Conservatism

The Problem with Conservative Plans to Save Social Security

by Laurence M. Vance September 24, 2012

The largest expenditure of the federal government is Social Security. According to the most recent annual report of the Social Security Board of Trustees, in 2011 $725 billion in Social Security benefits were paid to 55 million Americans, plus other expenses of $11 billion. The three major entitlement programs — Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid — account for almost half ...

Republicans Just Don’t Get It

by Laurence M. Vance September 18, 2012

Not without some controversy, the Democrats and Republicans have issued their new party platforms for 2012. It was predictable, in the case of the Republicans, and surprising, in the case of the Democrats, that “civil liberties” are mentioned only one time in each platform. However, the term is not defined and no examples are given. The Democrats do ...

Republican Welfare State

by Laurence M. Vance September 5, 2012

Republicans are upset with Barack Obama — again. This time it is about welfare. Not the constitutionality and legitimacy of federal welfare programs, but their structure and requirements. No one should think for a minute that Republicans are opposed to the welfare state. After all, it is their welfare state. The latest brouhaha erupted because the Department of Health and ...

Republicans versus Freedom

by Laurence M. Vance July 25, 2012

House Republicans have voted once again to repeal Obamacare — for the thirty-third time. By a vote of 244-185, all the House Republicans, along with five Democrats, voted in favor of repealing the whole of Obamacare. The simple 8-page bill (H.R.6079), called the “Repeal of Obamacare Act,” finds with respect to the impact of Public Law

Do Republicans Oppose the Redistribution of Wealth?

by Laurence M. Vance June 5, 2012

The Law of the Sea Treaty, formally known as the Third United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (and informally known as LOST), was adopted in 1982 to establish a comprehensive set of rules governing the oceans and replace two previous UN conventions on the Law of the Sea. It came into force in November 1994, a ...

Constitutional Conservative or Libertarian?

by Laurence M. Vance May 3, 2012

Libertarians — those who believe that violence is proper only in the defense of person or property and who believe that people have the fundamental right to do anything that’s peaceful — have an image problem, according to some “libertarian-leaning” conservatives. Although those conservatives claim to espouse many libertarian viewpoints, they prefer to shy away from the term “libertarian” ...

The Republican Path to the Welfare/Warfare State

by Laurence M. Vance April 4, 2012

Republicans are fond of issuing proposals setting forth things they say they want to do. Back in 1994, when they were trying to take over the House for the first time in 40 years, it was the “Contract with America.” When the Democrats controlled the House in 2010, the Republican minority on the House Budget Committee introduced ...

Conservatives and American Empire

by Tim Kelly October 21, 2011

American conservatives who claim to value liberty and limited government but continue to take pride in the country’s bloated military establishment would do well to remember Randolph Bourne’s pithy declaration “war is the health of the state.” Conservatives will argue that the basic function of the state is to defend the country against foreign invasion or attack; therefore, allowing the ...

Why Do Republicans Want to Raise Taxes?

by Laurence M. Vance September 6, 2011

True or false: Barack Obama wants to raise taxes and Republicans in Congress want to cut them. The surprising answer is, False. Although it can usually be said that the president never met a tax hike or spending increase he didn’t like, such is not the case right now. One does not have to be a fan of Obama or ...

Conservatives Dont Hate Government

by Sheldon Richman August 19, 2011

Sometimes I wonder whether the mainstream pundits listen to themselves. It’s hard to believe they would say the silly things they say if they did. For example, the talking heads on MSNBC, which works 24/7 for President Obama’s reelection, like to say that conservative Republicans “hate government.” “If you hate government,” Chris Matthews, host of Hardball, asks, “why would you ...

Which Republican Candidate Is More Conservative?

by Laurence M. Vance August 16, 2011

Although the next presidential election is more than a year away, campaigning has already begun. With a liberal Democratic incumbent in the White House, Republican candidates are loudly touting their conservative credentials. The battles over which candidate is more conservative are heating up. “I have fought against irresponsible spending while Governor Pawlenty was leaving a multi-billion-dollar budget mess in ...

Republican Hypocrisy on Budget Cuts

by Laurence M. Vance March 28, 2011

With the national debt fast approaching $15 trillion, no member of Congress of either party, and no American citizen of any political persuasion, would argue against the proposition that the federal budget needs to be cut, and cut drastically. The Congressional Budget Office is forecasting a $1.5 trillion budget deficit for fiscal year 2011, giving us the third straight year ...