Real conservatives conserve things:

1)The Constitution of the United States. Honor, respect, and follow the Constitutional processes which are the foundation of the Republic. No more executive orders or signing statements to do end-runs around the Constitution. Preserve, protect, and defend the rights of citizens. No more abrogation of habeas corpus, warrantless wiretapping, etc.

2)The taxpayer's money. Tax now to the extent necessary to fund government. No more tax cuts for the rich and exploding deficits. Stop taxing our children and grandchildren, who are not represented, through runaway deficits. No more billionaire bailouts.

3)Our natural resources. Conserve forests, wetlands, wild areas, water and soil from abuse, depletion, exploitation, and pollution. Manage resources for the most good for the longest time. No more Drill now! while driving a Hummer.

4)The health of the people. No more legislation favoring the financial exploitation of people who are sick or injured. Make sure that every citizen has access to truly affordable medical insurance.

5)Our national sovereignty. Oppose treaties like NAFTA that infringe on our ability to control economic conditions within our own country.

6)Our national reputation. Stop bullying and invading other countries. Stop celebrating the military continuously. Find solutions to differences with other nations that do not involve shooting or bombing them.

Once the Republicans can find their way back to being real conservatives, they can provide a much-needed counterweight against the views of those who would abuse the power of our nation and its government for selfish and wicked purposes.

Would you think that justice would be best served by a blanket pardon of your former tormentors?

Poor criminals do years in the state pen for sticking up liquors stores. Does violating your oath of office as President or any subordinate officer of the executive branch, detaining, abusing, and torturing people in direct violation of the Constitution, and federal and international law warrant any kind of consequence? Or are we now officially in the era of "if the President (or Fuehrer) says it is alright, it can't be illegal"?

I don't know where I first saw that quote or who originated it, but it seems to me that if this nation has any calling or purpose beyond simply protecting and encouraging the economic activity of its citizens, promoting justice has to be a serious candidate. The whole theme of the brighter half of our history has been one of promoting an ever-widening circle of justice and empowerment: racial minorities, women, and, soon, those with alternative sexual proclivities. An essential feature of justice is accountability and consequences. Letting Nazis off the hook at the end of World War II would not have sent a proper message to the rest of humanity as to what is right and acceptable. Likewise, pardoning the higher officers of the Bush Administration for their deliberate violations of the Constitution, their oaths of office, and international law will not, in the long run, serve either justice or any long range positive goals of our nation or the world.

Bush Administration actions in violation of Constitutionally mandated processes of government and infringements on Constitutionally guaranteed rights have set dangerous precedents in making the Constitution superfluous and irrelevant to governance. If the Constitution is to be rescued from irrelevance, if it is to me more than "just a piece of paper" to be venerated but not followed, the Congress and the new President must work diligently for its restoration. There are members of both parties in Congress who are eager to see an end to excesses of "signing statement" and "executive orders" that contravene legislation and even the Constitution. President Obama must specifically denounce the Bush doctrine of "unitary executive", which has no place in our Republic. The Congress as well needs to begin referencing all legislation to specific Constitutional provisions. Whether Constitutional restoration is accomplished by bipartisan efforts or just one party really doesn't matter. What does matter is that the charter document of the federal government, which legally authorizes and empowers it, is respected and followed. The alternative is a downward spiral toward tyranny.

Had you not swallowed the empty slogans of the candidates who were shamelessly promoted by the mainstream media and had actually studied the issues, you would have supported Ron Paul, Dennis Kucinich, or one of the smaller party candidates like Bob Barr, Ralph Nader, or Cynthia McKinney. Had you done so, you would not be experiencing the disappointment of seeing Washington establishment types becoming ever more firmly entrenched in office. I did not support Obama because he could never find time in any of his fine speeches to condemn the abuses of Constitutional processes or human rights committed by the Bush Administration, but instead voted for the continuance of warrantless wiretapping and supported the billionaire bailouts. I could never believe he was for real change to protect the Republic and serve the citizens rather than the corporate oligarchy. Now he has worked behind the scenes to engineer the appointment of uber-war hawk Lieberman to an important chairmanship. Maybe next time you will wise up and realize that the heavily emotional promotion of a candidate by the mainstream press is a warning of the Faustian bargain he or she has made with those presently in control.

All are DINOs...and willing tools of the corporate oligarchy.