“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” – John Adams

Joseph Russo III on November 9, 2012 at 11:40 PM

We became a democracy the day we passed the 17th amendment.

The way to have good and safe government, is not to trust it all to one, but to divide it among the many, distributing to every one exactly the functions he is competent to. Let the national government be entrusted with the defense of the nation, and its foreign and federal relations; the State governments with the civil rights, law, police, and administration of what concerns the State generally; the counties with the local concerns of the counties, and each ward direct the interests within itself. It is by dividing and subdividing these republics from the great national one down through all its subordinations, until it ends in the administration of every man’s farm by himself; by placing under every one what his own eye may superintend, that all will be done for the best. What has destroyed liberty and the rights of man in every government which has ever existed under the sun? The generalizing and concentrating all cares and powers into one body.” (Thomas Jefferson, letter to Joseph C. Cabell, February 2, 1816)

Exactly right. Who knew that the reason for so many checks was simply to delay the inevitable? They kept it alive for 200+ years. That’s a helluva run.

CycloneCDB on November 9, 2012 at 11:32 PM

“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!” Franklin, Benjamin

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” – Thomas Jefferson

“Our real disease – which is democracy.” – Alexander Hamilton

“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.” – John Adams

this is why the founders and framers created a system of government that contained many checks and balances not only within the federal government but also between the States and the federal government.

that republic is now gone as the Constitution means nothing and federalism means nothing.

America is a social democracy in which the person robbing Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.

Joseph Russo III on November 9, 2012 at 11:29 PM

Exactly right. Who knew that the reason for so many checks was simply to delay the inevitable? They kept it alive for 200+ years. That’s a helluva run.

If you’ll abandon your principles to get power, how do I know you won’t abuse power to retain power? You will. It’s the human condition.

CycloneCDB on November 9, 2012 at 11:13 PM

this is why the founders and framers created a system of government that contained many checks and balances not only within the federal government but also between the States and the federal government.

that republic is now gone as the Constitution means nothing and federalism means nothing.

America is a social democracy in which the person robbing Peter to pay Paul will always have the support of Paul.

I don’t know when that will be, but I do know that the left is wrong: The trajectory of American history is not an inevitable leftward drift. So buck up, conservatives!

Has this guy even bothered to study American history since the New Deal?

More importantly why has he failed to notice that the GOP (that he for some reason connects to conservatism) has done nothing to stop the expansion of the welfare state?

Ronald Reagan was a conservative voice who did as much as possible considering the political reality we live in (a social democracy).

The last conservative president before the creation of the social democracy was Calvin Coolidge.

The GOP as the center-right party is in the same boat as the conservatives in the UK: “we can manage government more efficiently than the other guy.”

They think the objective is to win elections. The objective is to preserve freedom. Any discussion not centered on that is a waste of breath.

CycloneCDB on November 9, 2012 at 10:04 PM

I nominate this as QOTElection.

davidk on November 9, 2012 at 10:05 PM

Thank you, davidk.

One follow on to hawksruleva. If you are willing to do anything to win an election – but you abandon principle of advancing liberty and respecting the rule of law – really all you are doing is saying what you must to garner power.

If you’ll abandon principle to get power – how can I trust you with the power? Much the same way that Obama skirted the law with the GM bailout to cater to the UAW – ostensibly to keep the UAW satiated and keep them in his camp (slash, pay them back for their support), he used power to keep power. If you’ll abandon your principles to get power, how do I know you won’t abuse power to retain power? You will. It’s the human condition.

Palin 2016

How do you preserve freedom without winning elections? When the President is willing to use Executive powers to change the role of government, he can take your freedom no matter how noble a losing campaign you ran.

But the truth is, we could win without getting dirty, if we worked smarter at it.

hawksruleva on November 9, 2012 at 10:11 PM

I know what you mean – and I am not saying we stop trying to win elections. But – to abandon principle (capitulate on amnesty, for example) for the sake of winning them is foolish. Either we, as a country are interested in the rule of law and advancing the cause of liberty, or we are not. I/we cannot force 300 million people to feel the same way. You present the GOP as the brand that is for federalism, limited government, separation of powers, and rule of law. If that doesn’t win then it is lost – let it be lost. Let’s stop fooling ourselves. Let us move on to the next phase where you and I look after our own and those near us and survive.

This is the hill to die on, though. There is nowhere else on the planet to go. If the US falls, the rest of the world is right behind. You know how they say “if the US gets a cold, the world gets the flu” (w/ regard to economics)? Well – the US is on a respirator, and the rest of the world is on life support. As soon as it dies – all of the ancillary freedom that the rest of the world enjoys goes away.

But let’s stop deluding ourselves in believing that if we just give a little on this, we’ll get a lot of that. 1986 – Reagan gave in on amnesty. They got this – we didn’t get that. Won’t get fooled again. (Forgive the cliched Who reference.)