Posted on 06/10/2003 4:17:50 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
What the GOP, when it cements its majority needs to do is to focus on the SIZE and SCOPE of government. WE have to take an ax to a large percentage of the Federal system. I remember in 94, the dream of abolishing the Dept of Education, to cite one example. Yet seven years later we find President Bush allowing Ted Kennedy to virtually write the administration's education bill. I'm not criticizing W..merely making the point. Yet, I see positive signs. The GOP, the CONSERVATIVE WING of the GOP is ascendant, and more importantly, is learning to exercise power, ruthlessly if need be. The House is solid conservative, and in good hands for many years to come under DeLay. And I think that the pubbies in the Senate are finally determined to stop the Dems on the issue of judicial nominations. I watched the Rules Committee hearing, and was most heartened. <P. But, as you say, our prime thrust has to be, this electoral cycle, on substantially increasing the GOP majority in the Senate, both so we can overcome any games the Dems play, and more importantly, to keep the so-called GOP moderates from exercising undue influence.
The will of the majority prevails. It matters not what is written on a piece of paper in a law. How many Supreme court decisions does it take to prove that the Constitution says whatever 5 of the 9 justices say it says... today. Next year it may say the opposite. When voters don't like what the Justices rule as they didn't in the first Roosevelt years, they will get new justices who rule as the people want.
It is very simple. Get a majority of the voters to agree with your views. Candidates will come out of the woodwork to support and enact those views. Fail to get majority support, and some candidates may promise you things, but when in office they will do what the majority wants. Does that sound familiar to anyone?
For too many, most, on both side of the isle, it's about power and percs.
I agree totally with this.
The question is, how do we change the mindsets? Part of the answer is in the Ben Franklin quote repeated by several other posters...as long as people can vote themselves money from the treasury, they have no incentive not to, and there's no incentive for the mindset to change; quite the opposite.
I'm not sure how to fix this, because whether it's Social Security, Medicare, prescription drugs, or any number of other perks, too many people now think it's their right to receive money from the government.
Dunno. A heroine of mine, Ayn Rand, came to consider the only appropriate political involvement was to vote. She thought until the philosophy of the country, as expressed by the 'intellectuals', was changed, we could not expect political results. I think she was generally correct and the best we can realistically hope for, regardless of JimRob's solution of destroying the Dems and liberals, is to slow the progression of statism.
Changing a culture will take a very long time....
Yes, yes, yes. !!!!
Thank you for thoughtfully expressing the reality of what we face today.
Marchin' orders!
It would also require them not to rock the consensus -- i.e. have the brains not to make an issue of legalizing crack cocaine or automatic weapons if the voters of the district aren't going to take to those issues.
I count the liberals (lumping in the greenies, the socialists, the anarchists, and other assorted un-American types, etc.) as our primary domestic enemy number one. I count the left-leaning moderates and RINOs as domestic enemy number two.
In the end Jim, the RINOs can be even more of a threat than the Hardcore Commies at the DNC. They inspire Third Party challenges who only take votes away from Republicans and in turn elect DUmmycrats. So we should spend equal focus taking these RINOs out in the primaries and putting conservative candidates on the ballot.
Never Forget
Good post, Jim. Where we can use the libertarians, constitutionalist etc. is in GOP Primary fights. That of course will require them to register as Pubbies. It's a sacrifice guys.
Bump for common sense.
When that becomes more important to them than the next election.
Let me tell you a very strange and telling story. I worked as a stringer for a local radio station during the 2000 election covering the local elections. I was set up at the courthouse to do interviews with the local candidates. We had access to television and the internet and were watching the national returns. Early in the evening Bush was winning the popular vote and Gore had a lead in the electoral college. The county is VERY conservative and VERY republican. At that moment many of the voters and office holders were blasting the antquitity of the electoral college and saying it should be done away with.......Gore was winning electorally . As the evening progressed and the results began turning, the mood swayed the other way.
At least among those conservatives and republicans (some who are lurk and post here) the wisdom of the founding fathers rested in the results that evening, not their wisdom in not founding a democracy but a republic.
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