Redstate

By docj Posted in Congress | Spotlight Blogs — Comments (3) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

[UPDATE: Hi, Wonkette readers! And, for the three of you who will actually bother to click through, a special message just for you: how's that impeachment coming along? Not too well, huh? Alas. Alack. - Moe Lane]

And so, we begin our trek through the political wilderness.

In Washington DC and in state capitols across the nation, Democrats are taking over the reigns of power to the simultaneous swoon of national and local medial organs, the chagrin of disenfranchised conservatives who thought this might be a good idea, and an electorate who seems to be more focused on the antics of Rosie and The Donald than The War™. In spite of some chest-thumping from a cadre true believers, my sense is that today will be the day when the effects of last November's election truly sink-in to many on my side of the political Grand Chasm. How long these effects will linger is a complex function of many variables - the ability of the lame-duck leader of the Party to rally the same people he's largely thrown under the bus these last 6-years on issues seen as core to the faithful being a large and largely unknown factor - but linger for a time they shall and should.

Read on . . .

True, the actions of the new Majority will certainly play a role in our spiritual renewal. But if we're looking for a large-scale rejection of Democrat first principles (such as they are) by this particular electorate to vault us back into political relevance by November 2008 then I suppose we had best get used to a long and deserved stretch in the wilderness.

Meanwhile, the incoming congressional majority begins their reign of Washington's legislature by, I suppose praying to whatever god in which the believe for the following:
1) That their anointed lady Speaker develop some political skills and leadership she's not yet demonstrated,
2) For the continued loyalty of a recently-spurned colleague,
3) For the continued oxygen-consumption of a good man who has recently suffered greatly at a premature age,
4) For the continued support of the only Senate liberal with the stones to put his party registration where his ideology is.

The new Senate majority is also facing a Minority Leader with demonstrated political and parliamentary skills far exceeding his predecessor's - with all the tools afforded to Senate minorities unavailable to their House counterparts. It almost makes me feel sorry for Harry Reid at times - but sauce, gander, and all that. Politics not being bean-bag, after all.

But still, how long we spend roaming the legislative backwaters of the nation will be largely determined, I believe, by our party's ability to articulate a vision that is profoundly different than what we can expect from this new Majority. Sure, the Democrats in 2006 demonstrated that it is in fact possible - given a perfect storm of media participation, disenchantment with the current leadership, and some flat-out political stupidity by one's opponents - to beat something with nothing. But does anyone think that lightning will strike twice?

So given that, allow me to suggest that the Republican Party look to the following principles - the proverbial "Republicans were put on the Earth to..." paradigm:
Republicans were put on the Earth to...
1) Cut taxes
2) Balance budgets
3) Preserve the culture
4) Protect the innocent
5) Defend the borders, and
6) Project an aggressive and coherent foreign policy

That's it. I truly believe that if the President and congressional minority develop and promote policies based on these simple principles, demonstrated electoral winners all, not only will the country be far better off as a result, but I boldly predict that we will be seeing an end to the reign on Madame Speaker come January 2009.

Cross-posted at The Minority Report.