NRO BLOG ROW – THE CORNER – Wednesday, March 11, 2009
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Accordingly, conservatism will return to prominence when it uses time-honored and unchanging free-market principles to address new problems, and when it finds advocates who both are adept at communication with non-traditional audiences (e.g., why it is in the interest of African-Americans to be skeptical of abortion on demand, why Hispanic small-business people need to be wary of intrusive regulations, why Asian-Americans should fear affirmative-action-driven de facto racial quotas at the University of California, why talented teachers should not have to join bureaucratic, ossified unions, why today’s young people should not have to pay off Obama’s annual $1.7 trillion deficits, etc.) and believe in their message’s resonance, without trimming[?] for the applause of the moment.
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As “conservatism” seeks to return us to the “classical liberalism” of the First American Revolution, a little L libertarian like myself can agree that it’s a good first step.
Unfortunately, for as smart as I feel the DOWGs were, and they were far smarter than I, and more courageous as well, I don’t think we can rewind the clock.
We have to take those “classically liberal” principles and move forward applying them to today’s problems.
Just as the King was rightly opposed as tyrannical, so to must we oppose the new “king” — the overpower all-encompassing gooferment.
Empowering the individual to make their own choices and bear the consequences of bad choices.
So, we have to have miniscule government. Close to the people. With it’s only mission being to protect the rights of individuals.
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