What Does Conservatism Mean To You?

As the Convention on Founding Principles begins tonight, one thing that I think might be valuable would be for all of us to ask ourselves, "What does it mean to be conservative?" I think we would all benefit from the discussion.

Is it like the Tories of the UK? Cultural conservation?

Is it Constitutional conservatism? and is that originalism? Textualism? Stare Decisis?

Is it free market capitalism?

Is it fiscal conservatism? 

Is it small government conservatism?

How much of it is libertarianism? As in, actual libertarianism, not the unevenness you see in the Libertarian Party?

Is it social conservatism? And if so, how do you define that? Is that just about abortion? Is that Family Values? And what does that mean after Obergefell and Bostock?

Or is it literally conservative thought - cautious, careful - rather than progressive - always pushing the boundaries?

Which of these are absolutely necessary for you when you think of the term?

And also, in what proportions? I would imagine most of us share some levels of most of those ideas. The question is how do we prioritize them? Where do we draw the line?

I know I have my opinions, but share yours, either via Twitter or Facebook, or feel free to email us at dormousesez@aol.com.

Either way, this is definitely something we all need to brainstorm on and discuss.

That isn't to say that the Convention is wrong - far from it. But the CFP seems to be very much about what Heath Mayo and others call Principled Conservatism, which is well defined in their Declaration.

But I do think that are other ideas out there, and more information, the better right?

So add your voice to the dialogue.

What does Conservatism mean to you?

Never Trump Before It Was A Thing

This is from another new contributor, Amy. You can find her on Twitter here: @sjta_amy

My name is Amy, I am a Christian and Constitutional conservative. My first presidential vote was for George W Bush, and the last Republican president I ever voted for was Mitt Romney. I have always been Never Trump. I have never taken him seriously. His celebrity status as New York socialite, hotel and casino owner, and Hugh Heffner wannbe was not ever something I found remarkable or attractive. 

His racist attempt to put Obama’s birth certificate in question was not only clownish, but I question why his opinion on the matter was worth anything to anyone. He is an immoral ignoramus. 

When he announced he was running for president, my first reaction was to laugh to scorn the very idea. I was in shock to realize he had so much traction. I don’t watch Fox News so I guess I didn’t realize the Republican Party was as far gone as it is. The last time I checked the Republican party seemed to be in favor of limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, honorable leadership, and the promotion of democratic and family values. 

How is a guy who was running on xenophobia, demagoguery, big government tariffs, Putin is an okay guy, and who also happens to also be a charlatan and despicable person even a nominee?

The day I realized Trump wasn’t just a joke, but was a real threat is when, while talking about John McCain, Trump said he liked soldiers that weren’t captured. I expected this sickening debasement from Trump, but what truly surprised me is the audience responded by laughing. 

I was rocked to the core to think of Republicans laughing at this. It seemed very clear that there was no way he should ever be president and the people laughing at such disgusting rhetoric were people I wanted no association with. 

When he won primary after primary, I felt bewildered and confused. I could not believe that Republicans nominated someone who I absolutely could not vote for. Who was voting for this guy? How could the same electorate that chose Mitt Romney four years earlier find anything to like about him? It wasn’t just that Trump is crass and cruel, which he is, but his policy agenda was a huge departure from the conservatism of the traditional Republican Party. There was literally nothing for me to like about him. 

I was searching for some sort of conservative opposition to him, and when Evan McMullin announced he was running for president, I was with him from day one. I got to know the best people from working on his campaign. I was happy to support his effort to make a conservative stand against him. I was in shock that Trump won. 

I hoped maybe his cabinet or Republican leaders would put some sort of guardrail around him to keep him from destroying the country. Trump has exceeded my worst expectations and that is really saying something because I thought he would be worse than horrible. 

What has made things worse is Republicans have not only not put guardrails around him, but they have fully embraced him. I should have been forewarned that this would have happened when they were too afraid to oppose him, with only a few exceptions, before the election, but their sorry capitulation towards him throughout his entire presidency is a complete shock to me. They would not have given any other person such complete deference. They have run up the white flag and surrendered the party to Trump. 

I feel more opposed to this Trumplican party than I do Democrats. I have always known that I disagree with Democrats on governing style and policy, but by supporting Trump, Republicans have destroyed the only platform I could use to oppose them on this, and turned it into a hollow shell of hypocrisy and nativism/populism that is grotesque to me. For this they have earned my deepest scorn.

Republicans have decided that they are proud of Trump’s so called accomplishments. They seem to like only symbolic wins over real progress. The have some extra miles of wall, but our immigration system is still broken. They love that Trump says he is putting America first while his foreign policy favors the Russian government more than anyone else. They love their pro-life judges who are never going to overturn Roe v Wade. 

They think Trump is saving them from socialism as he raises taxes in the form of tariffs and then he picks the winners and losers from the industries that support him. They think he is restoring law and order while he violates the constitution, his oath of office and abuses power. They think he has brought them wealth and prosperity while running up the deficit and compromising our financial ability to respond to an economic crisis like what covid has put us in. They want America to be respected and demand patriotism while supporting a president who makes a mockery of American core values and principles. 

They think Trump has helped religious institutions while he is the personification of what the Bible teaches to avoid, and their support for him makes religious people look like the hypocritical pharisees of Jesus’ time.

I still am wondering if the Republican electorate is just really gullible and believe that Trump has given them something that he really hasn’t given them, or do they think like him now? I am an eternal optimist, so I’d like to think they will one day wake up from their thoughtless stupor, but it seems there is a good portion of them that have either been changed by him or were hidden from my view for all those years we were voting together for much more honorable leaders, and a Republican platform that seemed to want preserve Constitutional values and principles. 

Only time will tell. I look forward to the day Trump is gone and we can sort through this. In the meantime, I will use my vote and voice to oppose Trump and the enablers who support him.

Again, this is from one of our newest contributors, Amy. Check her out on Twitter: @sjta_amy.

Its Happening!

The Convention on Founding Principles is starting soon, and I must say I am very excited. What an amazing opportunity! The possibility to contribute to the founding of a new direction in US politics? It comes along so rarely.

But with what are essentially Neo Know Nothings (NKNs) running things now, in all the different ways you can use that term, what choice do we have? Principled conservatives have to band together, remind ourselves what we mean when we use the term “conservative” and coalesce around that to form some political inertia that can balance out the NKNs.

They already have a Declaration of Principles that you can read HERE. I recommend you do. I get emotional every time I read them. Why? Because among other things, I am an Eagle Scout, a rank earned by few, and that means I have been taking an Oath to the Constitution, the Truth, Decency, my Faith, among other things, since I was 12, yet we have seen for decades that be attacked from all sides. But here we have hundreds of delegates and an expected huge number of participants gearing up to pledge themselves to those things, committing to them in ways we haven’t seen for some time.

I think they are amazingly well written. Specific enough to define the principles themselves, but broad enough that we aren’t talking about some 5% of the population getting an emotion high off of seeing something they wrote posted online. And they are all on target with what I consider to be conservatism.

Knowing some of what it has taken to get to this point, I am humbled and awed by it. This is a legitimately grassroots, visceral response to a party going off the rails and a significant portion of its membership having the courage of their convictions to stand up and say, “No!”

And THEN to work to make it be even more than that? To actually become something tangible, firm, with its own gravitas and inertia? Without succumbing to the financial pressures that come with gaining the kind of following that the various groups that feed into this Convention have developed? What an amazing story.

But that is all just setting the table. Now the real work begins, and there is SO much work to be done.

The main thing, though, that I love about what we see from people like Evan McMullin and Heath Mayo, and all of the people who have rallied to their causes, is that they have kept their focus on the future and how to be something to vote FOR rather than just voting against something horrible. It’s smart, because clearly just voting against the other side got us to where we are, but it still requires vision and courage, and the ability to connect with others and communicate that message effectively.

If I understand things right, there were various groups and people trying to push the Stand Up Republic and Principles First organizations into directions that would have made them money, or allowed them fame or even opportunities to end some careers of failed Republican leaders sooner.

All would have been myopic, short sighted and ultimately self-defeating because even if they would have been successful in the short run, they would have been at the expense of a true future of conservatism. Compare that with the self preservation we have seen from Republicans in Congress and the general “me first” attitude we see so much in our country right now, and maybe you have some idea of how important that courage, that vision, that commitment to the Constitution and its citizens is to the future of this country.

It reminds me of some of the more defining moments this country has faced, from its birth to the Civil War to the first half of the 20^th Century, and then into the Civil Rights Movements, where people of true greatness do things ordinary Americans dream of, but never try.

But here is our challenge. “To Be, or not to be. That is the question.”

Are we going to step up and join them? Are we going to prepare ourselves for the challenges ahead by anticipating them and developing the resources and strategies to overcome them?

Or will conscience make cowards of us? Will we let the Native Hue of Resolution be Sicklied O’er with the Pale Cast of Thought? Will we let Enterprises of Great Pitch and Moment … lose the name of Action?

I leave you with this. People like George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, Ghandi and Nelson Mandela, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez, Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass, Desmond Doss and William Henry Johnson, Representatives John Lewis and Elijah Cummings and many many others faced far worse than we face now in terms of physical danger, but they rose to the occasion not just because they led, but because many saw their greatness and followed, themselves prepared for the challenge.

It is our time to follow the advice of Lee Iacocca – Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way.

My question - Which will you be? Will you pick up a banner and lead? Will you actively follow one of those banners and make sure it has the support it needs to succeed?

My ask – please find the courage to do one of the first two. Your Country needs you to be more than someone who just got out of the way. Deep down, you know that is how we got here. The time for that has passed. Be an active part of this nation.

We The People is a right, a privilege and a definition. Time for us to do our part.

Introducing Ashton Spencer

Ashton is one of our new contributors, and we are excited to add his voice. Self described as, "A lifelong conservative who opposes Trump," here is his introductory story:

If you told me five years ago that I would be excited to see a California Senator accept a Democratic VP nomination, I would have told you to go to an insane asylum. Growing up, I came from a rough background, a financially poor military family where my father was an Alcoholic. But one of the things I used to distract myself at that time was politics. My family was very non-political, so I started my political life, not leaning one way or the other. That was till, some time in mid-2007, I remember going through our tv guide looking for something to watch, switching channels just to see what’s on, and that’s when I found a guy with glasses in front of a chalkboard. Everything Glenn Beck said at that time made sense to me, and within months I was a self-described new conservative. I supported McCain in 2008, actively supported Romney, and even volunteered for Rubio in 2016. It just so happened during the crossroads of my political life, just when my political views were starting to get settled, Donald Trump came down that escalator (another article for another time).

So why do I mention all of this? It’s because sometimes our country asks more of us. It asks us to overlook our political preferences (which mine are very conservative) to keep the country whole, morally, and institutionally sound. My opposition to Trump isn’t solely on policy (there is plenty there to oppose), one wrong comment (or a million), or even any of his awful federal responses to natural disasters. My objection to him is mainly due to his type of politics and how it rejects morally responsible governance in favor of a blind race for power. I mean, years ago, I would have loved to have the supreme court and the senate majority. The thing is, none of that power is worth anything, because if you’re not convincing a majority of the country your changes should stay, nothing you do will ever have a long-lasting impact.

The founders understood this - That’s why they mixed congress with one majority and one plurality chamber respectively. George Washington knew this - He refused to run for a third term, knowing the fledgling nation needed a tradition of executives giving up power. Deep down many of us know this now.

That’s why I’ll vote for Joe Biden who is a good man, a faithful public servant, and a responsible vice executive. Of course, people will say “But Ashton he was in Washington for so long,” and I will respond, YES, and he helped recover the economy, stabilize our diplomatic relations, and then pushed our nation forward, towards what was starting to become a somewhat stable new normal, all while Donald Trump spent that same time complaining on social media about silly issues and conspiracies. Trump, after running his company into the ground various times, he would just go down to the banks or the government arguing for bailouts. Joe was trying to serve the public that whole time while Trump was only serving himself.

I didn’t always agree with the Obama Administration. I doubt I’ll always agree with Biden’s. But I know I’ll rest easy knowing he won’t tweet something at 2 am that will instantly divide this nation for months or make federal disaster responses political. I could go on for days about the bad things he has done, but in the end, none of that matters because he was never suited for the job in the first place.

Some will even try to say, "but Joe is radical" or "he will open the gates of liberal hell upon us all if elected." If that were true, and liberals, progressives, and Antifa controlled the party, he wouldn’t be the nominee! These are just sad attempts by some on the right at trying to demonize their opponent. In reality, they are just pointing out their own lack of serious arguments for their own candidate.

We need to go back to talking about the issues that affect our nation. We won’t agree on every solution, but we can make progress on the areas we do, but we need a serious president before that work can be done. We can’t continue wasting time with debating things like if a President should endorse QAnon conspiracy nutjobs, attack a tire company, insult a candidate’s wife’s looks, attack a POW. The fact we are even talking about those things instead of real issues that impact everyday Americans (like health care, the recovery, the virus, and wealth inequality) right now is itself a national disgrace. One disgrace that on November 3rd, I have full confidence America will correct. Trump’s presidency will be much like one of his marriages, it was really over before it ever began.

Ashton Spencer is one of our contributors. You can follow him on Twitter @AshtonBSpencer.

Excited To Be Back and To Start A New Chapter

I am so very excited to re-engage with this website!

It is a crucial time in our nation’s history, and over the past four years I have developed some amazing relationships that have deepened my love of this country and its citizens, and now some of them are joining me here to share their experiences and insights.

For me, you can see my journey from a frustrated John McCain voter to a fervent opponent of Donald Trump and his enablers in the posts prior to this one. It was a frustrating experience because, as you can see in my first two posts, hyperpartisanship was always one of my biggest issues, and yet we have been faced with an active threat to the country that has forced me to step away from being someone trying to encourage dialogue to being an active participant.

But while I may be able to look back in time and see a different path, from 2016 until now, I simply could see no other way to stay above the fray. See my letters to my representatives from November 4 2018 for what I was concerned about, and you can see that with every passing month, those issues became more and more real.

That being said, thanks to the amazing work of people like Heath Mayo and Evan McMullin, through organizations like Principles First and Stand Up Republic, we have the upcoming Convention on Founding Principles and a chance to right the ship. At the very least, give those who still believe in the Constitution, free market capitalism and a proactive foreign policy a voice after the Trump-led Republican Party abandoned pretty much every principle that ever stood under the banner of the GOP.

As such, on this site I am going to try to somewhat return to that place of neutrality, although I will maintain an eye towards making sure Trump and his enablers lose in November. I know that seems awkward, and it is, but you currently have a political organization – either through incompetence or intent (probably a mixture of both) – actively attacking almost every pillar of government and every traditionally Republican or conservative idea out side of very few exceptions. And even those they seem to be trying to pervert. I have to work against that. I have to.

On the other hand, I guess you could say I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and want to take this opportunity to start leading again.

What do I want to lead towards?

A healthy, vibrant, active Marketplace of Ideas where voices from all over the political spectrum can put their thoughts on the table for discussion and consideration, and where hard-earned and honest compromises can be forged that help America be better than just helping those under the banner of the party in power.

And that means a lot of things. It means helping people be Educated Citizens, which is a huge topic all on its own. It means attacking and undermining hyperpartisanship and transactionalism – the enemies of a Constitutional Republic. It means raising up and protective dissident voices so they can be heard fairly. It means recognizing that milquetoast compromise is useless, but that true compromise can be amazing. It means attacking discrimination and institutional issues that prevent true equality, opportunity and freedom to various groups.

Ultimately, it means finding a way to have a real dialogue between people who have real policy disagreements. That is the thing that has broken down so much that it led to the mess that was 2016, and absolutely needs to be reinvigorated if we want to continue to be We The People.

So thank you for being here, and I invite you to contribute your verse, whether it is here or somewhere else. Anyone wanting to contribute – please @ me on Twitter! @DorMouseSez 

My Principles First Cover Letter

Dear Senators XXXXXX and XXXXXX, Representative XXXXXX:

           

            Please find attached a detailed and thoughtful letter put together as a result of a movement called #PrinciplesFirst. It harkens back to the origins of the Republican Party and asks the current representatives in Congress to remember those origins, especially in light of the claimed “emergency declaration.” I wanted to add my personal experience so you had more detail from one of your constituents.

In case you don’t recall this from previous letters, be advised that I voted GOP for 25 years, based on the principles and policies that people like Barry Goldwater, Ronald Reagan, George HW Bush and John McCain stood for and fought tooth and nail for. I am an attorney, an Eagle Scout and a devout Catholic, and I am very disappointed in this anti-immigrant/protectionist/isolationist bender the GOP currently seems to be indulging.

            As I have stated in other communications, I absolutely recognize the issues involved near the border. We all live in Texas, do we not? But what I also see is that the WAY the current leadership wants to address things is counterproductive and harmful. The title office division of my law firm saw its worst two months in nearly 40 years of experience due to the asinine government shutdown that COST THE ECONOMY MORE THAN TRUMP WAS ASKING FOR. Needless to say, my staff will remember those decisions, and I find myself wondering what happened to the free market, business oriented conservatives I thought I was supporting.

            Again, I have made this known but want to reiterate that this wasteful, borderline illegal “emergency declaration” is a waste of time, resources, and an abuse of discretion, especially when you have enough support for things like what Rep. Will Hurd has proposed to address those same border issues. Did you not have full control of Congress and the White House to resolve this issue for TWO YEARS? But now its an emergency? Seriously, stop being disingenuous.

            Am I wrong? Do I not recall correctly people like the Republican leaders I mentioned above talk about America as the Land of Opportunity? A place welcoming to immigrants, albeit of course via a legal and fair process? This “wall” is anything but the sort. CHILD SEPARATION IS ANYTHING AN ABOMINATION. It is basically a “Go Away” sign to all immigrants, and as an American I find that offensive, especially since it is coming from what I thought was MY party, the one that believed in rugged individualism, no matter the background. Compassionate conservatives no more, I guess?

            And don’t even get me started on the distortions of the Mueller Investigation. Especially you, Senators, of all people as fellow Officers of the Court should understand that the Special Counsel’s investigation was anything but a hoax, a witch hunt, and attacking those that pushed for the investigation is attacking the Rule of Law and the Constitution itself.

            Again, those are a lot of things that I, my family and my staff will remember. I suggest you find a way to wake up. Empower Texans and many other Republicans got smoked in 2018, and if you stay in that anti-immigrant/protectionist/isolationist/attack the FBI/DOJ/CIA, etc. crowd, there will be even more repercussions, now and into the future.

            I suggest you go back and read my November 4, 2016 letter (Clinton, McMullin, Write-in/Kasich). None of this is new, but you keep persisting in doing things that hurt principled conservatives, business Republicans and the Rule of Law as if there will be no cost. Well, this Republican who voted with the party for a quarter of a century will not be voting for anyone associated with this version of the GOP. If you really think you can afford to lose people like me, then good luck.

            If you have any further questions or comments, please do not hesitate to call me at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. I would be happy to speak with anyone on your staff at any time about these issues.

A Republic, If You Can Keep It

It has been a while since I have posted, in large part because I honestly couldn't catch my breath in time to write something timely. The 2018 elections came and went, with much of America voting for checks and balances against what was a surprisingly Trumpian GOP.

If you go back and look, you will see there were a lot of things from Trump that I was worried about as a Principled Conservative and as a patriot that came to pass. What I did not expect was how much the GOP not only enabled Trump to attack so many things that Presidents like Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush stood for, as Americans and as Republicans, but actively attacked them right along with the President.

I will say this - I was amazingly touched by the way Senator John McCain handled himself, especially in his last words to the country. The same for President George HW Bush. I was just also astonished at the way the current GOP acted as if these honorable men were taking social media shots at them and acted like kindergarten bullies.

Either way, I long ago recognized what Tom Nichols has been saying - that this version of the GOP, with only the hyper-partisan social conservative leg of what was the three legged stool, must be utterly defeated if principled conservativism and libertarianism can even hope to have a voice in the GOP ever again.

To that end, though, I have been very inspired by the #PrinciplesFirst movement, enough that I will be hand delivering their letter about the formation of the GOP and the future of the party, along with my own cover letter, later today. In the case of my Representative, who was not in office in November of 2016, I will also be giving him a copy of my November 4, 2016 letter (I proposed three versions based on various political dynamics - Clinton, McMullin, Write-In) that you can see already posted on this website. I will also be posting my cover letter separately.

The bottom line is this - now is not the time for heated passions, but rather cold logic. And the logic is this - the current GOP only understands winning and losing, so they must lose, and lose as big as possible. Then, and only then, can we have an arms-length discussion about what kind of platform will have any credibility at the national level.

As it stands now, this anti-immigration, protectionist, isolationist, hyper-partisan GOP is in a death spiral that will only get worse, and as someone who believes very much in the Constitution, the Rule of Law and a Marketplace of Ideas, I cannot stand idly by just because I do not agree with many of the political positions of the only party that does seem to still respect those three keys to America's vitality. I will stand with them until the leadership of this GOP is defeated, then we can re-evaluate, because as Senator McCain so aptly said in his farewell message:

"'Fellow Americans' - that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, A NATION OF IDEALS, NOT BLOOD AND SOIL. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. …

"WE WEAKEN OUR GREATNESS WHEN WE CONFUSE OUR PATRIOTISM WITH TRIBAL RIVALRIES that have sown resentment and hatred and violence. … We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, WHEN WE DOUBT THE POWER OF OUR IDEALS, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

"WE ARE THREE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY-FIVE MILLION opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. BUT WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD SO MUCH MORE IN COMMON WITH EACH OTHER THAN IN DISAGREEMENT. If only we remember that and GIVE EACH OTHER THE PRESUMPTION THAT WE ALL LOVE OUR COUNTRY will we get through these challenging times." (Emphasis added.)

Or as otherwise said, there is a difference between seeing a Democrat or a liberal as a political opponent with whom we have a difference of opinion, and seeing them as an "Enemy of the People." At its core, I cannot think of a more unAmerican concept than that. You may feel that some progressive ideas are not consistent with American views on rugged individualism, the free market, etc., but that does not make them an Enemy.

As Benjamin Franklin said, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

So let's keep it, shall we?