Redstate

By Whacker77 Posted in Archived — Comments (6) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

After Dennis Hastert's House seat was lost in a March special election, I warned Republicans that it was time to face some cold hard truths. Unless the political environment drastically improved, the elections of 2008 would be far worse than the disastrous results of 2006. Although I sounded a negative tone, I tried to remain optimistic and felt success, through a unified and conservative agenda, could still be achieved.

Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that there is now little chance for success, even by the most modest definition, in 2008. George W. Bush is one of the most unpopular presidents in modern American history. Republicans in the House and Senate are in complete disarray. Worst of all, the conservative base is completely unmotivated and unhappy. These three factors alone argue for a terrible, and possibly historic, electoral loss.

As I see it, George W. Bush may well be the modern day Herbert Hoover. To be clear, I am not attempting to make an economic parallel. Rather, I feel the failures of the Bush presidency may well leave the Republican Party in the shambles it found itself after the 1932 election. That year, a liberal president swept to power and brought with him huge majorities in both houses of Congress. As a result, the stage was set for a new age of socialism the likes of which the country had not seen.

Thanks to the incompetence and corruption of recent Republican Party, we stand at the beginning of a new socialist revolution in America. If you find this possibility hard to believe, just imagine what awaits us on January 20, 2009. Barrack Obama will, with some ease, have just won the presidency. Even worse, he will have brought with him even larger majorities in both the House and Senate. With a 75 seat majority in the House and a near-filibuster proof majority in the Senate, who will be there to stop the newest version of the New Deal?

Surprisingly, there are some conservatives who seem to relish the opportunity of complete Democrat control. Rush Limbaugh believes a unified liberal government will almost certainly lead to huge Republicans gains in 2010. After bashing Democrats for using the same old playbook, Rush and his compatriots seem to think the dusty game plan of 1994 will automatically work for Republicans once again. Be warned though. Democrats believed history would repeat itself in 2002 and they lost seats.

To those who see salvation in a loss, ask them this question. Why? Why should we believe Republicans, who learned nothing in 2006, be counted on to learn something after 2008. I know I don't. In fact, I believe Republicans will learn nothing from their impending defeat and will, in all likelihood, re-elect the same leadership who failed them these last few years. They will blithely blame the loss on President Bush and expect us to dutifully accept their explanation. If this group seemed willing to learn from their defeats, why did John Boehner and Roy Blunt retain their leadership positions?

So now the question for conservatives and Republicans is this. Where do we go from here? How do we rise like a phoenix from the ashes of this forthcoming disaster? First and most importantly, we must realize there is no quick fix. Thanks to the myriad of self inflicted problems, the Republican Party may well be in the wilderness for many, many years. Still, we can start down the road to redemption right now. Some of the cures may be painful, but nothing worthwhile comes easy.

1. We must demand new and, most importantly, conservative leadership in the House. John Boehner and Roy Blunt have failed us miserably. We need leadership, and back benchers for that matter, with a true conservative backbone. Now is time for Mike Pence and John Shadegg.

2. We must organize a bold conservative agenda based on big ideas. Conservatism must stand for more than picayune portable healthcare. Rely on the tenants Ronald Reagan used, but don’t rely solely on Reagan. Conservatism is more than one man.

3. We must, unfortunately, make a clean and decisive break from George W. Bush. His truest legacy may well be the destruction of the modern Republican Party. While did give us Roberts and Alito, he also gave us Democrat majorities and a toxic Republican brand.