Ed Morrissey published a good post over at Captain’s Quarters. He is one of the Conservative bloggers, who is not afraid to speak out against the Republican party when he does not agree with its policies.
The Republicans have indeed left reform in the dust, with notable and honorable exceptions like Tom Coburn and a handful of other highly active Republican officeholders. The explosion of earmarks over the last three sessions of Congress have stripped them of the mantle of fiscal responsibility — really one of the keys to Republican identity — and the pursuit of lobbyists has left a bad taste in the mouths of voters. It led to the Jack Abramoff scandal, an “unforced error”, as Glenn Reynolds put it, but one completely predictable when politicians mix earmarks with lobbyist power.
No doubt Iraq played a significant part of the decision by Americans last night. However, one has to wonder if Americans would have lost confidence in Republican leadership in the war if they had not lost confidence in their ability to keep a clean Congress first. As I write in the NRO piece, I don’t recall the last time America has switched control of Congress during wartime, and I think that’s pretty significant.
Republicans have to go back to the basics — and I don’t mean the base. They need to settle on some First Principles before they calculate how to convince voters to trust them with governance again. Republicans have traditionally stood for fiscal discipline and a strong defense above all other issues. The GOP needs to return to those values first and keep them foremost when creating their strategies for 2008. They need to elect clean leadership, and Tom Coburn’s phone should be ringing off the hook this morning if Republicans want to get serious about rehabilitation.
They have two years to atone for whatever mistakes led to their defeat last night. They’ll need every single day to rebuild the trust lost from the 1994 revolution.
I have said the same thing well before the elections. The Republican Party has to reform itself. I am not sure what to think of today’s Republican Party but I know one thing and that it is not ruled by conservatives, well by social conservatives perhaps but that is about it.
As I see it, the Republican Party has to re-focus. To my conservative brethren in the U.S. I would say never forget that conservatism is about small government in all areas: not just economically, but also about what one does in one’s own bedroom / how one chooses to live (and die – remember Schiavo – for that matter).
Lastly, above all else, stop discouraging debate. Instead, encourage it. Both between parties and ideologies and within the, in this, Republican Party itself. As a friend reminded me earlier today, debate is healthy and necessary to keep oneself honest.
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