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• Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:52 AM

  Rule of Law

  I'm a conservative, and this stuff from the Republicans is just offensive. The conservative worldview is based on the idea that the rule of law is more important than the rule of men -- that no man is above the law. (See, e.g., Burke's Reflections on the Revolution in France, where he lamented the movement from a society ruled by laws to a society ruled by the fleeting ideas and popularities of petty tyrants.)

  Republicans lately have rejected the rule of law, in service of instead prolonging their own rule. Their belief seems to be that Republicans are inherently "right" in some unspecified way, and that therefore all impediments must be removed, so that they are allowed to freely rule -- even if it means breaking or ignoring the law.

  Take the (alleged) Palin statement when she was mayor and redecorated her office for $50k. According to one witness, she said that she could do whatever she wanted until a court told her to stop, even if her actions were in contradiction of the law. Conservatives say that every man has a duty to follow the law. Palin would apparently say that she has a right to do whatever she wants until a more powerful force makes her stop. That is "rule of man" in a nutshell.

  So this is nothing new. Refusing a subpoena just because they don't agree with it just reinforces the sad reality that Republicans are "conservative" only when it serves them.

  —TheOtherBob Read TheOtherBob's other letters
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