That's why it troubles me when the ostensibly conservative Mike Huckabee tells Jay Leno he wants us to abandon "horizontal politics. Everything in this country is not left, right, liberal, conservative, Democrat, Republican. I think the country is looking for somebody who is vertical, who is thinking, 'Let's take America up and not down.'"
It's perfectly fine for Mike Huckabee to make such pronouncements. I just hope conservatives understand that what takes America "up" are conservative principles – and that it will always be necessary to fight for those principles against those who don't fully understand them or who are committed to their defeat. read more
The idea that conservative principles do not apply to each and every decision we make in our public and private life is - well compromise of the sort we need no more of. It is simply incomprehensible that a true conservative would be willing to compromise on any matter of principle. Men and times change but principles never to paraphrase Stephens.
What does Huckabee mean by "going vertical" and what part of real conservative philosophy has ever taken America down? Huckabee continues to prove that the term Huckster is aptly applicable.
Governor Huckabee means much by vertical. The first is to stay on message to whatever your subject is of the Quest and not get personal. But more then that is to use al tools to lift us up instead of bandages and more of the same.
ReplyDeleteYou certainly cannot call the GOP of today conservative. The mantra cut taxes is just another bandage and the true enemy of our prosperity is continued the same.
Ronald Reagan set forth free trade. What the rest of you failed to comprehend (many got rich who did) is how our tax structure on production became an excise tax on our own production and since then how high has the spending gone, the taxes grew? We are now at an average of 44% production tax penalty built into all production of domestic goods. Is that conservative?
Being vertical is to use tools of all aspects of government to get to the end means in an long term conservative environment, very much vertical as such planning is higher thinking. Vertical if you will.
By the way, for you rich who are worried that your spending will be expensive under the Fair Tax, first off capitalism will lower the cost of a product if taxes are shifted to it at the consumption. So you cost will be a wash, or maybe even to your advantage if you are making money too and will not have to pay the IRS!
Thankyou david for the question and the kind way you have put it. I invite you to go to the sight and get into the debates.