John Lofton, Recovering Republican: His Story; How He Put Away Childish Things And, By God's Grace, Was Raptured From Among The Republicans And Made A Man Who Joined The Constitution Party
The following address was delivered at the national convention of the Constitution Party, in June of 2004, in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
By John Lofton
"When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: But when I became a man, I put away childish things." -- First Corinthians 13:11.
My name is John Lofton. I am a recovering Republican. And I would ask you to be gentle with me because I have a lot from which to recover -- and this is not easy to say since two of my three grandsons are here.
In 1968, I worked at the National Republican Congressional Committee. From 1970 to 1973, I was the official GOP propagandist, working at the Republican National Committee as Editor of the Party's weekly publication "Monday." My bosses were Bob Dole and George Herbert Walker Bush.
AMERICA NEEDS A CHANGE - Goldwater in '64Then and there I was hooked.
The 1964 GOP Platform denounced the Democrats because: They sought enlargement of Federal power; they were "Federal extremists;" and because they were these things, he said, "they cannot be trusted with authority over their fellow citizens."
Well, now. Oh, that we had today a Federal Government the size of Lyndon Johnson's!
But, we do not!
In fact, in modern times, it has been supposedly conservative Republicans -- Bush1, Ronald Reagan, Bush2 -- who have given us the most un-Godly, expensive, debt-ridden Federal Government in the history of the Universe!
And long gone has been any reference, by almost all Republicans to our Constitution. I am alluding here, of course, to at least Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) -- maybe only Ron Paul.
At the recent 40th anniversary dinner of the American Conservative Union -- whose publication "Battleline" I used to edit -- President George Bush was the featured speaker. His talk was cheered and applauded repeatedly. But, he no mention at all of the importance of Constitutionally-limited government -- though in 1999 he wrote a book titled "A Charge To Keep" in which he said (page 175) that he ran for Governor in Texas because: "I thought the Federal Government was becoming too big and powerful."
Well, today, under Mr. Bush, the Federal Government has become bigger and more powerful than in all of our history!
So, how could Mr. Bush have spoken of the necessity of limited, Constitutional government at that American Conservative Union dinner? Had he done this, and been Pinocchio, his nose would have been roughly the size of the Washington Monument.
Mr. Bush, among other things and in no particular order, has given us an un-Constitutional, unnecessary, undeclared war in Iraq. He has signed into law an un-Constitutional so-called campaign finance "reform" law which he said -- as a candidate and while he was signing it -- is probably un-Constitutional. So, this would be a matter for the courts to decide.
Mr. Bush has given us a Medicare "reform" plan that is the largest entitlement program since LBJ in 1965 which will cost, at last count, $540 billion. This program is supposed to help older people get prescription drugs. Try finding authority for that in the U.S. Constitution.
Another Bush "reform" is an immigration amnesty plan (he doesn't call it an amnesty; the word has too many syllables) which would let millions of illegal aliens stay in our country -- this being, of course, a violation of his oath of office to enforce our nation's laws.
Finally, for now, there is Mr. Bush's blatantly un-Constitutional Department Of Education which now costs more than $60 billion annually -- despite the fact that the 1996 GOP Platform called or this Department's abolition.
And today's so-called conservative "leaders" are clueless, brain-dead to all of this. They are "conservative" only in that they are conserving Liberalism!
DAVID KEENE: Sees Bush's Big Government ship of state only 'a little bit off course'Well, said Mr. Keene: "We consider Bush to be a conservative who's allowed the ship of State to drift a little bit off course"! Right, just like the Titanic drifted a little bit off course. And I particularly like the use of the word "drift" here -- as if no one is actually at the helm, proposing or pushing anything. Everything is just -- "drifting."
And this, in so many words, is exactly what Keene is saying. On Bush's ship of State no one is really responsible for anything. This Bush ship of fools -- I mean of State -- is just "drifting."
And then there is the problem of forgetfulness.
When Keene's interviewer says that when he watched President Bush deliver his "State of the Union" address he thought Lyndon Johnson had returned disguised as Lyndon Johnson, Keene says that like a lot of Presidents Mr. Bush had decided its his government now and he "ought to do this, that and the other thing." And, like other Presidents, Mr. Bush "forgot about the costs that are involved."
Oh.
So, Mr. Bush just forgot that huge government programs make the government bigger and cost hundreds of billions of dollars! Oh, well, we all make mistakes.
What Keene said reminds me of an old bit by comedian Steve Martin. He said that when you don't pay your taxes, and an IRS agent shows up at your door, just look him in the eye and say: "I forgot!"
When asked if he could imagine any circumstances that would cause him to not vote for Mr. Bush's re-election?, Keene replied: "I can imagine such circumstances. But it'd be very difficult. I think that in spite of any disagreements I have with the President, I think he's doing a pretty good job."
Part of this "pretty good job" Bush has done, said Keene, strangely, are his tax cuts because, among other things, these tax cuts grow the economy and that's "good" since this does (are you seated?) "increase government revenues." I say this is a strange reply because it means that tax cuts are "good" because they increase government revenues due to, well, more taxes.
This reply is strange, and contradictory, for other reasons, too. Because, earlier, Keene had said that most conservatives today believe what they have believed in the past, that they are involved in politics primarily "to make certain that government keeps its hands off them, keeps its hands out of their pockets." And, later in this interview, Keene says "government spending is bad for a lot of reasons": Because it puts the debt created "on the backs of future generations;" because it "sucks money out of the private sector and can be an economic drag;" because it "displaces private individual choice."
Hmmmmm. But, if it's true that government spending results in all these bad things -- and it does -- then why does Keene think it's "good" that the Bush tax cuts increased government revenues since more government revenues, in Washington DC, always means more spending and huge deficits?!
So, not impatiently, I hope, I have had it with conservatism-as-usual and the Republican Party! As a maturing Christian, by God's grace, I am now an ex-Republican, a recovering Republican, a member of the Constitution Party and Communications Director for this Party's Presidential nominee Michael Anthony Peroutka.
But, it hasn't been easy being a recovering Republican and having to admit, publicly -- as I am doing now -- that I was a Republican.
My awakening began with Step One, admitting to myself that I was powerless to stop Republicans from lying through their teeth about every important issue! I had to deal with this reality one day at a time.
One suggestion that helped was from another recovering Republican. We have a support group but not yet our own telethon. He said I should begin my rehabilitation by thinking, for one whole day, that I was not a Republican.
This really helped.
A suggested prayer was also helpful: That I thank God that, the day before, all day, when I was thinking I was not a Republican, that I really was not a Republican!
Another step I took was to believe that there was a power greater than the Republican Party that could, politically, restore our country to national sanity -- the Constitution Party!
I then began to walk, day-by-day, in this path of political progress.
Other steps fell into line. I began making a list -- a long list -- of all the people I had hurt by spreading Republicanism.
Another step -- which you see happening before you today. I have no qualms whatsoever about being entirely honest with myself about my Republican past and now telling everyone how the Republican Party and, of course, the Democrats, are failures.
But, enough about me.
R.L.DABNEY- said it best about Christless Conservatism"Conservatism's history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution, to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward to perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt hath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It tends to risk nothing serious for the sake of truth."
Well, sad to say, this is, with a vengeance, even truer today. The Republican Party and its conservative cheerleaders are failures. They do not honor God or defend, explicitly, the God-ordained family. And they definitely do not care about our Constitution.
That's the bad news. The good news is -- well, the Good News. God is sovereign, not politics. His Son and our Lord is also the Lord of and over politics. His will be done -- not ours!
There is a Constitution Party for real change. And you will have an excellent, God-honoring national ticket with Michael Anthony Peroutka as your Presidential candidate and the Rev. Chuck Baldwin as your Vice Presidential candidate.
Thank you very much. And may God bless you all -- which He has promised to do when we obey Him.
