From a recent email:
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away people’s initiative and independence.
You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.
I'm a Christ-follower, compelled by my faith toward reason, which points directly toward conservatism. This world's daily onslaught of lunacy offends my intellect and senses, so this is my venue to blow off steam.
Excellent! That about sums up the economic axioms of the GOP. I wish the dems would catch this. They are convinced that they can somehow become the source of wealth and welfare for the people. I wish they would study historical Russian economics.
@Mike
Yeah, right? I can’t help thinking that living in the former Soviet Union a little while would be a good education to many folks.
Part of me loves the fact that this image of the GOP playing cards gives lefties the Heebie-jeebies.
i’m sure waraxe and mike are well off republicans. it’s a little ironic to have this on your site though. you’re a christian but you post this bs? hmmmm…
@Timmy
i’m am far from well off and not really a republican….
why do i believe this?
And how do any of the comments go against christian beliefs?
@Timmy
Umm… Well off Republicans why? Ironic how? What is BS exactly? Your thinking to typing ratio needs to be more “well off”.
Jesus had some nasty things to say about the rich — kinda made Obama sound like a Republican at times.
Elsewhere, the Bible celebrates the careers of many rich characters.
The distinction: some forms of wealth acquisition are productive and others are parasitical. The Democrats lump them in together — much as many police lump together members of certain races when doing racial profiling. The Republicans, on the other hand, celebrate most wealth-making (save perhaps some forms of government largesse reception) — the equivalent of liberals being soft on crime.
Wealth acquired through trade and/or production is legit. Wealth acquired through rent-seeking, through hogging and unfair share of the earth’s resources, is disallowed under Biblical Law. See Leviticus 25 or follow the link. When Republicans grasp the concept, they will have a shot at ruling with justice.
@Carl M
Interesting points… although I’d challenge to point out anything “nasty” Jesus had to say about the rich. He spoke more about the “rich condition of the heart”… and saved the nastiness for the Pharisees.
Also, I’m conservative… so I lean Republican (hey, if the Dems had most of the conservatives I’d lean towards them… it’s just a party label)… and I don’t know many conservatives that approve of white collar-ish wealth crime. And while “hogging” may be sinful, it is also not a crime, unless you want the GOP to champion a form of Christian-sharia law.
“You cannot help people permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”
The Chinese proverb comes to mind—“ Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Nice picture
The republicans are having fun playing cards, as expected Bush is out of the game.
“You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.”
is this quote of Abraham Lincoln ?
“You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.”
Then what must the defenseless do when the strong have taken every resource? When all they have is their hope but no concrete strength to show?
@Alen Amouresuse
It is a great set of conservative tenets, that Lincoln would certainly have agreed with in principle, and probably nearly quoted verbatum as listed here… BUT, not an actual Lincoln quote, although commonly mistook for Lincoln.
Christian Sharia Law??
You are the one who says that Christianity points to a particular ideology. I am pointing out that Christianity does not point to conservatism. It points to some conservative principles but by no means all. A more Christian guided ideology would have a Citizen’s dividend funded by ground rent taxes a la Henry George. It would have a legal system based more upon restitution than jail — none of this evil three strikes and your out nonesense. Drugs would be legal for those who handle their high responsibly, and prostitution would be as legal as simply sleeping around.
Conservatives are on the right track regarding abortion, school choice, and judges who judge the criminal vs. judging the crime.
See my site for extensive citations for these positions.
What a lot of drivel!….Another ignorant American that does not understand that the separation of church and state is for good reason. Stay with the games, you that well…your politics/religion combo does not work…
@Scott Simkover
Ad hominem attacks are typical of people with nothing intelligent to say for themselves.
It is unfortunate that those maxims are considered GOP maxims only, since they are really only common sense. Not only that, but they sum up a simple, proven and effective strategy to actually accomplish the goals that many liberals profess to champion, such as helping the poor.