What We Really Need
A lot of talk has been going around about the implications for BO and the Dems in Congress if this health care bill bites the dust. The thought is that a defeat on health care now will produce the same result as 1994. FoxNews Sunday discussed this view yesterday. But past performance is no guarantee of future results.
I was only 18 in 1994 and my interest in politics had not yet fully developed so I do not remember the Hillarycare fight as clearly as some. What I do remember is the Contract with America. I was fascinated because the Contract made specific promises by which its proponents could be held accountable.
For at least the last six (eight?) years, Republicans lacked this kind of clear leadership. The left-wing media (LWM) says this is because the right has been too ideological. See David Brooks’ latest column for a prime example. Brooks sees talk-radio kings as leading the party but points out they have no real power. He thinks the problems stem from party leaders too afraid to cross Rush as if he were the don of the party who would pull a Valentine’s Day Massacre on them all. But as Brooks points out, Republicans nominated a candidate exactly opposite the ideological wing of the party. And lost.
After 2008 it is difficult to avoid the conclusion that the only path to winning elections is to be conservative. The problem is not that the conservative talk radio is leading the party but that our elected representatives are not representing us. They are not conservative enough. Leaders like W had support from conservatives and won two elections while being conservative.
What bothers me most is that I do not see anyone with that level of leadership on the horizen. Pawlenty looks like he’s in for 2012 but he’s still an unknown quantity and nothing suggests he will be persuasive. Romney has been a great spokesman but he comes with warts. Sarah Palin is also positioning herself. Her book is selling like hotcakes even though it does not hit shelves for over a month. She has the political intuition to make a good run but can she handle the media?
What we really need is articulate conservatives running to represent the people. The Contract with America was different because it was so specific. Conservatives have gotten very good at discussing the principles of conservatism. But leaders have plans, specific ones. If we want to win we have to find them.
