A Conservative's Lament

Except for that one time when the screed was so obscene I refused to let it go unchallenged, I never link to right wing blogs because there's often no there there.

However, John Cole's post about awakening to what his party has become is a worthy read:

And it makes me mad. I still think of myself as a Republican- but I think the whole party has been hijacked by frauds and religionists and crooks and liars and corporate shills, and it frustrates me to no end to see my former friends enabling them, and I wonder ‘Why can’t they see what I see?” I don’t think I am crazy, I don’t think my beliefs have changed radically, and I don’t think I have been (as suggested by others) brainwashed by my commentariat.

I hate getting up in the morning, surfing the news, and finding more and more evidence that my party is nothing but a bunch of frauds. I feel like I am betraying my friends in the party and the blogosphere when I attack them, even though I believe it is they who have betrayed what ‘we’ allegedly believe in. Bush has been a terrible President. The past Congresses have been horrible- spending excessively, engaging in widespread corruption, butting in to things they should have no say in (like end of life decisions), refusing to hold this administration accountable for ANYTHING, and using wedge issues to keep themselves in power at the expense of gays, etc. And I don’t know why my friends on the right still keep fighting for these guys to stay in power. Why do they keep attacking decent people like Jim Webb- to keep this corrupt lot of fools in office? Why can’t they just admit they were sold a bill of goods and start over? Why do they want to remain in power, but without any principles? Are tax cuts that important? What is gained by keeping troops in harms way with no clear plan for victory? With no desire to change course? With our guys dying every day in what looks to be for no real good reason? Why?

I was never a conservative in a past life, but I understand Cole's frustration with the GOP since it's akin to how I feel about the Catholic Church. Political ideology is like religion in so many ways, and realizing that your party or your church no longer represents what you hold sacred is always a painful epiphany.

The thing is, Cole isn't alone. Even notables like William F. Buckley, Francis Fukuyama and John Danforth are just some of the growing number of conservatives disillusioned with the GOP and disgusted with what it has become.

They have a decision to make: either take their party back from its more extreme and corrupt elements or walk away. Pinching their noses and ignoring the stench is no longer an option.

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