THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume X, Issue # 292, November 7, 2008
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
2008 ELECTION AFTERMATH: RETHINKING THE "BIG TENT"
By Christopher G. Adams
THE SENATE FILIBUSTER: ONE DEVICE AVAILABLE TO REPUBLICANS TO BLOCK UNCONTROLLED IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE LIBERAL LEFTIST POLICY AGENDA OF THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY -- THE MOST IMPORTANT DUTY & RESPONSIBILITY
OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY AS THE MINORITY PARTY: FULLY UTILIZE THE SENATE FILIBUSTER & MAKE THE
SYSTEM OF CHECKS & BALANCES WORK TO PROTECT & PRESERVE CONSTITUTIONAL GOVERNMENT & INDIVIDUAL LIBERTY
IN THE U.S.A. -- EMPLOY WITH DETERMINATION THE ONLY MEANS BY WHICH THE POLITICAL LEFT CAN BE STALLED IN ITS
DRIVE TO COMPREHENSIVELY & DESPOTICALLY EXPAND GOVERNMENT INTRUSION INTO THE LIFE OF THE INDIVIDUAL
AMERICAN CITIZEN
FULL STORY:
As a result of this week’s elections, the Republican minority caucus in the United States Senate currently represents the
sole remnant of a “firewall” against an uncontrolled implementation of the Liberal agenda. With less than a sixty-vote
Democratic Party majority needed to force a vote on any issue, a Republican filibuster is the only means by which the
Left can be stalled from its overarching and despotic expansion of government intrusion into the lives of the citizenry.
So, if the filibuster is the only manner in which Republicans can exercise opposition to the Left, the device should be
enthusiastically touted and employed as such.
No doubt, the Democratic Party hypocrites in Washington, D.C., who comprise the most self-serving, partisan, and
divisive Congress in the history of the nation, will now invoke and enshrine their phony version of “unity” as every
politician’s highest calling. During the years of a Republican Congress and Presidency, every underhanded Democratic
partisan attack that could divide the Congress and distract it from its necessary duties, even during a time of war, was
considered noble. Yet, those same partisans will now shamelessly maintain that any dissent or criticism of the Marxist
goals of Barack Hussein Obama will represent the height of “un-American” behavior.
Regardless, U.S. Senate Republicans have only the filibuster as avenue by which to fulfill their commitment to those
constituents who elected them. Accepting the bogus "unity" premise of Democrats would be a total abdication of the
solitary vestige of purpose for having a Republican Party. Therefore, the enormous pressure that will undoubtedly be
inflicted on Republicans to attain “unity” should be recognized and rebuffed as the dangerous snare that it is.
Conversely, by employing the filibuster, robustly and, if necessary, frequently, Republicans could once again validate
their existence in the U.S. Senate, while highlighting the stark contrasts that should separate them from the Liberalism
of the Democrats. It was the abysmal lack of such contrast on defining issues, for nearly a decade that contributed,
more than any other factor, to public disillusionment with the Republicans.
Spending excesses, the bloating of government in areas where it constitutionally does not belong, along with the
concurrent abandonment of its real responsibility to protect American sovereignty, have convinced many in the
grassroots that Republicans are no more interested in representing them than are the Democrats. As a result, a once
loyal and enthusiastic Conservative base became fractured and demoralized.
In a similar manner, Republican acquiescence to Democrats' demands to “end the rancor” and “reach across the aisle”
have only served to convince America that the Democrats are the true leaders, and indeed deserve to be in complete
control. Admittedly, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives do not possess any means by which to
completely stall unwanted legislation, as do their Senate colleagues. Yet they are still in a position to exhibit a unified
opposition that would thereafter delineate between those who promote bad law and those who oppose it.
During some brief periods in America’s history, the political landscape was indeed comprised of differing political and
philosophical camps whose members shared a common interest in the well-being and future of this nation. Yet, for more
than three decades, this has not been the case inside the Beltway.
The ascendancy of the 1960s counterculture as a potent political force brought with it a mindset of activity that
constituted a war on traditional America. Sadly, too many on the Right refused to recognize this aspect of the enormous
divide that now defines the political landscape. The brutish and often flagrantly illegal actions among Liberals, seen so
blatantly during this past week, stand as undeniable proof of this grim state of modern American politics.
For Republicans to respond to such behavior with anything less than a genuinely outraged and truly confrontational
manner is to legitimize it and ultimately ensure that incidents of this nature will only continue to increase in frequency
and severity. The Left is at war with traditional America. It needs to be engaged in that war by an opposing force that,
rather than attempting to peaceably accommodate it, recognizes the critical necessity to vanquish it.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Republicans need to rethink and rework their entire approach to the “Big Tent.”
Initially conceived by President Ronald W. Reagan as a means of promoting a cohesive GOP under his worthy
leadership, the concept has degenerated in recent years to the point that some Republican “moderates” invoke it as
justification for the party to cease standing for anything at all. Not surprisingly (except apparently to those of the D.C.
“political class”), every attempt to make political gains through such an approach have proven to be abject failures.
Ultimately, this thoroughly compromised and morally rudderless “Big Tent” has devolved to the point that, during the
most recent election cycle, it represented nothing more than a conglomeration of disparate personalities. Its boundaries
were established and continually moved, not to define any worthy principle, but to make room for the latest aspiring
Republican “wannabe.”
The self-destructive futility and absurdity of such a counterproductive approach to governing and leadership was made
grimly obvious by the seeming betrayal of the Republican Party, at the worst possible moment, by former GOP luminary
Colin Powell. Throughout the past decade, the boundaries of the “Big Tent” were stretched to grotesque proportions in
a vain attempt to be “inclusive” of Powell and his kind, only to have them utilize their heightened credibility to the
benefit of the opposition at critical points in the presidential campaign. A “tent” that accommodates Trojan Horses like
Powell sows the seeds of its own defeat.
In contrast, during the current reign of Liberal insanity, a party philosophy of principled Conservatism and a party
platform that focuses on the best interests of the American people will, by definition, represent a starkly different, and
eventually very appealing alternative to the twisted dreams and sinister aspirations of the Left. The goals and methods
of Liberalism never have, and never will, offer a better life for those subjugated under them.
For truly principled and courageous Republicans, this time in the wilderness may seem desperate and bleak. But it also
represents an incredible opportunity to underscore the differences that irreconcilably divide the political Right and the
political Left. The Republican Party can either continue its futile attempts at appeasement and thus be relegated to
irrelevancy, or it can face this challenge head-on and thereby embark on the surest road to its renewal.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
American Politics, Political Competition, & the Control of
Public Policy: Elections, Political Parties, Political Factions,
Ideologies, & Special Interest Groups
American Government & the U.S. Congress
American Government & the U.S. Presidency:
Presidential Politics & National Leadership
The American Political System:
Politics & Government in the U.S.A.
The American Political & Cultural Left:
Liberals, Statists, Socialists, Marxists, & Other Leftists:
The Democratic Party, Academia, & the Mainstream Media
Liberalism Versus Conservatism in American Politics
-------------------------
POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY & POLITICAL IDEOLOGIES:
COMPETING SYSTEMS OF POLITICAL THOUGHT
Conservatism
Traditional Conservatism: Questions & Answers
Conservatism: Attitudes, Types, & Present Status
Constitutional Conservatism: American & British
Liberalism
Classical Liberalism: Intellectual Foundations
Classical Liberalism: Conservative Liberalism
Manchester Liberalism & Social Darwinism
Modern Social "Liberalism": Statist "Liberalism"
Radical & Totalitarian Ideologies
Radicalism, Utopianism, & Totalitarianism
Christopher G. Adamo is a freelance writer who lives in southeastern Wyoming and works in the field of industrial instrumentation.
He is actively involved in Wyoming's political process, serving as a delegate to successive Wyoming State Republican Conventions
and as a member of the Wyoming State Republican Central Committee. He has assisted Republican candidates for local and state
legislatures and for the United States Congress. His articles, which appear regularly in The Progressive Conservative, U.S.A.,
and on a number of other websites, reflect a major concern with the damage being done to Conservatism and Conservative causes by
the Liberal Leftist faction in the Republican Party as well as by the much larger and more powerful Liberal Leftist faction in the
Democratic Party. During the early and middle 1990s, Adamo was Editor of the Wyoming Christian Coalition's official news organ,
The Wyoming Christian.
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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