The Politico reports that congressional Republicans fear a disaster in November. Their fears may be well founded:
Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money.
The double shot of bad news had one veteran Republican House member worrying aloud that the party’s electoral woes — brought into sharp focus by Woody Jenkins’ loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday — have the House Republican Conference splitting apart in “everybody for himself” mode.
I have news for congressional Republicans: everybody doing their own thing has a lot to do with what got you in this losers boat.
In addition to people like Mark Foley who would rather be off doing their own thing, soliciting diddles with male pages, you had several other Republicans who wanted to carve out little enclaves of power for themselves, and still others who wanted to flirt and play footsie with the "mainstream" media by embracing liberal causes.
Guess what? The Republican base was disgusted with that.
Which brings me to the other reason congressional Republicans are in the doghouse: they weren't acting like Republicans. Too many of them were acting like Democrats, and too many of the rest were busy kowtowing to the liberals in the party. Republicans as a group didn't act like they had any plans or solutions for the country, other than recycled or watered-down liberal ideas. And instead of leading, they let the Democrat minority and the media lead them around by the noses.
Guess what? Cowardice and timidity don't inspire the base, guys!
While it's true that parties and ideologies don't always go hand-in-hand, the Republican Party has been long known as a conservative party, and the party's platform and ideals are solidly conservative.
It shouldn't be too much to ask for a party to act in accordance with its own stated values.
I have a simple solution and a simple message for Republicans if they want another shot at leading in congress:
BE. REPUBLICANS.
5 comments:
"Cowardice and timidity don't inspire the base, guys!"
This can't be emphasized enough. I have been a conservative most of my adult life, but I feel no loyalty to a party that throws hard-fought ideals to the wind in favor of expediency and self-interest.
I get calls almost weekly (no exageration!) from Republican committees and fundraisers asking for money and my answer is the same each time, no more money until Republicans, as a party, reclaim and proclaim a conservative ideology. Meanwhile I'll donate to individual candidates, like Mike Pence, and conservative organizations like the ADF and Heritage Foundation.
"Cowardice and timidity don't inspire the base, guys!"
This can't be emphasized enough. I have been a conservative most of my adult life, but I feel no loyalty to a party that throws hard-fought ideals to the wind in favor of expediency and self-interest.
I get calls almost weekly (no exageration!) from Republican committees and fundraisers asking for money and my answer is the same each time, no more money until Republicans, as a party, reclaim and proclaim a conservative ideology. Meanwhile I'll donate to individual candidates, like Mike Pence, and conservative organizations like the ADF and Heritage Foundation.
I must be getting old! I'm repeating myself.
Maybe the problem is that the Republicans have gotten their way with all branches of government for 7 years, and have proven that "conservative" governance and legislation do NOT work. They have wrecked the economy, allowed a devastating terrorist attack, decimated the military, bullied and alienated the worlds governments and people (including most western democracies), destroyed the budget and created the largest deficit in history. They have fought and financed wars by borrowing against our children and grandchildren, while cutting taxes (something NEVER done in the world history). Their policies have financially benefited only large multi-national corporations and the 2% wealthiest US citizens, and penalized everyone else. For those corps and the top 2%, the republican/conservative agenda has been extremely successful; too bad that in a democracy that is not enough to stay in power forever.
It's debatable whether "Republicans have gotten their way." Some certainly have, but Republicans who are loyal to the conservative values of the Republican Party certainly haven't gotten their way.
Bush did get most of the tax cuts he sought, and despite the devastating hit the economy took because of 911 (and despite having the "mainstream" media pooh-pooh the economy even when good news came out) we've seen some of the best economic numbers in 20-30 years.
It's also true that many of the Republicans went on a drunken spending-spree (reminiscent of some of the best binges ever seen from the Democrats) after 911; again, this reckless spending was contrary to core Republican values. And the war in Iraq has only comprised about 3% of the budget, so you can't blame that...though you can look to the unconstitutional social programs which make up about 50% of our budget, in addition to the pork spending.
Meanwhile we've Republicans remain impotent in accomplishing anything with our energy policy. They remain intimidated by environmental extremists, and about 8 years later we aren't drilling in ANWR and we aren't building new refineries and we aren't building more nuclear power plants.
Republicans also allowed the McCain-Feingold Incumbency Protection Act, aka Campaign Finance Reform to pass on their watch, blowing a hole in the First Amendment.
Republicans also failed to get a Federal Marriage Amendment passed to protect our most fundamental social institution from renegade judges and the homosexual lobby.
Republicans were ineffectual in getting many appellate-level judges appointed because the liberal members of congress considered the nominees too far to the right of Marx.
Well, you get the point. Most of them acted like a bunch of timid and confused first graders, and simply holding leadership posts and doing nothing with them does not constitute leadership.
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