How Conscious Conservative Is Senator Jim DeMint?

        





           After deviating from my review of  "Tea Party" legislators because of the holidays and because of the tragedy in Tucson, Arizona, I believe it is now time to return to this issue by looking at Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina.  Senator DeMint is the only incumbent member of this group, so he will be expected to be a mentor to the Junior Senators.  It is more important that he champions Conscious Conservative issues than anyone else.  Let' see where he stands.


                                   Stance

Build a Border Fence                                                        Unconscious Conservative

Repeal the Sarbanes-Oxley Act                                         Conscience Conservative

Re-Structure Corporate Taxes                                           Unconscious Conservative

Eliminate Federal Education Mandates                               Conscious Conservative

Voted for Marriage Protection Act                                      Liberal/Socialist

Free Market Health Care Solutions                                    Conscious Conservative

   It is easier to see where Senator DeMint actually stands, because as an incumbent member of the Senate, he has actually introduced legislation or voted on some of these issues.  Senator DeMint appears to have some Conscious Conservative leanings, while being slightly unconscious when it comes to issues like immigration and national defense.  He follows the Republican party line of being liberal/socialist on social issues by advocating government control over personal lives.  It will be interesting to see what ideas are championed at the Senate Tea Party Caucus. 

Violence Is Not A Conscious Conservative Tactic

       I felt compelled to write about this earlier, but I must admit that I am still in shock regarding the recent events in Tucson, Arizona.  It saddens me that a violent individual would attack a crowd of innocent people.  It makes me angry that members of the press instantly blamed conservative principles and personalities for the attack.  There is only one person responsible for the attack.  That is the individual who committed the crime.

Violence is never a tool of social change in the conservative toolbox.  In the typical fashion of trying to convince people that up is down and black is white, certain writers attempted to ascribe violence to the conservative movement.  From Marx's "workers revolution," to the Bolsheviks and the Holocaust, violence has always been the province of socialism.  A look at United States history shows that all major wars were entered by "Progressive" Presidents, with Wilson, Roosevelt, Truman and Kennedy being the most notable examples.


Rather than joining the fray and arguing with the liberal forces, I suggest that we show the true nature of Conscious Conservatism by showing compassion and sympathy for the victims of this unfortunate event.  If the perpetrator of this tragedy is indeed mentally ill,  he and his family deserve the utmost in compassion also.  The Conscious Conservative tools of social change include empathy, civil conduct and logical argument; never violence.  I wish the best for all of the victims and family members affected by the events on that horrible day.