Will The Real Conservatives Enter And Sign In Please

A little over a year after I was born, a TV show premiered on CBS called "To Tell The Truth". (Yes, they did have TV that far back, though the screen was small, round, and only showed pictures in black and white.)  The premise of the show was simple, three people would claim to be something that only one of them actually was, and the game involved figuring out which of the three was not an impersonator. 

Each of the contestants not telling the truth about who or what they were schooled enough to be able to answer questions about their false claim.  Some pulled it off pretty well and fooled a panel of pundits put in place specifically to see through them.  Others were pretty obvious as lame set-ups and were quickly unmasked.

Because we are now entering the heart of the Republican Party Primary season, you've probably decided that what I'm talking about are Republican presidential candidates ... but you'd be wrong.  In fact with one exception, there is nothing that any of the Republican candidates for President can tell me at this point that will make me believe that they tell the truth when they say that they're Conservatives.  I'm far more concerned with those who entered Congress two years ago, and those that will soon be running this year for office in both the House and the Senate.  Which of those in office has proved to tell the truth with regards to their Conservative credentials and which newcomers to the process can lay claim to such truth?  Tea Party supported or not, far too many seem to have proven to be little more than a 'storm in a teacup', have fallen far below the standards that they espoused when running, and are a far cry indeed below the ideal that one might have assumed based on the rhetoric of the 2010 election.

Each of House of Congress is firmly in the grip of one of the two major political parties, and both seem incapable (or more likely unwilling) of changing the direction in which the nation is going.  Regardless of party affiliation or supposedly declared principles, we continue to see the national legislature function under the concept of 'business as usual', with little or no impact felt by the introduction of these so-called Conservative elements. 

*  So-called spending 'cuts' still have little to do with the reducing even government's natural increase in spending, and nothing at all to do with an actual reduction of the amount this nation spends from one year to the next. 

*  Entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare continue to go bankrupt, and increasingly appear to have the potential of taking the rest of the country with them.  Instead of attempting to address the situation however, the best that those in power can suggest are 'premium' holidays that only speed up the death spiral process.  (Don't even let me get started on where Obamacare fits into this.)  

*  Government Bureaucracy continues to increase at an alarming rate, with the legislators finding it politically expedient to turn over their Constitutionally Mandated Authority to an ever greater number of agencies and ever larger gang of unelected paper pushers.  After promising before each election to eliminate these bloated, ineffective, and wasteful agencies, they instead add to the total number of bureaucratic drones collecting a government paycheck. 

*  Government regulation likewise continues to increase with the National Register (the big book of federal regulations) in fact growing at a record pace.  Few should be surprised at such growth, as much of this new regulation is generated by the out-of-control bureaucracy that seeks to gather more power unto themselves, with their mandates taking effect without the approval or perhaps even the knowledge of legislators whose province such rules once were.

Though much was made of their entry in 2010, after sufficient cajoling and scolding it appears that the professional politicians have once again brought their young and inexperienced members to heel.  Having carefully explained to them about 'the way things are done' and how to gain 'real power for real change' in Congress, these freshmen now seem content to pass meaningless votes that show some level of intestinal fortitude; knowing that even these lackluster efforts will be compromised the first time that their opponents denigrate them for doing so. Actually shaking up the way things are done in Washington with ground-breaking legislation now seems but a dream. 

Basking now in the pay and privilege afforded by their recent elevation to Congress and showing little understanding of the definitions of 'fair share' or 'compromise' (and especially that of 'personal responsibility'), they continue to follow a path of destruction while rolling up the national deficit at a pace never dreamed of in this nation's past. 

Living by their own special set of rules (like those on Insider Trading) and showing no memory or understanding of the burden that they assumed when seeking elected office, they allow themselves to get 'schooled' (or perhaps more accurately 'punked') by their wiser, more experienced, and perhaps more jaded colleagues.

So perhaps while we are still some ten months from the election, it's time to ask those seeking office if they are the real deal where conservative principles of a small government defined and limited by the Constitution are concerned; or are they something that merely masquerades as a Conservative for the benefits of the cameras and the political game.

Many of us out here find that it's a game we've long since grown tired of. We've discovered that we're no longer entertained by claims about whether you're 'red' or 'blue', or affirmations that you represent the party of elephant or the jackass (we're coming to believe that members of both are jackasses).  We don't care any more what party's banner you carry and which you claim to represent, since in practice there's little difference. What we really care about is whether this time is if you're truly going to represent us, rather than betray both us and the principles that you claimed to hold to the agendas of the two major political parties like so many before you.

So before we all but write you, your re-election efforts, and your little clubs off completely, would the real Conservatives enter and sign in please ....