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The Paradox of Unified Control–How Conservatives Can Win Without Bush
Vanity | 1/31/2004 | Self

Posted on 01/31/2004 3:07:29 PM PST by Kevin Curry

Can conservatives win in November if Bush loses the White House? The easy answer is "No." The thinking answer is quite different. The easy answer overestimates the power of a Democrat president who must work with a Republican-controlled Congress. The thinking answer is that gridlock is often preferable to a government shifting into high gear regardless of whether a Republican or Democrat is at the wheel. And gridlock is always preferable to progressivism, whatever its form.

Liberal nanny state progressivism is a rouged tart wearing a high tight skirt standing on the street corner, who whispers "$20 for a good time." Compassionate conservative progressivism is the wholesome girl next door in a county fair booth that reads, "$20 for a kiss"–only the bargain is even worse, because the government forces you to pay, and someone else gets the good time or the kiss.

Neither form of progressivism is acceptable to a conservative who has better and more profitable things to do with his time and money.

The key to understanding why the thinking answer attaches such small value to a Bush win this November is to understand the paradox of unified control. Common sense suggests that conservatives are best served when Republicans have unified control over the two branches that write the checks, pay the bills, and write and enforce the laws: the executive and the legislative. That was the delirious hope of conservatives, including myself, who cheered in November 2000 as Bush won the White House by the narrowest of margins and the Republican Party won combined control of the Senate and the House in 2002.

But this delirious optimism has turned steadily to dark dismay as Bush recklessly and heedlessly cranked the conservative agenda hard left and smashed it into reefs of trillion-dollar Medicare entitlements, record deficit spending, incumbent criticism-stifling campaign finance reform, illegal alien amnesty-on-the-installment-plan, NEA budget increases and the like.

Where has the Republican co-captain –Congress–been as Bush has pursed this reckless course? Mostly sleeping or meekly assisting. Would a Republican Congress have tolerated these antics from a Democratic president? Absolutely not! Why has a Republican Congress tolerated and even assisted Bush to do this? Because he is a Republican and for no other reason.

Thus, the paradox of unified control: a president can most easily and effectively destroy or compromise the dominant agenda of his own party when his own party controls Congress. Bush has demonstrated the potency of this paradox more powerfully than any president in recent memory–although Clinton had his moments too, as when he supported welfare reform.

Does this mean conservatives should desire a Democrat president when Congress is controlled by Republicans? No. Conservatives should desire a consistently conservative Republican president who with grace and inspiration will lead a Republican-controlled Congress to enact reforms that will prove the clear superiority of the conservative, small government agenda by its fruits. Bush's tax cuts are a wonderful achievement, and have had a powerful stimulating effect on the economy. But imagine how much better the result if he had not set forces in motion to neutralize this achievement by getting his trillion dollar Medicare boondoggle enacted.

Ten steps forward and ten steps back is may be how Republicans dance the "compassionate conservative" foxtrot, but in the end it merely leads us back to the same sorry place we started. It is not an improvement.

When a Republican president compromises the conservative agenda and is enabled to do so by a Republican Congress too dispirited or disorganized to resist, the next best answer might well be for a Democrat to hold the White House. Nothing would steel the courage of a Republican Congress and enliven its spirit more than to face off against a Democrat bent on implementing a liberal agenda.

Any Democrat unfortunate enough to win the White House this year will face the most depressing and daunting task of any Democrat president ever to hold the office. The Iraq War will become his war, and he will be scorned and repudiated if he does not with grace, power, and dignity bring it to a satisfactory conclusion. That means he will have to conduct the war in much the same way that Bush is conducting it now–he will not have the latitude to do much else. If he conducts the war in the manner that Bush is conducting it, his own base will abandon him.

Any Democrat president will also have to choose between spending cuts or raising taxes. If he chooses the latter, he will see his support plummet as the economic recovery sputters and stalls. If he chooses the former, he will dispirit his base supporters. In either case he will strengthen the hand of the Republican controlled-Congress and see Republican strength enhanced in the Senate and House.

If SCOTUS vacancies open up, he will see his nominees scrutinized and resisted with a zeal that can only be expected and carried out by a Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee that has suffered through years of kidney-punches and eye-gouging in judicial appointment hearings by a Democrat minority (it would help immensely if the spineless, Kennedy-appeasing Orrin Hatch were replaced as Committee Chair).

As his frustrations grow, his support plummets, and the Republican Party adds to its numbers in Congress, a Democrat president would be viewed as opportunistic roadkill by zealots in his own party, including and especially the ice-blooded and cruelly-scheming Hillary Clinton. In the run-up to the 2008 election Democrats would be faced with the choice of continuing to support a sure loser in the incumbent or a scheming hard-left alternative in Hillary. The blood-letting in the Democratic Party through the primary season and into the convention would be grievous and appalling, committed in plain view of the American public–who could be expected to vomit both of them out.

That would leave the field open for the Republican presidential candidate to achieve a victory of historic proportions in 2008. With greater Republican strength in Congress, the opportunity would again present itself for this nation to finally achieve the dream of implementing a real and substantial conservative agenda, of actually shrinking government in a large and meaningful way.

The key to achieving that dream, of course, is to carefully select an electable conservative for 2008 who will remain true to the conservative vision and not cause conservatism to fall victim again to the paradox of unified control.

It is not too soon to start looking for that candidate.


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KEYWORDS: gop
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To: Neets

741 posted on 02/01/2004 4:21:39 PM PST by Howlin (If we don't post, will they exist?)
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To: Jim Robinson
THANK YOU JIM!
742 posted on 02/01/2004 4:21:48 PM PST by hoosiermama (prayers for all)
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To: Neets
Uh, read 727.

I am confident, that not all government employees are involved in the military, as you well know.

743 posted on 02/01/2004 4:22:52 PM PST by Joe Hadenuf (I failed anger management class, they decided to give me a passing grade anyway)
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To: Jim Robinson
Jim,

We should add another link under each post so the link bar reads, ". . . View Replies | Report Abuse | Report Troll. . ."

Best,

JS
744 posted on 02/01/2004 4:23:30 PM PST by jmstein7
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To: Jim Robinson
Thanks, Jim.
745 posted on 02/01/2004 4:23:36 PM PST by sinkspur (Adopt a shelter dog or cat! You'll save one life, and maybe two!)
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To: sinkspur; Jim Robinson; WKB; PhiKapMom; My2Cents; MeekOneGOP; dixiechick2000
And I've given every person on this web site plenty of advance notice (I've been saying it for the last three years) that FR will NOT be used to help replace Bush with a Democrat. Period. End of story.

The man has spoken. Spread it around.

Thanks for the ping sinkspur.

Thank you, Jim. Several of us have been trying to battle the Bush-bashers with no end in sight. Now you have given us one.

*ping your lists yall*

746 posted on 02/01/2004 4:24:13 PM PST by onyx (Your secrets are safe with me and all my friends.)
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To: Jim Robinson
Those who have their noses out of joint over the Bush administration's fiscal and social policies need to read George Will's latest column.

They can find it here:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1069345/posts

747 posted on 02/01/2004 4:24:35 PM PST by quidnunc (Omnis Gaul delenda est)
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To: Jim Robinson
Bravo, and thank you Jim....I needed you to say that today.
748 posted on 02/01/2004 4:25:53 PM PST by mystery-ak (*terrorism has been exaggerated*....Kerry....We must defeat him, our lives depend on it.)
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To: Joe Hadenuf
You said you think the only ones who work hard are the ones who are "in the military".

A lot of my co-workers never were in the military and they work pretty damn hard.

I have two sisters who are civil servants who don't work at military installations and they work pretty damn hard.

How prejudicial of you to use that broad brush of yours and paint most, if not all, civilian servants in such a light?

Have you heard lately what Rumsfeld is doing to civil servants who work for DOD???? HE's GUTTING THE FORCE!!!!

Now, pray tell.

What do YOU do for a living??

I told you what I do, now it's YOUR TURN.
749 posted on 02/01/2004 4:26:31 PM PST by Neets (Complainers change their complaints, but they never reduce the amount of time spent in complaining.~)
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To: Common Tator
TinHat stuff - Clinton will never be confirmed, or even nominated, as a member of the SC. How many nominations had their license revoked? How many members were condemned for lying berore a Federal judge?
750 posted on 02/01/2004 4:29:31 PM PST by Alissa
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To: Jim Robinson
Remove my account.
751 posted on 02/01/2004 4:29:53 PM PST by keri
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To: Howlin
Don't pay any attention.He's envious and clueless. I am thrilled my paycheck and retirement will starve him to death.
752 posted on 02/01/2004 4:29:58 PM PST by gatorbait (Yesterday, today and tomorrow......The United States Army)
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To: JoeSchem
Bush's tax cuts are a fraud, which we'll find out in April,

Care to back this up, or do you just go around flinging things out and expect to be believed on your own say-so?

Most of us don't wait until April, btw. The responsible among us are figuring taxes now, and if we owe, merely waiting for the deadline to pay. If we get a refund, why file asap.

753 posted on 02/01/2004 4:30:02 PM PST by cyncooper
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To: Joe Hadenuf
Oh and don't include your part-time job at ElPeePee either.
754 posted on 02/01/2004 4:30:07 PM PST by Neets (Complainers change their complaints, but they never reduce the amount of time spent in complaining.~)
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To: sinkspur
And I've given every person on this web site plenty of advance notice (I've been saying it for the last three years) that FR will NOT be used to help replace Bush with a Democrat. Period. End of story.

The Man has spoken. Spread it around.

Thank goodness and thanks for the ping! The thought of Kerry or any other Dem in the White House sends bolt of terror right through me... we need to all work together on the right to make sure that doesn't happen!

755 posted on 02/01/2004 4:31:04 PM PST by Tamzee (W '04..... America may not survive a Democrat at this point in our history....)
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To: gatorbait
Aren't teachers on the taxpayer's dime?
756 posted on 02/01/2004 4:32:18 PM PST by Howlin (If we don't post, will they exist?)
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To: Neets
Joe Hadenuf has a part-time job at LP? Do tell.
757 posted on 02/01/2004 4:32:18 PM PST by Miss Marple
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To: Neets
Now, pray tell. What do YOU do for a living?? I told you what I do, now it's YOUR TURN.

OK, big government is good. Are you happy?

What do I do? Without going into detail, I fight the epic fraud that is created by this governement approved invasion of *millions* of illegals aliens into our country, combating the never ending fraud created by these millions that are costing tax payers many *billions.* In all honesty, you just can't imagine what it's doing to this country.

I am glad you have a tax payer paid, government position.

758 posted on 02/01/2004 4:34:05 PM PST by Joe Hadenuf (I failed anger management class, they decided to give me a passing grade anyway)
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To: Jim Robinson
Thank you!!!
759 posted on 02/01/2004 4:34:12 PM PST by Fawnn (With Bush, our RepublicCAN stand for something again!!!)
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To: jwalsh07
We have started a campaign to get Arlen Spector to state his position on the Democrat Judicial Committee memos. Spector is facing a challenge from the more conservative, Toomey and needs to be pressured on where he stands. I have asked the PA Freepers to start a letter writing campaign to local newspapers in PA, asking for Spector's statement.
760 posted on 02/01/2004 4:34:48 PM PST by Eva
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