Why GOP is wrong on big government

February 26, 12:07 AMCongress ExaminerIgor Derysh

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Eric Cantor (Courtesy of AP)

They call it "Big Government," they call it "socialism," but at the end of the day, whatever "it" is, it is what the American people want.

One of the most obvious messages that was entirely missed by the Republican party when they got their butts handed to them in November was that the American people were not buying the "free market" rhetoric.

When the overwhelming majority of the American people cast their votes for the Democrats, they were asking for federal government intervention and big government spending because they were not only seeing but directly feeling what the "free market" had done to the global economy.

While the Congressional Republicans' entire voting body, save for three moderates, voted against the Obama stimulus package, they voted against both the needs and the wants of the American people.

This was exemplified by numerous polls that clearly showed that the American people scoffed at the idea of tax cuts over jobs and supported the way that Obama has been handling the economy 60% to just 34%.

The American people overwhelmingly supported the huge stimulus bill despite all of the key words that the Republicans attributed to it.

Even more important, following the Stimulus Bill fight, Barack Obama's approval rating remained over 60% while only around a quarter of Americans disapproved of his presidency this far.

The Republicans need to quit listening to the Eric Cantors and Michael Steeles and try to help the people of the United States in a time of hardship rather than tend to thei ideology.

The Republicans need to rebel against the party's threats of decreased RNC funding and possible primary challenges and push the party in the right track.

The Republicans need to stop listening to the Rush Limbaughs of the world who have been effective in nothing except downsizing the party and work towards once again becoming the party that is trusted on economic issues rather than the party of empy ideology.

If the Republicans truly want to have some sort of voice in the Congress, one that shows that they are working for the people and not simply against the government, they will need to embrace the spirit of bipartisanship that Barack Obama has put forth (as Governors Sarah Palin and Charlie Crist have already) before he closes the door just in time for another round of Congressional elections in which the Republicans will have no positive platform to run on.

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