Republican stupidity lost the election
November 12th 2006 01:55
As we all know, the Democrats (or rather the American voters) "opened a can" on the Republicans in Tuesday's election. In my last post, I made the following assessment of why the Republicans lost:
"There was just too much corruption, too little progress on the Iraq War, too much ineffective government, and too much of a betrayal of conservative values."
I still fully believe that statement to be true, but I'd like to enhance it a little. There are various factions or dimensions in the Republican party. I think the three main factions are:
* National security conservatives
* Fiscal conservatives
* Social conservatives
Personally, I identify with all three of these categories -- especially the fiscal and social conservatives.
I would argue that the Republicans' betrayal of conservative values (referring back to my original statement) was comprehensive in that the elected Republicans kicked around each one of these groups of people in the last few years. Here is how I feel that they have angered each one:
* National security conservatives -- Despite some positive efforts in the GWOT, our ports and borders are still as porous as ever. A terrorist could walk a nuke across the US-Mexico border. Also, the war in Iraq has been costly in terms of lives and money and has only gotten worse as of late. If you're going to fight a war, have a strategy and fight it to win it.
* Fiscal conservatives -- The Republicans have been bigger spenders than the Democrats ever were. No-bid contracts and wasteful pork barrel spending are not the policies that Republicans are supposed to stand for. They are supposed to be the party of fiscal discipline and fiscal responsibility. They haven't been.
* Social conservatives -- Yes, some allegedly conservative judges have gotten on the bench and that's good, but the Republicans seem to pay attention to social conservatives only at election time. We know pandering when we see it. And while gay marriage and abortion are important, there are also other issues that matter to a lot of conservatives. Corruption (or the lack of it) matters. To me and many other Christians, the environment matters. Fully backing and funding faith-based programs matters. Lip service doesn't cut it.
So each of these groups had every reason to lose faith in the Republican Party. I don't think that the Democrats necessarily have the answers, but the Republicans were not getting it done. Maybe some time in the wilderness is just what the Republicans need to relocate their political compasses.
"There was just too much corruption, too little progress on the Iraq War, too much ineffective government, and too much of a betrayal of conservative values."
I still fully believe that statement to be true, but I'd like to enhance it a little. There are various factions or dimensions in the Republican party. I think the three main factions are:
* National security conservatives
* Fiscal conservatives
* Social conservatives
Personally, I identify with all three of these categories -- especially the fiscal and social conservatives.
I would argue that the Republicans' betrayal of conservative values (referring back to my original statement) was comprehensive in that the elected Republicans kicked around each one of these groups of people in the last few years. Here is how I feel that they have angered each one:
* National security conservatives -- Despite some positive efforts in the GWOT, our ports and borders are still as porous as ever. A terrorist could walk a nuke across the US-Mexico border. Also, the war in Iraq has been costly in terms of lives and money and has only gotten worse as of late. If you're going to fight a war, have a strategy and fight it to win it.
* Fiscal conservatives -- The Republicans have been bigger spenders than the Democrats ever were. No-bid contracts and wasteful pork barrel spending are not the policies that Republicans are supposed to stand for. They are supposed to be the party of fiscal discipline and fiscal responsibility. They haven't been.
* Social conservatives -- Yes, some allegedly conservative judges have gotten on the bench and that's good, but the Republicans seem to pay attention to social conservatives only at election time. We know pandering when we see it. And while gay marriage and abortion are important, there are also other issues that matter to a lot of conservatives. Corruption (or the lack of it) matters. To me and many other Christians, the environment matters. Fully backing and funding faith-based programs matters. Lip service doesn't cut it.
So each of these groups had every reason to lose faith in the Republican Party. I don't think that the Democrats necessarily have the answers, but the Republicans were not getting it done. Maybe some time in the wilderness is just what the Republicans need to relocate their political compasses.
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