The video is from earlier this year, but it is still significant. As a sidenote, I find it ironic that Arlen Specter claimed to have switched sides because the Republican Party had grown far “too conservative” under Bush, and yet it was President Bush in 2004 who literally saved Specter from losing his senate seat to a far more conservative challenger in the primary.

If conservatism means enthusiasm for war, using the federal government to oppose gay marriage and flag burning, and increasing state and individual interference by the federal government… then yeah, we’ve probably been too conservative.

However, if conservatism means advocating limited government, defending the Constitution and the restraints it puts on government, supporting freedom, protecting individual rights, and keeping America’s defense strong but unencumbered–then I’d say it’s time to roll up our sleeves and start acting like true conservatives again.

As Barry Goldwater put it in The Conscience of a Conservative:

The conscience of the Conservative is pricked by anyone who would debase the dignity of the individual human being. Today, therefore, he is at odds with dictators who rule by terror, and equally with those gentler collectivists who ask our permission to play God with the human race.

With this view of the nature of man, it is understandable that the conservative looks upon politics as the art of achieving the maximum amount of freedom for individuals that is consistent with the maintenance of social order… the Conservative’s first concern will always be: Are we maximizing freedom?

Let me start off by saying, as Vice Chairman, I would like to welcome our newest members, and welcome back the returning College Republicans.

My own journey to becoming a Republican is probably an atypical one. When I entered college as a freshman, I considered myself unaligned and a moderate. I joined the libertarian club, the Seton Hall University Students for Individual Liberty, with a bunch of my friends.

My political inspirations were the Founding Fathers, especially Jefferson and Madison, as well as the political philosophy of John Locke—so you could say my opinions revolved around freedom and limited government. While I wasn’t a part of the “Blame Bush” crowd, the actions throughout the Bush administration (Patriot Act, Iraq War, the deficits) turned me off from associating with the party.

The first thing that started to draw me towards the Republican Party was the Ron Paul campaign for president in 2007. What I saw in Paul was someone who was firmly committed to the principles of liberty and less government, who did so often at the peril of being its lone defender in Congress. I figured if he had a place in the Republican Party, perhaps I do too. continue reading…