Posted by
stevo on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 11:30:45 AM
As Rich Lowry from NR continually said last night, this electoral defeat for Republicans could have a "cleansing effect."
Let us hope that these words are prophetic in the sense that they precipitate a battle on the Republican side of the aisle in Congress. For too long, lukewarm conservatism has dominated the Republican political landscape. Spending (not counting military expenditures) has been dramatically ramped up in support of programs of government largesse, such as "No Child Left Behind" and the Medicare benefit. In addition, earmarks have become as much a staple of DC in the last 6 years as Washington Redskin defeats.
It is time for Mike Pence and the rest of his caucus to wage war against the Republican leadership and cleanse out the tainted elements of the party that had soured the national appetite for Republicans. The Iraq War hurt Republicans, but the lack of a principled, conherant message from Congressional Republicans merely drove the sword deeper.
If we hope to compete on the 2008 battleground, we must purge the Republican wound of this "compromised conservatism" infection.