Letter to the editor:

Conservatism has several fatal flaws

Frank R. Kegan, Las Vegas

Monday, June 15, 2009 | 2:01 a.m.

There are no more activist and inappropriate folks on the bench than the conservative judges who rule in terms of the results they prefer and the litigants they favor. The issue of importance is the rule of law, which is a matter of applying abstract principles to particular circumstances.

That is rarely something a conservative can understand, let alone accomplish. Holding on to memories of the past — the essence of the conservative mentality — just isn’t relevant to a forward-looking interest in what is happening today and coming in the near future.

Conservative regimes have often come to power, yet with little success. Eventually, their inherent blindness to corruption and their mismanagement have caused the economy to fail. It isn’t just an endless series of bad breaks; it is the very nature of the conservative vision.

Discussion: 21 comments so far…

By POWERPLAY

6/15/09 at 2:50 a.m.

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So Frank what your saying is a forward-looking interest can only be a liberal view point, Look Frank corruption is everywhere why don't you just admit that your cheerleading for the left and be done with it and save your bull#hit for your family and friends.
By labdaddy

6/15/09 at 4:03 a.m.

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Frank R. Kegan wrote -

"Holding on to memories of the past -- the essence of the conservative mentality -- just isn't relevant to a forward-looking interest in what is happening today and coming in the near future.

That's the most foreboding picture I've seen painted yet of what's happening to this country under Obama's "leadership".

At the risk of sounding redundant, this is not the America it used to be.

Okay...ready for all of the "yeah, but under George Bush (fill in the blank) excuses...
By El_Lobo

6/15/09 at 10:03 a.m.

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Leadership? Leadership? Leadership? Hmmmmmm..... now I remember! That was the hall mark of the George W. Bush administration...

Yep, George's leadership took us to an unneeded war in the Middle East which we couldn't pay for & he gave tax cuts to his rich buddies and spent money that we didn't have along the way... A
"heck of a guy," that George!
By neiman1

6/15/09 at 11:08 a.m.

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There is nothing conservative or liberal about applying the law. Honest judges rule as the law is written and dishonest judges rule as they think the law should have been written.
By SgtRock

6/15/09 at noon

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The letter writer is aguring with himself.

One hand you can promote the rule of law and it the next breath promote new law interprestation based on the current blowing trends.

The first idea means the judges should rarely overrule past rulings.

The second idea means the judges should overrule past rulings whenever they feel like it will advance social justice (in their mind).
By WillieTanner

6/15/09 at 12:27 p.m.

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labdaddy: We must learn from our past, not bury it. Biggest lesson from 2000. Don't elect an idiot president.
Consumer confidence is up, the stock market is up, my mutual funds are up, our auto industry is being reshaped and did not go extinct, healthcare improvements are on the horizon, manufacturing is increasing slightly, and unemployment has slowed slightly. So I'm going to give Obama the 18 - 24 month leeway needed to see if his policies work.
With all the patronage appoints he made "W" never had a chance of being successful. You know you're right. It doesn't pay to criticize Bush. The only lesson to be learned from his administration is "you can fool some of the people some of the time"........., or is it "you can't fool all all of the people some of the time".,,,,,,,,, or is it "you're a fool if you think people can be fooled"......Well you must know what he meant but I never figured him out.
By lazyfaire

6/15/09 at 4:06 p.m.

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"Conservative regimes have often come to power, yet with little success. Eventually, their inherent blindness to corruption and their mismanagement have caused the economy to fail."

The following regimes were/are among the most corrupt in the world and they all destroyed their economies:

USSR + Eastern Bloc countries*
Albania*
Yugoslavia*
Cuba
North Korea
China*
Vietnam*
Zimbabwe
Nicaragua*

*Countries that have since adopted free-market reforms and have begun to prosper.

Socialism and Communism are collectivist ideologies more aligned with American liberal, not conservative, thinking.
By El_Lobo

6/15/09 at 4:08 p.m.

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WillieTanner.....

Thank you for the post on GWB. I enjoyed it!
Yes, the idiot from Texas sure left his foot print on this country.

The one thing I hated the most is when George made a trip to Europe or some place off shore. I held my breath hoping that he wouldn't say or do some thing stupid while respresenting us...More times than not, he did however...

I was always happy when he returned home....I felt most Americans just accepted the fact that we had made a huge mistake by electing an idiot to the highest office in the land, and as a result, we just looked the other way when George said and did stupid things.....that was our punishment for going brain dead at the ballot box.....
By WillieTanner

6/15/09 at 5:30 p.m.

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El Lobo: Maybe someday we'll look back and be able to laugh at Bush's dim witted behavior and lamebrain decisions. Maybe.
By POWERPLAY

6/15/09 at 5:34 p.m.

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El Lobo > I to also hold my breath when President Obama go's over to another part of the world and hopefully he won't talk sh#t about us on that trip like he did on the last won or bend over to much. He saves the bend over part for everyone but the American people. LETS FACE IT THIS GUYS A LOSER.
By just_an_average_joe

6/15/09 at 5:58 p.m.

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Frank Kegan wrote: "there are no more activist and inappropriate folks on the bench than the conservative judges who rule in terms of the results they prefer and the litigants they favor"

So I take it you believe that there are no LIBERAL judges who would ever consider ruling in terms of the results they prefer and the litigants they favor?

I guess that's why you probably hate a conservative judge like John Roberts who believes his job is "to call strikes and balls, not to go to bat", and you prefer judges like Sotomayor, who is a much better judge than any white male, because of the richness of her life experiences as a hispanic female.......

You're so far gone u don't even see that your own argument picks apart your own thesis.....
By WillieTanner

6/15/09 at 8:48 p.m.

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POWERPLAY: "LETS FACE IT THIS GUYS A LOSER"?
So far by any measure he's a winner, overseas and at home. His spending policies are out of necessity not choice. Reagan ran huge deficits too that we we all supposed to lead to future suffering that never happened.
When he screws up we'll let you know.
By just_an_average_joe

6/15/09 at 9:16 p.m.

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WillieTanner,

Reagan also cut taxes to the point that the economy was stimulated and grew so much that there was MORE revenue for the government than ever before. He also rebuilt our military, helping to create the military force second to none that easily swept away Saddam Hussein's resistance in the first Gulf War with almost no casualties. And let us not forget, that more so than any other president of that era, he helped us to DEFEAT communism in the Soviet Union - an oversimplification, perhaps, but the fact that the Soviet Socialist economic machine could not keep up as we built our military, helped hasten their demise. AND NOW OBAMA AND HIS SOCIALIST UNDERLINGS WANT TO EMULATE THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION.

All of these things, among others, helped to restore our pride in America. SO PLEASE, DO NOT COMPARE WHAT OBAMA, PELOSI, AND REID ARE NOW DOING WITH WHAT PRESIDENT REAGAN DID.
By WillieTanner

6/15/09 at 9:36 p.m.

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Ddon't get your panties in a bunch. I was only stating that Reagan ran deficits and the world didn't end.
I wouldn't lump Obama in with the Speaker and the Majority Leader as I don't think they share the same agendas. He will sink or swim of his own volition and I think he will do very well. If he pulls it off, and I'm speaking of saving America from financial ruin, historians will look back and note how close we were, (are), to being a pawn of our Chinese bankers. I thought the end was coming a month ago when the Chinese were questioning the stability of our economy. They could pull the plug on us anytime.
That socialim crap is just for the Hannity sheep. "Let your friends and neighbors die rather than suffer the evils of socialized medicine!" Joe McCarthy in a better suit!
By just_an_average_joe

6/15/09 at 10:41 p.m.

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u think history we look kindly on "how close we were, (are), to being a pawn of the our chinese bankers"???

whose economic policies do u think are selling our country out to the chinese???

u seem to be having a hard time separating the presidents "persona" from his real actions. he is articulate, intelligent, extremely good at public speaking, and able to inspire people. he has the same gift in that regard that both presidents Reagan, and Clinton both had. but u have to look at everything he has actually done. do I think Obama loves our great country?

no, not as it is. he believes our country is fundamentally flawed (he is on record clearly stating so earlier in his career), and everything he is doing is fundamentally changing our country. he is destroying what made our nation great. and as many who deeply believe in socialism, he doesn't even understand that the basic tenets of socialism are contrary to human nature. this is why it has failed as an economic model throughout history.

he is destroying the future of our children. after he is through, this will no longer be the land of opportunity. historians will look back and note that he presided over the fall of the United States from the worlds greatest superpower, to a land where everyone feels "entitled", and nobody has any incentive to work.

and you don't think they (reid and pelosi) share the same agendas as obama? u might be right there. they are simply in in for the power. Obama is a true believer. not in the american way. but in HIS american way. he intends to correct all the perceived social injustices, not realizing that he will in the process destroy any incentive to work and succeed. he truly believes what he says, that he is a "citizen of the world", not a citizen of the united states.
By El_Lobo

6/15/09 at 11:54 p.m.

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just an average joe said:

"he (Obama) is destroying the future of our children. after he is through, this will no longer be the land of opportunity. historians will look back and note that he presided over the fall of the United States from the worlds greatest superpower, to a land where everyone feels "entitled", and nobody has any incentive to work."

I wish I had a penny every time I've heard that rant. Much of that rant fits George W. Bush to a "T."

Obama has been in office less than 6 months and he has already destroyed this country....WOW! I didn't realize he was such a fast worker....

I guess we could be very lucky and still have the retarded man from Texas leading us. His leadership was so outstanding....huge deficits; two never ending wars in the Middle East and million of jobs shipped to points off shore, not to mention the loss/support of many of our long tine allies.

I should be very careful talking badly about George. Heck, a lightening bolt might come out of the sky & end it all for me thanks to the god who wanted George to be president...
By just_an_average_joe

6/16/09 at 12:27 a.m.

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Obama hasn't destroyed us yet. but he has certainly accomplished a lot hasn't he? like quadrupling the deficit in that 6 months u speak of. I guess the largest increase in both the size and spending plans of our government in history has somehow been lost on you. and yet u still blame it all on bush.

and u still haven't realized it yet have you? his "stimulus plan" has done nothing to stimulate the economy as almost 2 million more jobs are lost and unemployment edges towards 10%. his "stimulus" was never about fixing the economy. that is simply the excuse he used to ramrod the biggest expansion of US government in history down our throats.

so tell us all, how's that "hope" and "change you can believe in" working out for you?
By JahReb

6/16/09 at 7:26 a.m.

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You are right average joe, Obama passed the stimulus bill to force socialism down our throats, he had no interest whatsoever in creating jobs and stimulating the economy. Obama only cares about ruining this country, he wants nothing more than to bring America to its financial knees. He wants to put as many American's out of work as fast as possible, close as many businesses as fast as possible, put the entire population on welfare and slowly ease into weekly food rationing.

In fact, Obama's presidency is the fruition of over 30-years of masterful pre-planning - from his high school days in Hawaii to Occidental to Harvard Law Review President to Community Organizer - all stops on the Stalin train, so easy to see!

As you know, he is a Manchurian Candidate secretly hatching his inate desire to emulate that wonderful Soviet Communism model. Because, everyone can see that worked out so well for them.

I mean, come on....he has shown us a fake birth certificate and wants to hide his real identity from Americans...how much more proof do people need that Obama is playing us?

Anything else you'd like to add?
By gmag39

6/16/09 at 8:02 a.m.

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JahReb...
Right On, Brother!
The man is a menace to the entire planet!
He must be stopped... Before it's too late!
It's a communist plot!
He wants to be the leader of a NEW WORLD ORDER!
He thinks he's the MESSIAH!
He's buddies with all the DESPOTS!
I think we should all head for Canada!
How's that CHANGE working out for ya? ahhhhhhhh!!!!
By llanquihue

6/16/09 at 5:40 p.m.

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Modern Liberalism is one big fatal flaw
By Nick

6/16/09 at 6:22 p.m.

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Sarah Palin is a right wing CHRISTIAN with a daughter that is the town whore. John Ensign is a cheat and a liar.

Conservatives are hypocrites.