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The Concept of a Conservative Party
by Richard Engle
Though only garnering a small percentage of the popular vote in the Presidential Preference Primary, supporters of Ron Paul and his libertarian leaning message are poised to make a serious impact on the state Republican Convention and have already won a number of spots in the state's national delegation at state District Conventions.
This development has alarmed some and excited others. For many establishment Republicans, the fear is that these newcomers would take control or leverage some amount of control for themselves. They further fear that they are displacing "establishment types" and some have suggested they will embarrass the state party at the national convention in Minnesota this summer.
A more genuine concern is the potential to end the conservative dominance of the party replacing it with Libertarianism, which has been defined by some as "conservative humanism."
I have been privy to an email version of a letter, which called on all long-term Republicans in Oklahoma to reject these liberty loving Republicans as "not conservative."
The great problem with this reactionary letter is that it does not define any differences between conservative and libertarian philosophy. I am convinced that few Oklahoma Republicans have a working definition of conservativism, let alone one for libertarianism.
I would suggest that the conservative movement has divided itself into two camps. Neo-conservativism is the camp that holds sway in much of the national party, and the other is what I term Values-conservativism which has been much more popular in Oklahoma. Both branches of conservativism agree in several areas such as a desire for less government, support of our military and strong national defense, and opposition to wasteful spending.
Values-conservatives place great emphasis on being pro-life, pro-traditional family, opposed to judicial activism, and support for private property rights including the right to bear arms. More importantly, Values-conservatives go beyond the generic goal of "less government" to the premise of "limited government." Limited government infers that government has no proper authority to do many things, even if it can or does do it quite well or efficiently. Limited government suggests that government is to be restricted beyond the will of the populace and only to those matters authorized it in the Constitution. Some would even go so far as to suggest that government at any level is acting the tyrant if it does anything that does not protect one or more of the three specified inalienable rights. Government, they would say, may only protect life, liberty and property and that any other activity is illegitimate regardless of popular support or the vote of a public body.
Neo-conservatives (or neo-cons as they have come to be known) do not have the automatic opposition to government activities as long as they are convinced that such activity is the best and most efficient way to accomplish a worthy goal. Neo-cons support all the economic development schemes we have seen of late, and have no desire to see a resurgence of federalism (states rights), except that variations among the states can be an efficient workshop for trying different programs. And, neo-cons do not share George Washington's concerns about entangling alliances on the international front.
As neither version of conservativism could establish a governing majority, a natural alliance has formed. Each would say of the other that they are fine, as far as they go on this matter or that, but are wary of going further in other areas.
Enter the Libertarians
Upsetting the balance are these "Ron Paul libertarians" who in many ways share ideals with the Values-conservatives. They have much less in common with the neo-cons.
With this insurgency we face a third faction within the party. If the "Paul" forces stay in the GOP for the foreseeable future, they will still not be able to garner a majority in the party, unless they can miraculously create a highly effective and organized recruiting program. They can only be empowered if they create strong working relationships with the Values-conservatives.
Already this coalition among Values-conservatives and the liberty-loving Republicans has begun to blur the line between them. I predict that this Liberty-Values Coalition will have long-term implications on Oklahoma's political scene.
I have been closely associated with the supporters of Ron Paul while keeping my distance because of some serious public policy concerns. My business shares office space with the business office of Rep. Charles Key (R-OKC) who was quite active in the Paul campaign. I have had the opportunity to get to know and to debate many of the leaders of the Paul campaign. From experience, I can say without equivocation, that these are not the pot smoking, tax evading, anarchists that have been known to exist in the Libertarian Party. They are Republican libertarians. They are pro-life, as is Congressman Paul. They oppose the international use of military force without a formal declaration of war, but they are not opposed to a strong national defense.
Having said that, there are some areas of public policy that are often supported by libertarians that cause great concern for Values-conservatives like myself. The most important example of this is that despite the lack of a Declaration of War (which could have and should have been passed) we can't pull out of Iraq short of a definable victory.
This new group of liberty-loving Republicans also don't have the institutional knowledge of the party, which has great value. Like the many influxes of new activists in the past, they are largely impatient, wanting change faster than a republican form of government may be able to act. Finally, they do not appear to be in general agreement among themselves when it comes to state and local public policy.
GOP leaders (both elected and those of internal influence) should welcome this influx of activism. It is an opportunity to grow in energy, funding, and in ideas. It is refreshing to seriously contemplate our founding principles in public discourse. This should be commonplace, and our state and nation would be better if the Constitution was actually quoted in most (if not all) public policy discussions. The principle of federalism has great importance, but Values-conservatives like myself have too often bought into the premise that the federal government should accomplish some things, which the Constitution reserves to the states.
Sadly, some of the Values-conservatives who have acted in the best interest of the party by having open arms to these liberty-loving Republicans, have been falsely tagged as "Libertarian" and even as "divisive."
State GOP Vice Chair Cheryl Williams was identified on one website as a leader in the Ron Paul libertarian movement because she was inclusive of these people, even though she is openly concerned about some of their public policy stands, and does not consider herself a libertarian in the proper or ideological manner.
James Dunn, the GOP candidate for Attorney General last time around and a current candidate for National Committeeman, has also been falsely tagged. James was an open advocate for Gov. Mike Huckabee for President. Despite this, he has also been accused of being in league with the Paul forces. In the midst of his effective efforts to recruit the support of what is likely to be the largest single contingent of the state convention, James has been also accused of being divisive to the party!
The accusations against Dunn and Williams are hypocritical doublespeak. Here we have some long-term loyal Republican leaders who have worked to stretch the "big tent" just a bit to the right so as to be inclusive of these new and needed energetic Republican workers. And, they are being accused of dividing the party? What they are doing is building the party.
When the party is built, the newcomers always want to do more than just be foot soldiers. They always want to have influence as well. This is normal and should be accepted.
Richard Engle is a Republican Candidate for County Commission in Canadian County. He is the Vice President of the Oklahoma Conservative PAC and is the Immediate Past President of the National Federation of Republican Assemblies. He can be reached at Engle@MrGOP.com and his campaign website is www.Engle4Commissioner.com
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