I must say I regularly disagree with Chuck Baldwin, but I deeply respect the man so I must post him.
Here is a very thought provoking commentary.
<b>Forget Political Labels: They Mean Nothing</b>
By Chuck Baldwin
March 4, 2005
Conservative. Liberal. Moderate. Political labels are thrown around
constantly in an attempt to define a person’s ideology. The
problem is, political labels are absolutely meaningless today.
Absolutely meaningless!
The reality of the situation is, neither conservatives nor liberals
differ on many salient issues. The major beef between them has
much more to do with who wields power and very little to do with
ideology. Both conservatives and liberals merely use ideology as a
ruse to dupe various constituencies. There is very little
disagreement on policy.
Furthermore, where policy disagreements arise, there is little
advantage between conservatives and liberals as to which group’s
policy is best for the country. For the most part, each is as often
wrong (or right) as the other.
Let me provide a few examples. Let’s start with areas where
conservatives and liberals are for the most part agreed.
*Neither conservatives nor liberals believe in limited government.
Both groups excel in spending taxpayers’ money. Liberals want to
tax and spend, while conservatives want to borrow and spend. But
both want to spend. In fact, when it comes to federal spending,
conservatives have proven themselves to be even more proficient
than liberals.
*Neither conservatives nor liberals give a hoot about saving the
lives of unborn babies. Both groups say they find abortion
repulsive, etc., but neither group wants to protect the lives of
unborn children from the abortionist’s scalpel or from
abortifacients such as RU-486.
Liberals openly endorse "a woman’s right to choose" (to kill her
baby), but conservatives such as President and Mrs. George W.
Bush also maintain that Roe v Wade (the Supreme Court decision
that gave federal sanction to abortion on demand) should NOT be
overturned. People need to realize that it has been the Republican
Party, not the Democratic Party, that has controlled the U. S.
Supreme Court from 1973 (the year Roe became law) until the
present.
*Both conservatives and liberals in Washington, D.C., have forced
American culture and business to mainstream homosexuality.
*Neither conservatives nor liberals care a flip about obeying the
U.S. constitution. Both conservatives and liberals routinely
disregard the Constitution without hesitation and without regret.
Being a conservative or liberal means nothing when it comes to
fidelity to the Constitution.
*Both conservatives and liberals offer no resistance to a growing
international New World Order. Both groups seem perfectly
willing to sacrifice the independence and sovereignty of the United
States to the United Nations and other multinational organizations.
*Immigration. Both conservatives and liberals support the
continuation of allowing massive numbers of illegal aliens to work
and reside in this country. In fact, on this subject, President Bush’s
policy is more egregiously in error than any policy put forward by
former liberal presidents, including those of Bill Clinton.
President Bush wants to legalize illegal aliens by granting them
"guest worker" status. This amnesty program is especially
disconcerting when one factors in the need to secure America from
potential terrorists. How conservatives can support a policy which
sends American troops half way around the world to fight
terrorism while at the same time throwing open the doors of illegal
immigration allowing any and all potential terrorists to infiltrate
our own land is the height of absurdity!
The list goes on almost without end. Now, let’s look at a few areas
where conservatives and liberals seem to differ. First, here is where
conservatives have it right:
*Gun control. For the most part, conservatives seem to favor the
Constitutional right of American citizens to defend themselves. In
all likelihood, it is this issue that is most responsible for the
Democrats losing control of the White House and Congress. That
is why, for the most part, liberals are silent or even support the
Second Amendment now. But it wasn’t ideology that changed
them. It was the fact that since gun control advocates don’t fare
well at the polls these days, liberals have decided to drop (for the
mean time) the issue.
*The right of the American people to publicly acknowledge God.
For the most part, conservatives have at least a rudimentary
understanding of America’s Christian heritage and support the
public recognition of God.
I need to put a caveat here and admit that when it comes to
conservatives having the courage of their convictions on this point,
there is anything but a stellar record. For example, what good did it
do Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore that there was a conservative
Republican governor or a conservative Republican attorney
general in Alabama? What good did it do him that there was a
conservative Republican in the White House or a conservative
Republican attorney general in Washington? What good did it do
him that many, if not most of the churches in Alabama are led and
attended by conservative Christians? The answer: it did him no
good whatsoever. It was conservative Republicans, through either
their inaction or collaboration with liberals, that hung Judge Moore
out to dry!
*In general, conservatives have it right about the need for a strong
national defense.
Now, here are a few issues where liberals have it right:
*Liberals more often than not rightly oppose the numerous "free
trade" agreements that are destroying America’s manufacturing
industries and transferring jobs (and national sovereignty)
overseas.
On the subject of free trade, Democrats and trade unions are right
more often than not. Conservatives should be ashamed of
themselves for bowing to these multinational and supranational
organizations who, for the love of money, are willing to lead
America into the sewer of internationalism.
A caveat on this subject: liberals should step up to the plate and
stop excusing Democratic leaders when they betray this issue. Can
anyone say, "Bill Clinton"? You will remember that it was Bill
Clinton along with then Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole who (in
the middle of the night, no less) gave us NAFTA and GATT.
*Liberals are the ones who are leading the fight against the erosion
of Constitutional protections of our individual liberties. Again,
conservatives should be ashamed of themselves! By supporting the
Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, the creation of
a new National Intelligence Director, etc., conservatives are
quickly morphing into little National Socialists.
For a legal review of the Patriot Act and how it is destroying our
liberties, go to my web site at:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/TimBaldwin.htm. This article
was written by my youngest son who is an attorney.
I applaud liberals for having the guts to oppose President Bush’s
attempts to eviscerate our liberties under the rubric of "fighting
terrorism." It is shameful that conservatives are ignoring Bush’s
attacks against the Constitution!
*The war in Iraq. Liberals are right to oppose the war in Iraq. The
war is unconstitutional and without merit. As everyone now
knows, the Bush administration repeatedly lied to the American
people regarding the justification for this war. Beyond that, it
appears that President Bush intends to expand the war into Syria
and Iran.
America now seems determined to ignore the sagacious words of
John Quincy Adams who in repeating America’s founding policy
regarding foreign intervention said, "America goes not abroad
seeking monsters to destroy." However, that is exactly what
George W. Bush and today’s conservatives are doing.
As you can readily see, political labels mean nothing. On the
crucial issues of our day, both conservatives and liberals are
equally culpable in supporting bad policies, and conservatives and
liberals are wrong as much as they are right regarding policies in
which they differ. It is becoming extremely important that the
American people begin looking past political labels and determine
to support or oppose each policy (regardless of which group is
promoting it) based solely on its merit. If we don’t begin doing this
soon, both conservatives and liberals in Washington, D.C., will
destroy what is left of this great constitutional republic.
© Chuck Baldwin
NOTE TO THE READER:
Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be
republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or
organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or
advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit
is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.
Editors or Publishers of publications charging for subscriptions or
advertising who want to run these columns must contact Chuck
Baldwin for permission. Radio or television Talk Show Hosts
interested in scheduling an interview with Chuck should contact
chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com.
Please visit Chuck’s web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.
When responding, please include your name, city and state. And,
unless otherwise requested, all respondents will be added to the
Chuck Wagon address list.
To subscribe to these columns, send a message to
majordomo@chuckbaldwinlive.com with the words subscribe
chuck-wagon in the body of the message. To unsubscribe put
the words unsubscribe chuck-wagon in the body of the
message.
Chuck Baldwin always makes me think.
I must say I regularly disagree with Chuck Baldwin, but I deeply respect the man so I must post him.
Here is a very thought provoking commentary.
<b>Forget Political Labels: They Mean Nothing</b>
By Chuck Baldwin
March 4, 2005
Conservative. Liberal. Moderate. Political labels are thrown around
constantly in an attempt to define a person’s ideology. The
problem is, political labels are absolutely meaningless today.
Absolutely meaningless!
The reality of the situation is, neither conservatives nor liberals
differ on many salient issues. The major beef between them has
much more to do with who wields power and very little to do with
ideology. Both conservatives and liberals merely use ideology as a
ruse to dupe various constituencies. There is very little
disagreement on policy.
Furthermore, where policy disagreements arise, there is little
advantage between conservatives and liberals as to which group’s
policy is best for the country. For the most part, each is as often
wrong (or right) as the other.
Let me provide a few examples. Let’s start with areas where
conservatives and liberals are for the most part agreed.
*Neither conservatives nor liberals believe in limited government.
Both groups excel in spending taxpayers’ money. Liberals want to
tax and spend, while conservatives want to borrow and spend. But
both want to spend. In fact, when it comes to federal spending,
conservatives have proven themselves to be even more proficient
than liberals.
*Neither conservatives nor liberals give a hoot about saving the
lives of unborn babies. Both groups say they find abortion
repulsive, etc., but neither group wants to protect the lives of
unborn children from the abortionist’s scalpel or from
abortifacients such as RU-486.
Liberals openly endorse "a woman’s right to choose" (to kill her
baby), but conservatives such as President and Mrs. George W.
Bush also maintain that Roe v Wade (the Supreme Court decision
that gave federal sanction to abortion on demand) should NOT be
overturned. People need to realize that it has been the Republican
Party, not the Democratic Party, that has controlled the U. S.
Supreme Court from 1973 (the year Roe became law) until the
present.
*Both conservatives and liberals in Washington, D.C., have forced
American culture and business to mainstream homosexuality.
*Neither conservatives nor liberals care a flip about obeying the
U.S. constitution. Both conservatives and liberals routinely
disregard the Constitution without hesitation and without regret.
Being a conservative or liberal means nothing when it comes to
fidelity to the Constitution.
*Both conservatives and liberals offer no resistance to a growing
international New World Order. Both groups seem perfectly
willing to sacrifice the independence and sovereignty of the United
States to the United Nations and other multinational organizations.
*Immigration. Both conservatives and liberals support the
continuation of allowing massive numbers of illegal aliens to work
and reside in this country. In fact, on this subject, President Bush’s
policy is more egregiously in error than any policy put forward by
former liberal presidents, including those of Bill Clinton.
President Bush wants to legalize illegal aliens by granting them
"guest worker" status. This amnesty program is especially
disconcerting when one factors in the need to secure America from
potential terrorists. How conservatives can support a policy which
sends American troops half way around the world to fight
terrorism while at the same time throwing open the doors of illegal
immigration allowing any and all potential terrorists to infiltrate
our own land is the height of absurdity!
The list goes on almost without end. Now, let’s look at a few areas
where conservatives and liberals seem to differ. First, here is where
conservatives have it right:
*Gun control. For the most part, conservatives seem to favor the
Constitutional right of American citizens to defend themselves. In
all likelihood, it is this issue that is most responsible for the
Democrats losing control of the White House and Congress. That
is why, for the most part, liberals are silent or even support the
Second Amendment now. But it wasn’t ideology that changed
them. It was the fact that since gun control advocates don’t fare
well at the polls these days, liberals have decided to drop (for the
mean time) the issue.
*The right of the American people to publicly acknowledge God.
For the most part, conservatives have at least a rudimentary
understanding of America’s Christian heritage and support the
public recognition of God.
I need to put a caveat here and admit that when it comes to
conservatives having the courage of their convictions on this point,
there is anything but a stellar record. For example, what good did it
do Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore that there was a conservative
Republican governor or a conservative Republican attorney
general in Alabama? What good did it do him that there was a
conservative Republican in the White House or a conservative
Republican attorney general in Washington? What good did it do
him that many, if not most of the churches in Alabama are led and
attended by conservative Christians? The answer: it did him no
good whatsoever. It was conservative Republicans, through either
their inaction or collaboration with liberals, that hung Judge Moore
out to dry!
*In general, conservatives have it right about the need for a strong
national defense.
Now, here are a few issues where liberals have it right:
*Liberals more often than not rightly oppose the numerous "free
trade" agreements that are destroying America’s manufacturing
industries and transferring jobs (and national sovereignty)
overseas.
On the subject of free trade, Democrats and trade unions are right
more often than not. Conservatives should be ashamed of
themselves for bowing to these multinational and supranational
organizations who, for the love of money, are willing to lead
America into the sewer of internationalism.
A caveat on this subject: liberals should step up to the plate and
stop excusing Democratic leaders when they betray this issue. Can
anyone say, "Bill Clinton"? You will remember that it was Bill
Clinton along with then Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole who (in
the middle of the night, no less) gave us NAFTA and GATT.
*Liberals are the ones who are leading the fight against the erosion
of Constitutional protections of our individual liberties. Again,
conservatives should be ashamed of themselves! By supporting the
Patriot Act, the Department of Homeland Security, the creation of
a new National Intelligence Director, etc., conservatives are
quickly morphing into little National Socialists.
For a legal review of the Patriot Act and how it is destroying our
liberties, go to my web site at:
http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com/TimBaldwin.htm. This article
was written by my youngest son who is an attorney.
I applaud liberals for having the guts to oppose President Bush’s
attempts to eviscerate our liberties under the rubric of "fighting
terrorism." It is shameful that conservatives are ignoring Bush’s
attacks against the Constitution!
*The war in Iraq. Liberals are right to oppose the war in Iraq. The
war is unconstitutional and without merit. As everyone now
knows, the Bush administration repeatedly lied to the American
people regarding the justification for this war. Beyond that, it
appears that President Bush intends to expand the war into Syria
and Iran.
America now seems determined to ignore the sagacious words of
John Quincy Adams who in repeating America’s founding policy
regarding foreign intervention said, "America goes not abroad
seeking monsters to destroy." However, that is exactly what
George W. Bush and today’s conservatives are doing.
As you can readily see, political labels mean nothing. On the
crucial issues of our day, both conservatives and liberals are
equally culpable in supporting bad policies, and conservatives and
liberals are wrong as much as they are right regarding policies in
which they differ. It is becoming extremely important that the
American people begin looking past political labels and determine
to support or oppose each policy (regardless of which group is
promoting it) based solely on its merit. If we don’t begin doing this
soon, both conservatives and liberals in Washington, D.C., will
destroy what is left of this great constitutional republic.
© Chuck Baldwin
NOTE TO THE READER:
Chuck Baldwin’s commentaries are copyrighted and may be
republished, reposted, or emailed providing the person or
organization doing so does not charge for subscriptions or
advertising and that the column is copied intact and that full credit
is given and that Chuck’s web site address is included.
Editors or Publishers of publications charging for subscriptions or
advertising who want to run these columns must contact Chuck
Baldwin for permission. Radio or television Talk Show Hosts
interested in scheduling an interview with Chuck should contact
chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com.
Please visit Chuck’s web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.
When responding, please include your name, city and state. And,
unless otherwise requested, all respondents will be added to the
Chuck Wagon address list.
To subscribe to these columns, send a message to
majordomo@chuckbaldwinlive.com with the words subscribe
chuck-wagon in the body of the message. To unsubscribe put
the words unsubscribe chuck-wagon in the body of the
message.
About waynem
As a Minnesota based photographer and artist I have been greatly influenced by the Upper Midwest. I focus my skills and energies on portraits, landscapes, cityscapes, architectural and fine art work. My best work comes from images first painted in my mind. I mull over a prospective image for weeks or months, seeing it from different angles and perspectives, then finally deciding what to capture. The result is images that deeply touch people's emotions and powerfully evoke memories and dreams. My images are used commercially by companies and organizations ranging from Financial Services firms, mom and pop Ice Cream shops and The Basilica of St Mary to communicate their shared vision and values. Book and magazine publishers have featured my images on their covers. My photographs also grace and enhance the decor of many fine homes.