The American Spectator

Reader Mail

Hurray for Hannity?

2.13.08 @ 12:00AM

(Page 2 of 4)

I've listened to and have enjoyed Rush for 16 years, but his relentless criticism of a man like John McCain, who has devoted his life to his country and to the Republican Party, is appalling.

Hold "conservative icon" Mitt Romney's record under the microscope like Rush has Senator McCain's and you'll also quite a few un-conservative warts.

The only substantive difference overall is that Mitt Romney has never crossed Rush. Rush talks the talk better than anyone else, but among his flaws is an ego the size of a planet.

Political parties in this country are about coalitions, not about one faction of the party getting exactly what they want and the rest of the party falling into line. So-called "conservatives" are not the only ones who can sit at home and the next time Rush et al find their icon, they might find that many Republicans have other things to do besides support "conservative" candidates, because of OUR principles.
-- Brian Schafer
Arlington, Virginia

Mr. Lord's piece would have been not only a home run, but a grand slam, if he had just pointed out that the Republican Party and the conservative movement should now be mutually exclusive. Notice how the acronym "CPAC" does not contain the word "Republican" when spelled-out in the long form.

For the past 44 years, true conservatives used the Republican Party as their vehicle to push conservative ideals through the cogs and gears known collectively as the US Government machine. From 1964 to 1998, they were fairly successful. From 1998 through current times, the Republican Party has morphed into "Demo Lite."

The bottom-line is this: those (like me) who espouse conservative principles, such as limited government, low taxes, respect for the individual, strong national defense, and economic freedom, need to de-couple those cherished principles from the Party in order to gain visibility and viability in these modern times.

To keep using the Republican Party today as the vehicle for the conservative movement is a death by a thousand paper cuts.
-- Owen H. Carneal
Yorktown, Virginia

I have noticed that some of your contributors and correspondents have an erroneous perception of Conservatives. Let me set them straight.

First of all, there are very few conservative Republicans. There are a large number of Conservatives who happen to be members of the Republican Party. What is the difference? Mainly that true Conservatives adhere to a fixed set of principles and they are extremely reluctant to compromise those principles. Historically, the Republican Party has, at least, paid lip service to most principles held dear by Conservatives. The Conservatives of the Republican Party have waited, patiently, for the elected officials of the party to live up to the tenets of the party platform. They have waited for twenty years. And the elected members of the party have failed to enact
those tenets. Still, Conservatives try to support Republican candidates.

Second, Conservatives cover a broad spectrum of people. They are not all Evangelical Christians, or even Christians for that matter. They are not all living in fly-over country. They are not all living on farms or ranches. They are not all 50 years old or older. They are not all male. And they are not all straight. They all do, however, embrace a common philosophy and goals: right to life, fiscal responsibility, reduction of government and the intrusion of government into the lives of its citizens, strict interpretation of the Constitution, strict enforcement of existing laws, and a strong stance on national security. Though all of these tenets appear in the last few Republican platforms, the last three Republican Presidents have failed to effectively institute most of these tenets. Still, the Conservative base supported them.

To sum up, the Republican Party needs the Conservatives. Yet, the party leadership apparently despises the Conservatives and tries to marginalize them at every turn. The Party leadership, and Republican pundits, treat the Conservatives, in the party, much as King George did the American colonists when they asked for a redress of grievances. And we all remember how that turned out. After breaking most of their promises to Conservative members of the party for two decades, they then become insulted when the Conservatives ask their elected Republican representatives to live up to those promises. Perhaps with the nomination of John McCain (a proven liberal Democrat), the Republican party will achieve their desire to maintain a semblance of power by becoming the liberal crossover party, with the Democrats occupying the position previously reserved for the ultra-liberal fringe. Perhaps the Conservative Movement will found a third party that accurately reflects their philosophy.

The thing to remember is that Conservatives owe their allegiance to a philosophy, not a party. They may vote against Clinton or Obama, but they will never vote for a liberal like McCain. Can we say Catch-22?
-- Michael Tobias
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida

THE MYTH OF MERIT
Re: Jackie Mason & Raoul Felder's Some Pieces of Our Minds:

"That is, if Obama were white, given his lack of experience, he would not be in the lead for his party's nomination for President of the United States. Commentators should have the intellectual honesty to note this... " While also noting the equally true flip, that Presidents 1-43 wouldn't have gotten there had they been Black?
-- KGT

Letter to the Editor

topics:
Taxes, Education, John McCain, Religion, Islam, Global Warming, Hollywood, Constitution, Law, Supreme Court, Military, Iraq, NATO, Socialism, Conservatism, Immigration, Oil