A case for conservatism

All right, so I know i've ranted on about being a conservative in my earlier blogs, but just in case people still think me and other right-wing wackos are brainwashed Rush Limbaugh clones, then you just......wait until after his program tomorrow when I can find out from him what to say about that!
OK, in all seriousness, I do rip on the left, but I have great respect for many good Democrats. You might say there's several i'm very close to who I know have a great love for this country. I don't have all the answers, and the whole "the truth lies somewhere in-between" may indeed be true wisdom, but I firmly believe the principles of conservatism are the strength of this country, and that Democrats are the poster children for the well-intentioned who are doing more harm than good. That said, let me make my case.
Essentially, it comes down to the deep-rooted principles held on either side. When I say deep, I mean what the movements really stand for, not just what we hear on the surface. Politicians use stupid scare tactics, half-truths, and good ol spin to get people arguing and focusing on the debate itself, instead of the core issues. Democrats aren't traitors and Republicans don't hate poor and minorities, sorry to ebb the adrenaline flow of anyone ready to duke it out, but those are the facts. Most people in both parties are great Americans. I really believe that, but the PRINCIPLES behind Conservativism are what makes this country great, and the liberal/Democratic agenda, while well intentioned, is flat out harmful. You gotta look at what message your message, or agenda, is really conveying. In other words, you have to look deeper than the words, to the real message beneath.
For instance, Conservatives believe in low taxes, limited goverment, a strong defense, are generally pro-life, and favor harsher punishments for criminals. But on a deeper level, what it really means is they believe in personal responsibility, and that there are consequences for one's decisions; that freedom does not come from the government, but that it's the government's job to preserve the people's God given freedom. (In fact, all governments gradually take freedom away, some just do it more slowly than others).
Liberals on the other hand, believe in higher taxes, seperation of church and state way beyond what the constitution intended (i'll explain later), more often than not are pro-choice and favor lighter punishment for criminals in general. Liberalism, simply put, threatens prosperity and ultimately, freedom. It directly conflicts with core principles like innovation, responsiblity, acheivement, and self-reliance. In the end, it even puts government over God. It's no coincidence all communist countries shun religion. If people truly rely on themselves and their God, the government becomes less important, less powerful. Here are some specific examples contrasting the two very different schools of thought.

CONSERVATISM REWARDS PROGRESS AND ACHEIVEMENT, LIBERALISM PUNISHES IT. You need only to contrast the tax philosophies of the two parties to see this. People making 100,000 or more pay 80% of the taxes in this country, yet when a tax cut comes up for debate, you'd think conservatives were asking the less fortunate to sell their oldest child and give the proceeds to the nearest millionaire. The fact is, Democrats think the answer to all economic problems is to tax the "rich". In other words, the message is "if you're working hard and making a decent living for yourself, you don't really deserve it, and if you're not self-sustaining, you don't have to pick yourself up and get an education or a job, the government will just take care of you". Can we not see the inherent danger in this?
First off, most upper-middle class, in fact, most millionaires in this country did not find their better fortune through inheritence or luck, but through hard work, education, and wise spending and investing. Ask any financial adviser, and part of their little presentation explains this in great detail. Second, high taxes hurt the middle class, especially the small business owner. And folks, the small business owner IS the economic backbone of this nation. When they have more money in their pocket, and corportations have more money, it creates jobs. THAT is how you truly help the poor. Those struggling in society are never raised up by pushing everyone else down. Think of the country more like an elevator and less like a scale. Democrats, I hope you can understand that it's the upper and upper middle class that create the jobs for others. Punishing the wealthier citizens and corporations just does not work long term and about the worst thing you could do for this country econmocially.

CONSERVATISM REINFORCES PERSONAL RESPONSIBLITY, LIBERALISM DESTROYS IT
Recently, laws were enacted in New York to ban trans fats. In other words, it's not your fault you're a fatty on the verge of a heart attack, it's Nabiscos! I site this example because it reveals two BIG ways the liberal agenda threatens our nation: 1) Trying to have the government make your desisions for you (in this case what you can and can't eat), and 2) When something bad happens to you, there's always someone else to blame. The fact is, sometime no one's to blame.
Tell that to John Edwards, the epitomy of liberalism. The guy made his fortune off suing doctors who delivered children with Cerebral Palsy. He convinced juries that if Doc's had only performed a C-section earlier in the pregnancy, the kid wouldn't have that horrible condition. There was never any evidence for this, in fact his wack theory has since been disproven, but not before many physicians were financially ruined and malpractic insurance for OB/GYN skyrocketed. The greatest tragedy in all of this is however, is the message that it sends, to the parents and the public in general. Disclaimer: I am not a fan of malpractice attourneys. Yes there are Doctors and companies out there who really screw up, and they need to be held accountable, but what malpractice attourneys are doing to the country and it's litigation addiction is what the liberal agenda is more subtely doing to the nation, dissolving personal responsiblity. Remember the McDonald's customer who got millions for spilling hot coffee on herself? Please, make it stop!
As ugly as it sounds, the fact is a core principle of the liberal movement is erasing consequences of behavior. I've already mentioned poverty/taxes and litigation (the trial lawyer association is the single largest contributor to the Democratic party by the way), but we're just getting started. It's also no coincidence that Liberals are basically in lock-step with the Pro-Choice movement. Pro choice is a very sugar-coated way to say, "killing your unborn child to take away all consequences of your behavior".
The consequence erasing doesn't stop there, liberals are notorious for their empathy for the worst members of our society. Rapists, murderers, child molesters, ruthless dictators....according to liberals, they're not monsters, they're just misunderstood. Take good ol' Massachusetts, probably the most liberal state in the union. They were recently in the news for developing a field trip program for convicted sex offenders. I could ALMOST stomach it if the field trip was say, to a museum, or even a Celtics game, but they took them to a circus! The investigative reporter caught on tape these guys unsupervised surrounded by kids. It truly boggles the mind. Want another example? Take Roberston, Boyd, and Horton for instance. These are 3 guys you've probably never heard of, but they were all violent criminals who murdered people AFTER they were put behind bars. Mike Dukakis, a liberal who ran for Prez in 88 released these scumbags from prison throught the furlogh program, which basically let criminals out in society for the weekends to find a job, interact with society, and...you know....replay the good ol' times by Mudering on their weekend out on the town. The liberals incessant urge to pardon the undeserving at the expense of innocent Americans is almost difficult to comprehend.....that is, until you understand the deeper principles of the party.

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE: HEY EVERYBODY....IT'S FREE!!
I could go on forever about the distastrous idea of universal health care, (which is anything but free in reality) In case you hadn't heard, free market capitalism ALWAYS makes a higher quality product and is more efficient than the Government. I have 6 letters for you: DMV, and IRS. The reason the free market works is simple, the right motivation drives it: profit! If you don't produce a high quality product, and do so efficiently at minimal, or at least acceptable cost to you, someone else will and you'll be gone! Look at electronics. When they first came out, VCR's were like $30,000! I exaggerate, but crazy expensive, but things get better, and cheaper. If Sony makes a good VCR, then JVC knows they've got to make one just as good, or even better! We think TV's, couches, and hamburgers when someone says product, but healthcare is a product too, and if you take capitalism out of the picture and put the government in charge, we are in a world of hurt.
Yes there are major problems with the current system, but the free market, not the government, holds the answer. If your NBA team is losing, you may need to fire the coach, but you don't replace him with a football coach, because the core principles of the game are still valid, they just weren't being done right. Likewise, just because problems exist in our healthcare system in the free market, you don't abandon it for Government run healthcare. In fact, football coach is a bad analogy. The government running health care would be more like a piano teacher coaching an NBA team. Bad, bad idea.
This should not be a revelation to anyone who actually does a little homework, especially since our friends in Europe and Canada already went down the foolish universal health care road. In Britain they actually have policies in place in the hospitals to no longer change bedding between patients to try and cut costs! And there's many more horror stories like that one, despite what Michael Moore says.
Low quality care isn't the only problem, there's also the accessabilty problem. For example: If the government came out tomorrow and said "gas is now 10 cents a gallon," can you imagine the lines at the pump? That's about how it is; the average wait list for a hip replacement in Canada is MONTHS.Many Canadians actually go to Michigan and other bordering US states for care, even though it means paying for procedures out of pocket, just to have the opportunity to get treated ...sometime in their lifetime! Once again, sounds good on the surface, but insert ANY logic whatsoever into the equation and this liberal idea, like every other, reveals it's true colors.


In conclusion....yes I am actually going to conclude, I'd like you to ponder a couple other things. I believe conservative ideas and principles not only make sense, but ring true to the majority of those who really listen to and study them. Conversely, liberal ideas make great headlines and talking points for campaigning politicians, but going into them in depth reveals their true colors and turns many away. It is for this reason I believe, that conservative talk radio thrives while liberal talk radio can't get off the ground. Liberal Air America was actually jumpstarted by funding in the millions, with celebrities like Jenneane Garofollo and Al Franken on the mic, and it died, along with MANY, MANY other attempts, while conservative talk radio continues to thrive across the whole country. In case you want to argue Conservatives are just radio junkies, we've got the corner on books as well. For every dollar earned by a liberal best seller, at least 3 come in on the conservative side. Fox News, which is weakly conservative at best, but the most right-leaning of all news networks, consistently leads in the ratings. I don't mean to sound like a cocky fan blurting my teams's statistics. It isn't a competition, but it is a revealing statistic that says something about the real strength of the message. So here's the meat and potatoes: Ultimately, The Liberal message is that we need the Government to take care of us, that the system is rigged for the greedy priveledged, that problems can be blamed on someone else, and our fate is largly tied to what the government can do for you and not from the consequences of your own behavior. Conversely, Conservatism is positive. Fundamentally, it tells you that you can succeed. By making wise choices, such as hard work, an education, and basic principles of responsibility and drive, anyone can experience the American Dream.