Posted by
C. L. Palmer on Tuesday, March 03, 2009 10:10:02 AM
I had really, really hoped we Republicans had learned our lessons from the last two election cycles. We started to forget our roots, act (and spend) like Democrats, and so we had our bags packed by the American people. Now the Democrats have firm control over the government. If one Strict-Constructionist retires from the Supreme Court, it's all over. Actually, Obama could appoint two dyed-in-the-wool radicals right now, and no one could stop him. (There's no set number, Constitutionally, for seats in the Supreme Court.) It looks like the Republican Party is through.
We can serve as opposition, I suppose, but that isn't likely to change the situation. We've become so used to sitting on the bench that we act like a minority party even when we're the majority. Right now we have "moderates" telling us we have to be more liberal. Isn't that what put us in this situation? We got control of Congress by offering a tangible, conservative agenda. We gained more control as we strove to implement that agenda. As soon as America realized that we'd forgotten why they elected us, we were relieved of our duties. No, the course the moderates wish to take is a quick way to pointlessness. The idea of a two-party system is that there should be two distinct points of view represented. Once we embrace the paradigms of the other side, we have no purpose. We cannot survive as the party that is slightly less liberal than the Democrats.
We need to re-establish ourselves as the party of Lincoln, in the real sense of who Lincoln really was. Lincoln was an absolute moralist. He didn't apologize for wanting to end slavery; he fought a war over it. (Now, historians may quibble about the cause of the war being states' rights, but specifically which was the right in dispute?) Lincoln didn't wimp out when the military sustained losses or caused collateral damage. Collateral damage was one of the major strategies in the war! Lincoln was a man of faith, who referred to God in every speech. He stood up to the Supreme Court, maintaining that it had no jurisdiction over the Executive Branch (which, technically, it doesn't). In his time, he was a radical, a liberal. We should aspire to such a liberalism!
We must assert our values if we are to regain our place in the political spectrum. We must stand for real fiscal discipline, traditional morality, a strong military, and national sovereignty. Let me propose a few ideas to get us started:
1. Build a wall along the Mexican border-- all of it. Americans agree that we need to solve the illegal immigration problem. If we present this in economic terms, especially with unemployment being as high as it is, we can't lose.
2. Pass a bill tying the salaries of Congress to the average wage of a full time job in America each year. That is, if this number goes up, Congress gets a raise. If this goes down, they get a pay cut. To me, this is real accountability.
3. Push for the Marriage Amendment. Gay versus traditional marriage is a winning issue for us, even in California. Why are we so reticent to use it?
4. Push for a tariff equalization bill. We ought to match the tariffs that other nations place on our goods. Eventually, this would lead to real free trade, as opposed to the unilateral variety we now "enjoy." Unilateral free trade is about as smart as unilateral pacifism; they're both a good way to get your butt kicked.
5. Push for a line-item veto, and, in the bill, exclude it from the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court. (Congress has the right to do this; check your Constitution.) Even if we give it to Obama, how does that change anything? Now might be the best and only opportunity to pass such a measure.
If we publicly and repeatedly push this agenda, we'll become a viable force in politics. We'll finally have a sense of purpose, something we've lacked for quite some time as a party. I pray this happens.
But I'm not holding my breath...