Jacksonian Conservative

When asked who their favorite President is, most people offer the standard answers:
George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, FDR, JFK, Ronald Reagan, etc.  Basically, those on Mt. Rushmore.

I too have offered those cookie cutter answers when asked about the 44 men who have acted as President of the United States.  

However, since my first semester of college, when I took US History part 1, my answer has been Andrew Jackson.  He was the first direct representative of the common man and the true definition of “Commander in Chief”.  He is the kind of man I’ve been looking for [but have failed to find] to endorse as a Presidential candidate.

Jackson was the last President to be a veteran of the Revolution War.  He fought along side Davey Crockett and Sam Houston [I'm from Texas - these guys are legends] in the War of 1812.  It was at the Battle of New Orleans that he become a war hero.  His 5,000 beat the British 7,500 – they suffered 2,000 causalities; he lost 13.

Through insider Washington dealings, Jackson lost the election of 1824.  He went on to win the election of 1828.  He was the 1st President to invite the public to the White House for the post-inauguration ball.  People showed up in homemade clothes and muddy boots just to see the President.  The well-to-do were so bothered by the mass of commoners that they served punch on the White House lawn to get them all out of the House.  He handedly won re-election in 1832.

The principles that made him such a great President include:
Reduction of the Federal debt,
Calling for the abolition of the Electoral College,
Opposition to a National Bank,
Supporting an agricultural republic and opposing the wealthy elite,
In favor of a strong union of the States.

As a boy, he received a scar on his face from the saber of a British soldier when he refused to clean mud off of his boots.  He fought in 13 duels, mostly defending his wife’s honor.  In 1 of them, he killed the man.  He allowed the man to shoot first, suffering a shot to the ribs.  Jackson knew he was more likely to kill a man in a single shot than his opponent would be.  He often took mercury as medicine for the symptoms of lead poising from all the bullets in his body – including a musket ball that stayed in his lung.

His philosophy promoted the strength of the Executive Branch, broadened the public’s role in government, expanded suffrage, fostered Manifest Destiny, favored free-market economy, sought to stop all encroachment upon the legitimate sphere of State sovereignty.

The only Presidential candidate, in my lifetime, to get me as excited as I get reading about Jackson is Ron Paul.  He was the truest Conservative running in 2008, but the media and the Primary process didn’t want to have anything to do with him.  People at work were baffled by my comments when they would ask me who I was supporting for President.  I would answer, “I think Ron Paul is the best candidate out there, unfortunately that’s why he won’t win.”  The Republican party went with a moderate candidate and that is why they didn’t win.  Ron Paul supports the Constitution and conservative values unlike any other person in the political arena.

As someone who was born and raised in the 14th District of Texas, as one of the 4,000 babies Dr. Paul delivered at Lake Jackson Hospital, as a Conservative, and as a Latter-day Saint – it saddens me that the man will never get a fair shake at office.

This is why I am a Jacksonian Coservative.