The high ground

It's a fairly dangerous area.

Anytime a conservative wanders down the road of discussion about family values, morals, ethics, or the rule of law, folks immediately begin looking to point fingers of fault at the commentator. It's human nature. So let's get it out of the way--I'm just as messed up as the next guy. Hey, we're all messed up to varying degrees, even the Pope. That doesn't mean we can't discuss right and wrong.

So here goes. Right now the rule of law is taking some big hits. This is not to say it's never happened before, but it does seem more pervasive than ever, and members of Congress are leading the way. That glorious body recently had the nerve to cockadoodle-doo about maintaining their Capitol Hill offices as sanctuaries suitable for hiding incriminating evidence from the rest of the government. They just don't seem to understand why 80 percent of the people aren't on their side.

Other "public servants" have seemingly gotten away with crimes that would land the average Joe in jail. I'm speaking of Congresswoman McKinney (striking an officer of the law) and Congressman Kennedy (driving while under the influence of something leading to a crash). Surely there are republican examples, just fill in the blank. But it's not only Congress, judges are doing some confusing things, too. The recent decision to not send a convicted felon to jail because he was "too short" comes to mind.

But the most annoying rule-of-law slippage involves illegal immigration. The same crimes committed by our undocumented coworkers would land a normal citizen in jail, but we're learning that some trespasses are more forgivable than others. Meanwhile the response from DC is to throw it back on our faces as if to say, "they're doing the jobs you won't do, you lazy xenophobic bum, now shut up" while the aliens themselves march in the streets demanding rights. Such density boggles the mind.

Dick Morris was recently on air talking about political strategy. He believes the republicans are on the verge of losing the burgeoning Hispanic vote forever if they come down too hard on the border issue. Peggy Noonan penned a generic response to the Morris philosophy, but she's not alone in those sentiments.

But a third party is no magic bullet. If we continue living by a national motto of "get yours before the other guy does" it'll be an exercise in shuffling the deck chairs. The new leaders must have an unbinding respect for the rule of law and it's importance to make a difference, which requires the same from the electorate. Anything less and we simply continue our march down the yellow brick road to a banana republic.

The solution is not real hard. The Bible suggests we "do unto others" but that's fairly intuitive no matter if you believe or not. The founders laid out a system based on the inalienable rights given to us by a Creator, which has served us well these many years despite the numerous speed bumps. We owe it to our kids to maintain, foster and protect that high ground, no matter what it takes.

HYBRIDS? 6/1/06

Here's Wretchard discussing a hybrid third party that would include a democrat/republican ticket. Such a thing hasn't been done since the first few elections in this country. It seems highly unlikely it could work now due to the polarized nature of the electorate. How about some better candidates from the existing parties? How about more of us paying attention and actually bothering to vote, or writing/emailing these bums every now and then?