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The Republicans may have won the battle, but they lost the war of ideas on election day
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In the highly publicized gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey, the Republicans all came out victorious. Even with heavy support from President Obama, Corzine still went down in Trenton. Predictably, the Democrats are trying to spin the results in their favor at the same time conservatives are hailing this as the beginning of a political comeback.
But was this a victory for the Republicans, a sign of a resurrected party? Despite the high profile wins on the east coast, the Democrats did gain two House seats in special elections. Last time I checked, there are still a handful of corporatist healthcare "reform" bills being debated in Congress, and Pelosi now has two more likely loyal votes.
Ever since Barack Obama was elected, the Republicans have not offered a legitimate alternative to the President's policies and have instead resorted to calling him a Muslim Kenyan socialist or a "pacifist." After eight years of defending the Bush Administrations' unprecedented expansion of the federal government, why do they hate Obama so much? Our young emperor is killing Afghan women and children daily with Predator drone strikes, sanctioning torture at Bagram Air Force Base, further destroying habeas corpus, and recently put million-dollar missiles in Eastern Europe; on foreign policy, he's Bush on steroids.
The GOP is portraying themselves as the anti-Obama party, but they show their true colors when candidates who actually represent an intellectual opposition to the warfare-welfare state in DC are weeded out and ignored.
For example, Rand Paul (son of Ron) is trying to win the Republican nomination for the Kentucky Senate seat, and is actually doing quite well. He has raised far more money than his opponent, and it's easy to see why. He is skeptical of foreign wars and in favor of small government, sound money, and individual liberty, representing the fading libertarian streak of the GOP that was once its only redeeming feature. Or the libertarian-minded Peter Schiff in Connecticut, who has raised more than a million dollars trying to get to chance to beat the crooked and corrupt Senator Chris Dodd.
Both of these candidates have received little to no support from the RNC; they are principled men, after all, something the McCains, Huckabees, and Romneys know nothing about. What these libertarians represent are an actual alternative to the two-headed party in DC, something America needs now more than ever.
Progressive writer Brent Budowsky captures this point excellently. He argues that the meteoric rise of Ron Paul and the spread of his ideas are a breath of fresh air.
Forget the spin and the slop. The real winner of the 2009 elections is the public official and candidate who has championed the core insurgency driving the election. It is Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul.
Paul embodies the anti-Washington, anti-tax, anti-big government, anti-financial insiderism viewpoints that are galvanizing large numbers of activists and voters. It is not a majority, but a majority has never been Ron Paul’s goal. Paul is a conviction politician, an idea man, an advocate and a change agent.
I agree with some things Paul says, and disagree with others, but the truth of the matter, politically, is that his agenda has moved center stage and his people are highly motivated and this is a serious movement that is underestimated and misunderstood by Washington insiders.
It's a shame the Republicans aren't listening.
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This article originally appeared in SF's (d)N0t blog.
