Since Bush’s reelection (and sometime before), I’ve wondered more and more where the Republican House and Senate have been, and who the imposters are who have taken their place. The current Congress is spending money like drunken sailors — with the main difference that real drunken sailors are at least spending their own money – refusing to protect the border, and doing damn-all to keep their conservative base happy.

But recently I ran across an article written by Peggy Noonan last May that has given voice to the frustration of many about the Wussy-Republican Blues:

Power is distancing.

When you’ve been in Congress for a while, or the White House for a while, you both forget too many things and learn too many things.

You forget why they sent you. You forget it’s not that you’re charming and wonderful. You forget it’s not you. You become immersed in a Washington conversation, a political conversation, that is, by definition, unlike the normal human conversation back home. To survive and thrive, national politicians have to speak two languages, Here and Home. Actually it’s more than two languages, it’s two cultures. It’s hard to straddle cultures.

And therein, I believe, lies the pig in the parlor for the Republicans. They’ve forgotten who put them in power 12 years ago, and they’ve forgotten why they were put there in the first place.

So what do we do about it? I’ve written my Representative and Senators so much that the Post Office is going to put my face on their next stamp. Besides, they’re on my side, for the most part. I don’t make enough money to interest anyone else, and I can offer no influence or favors.

All that’s left are my voice and my vote. I vote my conscience, but no one is exemplifying the ideals I most strongly believe in. The Republicans — including President Bush — have absolutely wasted the opportunity they’ve been given since Bush’s reelection. I don’t mind voting Republican or Democrat or Libertarian or Independent if the candidates were committed to Conservative values rather than toeing the Party line. The Democrats have long since abandoned any Conservative principles they might have had at one time, and sadly, it looks as if Republicans have done the same thing over the last two years or so.

Noonan continues:

A reporter told me a story a few weeks ago. He was at a meeting with an important Republican congressman. Talk turned to the upcoming 2006 elections. The congressman argued it will be better for the Republicans than people think; they’ll hold the House. He said they are better at getting the vote out. He made the case for this based on turnout figures in 2000 and 2004. They have more money. He made the case for this assertion too. And they have a message. The reporter who was there said later he noticed the oddest thing. Under “message” his notes were blank. He couldn’t really remember what the congressman said.

No wonder. How could they have a message if they’ve lost their meaning?

[…]

Party leaders say they’re aware they’re in trouble, aware of a sense of stasis in the country. They are going to solve the problem, they say, by passing legislation. They’re going to pass a budget. And they’re going to pass an immigration bill, too. People will like that.

But no they won’t. The American people are not going to say, “I am relieved and delighted our Congress passed a budget.” They will be relieved and delighted if Congress cuts spending. They would be relieved and delighted if Congress finally took responsibility for the nation’s borders. They won’t be impressed if you just pass bills and call it progress.

Party leaders are showing a belief in process as opposed to a belief in, say, belief. But belief drives politics. It certainly drives each party’s base.

One gets the impression party leaders, deep in their hearts, believe the base is… base. Unsophisticated. Primitive. Obsessed with its little issues. They’re trying to educate the base. But if history is a guide, the base is about to teach them a lesson instead.

Get that last part — “…the base is about to teach them a lesson instead”. Will the Republicans lose power because their base stays home and denies them their vote? Or is it feasible that Conservatives will say “Sometimes you’ve got to flush the refuse”, and actually vote against Republicans, believing that they can put better people (who will have realized how dedicated Conservatives can be if listened to) in over the next few election cycles?

After all, I believe that Conservatives — the heart and soul of America — have the electoral clout to gain control of the House, the Senate, the White House, and Old Mother Hubbard’s Shoe if they so desired. All they need is a target for their largesse, someone they can believe in, such as the Republican members of the 104th Congress of 1994. But that would require politicians to actually have values.

Should Conservatives withhold their votes in the upcoming election? I don’t think I personally am ready to consider that right now. But I’ll tell you one thing — Republicans currently in office for darn sure had better start considering it.

TD

Said tdillard @ 6:01 am | Permalink   

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