I don't think this election is the time to be looking at changing the national course. Right now I think we're in a pause as the rough edges of the Conservative Revolution have been knocked off. Our own fringe elements on the right have been largely dealt with, people like Buchanan, Falwell, Barr, maybe even DeLay (though I think he got railroaded unjustly). There are a few who are still pretty far out there, but they are largely relegated to fringe status.
Despite what the DBM and moonbats are trying to say the last election wasn't about Iraq or rewarding the left. It was about the most conservative elements of the conservative coalition punishing the Republicans for not being perfect. They had their temper tantrum and I think now most of them regret it, particularly since truly good conservatives like Santorum and Allen got thrown out too. It was baby and bath water time. And worst of all the truly ugly RINOs are still there, like Hagel.
The Dhimmicrats have also badly overreached IMHO, with Nazi Pelosi acting as America's Mother in Law, John Murtha even making the Washington Post question his sanity and competence and Jon F'n Carry being Jon F'n Carry just three examples. They have an even uglier cast of characters than our bad actors and their act is beginning to rub the American people the wrong way. Worse they can't get anything done and any attempt to point the finger at the Republicans only highlights how obstructionist they themselves have been for the last six years.
No, this next election needs to be about competence, about cleaning up "bloated bureaucracy and persuad(ing) liberals to reorganize and improve operational efficiency." There needs to be a pause in the ideological combat at the margins while we concentrate on actually cleaning up some of the obvious problems in the bureaucracy. Romney is clearly the most able candidate in that regard, not only given his history as Governor but his turnaround of the failing Olympics in Utah and the businesses he did the same thing to out in the real world. I don't think the American people are ready to embrace the moonbats who are now in charge of the Dhimmicrat party but they don't want to turn right back to the right again.
They long for someone who doesn't promise an immediate resumption of the struggle between right and left and concentrates on just getting things done. Clinton sold that notion in '92, but then it turned out he was incompetent at everything but public relations (and lying).
Settling for competence is about where most of the nation is this time around, so long as the left doesn't gain more power. And if they don't then that's about the best we can hope for in the immediate future. We need to catch our breath and find new leaders who truly can carry the banner of Reagan because they believe in it, not because it's the expedient thing to do politically. Better yet we may find someone with a broader vision that builds on Reagan's legacy and takes us to a new place. But we need time for that to happen.
Beautiful post. Phsstpok! Worth printing out and reading repeatedly for the next two years, and worth sharing with every Republican friend we all have as we discuss the candidates.
You sure nailed it here. I am starting to see some light admits all the the gloom. The Democrats did NOT run against the Iraq war. Then they went right to DC and have done nothing for the last 2 months BUT posture on Iraq. Some how I think a lot of "betrayed Conservatives" and average Americans are feeling quite a bit of Buyers Remorse now watching their "Heirs of Ronald Reagan" go to DC and morph into John Kerry Jr.
I was afraid the Democrats would go to DC and actually do some things to appear "Centrists" but it is becoming apparent they are far too captive of their moon bat extremist base to actually govern on what they pretended to run on.
The best tool the Republican have for 2008 IS the current activities of the Democrat Congressional Leadership. They ran AGAINST DC in 2006 then went TO DC and turned right into the same old Democrats we all KNEW they were really at heart. They lied their way into power and are too stupid to realize the average American voter remembers, and real does NOT like being lied to. Consider the lesson from what Clinton SAID in 1992, and then DID in 1993. It bought the election revolution of 1994.
God bless Mitch McConnell. A LOT is resting on his shoulders. IF he can keep 41 Republicans together to simply filibuster most everything the Democrats dream up, their 100%ers may just do to them what ours did to us.
"The path to a GOP majority must be paved with solutions to the real problems of real people. Republicans should talk about expanding health savings accounts and educating Americans about the benefits they offer. They should commit to sunsetting government programs every four years unless continuing them can be justified. They should pledge the investment necessary to develop renewable fuels and alternative energy. They should challenge Democrats to tackle the burgeoning tax code and fight for tax simplification on behalf of hardworking taxpayers."
"Republicans need a spirited, intellectually based rebuttal to every piece of Democratic legislation and an alternative to every policy -- not a new parliamentary maneuver."
"My polls show that Democrats now hold a perceived advantage with voters not just on reducing deficits and balancing the budget but on an issue long seen as a GOP strength: ending wasteful spending. That alone should jar Republicans into taking a fresh approach."
"Step one should be the abolition of earmarks for hometown and home-state projects. Nothing will undermine the lobbyist culture more than a clear and definitive statement that there will never again be a highway project like the Alaskan "bridge to nowhere."
"Step two is to once again stand for accountability, a principle abandoned in the last Congress. If Republicans are serious about demonstrating that they understand what America wants, they will support a balanced-budget amendment -- but with an important twist: The declining Social Security surplus couldn't be used as a numbers game to "reduce" shortfalls, and there would be a clause making it difficult to raise taxes."
"Republicans lost their congressional majority because they lost touch with what Americans really want. As a pollster, I rarely hear voters call for smaller government. They tell me that they want more efficient and more effective government. (Note to Republicans: There is no starker symbol of Washington's inefficiency and ineffectiveness than the federal government's inability to control our borders and prevent illegal immigration.) Last year, Republicans campaigned locally and lost nationally.
"Relying on local issues to define elections at a time when national matters dominate public concerns is a losing strategy. With 20 months until the next election, Republicans have a responsibility as the minority party, as the opposition party, to prove themselves as once again worthy of public trust. They must adopt a bold agenda to mirror the public's desire for bold change. Anything less and they will fail not only themselves but also the country."
WoW Phsstpok. What a clear and right-on anaylsis. It should be the first chapter in a guidebook for the GOP.
This weekly thread is so good that I normally just read and don't comment but kudos to you.
If you dont tell us in your next post how Duncan Hunter is the answer to all that ills us, I am going to lose my temper, buddy!!
(Pukin takes a swig of coffee)
Nice post.
Sorry, for the confusion.
I was referring to redirecting Dem efforts to wave the white flag. The next President will have to lead and not be led. I meant that Mitt didn't have the proven ability to sway Dems to cooperate. It's harder in DC than on Beacon Hill.
I agree.