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.
Ah...yes...I am sure, though, that he loved reading the "cat fight" posts the other day!!
I am not so sure that Mrs. Snow would be quite so amused.
BTW...I you have the stomach for it...be sure and watch the replay of Newswatch tonight on Fox...I am watching it now...and I am about to throw up.
There is officially not ONE of the panelists that is conservative....they are all liberal weinies..and their discussion about Murtha just now...was disgusting!
Beware of the "knee jerk" reaction!
"Sadly, even the more conservative Senators and Representatives are playing the game. Re-election first"
So let me get this straight: our Republican Congresspeople don't listen to their constituents, only to some polls, so they can get re-elected???? Sorry, but that's democracy. If you don't agree with your Congressperson, and your Congressperson gets re-elected, doesn't that mean most of his constituents don't agree with you? Sad to say, because I agree with most of these posts, and with The Tony.
"even those I've admired, like George Allen. I will no longer contribute until Senators, especially, begin to stand up for the reasons we elected them'
And also, they need to start publicly blasting Dem positions (or the lack thereof). Loudly. And start sticking up for the Pres, in this time of war.
What is wrong with these jerks?
Thanks for ping. Sorry, I don't trust Tony Snow.
I'm curious, why?
Yikes! :-) I will be hiding under my desk! LOL!
OMG! I JUST searched that...HOLY CRAP! I'm pinging the Posse!
A Thread already exists on it, but for my FRamigos that I'm pinging to this...here's a little snippet from Byron York's article on NRO...
There has been a major setback for people working to secure the full public release of the report by Clinton-era independent counsel David Barrett.
(snip)
But the investigation did not stop there, because during the course of the probe, .
(snip)
Now, the language of the House-Senate conference, giving the authority over release of the report back to the judges, seems likely to guarantee that Section 5, and perhaps other parts of the report as well, will never be released. It is a major defeat for Barrett, who last month told National Review that,
OMG! This just fits RIGHT in to the problem with these SPINELESS, BALL-LESS TRAITORS that have an (R) after their name, but squat to pee just like a DemonRAT!
Just what good is it having these (R)'s elected if they behave like this?!?!
No different than if Queen Cankle herself was on the Judiciary Throne!
Screw this! The Game is rigged, so time for a NEW game!
Time to DUMP OUT the 'RATs nest that is the House and Senate! Out with them all, confiscate their Pensions AND "War Chests"!!!
Might as well get rid of the guy in La Hacienda Blanco too, since he's more concerned with Illegal Infiltrators actually GETTING HERE, and not stopping what amounts to an Invasion of America, than he is with his oath to
Really? I will have to catch that on the replay tomorrow at 6:30.
Jim Pinkerton is usually very trustworthy on the right.
Cal Thomas can go either way.
Neil might as well be open about being a DNC covert operative (does this mean that I will be investigated by Patrick Fitzgerald?)
And Jane glorifies any horrible thing that someone in the MSM does.
Would that be the one that leaves you with your jaw wired shut and kicking yourself :)
Yup! LOL
HAH!
I found you!
Don't ever count me out from voting-- no way!
Shoot, tired, I thought those disguised were working. Back to the drawing board :)
LOL!
:-D
:)
LMAO!
I'm glad somone in the media finally said it. They are cowards and not doing what they were elected to do.
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