The Moderate Voice - Latest Comments in The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

shaun — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 07:24:27 -0000

While I find the language ("dispersed networks," etc.) to be off putting, this is a winner conceptually. And very much what Thomas Jefferson envisioned in pushing for local "hundreds" run by citizens themselves as the bottom rung in the government ladder.

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

ljeff18 — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:37:18 -0000

Republicans eating their young; Here's another take on the indictment news:

http://www.greenfaucet.com/...

Interesting take on the debacle.

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

runasim — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 19:19:49 -0000

I found this sentence to be very encouraging.
"I’m the last person to believe the states should be asked or even allowed to do everything on their own".

I'll look forward to your next installment, when I hope you will explain that. While reading the current installment, that was the alarm bell ringing in my mind.
The states' rights' argument has become something of a cliche'd panacea for a multitude of complex problems, appearing to be an across-the-board solution without facing up to the consequent problems it produces.

I like the idea of localities being the generators of new ideas, though, with the accent on 'new'. and the emphasis on situation specific.
It reminds me of the initiative some factories took to solicit suggestions from ordinary workers as to how the plant could work better, more efficiently and more harmoniously. As I remember (I read about this some years ago) these initiatives were highly successful The best solutions don't always originate in the board room.
On the other hand, the workers themselves didn't decide which suggestions to implement. Populist democracy has its limits, too,

It's the back and forth, eclectic mix that appeals to me.

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

pacatrue — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:42:58 -0000

It's very intriguing idea, Pete, though I do agree that it's a little too general to really get a firm mental hold of right now. I've thought for a couple years at least now that we have to stop thinking of government as a continuum from libertarianism (classic liberalism) to socialism/communism that has dominated at least Western political thinking for about 200 years now. It only appears this way due to our lack of imagination. It sounds like you and some of the people your reading are also trying to find an alternate and I hope you keep posting your ideas on this.

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

DLS — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 17:32:15 -0000

"I read this twice and am totally and absolutely clueless as to what your talking about."

It's a more purposeful (and idealistic) role for Washington to play, which could be proposed by the GOP as an alternative to business as usual but still retains much power and control in Washington. (Actually, some of the language in it could be right out of the Obama camp.)

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

DLS — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:41:12 -0000

"the other obvious node in the network, Washington, is dominated by people who prefer to upstage and overshadow DNS with CCS – i.e., centralized, cloistered solutions. Many Washington insiders prefer CCS because their constituents demand they 'do something,' and CCS is often an easier 'something to do' than DNS."

Or those in Washington believe they know best and they want as much power as they can arrogate, so they prefer to control things centrally and "top-down," with widespread support of those who find this acceptable or even preferable.

And a critic would continue:

"They would have to set broad standards (basic rules of the road);"

In our system this is only legitimate when the people have agreed that this be done in Washington. Standards or uniformity can be great, but it has to be arrived at the right way, and we don't want an excess of such basic rules and standards.

"then catalyze (spark) front-line innovations that operate within those rules;"

This goes not only into social engineering but industrial policy if you think about it.

"and then backstop the most promising of those innovations when they hit rough patches."

Same as above, as well as flirting with moral hazard and dependency.

The states-as-laboratories concept is more faithful to our true system and heritage and seems less encumbered.

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

DLS — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:34:24 -0000

Where one would diverge from constitutional federalism, one must amend the Constitution to make the divergence legitimate (and constitutional).

In addition to the problem of people having no respect for constitutional federalism for decades and perversely looking first rather than last to Washington (which is not "above" everything else, even if it is possible to conceive of a great deal of overlap with presumed federal supremacy), a related question is just what do people nowadays want the states to be, and what kind of revision to the system is needed for the concept in the USA of the states to be in any way meaningful beyond mere provinces or jurisdictional districts (and a farm system for Washington politicians)?

Re: The Conservative Reformation: ‘Starts’

Neocon — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:31:36 -0000

I read this twice and am totally and absolutely clueless as to what your talking about.