Election Aftermath

Responding to a Denver Post Letter to the Editor and Editorial by Mort Zuckerman - While the letter writer chastises Republicans for forgetting their Republican principles, i.e. smaller government, secure borders, less gov’t intrusion, end to wasteful spending and tough measures against illegal aliens, I would argue that, in fact, Republicans have done their best to adhere to those goals.
It is important to remember that even under a Majority Senate that a minority of just 41 can effectively block any and all legislation via the use of a Filibuster. This is something that Senate Democrats used regularly to thwart the best efforts of Republicans. I’m sure that Republicans will now return the favor as they find themselves in the minority.
While it is true that in many cases the resulting compromises w/Dems produced larger Gov’t spending, I believe that had Republicans had a filibuster-proof majority things would have been more true to Conservative principles. Let’s also remember that it was House Republicans who defied their own President and blocked “comprehensive” Immigration policy in favor of a 700-mile border fence only!
Sadly, the Media hasn’t highlighted many conservative achievements of the past Congress; Bankruptcy Reform, Tax Cuts, Supporting the War on Islamic Terrorists and Confirming Judges that won’t legislate from the Bench. I already explained to you the value of adding an Rx benefit to Medicare, as those costs will actually replace Hospital/Surgical expenses with proactive prescription treatments, thereby saving money in the long run. Also, all of the scheduled increases in Soc. Sec. and Medicare/Medicaid benefits and costs were written into legislation many years and Democrat Congresses ago and had nothing to do with the recent Republican majority.
Despite the costs of recovering from the Dot-Com Clinton bubble, 911, the War on Terror, rebuilding the Military after 8 years of Clinton neglect, corporate scandals, record natural disasters including Katrina and the outsourcing of domestic manufacturing jobs (resulting from NAFTA passed by the Dems and Clinton), the Deficit has been reduced by half three years ahead of schedule.
As far as Zuckerman’s complains about Iraq I can only say, “what would he do differently”? The War in Iraq ended three years ago. We Won! Saddam was deposed, tried and soon will be hung. What has transpired since then has been a police action and admittedly, all has not gone perfectly. This effort is unprecedented by both our military and the Iraqis themselves and while its one thing to be a Monday morning quarterback, its quite another to lead with the Media and Democrats constantly carping and giving comfort and encouragement to our enemies. Personally, I don’t think that the Liberals give a shit about the 3,000 American Soldiers killed in Iraq, except to use them as a means to beat on Bush. If they really cared about the loss of human life then where is their concern over the 4,500 Americans killed every year on our highways, the 4,000 American Pedestrians killed in the past three years or the fact that the murder rate in many American cities exceeds that of Iraq? To me, the daily emphasis on death in Baghdad is purely political and designed to demoralize American’s commitment to see the job in Iraq through.
I think that Republicans lost this past off-year election because they split from the President and broke Ronald Reagan’s 11th commandment to not criticize fellow Republicans. Democrats don’t criticize each other and when Republicans do, the Media jumps on it to promote the appearance of disunity when, in fact, it is more a reflection of the “big tent” coalition of today’s Republican party.