Tom Kawczynski - Off the Record

One fun thing about being an independent is getting to call things as I see them.

For those who have been following political news, you'll know that CPAC (Conservative Political Action Conference) was held today.  To the surprise of many there, none other than Ron Paul won the straw poll.  His congratulations:  a smattering of boos.

Here's what I don't understand, and one of the biggest reasons why I'm glad not to be a Republican anymore.  How can you claim to be a conservative, that believes in limited government, and then argue that government should regulate how we choose to live our lives and that we should dictate to others how they should live not just here, but also in other nations?  Anyone who has spent more than ten minutes studying the history of the places on Earth of which we are most frightened cannot help but discover our long and nefarious involvement there.

It is this hypocrisy that makes honest people sick.  If you want government to be big where you want it, and small where you don't, you might as well call yourself liberal because the philosophy is the same.  And to those who would call this moral relativism, that is only true if you believe that group identities should be given higher priority than those of individuals.  The founders didn't believe that, and more people are waking up to realize that.

Wait until the next election cycle.  It is no accident that more Americans are becoming independent each day, and when the Republican Party fails to follow the mandate that exists, to get big government out of Washington, then it will be the true victim.  The Democrats, current unpopularity aside, will survive because they know what they believe in:  government designed to solve social problems.

If you are a conservative, by your own definition, then I ask this:  What do you believe the purpose of government should be, and who believes as you do?