Posted by
John Caile on Thursday, January 29, 2009 11:13:48 AM
Finally, Republicans actually DO say "no" - and it's long overdue. Contrary to the lament of mushy moderates that "we can't just say no," for too long Republicans have said "yes" to every Democrat spend-fest from "free" prescription drugs to billions more dollars for our failed public education system.
And when George Bush and other Republicans reacted to the late 2008 financial problems with outrageous "bailouts" and other doomed-to-fail measures, I was ready to write off the Republican party.
But when I read that EVERY Republican in the House of Representatives voted against the pork-laden "stimulus" package put forth by Obama and the Democrats, I was ecstatic.
Hoooyah!
And it couldn't come at better time. As more and more workers lose their jobs, they are likely to become just a bit angry at the enormous sums of money (their money) being doled out with reckless abandon - sometimes to the same company that just laid them off. And even workers who still have a job are not going to react kindly when they finally realize that Obama's "tax refund" is actually a welfare check going to millions of people who don't even pay income taxes, including illegal aliens!
Now, if Senate Republicans can show the same resolve, Americans may once again be able to differentiate between the parties. Genuine conservatives have tried in vain to make the party "leadership" understand that being "just like Democrats" is not just bad policy - it's bad politics.
The Democrat party has been veering dangerously to the left over many years, but when Republicans follow along, it simply makes Democrats look less radical than they actually are. Worse, when Republicans gravitate toward Democrat positions, it has the affect of validating the very socialist policies that most of us fear.
And when voters (ALL voters, not just "the base") begin to see less and less substantive difference between the parties, the party promising the most "free stuff" will get their vote. And remember, you will never be able to out-promise Democrats. Going along with global warming, ethanol subsidies, and mammoth education spending will not pry moderates away from Democrats.
But Republicans can beat the Democrats, and win back many of those centrist voters, IF they continue to draw clear distinctions in policy, and IF they learn to sell their policies with CONVICTION and PASSION.
In tough times, people look for tough leaders, able to make the hard decisions. Note that after 9/11, George Bush had approval ratings near 90%. Even hard-core Democrats expressed relief that we had a "cowboy" in the Whitehouse, and not an effete snob like Al Gore.
So if Republicans continue to have the courage to say NO to dangerous, and ultimately disastrous policies, they may very well save the party from permanent minority status, if not outright extinction.