Some Suggestions for Additions to A Conservative Agenda

I don’t know whether you guys will agree with this, but I think the importance of blogging isn’t in responding to the MSM or the constant flow of news, but keeping those issues which are critical in focus. I’ve always thought it good that pro-life, anti-tax, and pro-military issues are in focus with conservatives, and there are two areas where some groups, both liberal and conservative, are doing credible work, and yet a lot more needs to be done:

1. Prison reform. The fact we joke about what goes on in here – and remember, one injustice done to one innocent man, esp. of the sort that is most joked about is pretty awful – well, no further comment is needed, although reading this guide – and realizing why they’re giving the advice they’re giving – is a really scary experience. One of the great improvements made in modern democratic regimes was the end to debtors’ prisons, where people who were in debt sometimes were locked up and left to live in their own excrement. The reports of rape and gang violence aren’t some issue we can neglect: if this is a democracy, then we as voters have a responsibility to make sure these places are liveable. Punishment can only go so far.

I do realize that a few conservatives will say “If prison is awful enough, people will take care to stay the hell out.” I think the logic about incentives, though, only goes so far: we know that no matter how many offenses we might put the death penalty for, people will still commit them. And necessarily not because they’re stupid – there are just certain boundaries that can’t be crossed with us, where if we’re pushed, we’ll break the law. And if someone isn’t arguing this position from “incentives,” but rather from “who cares anyway,” well, that makes me question whether we should start limiting voting to people that want responsibility.

2. Indian reservations. If we’re building nations abroad, I see no reason why we can’t rebuild those we utterly crushed in order to expand from coast to coast. Honestly, if the Native Americans are worked with such that conditions start improving rapidly in tribal lands – I don’t want to see casinos as much as I want to see people engaged in civic life in thoughtful and key ways, sharing knowledge and being proud in their ancestry – the case could be made that this is truly a just order, for freedom being used to help build others is probably the highest thing that could be conceived.

These are just suggestions, and as some of you know, I really want Speaker Gingrich to run. Pestering him and his other supporters about these and getting him and them to address the problems directly might be a good idea, and if there are other issues you can think of, please, list them in the comment thread. One day I want to put together a “conservative manifesto” of sorts before the election.