I knew if I kept writing long enough I’d find something a left-coast liberal like yourrself could agree with.

All the best and thanks for reading my columns.

To quote your piece: “The conservative values that Buckley stood for—unalienable rights, smaller government, lower taxes, strict interpretation of the Constitution, and so on—are the mantra of today’s conservatives, if not always their creed.

Sounds like Ron Paul to me, whether or not he wears the mantle of ‘conservative’. He is the only current candidate who even comes close.

Posted by Greg Knight

I think a true conservative is one who understands our Constitution, its original intent, and the Christian faith and morality of all but one of those Founding Fathers who developed the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, and the Constitution. Many of them lost their lives, their property, and their families in the name of the freedoms we cherish, and they succeeded through what they believed was “divine providence.”

In contrast, there are “moderates” and liberals.” A “moderate” is one without firm conviction, willing to bend with popular ideas when he deems it beneficial. A liberal has a poor understanding of American history and government; or worse, a contempt for history and an inclination to revise or destroy it. He is an “elite,” without humility to recognize that his knowledge may not be as great as the wisdom of all the ages, or that there are things beyond his capacity to understand. The beliefs of many liberals closely resemble those of Karl Marx, who said in 1849, ” . . .from those who have the ability to those who have the need . . . ,” founding the philosophy of theft by taxation for the benefit of the disadvantaged. Marx was contemptuous of the religions that provided charitable services, and called religion the “opiate of the masses.” Marxism is incompatible with those two of the Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments against theft and envy. By the standards of those Commandments, it is impermissable for government to steal via taxes in the name of charity or the envy of success. Charity and love are choices of the heart and benefit the giver; taxes are by force of law and create no good will. To envy is to covet, craving to possess another’s belongings. Theft is a predictable precipitate of covetousness, and speaks ill of either the theif, or those people who choose a government to steal for them.

Posted by Ronald Bouwman

Ed I agree. I for one am not behind any one candidate right now I am waiting to see who wins the primary, and throw 110% of my support behind him. Everyone seems to be waiting for another Reagan, well he’s not here, so lets beat Obama with what we have and we will beat him if we all stand behind the primary winner.

Posted by Chris Vaca

I agree Ed, but maybe my living in Massachusetts is what has me not so sure of defeating this guy. We must at all cost take back the White House and get this economy and our morals back on track. It’s going to be a tough road. Being conservative is about morals, being independent, less government, small business minded, befief in capitalism, beliefs in helping the needy, but in a way as to make them feel good about themselves, belief in our Constitution, Bill of Rights, living by the standards set forth by our founding fathers, and by all means believe in the USA, stand by our flag, stand by our neighbors, and doing the right things for our children’s future. I am just hoping to see my country get back to the great country it can be…..but loosing hope…..

Posted by Curtis Shelton

I’m not sure there are any of the candidates that are true conservatives. Probably the closest is Newt followed by Santorum. I think we are doomed for 4 more years of Obama, I don’t see any of the current candidates pulling this out. Reagan was the last conservative we had in the White House. They use the label but are all over the place when it comes to sticking to their values, except for Santorum, which I don’t think he has the support needed. I have no faith that a true leader will emerge and the US will no longer be the power it was just a few years ago. Just look at the voting public, look at what is taught in our schools, look at the illegal vote, need I say more, We will not be able to defeat the Obama/Chicago politics machine.

Posted by Curtis Shelton

Okay, guys, I get that there are tons of soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines who may be more deserving of being honored by having a ship named after them than Rep. Giffords. I get that us military types want to see the names of our brothers in arms on our ships and bases. Tobey, I get that you would like to see your state’s name on a ship again. I get all this stuff, and I feel the same way. What I don’t get is that so many people are so against the naming of the USS Gabrielle Giffords. I don’t know what an LCS10 is, and I don’t know what goes through a combat soldier’s mind when he comes under fire. I did, however, train for combat the entire 17 years of my AF career, and I think I would have been proud to go into battle aboard a ship named for Gabrielle Giffords. She has been, as Bob puts it in his post, a “symbol of honor and strength” to me for a long time. That said, I move on to other subjects.

Posted by Michael Teaster