GOP chief: Republicans 'screwed up' after Reagan
Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele offers a simple explanation for why the GOP all too often lost touch with typical Americans since the Ronald Reagan era: "We screwed up," he claims in a new book offering a blueprint for the party's resurgence.About time and certainly its appropriate that Steele has acknowledged the problem.
That "we" includes the last two Republican presidents and the most recent Republican candidate for president.
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"We must support Republican officials who assert these principles," he writes. "When elected Republicans vote against Republican principles, the voters must withhold their support - withhold it vigorously and consistently."
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To regain the public confidence, Steele says the GOP should, among other things, expose the "reign of error" inherent in liberal policies, contrast conservative and liberal principles, and highlight the damage caused by Obama's policies while explaining conservative solutions.
More surprising, the GOP chairman directly or indirectly criticizes:
-President George H.W. Bush for raising taxes two years after President Ronald Reagan left office, though Steele ignores the fact that Reagan raised taxes too.
-President George W. Bush for not vetoing any spending bills during his first five years in office. He calls Bush and other Republicans "enablers for big government" and derides the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program as "a massive government slush fund."
-Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the party's 2008 presidential nominee, for backing censorship of political speech through the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. Steele says the GOP erred in allowing itself to be associated with "a national political speech code."
-Republican lawmakers in general, who allowed spending to rise from 2001 to 2004, went along with TARP and McCain-Feingold, and supported the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.
"We must quickly learn our lessons, return to our principles and move on," Steele concludes.
Too bad the lessons weren't learned, and principles not adhered to years ago, but there's still time before the 2010 elections for the GOP to prove its learned its lesson and that it deserves a shot at governing again.
2 comments:
I heard Steele on the radio yesterday talking with Sean Hannity about all of this. If this is truly an epiphany for him, it is reason for hope. If it's just mealy-mouthed political posturing like we have gotten from the R's ever since Reagan left office (save for the halcyon days of 1994 and the "Contract with America") then he will drive conservatives like me even further away from the party.
It starts right now. There is an election to fill Ted Kennedy's seat in a couple of weeks, and the entire financial and PR arm of the R's should be focused on getting their guy elected there. Then the House, Senate, and Governor's races begin.
Now is the time, Mr. Steele, to show us that your party understands what the people of this country truly want, and it isn't "Democrat Lite" moderates without spines.
As a wise old past Republican President said "Trust but Verify".
The GOP now has a tremendous opportunity due to the well deserved dissatisfaction with Obama and the Democrats putting the country in a leftward downward spiral.
Lets see if they can live up to their potential and not again turn victory into defeat.
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