Thursday, November 09, 2006

'06 Election - Why did it happen?

Some thought it was a "Thumping". I'm not sure I'd describe it as that, however I do believe that I can outline some of the reasons why the GOP was "thumped".

Reason for losing #1: The war in Iraq. There has been a lot of spin on both sides of the issue regarding the war in Iraq. You could argue that we invaded Iraq because of WMD's that did not exist. Maybe so, but the records show that everyone on both sides of the aisle and in the UN's IAEA believed they existed. Regardless, we are there and in the process the US removed one of the most tyrannical dictators of modern times who killed (conservatively) 100,000 Iraqis in his 30 year reign of terror.

Here's where I see we went wrong. "Piece follows victory." The average US citizen wants to fight wars to win. Unfortunately, since the Korean War era inside the beltway they want to fight wars to limit casualties. So, this war has been run the entire time with the throttle pulled back (in my opinion to about 20%). What should have been done from the beginning is an all out full throttle attack and complete devastation of the enemy (this includes in Afghanistan). None of this house-to-house search for "insurgents". It should have been more like: "You have 48 hours to surrender or we will level your city." One or two campaigns like this against strategically placed cities and the insurgents would have been laid on the doorstep of Coalition Forces when new cities were faced with the same decision. Had we begun the war like that Iran & Syria would not have been able to place "foreign insurgents" into Iraq to stir up trouble and we would be on the downside of this war by now.

Reason for losing #2: The Republicans did not govern as conservatives nor act like winners. I'm not sure who to credit for this analogy, but it's like before '94 when the GOP was on the outside looking in at congress they saw it as a cesspool. But once they got control of the whole works they decided it was more like a hot tub. The GOP blew the only shot they've ever had to completely implement conservative policies. Instead, they thumbed their nose (I'm being nice here, because it felt more like being flipped the bird) at us conservatives and spent money like drunken sailors, trampled on the "Contract for America" and basically stabbed us in the back. I guess I don't completely blame them, as we should all know by now that in the words of Kissinger, "absolute power corrupts absolutely". It all starts at the top. The Republican leadership on the hill took its cues from the President who (as discussed in an earlier blog) is not the leader of a conservative movement like Reagan. While I agree with him on lowering taxes and fighting Islamo-Fascism, there is little more in which I see eye to eye with him. Bush started off his presidency by letting Kennedy (The Swimmer) write the education bill. Follow that up with "Campaign Finance Reform" and the largest increase in entitlements since "The Great Society" of LBJ (Medicare prescription drug plan) and you have the most non-conservation (as opposed to Neo-Conservative) Republican President in modern history.

Reason for Losing #3: Illegal Immigration. You could argue that illegal immigration is a subset of reason #2. However, this is one issue for which congress actually attempted to act conservatively and actually had to drag the President along with them. The President took no action to secure our borders after 9-11. I'm not sure exactly what his reasons were, but I can only assume it was because he decided (probably rightly so) that America needs more entry level workers. Of more concern to me personally is his complete 180 degree stance from the Republican Congressional Leadership on amnesty.

I suspect I could go on listing reasons, some of which would sound like excuses (the MSM, the Libs incredible ability get way with criticizing without having to give alternatives, etc...), but I'm not sure there's much reason at this point. One could say the Abramhoff and Foley scandal didn't help matters, but again they are more indicative of the MSM liberal slant. Ultimately, the GOP did not govern as conservatives. Well, the American people are about to see the alternative. I'm going to prepare another entry predicting what's coming next and outlining how the GOP can set themselves up for victory in '08. Here's a hint: Hand them all the rope they want and watch them swing in the wind in '08...