Conservatives must return to basic principles: small and practical government and personal and economic freedom, and respect for private property. As Hawkins rightly puts it the “we’re the lesser of two evils” approach is unsustainable for any political party. And that is what the Bush administration and the late, unlamented Republican Congress appeared to think they were.
Thank you crafty b, like a blind squirrel you have found several acorns. He (or she) is 100% correct that a huge standing army is not a fundamental conservative principle. During the world wars and cold war such a structure could be justified. But those times are over. The threat the West, or the tattered remains of it, faces is mostly existential, with a dollop of private terrorism and rogue state adventurism funded by petrodollars.
Is an inflated multi-million member military the best way to fight these threats? Although I might be convinced, I think not. The first step, unlikely to be possible under an Obama administration but who knows, is a crash program of energy dependency reduction – oil, natural gas and shale exploitation for the short term as the economy transitions into new more efficient technologies. Europe is well into its death spiral – from cultural ennui, fertilitity collapse and welfare state overcommitments. A short term program for reform of NATO and withdrawl of the permanent U.S. military presence must be accepted and pursued.
The next 4 years must be the opening of a new dialogue among conservatives of both major parties and libertarians to formulate and market an integrated, comprehensive program of structural reform encompassing local, state and federal governments. The coming entitlement tsunami mentioned earlier is just around the corner. If memory serves, the FICA surplus begins to decline in 2010; the SS payouts exceed FICA revenues by 2017 and from that point we face $53 trillion in unfunded liabilities thru 2050. No need to mention Medicare and Medicaid (or their soon to be gargantuan successors) are in even worse trouble.
Crafty b has unwittingly pointed out an important truth. Conservatives are going to have to play 52 card pick up. But the process will only be successful if all 52 cards are tossed in the air.
