The "Twenty-Eight"

The conviction of Mr. Libby has sent Liberals into fits of ecstasy, many of them now voicing hope that having convicted one innocent man, they can set their sights on greater targets. The proof of the last several years has shown that a Liberal can commit felonies without worry, while an innocent Conservative can be railroaded unless he is quite careful to watch his steps. Small wonder such worthy individuals as Condi Rice have declined to seek elected office, but that’s for another time. My point for this article is to address the condition of those remaining Americans who refuse to be swayed by media propaganda and the expedient lies from the likes of McCain and Reid and Pelosi, who stand behind their commitments and their elected President. A sneering Liberal in the comments here derisively tagged us as “the few, the proud, the 28%”, implying that President Bush only has a 28% Approval Rating. That is, like so much from the Left, a false claim and shows a bit of the malice which colors everything from the DNC and the MSM these days, but even so I will claim that label as a badge of honor. Not that I am as good as a United States Marine, to which the rest of that phrase alludes, yet there is something to the core of that comparison which defines a condition of honor which the miscreant missed in his chortling.

Some time back, I made a statement that Liberals could not be engaged productively in a discussion about National Security. In noting that fact now, I need to be clear that this does not disqualify people with Liberal perspectives, in political terms, from holding valid perspectives and presenting useful thoughts. I would go so far, and I know this will offend those who are easily offended, as to say that fewer Liberals than Conservatives can hold onto firm and consistent ethical positions across the spectrum. There is a reason for that, and one which Conservatives should consider.

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Life works sometimes like a hot furnace, burning away dross and a fair amount of skin. In the process, many people quite naturally try to avoid the flames and protect their feelings at the cost of hardening assumptions into committed principles, which errors sometimes lead to greater cost. Also, there is a pervasive sense among many people that violence is always wrong, that the majority (or at least the appearance of a majority) is always right, or that we must subordinate the missions of the greatest among us to the will of the weakest among us. The obvious hypocrisy that such people never hesitate to call the police for their own protection, that they will try to change the definitions of victory whenever they realize they have lost a battle, and that they will put their personal ideology ahead of even the US Constitution whenever they stand to lose something, is a matter which such folks reject out of hand. This does not mean that the obvious is true, but rather that we must test claims and assumptions, in that very fire of consequence and cost I mentioned. Defeat has a cost, but it teaches lessons as well. And between 1932 and 1994, the Conservatives in America were forced to learn many such lessons, but they resulted in Ronald Reagan and the 1994 Revolution. In that same time, many Liberals suffered no losses of consequence, and so they never firmed their principles into anything stronger than the personal character of individual leaders, whose substance gradually fell to the mockery of “leadership” we see today in the Left.

It is not really hard to see what happened to the Left; just look at what passes for their leadership. They are, to the last person, wealthy and obsessed with their personal privilege, convinced not only that they are entitled to special privileges but that this is the natural order of things. The aristocracy in pre-Revolution France was never so arrogant. And this, be sure, is also a problem for some on the Right. When in the past two decades has John McCain done hard labor? Could you even imagine Chuck Hagel working a 40-hour week for a paycheck? Does anyone seriously believe that John Boehner has done his own driving, his own taxes, or mowed his own yard in the last ten years? One problem Republicans had in the 2006 elections had nothing to do with President Bush, but everything to do with how out-of-touch Majority Leader Frist and Speaker Hastert were with the average American. They had gotten too insulated, and became convinced that they did not need to answer to anyone, and so found themselves – in the end – rejected by the people they forgot about, who turned out to matter.

Conservatives and Liberals who are elected to office are often protected by the system in place, and by groups which act to protect and promote their special interests. But the Conservatives have fewer such crony groups, largely because the Democrats had more time in power to attract such people. The largest unions, for example, came to support Democrats not only because the Democrats molded their legislative priorities to match union demands, but because the Democrats/Liberals were clearly in power for so many decades, and so paying money and privilege to the Left was the way to prime the pump for payback to the unions.

Conservatives also benefited from the fact that their support groups were more willing to re-examine their ideals and goals, and many of their groups were committed to justice far ahead of expediency. This is one reason why the military gradually became stronger and stronger supporters of Republicans; not because the GOP was perfect by any means, but because the Democrats were less and less committed to the ideals to which soldiers swear fealty. The same for religious groups, who often tested their support for a candidate by how well his voting record was aligned with their ideals. This meant of course, that sometimes Conservatives lost ground because they could not lock in support for groups they needed, but it provides an essential moral compass which is missing from the Left.

Doing the right thing is not often easy, and it often comes at a cost. So it is hardly surprising that not everyone can commit to it, or that such commitment would be sporadic even among well-meaning people. And it is not surprising that so many, on the Left and the Right, may find it easy to fall back to habit rather than carefully consider their course and commitments, and then stand by them for the duration of the promise. The media and the Liberals have done a rather effective job of preventing folks from hearing what President Bush has done right in Iraq, or in the Economy, or in Judicial Reform, or in so many other areas of his job. Lies and slander are the currency of the day for so many who pretend to hold Truth as their ideal. When an arrogant liar like Gore can be lauded and lionized for false claims and hypocritical behavior regarding his own demands, while the President’s clear policies are mis-stated and mocked if they are considered at all, it is no surprise that many folks would fall away and say they do not approve of him, even when the other party provides no effective answer for how they would meet the challenges of the nation.

I stand with the President, as a Republican and a Conservative, and as I always have. I do not change my mind because the weather gets rough. And unlike many who will lie and equivocate later when asked about their support and commitment, I will always be able to look querants straight in the eye and confirm that I never wavered. If few stand with me, those few have passed a test most people fear to even face.