-old has an abortion or, you know, not finding a right to partial birth abortion in the Constitution, not finding a right to gay marriage in the Constitution. Yes, let's have that fight. The Democrats don't want to have that fight, which is why they keep arguing, you know, in the dark about things like filibusters and document production. Yes, fine, let's have that fight. For one thing, we win in the end, we win in the 2006 elections, even if the nominee goes down. But I think today it shows that nominee will not go down….”

My theory was brought home when I found a quote from Richard Viguerie in Quin Hillyer’s hit piece on Lindsey. Viguerie, who betrayed Reagan as not being conservative enough, is accusing Lindsey of not having “Movement Conservatives” on his staff. In other words, Viguerie wants someone akin to the old USSR-KGB Propaganda Officer to spy on Lindsey and keep him “pure”. Ronald Reagan once said anyone who agreed with him 80% of the time was a friend and a supporter. If Lindsey has a life-time ACU rating of 90.30 then what the heck are you belly-aching about?

Richard Viguerie is not a Republican. He is a flim-flam political carnival barker who is out to pad his own bank account. He is at the beck and call of Sun Myung Moon. The Washington Times is owned by Moon. Once upon a time "Moonie" was a dangerous cult. Now they call the conservative shots. I guess that is why this whole thing is starting to look, smell, and act like some sort of despotic cult.

THE 100% SOLUTION
Do you understand there is something very, very wrong with a "movement" that demands pure 100% participation? There is something wrong when members of the House and Senate who do not meet those requirements are denigrated because they do not have a "Movement Conservative" on their staff?

This is something out of the USSR.

Remember the Tom Clancy classic The Hunt for Red October? When Sean Connery wanted to defect, the first thing he had to do was eliminate the "propaganda officer" who was probably a KGB spy. Is this what hard line conservatives like Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Laura Ingraham and Rush Limbaugh have become? They want spies on a Senator's staff? They demand 100% participation. If a Republican office holder does not march, lock step with them, they are to be destroyed. John McCain is evil and must be destroyed. Lindsey Graham is evil and must be destroyed.

Maybe it is the other way around. That pretend "conservative" base - THAT IS NOT REPUBLICAN - is evil and must be destroyed.

IT ALL ENDS, NOW
Paul Krugman wrote in the NY Times.

“…Now, I don’t expect or want a permanent Democratic lock on power. But I do hope and believe that this election marks the beginning of the end for the conservative movement that has taken over the Republican Party. In saying that, I’m not calling for or predicting the end of conservatism. There always have been and always will be conservatives on the American political scene. And that’s as it should be: a diversity of views is part of what makes democracy vital. But we may be seeing the downfall of movement conservatism — the potent alliance of wealthy individuals, corporate interests and the religious right that took shape in the 1960s and 1970s. This alliance may once have had something to do with ideas, but it has become mainly a corrupt political machine, and America will be a better place if that machine breaks down. Why do I want to see movement conservatism crushed? Partly because the movement is fundamentally undemocratic; its leaders don’t accept the legitimacy of opposition… When movement conservatism took it over, the Republican Party ceased to be the party of Dwight Eisenhower and became the party of Karl Rove. …Two years ago, people were talking about permanent right-wing dominance of American politics. But since then the American people have gotten a clearer sense of what rule by movement conservatives means. They’ve seen the movement take us into an unnecessary war, and botch every aspect of that war. They’ve seen a great American city left to drown; they’ve seen corruption reach deep into our political process; they’ve seen the hypocrisy of those who lecture us on morality….”

Sorry, but I basically agree with this. If this is what these people have become, then we need to do to the conservative movement what Wyatt Earp did to the Cowboys during his Vendetta Ride.

Movement Conservatives is defined:

“…A movement conservative is one who supports all or nearly all conservative principles with a coherent philosophy, and who advances broad conservative goals both individually and through teamwork. This is contrasted with cafeteria, or single-issue, or self-serving approaches...."

THE IDEALOGICAL CONSERVATIVE KGB
In other words, there is no room for individuality.

Viguerie expects Lindsey to have someone on his staff who is "Movement Conservative". This is chilling, revealing, and absolutely terrifying. I gather Viguerie (who betrayed Reagan) expects someone to be on the Senate and House staffs of those He doesn't consider ideologically PURE.

A Republican must now:
Think the way he/she is told
They must do what they are told
They must vote they way they are told
They must follow the party line 100%
They must support who they are told
They must destroy who they are told
They must think the way they are told
They cannot step outside the box
They cannot think on their own
They cannot consort with Dems
They cannot disagree on any single issue
They must agree to destroy anyone who disagrees with them
They must agree to have a "movement conservative" spy on their staff
They must be 100% "conservative"

I hate to break it to you, but this is not Republican. This is life in the former USSR:

"...Unlike bourgeois democratic constitutions, the Soviet Constitution placed limitations on political rights, whereas in bourgeois democratic countries these limitations are usually left up to the federal legislative or judicial systems, or state constitutions and their corresponding executive, legislative and judicial systems. Article 6 effectively eliminated organized opposition to the government by granting to the CPSU the power to lead and guide society. Article 39 enabled the government to prohibit any activities it considered detrimental by stating that "Enjoyment of the rights and freedoms of citizens must not be to the detriment of the interests of society or the state." Article 59 obliged citizens to obey the laws and comply with the standards of socialist society as determined by the party. The government did not treat as inalienable those political and socioeconomic rights the Constitution granted to the people. Citizens enjoyed rights only when the exercise of those rights did not interfere with the interests of socialism, and the CPSU alone had the power and authority to determine policies for the government and society. For example, the right to freedom of expression contained in Article 52 could be suspended if the exercise of that freedom failed to be in accord with party policies. Until the era of glasnost, freedom of expression did not entail the right to criticize the government. The government had the power to ban meetings by unsanctioned religious groups, and violations of the laws limiting the right to freedom of religious expression were severely punished under the republics' criminal codes...."

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE
There is nothing wrong with being conservative. I'm basically 'conservative'. I am against abortion. I am very pro-life to the point where I feel capital punishment is wrong. People should be allowed to own guns, but not a whole armory of them. I am very much a pro-military person. I believe in a strong defense. I am to the right of Julius Caesar when it comes to the military. I want a strong space program. I think Medicare for seniors who can afford their own insurance should go the way of the dinosaur. I think there should be appropriate punishment for crimes. I want a ceiling on lawsuits. We need to repair our infrastructure. If a person is on any sort of welfare and is capable of working - well, go work on the road crew, lift that barge, tote that bale, pay your way. I want an end to estate taxes. I want a flat tax of something around 15% with anyone making under $20,000 or a family making under $35,000 completely exempt. No deductions, not exemptions, no nothing. You pay 15% and deal with it, individuals and corporations. I think the time has come to legalize marijuana. License anyone who uses it. And tax the you know what out of it. Don't put small-time drug felons in jail. Force them into treatment and put them on that road crew rebuilding our infrastructure.

I am tired of the Federal government intruding into our private lives. If a person wants to hire an illegal migrant, pay for it. Pay for their background check. Pay their way. Pay for their green card. But get the government out of your business. The border fence is a sham. I do not believe in the confiscation of private property under any circumstances. We need a Constitutional Amendment on this one. If private property must be confiscated for the durn border fence, then either pay FULL REAL ESTATE MARKET VALUE for that land, or go around it. If a migrant is here illegally they pay a fine. They find a sponsor who will vouch for their identity and their services. They GET IN THE BACK OF THE LINE for a green card and citizenship. BUT, they get a temporary worker card until the Feds get around to processing their request. Separating families is something this country does not do.

I don't know what I feel about gay marriage. I think marriage should be limited to two adults over the age of 18. I don't care what the religion is. Pedophiles should be branded with a P on their foreheads and then turned loose in the general population of state prisons. Let nature deal with their survival, which will not be for very long.

Abolish the Department of Education. Outlaw zero tolerance rules for all educational facilities. Force reason to re-inter the classroom. Allow adults who are extremely qualified in certain fields, but lack the proper educational certificates to teach as long as they pass an extremely methodical back-ground check.

I want drilling for oil where ever there is oil - with exceptions of some pristine wilderness areas. We have so darn much oil in this country we can leave those areas alone. We need new refineries. We need new nuclear power plants. There is nothing wrong with practical environmental laws. The is no need to pollute the world like we are a bunch of filthy pigs.

I also believe table manners should be mandatory for every man woman and child in this country. Men should be forced to take off their 'baseball' caps the moment they step in a room. Children should be required to behave like children and not like a bunch of mindless apes.

Now, if this isn't conservative, I don't know what is. I'm tired of people denigrating my political beliefs because I refuse to march in their little goose-stepping parade. The only reason I bring this up is because I am not longer considered "conservative". I am now a "liberal". Funny, isn't it.

THE MOVEMENT - GOOD & BAD
Today at Stolen Thunder AJ Drummond wrote about everything that is wrong with conservatives who think they control the GOP - only he thinks the Republicans are wrong. We're dealing with a serious breach here. It can be repaired, but conservatives are going to need to realize they are going down a very dangerous path.
Harold Hutchinson of Called As Seen considers himself a Bellisario Republican instead of a Conservative.
The Pajama Pack picked up on this on Thursday.
Peggy Noonan thinks the GOP is falling apart.
Tom Davis thinks Bush is “Radioactive”.
Malkin is a little annoyed that she was not included in the McCain Blogger Conference / call! Maybe it’s because she’s doing her best to undermine him and see that someone like Barack Obama is elected. Makes you wonder what her agenda is. We all know what her agenda is. YOU DON'T DENIGRATE A GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE the way Malkin does and expect to be rewarded for the effort.

THE CONSERVATIVE BASE
There is NO conservative base in the GOP. That is a contradiction in terms. The reason there are so very many problems within the GOP is because the American people aren't stupid. They can tell the difference between right and wrong. They know when they are being conned. They have inbred "BS METER". And - there's a heck of a lot of BS being thrown around the conservative world.

It isn't Republican.
Republican is all about the individual.
Republican is about individual rights.
Republican is about freedom of thought and speech.

THE REPUBLICAN CREED

I do not choose to be a common man person.
It is my right to be uncommon.
If I can seek opportunity,
not security,
I want to take the calculated risk to dream
And build, to fail and to succeed.
I refused to barter incentive for dole.
I prefer the challenges of life to
guaranteed security,
the thrill of fulfillment
to the state of calm utopia.
I will not trade freedom for beneficence,
nor my dignity for a handout.
I will never cower before any master,
save my God.
It is my heritage to stand erect,
proud and unafraid.
To think and act for myself,
enjoy the benefit of my creations;
to face the whole world
boldly and say, "I am a free American."

The word "Conservative" is never used. I truly believe the way conservatives are behaving today, their actions and the "Republican Creed" are completely incompatible.