Mr. Leader
By Pejman Yousefzadeh Posted in Republicans — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »
I supported John Shadegg in the race for House Majority Leader. But as the Baseball Crank notes, John Boehner appeared to have enough of both the Mr. Inside and Mr. Outside appeal to the House Republican Caucus to cause them to believe that he would be both an effective symbol for reform and an effective Leader of the House. Republicans were afforded the chance to find their candidates and fall in love. Now they must put the election behind them and fall in line.
Which is not to say that there are not pressures and responsibilities on the shoulders of the new Majority Leader as well. He must understand the discontent with which so many Republicans view the actions of our Representatives and Senators--not to mention the titular head of our party, the President of the United States. With earmarks and pork-barrel spending the not-so-dirty secret of the budgetary process, with the process itself almost intrinsically geared towards greater and greater spending and with the prospect of small government diminishing so long as large government can be used to augment and solidify the power of the current majority, principled Republicans can be forgiven for thinking that those they had worked and fought to elect have gone astray. There are two distinct ideologies of governance in the United States; one that believes a large and active government can be and is a force for good, and another that believes that small government and the devolution of power and decision-making responsibilities to states, localities and individuals is the best way to fulfill the aim of the American Compact. I don't mind at all having both lines of thinking championed by parties. I do mind, however, when in effect, only one line of thinking is.
So over and above all else, the new Majority Leader will be looked to--along with his fellow Republicans in the House, the Senate and down the street on Pennsylvania Avenue--to recapture what it means to be a Republican. In the course of doing so, Representative Boehner will, of course, need to reward his benefactors. And he will need to understand that those who are his benefactors have done him a favor not just through the delivery of votes, but more importantly, through the generation of ideas. Ideas do have consequences, after all and the creation and implementation of ideas can lead to the just and meaningful acquisition of power--a power freely granted by a discerning electorate. Upon the shoulders of the political class, no greater responsibility can be placed. Upon their heads, no more splendid a crown can be fixed. And for the honor of being afforded so great a responsibility and so rare a chance for immortal glory through service to a nation not unfamiliar with glory, no effort should be spared or foresaken.