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‘Thumpin’ May Bring GOP to Its Senses
Republican soul-searching will find left-wing policies at heart of defeat
VOTERS DID THEIR NATION AND THE GOP A patriotic service by voting against Republican candidates on Nov. 7. If the results had gone the other way, our boy president would have considered it a mandate to continue his neo-liberal and internationalist policies.
What was important to voters was clearly corruption in Washington, such as the Foley scandal. Many thousands voted against the Republicans because of Bush’s refusal to enforce our immigration laws. For others it was the gargantuan budget and deficit. Bush’s careening around the globe interfering in the affairs of other nations was also a factor.
Collectively, it was an overwhelming desire by people who identify themselves as “conservatives” to dump Republicans who betrayed the cause by supporting Bush’s Democrat- liberal policies.
In 1994, Republicans won both chambers of Congress by landslides on their promises to reduce spending, balance the budget and decrease the size and scope of government. But under these same Republicans, spending and deficits set record levels, even when adjusting for the high costs of illadvised wars. Pork-barrel spending has multiplied under Republicans. In 2000, Bush was elected president after railing against “nation-building” by Democrats. That’s precisely what he’s trying to do in Iraq after illegally, unconstitutionally attacking that country while lying about Saddam’s nonexistent “weapons of mass destruction.”
The Iraq and Afghanistan death toll is now over 3,000 Americans and almost a million “enemy.”
“Some of our elected officials in Washington somehow turned into the very people we threw out of office in 1994: more entrenched power, more politics as usual, more frivolous spending,” said David Bossie of Citizens United, a conservative advocacy group.
“Every single member of the Republican leadership in the House should be replaced,” said Richard Viguerie, the Republican direct-mail czar who operates the web site, ConservativesBetrayed.com.
The elections were clearly a referendum on George W. Bush and his war on Iraq. Voters couldn’t vote to fire Bush, so they did the next best thing: they fired his party, in the House, in the Senate and in statehouses around the nation. Congressional Republicans will now move fast to distance themselves from the Bush White 
This election was also a referendum on the so-called neoconservatives—the big government Republicans who took us into undeclared, unnecessary, unwinnable wars while they busted the budget and enriched big business.
Benefits of the Republican losses were pointed out in advance in a prescient commentary Oct. 30, 2006, by Willis A. Carto on page 10 of American Free Press:
“Mark this well: if the Democrats sweep Congress next election, the Republican Party will automatically oppose the Democrats in everything they are now doing themselves. And this includes opposing Democrats even when the Democrats only want to follow policies originated by the Republicans.
“Should the Democrats want to invade Iran, for example, you may be sure that Republicans will screech their opposition to it. Should they show weakness in protecting the Mexican border, can you imagine how the Republicans would howl? And can you visualize the fight on the budget and how Republican defenders of fiscal sanity would fight tooth and toenail for government restraint?”
It is heartening to patriots that third party candidates, offering alternatives to the major parties, played a significant role in this election. In several House and Senate races, they won enough votes to affect the outcomes.
In Florida, Tim Mahoney (D) won with 50% of the vote to 48% for Joe Negron (R). But Emmie Ross (I) won 3%. In Indiana, Baron Hill (D) won with 49% to Mike Sodrel’s (R) 46% while Libertarian Eric Schansberg won 5%. In Minnesota, Michele Bachman (R) beat Patty Wetterling (D) 49% to 43% while John Binkowski (Independence Party) won 8%. In Nevada, Jon Porter (R) won with 48% to Tessa Hafen’s (D) 47% as two other candidates totaled 4%. In the Senate, Claire McCaskill (D) ousted incumbent Jim Talent (R-Mo.) 49% to 48%. Two other candidates totaled 3%. In Virginia, the race between incumbent George Allen (R) and Jim Webb (D) is so close the result will be determined, at the earliest, Nov. 27 as “provisional” ballots are screened. Webb has 50%, Allen 49% and Independent Green candidate Glenda Parker has 1%.
So there is a bright side. The Republican loss liberates members of that party. No longer must they follow a leader who has clearly been following the Democratic liberal agenda.
Surely they will return to proclaiming the values and principles that have made our nation great. And by opposing the Democrats it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for neo-liberals to push any further legislation through Congress.
(Issue #47, November 20, 2006)
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