A mighty Meeting of the Minds: Judis & Kirk & Lofgren

In willful disunion sanctified by TeaPublicans, can a sovereign government survive? Are there no limits to endless their rebellion against the proper role and functions of government?

Russell Kirk laid down this the 6th of his Canons of Conservatism: "...innovation must be tied to existing traditions and customs, which entails a respect for the political value of prudence."

It is doubtful that Jesus will return to Michigan anytime soon. Yet in the meanwhile, Russell Kirk, the guardian of all things conservative has spoken, he said that Christianity and Western Civilization are "unimaginable apart from one another." and that "all culture arises out of religion. When religious faith decays, culture must decline, though often seeming to flourish for a space after the religion which has nourished it has sunk into disbelief."

Quotes from Russell Kirk Conservative, Michigan's own master philosopher and laureate: 1.) The Conservative Mind: From Burke to Eliot, 2.) The Portable Conservative Reader 1982.

Kirk's Six Conservative Canons

1. A belief in a transcendent order, which Kirk described variously as based in tradition, divine revelation, or natural law;
2. An affection for the "variety and mystery" of human existence;
3. A conviction that society requires orders and classes that emphasize "natural" distinctions;
4. A belief that property and freedom are closely linked;
5. A faith in custom, convention, and prescription, and
6. A recognition that innovation must be tied to existing traditions and customs, which entails a respect for the political value of prudence.

John Judis reflects on the total lack of "political value" ascribed to "prudence."  He writes:

"Over the last four decades, the Republican Party has transformed from a loyal opposition into an insurrectionary party that flouts the law when it is in the majority and threatens disorder when it is the minority. It is the party of Watergate and Iran-Contra, but also of the government shutdown in 1995 and the impeachment trial of 1999. If there is an earlier American precedent for today's Republican Party, it is the antebellum Southern Democrats of John Calhoun who threatened to nullify, or disregard, federal legislation they objected to and who later led the fight to secede from the union over slavery."

The TeaPublican lack of civility and "prudence", respect for historic traditions and the role of honest advice and consent has raised the question of the sincerity of their religious faith. Or as Russell Kirk proclaims: "...all culture arises out of religion. When religious faith decays, culture must decline, though often seeming to flourish for a space after the religion which has nourished it has sunk into disbelief."

What has happened in Washington is a breakdown of culture, a disrespect for religion, and a terrible "iron hatred" that seems to permeate every GOP partisan act of obfuscation.

Writes Veteran Republican Washington insider, Mike Lofgen has just left the party after near 30 years of service:

"It should have been evident to clear-eyed observers that the Republican Party is becoming less and less like a traditional political party in a representative democracy and becoming more like an apocalyptic cult, or one of the intensely ideological authoritarian parties of 20th century Europe. This trend has several implications, none of them pleasant."

Here, in part, is Lofgren's analysis of the great danger- present and future - being brought on by the TeaPublican rebellion and it's anti-government putsch which has decimated the party of Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower and now threatens the sovereign success and stability of our nation. Lofgren writes that in his "Manual of Parliamentary Practice," Thomas Jefferson wrote that it is less important that every rule and custom of a legislature be absolutely justifiable in a theoretical sense, than that they should be generally acknowledged and honored by all parties. These include unwritten rules, customs and courtesies that lubricate the legislative machinery and keep governance a relatively civilized procedure. The US Senate has more complex procedural rules than any other legislative body in the world; many of these rules are contradictory, and on any given day, the Senate parliamentarian may issue a ruling that contradicts earlier rulings on analogous cases.

Lofgren:

"The only thing that can keep the Senate functioning is collegiality and good faith. During periods of political consensus, for instance, the World War II and early post-war eras, the Senate was a "high functioning" institution: filibusters were rare and the body was legislatively productive. Now, one can no more picture the current Senate producing the original Medicare "Act than the old Supreme Soviet having legislated the Bill of Rights.

Far from being a rarity, virtually every bill, every nominee for Senate confirmation and every routine procedural motion is now subject to a Republican filibuster. Under the circumstances, it is no wonder that Washington is gridlocked: legislating has now become war minus the shooting, something one could have observed 80 years ago in the Reichstag of the Weimar Republic. As Hannah Arendt observed, a disciplined minority of totalitarians can use the instruments of democratic government to undermine democracy itself."

This disorder and brinkmanship in Washington has not derailed the wealth sucking multinationals from having a record, banner year in extreme profits.

What is wrong with this picture?

Ask any A.L.E.C. member why so many unfairly loaded and corporate benefiting legislative proposals (prepackaged Pro-Corporate designed legislation) are getting fast tracked in the midst of our slide into the Great Bush Depression. God forbid.

The TeaPublican dysfunction and lack of "prudence" have greatly abetted and benefited the "takers" who apparently live in a world removed from those of us who work, teach or serve our fellow community members.

Original.