Posted by
Saint Somebody on Thursday, September 03, 2009 2:48:03 PM
There is much to be learned from reading the Wall Street Journal editorial page but today the real wisdom is captured in the letters to the editors section. Some Republicans have mistakenly interpreted the groundswell of anger toward the administration's overreaching as proof that the citizenry is now in thrall to the GOP. No, seriously, some Republicans believe that. Perhaps these letters will serve to disabuse them of that notion.
Michael Higgins of Maryland notes that while Obama is clearly on defense, the Republicans are not driving the offense He writes "If Republicans misunderstand the nature of this rising storm, they will miss the opportunity to take advantage of it." Larry DeVries of Minnesota observes that elected Republicans are following the opposition, not leading it. "They may be the beneficiaries of the opposition in some future elections, but they have not led so far." Anthony Williams suggests that Democrats and Republicans are little more than participants in a game funded by the taxpayers.
The philosopher Eric Hoffer wrote "It is a talent of the weak to think that they suffer for something when they suffer from something, to think they are showing the way when they are running away, to think that they see the light when they feel the heat, to believe they are the chosen when they are shunned." A frightening description of Al Gore, most prominent Democrats and as it turns out, far too many Republicans.
The American people are, I believe, accurately portrayed as a center-right nation. Philosophically, they support capitalism, self-determination and limited government. But philosophy doesn't deliver unless the politicians do. If the 'government control' ship has sailed, citizens will choose sides, aligning themselves with the party most likely to employ government control to their personal advantage. We don't want the game to be fixed, but if it is fixed, we still want to be on the winning team.
The Republicans do not get a free pass this time. It isn't enough to be "not Obama." If you are going to be the guardians of economic freedom and fiscal responsibility, when will you start and what will you do?
In my very first article I wrote "As a conservative, I want to believe that our guys think that capitalism, over time, can rescue the poor while liberalism can only sustain them at some tolerable level of misery. I want to believe in Republicans who trust that the creation and market diffusion of wealth builds a stronger America. I want to believe in a Republican congress that wants to solve the entitlement crisis rather than own it. But I don’t.
Republicans always promise to safeguard the Treasury and oversee the congressional henhouse, but history tells us that they really just want to fornicate with the other hens. It’s a shame because we are not in danger just from the ideological left. If the only thing Republicans advocate is a more modest socialism, a less powerful nanny state, pardon the electorate’s indifference."
Republican officials have quietly moved to the front of the angry crowd. But that is not the same as leading and it isn't the same as governing.