What Went Wrong?
By Randall Nunn (05/16/06)
When President Bush won reelection in 2004, most conservatives thought all was right with the world. The Republicans (who were generally conservative) controlled the Senate, the House and the White House. Bush had won with a sizeable majority and when one looked at the map of the United States, an impressive amount of the land area was “red” country. We had every reason to believe that things could only get better. What has happened?
The president’s poll ratings are very low. The immigration situation is a mess and the war in Iraq is in a difficult phase with the mainstream media doing its utmost to use it in a war of attrition against President Bush. The resignation of Porter Goss as head of the CIA came at a bad time, as did the resignation of Judge Luttig from the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The war on terrorism’s encroachments on civil liberties make conservatives nervous, and rightly so. High energy prices eat away at Americans’ disposable income while nothing is done to “fix” Social Security and government at all levels continues to grow and spend. The current climate does not feel like the balmy happy times conservatives hoped for but a rather disappointing interlude that was unexpected and unwelcome.
Conservatives have a right to be disappointed with this state of affairs. So much was possible with control of the White House and both houses of Congress. But time after time the Republicans exhibit a lack the will to fight for the changes that are needed so desperately if the country is to be put back on course. Many of the actions of the White House seem to be in response to events, not bold initiatives designed to carry out changes the voters expected. Social Security reform, meaningful tax reform, effective immigration policies and control over government spending all seem to have bogged down. The mainstream media continues to set the agenda because there is no effective and sustained communication flow from the White House.
Immigration is an example of the current lack of focus and direction. President Bush does little to articulate an effective response to a serious and growing problem until forced into it by the growing impatience of his base and the statements of his political opponents. And if military resources are used on the border (which many think is an unwise way to respond), that will signal that the administration’s plan is a political response rather than a real long-term solution, since we know that military units will not be stationed permanently at the borders.
How have the White House and the Republican Party allowed themselves to be virtually repositioned on the brink of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory? They seem to be governing as though their primary focus is perpetuating their party’s power rather than representing the views of the electorate who put them in office. Rather than trying to gain the approval of the mainstream media and the pundits, they should be seeking to effectively advance the philosophy and wishes of the conservative majority in this country who elected them. There can be no worse failure than to be elected and empowered by the majority to carry out needed changes and then to squander the advantage provided by the loyal base through a combination of lack of political will and lack of courage to do the right thing.
Is there any wonder that many are nervous about the continued erosion of our civil liberties so that the federal government can more efficiently fight the war on terrorism? A federal government that cannot deal effectively with massive illegal immigration should have to prove itself before Americans give it even more power. The test for any grant of greater federal power should be whether we would fear that power if it was in the hands of an administration that had a far different agenda than the current administration. And the way things are going right now, that could come to pass much sooner than we would like to think.
Randall H. Nunn
(Printer friendly version) Email: Randall Nunn
