Reader Comments
Issue 123 - January 7, 2009

Editor: Regarding “Comeback in 2010” by Paul Weyrich, it is very sad to learn that this great conservative is gone. It may be his last column. Gordon Smith [Editor replies: Actually, as readers can see, he left us additional columns, one in this issue and one will appear in the next. Yes, he was great.]

Editor: “Merry Newspeak Freedom” to you, also. It is a great piece. It will be interesting to see if President Bush acts this week on the so-called Freedom of Choice Act issue. Hope you have a blessed Christmas and wonderful New Year. Rich Byman

Editor: Thanks so much for your article “Merry Newspeak Freedom” on the Freedom of Choice Act, freedom for all but opponents of abortion. BL

Editor: Regarding your “Who Plays Herbert Hoover?” criticisms of the rash of government bailouts, costing unprecedented trillions of dollars are now everywhere. The most frequent cries include "When are they gonna bail ME out?” and "What about free markets & individual responsibility"? Behind it all, what is lost is the hidden fact that government carries a guilty conscience in this disgrace. It knows that under its pressure, financial institutions were forced to make risky loans to minorities, illegal aliens and the poor generally and that this was CENTRALLY responsible for the international chaos that's been created-- as well as the willingness of SEC to look the other way on speculative stock market efforts. As always, government efforts have favored the rich & the poor ASKING THE MIDDLE CLASS TO PAY. Don't ever believe that a small minority, given privileges not available to the rest of us, cannot exert a vice-like grip on its milieu. Witness the fact that a police department, given the exclusive sanction of a monopoly on a final resort to violence, THO THEY REPRESENT ONLY A HANDFUL OF THE POPULATION, can dominate an entire civilization. Hitler's military was hardly the majority in Germany but their monopoly on use of violence allowed them to dominate. Similarly when a small group of people are allowed "violence" by being enabled by the govt. to eschew the laws of responsibility in obtaining loans or making financial trades, they can create a wildfire in the economy that consumes all around it in domino fashion. Make no mistake the government, in conjunction w/ Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac,& SEC laxity, KNOWS who started this wildfire of the destruction of our economy AND THEY KNOW...THEY CAN'T TURN THEIR BACKS AND LEAVE THE VICTIMS IN THE FINANACIAL COMMUNITY, BEHIND. They know this is truly unique, so they hide behind the argument that "we need to violate free market principles in order to save it" Al, Lemon Grove

Editor: The “3 Godfathers” movie review by Spencer Warren was excellent. As is said many times, "they don't make movies like that anymore." It would be great if there were a way to purchase these type of movies through the Conservative Battleline Online. God bless your work, Maurice Blumberg

Editor: I enjoy Daniel Pipes’ columns. However when he made a comment in “Are Harems Next”: “One wonders when Mormons will also wake to this gambit,” I was shocked. Before again implying that Mormons could learn from Muslims how to evade Western laws against polygamy, he should get the facts on the Mormon position on polygamy right so he doesn’t mislead people who trust in his words. The Church is very clear about the question and explains its opposition very well on its website lds.org. Mormons are fighting this same battle with Mr. Pipes and are Brothers in arms. This is what brought me to read his article. Thank him for his consideration and keep up the good fight. Gary Sorrells, Lindon, Utah [Mr. Pipes replies: I am sorry. The wording came out wrong, as I explained in an update at Westerners Welcome Harems]

Editor: Regarding Daniel Pipes’ column “Are Harems Next,” it is the Reformed Latter Day Saints that would love polygamy to be commonplace again. God Save America from this, for it's gone to the Dogs. Stand beside her, and save her, With the Light of Truth from Above! I used to say God Help America, but I think that it's now way beyond help. We need God to save America from its own destruction. Robert Littlejohn

Editor: Regarding Paul Weyrich’s “Fix Foreign Aid,” one thing we could learn from the old USSR is restricting foreign aid to situations in which we get something in return: bases, diplomatic support, etc... H. Novack, Providence RI

Editor: Regarding “Conservative Counter Attack”, what do conservatives talk about on the radio? They talk about liberals. It is the same on television and the internet. Most of the conversation at Republican gatherings is about Democrats. We trade stories about liberals the same way kids used to trade baseball cards. While we have been talking about the liberals the liberals have been talking to the voters. The result is that conservatism is being pushed out of America, not just in politics, but in every corner of society. The Democrats chose the most liberal candidate in their primary, the Republicans chose the most liberal candidate in their primary, and the voters chose the most liberal candidate for President. I won’t say that Americans are becoming more liberal, but they sure are voting that way. The thing is that Obama didn’t portray himself as a liberal, at least not to the mainstream voters. I would describe his campaign image as a tax-cutting, progressive populist, but much more important was that he was inspirational. Obama offered hope, he offered change, and the people believed him. Our friends in talk radio exaggerate when they speak of Obama "the messiah," but only exaggerate a little bit. I’ve heard the way people speak of Obama and what they expect of him, they see in him the fulfillment of hope and the promise of change, they see him as the answer to their prayers. For many voters it was not a matter of liberal versus conservative, it was a matter of hope versus hopelessness. There is an old saying, "If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything." I think that many of the voters found hope in Obama because they can’t find hope anywhere else, that they stood up for Obama because they don’t consider anything else worth standing up for. I think many voters consider their world so dark that they will jump for any chance of change. I think many of the voters are demoralized. I guess I could be wrong; time will tell if Obama really is the candidate he claimed to be. But what if I am right and the Obama win resulted from a demoralized electorate that was grasping at straws, reaching out to grab onto a dream? Why is America demoralized? Why are they so desperate for "change?" It is because the liberals made them that way. What have voters learned from progressives? They have learned that America is not a great, or even good; it is an evil nation that dominates and impoverishes other nations. They have learned that there is no honor in being a soldier, sailor, airmen, or marine; those who join the military are uneducated people who have made a poor life decision and in their service they are actively involved in oppression and murder. They have learned that there is no distinction in being an American citizen, and efforts towards limiting immigration or promoting American culture are racist and xenophobic. They have learned that abortion and fragmented families are acceptable. Religion is a threat to liberty, and religious people are unintelligent, hypocritical bigots, whose beliefs must never play a role in the politics of this nation. Americans have learned that self reliance is for suckers, and that high taxes are good, as long as they receive the benefits and someone else is paying the taxes. What Americans have learned is that there is no hope. If you can have no pride in God, family, and country, from what is there to draw hope? It is for this reason the people have put their faith in a charismatic figure who promised them "hope" and "change." He won them over with rhetoric. What can conservatives do to reverse the liberal direction of America? I once knew a very religious man, who in his retirement speech remarked that through his actions and his demeanor he hoped that people would see Christ in him. There are different types of conservatives but we all have much in common, the only way we can instill our conservative pride into others is to "witness" conservatism. The way that we witness conservatism is by engaging people and by being ourselves. You see, a conservative identifies with their values. To a conservative an attack against America is a personal attack against them; the same applies to an attack against family values, or against fiscal responsibility, or defense, or against any of the values which have made America great. By the things we say and do we must let people see the conservative values which are within us, so that they may share in them. Our nation, our culture, our conservative values, these are the inheritance of all Americans if they can be persuaded to claim them. Travis Christensen