A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics
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A Weblog of Centrist Voices in American Politics | |
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September 19, 2005Is the end of the age of DeLay approaching?Tom DeLay has weathered many storms (no pun intended) and survived many calls from the Democrats for his departure. But in the wake of his absurd comments about the absence of budget fat, even the GOP press is starting to buckle. The otherwise loyalist Washington Times offers: If Mr. DeLay actually believes what he said -- that "after 11 years of Republican majority we've pared it [the federal budget] down pretty good" -- then he has clearly lost touch with reality and Republicans must ask whether he is really the best person to continue leading their party. After all, total federal spending, aside from interest, has increased 79 percent since 1995 -- much greater than the inflationary increase in prices of 28 percent.I should disclose that I have never much cared for Tom DeLay; I do not like his style of leadership, I do not - for the most part - share his causes, his concerns, or his vision of what the Republican party does or should stand for. On the other hand, nor do I expect his ouster, given that I think the majority of the Republican party today do not share my disapproval of the Majority Leader. However, I think that many inside the GOP tent have for some time been quietly voicing discomfit with the "big government conservatism" that has driven deficit spending to astonishing levels and federal intrusion into those areas "reserved to the States respectively, or to the people". Those concerns have grown ever louder this year, between the unconstitutional intervention in the Schaivo case, the unconstitutional attempt to change the Senate rules, and most especially, with the passage of the bloated porcine monstrosity that bore the entirely fictional label of a "highways bill". The President's endorsement of FDR-style reconstruction in the south, and the Majority Leader's seeming disconnect with fiscal reality, provide further rallying points for those who are concerned with just where the party is going, and just what is being done in its name. A palace coup - unlikely, but highly desirable, especially now that the calls for his resignation have died down will avoid any sense of the left having claimed a scalp - to remove the Majority Leader would be the first tangible sign that the tide is turning back in the direction of a more genuinely inclusive party. As no lesser a personage than Newt Gingrich once remarked, "It's impossible to create a right-only majority in America. The key to electing Republicans to more offices and have a bigger majority is to be more inclusive"; to the extent that DeLay stands for precisely the opposite proposition, I hope against expectation that his time is up. Posted by Simon at September 19, 2005 01:30 PMComments
Maybe Congress and the Senate can lead in this reguard by taking the pork laden budget and start trimming with the BIG SCISSORS.... *sigh* I can only dream.... it won't get done unless the American People start calling their representatives and demand that they cut the pork including the pork for their own states.... America should come first! Let's start a calling campaign to get them to start trimming.... Posted by: deb at September 19, 2005 03:00 PMI don't get the bit about the lack of inclusiveness. Isn't it the inclusiveness that got the GOp inn this mess in the first place? in an effort to "include' their way to an electoral majority, the decided to include both religious social conservative _and_ socially liberal libertarian conservatives who don't care about social issues, only laissez-fair limited government, lower taxes, and so on. Now the beast born of this marriage is big government social conservatism with a have-your-cake-and -eat-it-too policy of tax cuts _AND_ big spending. How is this NOT due to inclusiveness prioritized over previous forms of ideological purity? Posted by: bk at September 19, 2005 03:08 PMWell, maybe the point is that the public doesn't totally agree with the limited vision of government that the GOP has offered and "big government conservatism" is a recognition of that. With all the talk about trimming fat and reducing spending, there are lots of government programs that people need and want. In general, people seem to want to cut spending from programs that other people like, not their own. Maybe it would be more realistic to accept that government has a role to play and to address that role honestly by recognizing the need for sensible taxation rather than trying to pretend that we can just do away with government and lower taxes all the time. For example, why shouldn't the federal government be involved in the reconstruction of New Orleans? There is a long history of very constructive public-private partnerships and I don't see why the federal government can't play a role here. I have always been extremely skeptical of this Reaganite mantra that government is the enemy. Posted by: Marc at September 19, 2005 03:16 PMI agree with Deb. We need to remember Lincoln and reassert our authority. That said... I continue to believe that a HUGE part of the problem is the divide and conquer politics played by the GOP and the Dems. They're both so friggin' obsessed with acquiring and retaining power with legions of loyal dittoheads that far too few Americans seem able or willing to step back and objectively look at our fiscal priorities and then hold their elected representative accountable. Posted by: Kevin at September 19, 2005 07:59 PM |
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