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The
2006 election offered a clear indictment of the policies of the President and
Republican Congressional majority and their failure to provide effective
leadership on core issues. Illegal immigration, deficit spending,
health care issues, unfair trade practices and job impact, social security
solvency, erosion of America's educational standing, and other primary issues
were sidestepped by those in control in deference to legislative trivia and
the pursuit of pork. Even stalwart Republican voters came to feel
they were voting beneath their dignity in supporting "Republicans in
Name Only" as the lesser of evils over liberal Democrats.
A
year after this call for something different and better, little has
changed. We are seeing a shift from the short-sighted "borrow and
spend" policies of the Republicans to the historical "tax and
spend" policies of the Democrats, but few would describe that as
progress. Tough issues continue to be ignored in deference to the easy
task of regulating the behavior of average Americans who already behave
pretty well on their own. The new Democrat controlled
Congress is just another restaurant's version of a frozen french fry - it
looks real, but still tastes like greasy paper and leaves most American's
with a queasy stomach.
We
seem to have lost faith in our two primary parties. The Democrats, who
seem to be in love with the concept of individual and community welfare, have
been kidnapped by extremists that mock the traditions and values still held
by a majority of Americans. The Republicans, who seem to be in love
with the concept of corporate and trade partner welfare, have been kidnapped
by those who say one thing and do another. Principle, which has
more to do with standing for something than being perfect, has seemingly been
abandoned in the rush to pander and indulge special interests.
Solutions
will not come by careening from one ditch to another as is sometimes the
tendency of a frustrated electorate. Instead, each of us as Americans
must get serious about holding our elected officials to their promises and
separating the pretty, smooth, and seductive leaders from those struggling
with real principles and real issues. Nature sends a daily message that
God's world is a tough world, and that we get no better from that world that
we are willing to earn. Politics are certainly no exception.
It's
a continued personal belief that the Republican party's principles offer the
closest match to the values of the average American. I also believe
those principles best support the historical American Success Equation
of liberty, opportunity, and responsibility that grounded our tremendous history
and holds the important keys to our future. The Republican party of
principle is founded in the works of men like Lincoln and Roosevelt - men who
struggled with the often contradictory influences of principles versus power
and politics - and more often than not, unlike most of today's leaders, won
that internal struggle.
We
can see both clouds of darkness and sunrays of hope when we look toward
America's future. Political parties that are corrupted by
extremist views or an absence of principle will not take us toward the
light. Building something good has never been that easy.
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