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Monday, December 01, 2008
Star Parker :: Townhall.com Columnist
Formula for GOP recovery: traditional values PLUS limited government
by Star Parker
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Will the Dems' health care Christmas Present to America be an improvement or detriment to our health care system?


Third, consider what is going on with blacks and Latinos.

In this same Pew survey, 25 percent of all Democrats called themselves conservatives. But among these same Democrats, 35 percent of blacks call themselves conservative compared to 21 percent of whites.

Why? Blacks are social conservatives. Blacks understand the havoc that moral relativism has caused in their communities. And, this is also the case with Latinos.

As was widely reported, blacks and Latinos voted for Proposition 8 in California, supporting traditional marriage, despite the majority of them also voting for President-elect Barack Obama.

So where is the logic in Republicans abandoning social conservatism in order to reach blacks and Latinos?

It appears that the message getting lost is the importance of limited government and fiscal conservatism.

Health care is almost 20 percent of our national economy. Too many are not getting what it will mean when bureaucrats will define what health care is and when the IRS comes knocking to check on the policy you bought. Too many seem to have forgotten that prosperity is created by individual freedom and creativity and not government programs.

These are tough times and families are under duress. Perhaps it's tempting to think that opening the door to more government is a good idea. Particularly in an environment where every day another half trillion-dollar check is being cut in Washington for bailout programs.

When most Americans say they are conservative, they mean it. Too many, however, are forgetting that this means limited government as well as traditional values. We need new, energetic Republican leaders to get this message across.

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About The Author
Star Parker is the founder and president of CURE, the Coalition for Urban Renewal & Education, a 501c3 think tank which explores and promotes market based public policy to fight poverty, as well as author of White Ghetto: How Middle Class America Reflects Inner City Decay.
 
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Reply # 1
Date: Mar 30, 2009 - 3:26 PM EST
religious right
wendy u took the words right out of mouth.ayn rand was right from the get go, this fools want to sacrifice us to the environment,gods and everything from in between.this idiots who call themselves the social conservatives should and form there own party in heaven,we live on earth and over here we use philosopy not theocracy,want evidence look at mullahs in iran.
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Reply # 2
Date: Dec 2, 2008 - 11:09 PM EST
No--either/or
When you talk to the average Republican, they will express some disapproval of things like gay marriage or abortion. Then, in the next breath, they will wonder aloud why the politicians are focusing on unimportant social issues when we have all these other problems.

The social conservative agenda exists as a Platonic concept in the mind of the average Republican. What they implicitly understand but struggle to name is that government force, i.e., big government, is inherent to the social conservative agenda, while respecting individual rights, i.e., limited government, is inherent to the so-called fiscal conservative agenda. (By the way, we need to get away from "fiscal" conservative and move to "capitalist" conservative. This is not simply about balancing the budget; it is about keeping government out of production, trade, and private property).

You cannot have your cake and eat it too. It has already been tried, and the result is where the Party stands today. If you do not understand why this is so, read Huckabee's horrid book. He outright states that while he doesn't have all the answers, enforcing virtue takes priority over freedom. He expresses his resentment of and hostility to Ayn Rand and "libertarian conservativism."

There can be no compromise between a Mike Huckabee and Ayn Rand. You must choose sides. In the end, the question is, which is pre-eminent: Individualism or collectivism? Does government have a "right" to initiate force against private individuals, or not?
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