I am a conservative by nature, by intellect, and by desire. I believe in the four foundations of the conservative movement which I believe most Americans would agree with, fundamentally. Those four cornerstones are: Liberty, Tradition and Order, Rule of Law, and Moral Government. How are these under threat given today’s Republican Party and Donald J. Trump? I believe they are under dire threat.
Liberty means political liberty being able to freely speak your mind on matters of public interest. Liberty means religious liberty to worship as you believe or to not worship at all. Liberty means economic liberty in the pursuit of your own property and participation in a free market society. And Liberty most importantly means freedom from government oppression and arbitrary use of force. However, this also means, as the Founders of our Nation understood, for the common good individuals give some of their “rights” to their government.
Tradition and Order, simply means Conservatives believe society has evolved values over history that have led to an orderly society. These values have been based on human nature, belief that societies have been built that respect human rights and that can repel attacks on these rights. Conservatives’ believe that society changes through evolution over time, not revolutionary actions.
The Rule of Law provides a means to preserve life, liberty, and property. The Rule of Law also evolves over time but provides society with an ordered approach in how to support Liberty, Tradition and Order, and a Moral government. The Rule of Law puts no one above the law, no group, and no individual.
Moral government means for a government to exist it must – to be just, to be valid – the government must be based on a moral foundation. These morals are not unique to any religion but are part of human nature and reflected by cultures around the world. Our Founders spoke of “natural laws”, not religion and certainly not a specific religion. These morals provide guidance in the actions of government – whether that is in the form of legislatures, courts, or executive offices.
Today, the Republican party in many ways fundamentally does not reflect these foundations of Conservatism.
Take each of these cornerstones of modern Conservative thought.
Liberty – today’s Republican party has, and is, censuring any Republican who speaks freely, who speaks truth to power. It is no longer the party of freedom of thought, freedom of speech. Look at the lengthy list of current and former Republicans who have been driven out of the party and out of their roles because they had the temerity to speak their minds. And the one singular thread of being driven out? Their right, their duty to speak their minds on Donald J. Trump and present their critical thoughts on his actions, his words, and his policies. Think of Liz Cheney, one of the most conservative Representatives in the House, number 3 leadership role within the Republican House caucus – driven out of her leadership role and censured from the Republican Party. Think of Adam Kinzinger – a rising star within the Republican Party, Lt. Colonel in the Air Force Reserve – driven out of the Republican party due to his opposition of Trump’s role contributing to the attack January 6 on our Capitol and his participation in the House committee investigation of January 6th. Think of the ten Republican Representatives that voted to impeach Trump after January 6 – Reps. Liz Cheney, David G. Valadao, Adam Kinzinger, Anthony Gonzalez, Peter Meijer, Reps. John Katko, Dan Newhouse, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Fred Upton, Tom Rice. Eight of the ten left their offices, either by losing their primaries, or retiring from office. Only two remain in the House. And look with concern, perhaps more rightfully fear with what is being proposed in Project 2025, and being supported by the just now released 2024 Republican Platform – civil servants must pass a “loyalty” test, pledging their loyalty, essentially to a empowered President, who under the proposals within Project 2025 will take direct control of all of the Civil Service and Federal agencies. Fear that Liberty going forward will not mean “freedom from government oppression and arbitrary use of force.” Under Project 2025, the President’s role rises supreme over the other branches of the government with complete autonomy. Think Liberty is under threat? Yes, the November election represents a threat to Liberty should Donald J. Trump be elected.
Tradition and Order – the foundation is the respect for human rights, that society has evolved over time to support human rights. Yet, within Project 2025 – echoed again by the Republican 2024 Platform – are plans to dismantle civil rights laws and protections. These are focused on removing protections for women and minorities. Title VII protects against discrimination and harassment
based on race, color, national origin, and religion, as well
as sex, while Title IX becomes more specific in prohibiting discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities. Think this concern is overblown? Know that Donald J. Trump has lost many civil suits concerning racial discrimination. That Donald J. Trump to this day still does not condemn, let alone even criticize, white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. Just this week a march was conducted in Nashville by a group -Patriot Front – who Trump in 2016 called “good people” – shouting “Sieg Heil” (Hail Victory) used by the Nazi’s in Nazi Germany. If Trump is elected society will de-evolve, through extremist, reactionary actions stripping away civil rights that have evolved over decades or longer within our country.
Rule of Law – simply to protect us all, equal under the law with no group or individual above the law. Yet look no further than the Supreme Court ruling on Presidential immunity separating immunity under “official acts” versus no immunity for “private” acts. Immediately, Trump and his attorney-initiated pleas that all his actions from 2016 through early 2021 fell under the definition of “official acts”. His attempt to hide his “hush money” payment to a porn star, his actions on January 6th, his attempts to overthrow the election results with the fake electors across numerous states, and his refusal to return government property in the documents case – are now all being plead as “official acts”. Given the Presidential authority and autonomy should Project 2025 proposals be acted on – the President virtually and in reality becomes above the law. The role would have the authority to claim every and any action taken by a President would be “official acts”, not “private acts”. Even assassinating a political opponent could be justified as an “official” act under the Constitution, with the President protecting the country in his role as the head of the military – being Commander in Chief. Think this is farfetched? Think again!
Moral government – the tenant is simple……for a government to be legitimate it must be moral, morals that are grounded across societies and across religions. Not specific to any one religion. How can a government be moral if an immoral, amoral individual is leading it? An individual who is a non-repentant sinner, an individual who believes he has done no wrong. Yet is proven to be a serial adulterer, a serial liar, a philanderer, and womanizer, even found guilty in civil court of sexual abuse (just short of rape), a convicted felon of thirty-four cases of business fraud. I believe given the autonomy and authority under Project 2025 proposals, Donald J. Trump would have the ability to corrupt our Federal government into his own image a government bent on revenge and retribution, a government focused on benefitting only those loyal to Donald J. Trump.
The Republican party, this current version – is no longer a conservative party – it is extremist and reactionary and being corrupted by an individual who would see himself be “king” – who has proven over his lifetime to be immoral and corrupt. Come November, this country has a choice, a clear choice to continue to strive to be as Ronald Reagan said “that shining city on the hill” or do we slide into an critically divided society unable to work for the common good as dreamed by our country’s Founders, driven there by an individual who only seeks to profit himself and his brand, and those pledging total loyalty to him.
Tag: National Security
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Here is an “historical what if?” and how It relates to what Is happening In Europe, Ukraine, and our country today.
As Hitler came to power in the 1930’s he stated to the German people and the world he would “protect” German speaking people who were being discriminated against. Hitler used this as a pretext to walk into Austria, then take over the Sudetenland, and finally carve apart Czechoslovakia. He was allowed to do this in both Austria and Sudetenland without opposition and was empowered by the 1938 Munich Agreement for his actions in Czechoslovakia – the Munich Agreement that he soon ripped apart. Bottom line, he felt no constraints to using his “bully pulpit” – the German military to achieve his goals.His next action was the invasion of Poland and with that action he initiated the reaction of both France and England to declare war.
From all of this came WWII, with all its horrors, more than seventy-three million killed – more than half that total in Europe, Europe laid waste. And the USA suffering over four hundred thousand killed and several times that wounded.
Now, that is history. Those are the facts.
How does that play out today and what might history have been had those events in the 1930’s played out differently?
Imagine an alternative history if in the mid-1930’s the allied powers of France and England had intervened in Hitler’s actions in Austria, Sudetenland, or Czechoslovakia? Or more importantly, imagine an alternative history if allied powers with Poland had been able to arm them sufficiently to resist the German invasion. Just a few hundred anti-tank guns, just a few hundred anti-aircraft guns, just a very few hundred or so modern fighters. Imagine how that would have affected not just the invasion, but the next five years, Hitler would have been stymied, his goals not achieved. Perhaps World War II, in all its horror and the deaths of tens of millions be averted. All for Poland’s lack of being able to defend itself, for the lack of only few hundred of select weapons. Tens of millions of deaths averted, a continent devastated diverted. How might history have been written but for the lack of these actions?
And how do those years, 80 years or more ago echo in today’s world? Perhaps even shouting out to the present what actions are necessary to avoid repeating those times?
Today, we have Russia under the leadership, the dictatorship, of Putin. Putin has publicly said to Russia and the world that he will protect Russian speaking populations wherever they are being discriminated against, wherever they are being subjugated. The Russian government has articulated what might be called the Putin Doctrine, a blanket assertion that Moscow has the right and the obligation to protect Russians anywhere in the world. Given the fall of Russian empire in 1917 and the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 Russian speaking populations exist outside of Russia throughout eastern Europe. Significant Russian speaking populations exist in the Baltic states of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Significant Russian speaking people exist in Moldova, Poland, and Hungary. Putin has used this pretext, the Putin Doctrine, to justify his invasion of Ukraine, to protect the Russian speaking populations there.
Without the military support of the USA and its western European allies in NATO, Ukraine would have fallen by now. Not in the initial weeks of the invasion as Ukraine put up a much greater resistance than Putin could have imagined, but in months Ukraine would have fallen. Putin would then have been able to walk into Moldova. With Ukraine and Moldova within his sphere Putin would then have leverage over Hungary, would insist that Poland open Russia land access to Kaliningrad which is an enclave with over two hundred thousand Russian citizens lying on the Baltic Sea surrounded by Poland. Putin could demand the land bridge be ceded to Russia. Putin would turn his attention to the Baltic states, with an invasion of those three states very likely. All these actions taken to “protect Russian speaking peoples.”
What is stopping this scenario from playing out? Afterall, Putin has been reported to have stated these goals to his inner circle. What is stopping this “future”?
Ukraine. One word – Ukraine and its ability to resist Putin’s invasion. That and a unified NATO. These are the only things keeping Putin from achieving his desired goals.
Are these at risk?
It only takes a moment of your time to look at the headlines in the news today and see emphatically that yes, they are..
The Republican House is refusing to provide critical military funding to support Ukraine. Even though seventy percent of that funding stays here in the USA as the munitions, the firearms, the support equipment is all being build, manufactured here in the US. Even more importantly, to provide Ukraine with this military assistance the US is factually rebuilding our internal critical capacity to support our own military with munitions, firearms, and support equipment. Through the funding of Ukraine, we are building up our own critical military manufacturing capacity which has wasted away since 1991 and the fall of the Soviet Union. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson’s opposition to the military funding for Ukraine is undermining our own security and is a gross dereliction of his sworn duty. Without American military funding support Ukraine will fall.
Today’s news also includes NATO. The NATO alliance was THE key component of holding the Soviet Union at bay in Europe from 1946 until 1991. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union NATO’s purpose has evolved over the past thirty years. In the immediate aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union there was clear concern about the detritus, the litter, from the Soviet dissolution. Europe saw numerous conflicts arise in the aftermath. The war in the Balkans, internal conflicts with the border of the old Soviet Union meant NATO still had a purpose of common defense, the alliance still was needed. It has continued to evolve and expand as it’s purpose is to promote common defense, support liberty and democracy – often supporting critical EU initiatives. As the Prime Minister of Great Britain said, “You don’t cancel your home insurance policy just because there have been fewer burglaries on your street in the last 12 months!” With the resurgence of a Putin led Russia willingly using its military to achieve its goals, NATO relevance increased tenfold overnight.
Yet today the leading Republican candidate, the presumed nominee, has ranted that he would effectively dissolve NATO, and allow Russia – even inviting Russia – to attack NATO members. The Republican candidate would, in fact, remove the USA from the NATO alliance. Should that happen, should Donald J. Trump be re-elected, should he then remove the USA from the NATO alliance the scenario above where Putin would be unrestrained, just as Hitler was unrestrained prior to the start of World War II, would effectively take place. And the USA would be drawn into a resulting conflict the world has not seen since 1939.
It is critical the USA support Ukraine with military funding – it not only constrains Putin’s ambition, but it also effectively builds up American military capacity for the future. It is critical the USA maintains its participation and LEADERSHIP of NATO as a bulwark to Putin’s goals and critical to the security of not our most important trade and democracy partners, but also essential to our country’s economic and military security.
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It is far past time Trump supporters do not give Trump a pass on his outrageous statements. Their excuse for him is that he makes these statements “just to get attention”, that he really “does not mean” what he says, that he is just a “promoter”. As a President, as a nominee for President, his words carry weight, they have consequences.
Here are two examples of where his supporters should not give him a pass.
First, within the last 48 hours Trump taunted Nikki Haley for her time as his ambassador to the UN. He castigated her performance and said the only reason he wanted her as his UN rep was to allow the then Lt governor to be made governor. But where he really crossed the line and should be held accountable was when he said, “Where is her husband? Where is he? He’s gone!” Nikki Haley’s husband is honorably serving this country in the National Guard and is on his second overseas deployment in Africa. He is serving this country and our security. This harkens to General Kelly – Trump’s chief of staff in the White House for over 18 months – stating on record that Trump when talking about soldiers and sailors that died in service or were maimed said, “What was in it for them? They were just suckers and losers.” Think about that statement – men and women who gave their lives and their bodies to secure our nation and our freedoms – just “suckers and losers”. How can anyone think this man would deserve a second term in the White House.
Second, within the last 24 hours Trump has made the following statement at one of his South Carolina rallies, “he would encourage Russia to do “whatever the hell they want” to any NATO member country that doesn’t meet spending guidelines on defense in a stunning admission he would not abide by the collective-defense clause at the heart of the alliance if reelected. Why is this so egregious? There have been several writings on how Donald Trump in his four years as President fractured the NATO alliance. His bruising meeting in Brussels at a NATO meeting, to published reports he wanted to remove the USA from the alliance. There have also been analyses on how Putin factored Trump’s impact on NATO and how Putin believed he had been given a “window of opportunity”, even a wink/wink from Trump for Putin to act in Ukraine. This was heightened by Joe Biden’s election where Putin believed he had to act before Biden could heal those factures. Bottom line, Putin’s invasion of Ukraine was impacted by Trump’s Presidency. It might also be good to understand why NATO was formed in 1949 – there were three reasons. First, to deter Soviet Union expansionism. Second, to eliminate militarism from growing again in Europe which had led to two disastrous world wars in the previous 35 years. And third, to create conditions leading to a more politically integrated and unified Europe. For 75 years NATO has been successful in those three. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, militarism within Europe ceased to exist, and within Europe arose a desire to integrate not just politically, but economically with the formation of the European Union. Trump’s statements on NATO, given Putin’s propensity to use military power to recreate the Soviet Union and its hegemony over eastern Europe (with a goal to dominate all of Europe) is dangerous. Extremely dangerous to the USA and our security. It might also be good to understand, given Trump’s outrageous statements on member nations military spending, since the fall of the Soviet Union every, EVERY, member nations military spending to GDP has fallen. Our own military spending has fallen since 1991 from 5.3% of GDP to 3.4%, a fall of over 39%. Germany’s has fallen from an average above 5% from 1960 to 1991 to about 1.5%. England’s from above 5% in that same time to just above 2%. Trump’s undermining of the NATO alliance has factored into Putin’s equations and view on reinvigorating Russia. Trump’s statements are dangerous…and have an impact. Again, how can anyone think Donald J. Trump is deserving of another term in the White House?
You know, I can not help but add this comment. “Where is Melania? Where is she? She’s gone!” Melania has made no public appearances with Donald Trump at any of his campaign events. Melania has made no appearances with Donald Trump at any of his depositions or court appearances. In fact, in the last year she has only been known to have dinner in public with Donald Trump one time, last November, in Mar-A-Lago. Vanity Affairs has reported that Melania is refusing to appear in public with Donald Trump as she is infuriated with him about his affairs (only one of which involves Stormy Daniels, the porn “star”). Perhaps Melania knows better than any of us about the character and the qualifications of Donald Trump to serve another four years in the White House? -
I have said this many times, that history is a great teacher and those that fail to learn from history are apt to repeat it. Here is something to think about as it pertains to factual past US history and factual recent history concerning Donald Trump.
In 1943 in the heart of the USA’s war against Japan our nation’s submarine fleet was having great success against the Japanese merchant fleets. The Navy had determined that our latest subs, the GATO class, were able to submerge to a depth of just over four hundred feet which was one hundred feet deeper than the Japanese believed they could dive. Therefore, the Japanese set their depth charges to a maximum depth of three hundred feet. This diminished the damage they could do to our country’s subs. In that year, 1943, US Congressman Andrew May toured our Pacific fleet headquarters in Pearl Harbor Hawaii and was provided the information on the depth our subs could dive and how that benefited them when attacked by the Japanese. Representative Andrew May served as Chairman of the House Committee on Military Affairs in 1943. Afterwards Representative May held a press conference where he told the gathered press the Japanese were setting their depth charges to shallow.
Soon after this American sub losses increased in the Pacific. Vice Admiral Lockwood, commander of the U.S. submarine fleet in the Pacific, estimated that May’s security breach cost the United States Navy as many as ten submarines and eight hundred crew members killed in action. Loose lips sink ships, as the saying goes. Representative May was voted out of office in the next election.
How does this relate to current events?
In April of 2021, shortly after leaving office, Donald Trump shared classified information about US nuclear submarines with a billionaire Australian businessman at his Florida private members club, Mar-a-Lago. This has been reported by not just US news media (including Fox News), but also international news media.
The Australian businessman has been identified as Anthony Pratt, who heads one of the world’s largest packaging companies. It has been reported that Pratt later shared sensitive details about the US submarines with “scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists”.
American defense and intelligence authorities say this will endanger the country’s most critical defense resources, our nuclear submarine fleet, and endanger the country’s national security.
Federal prosecutors have now interviewed Pratt twice and he will likely be called by prosecutors to testify against Trump in Trump’s classified documents trial, which is due to start in May.
It is reported Trump revealed at least two critical pieces of information about the tactical capacities of US submarines, including “how many nuclear warheads the vessels carried and how close they could get to their Russian counterparts without being detected”.
For all of this…..Donald Trump swore in his oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. With his grandstanding for Pratt, Donald Trump has put our country’s security and that of our navy and our sailors at risk.
He is not worthy of another term in the White House where he can further harm our country, our citizens, our institutions, our agencies, our armed forces, and our allies. The saying “four and no more” was true in 2020 and even more true in 2024. -
My entire life, even as a teenager, I have been a conservative and a Republican. Yet over the past thirty some years the Republican Party has moved away from the party of my childhood and the party of the majority of my adult life. Today it seems as if the Republican Party can only use political brinksmanship in it’s actions. It seems no longer to be the party of ideas, the party able and willing to put it’s proposals on the table and then negotiate outcomes that move the country forward. It seems to me it has become the party of “No”, the party against “things”, the party that has resolute “litmus” tests that it cannot breached. It also seems to be the party that cannot do anything without the use of brinksmanship, taking our economy or our nation’s security to the very edge of an abyss. This is happening again with the funding for Ukraine, and funding support for Israel.
The continual use of “brinkmanship” within Congress, more specifically, the Republican controlled House is reaching the level of self-destruction.
Sounds too alarming?
Think of the budget crisis that was manufactured by the Republican controlled House, even after their elected Speaker – Kevin McCarthy – had negotiated in good faith an agreement with the White House administration. The disruption that followed, including the expulsion of the Speaker from his role (never done before in the history of the USA) led to a downgrade of our country’s credit rating. No big deal you think? That downgrade made it more expensive for the government to borrow funds, the interest on those borrowings will haunt the USA for years to come, costing each one of us if we go to get a car loan, a home loan, credit card debt. Those costs will stay with us for years.
Now we face another act of brinksmanship concerning the funding and aid to both Israel and Ukraine. The Republican controlled House is refusing to fund either country unless they can wring concessions on border security. At least for some of the Republican House members. And that is understandable, to a degree. Our immigration laws are at fault here. Challenges in Central America to the populations in three countries in crisis are the basis for the extraordinary efforts for people to seek refuge in the USA. Yet for many Republican House members they blindly wish to cease any funding to support Ukraine. For those, they are ignorant of history, ignorant of the USA’s most critical security bulwarks (Europe’s security is a bulwark supporting US security, it is a barrier to dire security threats to our economy, our wellbeing, and a barrier to the threat of a much greater conflict which will put our military and our country on a path of direct engagement on the ground in Europe). What is worse, their ignorance is willful ignorance, intentional ignorance – and that ignorance puts all of us at risk. Putin wishes to reestablish the Soviet Union, by conquest or by dominion over the following states: Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, and Kosovo. This is not a short list and represents a reconstituted Russia and an expanded sphere of influence. If Putin succeeds in Ukraine, the likelihood of his success in all these other countries goes up exponentially. To this date not a single American service members has died in this conflict. We have provided Ukraine around FIFTY BILLION in military aid and another THIRTY-SIX BILLION in financial aid. Of that EIGTHY-SIX BILLION dollars sixty percent (60%) are loans to be paid back. Only THIRTY-FOUR billion is direct aid and that represents LESS THAN FIVE PERCENT (<5%) of our military budget of nearly NINE HUNDRED BILLION. In the meantime, the Russian military has seen their military capacity nearly cut in half. Should Putin succeed, even without direct involvement of US military, the USA’s military budget will expand to over ONE TRILLION FIVE HUNDRED BILLION within three to five years due to increased security threats and a weakened security structure in Europe. Imagine the cost to our economy, to YOUR TAXES to support that necessary increase in military spending. And all of this does not consider at all the China is watching and should the USA fail to continue to support Ukraine it will provide them a GREEN LIGHT to take military action against Taiwan. And another risk of USA direct military engagement – which would be sharp, and costly in men and material.This Republican brinksmanship on the continued support and funding of Ukraine is not just short sighted, but it is destructive of the most basic USA security arrangements that have stood the test of time over the past seventy plus years. Their current brinksmanship is a threat to each and every one of us.
Sitting In No Man's Land 