Have a seat, I’m gettin’
out my stump and climbing up. Today’s rant, defining conservatism. Let me put
forward two definitions of conservatism, although there are many derivations,
to capture the political realities of today, fiscal conservatism and social
conservatism. These terms are often used interchangeably in political debates
and lead to misguided or misunderstood followings.
Fiscal conservatism is
economic in nature. It calls for fiscal prudence in the governance of the
economy. The preference of fiscal conservatives is to allow the free market to
provide goods and services to the polity. Republicans use this form of fiscal
conservative ideology to label their Democratic counterparts as “tax and spend”
fanatics.
Social conservatism is social-cultural
in nature. It seeks to influence society by implementing policies that conform
to a “desirable” social-cultural norm. A “return to traditional” values or
“moral ideals” are sought to get the polity back on the “right” track. Political
issues such as marriage and sex education fall under the rubric of social
conservatism and rally particularly vocal factions.
Now for the stump part…Tennessee
Republicans stop being hypocritical. Stop blaming Democrats for deficits and
then using this smoke screen to implement your social agenda. Here are a couple
of examples of note:
SB2580 Welfare
Drug Testing, a Republican sponsored bill that allows for selective drug
screening of welfare recipients passed this year.
HB2411
Lawmaker Drug Testing, a Democrat sponsored bill that allows for the drug
testing of state lawmakers failed this year.
So how do we interpret
this seeming contradiction? Is it OK to do drugs if you are earning a living
wage? Or, if you aren’t making a living wage it is because you are doing drugs?
Perhaps it is too costly to pay for the drug testing of state legislatures? Here is an option: if you receive public monies then you must submit to a drug test.
Here is a no brainer for
fiscal conservatism, SB1372 Per Diem Freeze. SB1372 was a Democrat sponsored piece of
legislation that would freeze the per diem expense allowance for state legislators.
SB1372 would not eliminate the reimbursement, just put a cap on the allowance
amount for specific activities. Surely this is something that fiscal
conservatives could rally behind, but it failed to pass the Republican
controlled state legislature.
What
happened to the fiscal conservatives? Have social conservatives usurped them?
Have we entered a new phase of politics where social conservatism is an easier
agenda to push than fiscal conservatism? If we have, then let’s stop the
hypocritical posturing and call a duck a duck.
