In the months that have passed since November of 2008, it has been suggested that the Republican Party needs to re-brand itself. That it needs to abandon its old ideas and get with the program. That failure to do so will relegate the Republicans to the status of the Whigs. That the Republican party is bankrupt of ideas and has simply become the “Party of No”.
While I cannot speak for the leadership of the Republican Party (or what passes for leadership in this day and time) I can speak for myself. Over the past few years, I have grown increasingly disillusioned with the GOP, to the point that I tend to refer to myself as a Conservative, not a Republican.
To this end, I am writing this Conservative Manifesto. While my thoughts have been influenced by many over the past several years, I speak for nobody but myself in writing this manifesto, in the hopes that Conservatives will read it and find common ground to unite behind.
The creed behind this Manifesto can be summed up thusly: As Ronald Reagan famously said, “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’”
Article I: Balancing the Federal Budget
The Dollar is the currency of international trade and has been since the end of World War II. This has produced a great deal of wealth and prestige for the United States of America. But the government tied the value of the Dollar to the “faith and credit of the United States” and as such, an unbalanced budget causes the value of the Dollar to drop. Many foreign nations hold Dollars as reserve currency. The plans of our past and present administrations to print money as if it was going out of style has left the value of the Dollar on a precipice. As the value of the Dollar falls, more foreign powers wish to divest themselves of Dollars. This makes the value of the Dollar fall further. It’s basic supply and demand. The trillion dollar stimulus plan may well be the death knell of the Dollar.
It is, therefore, absolutely imperative that the Federal Budget be balanced. Inflating away debt is not a policy. Ask Zimbabweans who pay Ten Million (Zimbabwean) Dollars for a loaf of bread about inflation.
Article II: The Sanctity of Life
Human life is sacred. The value of Human Life comes as a consideration before all else. The Human Consequence must be weighed in all decisions, political, environmental, military, etc. To this end there are two proposals that are immediately apparent.
Abortion is unacceptable under this policy. The majority of abortions have nothing to do with rape, incest, or the health of the mother. The child is simply an inconvenience. But that makes it no less human, and no less innocent. If the Government does not stand for the rights of the defenseless, then who will?
Deploying the Military to fight an undeclared war is unacceptable under this policy. Despite the greatest technological military might that the world has ever seen, the strength of the United States is not measured in the number of nuclear warheads and aircraft carriers that we possess, but in the strength of our people. We cannot fight and win a war if we are not united. Asking for our soldiers to risk their lives so that their sacrifice can be thrown away on the whim of the next election is unfair, and unjust. Let there be no more undeclared wars. If there is a threat severe enough to ask for our soldiers to fight and die, then the threat is severe enough to issue a declaration of war.
Article III: The Rights of the People
When the Constitution was ratified, it was ratified on the condition that The Bill of Rights be ratified right along with it. Somewhere down the line between then and now, the Government ceased to respect those rights and has imposed its will on the people and the states. The enforcement of the 9th and 10th amendments to the Constitution are of paramount importance. Likewise, the many threats to the First and Second Amendments should be dealt with.
Churches and other non profits should never be bludgeoned into silence with the threat of the IRS taking away their tax exempt status. Pastors have freedom of speech too. And that freedom extends to the pulpit.
The people of this nation have a God Given right to defend themselves when threatened. They have a right to own weapons and to use those weapons to defend their lives, the lives of their loved ones, and their property.
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution guaranteeing Freedom of Speech.
The rights of the people do not include Health Care, Welfare, Social Security, Education, or any other government social program. These programs are little more than vote buying schemes and should be abolished immediately.
Article IV: This IS a Christian Nation
The United States of America was founded by Christians on Christian principles. To deny this is to deny the history of the United States. The Constitution guarantees Freedom Of Religion because of the experience of the Founders with the state run Church in England. Not because they wanted to enshrine some kind of quasi-atheism on the country.
To this end, the US Government recognizes religious institutions such as Marriage. This does not give the government the right to redefine marriage. Furthermore, instances of the government attempting to establish definitions of marriage that run counter to Biblical teaching violate the First Amendment of the Constitution and the protections of the religious in this country.
Almost all laws passed in the Congress are somehow related to a moral issue. The question is whose morality is being enacted. Christians have as much right to voice their opinion as anybody else.
Article V: Social Justice Is No Justice
The roles of the courts in this country is to rule whether an action is legal or illegal. Not to judge the morality of the law. It is the responsibility of the Congress to make the laws and to debate the relative morality of the edicts.
To use the judicial system to enact decisions that cannot be made through the legislative process is absolutely unethical. And the inevitable result of doing so is a total loss of respect for the judicial process. If the people do not believe that they can turn to the Judiciary to receive Equal Justice Under the Law, then what purpose does the government serve?
To be continued at a later date…