Better Late Than Never for Fred Thompson

I was not a Fred Thompson supporter in the 2008 Presidential primary, instead thinking that Mitt Romney was the best choice given his business leadership credentials and smaller government ideas. However, Mr. Thompson was published on the editiorial page of the Wall Street Journal on May 23 and had he penned his comments prior to the South Carolina primary, I would have had to seriously consider supporting him. Entitled, “The Death of Conservatism is Greatly Exaggerated,” the editorial opens with comments on the recent Congressional losses by conservatives and states that the revival of the conservative cause “will require avoiding the traps of pessimism or election-year quick fixes.”

Unfortunately, I’m not sure the trap of election year quick fixes can be avoided by those who seek to maintain power at all costs even if it means doling out funds to everyone who has his hand out. As we saw in the years of Republican control up until 2006, even Republicans will grow government until the electorate turns over the tables and throws the money changers out of the temple.

It seems that over the last decade Republicans have lost their conservative credentials and have bought into the fallacy that government programs can solve every problem. Because the Republicans have been ineffective at reducing government when they promised they would and instead grew government, the American people seem to have decided that bigger government is the only option offered by either party. At least the Democrats have the decency to say openly that they are in fact for bigger government to solve the issues of the day.

In his editorial, Mr. Thompson goes on to say:

"Some conservatives try to avoid philosophical confrontation with liberals, often urging solutions that would expand the government while rationalizing that the expansion would be at a slightly slower rate.
This strategy simply has not worked. Conservatives should stay true to their principles and remember:
- Congress cannot repeal the laws of economics. There are no short-term fixes without longer term consequences.
- In a free and dynamic country with social mobility, there will be great opportunity but also economic disparity, especially if the country has liberal immigration policies and a high divorce rate.
- An education system cannot overcome the breakdown of the family, and the social fabric that surrounds children daily.
- Free markets, not an expanding and more powerful government, are the solution to today's problems. Many of these problems, such as health-care costs, energy dependency and the subprime mortgage crisis, were caused in large part by government policies.
It's not that conservatives today no longer believe in the validity of these principles. They just find it difficult to stand strong when the political winds are blowing so hard against them."

Why is it that conservatives have lost the will to fight? Is it because there is no leadership for the conservative movement on the national level in the Executive Branch? So many elected officials who purport to be conservatives either have decided that it is easier to simply point the finger across the aisle and blame the other party for the lack of solutions or are afraid to admit that conservative principles require sacrifice. It’s easier just to allow government to perpetuate itself rather than ask the electorate to make sacrifices in order to shrink the institution from which those officials think they derive their power.

Mr. Thompson alludes to the sacrifice issue as well in his conclusion:

" ...Conservatives must have faith that, more often than not, Americans will make the sacrifices necessary to preserve national security and prosperity.
A political party that adheres to conservative principles should have continuing success – especially if its leadership believes in those principles and is able to articulate them."

At this point, it appears that we are still waiting for the leadership that can articulate those principles and not simply fill our ears with rhetoric against the other party. Only by speaking rationally about these beliefs and then acting on them can a party with a conservative philosophy be entrusted again with control at all levels government.

The lesson from Mr. Thompson; maybe it takes getting out of the political scene to clearly articulate a statesman-like message on conservatism. I just hope people are still listening.