Open Season On RINO’s In 2006
By Randall Nunn (04/22/05)
The 2006 Congressional elections are shaping up as critical for conservatives. If the gains secured in 2000 and 2004 are to be protected, conservatives must add to their majorities in Congress, particularly in the U.S. Senate. Since the Democratic Party has lurched more to the left, by definition this means conservatives should generally support Republican candidates. But not all Republicans come in conservative flavors.
Probably the most important action of the Bush presidency will be the appointment of justices to the U.S. Supreme Court if vacancies should open up. If the Republicans can add 5 seats in the Senate, it will be possible to more easily confirm conservative judges appointed by President Bush. With a margin of 60 votes in the Senate, most judicial nominees should be confirmed. Of course, if Republicans show some courage and change the Senate rules on judicial filibusters, they could accomplish the same result now. But judging by what we have seen lately, seeing a genuine and broad-based display of courage among the Senate Republicans is becoming less likely.
The Republicans in the Senate have failed to provide the level of support they should to President Bush’s plans to reform Social Security and the tax laws. Both of these are long overdue and would provide a tremendous boost to our economy and the quality of life of our citizens. Both programs are reasonable, feasible approaches to correcting serious problems that will continue to worsen if the country does not act. Yet we see a number of Republicans ducking and dodging and testing the wind to determine how they should position themselves.
Far too many of our Senators look at their office as a career position where they can profit financially and perpetuate themselves in office rather than a position of public trust. If only we had some giants in the Senate who could ignore polls, political correctness and media pressure and vote consistently based on their principles as represented to their constituents, rather than the passion of the moment. There are few such Senators today but if conservatives become active in state elections, they can both exert pressure on their representatives now in Congress and elect new representatives when the existing ones fail to support constitutional government and individual liberty.
We will seldom, if ever, find Senators and Representatives who vote in accordance with our wishes 100% of the time. We must be pragmatic and willing to support elected representatives who generally are supportive of conservative positions. But there are certain key areas where citizens should be prepared to work tirelessly to turn elected representatives out of office if they vote contrary to the will of the majority in those areas. For example, Republicans who do not support the appointment of conservative judges to the federal judiciary when most in their state do should not be kept in office. Issues such as national security, individual liberty, fair and equitable taxation, immigration, the free exercise of religion and the role of the states and the federal government in our federal system are all fundamental to our nation’s well being. Those representatives who consistently take positions at odds with the majority of their constituents on these matters ought not retain the privilege of representation of those constituents.
We all know that there are certain Republican Senators who generally support conservative positions on fundamental issues (e.g., Senators Santorum, Kyl, Hutchison, and Hatch). We also know certain Republicans who weakly espouse Republican positions but vote in support of liberal positions more often than not (e.g., Senators Chafee, Snowe, and Collins). And there are some who conservatives have supported due to their seemingly conservative positions on certain issues only to find that they may not be what they appear to be (e.g., Senators Lindsay Graham, Voinovich, DeWine and Hagel). If these Senators who are Republican In Name Only cannot be counted on with respect to key issues then conservatives should work to replace them with someone who can. Whenever that happens, those in Congress who are prone to test the political winds will adjust course and tack more to the right.
The time has come for conservatives to turn their attention to state races and commit themselves to electing real conservative representatives. The executive branch has become much too powerful in this country and needs to be balanced by a stronger legislative branch and a judicial branch not populated by judges who see their job to remake society by legislating from the bench. Most of the country is conservative and our legislature should reflect that orientation. If conservatives can become active and defeat Republicans in primaries who are Republican In Name Only and elect in their place genuine conservatives we will be on the road to solving many of the problems confronting the country.
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