Where is Horatio Bunce?

While doing some office cleaning recently, I ran across a pamphlet that had found it's way into a pile of papers needing some organization. Coincidentally, a friend of mine had recently sent me an e-mail version of the pamphlet which I shared with some other friends. I found that the pamphlet's contents are available on the web. As internet content goes, it's a bit of a long read but, in my opinion, well worth it.

Sockdolager - A Tale of Davy Crockett

One of the friends with whom I shared the story lamented the current state of Congress with respect to the principles espoused in the pamphlet. I agreed. However, as I pondered the topic a bit more, I became more concerned about the state of modern Horatio Bunces. Granted, there's some overlap in that venn diagram... Congress and those who play the role of the conscience of Congress.

Where are today’s Bunces? Apparently, there aren’t many. If there are, they’re awfully quiet. I’ve hoped that the tea party might be a bit Buncian. It does seem clear that there’s a little more Bunce in the tea party than in either of the establishment parties. But when the rank and file tea party folks are polled, a great many seem to be looters just like the others. They just have a different set of priorities when it comes to how much should be looted, from whom it should be looted and to whom the loot should be dispensed.

There are those who fancy themselves a Bunce and those who the conservative intelligentsia attempt to pass off as a Bunce. Most fall incredibly short. I speak only of conservatives because seeking a Bunce among today’s liberal establishment would obviously be an hilarious exercise in futility.

Starting with the “establishment” or “moderate” republicans. They’re the ones who lament the co-opting of the “conservative” label. To think of them with principles such as Bunce’s is laughable. Michael “Bunce” Steele? “Horatio” Rudy Guliani? John McCain, Horatio Bunce of the Senate? I don’t think so. They themselves admit that they’re “pragmatic”. They like to “reach across the aisle”. They think of themselves as the rational ones. They eschew the “extreme right wing” of their party. No, we won’t find a Bunce there.

Then we have the “extreme right-wing”. I put that in quotes because as extreme goes, they’re pretty tame. These are ones who commendably speak with passion against things like Obamacare, stimulus and TARP. But, at the same time, they quail at the thought of rolling back entitlements such as Social Security and Medicare. They say things like, “we owe it to our seniors” or “we made promises”. Excuse me? I made no promises. Is a promise to one person valid if it presupposes theft from another? No, you’re no Horatio Bunce if you’re willing to continue to looting current and future generations in order to pay a phony debt to those who saw fit to establish the entire looting enterprise in the first place.

I think it more likely that we might find a Bunce among the Libertarians. But, they’re constantly denigrated by the conservative establishment and even the “extreme right-wing” as “loonytarians” or worse. They need to overcome the preconception that they just want to smoke pot and make the world safe for child pornographers. An invalid preconception to be sure but one that the conservative establishment is all too willing to continue to feed.

Yes, a few Bunces would definitely do the country some good. I’m hopeful but, I’m not holding my breath.