Yesterday, Pink Flamingo and I discussed Romney's comments during a speech. It was picked up on by Article 6 Blog (thanks for the plug!).
I am not trying to minimize liberty. Nor do I think dying for liberty is stupid. However, I am reminded a little of the scene at the start of the TV movie Legend of the Rangers, part of the Babylon 5 saga (and a great movie, by the way). A Ranger vessel is badly hit - and the main hero of that TV movie, David Martel, says, "We live for the One, we die for the One, but we don't die stupidly."
(OK, I added the italics for emphasis)
This is something a lot of conservatives need to learn. All too often, they seek a fight - and they don't stop to think whether or not a fight is a good idea. When you can get a lot of the goals (say 70%) with little effort, why not take that 70%, and save the political capital for when it is needed. The other 30% can always come later.
Instead, there are those who will insist upon going to all of it - and anyone who doesn't quite leap is somehow less principled or a RINO. Most of that heat comes from talk show hosts and bloggers far removed from the actual scene of the debate itself, and who often do not have the complete picture.
This is the danger of the alternative media. It can turn into an echo chamber that can stampede officials. We saw just that happen with the treatment of the UAE during the DPW controversy. We clearly see the dangers of the DailyKos and other "netroots" on the left. But on the right, we sometimes pretend it can't happen here... even when what happened to Harriet Miers and the UAE prove otherwise.
Sometimes, you can't win - the best you can do is to limit the damage. Other times, you may have to give the other side something they want go get what you want. Sometimes, you may have to give up something in one area to make gains elsewhere. That is how our system of government works.
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1 comment:
I love the B-5 comment.
"Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." — Benjamin Franklin (on the title page of An Historical Review of the Constitution and Government of Pennsylvania - 1759)
"Free people, remember this maxim: we may acquire liberty, but it is never recovered if it is once lost. " - Jean Jacque Rousseau
I think confiscating my $25 mascara is a little over the top. Only James Bond could do something with that and take down a plane. The real problem is the consistant encroachment on our basic freedoms.
Frankly, I'm one of the biggest complainers about people and carry-on luggage. When I quit flying about 10 years ago it was way out of control. (Until then I was logging about 100,000 miles a year)
My whole complaint is here we have a Republican Presidential Hopeful who can't get his basic documents of freedom streight. If this had been a Dem, every conservative blogger in the country would be on his back. I found the whole interview with Romney to be absolutely chilling. As far as I'm concerned, he will need to go a long way to convince me he knows the meaning of the words Freedom and Liberty.
The Pink Flamingo
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