“Conservatism is the antidote to tyranny. It’s the only one. It’s based on thousands of years of human experience. There is nothing narrow about the conservative philosophy. It’s a liberating philosophy. It is a magnificent philosophy. It is a philosophy for the ages, for all times.” ~ Mark Levin
“I realized that conservatism was the philosophy that best suited me, with its emphasis on individual liberty, personal responsibility, and merit.” ~ Mark Levin
“The Conservative does not despise government. He despises tyranny. This is precisely why the Conservative reveres the Constitution and insists on adherence to it.” ~ Mark Levin
“I follow the Constitution, that’s what I do.” ~ Mark Levin
Antidote to tyranny? A liberating and magnificent philosophy? Emphasis on individual liberty and personal responsibility? Reverence for the Constitution? Follow the Constitution? Conservative radio talk show host Mark Levin is deluded about both conservatism and the Constitution. And Sean Hannity calls him “the great one”? And he calls himself one of “America’s preeminent conservative commentators and constitutional lawyers”?
Conservatism is none of these things. If you really want to see the true nature of conservatism, don’t listen to anything said by Mark Levin. If you really want to see conservatism laid bare, then just take a look at the attitude of conservatives to the government’s war on drugs.
A few years ago, Levin had “a Ron Paul supporter” on his radio show to talk about the war on drugs, which Levin supports. The “debate” is here if you can stand to listen to it. Once was even too much for me. I would almost rather listen to Sean Hannity, as horrible as that is.
If it were just Levin that was such an ardent drug warrior, then we could all just dismiss his show as the ravings of a mad man and ignore him. But it’s not just Levin. His conservative mindset on the drug war is duplicated in the heads of the millions of conservatives who listen to Levin—and Bill O’Reilly, and Sean Hannity, and Rush Limbaugh. Levin’s conservative mindset is common to most if not all Republican members of Congress—and the more conservative they are the more they are in favor of the drug war. Levin’s conservative mindset is shared by most if not all of the current crop of Republican presidential candidates—all of whom claim to be conservatives, and some of whom boast of how more conservative they are than the others. Candidates in previous years like Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney are no different.
I discussed the views on the drug war of some of the Republican presidential candidates earlier this year. Now we can also see what candidate Ben Carson thinks about the issue since he recently talked with Glenn Beck about it. Carson opposes the legalization of marijuana. He wants to intensify the drug war. He wants to spend more federal money and dedicate more law enforcement resources to enforcing drug laws and imprisoning offenders. He wants a police state to combat what he considers to be “hedonistic activity.”
This is conservatism laid bare.
It is tyranny. There is nothing liberating or magnificent about it (continue reading)