The Republican Problem
October 08, 2012
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As always, offering my unique perspective on the interesting and the irrelevant alike.
Scoring the Presidential Debate
Establishment 1
Everyone Else 0
Word around town is that Romney wiped the floor on Mister Teleprompter. RedState.com bloggers must have wet themselves with delight. I avoided this chirade the way Jacksonville's Wide Receivers avoid the End Zone. (Likewise, the way I avoid Jax WR's in every fantasy draft). But I did catch some of the (low)lights from various sources. I am not impressed. The challenger went out of his way to tell anyone listening (the State bureaucracy) that he has no intention of upsetting the status quo. Instead we are treated to the ridiculously superficial prospect of a cut in PBS subsidies. Oh yeah, that'll get the house in order! I'm surprised gold futures didn't plummet on the news of this impending fiscal austerity plan. To heighten the stupidity, the Left protested (you can always count on the Left to take a really stupid idea, and then make it even more stupid.) Hey, if Big Bird needs a subsidy (he doesn't), maybe it's not really that popular (it is.) Get it? Good programming doesn't need a subsidy. This isn't 1933.
Now that this idiotic sideshow is behind us, Obama wil bounce back. Count on it. Say what you will about the guy, he's a fighter. For better or worse, depending on your gold exposure. But this is a nice lead in to understanding the real reason that Republicans always fail to stem the tide of big government.
Defending the Status Quo is a Flawed Strategy
The great Murray N. Rothbard, simply put the most original and brilliant political and economic philosopher I have ever read, pinned down the Republican problem brilliantly in his book Egalitarianism as a Revolt Against Nature:
"For well over a century, the Left has generally been conceded to have morality, justice, and "idealism" on its side; the conservative opposition to the Left has largely been confined to the "impracticality" of its ideals. A common view, for example, is that socialism is splendid "in theory," but that it cannot "work" in practical life. What the conservatives failed to see is that while short-run gains can indeed be made by appealing to the impracticality of radical departures from the status quo, that by conceding the ethical and the "ideal" to the Left they were doomed to long-run defeat. For if one side is granted ethics and the "ideal" from the start, then that side will be able to effect gradual but sure changes in its own direction; and as these changes accumulate, the stigma of "impracticality" becomes less and less directly relevant. The conservative opposition, having staked its all on the seemingly firm ground of the "practical" (that is, the status quo) is doomed to lose as the status quo moves further in the left direction." - Rothbard, 1974 http://mises.org/daily/3071
My Republican friends, do you see what has happened here? As the status quo gets nudged towards ever expanding government powers, what is "practical" and "unpractical" shift as well, making liberty seem less practical and welfarism as the most practical. Hence, today you see a Republican Party that views free markets and liberty as some crazy idea of a cranky old Texas Congressman. Heck, even cutting PBS subsidies is viewed as unpractical today by most Republicans (which is why Romney is politically foolish to even mention it.) The status quo is the biggest and most powerful federal government the world has ever seen. (Admittedly, not the most tyrannical, yet.)
In other words, because the Establishment Republican line has been to defend the status quo, it has slowly caused the Republican voting base to move Left as well, pretty much without their conscience approval or understanding. It is so bad today that anyone who champions liberty is considered the unelectable crazy kook. You think it's just Ron Paul that gets this treatment? Keep your eyes open, my friends.
Solution: Kill The Party
The Republican Party cannot be saved. We've witnessed in 2012 how the Elite reacts to usurping of their political processes. They lie, cheat, steal, and change the rules. In 2016 it will be even more difficult for a non-hack to get momentum during the delegate process. If you think otherwise, you weren't watching when Ron Paul started dominating the primaries.
Even if you're not a libertarian, just a small government conservative that wants to reverse the never ending rise of welfarism (and how I wish you would start taking a look at the damaging effects of militarism, but I guess I can't have everything), you should root for Republicans to lose every election. Why do you want to spend the rest of your life depending policies and politicians that you know have no connection to the ideology you support? Wouldn't you rather these hacks lose, that the party be purged and relegated to the dustbin of history? At least if that happens, you might have a shot at a decent new Party rising up to take its place. The current status quo rule gives you no hope.
"And the answer is neither the president nor I are proposing any changes for any current retirees or near retirees, either to Social Security or Medicare. So if you’re 60 or around 60 or older, you don’t need to listen any further." - Mitt Romney, 2012 first Presidential Debate.
David in Liberty
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