Lots of Conservative Silver Linings

While most Republicans woke up this morning lamenting Armageddon Tuesday, some of us didn’t lose any sleep over the election results. Happy at the prospect of two years with Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi running Congress? Hardly. But there are a lot of silver linings behind these otherwise dark clouds…

* The single, most important lesson here: Democrats didn’t win; Republicans lost. And they didn’t just lose; they were routed. Voters didn’t reward Democrats, they punished Republicans. Badly. This wasn’t the country saying it wanted to go further Left; it was the country saying Republicans had already taken the country too far Left. This wasn’t about taking the country in a new direction; it was about correcting the GOP’s course.

* This wasn’t swing voters swinging over to the Left. This was conservative voters swinging back to the Right. This was “burning the village down to save it.” Conservatives didn’t necessarily stay home, though certainly many did. But they did find other ways to protest the GOP’s leftward tilt. It’ll be interesting to see the “under-vote” in this year’s congressional races. That would be the number of ballots cast where a vote in the congressional race was left blank.

* Yesterday’s election was a repudiation of George W. Bush’s brand of “compassionate conservatism.” It was also a repudiation of waging a politically correct war with one hand self-tied behind your back. No American soldier’s life is worth a mosque. And American generals, not American lawyers should be running the war. You’re either all in…or get out.

* The Democrats, of course, are taking all the wrong lessons out of yesterday’s results, a fact which can’t help but help Republicans regain their bearings and regain their majorities two years from now. Democrats will over-reach, as is their nature. The big question is whether or not the GOP will reposition itself to take advantage of the opportunity sure to come in 2008.

* Had yesterday’s reckoning with conservatives happened in 2008 instead of 2006, Republicans would have likely lost not only Congress, but the White House, as well. Best that the lesson was taught to Republicans now than later.

* The entire House Republican leadership team should now resign - from Denny Hastert on down. It’s time to hand the ball off to Reps. John Shadegg and Mike Pence. Had House GOP members done that last January when they had the chance, they may have avoided the disaster they suffered yesterday.

* Question: Now that Democrats have wrested control of Congress from the Republicans, how long do you think it will be before we see helicopters airlifting the last U.S. service personnel from the roof of the American embassy in Baghdad?

* Do you think the Republican establishment will FINALLY have learned not to put its fate in the hands of a Dole? Bob Dole gave Republicans the embarrassing 1996 presidential defeat, and his wife Liddy, who was put in charge of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) this cycle, coached the team to the crushing Senate losses a decade later.

* The biggest victory in losing yesterday? The defeat of liberal Sen. Lincoln Chafee (ACU Lifetime Rating: 37) in Rhode Island. Not only was the Senate’s most liberal Republican purged from the ranks, but the Republican Party’s establishment got a kick right in the shorts, as well. Recall that the NRSC, the RNC and the White House pulled out all the stops to defeat Chafee’s conservative challenger in the GOP primary just two months ago, saying the party had to sacrifice principle for electoral victory. As it turned out, they got neither. Conservative Republican voters in Rhode Island got their revenge.

* As did conservative Republican voters in Pennsylvania, where Sen. Rick Santorum was upbraided for famously saving liberal Republican Sen. Arlen Specter’s bacon two years ago in his GOP primary race against conservative Rep. Pat Toomey. Payback’s a…

* As did conservative voters in Ohio, where Sen. Mike DeWine (ACU Lifetime Rating: 80) got spanked, at least in part, for his role in the infamous Gang of 14 which stopped the Republican majority from deploying the “nuclear option” and ending the Democrat blockade of judicial nominations.

* Republican Sen. Conrad Burns out in Montana got hit by conservatives for not only drifting too far left on the Earmark Express, but for getting too tied up in the Jack Abramoff insider scandal. Any Montanan who “goes native” in Washington, DC is gonna have some big problems.

* When a strong social conservative such as Sen. Jim Talent loses in a bedrock state of social conservatism such as Missouri over the social issue of embryonic stem cell research, it’s time to rejigger the conservative legislative priorities and get back to the basics of taxes, spending and national defense.

* Perhaps the most devastating loss of the evening will end up being Sen. George Allen in Virginia, a race which will likely be “too close to call” for quite some time…with the balance of power in the Senate on the line. Allen was the toast of the town just two short year’s ago after riding herd on the extremely successful GOP effort that resulted in a 55-45 Republican majority in the Senate in 2004. And he was fast-tracked to be the conservative choice in the early 2008 GOP presidential contest. Those hopes are now gone, even if he does somehow miraculously hold onto his Senate seat. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

* Republicans wouldn’t have lost the Senate, if in fact they do end up losing the Senate, had Republican Tom Kean Jr. won in New Jersey. Kean, you’ll recall, is the Republican candidate who called for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s resignation in the campaign. Now the Left might hate Rumsfeld, but conservatives don’t. Not a smart political move there.

* One bright light in the Senate contests: conservative Republican Sen. John Ensign whupped Jimmy Carter’s kid’s butt in Nevada. There’s nothing quite like beating a Carter for conservatives.

* Oh, and let’s not forget that little Democrat dust-up in Connecticut. Remember, Democrats are crowing that yesterday’s victories were a victory for the anti-war movement. But former Democrat Sen. Joe Lieberman came back as an Independent to crush the Left’s anti-war candidate yesterday, 50-40 percent.

* You gotta believe there was a serious anti-Republican backlash out in the Colorado gubernatorial race, where outgoing Gov. Bill Owens sold out the Right by supporting efforts to suspend the state’s government-restraint TABOR law last year. A strong GOP candidate, Rep. Bob Beauprez - who once served as the state’s Republican Party chairman - went down in flames. Thanks, Gov. Owen.

* Asa Hutchinson was best known as George Bush’s drug czar for a time, before doing a stint at the poorly-regarded…at least as far as conservatives are concerned…Department of Homeland Security. He lost his bid for governor in Arkansas.

* Republican Rep. Jim Nussle lost his bid for the governor’s office in Iowa. Nussle married a lobbyist a few years back.

* Republican Dick DeVos lost his bid against the job-killing Democrat governor in Michigan. The DeVos family was well-known for their opposition to the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative which would have banned the use of affirmative action in government hiring and college admissions. Voters passed MCRI and abolished affirmative action by an overwhelming margin yesterday. A HUGE victory for my friend Ward Connerly, who I hope to have on this week’s radio show Friday night.

* The best doggone victory yesterday for limited-government conservatives was Gov. Mark Sanford winning re-election in South Carolina. Sanford was under fire for being too “libertarian” - including supporting school vouchers and vetoing Republican-passed spending bills. In fact, the GOP majority leader did ads for the Democrat candidate because he was ticked off that Sanford showed up one day in the Legislature holding two pigs under his arms - one called “Pork” and the other called “Barrel.” Sanford was also criticized roundly for not compromising his principles or cutting deals on core issues. He won with 55 percent of the vote.

* The worst defeat for conservatives yesterday was the loss of Rep. J.D. Hayworth in Arizona. Not only did the GOP lose a true limited-government conservative, but a leader in the fight against illegal immigration as well as an articulate spokesman. Most Republicans are tongue-tied, wishy-washy weenies when on TV. Hayworth was a notable exception. But something tells me J.D. won’t be off the stage for long. Gov. Hayworth or Sen. Hayworth has a nice ring to it.

* Whether you call it a house-cleaning or thinning the herd, there’s no mistaking the fact that a number of well-know moderate-to-liberal Republicans in the House of Representatives were booted yesterday. Robert Simmons (ACU Lifetime Rating: 54) in Connecticut was trailing this morning, though the race was still too close to call. Fellow Connecticutian (or is it Connecticutite) Nancy Johnson (ACU Lifetime Rating: 47) lost. Charlie Bass (ACU Lifetime Rating: 71) in New Hampshire lost. John Sweeney (ACU Lifetime Rating: 77) in New York lost. Deborah Pryce (ACU Lifetime Rating: 79) in Ohio lost. Curt Weldon (ACU Lifetime Rating 70) in Pennsylvania lost.

There’s much, much more to go over, but I’m off to the radio studio for some post-election analysis on NPR. We’ll pick this back up later. But believe you me, this is not as bad for limited-government conservatives as many folks would have you think. This was a much-needed pruning which will allow the GOP to come back much healthier in the future…

This was, indeed, a loss for Republicans. But they asked for it. Serves ’em right. And in the long run, this may yet prove to be a huge victory for limited government conservatism. Onward and rightward!

The welfare state can't be gotten rid of, because it will reduce most Americans to poverty.

First, most Americans would not get an education if it weren't for public schools.

Second, most Americans would not be able to go to college were it not for veteran's benefits or student loans.

Third, almost no Americans could pay the cost of medical care in their final year of life, when they have no income.

Fourth, absent Social Security, hardly any Americans have the means to support themselves on their own investments through the end of life.

Fifth, there would be a lot of starving factory workers and their families whenever there's an economic downturn and layoffs, but for unemployment insurance.

We need the social welfare state if most of us don't want to be ignorant, poor, and die in penury and without modern medical treatment.

We also need it if we don't want to be beset by crime and have the constant risk of popular revolt.

So no, it's not possible to convince any sort of working majority in America to ever dismantle the welfare state. People are not going to vote against their own security like that.

We really ought to put that sort of thing out of our mind as a goal. It's not even a DESIREABLE goal, when you get right down to it. We need to social welfare state. But it needs to be efficient, supervised and well-regulated, not a sprawling, wasteful mess. And on THAT we can work.

Looks like someone has forgotten that the Republicans are supposed to BE the right-wing of politics...

I should not need to post this explanation, but every Republican with very few exceptions, are conservative to varying degrees. Within the party there there is a right wing with two distinct divisions and mixes of both, a center with all kinds of variations, and a left with the same makeup as the right hand side, offering two divisions of the group.

Both divisions on the right vied to see who controls the party, and attacked the middle and left. Both divisions, the fiscal right, and the social conservative right, tried to purge the party of it's middle and left, which comprises about two thirds of the party.

Do I need to go any further before you realize the faulty logic of these actions...

Anyhooo! That's what happened, and why we are now on the outside looking in, and from commentary made by our various punditry since the elections, this situation is going to get much worse before it gets better, and will also affect the '08 elections, digging the hole deeper.

Hope that explains it for you....

Apart from the demoralization of our troops, the abandonment of John Bolton, Nancy Pelosi as speaker, Dingy Harry in charge of the Senate, an impending amnesty for illegals, and a victory for the obstructors and cut-and-runners, the Republican loss was a good thing.

Aside from the fact that we're going to reprise Vietnam's end game in Iraq, the Republican loss was a good thing.

31,000,000 AINOs voted "D." Until they are permanently excised from the American body politic, America will never win a war.

"Then let them save and get to WORK. I have less pocket money now than I did 6 years ago and I make almost double ... the reason? TAXES !"

Unemployment is near record lows. They ARE working, just like you.

And no, your taxes didn't go up in the past 6 years. They went down. Bush was elected. You have less pocket money because gas got a lot more experisive, energy got a lot more expensive in general. Thank the rise of China and India (needing more oil and gas than ever) and the Iraq war (taking Iraqi oil out of the world energy flow) for that.
You also have less pocket money because health care costs have exploded. You have less pocket money because housing costs exploded.
None of this had anything to do with taxes, which are as low as they've been since Reagan.

The government is not stripping you of your money. Inflation in the regular old economy is.

How much can you save of your income a year?
Add that up. Are you going to be able to live on the interest off of that for 30 years after you retire?
Are you going to be able to pay for cancer treatments off of that?
No.
That's why you need the social safety net: Social Security and Medicare will pay for those things which you won't be able to.

If you have kids, can you afford to send them to private school? Yes? No? Could your parents afford to send YOU to private school? No? The social safety net probably provided you with the education that your parents probably couldn't afford to provide on their own dollar. And are they old and nearing retirement? Without Social Security and Medicare, do they have the means, just sitting in the bank, to provide themselves a living income off the interest for the rest of their lives, including paying for all of their health care costs?

Hardly anybody has that much money, and hardly anybody can save that much money. That's why we've erected a social welfare state, and that's why we're going to keep it.

We need to be realistic about this.

Hardly anybody has that much money, and hardly anybody can save that much money. That's why we've erected a social welfare state, and that's why we're going to keep it.

I was born in 1938, in rural Oklahoma, so I know of what you speak. It is the loss of American Culture that saddens me the most, but neither party is going to change that.

in 1955, I had an appendectomy along with peritonitis. I spent three days in the hospital, the total bill for hospital, surgery, and doctor $300.00, about a month's pay at the time

A couple months back, I had a laporoscopic surgery to look at a kidney, the bill was $60,000.00 and rising, a little more than a month's pay for most I would say.

American culture could have been saved by strenuous GOP action on the border. But the GOP divided on it. Now the Democrats are in charge, and the faster amnesty happens, the sooner they are assured of insurmountable majorities forever unless the Republicans can find SOMETHING with which to woo Latinos.

Pro-family, pro-life is one such thing, but that isn't enough to bring blacks (who are more religious on average than whites) to vote GOP, even when the GOP runs sterling black candidates like Steele.

No, it's about the money.
People have their moral beliefs, but their urgent, pressing economic needs trump, and always will.

That is why I say we have to be REALISTIC. Waging a jihad against Social Security, Medicare, public education, etc. will never end in victory. At the end of the day and life 95% of Americans are dependent on these things. And they won't undo them.

Like I said you should be happy, get over it, conservative principles are not for sale to the big tent RINO's.

Politics and principle are not always symbiotic.

There are times when it is necessary to moderate or change on some closely held understandings.

If you want to salvage some of what you want, you will be required to negotiate. If you take the position that all your beliefs and desires are principles that cannot be negotiated, then you walk away from the table with nothing.

at some point in time, all negotiation attempts stop and you slide into irrelevance, with your now forgotten principles.

This is the definition of politics. History's ash can is full of long forgotten, yet closely held principles. Perhaps you will be adding some more to the pile.

It should become clear to you at some point, that democracy does not suit you. You would prefer a authoritarian government based on your principles, which you will impose on others, as you cannot negotiate them. This is not what the Republican party was ever about. It is not a conservative ideal either.

It is what it is and it is not suited to politics.

I have had this sort of discussion with the unappeasable before, and it always appears at first to be a wasted effort on my part. But i often find that I opened up a glimmer of understanding.

I hope this is the case here, but it really does not matter much to me. It does matter to you. You see, principles are worthless if you don't use them. You can't eat them, and they will not keep you sheltered or warm on a cold night.

But you can establish value through negotiation, and by doing so, you can benefit greatly by having a voice in the Democracy.

If you don't, then they are virtually useless and of no value at all. You can shout them out as you draw your last breath, and nobody will remember because you never established a value for them. You held them, and you took them with you when you left. Nobody will care.

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