I Failed Again, Jason

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I’m disturbed.

I left politics months ago to focus on the first six months of my startup business, a wise decision which put me in a great position

Now, I’ve returned to find the place a mess. The Left, in charge of both the state and federal government is making poor choices, whether it be the “Worst Bill Ever” on Capitol Hill or secret, closed-door, one-party meetings in Dover.  We’ll get to that later.

But the Right is no better off. You would think they’d get the message when 40% of the country identifies as conservative but the opposition party is in control. The problem is not conservatism. The problem is conservatives: the birthers, the purgers, the absolutists, the Beckites, you name it. It’s the people, and their general attitude, not the policies.

Somebody asked me the other day if I was a conservative. My answer to them was that I didn’t even know what conservative meant anymore. The redefinition of conservative over the last 5 years has left me without a solid understanding of what the term means. After all, it was self-styled conservatives that blew up the deficit. It was self-styled conservatives that gave us TARP, Part D, NCLB, and generally failed to deal with the entitlement apocalypse that’s coming.

It was the ‘pure free markets’ crowd that gave us derivatives and unchecked greed on Wall Street. How do I know it was the ‘pure free markets’ crowd? I used to be one, and I was cheering them on. But the market wasn’t free. It was rigged, and the ‘too big to fail’ bunch abused it and suffered no consequences, while middle-class people & small business owners did suffer. So I’m ready for some regulations that protect consumers and small businesses against the banks & Wall Street. And if you’re too big to fail, you’re too big to exist.

Glenn Beck has emerged as the media figurehead of this new conservative movement. Sarah Palin has apparently emerged as its political leader. I have absolutely no respect for either, and I think both severely damage the cause of the center-right in America. And by center-right, I mean those on the right who actually want to participate in governing, actually have a say and attempt move the needle back toward the right. I’m not talking about the absolutist cultists who want to purge anyone who strays from their doctrine.

So what does that make me? I don’t give a damn. I’m through with trying to adhere to labels.

So call me what you want. I’m taking it issue by issue.

I do know this, however. I’m back.

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(EDITED: Originally, I used the statement “I’m through with labels.” Obviously, in today’s political climate, there are many labels. So, I will be dealing with them, maybe even creating some. But I will no longer attempt to clear my ideas through any sort of mental checklist of somebody else’s definition of “Republican” or “Conservative.” Thanks to my good buddy anonone for helping me clarify.)