Joe Scarborough Demonstrates Constructive Conservatism

Joe Scarborough gets it.

Politics has gotten too bitter. Most people want our government to do a good job for the sake of everyone. Scarborough makes a good case for conservatism because he's decent. Ugly rhetoric is such a turn off--on the left and the right.

All of a sudden this Alan Grayson guy, someone who uttered Holocaust and healthcare reform in the same sentence, has moved into hero status on the left. He's fighting for a good cause but that kind of hyperbole shouldn't be coming from anyone's mouth. He's doing exactly what the left has been attacking the right for. Hyperbole is mistaken for backbone these days.

Perhaps that's because there is a void of reason and the obnoxious can easily jump in to fill the emptiness.

Scarborough's column yesterday thanked the Obamas for trying to win the Olympics but made a larger point:

For the better part of 20 years, a bitterness has infected our politics that has weakened our country.
We Republicans spent eight years trying to delegitimize Bill Clinton.
Democrats spent the next eight years doing the same to George W. Bush.
Now that a Democrat is in the Oval Office again, it is the GOP who is trying to delegitimize a sitting president.
When I try to talk to Republicans about the need to break this cycle of viciousness, some cite the chapter and verse of every hateful left wing attack against George W. Bush.
Whenever I attempt to have a conversation with some Democrats about the need for us respect our president-- whether he be an Obama or a Bush-- I am told that Bush deserved whatever he got because he was a lying war criminal who hated the Constitution and loved torturing people.
Fortunately, there are a growing number of Americans who believe we cannot continue going on this way.
You and I may disagree on how the CIA handled terror suspects. But that does not mean that you are soft on terrorism anymore than it means that I hate the Constitution.
You and I may have a different approach to Afghanistan. But just because you want to stay there another five years doesn't mean you are an imperialist. And if I believe a decade in that forsaken land is more than enough, that doesn't mean I'm soft on al Qaeda or the Taliban.
It just means that we view the world differently. HP

Conservatives Seek Values at Values Summit

At a "values voter" summit during the 2008 campaign, conservatives sold waffle mix with a racist caricature of Obama on the box. You can watch that video here. Before these people find a leader, they first need to get some values. They also need to stop preaching values because the rest of the nation is tired of their sanctimony. If they want to make themselves useful they ought to be working with Obama to pass healthcare.

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Glenn Beck Says No Obama

Conservative radio talk show host Glenn Beck says he's a conservative and he won't vote for Obama because Obama doesn't match his values.

Funny, when he lists his values, below, I agree with nearly everyone of them he ticked off, except I think healthcare and housing is a right and that government can help the most vulnerable among us.

That would be my chief value. Government doesn't really do anything for me, but perhaps it can help the homeless vet, or the family without healthcare. Perhaps it can give more to those who need more instead of making it easier for those who have more to get more.

While I agree with most of his values, I wholeheartedly support Obama.
Beck claims he's not rigid, ideologically speaking, but It seems to me he can't see the forest through the trees. It seems conservatives take a certain pleasure in being self righteous.

CNN: A conservative believes that our inalienable rights do not include housing, healthcare or Hummers.

A conservative believes that our inalienable rights DO include the pursuit of happiness. That means it is guaranteed to no one.

A conservative believes that those who pursue happiness and find it have a right to not be penalized for that success.

A conservative believes that there are no protections against the hardship and heartache of failure. We believe that the right to fail is just as important as the chance to succeed and that those who do fail learn essential lessons that will help them the next time around.

A conservative believes in personal responsibility and accepts the consequences for his or her words and actions.

A conservative believes that real compassion can't be found in any government program.

A conservative believes that each of us has a duty to take care of our neighbors. It was private individuals, companies and congregations that sent water, blankets and supplies to New Orleans far before the government ever set foot there.

A conservative believes that family is the cornerstone of our society and that people have a right to manage their family any way they see fit, so long as it's not criminal. We are far more attuned to our family's needs than some faceless, soulless government program.

A conservative believes that people have a right to worship the God of their understanding. We also believe that people do not have the right to jam their version of God (or no God) down anybody else's throat.

A conservative believes that people go to the movies to be entertained and to church to be preached to, not the other way around.

A conservative believes that debt creates unhealthy relationships. Everyone, from the government on down, should live within their means and strive for financial independence.

A conservative believes that a child's education is the responsibility of the parents, not the government.

A conservative believes that every human being has a right to life, from conception to death.

A conservative believes in the smallest government you can get without anarchy. We know our history: The larger a government gets, the harder it will fall.