Questions for Conservatives

Ever since Ron Paul won the straw poll at CPAC, many conservatives have gone nuts over the prospect of someone who actually wants to adhere to the principles of limited government getting elected as President.  While Ron Paul’s victory may be a fluke, because libertarianism has always been outside of even mainstream conservatism, that doesn’t mean that we can’t push for more victories like that one.
Since conservatives have, by and large, dominated the right-wing culture in this country, I believe that many people may be waking up and calling the conservative leaders to task on their ideology.  Many independent and newly active Tea Party patriots are not all that interested in the social agenda that the conservative movement prides itself on.  Instead, they are pushing for limited government and the likes of Romney, Huckabee, and even Palin don’t seem all that concerned about the ever growing monster that is our Federal government.
So I have some questions for the conservatives out there who feel the need to lambast the likes of Ron Paul and his ideals of limited government, even in terms of military spending:

• If you believe in a limited constitutional government, how can you reconcile this ideal with the $1 trillion we are spending on the military right now?  To put it another way, if we cut military spending in half, would we be less safe from terrorists?  Yes, I am aware that this is dependent on the right kind of spending, but just assume that all the cuts are the right kind.
• Given that we have over 15 intelligence agencies and given the recent failures of said agencies to prevent two Islamic terrorist attacks, don’t you think it’s high time we culled them down into one?
• Would you reconsider the merits of the USA PATRIOT Act, given that when the wrong people are in office, they will target political enemies rather than real ones like Janet Napolitano attempted last year?  Would you reconsider if you knew that the Republicans opposed this legislation as put forward by Democrats before 9/11?
• Considering that the Republicans had control of Congress and the Presidency from 2003-2007, would you now consider that the abortion issue means absolutely nothing to the Republican leaders and any so-called pro-life Republican should be taken at face value?  Consider further that Planned Parenthood didn’t lose any taxpayer funds during that time period either when reflecting on this question.
• Would you consider voting for Ron Paul if you knew about his Sanctity of Life Act?
• Have you read over Ron Paul’s foreign policy proposals?  Did you know that he has an alternative plan for dealing with Islamic terrorists that is just as active as the Bush Doctrine, but makes less of an impact militarily and could potentially save many lives?
• If Ron Paul won the nomination for President in 2012, would you vote Republican, Democrat, or third-party?  If not Republican, then why did you vote for John McCain in 2008?
• If the only thing stopping you from supporting Ron Paul and his like-minded colleagues is his foreign policy stance, would you be willing to reconsider your own preconceived notions of National Security, given the past Islamic terrorist attacks?
• Could you do your best to ignore the more radical elements of Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty and focus instead on forming an alliance with his group to further the limited government agenda?

Most of these questions are meant to be rhetorical, but if any conservative happens to read this and feels a need to answer any or all of these questions, feel free to so.  The fact is, the old conservative movement has failed to deliver on its promises despite controlling the House and Senate to some degree or another from 1995-2007.  Instead the national debt doubled and many polices initially rejected by Republicans were later passed all.
It is high time that the conservative movement of Rush Limbaugh, William F. Buckley, Jr., Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck seriously reconsider their own priorities and make a better decision in terms of the ultimate goals to achieve and what steps to take.  Making strong national defense stances is not enough.  Complaining about Democrats and liberals is not enough.  We need the real leaders of the movement to stand up and give us stated goals and the steps to achieve them.  It’s what the progressives did back at the previous turn of the century and they have, by and large, succeeded despite all their drawbacks.
It’s our turn and let’s not waste it with bickering and pointless infighting.

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