The American Spectator

Political Hay

With the coming defection of Arlen Specter to his rightful place in the Democratic Party, all of the talk has centered on how far "to the right" the Republican Party has moved, how the "big tent" of Ronald Reagan has closed its flaps to moderates and most of all how this further proves that conservatism is dead.

Now if all of this is true -- as the liberal media so desperately wants it to be -- then exactly why is Specter donning the donkey duds? Is it because he has developed a sudden streak of conscience that prevents his continued allegiance to the GOP? Has Pennsylvania suddenly become a bastion of far-right fanatics? No, it is, as he himself admits, because he no longer represents the will of the state's Republican voters, and not the other way around. So does this mean that the tent is shrinking and if so, what must be done about it?

The leader of the modern conservative movement, Ronald Reagan, did indeed welcome the support of those across the political spectrum, but the vitally important thing to remember is that he never altered his views to placate them. He did not govern or even campaign on opinion polling but was led by his solid, unchanging principles. And this, in essence, is what conservatism is by definition; a desire to preserve what it feels is essential to the pure role of governance, especially as defined in the U.S. Constitution.

The Great Communicator was the perfect man to give flesh to these principles and there's no doubt that Reagan's charisma influenced many young Americans to become Republicans. But as he so often said in reference to his famous nickname, he merely communicated great ideas. And although the times and faces change, he knew that our core beliefs must not; these are what we desire to conserve.

So, if the truth be told, it is Democrats, or progressives, who by their very nature change their ethics with the times. While conservative stances on issues like abortion are grounded in the natural law, liberals continuously blow with the prevailing radical wind. Most older Democrats are fond of recalling the glory days of Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy and profess great admiration for their high ideals. Try this from a party leader who marched with Dr. King:

What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience? What kind of a person and what kind of a society will we have 20 years hence if life can be taken so casually? It is that question, the question of our attitude, our value system, and our mind-set with regard to the nature and worth of life itself that is the central question confronting mankind. Failure to answer that question affirmatively may leave us with a hell right here on earth.

The above was written in 1977 by Jesse Jackson, not only a political candidate who flip-flopped on this issue, but a supposed man of God. But he, like most in his party, has been ripped from his former convictions by the desire for power, cloaked in the message of "change." As we know by now, the left has been studiously following the Saul Alinsky playbook that explains the process:

Dostoevski said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future...If we fail to communicate with them, if we don't encourage them to form alliances with us, they will move to the right. Maybe they will anyway, but let's not let it happen by default.

So even Mr. Alinsky realizes that getting the people to forget the past is paramount to the task of implementing radical change. But we conservatives know that deep in their hearts, most Americans revere our history and especially the ideals upon which this nation was founded. Yet the problem with the current Republican leadership is that in this age of moral relativism, they are politically afraid to speak loudly and proudly of these ideals.

This reticence must end if the GOP is to keep its conservative base on board. It's time to fight for the brand; to open the flaps of the big tent and let the light of truth shine in.

topics:
Conservatism, Republican Party