I was watching Fox News for a few minutes as I ate lunch yesterday and heard a former aide to Joe Lieberman mention that Republicans’ efforts to “change committee chairs on the deck of the Titanic wasn’t going to prevent it from sinking” or something to that effect and he rightly said that Congress is the single most broken institution in America.
Congress is broken. The Executive Branch is broken. The Judicial System has filled the leadership void and has no business doing so. What’s next?
If Republicans aren’t willing to articulately make the case for systemic reform on Capitol Hill, nothing will change. If Republicans don’t live up to their campaign promises and repeal most or all of ObamaCare and keep the Bush tax cuts, nothing will change. Republicans must show spinal fortitude and unity in addressing the concerns of the electorate or they may never recover from their next cycle of losses.
Will Republicans do the right thing? Is electing establishment Republicans back into leadership positions after the election a good sign? I don’t think it is. And I don’t think they’ll have the ability to avoid political correctness. I don’t think they’ll have the ability to make the hard decisions about the Fed, entitlement spending, and earmarks. It’s not going to be pretty.
At least our decline will slow down. Yay.
Maybe I’m too harsh? I haven’t publicly criticized individual legislators and I DO think we need to give them some time to react to the message they got from the people on the 2nd. We’ll see.
I’m far more optimistic about Iowa’s Republican legislators at the Statehouse. I’m hopeful they can demonstrate leadership, make progress, and set the stage for the parade of Presidential candidates that are about to march through the state on the road to 2012. If we can demonstrate conservative values and restore basic American principles in Iowa, perhaps our next President will feel empowered to take that example to the rest of the nation.