Jim Cardoza - Uncomfortable Alliances

A Time for Uncomfortable Alliances
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Government Almighty
Of Scoundrels and Stimulus
American Dream Redefined
The Lifesaver Bombs
5 Steps Toward Liberty
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The Socialized Medicine Tradeoff
Medical Marijuana and Federal Lawlessness
Tax Hikes Seldom About Need

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A TIME FOR UNCOMFORTABLE ALLIANCES

History provides many examples of philosophic enemies who joined forces to achieve a mutually desired purpose. Such an event occurred during World War II, when the American president and the communist leader of the Soviet Union came together to oppose Nazi Germany.

Both FDR and Joseph Stalin realized that the very survival of their nations may depend upon whether Hitler could be stopped. Their alliance represented a simple recognition that the consequences of noncooperation outweighed the sum of all other political, economic or philosophic considerations. Such a time has now come for conservatives and libertarians.

The U.S. Constitution, and the government prescribed by it, was established to protect our inalienable rights. Those are the rights that preexisted government, such as the right of property ownership, self-defense, etc. Our Founders keenly realized that democracy is a poor guardian of individual liberty. They knew that if two wolves and a sheep vote what's for lunch, the individual rights of the sheep could be endangered. Therefore, a republic was established, where the law of the land--the Constitution--supersedes majority rule.

From the moment George Washington took his oath, federal politicians, unhappy with strict limitations on their authority, began searching for mechanisms to expand their power. The Civil War aside, these efforts were largely unsuccessful. That is, until the early 20th century, when the foundation for a powerful central government was put in place by the imposition of the federal income tax, establishment of the Federal Reserve and adoption of the 17th Amendment.

The process was then kicked into a higher gear by Franklin Roosevelt. Hard times helped boost his notion that it is government's proper function to take the rightful property of one person and simply give it to another. In effect, this paternalistic notion, an outgrowth of desperate times and fueled by class envy, was allowed to trump the founding principle of a limited government.

A couple of decades later, LBJ gave the big government knob another twist with his “War on Poverty,” the result of which has been to create massive bureaucracy, subsidize illegitimacy, make self-support a less attractive option and increase the appeal of dependence on the state. Rather than promote self-sufficiency, the incentives produced by these programs create a system where politicians are seen as all-knowing parents while citizens are treated as children.

Currently, America's inept political class has created a combined debt and unfunded liability (the amount needed to cover promises already made regarding Medicare, Social Security etc.) of more than $50 trillion, or about 15 times the federal government's annual revenue. At some point in time, every dime of this shortfall MUST be extracted from the lifestyle of American families. As political powerbrokers command more wealth, citizens command less. That means fewer choices and diminished liberty.

For more than two hundred years, our liberties--those choices we make regarding use of our minds, our bodies, our skills, our motivations and our energies--have been whittled down from their once powerful status. Now, the toxic mix of an ambitious Barack Obama, a big-spending democratic supermajority and a fawning media are applying power tools to the process. Each time central planners are ushered in the front door, another piece of liberty is swept out the back.

The same political nincompoops who have proven unable to regulate themselves, and have saddled future generations with crushing debt, are now seizing the power to command private industry. Consumer demand is slowly giving way to political dictates. Just this year, we have witnessed great institutions of banking, insurance and transportation swallowed up by the Washington oligarchy. Our health care and energy use are the latest targets for government takeover.

Now, another group is actively seeking power-enhancing mechanisms. This time, it is the American people, looking to regain control of their country and restore lost liberty. This is where the uncomfortable alliance part comes in. Just as an emergency room surgeon understands that the life-threatening crisis must be addressed or concerns regarding the broken thumb become meaningless, Americans must first preserve their liberty so that other political concerns remain relevant.

Many issues separate conservatives and libertarians, some of which cannot easily be reconciled. But, survival dictates we put them aside. Foreign policy and the drug war are bones of contention between Rush Limbaugh and Ron Paul, but both agree on the virtues of the free enterprise system. Economists Peter Schiff and Art Laffer are hardly philosophic twins, but unite as outspoken critics of socialism. Mark Levin and Neil Boortz have plenty of disagreements, but sing from the same hymnal when it comes to Constitutional originalism.

Like FDR and Stalin, libertarians and conservatives cannot afford the luxury of divided energy. The forces of big government are simply too formidable for that. With the fully enlisted support of class envy, dependency and ignorance, they can only be defeated by a focused, intent opposition. Unless we voluntarily agree to compromise some of our beliefs in the short term, government WILL compromise our liberty for the long term.

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