If a conservative candidate can only succeed by running on a centrist ticket, it’s because far too many Americans are philosophically confused and have an inconsistent sense of ideology.
One of the things which really annoys me is the senseless assumption that success lies in an exact compromise between the left and the right. The word “compromise” is highly overrated, as is the idea that “extremism” is automatically a bad thing.
Is “perfect health” too extreme? Is “perfect happiness” too extreme? Should doctors look to compromise between health and sickness? Should we compromise between good and evil?
The standard of value is human life and the most important right is the freedom of the individual to pursue his own happiness without physical coercion from others. I see no reason whatsoever to compromise these values. Free capitalism, consisting of economic freedom in a society in which the rights of individuals are protected by the state, is the only system which embodies them. Centrists like McCain – who pay lip service to the free market but who also feel that success should be punished with taxes and failure rewarded with tax-funded bailouts – should not be pandered to. They should be educated, not humored.
Pandering to the centrist majority means entrusting the future of this country to the uninformed whims of group-think. Political progress is not just about doing what it takes to win elections. It’s not just about drifting aimlessly in a current of popular thought. It’s about changing people’s minds so that they’ll vote for your real values, not some bastardized hybrid garbage that appeals to the minds of people who are too lazy to think.
