Dems Win with "We're Not Them" - A New Plan

It is amazing how a national party can capture a congressional majority with no unified platform. Does anyone know what the Democrats advocated, other than, "We hate Bush," or "Hey, we aren't the Republicans, so vote for us!"? Granted the self-professed moderates in America handed the Pelosi-ites this election after sending the majority the clear message that whatever the Republicans were doing, it wasn't effective. I can't argue with that. If a party can win with that kind of strategy, more power to them, I guess. Personally, I vote for something or someone rather than against something or someone.

Repubs in late October, sensing the ship was sinking, distanced themselves from Bush (see Charlie Crist, FL), the war, and any appearance of being labeled "right wing" and tried to hold onto their seats. Many conservative pundits rightly point out that many new congressional delegates are "right of center" or outright conservative on several key issues like abortion and gun control (Heath Shuler, NC-11). Nancy Pelosi and Jack Murtha's jobs now will be to make sure there are no "maverick" House Democrats so they can push ahead with their leftist agenda. If you think the coming majority is going to be centrist, you've bought the Democrats' election rhetoric or you're standing in line to buy the Brooklyn Bridge.

So, what do we poor, downtrodden conservatives do now? I'd like to propose my own platform, although a few of these ideas have been around for some time:
(1) Streamline the Cabinet and Executive Branch, starting with eliminating the Department of Education. Maybe Labor too...
(2) Enact the Fair Tax. Do yourself a favor -- read this book!
(3) Enact enforceable immigration reform legislation, or enforce what we have now. No social security benefits for illegals, and no automatic citizenship for babies born to illegals. Contribute to our economy, but legally, please.
(4) Enact term limits. Half the problem are the "legislators for life" in Congress now, many believing their seat is some kind of birthright (Kennedy). Perhaps 4 to 5 terms in the House and no more than 3 terms as a Senator.
(5) Cut funding to Third World nations who don't deserve our largesse or are ungrateful for the assistance we do give them.
(6) Tell the United Nations to start looking for new real estate and force other nations to foot the bill for this ineffective institution. The U.N. has its place in the world community, it just needs to be somewhere else.
(7) Enact tort reform, and while we're at it, keep judges from legislating from the bench by prohibiting or limiting the courts' jurisdictions.
(8) Dump affirmative action. It's really discriminatory and negates the achievements of minority classes.

That's enough for now. I don't expect to actually hear some politician mouth these ideas in public, but a conservative can dream, right?

The Silence Is Deafening

Ok, now that the smoke has cleared from Election '06, it's eerily silent throughout the country. Why? Because Republicans evidently can take a crushing defeat like adults and don't see the need to run to the nearest lawyer and file injunctions and lawsuits to bottle up the political process. Many of the House of Representatives races were exceptionally close, often 51%-49% or even tighter. Does anyone remember FL 2000? Petulant Democrats, having had their heads handed to them once again, screamed fraud and demanded recounts, not believing that the public chose someone other than them. "Let's get the courts to say we won -- that's the best thing to do. To heck with the actual election results. We deserve to be in power."

Evidently, the Republicans who were defeated accepted the losses as the will of the American electorate, despite the closeness of many of the races. Certainly, losing Republicans had the right to pitch tantrums like children whose favorite toy had been taken away, but thankfully that was not the case in Tuesday's vote. Now is the time to regroup and concentrate on running successful 2008 campaigns. If Republicans lose elections on issues, there's not much they can complain about. It's their fault that the conservative wave that has been building since 1994 has finally hit a seawall and scattered.

My hope is that someone rises to the occasion and assumes leadership of the movement not just the party. George Bush has been a dismal failure as a conservative leader. Over the six years of his presidency, it's been quite painful to watch the party drift leftward towards the center, often in the face of blatant partisanship exhibited by the left. With no coherent direction, the idelogical position suffers, unlike 1994, when coherence and focus made Republicans predictable, effective, and victorious. The coherence of 1994 showed that conservatism works when properly applied -- Republicans swept into power and held it twelve years. Perhaps the conservative base didn't show up for 2006 mid-terms, or maybe the majority of moderate voters wanted change and fell for the liberals' "New Direction" mantra. Whatever the reasons for the Republicans' defeat, there is undoubtedly a gaping hole in the party's leadership. Tuesday's results confirmed this. Until this void is filled by a leader committed to conservative ideals, you might as well get used to Speaker Pelosi and her new direction.