Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Stalwart Fiscal Conservative Who is Socially Liberal? Non-Existent

As our annual CPAC gathering kicks off today with the sponsorship of the gay Republican GoProud organization, it is important to understand something about socially liberal "conservatives".  They don't exist. Period. (O.K. there is Jeff Flake on DADT, but he is still 100% pro life).

American conservatism is comprised of three indissoluble principles; social values, national defense, and classic economic liberalism.  A movement that includes those who categorically reject one of those ethos is not a big tent.  It is a circus.  That is because those who reject social values or national defense will indubitably reject fiscal conservatism as well.  How many self proclaimed social liberal/fiscal conservative Republicans are indeed stalwart, intrepid, and truculent in their defense of the free market and liberty?  Very few, indeed, and certainly not anyone who is associated with GoProud.

As Erick Erickson observes at Red State,GoProud has worked to undermine conservatives throughout their existence, even if that meant teaming up with the SEIU.  If these clowns were in the trenches fighting our battles for limited government and a robust America-first foreign policy, we would be more inclined to accept this group.  However, GoProud, along with every other self proclaimed conservative socially liberal group, has been missing in action as it relates to the issues that are important to authentic conservatives.  That is because conservatism without the social values is like a body without a soul.  It is lifeless.  Thus, they expend their efforts assiduously pushing their hard left social agenda, with no regard for any fiscal or national security issue.

Conversely, it is the inimitable social conservatives like Jim DeMint and Michelle Bachmann who are inexorable in their defense of national security and free market economics.

This is not the time to begin reaching out to fair-weather gay conservatives whose motives are dubious at best.  Social conservatism is under assault on every front; from the repeal of DADT and the integration of women in combat, to the proliferation of gay marriage throughout the states.  In my home state of Maryland, even the former Republican Senate leader is joining with Democrats to make the Old Line State the 6th state that recognizes gay marriage.

We must work indefatigably now, more than ever, to reassert ourselves over social issues and not cede the battleground to the left.  Are we prepared to eschew the core values that we seek to promote because of contrived "generational changes"?

Let there be no ambiguity concerning the motives of socially liberal "conservatives".  If they are willing to abjure some conservative values due to generational shifts, they will easily surrender the rest of the policy battlefield to the whims of the left.

2 comments:

Positively Churchillian said...

Fair call. After all there’s a C in CPAC for a reason.

Daniel Horowitz said...

Next, we will have Republicans for Obama Care at CPAC. After all, we need a big tent.