Not Your Daddy’s GOP Anymore...

If you’re a regular reader to The Asylum, you know neither of us are too happy over our party losing it’s mind and it’s backbone. If you’re new here, WELCOME! Sit back, put up your feet, pop some popcorn, and enjoy the rant.
Both of us watched the betrayal perpetuated by seven members of our party on Monday. I call them the "Seditious Seven". Captain’s Quarters calls them the "Seven Dwarves". Either way you look at it, they showed their true colors in blazing glory, and it shows myself and other Republicans that there’s "trouble in River City, and that’s ‘trouble’ with a capital ‘T’". Moderates, like McCain, have infested our party long enough, and quite frankly, we both want them gone. And we’re not alone. On a daily basis, Marcie and I talk to many conservatives that feel the same way. These representatives aren’t moving our party forward. They’re wrecking it.

It’s not that I dislike moderates, or even compromises. I think that the more center-right individuals we bring into the party, the better it is. But the moderation being executed in Congress, from the executive branch, and amidst the courts is dangerous. These people aren’t making decision based on logic or common-sense. They make decisions based on popularity, based on emotion, or based on suggestions made by people proclaiming to be friends when they’re anything but. (Remember the Kennedy education bill? And what did Uncle Teddy do in return? He ripped the president, and gave us an over-bloated education spending bill.)

These people would prefer to avoid a situation or issue rather than confronting it head-on. We send our representatives to Washington to do their job, which is to represent us. We expect them to address not only our state issues on the federal level, but also issues of vital importance to our protection and well-being. Do they do that? Based on Monday’s idiotic compromise I’m apt to say no. And I’d be right. This issue on judicial nominees was not just some issue that I grab onto and shake the hell out of because I like to toot my own horn. This blog is not about tooting one’s own horn, or gaining accolades. We, both, are trying to pass on knowledge and wisdom. If I wanted praise, I’d become a senator and stab my party in the back. Ooops. John McCain beat me to the punch.

Seriously, this issue revolved around the last stronghold (read: Stranglehold) the Left has in this nation. I don’t want them eradicated, per se, but I do want my country back. This isn’t the country I grew up in, nor was I taught about it. This country is full of people that are so afraid to step on someone’s toes for fear they "won’t like me anymore". Here’s a hint for all the people like that. If they’re your friends, for the most part they’ll forgive you. If they’re someone you didn’t know, or barely knew, does it matter what they think? If I went around life desiring everyone’s praise, I would’ve already committed suicide. (Marcie is fond of referring to me as "your friendly, neighborhood curmudgeon".)

There are things in this country that have to be taken care of, and those in Congress would prefer to sit there, paying us lip service, while they enjoy the perks of their positions. I don’t go to work everyday, busting my hump to make my life better, to be undermined by those I put in office. Accountability is demanded, and none of these people have ever been held accountable for a damned thing they’ve done on Capital Hill. Tom Daschle was the last one to be held accountable for his idiocy. But few in Arizona remembered John McCain’s participation in curtailing our free speech rights with campaign finance reform. And that’s another point I’d like to make.

All too often in this nation, votes are cast on name recognition alone, with little heed being paid to a voting record. There’s a reason that I level the scrutiny on Congress that I do. I don’t trust them. A wise man once remarked that while Congress is not in session, our rights are protected. He was right. I don’t trust the elected representatives that time and again sell the people out for the accolades of the press, or their opponents across the aisle, and turn their back on their own party in doing so. I’m sick of them, and as I stated above, I want them out.

This party has no room for someone like McCain, or Chafee, or Snowe. These people disagree with our party far more than they agree, and yet they still lie to the voters and claim to be a conservative. Talk about hypocrisy. I’d prefer they switch parties because they virtually have already. If any of the moderates amongst the GOP were to tell me the sky was blue and the clouds were white, I’d still go outside and check. You just can’t trust them.

So, it’s time to clean house.

My father once told me that the mark of a true man was his word: It should always be as tough and dependable as steel. He was right, but I’d like to add to it. A man’s convictions make the world of difference. A man can lie to you—especially in a society like ours where the lines of right and wrong are blurred by many. ANYONE who knows me knows that I’m not only a man of my word, but I’m also a man that refuses to "moderate" my convictions or my beliefs. You can either go along with me, or you can opt out. But those in Congress don’t understand that. And they say we don’t understand their position. So, some would say we’re at an impasse.

I beg to differ.

It’s not that we don’t understand their job; being an elected official is no easy task. However, could we do any worse than they? I seriously doubt it. I’m a man of sound mind and body, and I possess thorough education in politics in law. I don’t have the name recognition to put my money where my mouth is. But I do have the knowledge to handle the job, and I have a tenacity than many find comforting; I won’t compromise if it means doing that with my convictions, as well. And that’s what we need in Washington.

To hell with those that criticize. To hell with opponents that throw tantrums. This nation needs strong leadership, and if those in power refuse to do so, then step aside. We’ll do it for them.

Publius II