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Impractical Politics or Defending Liberty?

By Beacon Staff
By Joe Carbonari

It seems to me there are people towards the wings of both conservatism and liberalism that tend to fasten on some widely accepted “good” and carry it to an impractical extreme. When it is done knowingly, for one’s own benefit, it is reprehensible. Ted Cruz comes to mind. I may be wrong, but my experience has been that men that look, act, and talk like he does are generally scammers.

Putin stands as an extreme example of leadership run amok. Definitely from the fringe. Definitely willing to inflict pain. His justifying mission appears to be the restoration of the greatness of Russia. There are, have been, and will always be, others.

We need leaders who can deal on a personal basis with strong, dangerous men, and women, like these. Those that we seek are rare. Think about it. Which of our current “presidential mentions” would you most like to see sitting across a table from Putin?

For me, I’d like to see someone who has a strong base of “common sense,” of self-assurance, and one who knows how to ask the hard questions, and one who after asking, listens, even to answers unwelcome.

Courage, intelligence, wisdom, and street smarts – an unusual mix. We must look for it.

 
By Tim Baldwin

No reasonable person would deny that we need courage, intelligence, wisdom and street smarts in our leaders. But obviously, people interpret leaders’ characteristics relative to those qualities differently based on their philosophy, perspective and goals. What some may consider an “impractical extreme” others may consider necessary to defend liberty. Such is the nature of politics, especially as the nation’s situation pushes the edges of economic and cultural norms.

Calling Ted Cruz dangerous is not helpful to understanding political dynamics. How is he dangerous, and how does he compare to Putin? Clearly some in America disagree with Cruz on policies and tactics. So what? We live in a Republic where the majority prevails over the minority. Cruz can do nothing in Congress without the support of the majority. However, if Cruz can accomplish much in Congress alone, does this not suggest that he possesses exemplary leadership? Does that suggest he possesses, then, presidential qualities and can stand against Putin?

Speaking of dangerous, what about Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) who advocates extreme gun control laws and supports unwarranted NSA spying on Americans but becomes outraged to find that NSA is spying on her? If getting along with Sen. Feinstein and her like is “impractical,” I suppose millions of Americans prefer that over losing liberty.