GOP: The Sky is Falling
By Jan Larson (04/17/06)
If you’ve ever made a contribution to a political party, political candidate or other interest group, you probably know that one donation, no matter how large or small, eventually results in an avalanche of desperate pleas for additional donations.
With the 2006 midterm elections on the horizon, my mailbox has become a destination address for solicitations from a host of Republican candidates, some in-state, some from across the country, the House and Senate GOP committees and the GOP itself. (I have to give the Democrats credit, they at least recognize a dry hole when they see it. I don’t get anything from them.)
Almost all of these Republican solicitations are filled with dire warnings that the Democrats will certainly seize control of Congress without more money from me. The sky is falling. The sky is falling!
Well, here’s some news … the gravy train has derailed.
With control of both the House and Senate, this Congress had the opportunity to pass legislation that would make a real difference to all Americans. Social Security will collapse. What did this group of solons do about it? Nothing. The federal tax system is an atrocity. What was done to fix it? Nothing. The borders are out of control. Same story – nothing. (This could change, but I don’t necessarily expect that change to be for the better.)
What did this Republican-led Congress do? Well, they approved billions of dollars of pork barrel spending. They poured hundreds of billions into maintaining, check that ... actually growing, the federal government behemoth. They had a few members publicly embarrass themselves, one of which, “Duke” Cunningham, is now in prison. At least they showed some concern with steroid use in major league baseball.
The public is getting sick and tired of members of Congress and Senators doing virtually nothing worthwhile for the average American, but instead engage in little more than partisan bickering while always looking out for the next election.
This GOP Congress failed to deliver on the mandate of the previous election and now they come crawling asking for more money so they can go back and try it again. How rich.
What to do? Certainly not to elect Democrats. For all the GOP did not get done in the 110th Congress, the return of control to the Democrats would be a disaster. If you think the Republicans can spend like drunken sailors, remember that the Dems can spend like drunken sailors’ wives! (That’s a joke, folks.)
Seriously, does anyone believe that this country would be better off with the party of Ted Kennedy, Howard Dean and Hollywood in charge? The party of obstruction and retreat? The party of really big government and open borders? Nancy Pelosi just two heart attacks from the presidency?
The solution is not for conservatives to abandon ship and go over to the dark side. For all their shortcomings, the country cannot afford to toss the GOP out.
While recent polls have indicated that the public’s approval rating for Congress as a whole is less than 30%, I also saw a poll indicating that 57% approve of their own congressman (Cynthia McKinney’s district excepted). This is, of course, part of the power of incumbency and explains why over 95% of incumbents are typically re-elected and also explains why I doubt the Democrats will gain control of the House.
The Democrats need a net gain of 15 seats to obtain control of the House of Representatives. That means that all current Democrat seats would have to remain in the donkey column plus 15 seats that went to the elephants in 2004 would have to go the other way. With the way that districts are typically gerrymandered, plus the aforementioned 57% home-district approval rating, it seems quite unlikely that the GOP will lose the House.
With all the advantages that the GOP currently enjoys, it seems remarkable that they could be in a position to lose control of Congress, but the Republican predicament can only be blamed on the Republicans themselves.
And now they come asking for money. If the 2006 election were a football game, this play would be called the “Hail Mary.” My advice would be to use a more conservative (pun intended) strategy – keep it on the ground and grind it out. Maybe demonstrating a reason to be reelected would make a good start.
Copyright ©2006 Jan A. Larson All rights reserved.
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