Seize Freedom, by Rep. Thad McCotter: on Principles & Values
Ronald Reagan:
Common sense conservatism is antithesis to fanaticism
The first step to transcending great challenges is to rid ourselves of ideology. As was his wont, Ronald Reagan hit the nail on the head: Conservatism is the antithesis of the kind of ideological fanaticism that has brought so much horror and destruction
to the world. The common sense and common decency of ordinary men and women, working out their own lives in their own way-this is the heart of American conservatism today. Conservative wisdom and principles are derived from a willingness to learn
--not just from what is going on now, but from what has happened before. Ideologues fit the world to their minds; conservatives fit their minds to the world. Ideologues believe politics is only a part of life.
Ideologues believe they possess an abstract, absolute truth that can compel an imperfect humanity to attain a terrestrial paradise; conservatives believe in self-- evident truths and traditional rights and duties.
Source: Seize Freedom, by Rep. Thad McCotter, p. 21
Feb 8, 2011
Thad McCotter:
T-Mac: studies philosophy; plays guitar
"T-Mac" (as Dennis Miller branded him) doesn't write like a congressman; he writes like a writer--because he is a writer. Being a congressman seems a step down for a man who could write books on philosophy in between playing guitar solos behind his head
at White House picnics. (He's done the latter.) In this one sense, he is the anti-Obama. I cannot imagine Obama being anything but a politician, much like the Clinton of your choice. But with T-Mac, I can imagine him being everything but a politician.
T-Mac is an authentic, old school conservative--meaning, he doesn't mind if you think he's the bad guy; he embraces it. In T-Mac's world, the concept of "the moderate" should be mocked. It's simply another version of "if you can't beat them join them,"
which might have worked for the French, but not for the Americans. This makes T-Mac a throwback who will never forget two things: he works for his constituents, and Washington is nuts.
Source: Greg Gutfeld in Seize Freedom, by Thad McCotter, p. 12-14
Feb 8, 2011
Thad McCotter:
2006: Republican majority governed too ideologically
In the wake of 2006 & 2008 Democrat "wave" elections, pundits & activists lamented the death of the GOP. Having squandered its majorities in the Senate & House and its control of the White House, the rudderless Republican Party was expected to drift away
during the Age of Obama. When Americans realized that the Republican majority had governed too ideologically and ineffectively, they had provided Democrats the opportunity to govern.Immediately, though, the Left took a cannonball dive into a cesspool
of radicalism and statism. Americans are inherently practical people who want gradual, constructive change, not radical, destructive change. Thus, by Nov. 2010, the American people reaffirmed that America is a center-right country. But this does not mean
that the public again trusts Republicans. The 2010 conservative "wave" election was a victory for the American people, not the Republican Party. The question remains whether the GOP has learned from its past self-imposed wounds of venality and ideology.
Source: Seize Freedom, by Rep. Thad McCotter, p. 49-50
Feb 8, 2011
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