Keith Stern of North Springfield, Constitutional Conservative Republican candidate running for Governor of Vermont.
www.vermontgetsstern.org
Defining a Constitutional Conservative
By Phil Davis, Political Analyst & Columnist
There have been articles written that define a Constitutional Conservative. Are they a basic Conservative or an Independent, maybe Libertarian, some other label? What positions define a Constitutional Conservative’s core beliefs? Maybe the Declaration of Independence will reveal a clue?
As part of the Declaration of Independence of July 1776 proclaimed:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.
When reading the Declaration of Independence, one could reasonably come away with an overall impression of what a Constitutional Conservative is. The Declaration of Independence is a resolution of past abuses by a tyrannical government from abroad. A government that has controlled mistreated and encroached on the lives, liberties and happiness of its people. The Declaration of Independence outlines that everyone has the basic right to Life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
After winning our independence from England, we decided to establish a new Constitution. This Constitution was a compact between the people, written in such a way as to limit the powers of a newly formed government over a people. Powers that would be limited in scope, so as to ensure our natural rights to existence and independence while pursuing what makes us content.
Surely every good person can agree that an individual has the basic right to their life and certainly their freedom while pursuing a course to their own happiness. In doing so, we expect the least amount of intrusion from a governing power.
The Declaration of Independence is the corner stone, the premise of our natural rights we are born with and the driving force behind the construction of our U.S. Constitution we have today.
Defining a Constitutional Conservative should be simple and based on one’s natural born rights. These natural rights are the driver for our Constitution, a U.S. Constitution that ensures those rights. Therefore, a Constitutional Conservative should be one who supports our U.S. Constitution because it’s constructed in such a fashion as to ensure our natural rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; the core of our position.
Not worth a comment.
ReplyDeleteAnd yet you made one. For the record, I think he's correct.
DeleteYeah, most "Constitutional Conservatives" have a nasty habit of interpreting that document in the most narrow, self-serving manner possible. Sort of like the Ford Model T; you could have any color you wanted, as long as that color was black. Under "Constitutional Conservatives" you'll be free to do whatever you want, as long as it's what THEY want!
ReplyDeleteWell, we could have a tax system that would leave the top earners with an after-tax income of $2.1 million and provide tax cuts from 65 to 100% for everybody making $1 million or less, but the candidate hasn't researched it.
ReplyDelete"The least amount of intrusion from government" leaves an awful lot of wiggle room. Defining what "least amount" would mean is bound to be seen as overreaching "government intrusion" by the Republican Party's present base.