Ideologues resist compromise. It's not because they are more stubborn than other people. They just understand that every concession to the opposition is a blow to the bedrock of principles.
Pragmatists readily compromise, especially those active in the politics of the Left. They have perfected the strategy of asking for a pony and settling for a kitten when it was the cat they wanted all along- for now.
If you're not familiar with the Overton Window, let me enlighten you. It is a theory developed by Joseph Overton, a former vice president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. It describes the "window" of political options presented for debate. Skillfully and consistently, Progressives have been moving the window of discourse rapidly leftward. By proposing Marxist policies and accepting one more compromise toward socialism at a time, the Constitution becomes the big loser.
The pragmatists on the Right, limiting themselves to the narrow scope of the Overton Window, pretend they are logging wins by conceding to the least egregious demands.
Republican voters took a cue from our pragmatic Congress when they enthusiastically endorsed a "yuge" compromise to the GOP. They failed to take advantage of the remarkable opportunity, in the aftermath of the Obama administration debacle, to elect a true Conservative Constitutionalist. Instead, the electorate compromised fidelity to the Constitution and high moral character at every turn of the campaign to elect a president who believes he can rule by fiat from his Twitter account.
This has resulted not only in the discomfort of Republican ideologues but a revolt by the radical leftists. Don't be surprised when someone representing the values of Socialist Bernie Sanders is elected in 2020. If the Right can endorse an egotistical nationalist to satisfy his populist following, Progressives will push for nothing less than their ultimate goal.
Ideologues on the Right understand that once we compromised each and every principle of Republicanism, we literally gave up our "high ground" forever.
Because once you've demolished the bedrock of your values, you have nothing left to stand on when the enemy rushes in to plant his flag on your hill. Then your view from your cell window looks rather bleak.
Conservative ideologues must make every effort to rebuild the foundations of our Republic. How do we reestablish the bedrock of our nation? By teaching the next generation what they are at risk of losing: nothing less than the unalienable rights that are protected only under a Constitutional Republic. Let's teach them to rebuild our nation with our window to the world firmly framed in the Right Wing of our home, where the pleasant, balanced view of our rights and responsibilities in a free society are clearly beheld by us and our posterity.
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