The conservative revolution of 1994 led by House Republicans is DEAD. All that is left is "Hey, we're not as bad as that other party".
If spending patterns from 94-98 remained the same, there wouldn't be any deficit to cut in half, and we could have additional tax cut rates.
Further this issue is more than a matter of deficits. The conservative revolution was supposed to be about devolving power and control away from the federal government. There is no sign of that anymore.
Conservatism does not mean having Republicans rather than Democrats running a bloated federal bureaucracy that seeks to continually exert control over every aspect of our lives. No Child Left Behind is a perfect example of that-"we're going to run education but we'll do it right because we're Republicans". Wrong. education is the purview of local control, and the trend should be toward reducing the Fed's control. That's true conservatism - not just voting against Al Gore.
"That's true conservatism - not just voting against Al Gore."
If you want "true conservatism" put up true conservative candidates, put out a meaningful message and prepare to take your lumps until the word gets out.
This means putting up candidates against the incumbent RINOS and be prepared to roll in the mud with them. We think our message is enough to win. It isn't. We have to be prepared to spend billions to wrest away control from the RINOS and the RATS.
Until we do that, we will be seeing a lot more of the McCains of the world.