Explaining Conservatism

The next time a liberal or left-wing friend or relative asks you what conservatives stand for, say "liberty" -especially free speech.

by Dennis Prager for American Greatness

There are a number of reasons many young people shy away from conservatism.

The most obvious is that they have been exposed only to left-wing values—from elementary school through graduate school, in the movies, on television, on social media and now even at Disneyland.

Less obvious but equally significant is that they have never been properly exposed to conservative values. Since at least the World War II generation, most parents who held conservative values either did not think they had to teach their children those values or simply did not know how to do so. Most still don’t. If asked to define conservative values, most conservatives will be tongue-tied.

In light of this, I present here, and in subsequent columns, a list of conservatism’s defining characteristics.

We will begin with the most important conservative value—liberty.

Conservatives believe in individual liberty (there is no liberty other than individual liberty). It has been the primary value of the American experiment. While many countries include the word “liberty” in their national mottoes and national anthems, no country has so emphasized liberty as has America.

That is why:

• The French designers of the Statue of Liberty gave the statue to America.
• The iconic symbol of America is the Liberty Bell.
• The one inscription on the Liberty Bell is a verse about liberty from the Book of Leviticus: “And you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants.”
• Americans sing of their country as “the land of the free” and “sweet land of liberty.”
• Until recently, every America schoolchild knew by heart Patrick Henry’s cry, “Give me liberty, or give me death!”
• Chinese young people who protested the Communist takeover of Hong Kong waved the American flag.

And that is why America’s founders were adamant that the state—the national government—be as small, as limited, as possible. The bigger the government, the smaller the liberty. Big government and big liberty are mutually exclusive.

Moreover, liberty is not the only victim of big government. Human life is also a victim. Every genocide of the 20th century, the century of genocide, was committed by big government. Without big government, one hundred million people would not and could not have been slaughtered, and a billion more would not and could not have been enslaved. (There was one exception: the Hutu genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda, which was tribal in nature. Tribal culture, like left-wing culture, emphasizes the group over the individual.)

In order to limit the size and power of the national government, the founders delegated most governmental powers to the states. They did so in the Constitution by specifying what powers the national government had and by asserting that all other powers be delegated to the states. In addition, they increased the power of the states by having presidential elections decided by the states—the Electoral College—rather than by the popular national vote, and by how they structured the Senate, one of the two branches of Congress. They gave every state equal representation in the Senate, no matter how small the population of the state.

The Left’s opposition to the Electoral College and to the Senate makes perfect sense. It is the power inherent in big government, not liberty, that animates the Left. The defining characteristic of every left-wing party and movement in the world has always been an ever bigger and therefore more powerful government.

Liberty is a liberal value as well as a conservative value, but it has never been a left-wing value. Liberty cannot be a left-wing value because the more liberty individuals have, the less power the government has. Conversely, the weaker the state, the weaker the Left.

This especially holds true for the greatest of all liberties—free speech.

Free speech is a fundamental conservative value, and it has been a fundamental liberal value. But it has never been a left-wing value. For that reason, everywhere the Left is dominant—government, media, universities—it stifles dissent. The reason is simple: No left-wing movement can survive an open exchange of ideas. Leftist ideologies are emotion- and power-based, not reason- or morality-based. So, leftists cannot allow honest debate. They do not argue with opponents; they suppress them.

For the first time in American history, freedom of speech is seriously threatened—indeed it has already been seriously curtailed. With the ascent of the Left, the inevitable suppression of free speech is taking place.

That liberals—who have always valued liberty and free speech—vote for the great suppressor of liberty, the Left, is the tragedy of our time. The reason they do so is that liberals forgot what they stand for; they only remember what they believe they stand against: conservatives.

So, the next time a liberal or left-wing friend or relative asks you what conservatives stand for, say “liberty”—especially free speech. And explain that is why you fear and oppose big government—because big government and individual liberty cannot coexist.

X22, And we Know, and more- Oct 12

 

That Hetty news from last night is still going around the #ncis la tag on Twitter! I like it when entertainment sites take notice of something like this.

Here's tonight's news:

How Republicans Can Earn National Supermajority Status

America’s Democratic Party is beyond redemption, and with increasing momentum, Americans are recognizing this. 

Can Republicans offer a serious alternative?

by Edward Ring for American Greatness

If you want to reduce crime, bring back affordable energy, get America’s southern border under control, and once again teach children academic fundamentals in the public schools instead of brainwashing them with politicized garbage, you might support Republicans merely because they aren’t Democrats.

This isn’t a bad argument, but it isn’t enough to turn the tide.

After all, Democrats make a similar argument. If you hate racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, want to save the planet from climate change, and save America from fascists, you will vote for Democrats because they aren’t Republicans.

It doesn’t matter that the argument against Democrats has substance, and the argument against Republicans does not. Almost every major legacy and online media property is shilling for the Democratic Party, which means their perception is the reality for millions of Americans.

As a result, if all Republicans have got to offer voters is “we aren’t them,” Democrats will finish turning America into California in short order.

How does the Republican Party reunify, project a shared vision that attracts independent voters (and libertarians), cut through the media bias, and start winning by landslides all over America?

Why hasn’t the GOP attracted tens of millions of independent voters? Estimates vary, but according to Pew Research, in 2020 independents were 34 percent of registered voters nationwide—more than Democrats at 33 percent, or Republicans at 29 percent.

The first step is to realize that while it is probably more effective for politicians to speak in moderate Reaganesque tones, they must never equate measured speech with RINO appeasement. Republicans need to make radical assertions if they want to appeal to serious conservatives, as well as attract independents. That shouldn’t be difficult. Telling the truth in America today is a radical act.

With that in mind, it’s time for Republican candidates to quit hedging on the big issues. Here are some soundbites that ought to be coming out of the mouths of every GOP candidate in America:

People who commit crimes are criminals, not misunderstood victims. They have to be put in prison to protect society. In prison they can overcome substance abuse, get an education, learn a trade, and may eventually reenter society as productive citizens.

We will fire district attorneys who don’t prosecute criminal acts. We will not apply double standards of any kind to law enforcement and we will hold criminals responsible for their actions regardless of their identity and background.

We are not in a “climate crisis.” There is no “climate emergency.” We will only support public infrastructure that yields obvious economic benefits.

Clean fossil fuel and nuclear power are not going to destroy the earth. We need more of both. We will stop subsidizing and mandating “renewables.”

Homeless people cannot take over our cities. Building “supportive permanent housing,” with no conditions, is a corrupt scam. We will use that money instead to swiftly move the homeless into shelters, mental hospitals, and jails, depending on their afflictions.

We will overcome the environmentalist assault on single family homes. We recognize that mandating high density housing and “infill” to the exclusion of building new suburbs is an unbalanced and unhealthy approach. There’s plenty of land in America.

We’re going to stop exporting jobs. We will eliminate tax incentives that encourage American companies to source raw materials and manufacture products overseas. We will eliminate regulations that discourage domestic production.

We’re going to stop importing welfare recipients. We will get our borders under control again and from now on we will admit immigrants based solely on their merit.

We will pursue antitrust enforcement in any industry wherever oligopolies have formed. These run the gamut from agriculture to social media.

We will withhold Section 230 protection from any online communications platform that censors content protected by the First Amendment. 

International corporatism and international communism are two sides of the same coin. We oppose both.

We will win the 21st century space race.

We will reassert and protect private property rights and free enterprise.

Transgender treatment on any minor is an atrocity. We will make it a federal crime.

Have a look at this photo of a healthy six month-old fetus. We support, without apologies, a federal ban on late term abortions.

We support private schools and charter schools, and we will break the teachers union monopoly on public education.

Our public schools are going to teach children to be proud of their country.

American school children will learn that if they are honest and work hard they can look forward to a bright future, no matter who they are.

America is the least racist, least sexist society in the history of the world.

In a nation that wasn’t being destroyed by special interests, these would not be radical statements: There is no climate crisis. We must use fossil fuel. Jail criminals. Take back our cities. Teach students useful skills. Stop sexualizing children. We love our country and our traditions. Statements like these need to be repeated constantly and unequivocally, because they challenge not the details, but the foundations of modern leftist politics. Leave quibbling over details to RINOs and “Mod Dems.” Candor will expose their vapidity.

It isn’t necessary to support everything on this list, or any common sense list, in order to join the fight for a radical agenda that restores relevance to the Republican Party. Ronald Reagan’s big tent approach in the 1980s put the Republicans in firm control of Washington for many years. Whether or not that coalition was the best we could do, it delivered enough power to transform the nation. Republicans can do this again.

The entire premise of a Republican big tent strategy should be that a supermajority of Americans have realized that common sense has become radical. To win, everywhere, Republicans merely need to calmly assert, in a measured tone, words that have been stigmatized as radical in defiance of reality.

Republicans can win national supermajority status by leaning in to these supposedly forbidden assertions. The civil war for the soul of the Republican Party may be unresolved, but at least they’re having one. The Democratic Party, riven as well with rival factions, is nonetheless not in a state of civil war. It is wholly owned by an economic elite that wants to erase American pride, identity, tradition, sovereignty, prosperity and freedom.

America’s Democratic Party is beyond redemption, and with increasing momentum, Americans are recognizing this. All Republicans have to do is offer an alternative. These radical sentiments, which in a sane world would not be radical at all, are that alternative.

I Won’t Go To War With Russia For Randi Weingarten

by Jordan Boyd for The Federalist

After news broke on Monday that Russia launched missiles at several Ukrainian cities, the president of the second-largest teachers union in America announced she was “heading to the border now to assess the situation.”

“This Russian attempt to frighten civilians & the effect on children (who are learning online today) is why this [Ukraine] trip is so important,” American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten tweeted.

What is the woman infamous for sentencing American children to school on screens doing in Ukraine other than making herself a Franz Ferdinand-like target and possibly violating the Logan Act? Especially since the U.S. Department of State has ordered Americans “not travel to Ukraine due to Russian military invasion.”

According to the AFT, which sponsored the trip, Weingarten’s presence in Ukraine is supposed to “offer solidarity and support in the face of relentless attacks that have forced hundreds of thousands of refugees to flee the country’s east.”    

Frankly, that’s not a good enough reason to be gung-ho about celebrities such as Ben Stiller, Angelina Jolie, Sean Penn, Liev Schreiber, Jessica Chastain, and now leftist pawns such as Weingarten making the dangerous pilgrimage East with the hopes that they can “make a difference” in Ukraine. These American civilians have no business traveling to Eastern Europe in the midst of a conflict that is teetering on the edge of nuclear war, even if they are just trying to “do something” beyond putting the performative blue and yellow flag in their Twitter bios.

Already, American warmongers including President Joe Biden have threatened escalation if Russia continues its rampage in the East. The last thing the United States needs after funneling more than $67 billion to the Volodymyr Zelensky regime without any accountability or oversight is to have an American injured or dead thanks to their reckless travel. There’s no doubt that any incident of consequence would be used as an excuse to take U.S. involvement from proxy war to direct conflict.

In a video posted by the AFT on Monday, Weingarten confirmed that she has decided to remain in Lviv despite an increased risk of danger and death to continue showing “solidarity” for the Ukrainians.

“We’re not going to let Putin get away with terrorizing people,” Weingarten pledged.

Yet, if she is harmed while frolicking about Eastern Europe, Weingarten will be the excuse used to drag the U.S. into war. That’s problematic largely because an overwhelming number of Americans, such as myself, don’t want to be involved in what could quickly become World War III.

Under normal circumstances, I would celebrate Weingarten’s distance from the American teachers and schools she lives to indoctrinate with leftist propaganda. But when Weingarten’s desire to travel to a warzone risks America’s peace, I want her back on U.S. soil as quickly as possible.

New Census Shows Income Inequality in Red vs. Blue States — and Just How Hypocritical Democrats Are

Mike Miller reporting for RedState 

How many decades has the Democrat Party railed against “rich people,” or accused the Republican Party of being the “party of the rich,” while calling themselves “the party of the working class”? Remember Barack Obama’s ridiculous admonishment that upper-income Americans need to pay their “fair share“? Remember also how Democrats never tell us when that “fair share” is enough?

Just one problem. According to a statistical regression analysis of Census data by Daily Wire, the more liberal a state, the more likely it is to be home to income inequality. Oopsie, Democrats.

Here’s more, via Daily Wire:

New York, Connecticut, and California had the biggest gulf between rich and poor, according to a Census Bureau yardstick called the Gini Index that measures how far an area is from “perfect equality (where everyone receives an equal share).” Utah, Indiana, and South Dakota had the least inequality. The Census Bureau’s detailed annual population study, the American Community Survey, was released on September 15, and covered 2021.

Democrat talk is cheap. While the party emphasizes “income gaps” between upper-class, and lower- and middle-class people — now promoted by the left as “equity” (wealth redistribution) — Daily Wire’s analysis reveals data and facts that fly in the face of the left’s narrative.

Conservative political consultant David Gordon told Daily Wire:

This shows that all of the things that [Democrats] complain about actually come from Democrat policies. When they complain about poor outcomes for blacks, for example, that is primarily in the areas where they have governed for generations, to catastrophic effect.

Democrat President Lyndon Johnson’s disastrous 1964 “War on Poverty” (Welfare) program remains the best example of Gordon’s point. Sixty years later, much of black, urban America has become an abject failure, resulting in skyrocketing violent crime and rampant gang activity.

The Daily Wire analysis focused on the 10 most liberal and 10 most conservative states by selecting those where one party controls both the legislature and governor’s mansion, then ordering them by the share of state legislature seats controlled by that party:

Hawaii was the most liberal state, with 93% Democrats in its legislature, but it was excluded because it is not part of the mainland and is subject to unique economic forces. That left Rhode Island, with an 87%-Democrat legislature, as the most Democratic state, followed by California, New York, and Delaware. The most conservative state was South Dakota, with a 90%-Republican legislature, followed by Wyoming, North Dakota, and Idaho.

The analysis also compared income gaps between races, including Hispanics; in terms of median income, Rhode Island, New York, and Connecticut had the largest gap between whites and Hispanics. Six of the 10 blue states analyzed had larger income gaps between foreign-born residents and whites than in every red state.

And, then these glaring differences:

In California, the average foreign-born resident made only a third of what native-born Californians earned. By contrast, in Idaho, the average black resident made 85% as much as the average white person, the closest thing to racial equity of any state. In Indiana, Hispanics made close to 90% as much as whites.

Who knew? Oh, wait — California continues to import as many illegal aliens as possible and welcomes homeless people in droves. You don’t suppose that has anything to do with the no-longer Golden State’s income gap, do you? Rhetorical question.

As I suggested earlier, the Democrat narrative has long been that red states are more impoverished – which the Census’ main poverty measure clearly shows is highly misleading because, as Daily Wire noted, the Census does not adjust for an area’s cost-of-living, and instead sets a uniform dollar amount as the poverty line for every family of a given size, making it useless. Needless to say, the cost of living in New York City and San Francisco, for example, is substantially higher than in rural Alabama or Georgia.

Moreover, the analysis determined, while median incomes are higher in the 10 measured blue states, rent and home prices are also substantially higher than in red states. Families of every race in red states are more likely than those in blue states to own their own homes vs. renting.

Finally, despite liberals touting the wonders of public education and teachers unions vs. private education, you guessed it: the more liberal a state, the higher percentage of children attend private schools.

The extensive analysis further validates what we’ve known about Democrats for decades, particularly liberal elites: what’s good for thee is not good for me. Imagine that.

The Temporarily Rebuilt Sanibel Causeway Opens Allowing Emergency Vehicles to Reach Sanibel Island

Sundance reporting for Conservative Treehouse 

No one imagined this was feasible. Every expert put the timeline for repair at around a year.  However, the git r’ done crews and the Florida Dept of Transportation have accomplished a massive feat of reconstruction in phenomenal time.  Major kudos to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and the construction crews who worked every hour of every day, day and night, for two straight weeks and have created/built a temporary bridge to Sanibel Island. [Videos below]

Trust me, having seen the aftermath, this is absolutely remarkable.  The causeway is made up of three bridge spans (A, B, and C) and three spoil islands.

The rapid response construction crews just kept bringing truck after truck of everything imaginable including rocks, concrete slabs, gravel, sand and more to fill in the missing parts of the roadway and spoil islands.  Then they surfaced the road and are now working on paving it in record time.  Yesterday restoration emergency crews drove across the bridges, and they anticipate opening the causeway to residents of Sanibel for civilian use on October 21st. WATCH:

Yesterday the construction crews moved aside to allow, over 200 bucket trucks, 150 electric line and pickup trucks (LCEC, FP&L, Duke Energy) towing 50 trailers and two tractor-trailers carrying first responders to the island.

Additionally, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was on the Fort Myers side of the bridge to celebrate the accomplishment at a press conference.  WATCH:

{Direct Rumble Link}

FORT MYERS, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis announced that temporary repairs to the Sanibel Causeway will allow a one-time convoy of power restoration equipment, supplies, and crews to access Sanibel Island and continue restoration efforts. Once crews are on the island, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will resume repairs to restore access to the island for residents, which is expected to be complete by the end of this month.

The temporary repairs to the bridge will allow over 200 bucket trucks, 150 line and pickup trucks towing 50 trailers and 2 tractor trailers to move onto the island, along with additional first responders to cross the bridge and aid in recovery efforts while final road repairs are underway. This includes crews from across the state, Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC), Florida Power and Light and members of the Florida Electric Cooperative Association.

Last week, at Governor DeSantis’ direction, barges began to deploy to move equipment and supplies to Sanibel Island to restore power and ensure wraparound services like running water are available as quickly as possible. Barges continue to move daily to transport equipment, personnel, and supplies to support recovery operations.

Efforts to restore power to Pine Island are also underway. Last week, the Governor announced that FDOT had established a temporary bridge to Pine Island in less than three days, allowing power restoration crews to access the island and begin repairs. Led by Duke Energy and LCEC, crews have begun to clear debris, lay new lines and replace power poles. By Thursday, LCEC expects to have power restored to one quarter of Pine Island, including the Island’s center, water treatment plant substation and to centrally located grocery stores. Power is expected to be restored to one third of the island and the Matlacha area by next week. (LINK)

Damage on September 30th:

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Repairs as of 10/10/22:

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Trucks arriving 10/11/22:

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Governor DeSantis said leaders started brainstorming different ways more trucks and equipment could be brought to the island other than helicopters and barges. But in the end, different ideas weren’t necessary because the temporary causeway repairs will allow a one-time convoy to cross onto the island.

During a news conference Tuesday in Fort Myers, trucks were seen slowly driving across the bridge — beginning the journey to the island on the Sanibel Causeway.

“Ahead of schedule, it was supposed to be 3 o’clock today they thought they’d get it,” the governor said. “But we’re happy that is something that is being done.”

DeSantis explains the convoy now able to travel on Sanibel Island is a large group, including:

• 200 bucket trucks
• 150 line and pickup trucks towing 50 trailers
• Two tractor trailers
• First responders

This also includes crews from across the state, Lee County Electric Cooperative (LCEC), Florida Power and Light and members of the Florida Electric Cooperative Association.

After crews reach the island, the Florida Department of Transportation will be able to continue with repairs to restore access to the island for residents.

This isn’t the first time relief made its way to the island. DeSantis said barges were deployed last week to move equipment and supplies to the area to restore power and running water.  The governor’s office says barges continue to move daily to transport equipment, personnel and supplies. [Media Link]

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Governor Ron DeSantis visited Fort Myers to give updates on recovery efforts and announce that temporary repairs to the Sanibel Causeway will allow a one-time convoy of power restoration equipment, supplies and crews temporary access to Sanibel Island for power restoration efforts. Once crews are on the island, the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) will resume repairs to restore access to the island for residents, which is expected to be complete by the end of this month. Full remarks can be found here.

There are currently 19,362 reported power outages. In Lee and Collier counties, there are only 1,000 accounts on the mainland that remain without power that can receive it. More than 42,000 linemen have already restored power to over 2.6 million accounts across the state, representing over 99% of accounts restored since the peak.

Yesterday, Governor DeSantis announced that $2.5 million in loans have been awarded to 55 businesses through the Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program to help those impacted by Hurricane Ian. Additionally, $126 million will be going to 24 communities across the Panhandle that are continuing to rebuild and strengthen after Hurricane Michael made landfall 4 years ago.

First Lady Casey DeSantis announced that the Florida Disaster Fund has raised nearly $40 million since activation. To read more info, click here.   (read more)

Short video below shows how they are restoring power on Pine Island: