Republicans Had to Lose

From Why Republicans Had to Lose Before Conservatives Could Win by Jack Hunter

Conservatives shouldn’t be upset that Obama won. They should rejoice. The Republican Party needed to get its ass kicked before anything might improve. If Sarah Palin was ever worth anything to the Right, she undoubtedly would have been damaged goods after four years of McCain. In getting away from McCain, perhaps she can salvage what made her politically attractive in the first place. Only time will tell and now conservatives have it.

Throughout this election, arguing over whether Barack Obama or John McCain was better for America’s future was like arguing whether the Backstreet Boys or ‘N Sync would be better for the future of rock ‘n’ roll. Eventually fans of both groups grew up, realized they sucked, and made more substantive selections.

It’s time for conservatives to do the same.

One of the best commentaries I’ve seen on the delection so far. This guy from Charleston, SC, who’s roughly the same age as me, gets it.

Since I started voting in 1992, I’ve found the political world a fascinating place full of both hope and fear, silliness and sincerity. It’s pretty much like everyday life, but without the media.

One thing’s for sure, this is the most apathetic I’ve ever been about an election. Ironically, it’s the most sincere I’ve been in 16 years regarding the direction our beloved society is going. I guess I’m losing hope in the corrupt political system that is dubbed the United States of America.

I’ve toyed with descriptions for my political philosophy, and there is no accurate description. The best I’ve seen comes from a list: libertarian, paleolibertarian, conservative, paleoconservative, capitalist, anarcho-capitalist, and the list grows. I am all of the above and then some.

I’m an individual as God created me. (I’m not a Calvinist, mind you, but I believe that God has a designed me and every other individual for a purpose.)

Now I have to wonder what’ll happen in the next four years under the Obama regime. Honestly, I’m not sure other than the fact that we can expect business as usual: more abortions, more violence, more war, more moral decline, more economic decline, and maybe even another terror attack or two just to keep us in line.

I used to put my hope in Constitutional Republicanism. I woke up from that dream a long time ago. I trust in God, my family, and my own potential to make a better world around me. That’s really about it.

I hope the best for America, and I hope my pessimism is proven wrong.

21st Century Fascism?

We throw around the term fascism all the time usually referring to what we may perceive as any authoritarian practices. The Merriam-Websters definition is thus:

a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

The most prominent example of fascism is that of Mussolini’s Italian regime in the middle part of the 20th Century. Thomas J. DiLorenzo posted on the LRC Blog this quote from Gaetano Salvemini’s Under the Axe of Fascism (1936), p. 380.:

“The Italian Charter of Labour says that private enterprise is responsible to the state . . . [but] it is the state, i.e., the taxpayer, who has become responsible to private enterprise. . . . Profit is private and individual. Loss is public and social.”

How fitting is this assessment of Fascist Italy to the current economic and political situation in 21st Century America?

Palin

Finally, a sensible view from a conservative on Palin:

I, for one, will not be voting for McCain or Obama this year. I’m going to freely, willingly, and without malice “throw away my vote” for the Libertarian Bob Barr.

To be honest, I’ve lost all hope in the system at large and have no expectation of things getting better. Am I pessimistic? Yes. Does that mean I’ve lost all hope in America? By no means. I have great hope in America and our future. We have the most innovative and free thinking people on the planet. It’s just a matter of us getting over our dependency on the Washington establishment for our well being that will ultimately decide our fate.

Are we going to follow suit with Europe and Asia, or are we going to pursue our own brighter and better future? I hope for the latter.