By Alex Rosenwald
There’s one thing all of the politicos seem to agree on from both sides of the Aisle, at either end at Pennsylvania Avenue: The Republican Party took a major hit this election year. With Barack Obama now in the White House, and Democrat gains in the House and Senate, many people now feel the GOP really has no relevant role in Washington anymore. Or does it?
Monday, The Washington Times ran a story at the top of Page One, above the fold, describing the feelings of Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA), who paints a bleak picture for Republicans unless they get their act together soon. Cantor urges the Republican Party “to offer concrete solutions, rather than just “being content to offer principles.” He adds, “It’s the relevancy question.”
Well, Congressman, there’s no doubt that the GOP must offer some good problem-solving solutions, but what good is that if you have no moral compass to direct it? Or, as The Good Book puts it, “What profiteth a man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?” The principles that guide any political party are of critical import to developing concrete solutions to the nation’s most pressing concerns. If the Republican Party wants to be relevant, it must rebuild its brand with conservative principles, like smaller government and lower taxes, to name a few. And then, it must offer “concrete solutions.”
Unfortunately, the GOP didn’t get off to a very good start in Chicago yesterday, where President-elect Obama and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) met to “seek common ground” and “move on” from the past election season, according to an article in TheState.com. Alongside Mr. McCain was close friend, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). According to the report, Mr. McCain and company intended to bring a more bi-partisan tone to the Republican platform.
Now, no shock there, Mr. Graham mentions that there are “areas of bi-partisan solutions [that] are needed.” And there goes the ballgame.
Earth to Mr. Graham: To the Democrats, “bi-partisan” is a code word for “vivisection.” Republicans must not buy into the narrative that their political adversaries have written for them, which is little more than a preemptive obituary.
When Republicans win, the Democrats launch holy war. There is no insult, attack or underhanded assault that could possibly be considered out of bounds. But when the Democrats and liberals win, both parties are supposed to join hands and sing kumbayah. Sure, the Democrats want to bury the hatchet—right in the Republicans’ backs. This is a prescription for disaster and a generation of irrelevance. Mr. Obama should be challenged and fought every step of the way.
There are countless examples of bi-partisan bills that have failed. The Financial Bailout of 2008, supported by Senators McCain and Obama, has only increased the national debt and put the Country in a more challenging downward spiral. Others include: Campaign Finance “Reform, which banned soft money. There is No Child Left Behind, which spends excessive federal money on a program that has produced miserably for helping improve the quality of education in America. And then, there is “The Prescription Drug Benefit”, notably the largest expansion of the welfare state since the LBJ Years–to name a few of the bi-partisan “achievements” in Washington.
Now, let’s go back to the bedrock question: is the GOP still relevant? Well, if it continues to support failed, liberal policies, it will become little more than a footnote in history for having failed to offer a compelling conservative alternative to the Big Government socialism engineering.
If two people are doing the same job, one is redundant. And it’s usually the copycat who evanesces. So the Republicans have taken a hit. Now, they have to decide whether they want to roll over and play dead, or hit back. Right now, they seem to be reaching for the embalming fluid.
Alex Rosenwald is a contributing editor of ALG News Bureau.
