Leland Conway is NOT a jerk

I am a Conservative, Not a Jerk

By Leland Conway

I recently gave a speech in which I stuck around to answer questions from the crowd. One question that was posed was “How do we change the public perception that conservatives are jerks?”

As a conservative, I’ve never thought of myself as a jerk, but the question was perhaps the best question that could be asked of one who would see conservatism re-establish itself on the stage of American thought – because the more you think about it, the more you realize that this is exactly the way the conservative ideology is painted in the mainstream.

The mainstream accuses us of being jerks because we apparently don’t want to help the poor, we don’t want every child to have free health insurance, we want to tighten border security and we believe in things like sovereignty and actually defeating the enemies who attack us. We must be jerks because we want to keep what belongs to us so we must by extension also be very selfish people. We are cold hearted because we push policy that increases personal responsibility and does not necessarily mitigate individual risk.

This false perception of conservatism is exactly the reason I’ve always hated the term “compassionate conservatism,” which George W. Bush made popular during his 2000 campaign.

I never liked that term because words mean something to me. By putting the term compassionate in front of conservative, you are implying that there is no compassion in conservatism. You mean to say that compassion is an additional ingredient which, like kitchen spice, must be added to our ideology in order to make it more palatable.

By making this term popular, the Republicans may have unwittingly set their party back a generation. They were admitting to the American electorate that to live by the ideology of conservatism was indeed selfish and uncompassionate and that we somehow needed a strong dose of leftism in order to make us whole.

Where we, as conservatives went wrong, was in not rejecting this notion outright the moment it was introduced into the mainstream. Instead we embraced it. In so doing we became fearful of practicing our own principles and while we had theoretical control of government we didn’t actually implement very much conservative policy.

As a consequence, the American electorate was left confused about what a conservative actually is. Therefore it was easier for them to be confused and misled by a false messiah – Barack Obama.

Conservatism does not need the word compassion attached to it, because it is by its very nature the most compassionate form of political ideology.

Before you reject my premise, answer honestly the following questions.

What is more compassionate than the conservative notion of preserving the vision of our founding fathers in the protection of individual liberty? What is more compassionate that the protection of individual property rights? What is more compassionate than believing in and attempting to inspire individuals to reach their fullest potential and limiting the amount of government involvement in their lives? What is more compassionate than lowering American’s tax burden so that they can keep more of what they have earned with their own hands? In short, what is more compassionate than an ideology that when practiced with principle simply promotes individual liberty?

What you are seeing in the main stream of late has been a systematic intolerance of conservatism, ironically under the banner of tolerance for other ideologies. The widespread perception of conservatism as a selfish ideology simply will not change until we begin to effectively articulate the truth about what we believe. In doing so, rather than attaching platitudinous words like “compassion” to the beginning of our thought process, we should actually demonstrate how what we believe is actually more compassionate by its nature.

The Republican Party is at a crossroads. They can no longer afford to co-opt conservatism with other words while not actually practicing the principles of conservatism. These principles can be easily boiled down to one word, liberty. By practicing this word in action, for all people, conservatism will rise again as the primary thought process of the average American.

Changing your state with better information

More than just a place, it's a state of mind.

Supersized socialism for lunch

I'll be on a White House conference call this afternoon with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius talking about Pres. Barack Obama's healthcare reform plans.

Check back for details.

Is a new message breaking through?

Sen. Damon Thayer spoke this past weekend at the Scott County GOP Lincoln Day dinner. He addressed Pres. Barack Obama's wild spending and nationalization moves and Gov. Beshear's tax and spend policies. Thayer's alternatives should strike a chord with Kentuckians who are ready for a little common sense.



Thayer also spoke about the need for real spending transparency in state government and said he is working on a bill to mandate setting up a web site listing each public expenditure for everyone to see.

David Williams speaks

Senate President David Williams started his speech by thanking Jim Bunning for his service and said that if there was any question about Bunning's electability, it is because of Bunning's "scar tissue."

This is the old David Williams speaking, before the talk of him running for U.S. Senate. He's calling the state's two Democratic congressmen "Johnny Yar-mouth" and "Unhappy Chandler" and chastising them for taking orders from Nancy Pelosi.

Williams spoke proudly (and deservedly so) about the state Senate's efforts to improve education in Kentucky and promised "Armageddon" on taxes and spending when the state legislature reconvenes.

Mitch McConnell speaks to state GOP dinner

Sen. Mitch McConnell said he thought the decade-long Republican majority in the Kentucky state Senate was probably the most important achievement for the GOP ever in Kentucky.

Mentioned Joe Biden's swine flu gaffe and informed the audience that the day after telling everyone to stay off planes and trains, Biden got on the train and went home to Delaware.

"Proving that not even Joe Biden listens to Joe Biden," McConnell said.

"The President campaigned as a centrist and it was my hope that he would govern as a centrist, but so far it hasn't worked out that way."

"We're spending $100 million a day in interest on the stimulus package."

Sen. McConnell spoke against the idea of closing Guantanamo Bay. He then spoke about the Supreme Court vacancy, saying that the upcoming process will be "fascinating."

McConnell only mentioned Bunning to agree with him about the stimulus package.

Jim Bunning speaks to state Lincoln dinner

Sen. Jim Bunning echoed many of the same economic points he made at earlier GOP Lincoln dinners.

He repeated his line about not being "anyone's puppet" and repeated his pro-life and pro-Second Amendment stances. He said he is running for a third term to fight for his values.

Preparing for the tax battle ahead

Please join a public discussion of Kentucky tax reform in Lexington on Thursday, May 14, 6:30 pm, at The Inn on Broadway.

Where's your press release, Dr. Dan?

Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo is keeping some strange company -- for a Dem in a U.S. Senate primary -- this weekend in Danville. And he doesn't appear to want you to know about it.

Mongiardo and WLAP radio's Leland Conway will speak to a Friends of the NRA fundraiser in Danville on Saturday (5:30 pm at the American Legion Hall.)

Just found it odd that I haven't gotten a press release from the LG's office (at taxpayer expense). Mongiardo has been sending one out every time he sneezes since he filed to run for federal office.

Nothing on his web site either.

Of course, you wouldn't catch his primary opponent, Attorney General Jack Conway, at an NRA event. Maybe that has something to do with it.

Should we believe David Williams now?

In February, Senate President David Williams said that if Republicans voted against tax increases, Democrats would cut spending in politically sensitive areas and blame Republicans for it.

Last week, he spoke to the Louisville Courier Journal:

"Williams told reporters after the briefing that he didn't think higher taxes would be part of the solution."

""I don't see any movement out in the public or in their elected officials that would indicate that there would be any call for any additional tax increases," he said."

So, what has changed? Anything? Williams made similar comments the month before his big flip-flop in the 2009 General Assembly.

Williams has encouraged speculation that he could be a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2010 and/or Governor in 2011. Williams is scheduled to speak Saturday at the state GOP Lincoln dinner.

Run, Ronnie, Run!

Sources at the Fayette County Detention Center report Director Ron Bishop was deposed recently related to some of his activities at the Lexington jail.

Will have full details as soon as his sworn testimony is made publicly available. That should be about as fun as the depositions of Lexington Mayor Jim Newberry and former Mayor Teresa Isaac.

Conway seizes an opportunity

About the last thing we need right now is Attorney General Jack Conway lecturing us via press release about "swine flu" scammers.



Reminds me of last fall when Conway, Gov. Beshear, and friends were busy accusing gasoline retailers of sex crimes.

Conway is clearly still struggling to keep up with Lt. Gov. Dan Mongiardo's ridiculous attention-seeking spree.

National Day of Prayer in Louisville

I'm headed to Louisville for a National Day of Prayer event. Check back for updates later today.

UPDATE: Here is my speech.

"The key function of human wisdom is the ability to see things as they really are. Though we live in times of difficulty and trials and disagreements, my Bible tells me this this is the very purpose of our mortal sojourn, not a temporary circumstance for us to wait out before we act."

"All our pains are growing pains and so we must embrace them and learn from them. We live in a nation conceived in liberty and raised up in freedom. Though we may as Americans and as Kentuckians dispute among ourselves the shapes that liberty and freedom shall take we must persist in inviting the proper spirit to dwell within us as we sharpen the fine points of our public policy and the status of our shared destiny."

"We may among ourselves see differently the nature of prayer and prayers but let us not confuse their purpose -- which is personal growth. We may among ourselves see differently some of the doctrines and details pertaining to the hearer of our prayers, but let us not mistake the attitude we must embrace for our prayers to have and give to us true, unconquerable, and divine power."

"That attitude, of course, is an attitude of gratitude. We can hardly expect to be blessed with greater blessings if we are not sufficiently grateful for the blessings we already have. Indeed, we will lose the freedoms we possess if we take them for granted."

"Expecting a great battle in our time and wearing an armor of gratitude and optimism will prepare us well for the victory that lies ahead."

U.S. Senate primary opponents in Lexington

Possible U.S. Senate candidate Rand Paul will be in Lexington Saturday morning for a Republican party breakfast at the Hilton Suites. Cost is $10 at the door.

Secretary of State Trey Grayson will speak to the Women Republicans of Central Kentucky lunch meeting on Wednesday, May 13. Reservations can be made here.

Kentucky Post falls into Steve Beshear vortex

This afternoon when Gov. Steve Beshear put out a bogus press release stating falsely that Kentucky has the 5th most competitive economy in the nation, it was just a matter of time before a hapless media outlet got sucked in. (Debunking here.)

Enter the nearly-dead Kentucky Post:

No word on why it took a whole hour and a half to copy the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development press release word-for-word and post it to their web site. It will be interesting to see how others handle this.

Change a policy, fix a school building

The Kentucky Opportunity Coalition pointed out Wednesday that repealing the state's expensive Davis Bacon requirements would save enough money repairing two schools in Adair County to completely repair another school in Kenton County.

This is a heck of a time for our politicians to be clinging to taxpayer-funded political payoffs to labor unions.

Now THIS is what the tea parties are about

Here and here.

Everyone likes a food fight...

Fox News Channel will be in Louisville on Saturday night for the state GOP Lincoln dinner featuring Sen. Mitch McConnell, Sen. Jim Bunning, and Secretary of State Trey Grayson.

"Practically giving 'em away!"

This is what happens when your federal government gets in the car business: flimflam money deals that sound great but benefit only the scam artist.

All we need now is President Obama on tv commercials telling us he must be going crazy and slapping the hoods of the cars before he takes us in the back room, takes our money, and gives some of it back with a flourish.

And while he is doing this, Kentuckians have to hope Japan doesn't go after its own companies with business interests in other countries and put the Toyota plant in Georgetown at risk. But then Japan surely wouldn't be that stupid.

Obama murders school choice hope

You read that right. Now watch this.