Posted on 12/03/2005 6:27:44 AM PST by governsleastgovernsbest
By Tony Snow
Dec 3, 2005
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- When Democrats gibber about Republicans' writhing in a culture of corruption, they're on to something -- but not what they think. The Republican Party in Washington is in trouble not because it's overrun by crooks, but because it's packed with cowards -- and has degenerated into a caricature of the party that swept to power 11 years ago promising to take on the federal bureaucracy and liberate the creative genius of American society.
The collapse stems from the simplest and most natural of causes, the survival instinct. Within months of seizing power in 1995, Republicans began backing away from Big Ideas, from tort reform to the necessary overhaul of the Social Security system. They started consulting pollsters to assay "correct" issues and positions. They played it safe -- or so they thought.
Over time, imagination-grabbing ideas melted away. Gone was the Reaganite breadth of vision, and in its place stood the musty idol of Incumbency. Republicans drew the wrong morals from the decline and fall of Newt Gingrich. They thought his boldness got him in trouble, and chose to crib plays from the Bill Clinton playbook -- tacking left, at least oratorically, so as to appease, rather than confront, their critics.
Hence, George W. Bush's "compassionate conservatism" -- a slogan that exceeded skeptics' worst expectations. That phrase, aimed at reassuring suburban white moms and queasy left-wing Republicans, became a white flag on the core issue of government size and might. Bush insiders even began boasting about "big government" conservatism -- oblivious to the fact that big government does not conserve or preserve; it crushes and digests, devouring institutions that challenge its supremacy.
Leaders in the Party of Lincoln stopped talking about people, and started talking about programs and expenditures. They justified head-snapping shifts in policy by claiming the need to take issues "off the table." The multi-trillion dollar Medicare "reform" is a case in point. It was designed less to save a system than to deny Democrats a talking point. Yet, the only things Republicans really took off the table were their moral authority and the loyalty of their partisans.
This helps explain one of the great ironies of the age. We live in what ought to be an era of Republican triumphalism. The president's one reliable bit of domestic-policy conservatism, his tax-cut agenda, has succeeded brilliantly. The most recent Commerce Department figures peg the third quarter economic growth rate at a sizzling 4.3 percent -- despite the ravages of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the oil shocks that followed.
Republicans have won the battle over whether centralized bureaucracies can eradicate poverty, or perform social services more efficiently than private or volunteer operations. Throughout the country, the same patterns appear: Where elected officials govern with a light touch and without imposing onerous tax and regulatory burdens, prosperity flourishes -- and people flock to the scene. "progressive" states, on the other hand, are becoming empty husks, with more rigid class distinctions than in any other section of the country.
The GOP also wins big on values. Virtually every time the ACLU files a lawsuit, Democrats lose supporters. Despite these advantages, however, the GOP founders. Its Washington potentates simply refuse to embrace the party's ideals or successes (including the war). They have forgotten the most important rule of political survival: If you want to remain an incumbent for long, you don't jettison your principles. You act on them.
When House Speaker Denny Hastert broke arms to secure votes for a pork-packed highway bill, calling the legislation a "jobs bill," it was an embarrassment. When the president signed a campaign-finance bill he called unconstitutional, he seemed to lack not only conviction, but vision.
Fortunately, irate constituents roused some conservatives from their dogmatic slumbers. Young Republicans rebelled against the apostasy of their elders, especially in the matter of the federal budget, and state parties seized the initiative on everything from spending limitations to school choice.
Capitol Hill Republicans now admit their Democratic colleagues don't want peace -- they want the Alamo. So the GOP is fighting back. Hastert approved calling the bluff of anti-victory Democrats last week by demanding a floor vote on the idea of vamoosing Iraq immediately. He scored another triumph this week by restoring the good name of the National Christmas Tree.
Who knows, he may even figure out the Paradox of Incumbency. Politicians who run just to protect incumbency may save their seats, but only by destroying their party's heart and soul. If you really want to build lasting power in politics, you need to forget about mere incumbency -- and remember the principles that got you elected in the first place.
Delay as President???
Well that would REALLY send Dems off the deep end .. LOL!
**Capitol Hill Republicans now admit their Democratic colleagues don't want peace -- they want the Alamo. So the GOP is fighting back.**
You got it, Tony! Keep pushing the GOP!
No, it is a bad idea. The Republican Party as a whole, nation-wide, needs to be sent a message in 2006. Otherwise, it is just the same old crap over and over. Conservatives should sit out 2006 or vote solidly against Republicans. The message is, "we put you in there, we can take you out."
Boy, did Tony hit this one out of the park!
Sticking to pronciple isn't bullying.
Don't let Democrats convince you that surrender is the only way to be liked.
He sure did. And I must say it came as a huge surprise to me. I've always thought of Tony as a decent, good-hearted person, but perhaps as something of a softy, in tone if not in substance.
But he sure came out with all guns a-blazin' today! Makes me wonder where it came from?
The GOP "is in trouble . . . because it's packed with cowards." Ouch!
A point forgotten by the GOP incumbents. The more they 'tack' left based on daily polls and stray from the GOP farm to cover their own butts, the more they resemble the dims. IF President Bush can get one more Supreme appointment, there will be little incentive to re elect the incumbents. The idea of throwing them out of office will become more inviting. Sometimes one has to back up before one can move forward.
Snow cannot bring himself to admit that the democrat and republican parties are one and the same. I suspect he knows it.
'2006 vote solidly against Republicans'
that's like cutting off your nose to spite your face! I suggest it's better to start calling, emailing, rallying..whatever....to let incumbent Repubs know 'the people' are not happy. I, for one, do not want to help elect any liberal Democrats! Problem seems to be that too many people (Repubs) who are not happy.....will talk but not act.
?????
Republicans are not, for the most part, the cut and run surrender types, which the Democrats most certainly are.
Thanks for the ping, GL. It is an excellent piece. Never compromise first principles. A lesson the Pubs have yet to learn.
Paul
vote solidly against Republicans. The message is, "we put you in there, we can take you out."
Unbelievably ignorant about the nature of what republicans are up against. Have some faith in them. Most rep pols are absolutely terrific people.
Where were articles like this five years and a trillion dollars ago?
Too true. Let's hope there's still time.
Excellent!
Congress is sending those spending bills to the President. And while it's true he could veto them, it's also true that the Republican Congress should be expected to do some of the heavy lifting when it comes to the conservative agenda. Instead they have shifted the entire burden to the White House, either waiting to get on board those policies that appear popular or to run for the hills when the fight looks tough. Their performance has been abysmal and they are as vacuous as the Democrats when it comes to leadership.
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