Waiting for the next Reagan? Forget itPopulism vs. conservatism

Wes Vernon, Renew America Analyst: Many conservatives are disheartened by the choices they perceive in the lineup of Republican presidential candidates. Let's start off with acceptance of the fact that the times and circumstances are different from 1980 when we elected Ronald Reagan.Americans sent Ronald Reagan to the White House because they hungered for a halt to the steady groveling and surrender to the Soviet Union. Americans sent Ronald Reagan to the White House because they hungered for a halt to the "misery index" trio of the doubles: double-digit inflation, double-digit unemployment, and double-digit interest rates. Americans sent Ronald Reagan to the White House because they hungered for a halt to the sixties-induced slide toward a coarsening of the culture.

. . . We are not about to nominate a "perfect" candidate. No such person exists in an imperfect humanity.And let's be honest about this point. Reagan — as great as he was — was not "perfect. . . . Can we all agree that a Reagan will appear just once in most lifetimes, and that even they will not be "99 & 44/100 percent pure," as the old ad used to say? Yes, the Gipper is gone, and we need to "get over it." But conservatism? Those principles are bedrock — from the Founding Fathers to the 21st Century and I dare say, beyond. . .

Populism vs. conservatism: On his Friday radio show, Limbaugh went on one of the most emotional and powerful monologues of his nearly 20-year-long conversation with Middle America. His angst was clearly traceable to deep disappointment over the Huckabee electoral bull's-eye in Iowa; not so much over Huckabee himself as a person, but because the outcome suggested a Republican voter tendency to confuse populism with conservatism, and that conservatives are starting to ape liberals who get up every morning with nothing but pessimism. Rush's long, long lament could easily have been prompted by (among other things) Mike Huckabee's Edwards-like rhetoric against big corporations. Republicans who have complained in the past that President Bush and congressional GOP leaders are not conservative enough now want to turn their problems over to government, Rush complained.

Populism, as defined by America's leading radio host "is a political figure telling you whatever he thinks you want to hear." He added, "Folks, it just scares me, because this is how charlatans get elected." Mike Huckabee and John McCain, according to Limbaugh, "are not consistent principled conservatives."

Do we want to copy Europe? Henry Olsen, Vice President of the American Enterprise Institute, says the Huckabee political model bears some resemblance to the Christian Democratic Parties of such European countries as Germany, Italy, Belgium, and the Netherlands. These are so-called "mainstream conservative" parties — by European standards. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Olsen points out that Europe's Christian Democrats try to balance the forces of government-provided welfare policies — as advocated by their socialist opponents — with a blend of capitalism. They have accepted high unemployment and high taxation as the prices to be paid for maintaining that balance. Voters should ask themselves if that is what they want here. . . . [Read More]

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Tags: conservatism, populism, Ronald Reagan, Rush Limbaugh, Wes Vernon To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!