Why is it that whenever conservatives get elected they immediately start converting to liberals? a recent statement by Senator arlen Specter (R. Pennsylvania) blew me away in that he appeared to laud this drift: "The Republican Party is now principally moderate, if not liberal."
arlen, baby. Wake up and smell the pork! The Republicans won the Senate, the House, the majority of governorships and the Presidency precisely because they ran on an anti-moderate, anti-liberal, conservative reformist platform. Remember the "Contract With america" of 1994, which all Republican congressional candidates solemnly signed to signify their commitment to bringing about meaningful change?
Let me refresh your memory: The Contract included 8 promises that were to be addressed on the first day of the 104th Congress, including laws applying equally to everyone, an audit of Congressional waste, fraud and abuse, a cut in the number of committees and their staff, term limits for committee chairs, banning of proxy votes, open and public committee meetings, a 60% majority vote for tax increases and zero base-line budgeting for government departments.
I'm not sure that all of these promises were fulfilled, as the way the Congress behaves today seems a lot like the way Congress behaved before the Contract With america. It's also interesting to note that of all the legislation that was promised under the Contract With america, the only legislation that wasn't passed was that of term limits for professional politicians. I suppose even so-called conservative politicians know on which side their pork is buttered.
What's amazing is that while the Democrats are drifting into ever-loonier left-wing territory, Republicans seem to be filling the void by drifting into the space the Dems have vacated.
It's time that the framers of the Contract With america recapture the spirit of that Contract by reducing the size of government, cutting taxes, cutting spending and generally getting out of everyone's face.
Why would a senator need a staff of more than 20 people? Wouldn't a small office with an assistant and maybe even a researcher suffice? and why is it that all the while the Congress is carping about the oil companies' high profits they aren't prepared to do anything about the obscene taxes the government is squeezing from each gallon of gas. How obscene are those taxes? Glad you asked: a gallon of gas that sells for $3.00 yields approximately 9 profit for the oil company. That same gallon, on the other hand yields the government 50 in taxes! Who's gouging now?
as for government spending, how can a Republican administration with a Republican Congress and a Republican Senate run up a budget deficit of $427 billion, which represents 3.5% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)? The answer is rather simple, albeit, not terribly elegant. The Republicans are keeping their majority through the judicious greasing of the electorates' palms. a pork-barrel addition here, a bridge-to-nowhere there, a few grants to some Louisiana levee boards, it all adds up.
Many pundits are predicting Republican losses in this year's midterms because they believe that the voters are looking at Democrats through new eyes. I agree with the first part of that assumption, but if the Republicans lose ground this November it won't be because of the Democrats. It will be because the Republicans are beginning to act like Democrats and if the voters really wanted Democrats, they'd vote for Democrats, not Republicans who behave like Democrats.
The Republicans have gotten lazy and sloppy and if they lose seats this year, it will be because they deserve to lose seats. There appears to be a conceit among the Republican Party functionaries that believes they are invulnerable, given the quality of the Democrats' leadership. and while it seems they have a point, what with some of the less than brilliant remarks emanating from Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durbin and Harry Reid, they appear to be taking the american people for granted. as far as risks go, that one is likely to be the most reckless.
Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2024 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2024 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement