I want to make it clear right off the bat that liberals, despite being hopelessly wrong on almost every significant issue, are not my enemies. They are my political opponents. I do not hate them. I disagree with them. While some of them are disgustingly cynical (Harry Reid wanting America to lose in Iraq because it benefits democrats at the polls, soldiers lives be d@mned), most liberals have generally noble intentions. They want to make the world a better place. The problem is intentions are all liberals have. Conservatives bring results. Results are all that matter. Deeds change history, words are meaningless.
Liberal environmentalists tell us that the planet is warming, humans are causing this, humans can prevent it, and anyone disagreeing with this viewpoint is an imbecile. Conservatives understand that radical environmental regulations would cripple the global economy. The poorest nations would be hurt the most.
On a small scale, I am less concerned about the spotted owl than I am about hundreds of families going hungry because timber workers are fired. We can help the owl and the timber worker, but the left simply values the animal’s rights over that of the human being. If drilling for oil in Alaska can take even a small step towards reducing American dependence on foreign oil, that should be seen as the overriding factor. Trees are simply not as important as human beings fighting a War on Terror.
On a large scale, liberals are wrong on trade. Free trade works. The positives to global trade deals far outweigh the negatives. We hear about outsourcing, but there is a significant amount of “insourcing.” Protectionism has never worked. Wage and price contols have never worked.
Liberals want to raise taxes. Conservatives want to lower them. If you believe that governments do a better job of anything (except the military, which is outstanding, and the one government entity liberals dislike), ask the DMV, the Post Office, or any other government service to help run your business. This does not make government workers bad people. Far from it. It’s just that business is about reducing bureaucracy and encouraging innovation. Government by definition is a bureaucracy. Lower taxes helps all income brackets, and produces economic growth. JFK understood this, because democrats were not always liberals.
Liberals wanted world peace between the USA and the Russians. If we were just dimplomatic with the Russians, all would be fine. Conservatives believed in the policy of containment (started by Harry Truman, back when democrats were not liberals…they were tough on foreign policy). When Ronald Reagan said “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall,” he meant it. Reagan is beloved not just for his noble words, but for the resulting actions that took place.
Liberals have spent hours explaining why Iraq has nothing to do with the War on Terror, and they are utterly wrong. For one thing, the Islamofacists trying to kill us have said that it is the central front at this time. Alot of good has come out of Iraq. Saddam is dead, and so are his sons. Khadafi in Libya has voluntarily given up his weapons programs. This was not because of years of negotiations. This is a total and direct result of Saddam being defeated, captured and killed. Khadafi, often thought of as a lunatic, turned out to be quite pragmatic. He saw what happened to Saddam and thought, “Hey man, I don’t need this hassle. Dubya has had it. I better take up golf or tennis instead.” It is also worth noting that Khadafi slowed down severely after Reagan bombed his home in 1986.
Liberals complain that 3000 people died as a result of this Iraq war. I callously say that is irrelevant. I honor the fallen soldiers. It makes me sick to lose one American soldier. However, freedom has a price. We lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers in wars throughout our history. Should we have not fought at Gettysburg? What about World War II? The world is a better place. Sometimes, war is the answer. War is Hell. Losing all of civilization is worse.
Time after time, on issue after issue, well intentioned liberals make great speeches that amnount to nothing in terms of actual accomplishments. Barack Obama and John Edwards are brilliant speakers. My political resume is about as distinguished as theirs, and all I do is vote. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain are giants. They get things done.
Everyone wants to make the world a better place. Until those on the left come up with real solutions that are feasible, practical, and actually able to be implemented, without bankrupting the global economy or putting the security of the world at risk, liberals will continue to be seen as well intentioned idealists that accomplish nothing. I suppose this is one step above making things worse, and two steps above praying for bad results to the world to benefit themselves, but liberals could try another tack. They could actually do things…and do them right…and make a real difference…and benefit people everywhere…then again, these people already exist. They are called conservatives.
eric