Posted on 10/01/2005 9:55:37 AM PDT by EveningStar
ping
Truth hurts for some but I see this as dead on from a fiscal perspective.
Good editorial. I agree wholeheartedly.
Stop eating ourselves! Remember that we shouldn't have won without people like Rove and DeLay! We also have a lot of ideas. The problem is that our Congress hasn't realized our conservative agenda. The faster the better on taxes, justice (trials...), defense.
And who is responsible for that? DeLay and Rove are horse trading favors here to keep Bush elected. There is little that makes sense in the fiscal policies of this administration. Tax cuts are nice but you have to cut spending as well. They want it both ways.
Maybe I haven't followed matters closely enough, but I don't think DeLay's very unfortunate comments on the Katrina spending are typical of his usual behavior. Also, it's one thing to be conservative but another to publicly attack the leadership.
On balance, I would have said that DeLay has been a reliable force for conservative values over the years, and I don't feel happy about shooting him down over one episode.
"hasn't realized our conservative agenda"
Brother, I don't want to get off topic but it appears Republican Conservatives are a minority, except when they need to be elected.
I thought we were not supposed to have ideas other than what the constitution says. Ideas means government programs. Conservatism is defined by an ideal, not an idea.
Ex. But even when Mr. Bush has pressed for reform, as he did this year on Social Security, Republicans on Capitol Hill have whined and resisted. If Mr. Bush failed to mobilize the country, it was in part because Congressional Republicans were so vocal in their caterwauling.
And therein is the real problem. The GOP is not short on ideas. It is short of will in the Legislatures.
The WSJ should be embarrassed by this column, they could and have done far better in past.
And, btw, I'm resistent to forces in the base behaving as immorally as Dems because Delay committed one, apparently on their parts, unpardonable error. Delay has been effective, he is a conservative. He has been responsible for conservatives successes on whole in past. And I denounce any that seek his head on either aisle. Delay and Pence can co-exist in the Party and I am fond of BOTH.
It was time for Dick Armey to go when he dismissed the idea of eliminating the Federal gas tax because the Oil companies would only "raise the price" of gas, instead of passing the savings on to the customer.
Au contraire, the republican leadership deficit is not a matter of ideas as much as it the default elevation of apparatchiks to positions of power.
Both DeLay and Frist are reliable "conservatives" and this excuses most of their excesses and all of their vapidity. Both are "good party men". In this regard, the republican party is becoming more like the democrats every day; it doesn't work except for those who know how to manipulate the party system for their own benefit.
If you require proof of this, then ask yourself this question: how is it that DeLay and Frist, both mediocre personalities and talents, can be elevated to such high levels of leadership, yet a Rudy Guiliani cannot be considered for the republican nomination for President? Aren't we supposed to be the defenders of the maxim "the best man available for the job?".
We have ideas aplenty, what we lack are men willing to risk their positions to fight for them.
I have always like DeLay. I have a problem with his budget cutting ideas, but not with his ability to attack Democrats. We always say we want the Republicans to stand up and fight. Well, DeLay is one of the few out there with a spine and people are jumping ship because of the lib media cabal and a dumb comment about the budget.
I do agree with the editorial writer who sees peril and plague ahead for the GOP. We are a conservative party, a party of ideas and philosophy. These ideas entail small government, faith and values, liberty and freedom. Right now we have a bunch of country club RINO's living high on our taxes and saying "We aren't the Democrats," and "Praise Jesus" at election time.
Now, the GOP congressional leadership is allowing gay rights hate crimes votes to take place and Bush is lethal on borders, political correctness, and spending. We will not be able to nationalize the election next year.
"And therein is the real problem. The GOP is not short on ideas. It is short of will in the Legislatures."
I agree with your idea, but would expand on it by noting that the GOP has become a conservative marketing organization, not a conservative political party. Very good at marketing the idea of conservative ideas. But in no rush to actually implement them.
To date, my political party has not stepped into the vacuum that liberal Republicans have left in their wake, but that time is probably coming. Not in time for 2006, but 2008 might be very interesting.
Democrats have ideas??
Jeesh!
But what it really means is, "same old, same old".. and George Bush is really Bill Clinton with family values and a classy wife.... that resembles Alfred E. Neuman(Madd Mag.) a lot..
Not a very conservative statement, true, but then, I'm no conservative..
"Tax cuts are nice but you have to cut spending as well."
Reagan argued for both tax and spending cuts. He got his tax cuts, but the democrat controlled legislature largely prevented the spending reductions.
Bush has had the ability to both because his party controlled the legislative majorities, but it has been the leaders of the legislature that refused to do battle with Bush/Rove. Including DeLay.
I'd agree with you on this, but also note that in my opinion the failure to rush implementation is rooted in fear. In their mind, they do not jeopardize their power by holding down the status quo. When you risk implementation of new ideas, you risk the chaos in the interim that could rebound against them next election before voters adapt positively to the changes.
This is why I firmly believe the biggest problem we have in pushing conservative agendas is that many of our representatives are too timid to trust the policies that sell in elections, will sell in implementation. And even if they will risk that, they fear the resultant press distorting the agenda.
This is why I'd favor our representatives forgoing the artificial environment of Washington, to reside in their own homes within state 11 out of 12 months of the year. It would restore proper perspective they lose in D.C.
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