The End of the American Republic?

“The American Republic will endure until politicians realize they can bribe the people with their own money.” -Alexis De Tocqueville

I think that politicians, especially since FDR, have long known that they can bribe the people with their own money. But since FDR, a healthy majority of the American people couldn't be bought. They loved freedom, less government, and a secure nation more than the baubles and breadcumbs that may have flowed from Washington, D.C.

The nation, on the whole, was a conservative nation.

Nothing illustrated this more than the wholesale acceptance of Ronald Wilson Reagan in 1980, and of his legacy as borne in the Contract with America that launched the Republican Congressional revolution of 1994.

And nothing spelled out the repudiation of the conservative principles on which this nation was founded than the third place finish of Fred Thompson in South Carolina.

On point after point, from immigration, to national security, to taxes and to life itself, Fred Thompson mirrored the conservative ideals that have been proven to be so effective in governing our nation since the penning of the Federalist Papers.

If there was anywhere in this nation where it couldn't have been more clear, it would have been in South Carolina; traditionally a bastion of clear thinking, small government conservatives.

Yet John McCain, in every sense a political opportunistic populist with a liberal voting record as long as the Mississippi, ran the table.

Newt Gingrich caught a lot of flack when he proclaimed that Reaganesque conservatism was in its death throes, and that politicians needed to embrace a more "centrist" approach.

He was right in the sense that South Carolina is current living proof that Reaganesque conservatism is, if anything, on life support.

Maybe Rush Limbaugh was right last week when he said that it took a Jimmy Carter to give us Ronaldus Magnus.

Perhaps 2012 will be the year of Fred... if the liberals haven't run us into the ground by then.

Rush Limbaugh and Fred Thompson

Check out this great post at the National Ledger.

Fred last in New Hampshire, First among Conservatives...

Fred's last-place finish in New Hampshire is far from the death knell of his campaign:

From Maine For Fred Thompson:

For Conservatives, the race begins in South Carolina

No conservative was ever going to win Iowa or New Hampshire, although New Hampshire will identify the most conservative Republican in the race. He will place last in New Hampshire.

So the focus for conservatives begins in South Carolina. As the race moves south and the overcrowded field of unlikely contenders thins down to the five who could actually win the nomination, Republicans will get a closer look at their five primary contenders and it is now Thompson’s time to shine.

Amen.

When it comes to pure substance, and pure, rational workable and sane thinking, there is not a candidate in the field, democrat or republican, who can hold a candle to Fred.

FULL SPEED AHEAD, FRED!!

Fred distinguishes self from Rudy...

And speaks of the importance, relevance, and righteousness of running on, not away from conservative principles:

"Some think the way to beat the Democrats in November is to be more like them. I could not disagree more," the one-time Tennessee senator says in remarks he was delivering Monday to the Conservative Party of New York. "I believe that conservatives beat liberals only when we challenge their outdated positions, not embrace them. This is not a time for philosophical flexibility, it is a time to stand up for what we believe in."

Thompson does not mention Giuliani in excerpts made available to The Associated Press, but he is clearly trying to draw a contrast with the rival leads in national Republican polls. Unlike Thompson, Giuliani backs abortion and gay rights. And, the ex-mayor's central argument for Republicans to nominate him is that he has the best chance to win in the general election.

Thompson was more direct in an interview on Fox News Channel before the speech.

"I don't think that the mayor has ever claimed to be a conservative," he said before rattling off Giuliani's history.

He noted that Giuliani, who ran as a Republican, sought and won the Liberal Party's endorsement in his first mayoral race in 1989, and that as mayor, he broke from the Republican Party and endorsed Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo in an unsuccessful race for a fourth term.

"So I don't know that he's ever claimed to be anything else," Thompson said, suggesting Giuliani was more a liberal than a conservative.

FULL SPEED AHEAD, FRED!! (c)

Fred Thompson's Conservative Credentials...

Mind you that this is coming from an MSM writer with extreme BDS:

Upon entering the Senate in 1994, having campaigned on a platform of campaign finance reform, term limits and lower congressional salaries and pay raises, he immediately set out to work on keeping his word to the voters. As a member of the Government Affairs Committee, he helped put into law the Congressional Accountability Act, a bill that subjected congressmen to the same labor laws as businesses, and worked unsuccessfully to enact a raft of ambitious reforms, including a constitutional amendment to establish term limits and legislation to overhaul the bloated budget process.

Although he continued to press for wide-reaching reform during the remainder of his Senate years, helping him retain the image of a commonsense, independent politician unafraid of ruffling some insider Beltway feathers to get the job done in the eyes of his constituency, when push came to shove and bills needed to be voted on, Thompson could always be counted on as a reliable vote for the Republicans. According to the non-partisan Project Vote Smart, Thompson stood toe-to-toe with a handful of colleagues on voting the Republican Party line most often, supporting Contract With America items 100 percent of the time. He did so by consistently voting to cut funding for education and welfare reform and to increase military spending, and by voting against pro-choice legislation and anti-gun bills. However, he also bucked party trends (and his supposedly reformist image) by opposing the banning of gift-giving by lobbyists and tort reform.

If you'll note the tone of Jacquot's tome, you'll see that he's actually complaining about the emboldened content of the latter paragraph. Like it's a bad thing, or something.

Other Republicans in this race have at one time or another been MSM darlings. Take McCain, or Hagel for instance, who have been "fawned over" time and time again, be it for witholding nominations for conservative judges, or parroting the dem party line on the Iraq war (of course, McCain has taken a MSM popularity hit as of late with his steadfast support of our war effort). When the MSM sycophantically labels a Republican "principled," or a "maverick," one must necessarily call to question such politicians' judgments.

But when the left complains about a Republican and his stance on issues, you know that man's gotta be doing something right!

Run Fred, Run!