Asking which side are you on is happening with greater frequency? Marco Rubio gave a speech at the Catholic University of America in early November. He made the case for a “common good capitalism” that looks on markets in the light of Catholic social thought. “We must remember that our nation does not exist to serve the interests of the market,” he said. “The market exists to serve our nation.”
Perception is reality, values and principles matter
Marco Rubio advocates overthrowing America’s core principles and values in favor of the Pope’s favored liberation theology. Said another way he is acquiescing to soft socialism. Respectfully senator, that’s like advocating for being almost pregnant. You either believe in personal property or you do not. Each of us either believes in freedom or we do not. We either believe in supporting life or we do not. Each of these core beliefs are god given rights… that is non-negotiable.
When political leaders quibble about whether the nation serves the market of vice versa they are parsing the principles and values the nation was founded on. If we no longer believe in life, liberty and property rights let’s stop mincing words and get down to the issue. Are we going to continue as one nation? Maybe it is time to split. Those not holding socialist views have bent over backwards to accommodate freedom of speech, thought and religion.
Today we have a lot of people who seem to be embracing repression of thought, speech, and religion. The media has embraced its role as propaganda ministry. Today in America it is utterly impossible to obtain a non-biased report from the media. What we gat is all spin, on the stories the media chooses to report on. For nearly a century Americans have been swapping their freedom for promises of security. The founders told us how bad a bargain this is. We are turning our backs on the principles and values foundational to the nation. Which side are you on?
Leadership has a foundational belief structure
Senator Josh Hawley told the inaugural “National Conservatism” conference in July that the “cosmopolitan consensus” dominating our politics “abandons the idea of the republic altogether” and leaves us “with the curse of faction.” To “rebuild our sense of shared purpose and belonging,” [we] “must protect our communities of faith,” while “encouraging capital investment in the great American middle,” “investing in research and innovation in the heartland of this country,” and “challenging the economic concentration that stifles small producers and family enterprises.”
Rubio and Hawley are the standard-bearers of a shift against markets among some quarters of the right. They want to use the Neville Chamberlin approach to problem solving. These gentlemen mumble about integrating the lessons of 2016 into a policy agenda for the post-Trump years. They point the Republican Party toward socialism and away from the core values and principles that made the country great. Their agenda for the future bears little relation to the Republican Party of the past or present.
These two gentlemen worry that conservatives will commit themselves to a misreading of the political terrain. They fret about the danger of over estimating the results of Trump’s victory. They observe social media does not encourage detached analysis. Abstract theories parading on the Internet are easily mistaken for concrete realities. Republicans are in trouble when they replicate the Democratic Party imprisoned within its woke Twitter shell. Which side are you on?
Conclusion
Rubio and Hawley abandon the core values and principles so many Americans came here seeking. They abandon their leadership responsibility in favor of catering the segment of the electorate that the 2017 Pew Research Center political typology identified as “Market Skeptic Republicans.” They do well to remember the group who support increased taxes on corporations and say the system is rigged in favor of the rich are 12% of registered voters and 10% of the politically engaged. Soon enough each of us is going to have to answer the question: Which side are you on?
