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Senator McCain still doesn't get it, but Senator DeMint seems to
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John McCain just doesn't get it (AP Photo/Harry Hamburg)
A breath of fresh air
In the wake of two rounds of significant electoral losses, one might think that Republicans would have started learning where they went wrong. Finally, one Republican has spoken out with some words which will sound refreshing to most of us in the freedom movement.
"The real mistake is that Republicans became more concerned with staying in D.C. than reforming it," notes South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint at the Wall Street Journal. "Despite notable successes at both ends of Pennsylvania Ave., it seems to me that Republicans in Congress and in the Bush administration forgot a simple truth. To paraphrase C.S. Lewis, if you aim for principled reform, you win elections in the bargain; if you just aim for elections, you get neither."
DeMint takes it further than simply diagnosing the problem, but also provides a prescription which will certainly help the GOP -- if Republicans will actually swallow the small-government pill. DeMint explains:
To win back the trust of the American people, we must be a "big tent" party. But big tents need strong poles, and the strongest pole of our party -- the organizing principle and the crucial alternative to the Democrats -- must be freedom. The federal government is too big, takes too much of our money, and makes too many of our decisions. If Republicans can't agree on that, elections are the least of our problems.
If the American people want a European-style social democracy, the Democratic Party will give it to them. We can't win a bidding war with Democrats.
Freedom will mean different things to different Republicans, but it can tether a diverse coalition to inalienable principles. Republicans can welcome a vigorous debate about legalized abortion or same-sex marriage; but we should be able to agree that social policies should be set through a democratic process, not by unelected judges. Our party benefits from national-security debates; but Republicans can start from the premise that the U.S. is an exceptional nation and force for good in history. We can argue about how to rein in the federal Leviathan; but we should agree that centralized government infringes on individual liberty and that problems are best solved by the people or the government closest to them.
To be sure, the GOP effectively shut down debate about foreign policy during the Bush years. Attempting to paint anyone who disagreed with Iraq policy as being unpatriotic, GOP leadership acted in unison to accomplish this goal. This not only happened in the mainstream media, but blogs such as Erick Erickson's Redstate banned Ron Paul supporters from even commenting on the site.
This writer has some minor nits to pick about a few of DeMint's points. As one example, judges should be able to overturn unconstitutional social policies. This is why we've established a system of checks and balances. However, that DeMint would leave these issues open to debate is a welcomed breath of fresh air. His statement about individual liberty and local government not only brands him as a Right Wing Terrorist, but also a traitor to Republican Party policies of the last eight years -- and a hero to millions and millions of Americans.
A lingering whiff of GOP flatulence
Unfortunately, not all Republicans seem to get it as well as Senator DeMint does. From my observations, the three Republicans hated most by most Republicans I know are George Bush, Arlen Specter and John McCain. Bush is no longer president and seems to have little control over GOP policies these days. Specter is no longer a Republican, and many would say that he never was. However, 2008 GOP presidental candidate John McCain is still a U.S. Senator and still has a lot of influence within the Republican Party.
Republican House Whip Eric Cantor has just announced the formation of the National Council for a New America, which is described as "a forward-looking, grassroots caucus intended to bring together Congressional leaders with a national panel of experts."
In reality, the National Council for a New America looks like another top-down organization which will be conducting forums and town hall meetings to push an agenda which looks just like the same-old agenda we've been seeing from Republicans.
As an example, their proposed national security agenda seems little different from the Bush Doctrine most Americans despise:
The threats posed to our nation are more varied and evolving more than perhaps at any other time in our history. Modern communications, technology and the proliferation of weapons of all types have empowered our enemies and those who support them. Our national security policy must reflect these realities while allowing us to maintain technological superiority, support the most well-trained and well-equipped military in the world and have the intelligence capabilities to uncover and prevent attacks before they occur.
Their plans for the economy, healthcare, education and energy don't look any different, either.
To show the arrogance and disconnect this group has with everyday Americans, take a look at their national panel of experts:
- Governor Haley Barbour
- Governor Jeb Bush
- Governor Bobby Jindal
- Senator John McCain
- Governor Mitt Romney
Not only is Bush's brother on the list, but so is John McCain. One might think Republicans would be hiding McCain and anything with the word "Bush" in it in some dark closet someplace. Instead, they are casting the spotlight on policies and people recently rejected by American voters.
It seems that some Republicans just don't get it. Hopefully the DeMint wing of the party will have enough influence to at least open the dialogue.
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