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The Right Lessons

17 November 2006

Liberals across the media seem determined to interpret the election for Republicans. There are a plethora of interesting quotes to choose from. For example:

“The country is sending a signal to both parties: We want you guys to
work together to solve problems. You’ve got Republicans running from
the far right much more toward the center. You’ve got a new breed of
Democrats this year in Jim Webb in Virginia and Bob Casey in
Pennsylvania, moving toward the center. So we may be working our way
toward the end of a deeply polarized country politically at the
national level.”

– Former anchor Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News November 6, election eve.

“Will Republicans move further to the right? Not if they got the
message of the election. Republicans lost because they abandoned the center.”

– CNN’s Bill Schneider on The Situation Room, Nov. 8.

Democrats would have us believe that conservatism is responsible for Republican losses. Their view is, of course, the precise opposite of what actually happened and what elected Republicans need to take away from the election. It is precisely the fact that, for the most part, House and Senate Republicans abandoned conservative principles for most of the last several years that they got their butts handed to them.

Geraldo Rivera, always good for a laugh, had this to say:

The Democratic wave that washed over American politics last night
washed away Defense Secretary Rumsfeld and swamped many Republicans
who tried to use the issue of illegal immigration to scare people
into voting for them. I am delighted to say that they got their butts kicked.

Yes, Geraldo is the guy to listen too. Yeah right! The fact is, House Republicans moved to the right too late to matter. Yes, they saved us temporarily from comprehensive immigration reform. Had they stuck with conservative principles throughout their terms, immigration would be a solved issue now, not the next object of demagoguery.

Republicans win when they run on conservative principles. Republicans maintain their seats when they govern from conservative principles. This tripe that the country has moved to the middle is seriously deluded! How can anyone reach such a conclusion based on three consecutive split elections? In fact, the only reason this election was split was that House Republicans spent the last few years trying to out spend Democrats!

If Republicans want to retake the House and Senate in ’08 as well as retain the White House, they had better listen to their conservative constituents. They had better learn that conservatism is alive and kicking and they can’t win without it.