Amateur Megalomania

The first Gulf War marked a major milestone in my life. I count that as my political awakening as I watched the buildup, execution, and aftermath of that conflict. I grew up as a default Democrat, the son of an auto union worker, accustomed to the idea that the Democrats were out for the little guy. I never really examined those ideas, content in the fact that popular culture reflected these values, so it must be right.

Then the war required me to examine things closer. I turned into a news junkie. I listened to as much AM radio as I could, and I discovered talk radio. Of course, Rush Limbaugh factors heavily into my experience. My father claims I was brainwashed. Perhaps.

But when I began to think about the Republic, the ideas of our history, and so forth, I could not escape the realization that Conservatism aligned with things that I intuitively believed. I began to realize the ideas of the statist Democratic Party ran counter to the things that seemed correct to me.

It took a little time, but I began to form my own ideas. No, they weren’t in lockstep with the GOP, but that party certainly represented more of what I thought was right than any other party.

I can’t say that today.

When Newt Gingrich engineered the takeover of the House of Representatives with the Contract with America, I cheered. I anticipated a new era of limited government, or restraint, and a return of power to the states.

Please forgive my naivety.

When it came to Bush the Younger, I voted for him the first time with little enthusiasm. I voted for him the second time out of a determination that we must continue the greater War, not just the Battle for Iraq.

With his election, I also advocated the continued control of the Congress by the party. I didn’t want to see the muddled, weak Democrats in a position to undermine our will in the face of what is coming.

But even then, I’m not convinced the Republicans are going to do what must be done in this fight. Our choice is between the incompetence of Montgomery and the excessive caution of Eisenhower. We need a Patton, but I don’t see one in the pipeline for either party.

The War is the Issue.

Republican concepts of limited government and fiscal restraint are dead. They are beyond dead. I’m not sure they ever lived. The Republicans have made a mockery of the things they campaigned on during the Contract. At least with the Democrats, you KNEW you were getting excessive spending and Federal expansion.

I’m beyond disgusted with them. Outside of the War Issue, I don’t give a rip WHO wins an election. I’m now a single-issue voter, because any other issue isn’t going to matter if we don’t continue to prosecute Islamic Fascism.

And the Republicans don’t have a monopoly on this fight. If the Democrats put up a decent candidate who can convince me they will continue to kill our enemies in large numbers, I’ll vote for them.

That’s all that matters.

I still hold to my Conservative values. I believe in small government, limited spending, and the minimum of interference in the lives of citizens. I still WANT a candidate who will work to strangle the Federal Government.

The Republican Party has squandered any allegiance I might have felt. My vote is no longer secure for them. I’m actually MORE inclined to vote for spending wastrels from the Democratic party when it comes to local and state elections – if nothing else simply to hasten the inevitable collapse of pseudo-socialism under the strain of growing entitlements and the negative effects of confiscatory taxes. Let’s run this thing into a ditch so we can get serious about fixing it.

You guys screwed up. History will lump you into the same category as those feeble Senators who failed to seize the reigns and oppose Marius when he began to tinker with the foundation of Republican Rome. You didn’t act to destroy this Republic, but you certainly turned your back on an opportunity to save it.

Get comfortable with your legacy of failure.

Filed under: The War