Calling all Republicans. Here is a challenge, a request, and an honest question ... simply what have the Republicans indicated they would do to straighten out the problems? All it seems they have demonstrated is that they have no answers, nothing to offer, and only want to return to 'more of the same', the 'same' that got us the problems. We hear all about what they think the Democrats are doing wrong and we see them aggressively and stubbornly do all they can to obstruct / block everything ... but what detailed answers do they propose? It is easy and without risk to just criticize and to offer nothing positive or constructive, so let's hear what action, real action not just rhetoric, that the Republicans offer, without even referencing the Democrats. Saying that they wouldn't do what the Democrats want to do (direct criticism) or just saying they would do different than this or that (indirect criticism) is just a cop-out, is actually meaningless and is literally admitting they have no constructive course of action. From 2001 thru 2008 we saw Bush-Cheney totally and arrogantly focus on placating and patronizing Special Interests and a select few while they unconscionably and irresponsibly neglected everything else, giving only apathy, the costs and an abundance of subterfuge to the average American. We know how costly that was and 'more of the same' just won't cut it. So what positive action does the Republican Party advocate ... and being general / vague would again just be deceptive garbage. How they expect anyone to identify with their position when it is only being unified to criticize and stubborn in offering nothing is beyond me. All they seem to offer and try to rationalize is 'more of the same, the 'same' that Bush-Cheney provided and that really is totally unacceptable. What they need to present is concrete action that is defined and that could possibly make a real difference, and not just rhetoric faulting the Democrats and avoiding presenting anything that could be evaluated or worse could be seen as just being 'more of the same'. Let's hear what specific actions people think the Republicans have actually and sincerely offered. Remember, being vague or general doesn't really mean anything; it is only more of the subterfuge as is the fault finding.
What Coattails?
Why right-of-center candidates are succeeding in the age of Obama.
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All year, leading Democrats from the president on down have argued that the Republican Party is in the midst of a catastrophic civil war. You know the story. Successive election defeats have narrowed the GOP's ideological range, and now an open struggle is afoot for control of its voice and agenda. Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin, it seems, are out to destroy Republican moderates and commit the party to a radical course sure to relegate it to irrelevance. Only a move to the left can save the Republicans.
And, in fact, the new president and Congress had a real opportunity to divide the Republican Party. A moderate stimulus bill that offered a short-term boost and included a meaningful tax-cut component, for instance, might have won a very significant number of Republican votes in Congress last winter and launched a damaging internal GOP battle over the proper role of the opposition. Some restraint on taxes and spending in general, and on health care and energy policy in particular, would also have divided congressional Republicans and left the direction of the party in doubt.
But Washington Democrats chose a different route. While they have been peddling the story of Republican self-immolation, they have actually been creating the conditions for a Republican resurgence. President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, and Majority Leader Reid have launched the country on a course of massive spending, a dramatic expansion of government, and a slew of new taxes in the midst of a recession. Finding themselves in control of Congress and the White House and so possessed of an unusual opportunity to pursue their ideological agenda, they have sought to make the most of it. But they have misjudged just how far to the left of the country as a whole the Democratic base now resides—and so, rather than strengthen their own brand, they have inadvertently done wonders to build and unify the Republican Party.
In Congress, Republicans now march nearly as one, to a degree not seen in 15 years. Rather than split on the stimulus, conservative and moderate Republicans easily agreed that it went much too far to the left. The bill received zero Republican votes in the House and just three in the Senate. On many crucial votes since, and in the ongoing health-care and cap-and-trade debates, Republicans have stood together almost unanimously.
Around the country, the party seems to be regaining its balance. Last Tuesday's election results were an extraordinary boost for Republicans. They showed that it is not necessary to run away from the party's conservative brand to win elections. On the contrary, Republicans running as Republicans seem to succeed in the age of Obama, and to attract independent voters in droves.
In Virginia—which went for Obama last year, and elected Democratic -senators in the last two cycles and Democratic governors throughout this decade—-Republican Bob McDonnell ran as a practical conservative with an extensive policy agenda and was elected governor by an enormous 18-point margin. He produced concrete proposals on transportation and education but was also forthright about his conservative views on taxes and his opposition to abortion and gun control. In deeply blue New Jersey, which Obama won last year by double digits, Republican Chris Christie let the incumbent Democrat embrace Obama, refused to run away from his own party, and won the governorship decisively. He, too, is pro-life; he opposed gay marriage and even associated himself with several GOP governors who had refused to accept stimulus funds. Both Republicans won independent voters by roughly a 2-to-1 margin.
In the special election for New York's 23rd Congressional District, Democrat Bill Owens defeated Conservative Party candidate Doug Hoffman a few days after the liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava (who had run to the left of the Democrat on key issues) dropped out of the race. The peculiar circumstances of that contest, with prominent conservatives supporting Hoffman over Scozzafava, have been taken by Democrats eager for good news as proof of a Republican breakdown. The day after the election, White House political adviser David Axelrod even went so far as to say that the victory "should be reassuring to Democrats."
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