Yet Another Email Conversation With a Drone

Email received from a hard-core Leftist drone:

I like what Ohio's Governor Kasich had to say about Obamacare: "it's here to stay."

My response:

Yep, he expanded Medicaid, but he lost the base in doing so.

Drone:

The Republican base consists of religious conservatives. I think it was a mistake for Reagan to begin the process of flooding the party with them. Good for elections. Bad for governing. They put religion before party, before country--before everything.

Me:

Huh? The Reagan base consists largely of Constitutionalists, who are interested in keeping government living within its means. That the country was founded by moral men of faith is tangential.

The secular Left ignores the Constitution and uses extra-legal mechanisms -- from vote fraud to court-stuffing -- to achieve that which they could never do so via popular vote or Amendment process.

The New Deal to Obamacare (and everything in between) being cases in point.

Drone:

Jerry Falwell and Reagan worked together, I believe, to ensure greater participation of religious conservatives in the republican party. Maybe you're too young to remember that.

Me:

Of course I remember the Moral Majority. Reagan's governing principles were rooted in Constitutionalism and limited government ("Government is not the solution; government is the problem."). Maybe you're too young to remember that.

Drone:

I agree that those were his "governing principles." His election strategy is what I'm talking about. Too many religious conservatives in the party. Mixing government and religion is dangerous. As a Constitutional conservative, I'm sure you're aware that the Founders were acutely aware of that. Doesn't mean they weren't deists. Doesn't mean they weren't moral men. Just means religion and government are a bad mix.

Me:

>>> Just means religion and government are a bad mix.

Which is why Obama supports the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, right?

Drone:

Religion and politics are fused forever in the Middle East. Why do you think they have so many problems? I'm talking about our government. We were founded on the notion of freedom of and from religion. It wasn't perfect, but the pendulum has moved way too far in one direction in the party.

Religion over country. I bet that's true for 15-20% of the electorate--95% of whom are republicans.

Me:

Actually, human experience tells us the more dangerous group is the progressive left whose religion is government. The tenets of progressivism have their roots in Marxism, Communism, National Socialism, fascism and other totalitarian structures for ruling over the "masses".

Today the Democrat Party and the federal government are one and the same. They exist to serve each other; Democrats grow government in good times and bad; and government rewards Democrats with votes, taxpayer largess, and union activism.

The establishment Republicans are almost as bad: they are corporatists -- crony capitalists -- who work the levers of government to in order to manipulate markets and reduce competitive constraints.

Today, all Democrats and nearly all Republicans make up a one party system: the Oligarchs. Their mission is not to represent constituents, but to instead consolidate power, amass personal fortunes, and -- most importantly -- to stay in office.

The old truism that "absolute power corrupts absolutely" is as obvious as it is accurate.

Human history is littered with examples of the Oligarchs' corrupt handiwork: centralized, increasingly authoritarian government populated with power-hungry bureaucrats. Frequently such governments have grown despotic; some have committed horrific acts of democide.

Increasingly centralized government is inherently tyrannical. The Framers knew this; they tried to construct a system of checks and balances that would constrain the growth of government by devolving power among the branches of government as well as to the states and the people.

Today only one significant political group in America is aligned against the Oligarchs: the Constitutional Conservatives and Tea Party movement.

Drone:

Ah, that's one of the best things you've ever sent me. I agree we are effectively an oligarchy. It's not written in stone, but it is written in ad budgets, government contracts, etc. Money makes the government go 'round.

It's a different issue from the one I was writing about, but a good issue. Religion in government vs. religion of government. I'm not a fan of either.


Note: I let the drone get the last word.