Wandering in the Wilderness ...

[Guest $iLk]

Conservatism is dead. At least in Washington D.C. Those of us who believe in principle above any party, those of us who believe in ideals - freedom, responsibility, liberty... those of us who believe those are not just words - what do we have to turn to?

Many of us married ourselves to the neo-Conservative agenda in one fashion or another after September 11... out of blind patriotism. What have we gained in return? Government has grown at levels unprecedented in American history. Spending, size, and scope of the power of the almighty imperial federal government have reached levels that would make our founders blanch in horror. All of this under the party that brought us the Contract with America - and even acted on those ideals during the first session of Congress after the 1994 elections.

We have engaged in open warfare... invaded a country that never attacked us. It never threatened to attack us. It didn't possess the ability to attack us. We didn't even bother declaring war - because our representatives were willing to leave the hard decisions (hard political decisions) up to the bumbling man in the White House.

So now we sit - with the looming prospect that an anti-individual elitist who has openly embraced the fundamentals of Socialism (Hillary Clinton) may gain control of the Executive Branch of government.

So the obvious choice to turn to? Elitists in Washington? John MCCain who brought us the wonderful Campaign Finance Reform bill that was designed in order to increase the ability of incumbents to entrench themselves? Rudy Guiliani who's sole achievement was standing on a pile of rubble with a bullhorn? Mitt Romney... there is a curious fellow. He's a good man to be sure - but what sort of excitement does he really bring?

Newt Gingrich? Surely the very idea tickles our funny bones. But how can he really measure up to our high moral standards in elected officials?

So who brings the ideas that excite us? Who is talking about drastically reducing the size of government? Who is talking about lowering taxes and spending? Who is discussing alternative means of tackling societal problems such as homelessness and teenage pregnancy as opposed to blindly throwing money and condoms at the problems in the hopes they will go away? Who is discussing anything worth voting for?

Any liberals or members of the Democrat Party who wish to gloat - keep in mind that your party is full of empty suits and empty promises just as well. The fact that they hold the majority status in the legislative branch shouldn't blind you to that fact as it blinded many of us for a long time.