Healthy conservative roots

Why try to revive the roots of the Republican plant now, when rotten and waterlogged, it is incapable of producing a healthy plant? We do not need to talk about a return to Republican roots because few citizens could identify them in a blind touch test anyway. We do not need to claim that the extreme Christian right has hijacked a party with their focus on only 3 issues, school choice, pro-life (or anti-abortion) and anti-gay marriage when low taxes and freedom of choice are in jeopardy. We do not need to repeat the mantra of the day that we are in "tough economic times" or in a "economic slowdown" when a reality check proves otherwise. We do need to face facts. Wealthy Santa Barbara Californians are not cut from the same mold as West Virginians or elites from Huntington, Vermont. Yet diverse beliefs and lifestyles in America can still find common ground. The progressive, environmental, Maxist and extremist wackos on the berm of right reason, must be bypassed and dismissed.

The common ground to be found is facing reality and then accepting or rejecting it as it affects personal choices. University presidents earning $400,000 or more who voted for Obama qualify for his higher taxes; they must readily and gladly admit their willingness to pay more into the socialist kitty. As long as they can be realistic, I can hope that they can also be reasonable. All I ask, as the lone ‘conservative’ (for want of a better word yet) is that Americans face facts rather than live as if enveloped in the romantic cloud of an unrealistic love affair.

Let me present a concrete example. When a conservative, like myself, grocery shops as a pleasant job not a chore, what choice will I make for bread or pastry? Realistically, no health benefits exist between the choices of a white, wheat, whole grain, brand name, Wonder or store-baked loaf of bread. Realistically, there are differences in price and my preferences in taste. Realistically, $.59 for Aldi beats $.79 for Kroger or $1. 99 for premium labels. $.90 for an out-of-date Wal-Mart baked loaf beats $1.50 for the difference of a day or two from the oven. A bun is a bun at the lowest price. A coffee cake on reduction is equal in quality to one at full price. 40% (not 5 or 10 or even 20%) as a discount advantage for a reduction is substantial. I outright reject doughnuts and bagels as heavy and distasteful. A conservative realistically makes choices when it comes to spending money. A liberal allows government to spend taxpayers monies by calling them investments; a conservative saves money in order to invest the savings elsewhere or for the future. Why buy brand name when generic will do? Why abandon common sense for a nest without an egg? And... with the dollars saved through common sense shopping, I can afford a reduced Chardonnay wine!