(Power) Binge And (Threat) Purge
For the last six months here at The Trenches (and for many years before that, elsewhere), I have been sounding the alarm about those in the ranks of the GOP whose main intent is to steer it away from its creed. Their reasons for doing so have been exposed and demonstrated numerous times, and I’ll cover them again, briefly, further down the page.
But first, I hasten to note that I make no claim to being alone in pointing out and attempting to turn back this infiltration. There are many voices, in fact, which I proudly join in this cause. And we all stand on the shoulders of numerous champions of Liberty before us.
At the risk of penning yet another very lengthy post, let me generalize the arc of their movement. While it began as a small insurgency, just after the Civil War, the ranks of the Grand Old progressives (note the lowercase “p”) slowly and steadily grew from a scoffed-at minority faction, to an influential agitator class, morphing, finally, into our present “Beltway Establishment.”
Truth be told, the same factions were simultaneously entering and occupying the Democrat party (under its various names), and followed much the same trajectory.
As I pointed out in the “exciting conclusion” (if long-winded) to my Paradigms series, the key to controlling thought is controlling the language. To do that, terms must be redefined, or invented, to fit the narrow scope of the controller’s aims. Marcuse’s “Repressive Tolerance” (the main influencer of what we now dub “political correctness”) laid the groundwork for this second phase of controlling the language.
Marcuse hailed from the German “Frankfurt School.” His work was built atop the first phase, the foundation of which had already been constructed in America by Woodrow Wilson, John Dewey, Colonel House, and Frank Goodnow. All of these men idolized the Prussian administrative state.
What is an administrative bureaucracy, after all, but institutionalized control? And progressives, no matter what political party they inhabit, thrive on being in control.
Which brings us almost to the present day. You can track the “progress” of these GOP infiltraitors pretty easily by simply looking at the party’s nominees for President since 1928.
I’ve demonstrated that Goldwater and Reagan are the only two in that span of time who had to put up an actual fight for the nomination. Not coincidentally, they were also the most in line with our nation’s first principles and the Republican creed.
The GOP establishment went along with, or hand picked, the rest. And, out of those who got elected, their legacy of governance was relentlessly expanding Federal bureaucracy, spending, and encroachment on the traditional jurisdiction of the states.
This is why the term “federalism” has so many creative adjectives attached to it, when taught in PoliSci classes. Every distinction attached to federalism, since the original understanding of the Framers, has been added due to progressive policies. (Much more on this in a future post here at The Trenches.)
Now, with those points laid out, we can finally address present day machinations within the Beltway Establishment progressive GOP.
This week has seen a steady stream of shock and outrage over solid conservatives being shut out and, in some cases, kicked out of committee assignments in the House. The pundits and activists who are, quite rightly, livid over this development have called it the “Boehner Purge.”
John Boehner, “The Weaker Speaker” as I’ve called him since late 2010, has carefully culled power into his own hands for many years. Even under Speaker Hastert, I was aware of some of his maneuverings in the House hierarchy.
Keeping the ranks on the same page, in order to achieve legislative goals, is not just standard practice in any deliberative body. It is also smart. After all, instilling unity of purpose, throughout the organization, is one of the hallmarks of good leadership.
But is that the modus operandi at work here? Is there something more to this latest power grab? Can it properly be called a power grab at all?
Consider: the widespread popularity among grassroots conservatives (in contrast to our rapidly growing disgust with Boehner) garnered by one Allen West, who lost a close battle last month due mostly to redistricting. Consider further that a state’s Congressional delegation plays a large role in negotiating with the legislature on the final redistricting map. And, finally, consider the fact that Allen West was the only member of that state’s Congressional delegation to be a consistent thorn in the side of the Beltway GOP.
(We could throw in, for the sake of pot-stirring, the fact that West’s name was being circulated heavily within the “Tea Party caucus” as a candidate for Speaker of the House in the upcoming 113th Congress, a challenge Boehner could well have lost.)
Did Boehner play a role in any of the above? I have seen no evidence to warrant even positing such an allegation. But the plausibility is undeniable, in light of recent backroom wrangling, is it not?
And what of the RNC Convention Powergrab? The Curious Case of Cantor Campaign Contributions in this cycle’s primaries? Or the Manufactured Mourdock and Mandell Malaise, the Akin Angle, the Bachmann Backstab, the Christie Keynote, or the Romney/Ryan Rope-a-dope?
Far be it from me to equate correlation to causation, but the preceding cases should lend themselves to a certain level of clarity. If a pattern has not emerged for you, by now, the only explanation left is willful ignorance. And I could point out two dozen more curious coincidences, just off the top of my head.
Before concluding here, I promised a brief explanation of why these establishment types aim to steer the GOP away from First Principles and the Republican Creed. And I wish it entailed the unveiling of some shocking revelation. But it doesn’t.
The fact of the matter is that we can blame an ancient culprit: lust for power, fueled by pride. Human nature’s basest impulse, and the most difficult to place under the strictures of self-control.
Just as the object of starting a small business is to grow it into a larger one, the object of gaining power is to wield that power (always in pursuit of even more).
Nationwide restaurant chains usually begin as individual food stands, and empires generally begin as jealously-guarded fiefdoms.
America’s founders shunned any vestige of the recently deposed monarchy, and codified those principles into law via the Constitution’s checks and balances, as well as the doctrine of separation of powers. This precludes the establishment of even the tiniest of fiefdoms, much less controlling factions, oligarchies, or empires.
This is precisely why progressives, whatever political party they inhabit, despise the Constitution. But our inherent reverence for that document (even among those who’ve never read it) makes it political suicide for them to voice this contempt.
This is why they can quote from it, while working behind the scenes to undermine it. Just as one simple thought experiment, try to imagine how many times the separation of powers doctrine had to be blatantly ignored, in order for Congress to abdicate their legislative authority to the massive bureaucracy (dubbed the “fourth branch of government) that we see today.
So, the question remains: “What can we do about these infiltraitors?”
Well, as with any infestation, the best defense is prevention. But, once the pests achieve any numeric size greater than “nuisance,” the only remedy is outright extermination, to ensure eradication of any possible offspring.
I shouldn’t have to point out that in this instance, of course, I’m speaking in political terms.
Then again, the Left has been pretty agreeable to exterminating their offspring, at least since the early seventies, haven’t they? But, I digress.
A final point: being a music fan, I can’t help but bring up the 1992 album by the band Tool.
The album was titled “Opiate,” and the final regular track was a song called “Jerk Off.” This song was recorded at a live show and, before the opening drum riff, lead singer Maynard Keenan made a comment. “There used to be a bunch of assholes who lived in this part of the building here. But we systematically removed them, like you would any kind of termite or roach.”
I would argue (and have) that we must deal with the GOP establishment assholes in much the same way. Systematically.
It begins with education, which we’ve stressed a great deal, up to this point. But I’ve been asked many times, “That’s all well and good. I’m doing that part, and will continue. But what can I do?!”
As this post is already long enough, I will answer that question simply:
Plenty.
You should know by now that I tend to use a precise word for the meaning I intend. As such, I don’t use the word “systematically” frivolously. Plans are in the works and will be detailed here very soon.
Stay tuned…
About Bradley S. Rees
Spent 15+ years in the fields of regulatory, tax, and education reform. Ran in GOP primary for VA-5 Congressional seat from Nov. '08 to October '09. Host of "The Brushfire Hour" (now only in podcast form at BlogTalkRadio) and "The Sons Of Liberty Show" sponsored by Conservative Broadcast Media on spreaker.com Primary author at http://sonofliberty2k10.wordpress.com
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