Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention was asked what government the convention had rendered, “A Republic,” he replied, “if you can keep it.”
A republican form of government, guaranteed by the Constitution, is one in which the people remain sovereign and government operates on their behalf through chosen representatives. Federalism (the separation of powers between the states and the federal government) and the separation of powers within the federal government (the three branches of government) were not just random thoughts, they were specific structures designed to limit government power and protect the freedom of the people.
This limiting of government power, at its core, is what conservatives are trying to conserve.
Sadly, too many Americans today have forgotten how vitally important limited government is to the future of individual liberty.
Hillary Clinton understands the meaning of a Republican form of government – but she could care less. Like most Liberals, she thinks government should rule the people – for their own good. Her goal is increased government power, especially that of the President, and she wants to yoke the people to government dependence in all its varied forms.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, too often sounds like Hillary, as he promises outrageous government solutions to every problem. I don’t believe that he completely understands what he is proposing – it is just his way of playing to the masses – but it has worked brilliantly so far.
He and his core supporters care much more about winning, than about old-fashioned political principles – from either side of the isle. Therefore, he will be just as conservative as he needs to be to win in November.
And that may be all abandoned conservatives need to survive.
Trump’s recent announcement of a list of conservative judges that he would choose from to fill Supreme Court vacancies was only the first in what many conservatives hope will be a continuing effort to woo them into the “big tent” he will need to win the Presidency.
If he follows through, however, it will mean much more than a win for populist politics.
Federalism only works when each branch of the government assumes and exercises their proper governing role. If Hillary Clinton becomes president, and then nominates her liberal activist friends to the Court, she will have effectively turned it from an independent branch of government into a pawn of the liberal agenda. Liberals, keep in mind, could care less about the proper role of the Supreme Court. They are perfectly happy with it enacting policies through judicial decree that otherwise had no chance of passing through the proper legislative process.
However, if Trump keeps his promise, conservatives will reinvigorate the Supreme Court to act in its proper role of conserving the political structures that have made America great. They will honor the Constitutional, separation of powers, States’ rights, and reign in the power of the president to write law – making the possibility of an Emperor Trump less likely.
Hillary is right when she accuses Trump of pandering to the NRA to gain conservative votes. But again, if he follows through after the election – all the better. It is one of the few issues where Trump is honestly to the right of Hillary.
The next step I suspect in this war for the hearts and minds of conservatives will be when Trump selects a proven conservative as his Vice Presidential running mate. He will do it to help him win, but Vice Presidents also can help a President in getting things done in Congress. If he takes this step, it will be another sign of his willingness to work with conservatives to get things done. We will see.
In short, given the situation as it currently stands, conservatives are correct to hold their nose and vote for Trump rather than waste their vote on a third party, not vote at all, or vote for someone who will pack the Supreme Court with liberal activists.
This is not an endorsement of Donald Trump. I am not a Republican partisan whose principals fly out the window as soon as the political winds change, I will not endorse a power hungry, un-principled, narcissist who is only the nominee because his showmanship, not his principles, mattered more in this primary from hell.
But unless something new comes up, I will support his candidacy as the best of the worst options placed before conservatives in decades.
It is a vote for survival of the Republican form of government, the form given to us by the founders, but only we can keep it.
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The Founders Tavern 
Survival Mode
Posted in Political Commentary, tagged conservative, politics, trump on May 25, 2016| Leave a Comment »
Benjamin Franklin, as he left the Constitutional Convention was asked what government the convention had rendered, “A Republic,” he replied, “if you can keep it.”
A republican form of government, guaranteed by the Constitution, is one in which the people remain sovereign and government operates on their behalf through chosen representatives. Federalism (the separation of powers between the states and the federal government) and the separation of powers within the federal government (the three branches of government) were not just random thoughts, they were specific structures designed to limit government power and protect the freedom of the people.
This limiting of government power, at its core, is what conservatives are trying to conserve.
Sadly, too many Americans today have forgotten how vitally important limited government is to the future of individual liberty.
Hillary Clinton understands the meaning of a Republican form of government – but she could care less. Like most Liberals, she thinks government should rule the people – for their own good. Her goal is increased government power, especially that of the President, and she wants to yoke the people to government dependence in all its varied forms.
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, too often sounds like Hillary, as he promises outrageous government solutions to every problem. I don’t believe that he completely understands what he is proposing – it is just his way of playing to the masses – but it has worked brilliantly so far.
He and his core supporters care much more about winning, than about old-fashioned political principles – from either side of the isle. Therefore, he will be just as conservative as he needs to be to win in November.
And that may be all abandoned conservatives need to survive.
Trump’s recent announcement of a list of conservative judges that he would choose from to fill Supreme Court vacancies was only the first in what many conservatives hope will be a continuing effort to woo them into the “big tent” he will need to win the Presidency.
If he follows through, however, it will mean much more than a win for populist politics.
Federalism only works when each branch of the government assumes and exercises their proper governing role. If Hillary Clinton becomes president, and then nominates her liberal activist friends to the Court, she will have effectively turned it from an independent branch of government into a pawn of the liberal agenda. Liberals, keep in mind, could care less about the proper role of the Supreme Court. They are perfectly happy with it enacting policies through judicial decree that otherwise had no chance of passing through the proper legislative process.
However, if Trump keeps his promise, conservatives will reinvigorate the Supreme Court to act in its proper role of conserving the political structures that have made America great. They will honor the Constitutional, separation of powers, States’ rights, and reign in the power of the president to write law – making the possibility of an Emperor Trump less likely.
Hillary is right when she accuses Trump of pandering to the NRA to gain conservative votes. But again, if he follows through after the election – all the better. It is one of the few issues where Trump is honestly to the right of Hillary.
The next step I suspect in this war for the hearts and minds of conservatives will be when Trump selects a proven conservative as his Vice Presidential running mate. He will do it to help him win, but Vice Presidents also can help a President in getting things done in Congress. If he takes this step, it will be another sign of his willingness to work with conservatives to get things done. We will see.
In short, given the situation as it currently stands, conservatives are correct to hold their nose and vote for Trump rather than waste their vote on a third party, not vote at all, or vote for someone who will pack the Supreme Court with liberal activists.
This is not an endorsement of Donald Trump. I am not a Republican partisan whose principals fly out the window as soon as the political winds change, I will not endorse a power hungry, un-principled, narcissist who is only the nominee because his showmanship, not his principles, mattered more in this primary from hell.
But unless something new comes up, I will support his candidacy as the best of the worst options placed before conservatives in decades.
It is a vote for survival of the Republican form of government, the form given to us by the founders, but only we can keep it.
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