Let Friday, February 16th 2007 be recorded as the day the Republican Party hit bottom. Not just the Republican Party but our government in Washington as a whole. Seventeen Republicans in the House of Representatives sided with 229 Democrats, essentially scolding the President for having the audacity to use his constitutional powers to conduct a war in such a way as to win it. Politically, for the Republicans who defected, it is a miscalculation on the same order as thinking they could keep secret the not-so secret life of one of their high profile members through the 2006 election.
And what have those spineless deer-in-the-headlights Republicans accomplished by voting against the President? For starters, they have opened the door to the forced surrender by the U.S. in the War on Terror. Forced, that is, by the Democrats. The Republicans who voted for Resolution 63 have given the Democrats political cover. And The Democrats will not stop here.
Secondly, they have taken one more step toward completely demoralizing our troops. Imagine what you would be thinking right now if you were over there in harm’s way wondering how you’re going to safely evacuate the country once funding is eliminated. They have also provided encouragement to the enemy. Tonight, the terrorists are celebrating in every dark corner of the world.
Thirdly, politically speaking, the GOP lost across the board in 2006, not because of the President or the war in Iraq but because the Republicans in the House and Senate dropped the ball. They forgot why they were elected. They forgot that W brought them a majority in both houses of Congress; making gains in 2002 and 2004, by never flinching in the face of vicious Democrat attacks. They forgot that this war started because the United States was attacked on its own soil without provocation.
Republicans in Congress blame the President now but the war in Iraq was not enough by itself to cause the losses on election night, 2006. What doomed the Republican Party in the last election was the scandals combined with the lack of follow through on Conservative issues by the GOP-led Congress.
Now, as for these Republicans who only see the world in terms of calculating the effect a vote will have on their next reelection campaign, what would hurt them more, angering the peace-at-any–price crowd who will not vote for them anyway, or further depressing the turnout of Conservative voters? The margin in the 2006 election was razor close but a mile wide. If our GOP elected officials don’t find some backbone soon, we’re going down in a landslide in 2008.
Its not surprising that some of the Gang of 17 come from states like Maryland. But speaking as a North Carolinian, shame on Howard Coble and Walter Jones and I hope they have primary opposition next year.So I am hoping we have hit bottom. Its time for those of us at the grass roots of the party to get out of our funk. 2006 is over and we need to get angry, really angry, and tell our Republican leaders to stop acting scared. Stop being a bunch of babies. For crying out loud, take a clue from the President. Has he ever flinched? NO. Even when he knows he can’t even count on certain Republicans in Washington. Gird yourself for battle. We can retreat and guaranty ourselves defeat both politically and in the war on terror. Or we can fight and give ourselves our only prospect of victory.
Richard Miller
Former Chair-Caswell County, NC GOP