Don’t Get Me Started

Andy Hefty

Don’t Get Me Started

Repairing the GOP, Part Two- Conservatism, plain and simple

GLEN SAINT MARY, FL -- The Republican Party needs to get one thing absolutely clear: the winning strategy, when properly employed every time, is conservative politics. When would-be conservatives get mealy-mouthed because they’re afraid of getting hammered in the press, they lose. Think Bob Dole. When conservatives allow Washington machinery to corrupt their ethics, they lose. Think Ted Stevens. When conservatives compromise their core beliefs in exchange for media time, they lose.

Think John McCain.

It’s time for conservatives to do more than act conservative. They need to do more than market themselves as conservative. They need to <b>be</b> conservative. A quick look back to learning the lessons of the past is in order.

In 1980, the Regan Revolution was launched on conservative principles. Reagan clearly stated the need for decreased taxes, a slimmer government, free people conducting themselves in freedom and self-discipline, a strong defense, and government simply regulating what was mandated in the Constitution. Reagan won.

In 1984, when the Gipper ran for reelection, he was clobbered by every media outlet in the nation. All he did was campaign on the need to continue his policies. In case you forgot, he lost only Minnesota and the District of Columbia. Eleven electoral votes.

Enter 1994. A white-haired firebrand Congressman from Georgia was making the rounds. He was the House Minority Whip. His job was to rally the party members to a singular purpose. His name was Newt Gingrich. He took the advice of a then-portly radio host by the name of Rush Limbaugh. Limbaugh told the GOP to run <b>for</b> something rather than simply against a particular party, policy, or person. Gingrich created the "Contract with America."

America responded. A huge landslide in the Congress not only changed the leadership throughout the Congress, but it rendered the original platform of an opposition president irrelevant.

But the Republicans who followed Newt into power refused to stick to their principles. They ran for cover when Democrats accused them of "stealing food from the mouths of babies." Worse yet, they killed the term-limits bill, which was a promise in the Contract.

So what to do, now that the party has squandered its chances? I’m so glad you asked.

Create an agenda. Include in that agenda some of the aspects of the former contract such as term limits. And this time, actually pass it. Make the FairTax the primary fiscal policy of the Party. Make the balanced budget amendment the secondary policy. These first three things will tell voters that you are serious about reducing the power of the federal government and returning that power back to the states and the American people.

Next, build the (insert your own expletive) fence! Secure our borders. Require the Border Patrol to actually enforce the laws on the books instead of stifling them. (Hint: President Bush, time to pardon Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean.)

Review from top to bottom the influence of the federal government that should be turned back over to the states. Education, housing, welfare, and transportation are just a few departments that should be eliminated at the federal level and reduced to only minor oversight.

And don’t be afraid to state for the record that the best method for a health plan is to let the free market do its magic.

That’s being a conservative. It’s not an epithet. It’s not an insult. It’s a political way of life that works for everyone if properly applied. As Reagan said, "government is not the solution to the problem; government is the problem."

In short, it’s a badge of honor that should be worn proudly.