Jun

8

Ronald ReaganIn 1994, following the Clintons’ attempt to socialize American medicine, Newt Gingrich united the Republicans in a singular campaign to overturn the 40-year Democratic domination of Congress. Newt’s “Contract With America” promised the voters that the Republicans would vote on ten issues within the first 100 days of a new Congress. These issues promoted conservative values born of the Reagan Revolution and served as the centerpiece of the Republican’s sweeping victory in that year.

Promise made; promise kept.

The concept was so successful that the Clintons found themselves without a supportive Democratic majority, but a Republican majority led by the new Speaker, Newt Gingrich. Their response was typical of the Democratic Party under the Clinton lead: they attacked the source of their problem. Newt was the greatest threat to their reign so they began to demonize him with every type of accusation. The supportive drive-by media sang the right chorus and raised the cry to a crescendo.

Eventually, the Republican Party caved. They came to Newt and quietly said, “You are an embarrassment. If you go away, we can live in peace.” Newt resigned.

Shame on the Republican Party.

This was nothing short of going to Munich and seeking “peace in our time” with the radical crazies. Did the Republicans who asked Newt to leave really think that this was going to satisfy James Carville and Hillary Clinton? Instead, it merely whetted their political appetites and showed them that if they attack the leader, then the rest of the party will cave and make the leader to go away.

Republican Trent Lott was enjoying moderate success as the Republican Majority Leader of the Senate. The Democrats were not able to get their favorite goals through him. The answer was simple: attack the leader and get the spineless Republicans to dump him.

A passing comment to a 100-tear old former Dixiecrat presidential candidate, teasing that he would have made a “great president” was called racist by such civil rights giants as former Klansman Robert Byrd, Democrat of West Virginia. Again, the drive-by media picked up the chant until the Republican Party sidled up to Lott and said, “You have become an embarrassment. You need to go away.” Lott left.

Shame on the spineless Republicans.

They, not the Democrats, should pick who leads the Republican Party in the Senate. But again, they oozed (too weak to crawl) out of the public outcry by seeking “peace on our time.”

Tom Delay was known for years as “the hammer”” because of his tough-fisted approach to pushing conservative legislation and the Republican Party line in Congress. Delay outlined a plan to redistrict his home state’s congressional districts to favor Republicans. He helped push the same plan through other states as well. Of course, this was disastrous to the Democrats’ plan to regain congressional control. The only reasonable survival plan for the Democrats was… you guessed it… begin screaming about the corruption of Tom Delay.

Nothing new to this incident. A choir of media ensembles began creating an oratorio extravaganza of supposed wrongs promulgated by the dangerous and ruthless thug in the House of Representatives. It wasn’t long before the Republicans came to Tom Delay and asked their Majority Leader to step aside because he had become “an embarrassment.”

How long? How long will we suffer? How long before we see someone in the national Republican leadership who will stand up to the Democratic mudslingers and say a resounding “NO!”? How long will it be before there is a spine in the Republican leadership who will say “ENOUGH!”?

I only hope that each local area can write to their own
Republican Representative and Senator and demand that the core values of conservative ideology be maintained without apology. Demand that the Republican leadership be supported as long as they are promoting the conservative values they were elected to promulgate. However, if the leadership does not represent the backbone that Reagan was famous for, replace them.

Remember Reagan? Remember that President who was called a warmonger when he wouldn’t cave in to Gorbachev? Remember the beating he took in the press after walking out of the Iceland Conference and leaving Gorby standing in the lurch? Nevertheless, Reagan did not give in. Reagan was right and he knew he was right and the Democrats and their media could all take a hike. Why? Because Ronald Reagan was not going to forsake what was right.

That is spine. That is leadership. That is courage in the face of the enemy. We seem to be missing that today in our party.

Where is the Reagan of the 21st Century? Step forward and we will follow you. Or maybe we’ll just tell you to go away because you are an embarrassment. Then our party can dwindle on into obscurity.