Should all political parties embrace liberal values? The left seems to think so



March 29, 2014

By David Huntwork The concept that the whims of public opinion, the fads of the moment, or the opinions of an ideological opponent should fundamentally alter what a particular political party stands for has always seemed rather odd to me. It is an argument I see trotted out in articles from Left leaning sites on a regular basis. The argument is always, without fail, that the Republican Party needs to become more like the Democratic Party. Yet the reverse is never suggested for consideration. Great "concern" is showed time and time again by often very radical and liberal writers, as well as general media types, that the Republican Party will fade away into oblivion and cease to be relevant if it doesn't reject the "extremist" factions and beliefs that it currently contains.As if they really care.A healthy and robust representative government has political parties that represent different views and positions in that society, not ones that are merely pale shadows of one another. Now it would be nicer if we weren't constricted by the two-party system and had more ideologically pure and clear parties to choose from, but in reality we do not. So the two political parties we do have should, in general, reflect different views and positions so that people have an actual choice between differing political philosophies when they go to polls.If I was interested in voting for political candidates that are for bigger government, the redefinition of marriage, higher taxes, abortion on demand, a decadent popular culture, socialized medicine, gun control, amnesty and open borders I'd vote Democratic. I'm not, so I vote for the most conservative Republican candidate that I have the opportunity to do so.Such appeals to turn Republicans into "Democrat lites" are little more than a crude attempt at reverse psychology. The fact that liberals and progressives are so "concerned" about the future of the Republican Party that they've decided to offer free and supportive advice for its future success is rather touching. Aren't Republicans both lucky and fortunate? Of course, the advice offered is simply to become more like them and to adopt their particular political positions. The argument seems to be that to succeed in running against liberals then one should just simply become more liberal. So in effect you end up with a liberal running against a slightly different shade of liberal which inevitably ends with virtually no real choice for the average voter and little difference in political governing views or policy in the long run.There should be no shame in continuing to advocate for constitutional governance, protecting the traditional marriage and family structure that has been the foundation of society and civilization for thousands of years, or advancing the concept that the rights that come with personal freedom (ordered liberty) are inherent natural ones, not mere privileges bestowed or removed at will by the powers of government. In fact, these are tried and true timeless principles that have shown their worth through the ages. That is their strength and why they are seen as a dire threat to those who advocate the various isms of the Left. Marxism, fascism, National Socialism, and anarchism all have at one time or another been the inevitable political ism championed by the young, the masses, and a culture at large and yet were ultimately proved to be riddled with weaknesses and incorrect beliefs. And the inability of enough people and institutions to stand against them has caused an immense amount of damage to human civilization.Color me unimpressed that yet another ideology arising on the left side of the political spectrum once again seeks to smash the traditional rituals, traditions, morals, values and cultural institutions that came before it so that it can lead us all into an age of utopia. The words and phrases have changed in some instances but the motives and desired outcome in many ways have not. The attempt to water down the Republican Party is just one aspect of their attempt to conquer and capture academia, entertainment, mainstream media, the military, the courts, voluntary private entities like the boy scouts, and the political process all in the name of the common good.Words and phrases like privacy, women's rights, tolerance, equality, diversity, tolerance, and multiculturalism are all used with great effectiveness by the Left which has shown an amazingly effective ability (think 1984) to twist and redefine all of these concepts into Frankenstein versions of what should be acceptable and logical. We, as a society, are faced with a discomforting and distorted reality as constructed by the Left where right is wrong, good is evil, and the right to not be offended is the greatest right of all.There are those who believe that there are no differences between the two parties anyway and claim that none of this even matters. But anyone who actually pays attention to the realm of politics and ideological warfare understands that this is not truly the case in reality and, while it may be moving in that direction, it certainly has not yet arrived at that destination. Just try to sell that line to a very frustrated, often stymied, and perpetually complaining Barack Obama who has had to contend with a Republican opposition that to a member voted against his health care plan and has refused to play nice with his administration since the very beginning. Try telling him there is no difference between the political parties. I'm afraid he'd beg to differ. And if there were in fact no significant differences that really mattered, the constant plaintive calls for the Republican Party to become more like them would not be echoing across the fruited plains from our Democratic friends. They would have no need to do so.It is a sad truth that there are always those in the GOP who are willing to sell out and play along with the progressive agenda and that they exist in important and influential positions within the party. But at the same time it must be remembered that there are significant numbers that do not. That is worth noting and remembering.One should always be very suspicious any time there is a systematic push to impose the principles and views of one political party onto another. There is a reason and agenda at work when you see that happening. All the platonic, friendly "warnings" from the Left, and the media in general, about how the Republicans are self-destructing, or losing their way, or radical, or leaning too far to the right, or are too extreme, or out of touch with the American people is actually revealing to us the fact that they are still very worried about the conservative Republican message. If they were not, they would be far less concerned about the internal affairs of the Republican Party and instead be focused on spending a little more time getting their own abysmal act together and putting their own house in order.The Left would desperately love to see a de facto one-party state, and one way for them to do that is to help turn the Republican Party into a subservient, 2nd tier mirror image of the Democratic one that's just barely alive and effective enough to maintain the illusion of a two-party system of government. They hope, pray, and are at hard at work hoping to achieve that day.© David Huntwork