Yes, I Am Embarrassed, But...

Yes, as a conservative I am embarrassed by some of the things that Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachmann and some other social conservatives say. More than anything it provides ammunition for those who want to unscrupulously paint all conservatives in a negative light.

While I am not concerned about the religious beliefs of my fellow citizens, injecting them into politics, with few exceptions constitutes cheap marketing that distracts us from serious economic issues. While certainly respect the rights of parents to teach creationism to their children, it is not the job of the schools to do so and does come close to violating the separation of church-and-state.

And those who are faithful to the constitution recognize that the resolution of contentious social issues are best left to states and local communities. But, as obnoxious as Palinisms and other ill conceived marketing may be, they have little real impact on the welfare of the American People. This is because for good and for bad, very little socially conservative rhetoric is translated into realy, concrete policies. For  In contrast, the national debt, the trade deficit, unemployment and inflation are real threats to the well being of the nation.

What this means is that we must focus like a laser and let fiscal policy be the prime determinant of who receives our votes. In some cases this means that we have to overlook the distraction of a candidate's silly social rhetoric and focus on how their policies will impact economic life. This can be a vexing task, because indeed President Obama and many of his progressive compatriots are articulate and urbane and can run rhetorical circles around the likes of Palin. But, their policies have greatly aggravated our fiscal ills.

For example, in Illinois's last gubernatorial election, I voted for Bill Brady, even though I disagreed with many of his social positions. I determined that the chances of him imposing his social vision on the state were quite slim, yet he may have been able to positively effect Illinois's dire fiscal outlook. In contrast, given Quinn's fiscal policies, I was quite confident that debt and unfunded liabilities would increase under his watch. So far, my predictions have proven to be true. So, for the time being I will not get distracted by Palin and other clowns, while fiscal lions lurk in the shadows, ready to pounce on unsuspecting circus goers.