Solid Analysis how Hastert's gutless plays onthe border issues, pork barrel politics, and Bush's abandonment of Regan-type policies killed the Republican party nation wide
Republicans have made matters worse by abandoning the reform agenda that animated their capture of Congress in 1994 and helped George W. Bush win the White House in 2000 and keep it in 2004. With scarcely a fight, Republicans gave up on Social Security reform in 2005, immigration reform in 2006, and never really got started on tax reform. Bush also cast aside the overarching theme for his domestic policy--the Ownership Society--without an explanation.
The consequences have been dire. Republicans have little to boast about in Bush's second term except the strong economy--and it's largely the result of tax cuts enacted three years ago.
Instead, they balked at Bush's modest reform proposals. House Speaker Dennis Hastert thought it too risky.
For Republicans, 2006 was going to be the year they bravely took on America's immigration problem.
For lack of leadership, the ... never materialized. Bush balked at taking charge of the issue. Hastert, cautious to a fault, declined to take a firm position.
In the end, Republicans raised the immigration issue, touted it as a national crisis, stirred the nation's interest, then failed to come to grips with it.
Republicans as reformers a thing of the past. The party unity that would have come from settling differences on immigration is absent. As a result, Republicans have bickered throughout the 2006 campaign. If they have an agenda for the next two years, they haven't told voters. Democrats don't have an agenda either, they're the "out" party. They can get away with it. Republicans can't.
Reform is appealing to voters because they sense, quite correctly, there's much in need of reform. Besides Social Security and immigration and taxes, there's Congress itself. By skimping on congressional reform, too, Republicans made themselves all the more vulnerable to exaggerated charges of corruption. Reform, of course, is the opposite of corruption.
It's unknowable how many Senate and House seats might have been saved had Republicans championed reform. But surely Republicans would have been better off with a program of reform to flaunt.
I agree about how the Republicans need to go about recovery; Republican party must go back to what got them there. Not pork barrel spending and insider dealing and dancing around issues. Go back to what got them there: smaller government, control spending, strong stands on security that actually have ACTION behind it, and stop acting like the tax and spend Democrats. Step One: Fire Hastert, and put Shadegg in the Minority leaderhip post. Haster's policies were at fault he should pay the price. Do It Now. Second is force Bush to Lead or get the hell out of the way. No more half steps, no more bullshit compromises, thats what already cost him the House. Challenge the Democrats loudly on policy - and present your own and show how superior it is. Worked for Reagan. |