Posted on 11/03/2004 11:54:04 AM PST by aculeus
As someone who supported President Bush for reelection on these pages, I cannot be happier about the election results. Bush's mandate is this time uncontestable. Not only has we won Ohio and Florida quite handily, he probably had a hand in widening the Republican majority in the Senate.
However, this outstanding victory brings a danger with it to the GOP. The danger is a certain kind of hubris that may take the Republicans too far to the right to make it as attractive in the next pair of election cycles. If the GOP knows what's good for it, it would use this victory to lay a claim to the American center, rather than veer to the right.
It is crucial that Bush not mishandle his newfound mandate. The president must keep in mind how intensely half of the country he is to govern dislikes him. But his mandate offers him an opportunity to reach out to the disenchanted part of the country.
The way to do that is to reorganize his cabinet and his agenda -- in significant, not only nominal ways -- along moderate lines. More specifically, it might be useful to replace some of the more controversial figures in the cabinet, and then offer one big policy peace leaf to the left.
First of all, Ashcroft must go. Not because he has done a bad job, but because he scares too many of our countrymen. Indeed, getting rid of Ashcroft might be the surest way to solidify support for the PATRIOT Act and its provisions for fighting terrorism. We need a hawkish Attorney General, but there is no need to make him or her also a religious conservative. Indeed, doing the latter might be counter-productive, as far as public opinion goes, with respect to the former.
Second, it may be time for Secretary Rumsfeld, who in my personal opinion has done a fantastic job these past four years, to graciously get out of the picture. Rumsfeld is 76 years old and is closely associated in the nation's mind with a certain cockiness that characterized the Bush administration planning for post-war Iraq reconstruction.
Importantly in this context, there are enough good hands in the Republican world in which to entrust national defense. I am thinking first and foremost of Rudy Giuliani. His 9/11 leadership places him in a perfect spot to take over America's defense responsibilities. At the same time, introducing a moderate, pro-choice Republican like him could do marvels for national unity.
John McCain is another moderate President Bush should find a way to introduce into his inner circle. Likely Secretary Powell will step down, and Bush would do well to put a welcoming face in Foggy Bottom.
It would also be something of a coup if Bush could get a hawkish Democrat of stature into his cabinet. Evan Bayh and Joe Biden may have too serious a sight on the 2008 Democratic nomination to enter a Republican administration. But Joe Lieberman is a natural person to embrace in this context.
Bush must also make a significant step by way of compromising on one of the central tenets of his agenda. Raising taxes is clearly out of question for him. But a bombshell announcement on, say, stem cell research or immigration, may do wonders to mollify his more intense critics and go some distance towards reunifying the nation. Hopefully, such a move can be sold to his base precisely as such -- as a token of respect for the other half of the nation. Such a gesture would betray another type of genuine patriotism.
In other words, Bush's impressive victory should occasion a reorganization of some of the core principles of his governing philosophy. Or perhaps not so much his governing philosophy as his governing practice. Moreover, Bush must do so aggressively, right from the first days of his second term.
If he avoids the traps of hubris, George W. Bush could make the long promised "Emerging Republican Majority" a reality, by staking a credible claim to the moderate center of the American electorate, with aggressive foreign and economic policies tempered with an inclusive social agenda. If Bush plays his cards wisely, he could keep Democrats out of power for a decade. But to do so, hubris must be avoided.
Copyright © 2004 Tech Central Station - www.techcentralstation.com
this is so ridiculous it is funny. sure. rumsfeld has to go gracefully. ashcroft too. lets make this party look almost democratic since that has obviously been so successful. go get a job reorganizing the dems. they need all the help they can get.
I see. When the GOP loses (Dole), we have to move to the center because we turned off the moderates. When the GOP wins (Bush), we have to move to the center because we might turn off the moderates. "Heads I win, tails you lose."
Shyeah, right.
So the right works and prays its heart out, but the GOP needs to reorganize to reduce their influence.
What we really need to do is shrink the tent a bit and throw the RINOs out unless the bring something we really, really need (like money or the governatorship of the PRK).
Full contents of the screed dismissed accordingly.
If Bush makes ANY of these suggested moves,there will be a third party,or at least a massive number of the electorate who will not vote next time.
Did Bush's support of Arnold or Arlen,two moderates (social liberals) Republicans bring in California or Pennsylvania?
He should have the DOJ, FEC, FCC and FTC go after SeeBSNBCABCFOX and any others that hold licenses as aggressively as he has gone after the terrorists. Their FCC licenses should be pulled and offered to whomever would like to bring real journalism back to the airwaves.
He should remove the press privileges of every major snoozepaper and every reporter who has taken part in the last four or five years of trying to turn this country into a socialist, pus-ridden cesspool instead of the Constitutional Republic that it was founded as.
He should give free rein to Israel to handle any of their problems as they want to and back their decisions up completely with all the might and strength of the United States Armed Forces.
He should tell the PC socialists to take a hike and start pursuing all terrorists with all available means and eliminate them from the face of this earth. This means that if any terrorist bombs or blows up or harms any American or Isreali or US ally's interests or people, we should hunt them down and kill them, then kill their families and then kill their families' families. There is no other way that the Islamofascists will understand. They only understand total, unmitigated brute force.
He should tell the UN to pick a country that they think will support them in the manner they have become accustomed to and move there. Preferably by Inauguration Day, 2005. Tear down the UN building and make a park of where it stands to memorialize and remind all of the folly of joining and supporting socialist, nazi organizations.
He should tell McCain that if he wants to change his ways and become a loyal, truthful and ethical member of the team, he would be welcome, but the second he reverts back to the slimy, liberal backstabber he is now that he would be worse than exiled. If McCain doesn't want to change then he should be totally ignored and if possible, investigated by the DOJ, IRS and FEC (and whoever else), and hounded into bankruptcy and future oblivion. He should not be entrusted with any position of importance within the party or administration.
Bush should direct the FEC, FTC, DOJ, FCC and every other dept. to track down every instance of voter fraud in this and any other elections and prosecute the perpetrators to the very fullest extent of the law- with no leniency for any reason. This should apply to Republican as well as Democrat people and organizations, as well as any other affiliations. Any vote fraud should be pursued with greater tenacity than any war on drugs, since it is a much greater menace to the very foundation of our country.
He should make sure that the US Constitution is the supreme law of the land and no law shall be passed in violation of it. He should assure US citizens of their rights, and not tolerate any non-citizen's violation of any laws. He should use every legal power to make the courts follow the Constitution and not try to "interpret it" or legislate from the bench. The Court is supposed to interpret the laws by the written words of the Consititution, not vice versa.
He should close the borders to all illegal immigration, and pursue any illegal immigrant now in this country, including the servants and nannies of the rich and famous and politicians. Every illegal should be immediately deported, and if there is any question, it can be decided from wherever they are deported to, not while they are languishing in the US under appeals.
He should allow and encourage whichever government organization that is charged with it to bring JF'inKerry up on charges of treason, dereliction of duty and conspiring with the enemy of the United States. If Kerry is found guilty of treason in time of war, he should be summarily shot.
Yup, there certainly are some things that should be changed with his new mandate, but being the nicer, nuanced, more sensitive, more PC President isn't the direction.
And these are just the few at the top of my list. They seem to start getting more aggressive as I continue down the list... [grin].
"I think he should give Dashole Transportation or HHS. John Breaux is worthy of a post too."
With all due respect to your sentiments, no way. Little Tommy is the kind of integrity ogre that you want nowhere NEAR a position of authority, particularly in a Republican cabinet. This man did his level best to destroy our war and self-protection efforts in the days since 9-1-01. Perhaps some have forgotten that, but I haven't.
Do you really think a man so whacked out and bigoted that he once stated that "Conservative Christians are the moral equivalent of the Taliban" deserves a seat in President Bush's cabinet? No way. I wouldn't want Tom Daschle as a crossing guard, much less a cablinet member.
Oh yeah, he'd "really be the guy you could trust to work on your behalf", too.
No way.
Good point, I was just thinking keep your enemies close.
Maybe Lieberman and Breaux.
Nice try, Uriel.
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