MONEY, LIBERTY, AND FREEDOM

"My disappointment focuses around several distinct points. Primary among these is that I have had about all I can afford of 'compassionate conservatism.' Unnecessary deficit spending is neither conservative nor compassionate, and if someone discovers the budgetary difference between a compassionate conservative and a bleeding heart liberal, please, let me know. So far, my best guess is that the government would not grow nearly so quickly under the liberal as it has under the profligate conservative. My concern here is not just financial or economic, although only a fool would ignore all such concerns. My concern is Freedom. Money is power; and power is the source of all freedom. Without it, you have none. When more money is controlled by government, and not by individuals, we are all made less free. This sort of thinking is what was once known as plain 'conservatism,' and it is pretty darn compassionate, since it seeks to liberate individuals from bureaucracy, dependency and demoralizing levels of taxation."

---Mac Johnson