Tag Archives: GOP

WSJ: The World Needs a Strong GOP

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From the Wall Street Journal:

The World Needs a Strong GOP
Republicans can show the way with careful fiscal conservatism at home and quiet idealism abroad.

By DAVID DAVIS

It is always hazardous for outsiders to offer opinions on a foreign country’s political landscape, and as a lifetime admirer of America and its values I have always been cautious in doing so. Nevertheless, the world today is as volatile and dangerous as it has been for a long time, and it needs a strong and coherent Republican Party leading American opinion and policy. With the streets of the Arab world in flames, an ever more ascendant and ambitious China, and a global financial crisis that has not been well managed, let alone resolved, the rest of the world needs America to be a confident champion of Western values.

As a political movement, the various strands of Republican opinion have a force and vigor rarely witnessed elsewhere in the Western world. What is more, each strand brings its own wisdom and insight to the political debate.

Take, for example, the tea party movement. European liberals deride it as unsophisticated and simplistic. Yet we should remember that they said much the same of Ronald Reagan when he was alive, even as they now recognize him as the great, world-class statesman that he was. Discovering the right answer after the event is a luxury often exercised by the political left, but not one that we can afford now.

So the tea party brings vigor, but it also reflects a skepticism about big government that is a wisdom of our times. In the aftermath of a historically unprecedented bank rescue and economic stimulus, and in the absence of a serious intellectual answer to the banking crisis, who is to say that they are entirely wrong?

Similarly, it is fashionable to dismiss the neoconservatives for their aggressive foreign policy. I am uncomfortable with some of the incompetences of Western interventions, but the current explosion of unrest across the Arab world adds some validity to their claim that democracy is a universal human value wanted by everybody, irrespective of their culture, religion and history.

Even more unfashionable with the political left are the social conservatives in Republican ranks. It may be that the problems facing the U.S. economy will ensure that social issues take a back seat to candidates’ fiscal policies, but to America’s 60 million evangelical Christians social issues still matter. Those candidates seeking the Republican nomination in 2012 who choose to ignore social-issues voters will do so at their peril.

It would be naive to claim that the Republican Party, with its 47 senators, 241 representatives and millions of voters, can be neatly divided into a small number of distinct factions. It is potentially problematic for the Republicans, however, that there are groups within the GOP which hold widely different views not only about the party’s policy priorities, but also about what those policies should be.

For instance, there is a sharp divide within the GOP on federal spending. A recent Pew survey showed that Republicans identifying themselves as tea party supporters would broadly welcome cuts in spending on education, social-security and environmental programs, while non-tea party Republicans were more supportive of increased spending in these areas.

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My Interview With Craig Shirley on the Legacy of Ronald Reagan

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In this interview, I discuss the legacy of President Reagan with renowned Reagan authority Craig Shirley.

The interview focuses on three specific fields: Ronald Reagan’s fight for the GOP nomination, how the Gipper changed his party, and what President Reagan’s legacy really means.

Today, many have fallen victim to a form of presentism: a belief that just because things turned out the way they did, the course of history was inevitable. President Reagan’s fight for the GOP nomination was far from inevitable, and his election in 1980 was even less certain at the time.

This year, the first GOP presidential debate will be held at the Reagan Library. From around the country, every Republican now claims to be a Reaganite. However, things were very different when Ronald Reagan was seeking his party’s nomination. Reagan had run against Gerald Ford, the sitting president, in the 1976 for the GOP nomination. Much of the GOP’s establishment reviled Reagan. Conservatives were looked down upon in the party. As such, President Reagan was painted as a far-right extremist that had no hope in a general election. President Reagan’s win in 1980 reshaped the Republican Party, and changed the American political landscape forever.

Historians have made a conscious effort to whitewash President Reagan’s true legacy. Members of the GOP establishment claim Reagan as one of theirs today. We are told that Ronald Reagan was a great pragmatist and that he only spoke ‘conservative’ to appease the base. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Ronald Reagan was a conservative champion, and the elites hated him for that. Reagan’s conservatism guided him throughout his presidency.

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Sen. Rand Paul Hits the Nail on the Head – Compromise is NOT a Noble Position

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The GOP tsunami of 2010 should have sent a clear message to the established political forces in the nation’s capital: no more socialism. Instead, the Tea Party has continued to be the recipient of constant ridicule. Ordinary citizens who are standing up to an out of touch government have been painted as extreme, and a problem for the GOP. Members of the intelligentsia have determined that the only way for Republicans to real move forward is to compromise with the Left, and ignore the Tea Party.

Ignoring the voters is a dangerous political position. More importantly, why should the GOP compromise? “In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit.” The GOP should take Ayn Rand’s advice, and avid compromises with the Democrats. Compromise bequeathed a $14 trillion dollar debt. Compromise sickened voters and lead to the GOPs demise just four years ago. Compromising with the Democrtas will be the end of the Republican Party.

Thankfully, there is a growing roster of solid conservatives on the GOP bench. One new rising star is Senator Rand Paul:

Strictly Right Radio episode 78

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On this Strictly Right, Ari takes a look at the role of government, the Repeal of Obamacare, a Mike Pence presidential run, the hoax of global warming and more.

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Change You Can Believe In: Obamacare Repealed, 245-189

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Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 245-189 to repeal Obamacare. The overwhelming majority, which included three Democrats, sent an unmistakable message to Democrats, and the voting public.

Harry Reid, claims that there will not be a vote in the Senate to repeal Obamacare because it’s just too popular to vote on: “not only would repeal not pass, but according to a poll by AP over the weekend, three out of four people don’t want it to.” Complete and utter nonsense from the Senate Majority Leader.

The truth of the matter is that Senator Reid cannot be sure that repeal would fail in the Democrat controlled Senate. With the evident popularity of the repeal movement, the Democrats cannot afford a vote on the bill. If the bill fails to pass the Senate, so-called blue-dog Democrats would once again be forced to show their true socialist colors. If a repeal bill were to pass, President Obama would veto the bill, further alienating himself from the electorate.

The repeal vote is a bold and necessary move from the House Republicans. Now the real work begins: dismantling the monstrosity of Obamacare piece by piece.

Strictly Right Radio episode 75

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Strictly Right is back for a new year of cutting edge conservative analysis. On this episode, Ari takes a look at the incoming House GOP, the move to repeal Obamacare, the failures of big government, and some acts from the theater of the absurd. All that and more on the first Strictly Right of 2011.

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Jim DeMint, Human Events Conservative of the Year

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A great interview with Human Events’ conservative of the year, Senator Jim DeMint:

Jim DeMint, Conservative of the Year
By: Erick Erickson

“I want to sincerely congratulate Senator DeMint on this award. Fully aware that Human Events cannot give the award to me every year, Human Events has made the only other choice they could make. Tough, courageous, rock-solid and unflinching, Jim DeMint charts the way for all of us in truly historic times.”

— Rush Limbaugh
Conservative of the Year, 2007

He did not start out a conservative fighter. He was no warrior when he first arrived on Capitol Hill in 1999. Jim DeMint had replaced Rep. Bob Inglis in South Carolina’s 4th Congressional District. Inglis had vacated the seat to run a losing race against Senator Ernest Hollins.

DeMint’s tenure started out like that of most freshmen congressmen — anonymous and committed to bringing home the bacon, much like Rep. Inglis who, when Senator DeMint moved up to the Senate, moved back into his old House seat until the tea party movement threw him out in 2010.

Something happened to DeMint though. In a National Journal article last month, Michael Hirsh fingered the fight over No Child Left Behind, which DeMint originally opposed, but then ultimately supported.

Among the conservatives who cooled on Bush was Sen. Jim DeMint. DeMint recalled that Bush told him, at a White House meeting back in 2001, when the South Carolinian was a second-term House member, that Bush would fight for “flexibility” for state charter schools as part of his new federal education program, No Child Left Behind, according to a DeMint aide, who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the press. DeMint was then far from the small-government agitator and tea party champion he has become. But the Bush plan disturbed DeMint, and he decided to vote no—until the president called him in and said, “Jim, I promise to get this [state flexibility] back in conference. But I need you not to make an issue of it on the House floor,” the aide recalled. “DeMint said, ‘OK, Mr. President, I’ll trust you.’ But Bush didn’t even lift a finger to get it in conference.”

For DeMint, it was the beginning of a decade of disappointments in his president and his party, as he gradually became more alienated from the GOP leadership.

After the No Child Left Behind incident, DeMint started teaming up with other conservative fighters like Mike Pence (R-IN) to fight back. Congressman Mike Pence tells Human Events, “Senator Jim DeMint is a force of nature in the conservative movement. His steadfast and consistent stand in defense of fiscal discipline, a strong national defense and traditional moral values is unparalleled in Washington, DC and should give hope to millions of conservatives across the country as they look for conservative leadership in our nation’s capital.”

Elected as social conservatives who were fiscally responsible, the GOP under George W. Bush had largely become pro-life statists with even Fred Barnes championing the idea of “big government conservatives” in the Weekly Standard. DeMint had had enough.

In 2004, Jim DeMint ran for the United States Senate for the seat vacated by Ernest Hollings. He ran against Inez Tenenbaum, the state schools superintendent. Decisively beating her by over 9%, DeMint’s win put both of South Carolina’s Senate seats in the hands of Republicans for the first time since Reconstruction.

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SPEAKER Boehner to Dems: You’re Welcome.

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What will the incoming GOP majority in the House bring? Some on the Right are already worried that Republicans still don’t get it. Will the GOP be conservative, or will they ‘compromise,’  and sell-out to the Left?

If Speaker(!) Boehner’s letter to Senate Democrats is any indication, it would appear as though the GOP has adopted a ‘new tone.’ House Republicans have promised a vote to repeal Obamacare. In response, Senate Democrats publicly sent a letter to Speaker Boehner, promising to block a bill that would repeal the Left’s crowing achievement. Boehner’s response is exactly what is needed from the GOP:

Senators Reid, Durbin, Schumer, Murray and Stabenow:

Thank you for reminding us – and the American people – of the backroom deal that you struck behind closed doors with ‘Big Pharma,’ resulting in bigger profits for the drug companies, and higher prescription drug costs for 33 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D, at a cost to the taxpayers of $42.6 billion.

The House is going to pass legislation to repeal that now. You’re welcome.

- Speaker-Designate John Boehner’s Press Office

The GOP is geared up for a serious fight for the soul of the country. Republicans were not elected because people were enamored with the Party brand. Rather, the voters wanted, and still want, a party that will stop Obama and the Democrats from imposing their socialist vision on the country.

Speaker Boehner’s letter sets the right tone; a fighting tone. The next two years have to be about repairing the damage Obama and his ilk have inflicted on the country. In that struggle there can be no compromise, no retreat and no surrender.

2011 GOP Battle Cry: Undo Obama

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The media is atwitter over the fact that incoming GOP Congressmen have selected Carrie Underwood’s hit “Undo It” as their anthem.

Liberals in Congress and the media are worried that the GOP actually plans on fighting the Democrat socialist agenda.

Jennifer Steinhauer and Robert Pear lamented in the New York Times:

The health care law, entitlement programs, new limits on emissions of greenhouse gases from oil refineries and power plants, and other legislation that Republicans say cannot be justified by a strict interpretation of the Constitution — a document the new leaders plan to read on the House floor on Thursday — are all in the cross hairs.

While President Obama and Republicans were able to work together during last month’s lame-duck session — to the vocal consternation of the most partisan ends of each party’s base — to pass a tax package and a variety of last-minute legislation, including the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the ratification of the anti-nuclear proliferation treaty with Russia, such bipartisan consensus seems unlikely at the outset of the new House session.

Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, who is in line to succeed Ms. Pelosi, has said that this time around he would lead efforts to revive the private sector by reducing the size of government — cutting federal regulation, taxes and spending, including the budget of Congress itself.

Mr. Boehner also said Republicans would alter House rules to make it easier to curb government spending and to require more public disclosure about the work of the House.

House Republicans plan on passing a full repeal of Obamacare as a symbolic act, acknowledging that it will be stopped in the Senate, or vetoed by the President. However, after setting the tone, the GOP plans on defunding and dismantling Obamacare piece by piece. Additionally, with Paul Ryan’s Road Map the GOP is finally starting to talk about realistic entitlement reforms.

Fueled by a reverence for the Constitution and an acknowledgment of reality, Republicans won in 2010 by representing the alternative to Obamunism. If the Grand Old Party wishes to remain in power surrender is not an option.

Mitch McConnell stated that his foremost political priority is ensuring that Barack Obama is a one-term president. Republicans are openly stating that they plan on using Obamacare as an albatross to hang around Democrats in 2012. The only way to fix the economy, and the country, is to get government out of the way. The only way to get government out of the way is to defeat Democrats. The GOP, at long last, is ready to play hardball.

On the other side of the aisle, Democrats believe that a renewed debate over Obamacare will actually help them. The Left believes that the only problem with Obama’s government takeover of healthcare is the branding. If only the American people really understood how great Obamacare is, they’d support the monstrosity.The fights over Obamacare, and liberty, are fights the GOP should welcome, and decisively win.

The legislative plan for the GOP is quite simple; Barry Goldwater spelled it out in 1960:

I have little interest in streamlining government or in making it more efficient, for I mean to reduce its size. I do not undertake to promote welfare, for I propose to extend freedom. My aim is not to pass laws, but to repeal them. It is not to inaugurate new programs, but to cancel old ones that do violence to the Constitution or that have failed their purpose, or that impose on the people an unwarranted financial burden. I will not attempt to discover whether legislation is `needed’ before I have first determined whether it is constitutionally permissible. And if I should later be attacked for neglecting my constituents “interests,” I shall reply that I was informed that their main interest is liberty and that in that cause I am doing the very best I can.

For a modern interpretation “Undo It” works: