Monday, October 03, 2005
Why Can't We Have a "Damn the Torpedoes" RNC?
One of the most destructive trends is the incessant cry for "unity" between what should be two diametrically opposed philosophies on government's role.
Whether the Republicans actually could maintain a majority by playing upon the salient differences between their party's platform and that of the DNC will never be known, because they have allowed themselves to be drawn to the "center" by this trend, "center" meaning "not-too-radically-liberal-in-most-ways."
I didn't think that Bush, in either election, effectively differentiated himself from his opponent, something that cost Dole the Presidency at a time when much of the nation was quite dissatisfied with the Clinton administration. When people think they're choosing between "ash gray" and "slate gray," sometimes they just stay home. The only reason Bush came out ahead was that his opponents (both Gore and Kerry), in spite of the DNC's efforts, insisted upon playing to the liberal fringe, creating some defining issues upon which the people expressed their preference.
If only the RNC would learn to ignore their MSM caricatures long enough to actually do what they were elected to do. I took some flak from the left when I agreed that the American people had sent Bush back to the White House with a mandate--my point being that he was sent with a specific set of goals, and that the RNC would reap the fallout if he, for whatever reason, didn't perform those goals.
The fact that these things haven't been accomplished says as much about the lack of Republican leadership in Congress as it points to the lack of direction in the White House. I fear that Bush and the Republican Congressmen have been essentially neutered by the controlling interests in the RNC, as the "party" tries to position itself for the 2008 Presidential Election. They're doing the political equivalent of putting with a driver.
Bush should have nominated a well-known, solidly conservative judge to the Supreme Court this morning. I joked that Ann Coulter would have been a good one to pull out of the hat, if for no other reason than to send Kennedy, Byrd, and Schumer into shock, but I guess I was probably only half-joking, as I was in hopes that a staunch conservative would be proposed. As it is, Bush seems to have attempted to please everybody, and has, in so doing, angered both sides instead.
Will somebody please take a stand? I don't buy into the "absolute power" meme, because I haven't seen such power exercised. From the days of the "Contract with America," the RNC has exhibited an unwillingness to forage ahead ignoring the slings and arrows of the MSM and the left-wingers. Do they even remember how they gained the majority? Do they have any notion that they're being looked at as one of the greatest failures of representation ever seen in the nation's history. They were supposed to have been our voices on Capitol Hill. Their chief duty was to represent the wishes of their constituents.
Somewhere along the way, they forgot. Maybe they'll remember before it's too late for them, their party, and our nation.
I fear they won't.
Whether the Republicans actually could maintain a majority by playing upon the salient differences between their party's platform and that of the DNC will never be known, because they have allowed themselves to be drawn to the "center" by this trend, "center" meaning "not-too-radically-liberal-in-most-ways."
I didn't think that Bush, in either election, effectively differentiated himself from his opponent, something that cost Dole the Presidency at a time when much of the nation was quite dissatisfied with the Clinton administration. When people think they're choosing between "ash gray" and "slate gray," sometimes they just stay home. The only reason Bush came out ahead was that his opponents (both Gore and Kerry), in spite of the DNC's efforts, insisted upon playing to the liberal fringe, creating some defining issues upon which the people expressed their preference.
If only the RNC would learn to ignore their MSM caricatures long enough to actually do what they were elected to do. I took some flak from the left when I agreed that the American people had sent Bush back to the White House with a mandate--my point being that he was sent with a specific set of goals, and that the RNC would reap the fallout if he, for whatever reason, didn't perform those goals.
The fact that these things haven't been accomplished says as much about the lack of Republican leadership in Congress as it points to the lack of direction in the White House. I fear that Bush and the Republican Congressmen have been essentially neutered by the controlling interests in the RNC, as the "party" tries to position itself for the 2008 Presidential Election. They're doing the political equivalent of putting with a driver.
Bush should have nominated a well-known, solidly conservative judge to the Supreme Court this morning. I joked that Ann Coulter would have been a good one to pull out of the hat, if for no other reason than to send Kennedy, Byrd, and Schumer into shock, but I guess I was probably only half-joking, as I was in hopes that a staunch conservative would be proposed. As it is, Bush seems to have attempted to please everybody, and has, in so doing, angered both sides instead.
Will somebody please take a stand? I don't buy into the "absolute power" meme, because I haven't seen such power exercised. From the days of the "Contract with America," the RNC has exhibited an unwillingness to forage ahead ignoring the slings and arrows of the MSM and the left-wingers. Do they even remember how they gained the majority? Do they have any notion that they're being looked at as one of the greatest failures of representation ever seen in the nation's history. They were supposed to have been our voices on Capitol Hill. Their chief duty was to represent the wishes of their constituents.
Somewhere along the way, they forgot. Maybe they'll remember before it's too late for them, their party, and our nation.
I fear they won't.
// posted by Jamie @ 10/03/2005 12:26:00 PM 
