What is a Conservative?
The four pillars of Movement Conservatism
At every Republican primary we hear candidates trying to “out conservative” each other, desperate to appeal to voters whose instincts are conservative and who broadly support specific conservative policies. The language pimps who masquerade as Republican political consultants instruct their clients to say anything to win… but after the primary election night champagne comes the hangover of facing the November election.
That’s when the story changes. Unable to articulate conservative principles, the same language pimps advise their clients to run as far away from the word “conservative” and conservative causes as possible. If their clients survive this mass suppression of their base, they rarely govern as conservatives or advance conservative policies. This is not a strategy for long-term institutional success.
That’s why we use the term “Movement Conservative” to differentiate the clients of the language pimps from the activists and candidates who read sufficiently to understand what makes someone a conservative and the policies that follow on from that. All the rest are mere poseurs – led around by consultants who will have their candidates say literally anything to win, but who tacitly accept the ideology advanced by the Democratic Party as the establishment norm.
To provide a framework for Movement Conservatives, we have developed these four pillars to guide the work of activists and candidates:
1) Constitutional Government
Constitutional government is limited government. It is the regulation of society with the least intrusion necessary. Movement conservatives believe small is beautiful and advocate for structural and regulatory simplicity.
The actions of Movement Conservatives:
- Must hold Government to account by examining its efficiency and the effects that its expansion has had on society, the family, and individuals. This can only be accomplished in an environment of open government and transparency.
- Must oppose expanding the scope of Government – taking on more responsibilities that erode the rights of families and individuals.
- Must work to reduce the role and size of Government. This will reduce the cost of Government, providing scope to cut taxes and the accumulation of debt.
2) Economic Freedom
Market-centered economies work better for consumers than government-centered economies do. An economy that requires a business to hire a lobbyist to get government to promote its product, and that restricts the products of its competitors, is not a free economy. Free markets provide consumers with choices and consumers should decide which choice works best for them in an environment free from Government coercion.
The actions of Movement Conservatives:
- Must work to ensure the decentralization of economic decision making so individuals, families, and communities can pursue profit and nonprofit activities according to peaceful values and preferences.
- Must examine the system of legalized bribery that allows some entities to corrupt the marketplace by employing Government to mandate their products and services – and raise barriers to or destroy those of their competitors.
- Must oppose corporate-government partnerships that seek to impose neo-Marxist ideology on society, the family, and individuals.
3) Individual Liberty
Our Declaration of Independence states clearly that our RIGHTS as human beings come from God and are not a privilege bestowed on us by Government. The Bill of Rights codifies our RIGHTS, and it is the duty of conservatives to protect and defend the Bill of Rights.
The actions of Movement Conservatives:
- Must identify and oppose ideologies and policies that seek to challenge and take away our RIGHTS.
- Must oppose and defeat attempts by government and corporations to force or coerce individuals into waiving their RIGHTS.
4) Traditional Values
Representative democracy is a Western cultural idea. The American Republic was created from this and other foundational Western values. As the name suggests, it is the duty of conservatives to conserve the foundational principles handed down to us by our forebears. This is not a bar to those arriving from other cultures to join our community of the mind – of the idea. American conservatism is not one of place or birth but one of agreement based on core values embraced.
The actions of Movement Conservatives:
- Must defend traditional Western values and oppose the nihilistic threat of culturally ascendant neo-Marxism.
- Must identify and defeat those politicians and political organizations that espouse or embrace neo-Marxist policies.
- Must develop policies and promote candidates to turn the tide against neo-Marxism and re-establish traditional Western values as the culturally ascendant force in American life.
The Conservative Interview Committee.
The interview and discussion process provides a way for the often neglected and under-represented activist base of the New Jersey Republican Party to have discussions with GOP leaders who are seeking public office. Out of these discussions comes a better understanding of what a prospective office holder is about and where he or she stands on the issues.
For the prospective office holder, he or she gains an insight into what the broad activist base of the Republican Party is about and what their concerns are. Polling indicates that conservative voters make up the great majority of Republican Party members.
Based on this new understanding, these grassroots activist organizations may choose to support candidates who participate in the interview and discussion process. A candidate should look on the interview and discussion process as an “icebreaker” that could lead to a closer cooperation.
Our Revolutionary Rating Process.
NJMajority.com has a rating process that is rewriting the rules and redefining who gets to say he or she is a Conservative. We focus on five areas that go deeper than the surface marketing of a politician, a political candidate or political appointment.
1. A Politician's Voting Record and Statements on Issues.
2. A Politician's Support for Candidates and Causes.
3. The Financial Backers of a Politican's Political Career.
4. How a Politician Derives Personal Income.
5. A Politican's Staffing Decisions, a Candidate's Hiring Decisions. As President Reagan said, "Personnel is Policy".
NJMajority's rating process provides conservative voters with a fuller, more transparent picture -- beyond the fake labels, the canned rhetoric, and the hypocritical marketing practices of modern political campaigning.
