Different types of conservatives…

Yesterday was a bittersweet election day.

Christie won as NJ governor. My fear is that he could turn out like a former Governor Christy (Whitman) who was a Republican in name only. She created a fiscal nightmare by allowing the state and local governments to defer paying into the pension programs rather than address the underlying issues.

However, Christie made a name for himself by prosecuting corrupt politicians by the handful. Hopefully his legacy will continue as we get a state attorney general that will stop looking the other way when our leaders behave in an ethically questionable manner.

I was happy that a man that I have come to deeply respect, Tom Sheppard, brought in the second highest number of votes for county Freeholder. I am also happy that another friend, Lauren Van Embden, received more votes yesterday than did Lou Magazzu. While Magazzu did win, it was not by the landslide that we have come to expect in the county.  I understand that his panties were all twisted in a knot for the  three weeks leading up to the election. I am proud to proclaim that I had a part. I will continue to have part in making his life miserable. He dragged my family into the political arena a year ago simply because I had the audacity to ask a question about his “largest tax decrease in county history” which was merely smoke and mirrors for a tax increase on the majority of residents in the county.

Yesterday, property owners spoke out loud and clear, they are sick and tired of county tax increases and his shenanigans. Shenanigans. I love that word!

I consider myself Republican, and I consider myself conservative. However, I am also a classic Liberal – in the mode of Thomas Jefferson. I believe in less government, not more. However, if we have not learned anything from history, we must learn from Herbert Hoover and FDR.

Herbert Hoover was a great volunteer, long before government intervened in natural disasters and fiscal economic train wrecks. He believed that people should help others, not the government. That was his undoing, and opened the door for FDR style social programs to proliferate.

We have seen the results of the unchecked social experiment where people are not accountable for their own actions, and government acts as a big brother to bail them out, giving handouts after handouts, creating an aura of entitlement.

The Declaration of Independence states that all men “are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed…”

Therein lies the crux of the matter, the proper role of government as envisioned by the forefathers of this country. Modern Liberals see government as a big brother, dictating our actions because we, the masses, are not bright enough to take care of ourselves.

Fringe conservatives take a similar tact, claiming they don’t want government to interfere int heir own lives, but demand an intrusive government when it comes to regulating the moral actions of others. Hence we have the Sarah Palins of this world, who will not hesitate to misuse their power to destroy their foes (or in-laws) and want to use the rule of law to tell two people whether or not they can have consensual sex or engage in the act of marriage.

Just why should two gays be allowed to marry? I think gay people should be given the same right to fuck up their lives as heterosexuals. No special privileges.

But back to the fiscal side of things. Herbert Hoover failed because he believed that the people should volunteer to help others, not the government. Thsi sort of system does work, one need look no further than the Amish who don’t believe in banks, pay cash, and take care of their own.

However such a societal system brings with it, by virtue of its very nature, restraints on freedoms and liberty. Amish people are not allowed to starve, but they are also not allowed to freeload. They must work and provide and contribute to their society. And, they are not allowed any freedom of expression, they must fit into the mold their society cast for them. You don’t find artists or musicians in that society.

Our country was founded on a principle of freedom and liberty. That means freedom to succeed as well as to fail. However, our constitution does state that our government does have a purpose:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

“Provide for the general welfare…” that is heavy. That is where most fringe conservatives get messed up. They claim, in classic Ayn Rand style (and I do enjoy her books even though I differ in opinion) that people should be allowed to succeed on their own without government help, and that only the weak and lazy will fail.

That is simply not true. While some may happily point to the Eskimos that used to put their old and sick on ice floats and push them out to sea as conservatively enlightened, as a compassionate society we do have an obligation to care for those that cannot care for themselves, and to teach other how to care for themselves and contribute to society.

This is neither conservative nor liberal, it is human.

I have lived in Millville longer than some of my antagonists – those that claim that the “market” should dictate what course the city takes. market did dictate for years, creating a desolate main street int he business district where it was dangerous for people to walk after dusk. It was only after an intelligent cooperation between private enterprise and government resources and inducements that the city of Millville turned the entire business district around so that entrepreneurs can take chances, and build a successful business.

Some, such as the owner of a blighted and ugly building that used to be a successful department store still refuse to cooperate, working hard to destroy those businesses that are taking root in the arts district. Their minds are closed, grasping more on philosophy than on reality.

Government is charged with contributing to the general welfare, and that does include using wisdom to direct growth and regulate growth within the city limits; providing for health care alternatives for those that cannot afford it one their own, and ensuring peace and civility while not steeping on the rights of any person to live their own life as they please, as long as they do not hurt anyone in the process or infringe on the rights of others.

If you got this far into my rant today, I really feel sorry for you. Your life must be empty. My advice to you – find a bar withing walking distance of your house, and tie one on.