Posted by
stevo on Saturday, October 14, 2006 5:20:03 PM
Starting today, I will write on 5 ways in which Republicans can reconnect with the public--namely, the younger portion of the public who are becoming a more important voting bloc. Number 5 on the list is what the title of this entry implies: Republicans need to become known as those who stand on the strength of their convictions.
For an example of Republican cowardice and wish-washiness, I would like to refer the reader to a National Review article from 10/9--"The Chairman Dissents." Speaking of a travasty-of-a-report on U.S. intelligence preceding the Iraq War by the Senate Intelligence Committee, Byron York indirectly contrasts moral fortitude with moral ambiguity. The case studies in this example are Pat Roberts on the one side, and Chuck Hagel and Olympia Snow on the other.
In a case of blatant politicking, Democrats on the committee, led by Jay Rockefeller, altered a more-accurate description of the report in favor of one that parroted Democratic talking points and was blatantly inaccurate. This was a disastrous situation for committee Republicans, who knew that in such a situation, they could count on two of their colleagues to switch sides and alter the balance of power. After such treachery occurred, Chairman Pat Roberts wrote about the report: "These conclusions are a myth."
It is a dark day for Republicans when they cannot count on their own to take a stand on simple matters of integrity. In a day in which the American public are accepting moral ambiguity as politics-as-usual, many Republicans are not trying to buck the trend. Our most prominent figures becomes Rep. Ney from Ohio, or Mark Foley in Florida. In the shadow of these figures, the barking of principled Republicans becomes an irritant to a public that has been conditioned into thinking that conscience is outdated.
Why must Rick Santorum become an anomaly for his outspoken convictions? Instead of Republicans ensuring that conviction becomes a staple of the party, they allow moral compromise and stalwarts like Santorum become painted as extremists. The public seeing them as outside the mainstream, these principled conservatives find themselves nearing the blade that will sever their political viability.
Yet, younger voters in our country have seen the devastating effects of moral ambiguity upon our political parties and culture-at-large. We have seen the celebation of gay former governors who leave their families for the sake of depraved gratification; we grimly acknowledge the hiding of pedophilia within the halls of Congress. We have seen the devastating effects of broken families; we grieve over the babies born out thoughtless promiscuity to single mothers.
If Republicans become a party defined by principle, as they appeared after their 1994 "Contract with America", they will be seen as a voice of moral clarity and will attract young voters out of the darkness of ambiguity. If this means cleaning house and sacrificing politicians like Hagel and Snowe on the altar of principle, then the sacrifice must be made.