Newly elected chairman of the Republican Party, Michael Steele, tried to distance himself and the party from the speech of Rush Limbaugh’s at CPAC Saturday.
On Friday, few if any Congressmen took part in the various tea parties around the country. No Senators participated that I am aware of in the protests against Obama’s tax and spend policies.
Of course, neither group nor the chairman of the RNC at the time (Mike Duncan) ever said a word about the wasteful spending underneath the Bush administration, either.
This is why the Republican party is in so much trouble, and why the three organizations planning the tea parties: Top Conservatives on Twitter, Smart Girl Politics, and DontGo Movement are poised to do the the Republicans like what MoveOn.org did to the Democrats. For a number of years, now, we fiscal conservatives have been blatantly ignored and taken for granted. As the tea parties have shown, taking us for granted is at the Republican party’s peril.
For years, the Republicans have spent their way into a hole, and then the Democrats led by Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have decided to not only drill that hole deeper, but all the way through the world. Suddenly, the Republicans start talking about fiscal responsiblity. Yet, over 40% of the earmarks in the proposed boondoggle of a budget are Republican. You can’t have it both ways.
Over the next few years, Republicans as well as Democrats in power and allowing this garbage to happen are going to be forced to answer to a rising tide of opposition from the center-right fiscal conservatives. We may not be successful at first, but then neither was MoveOn. We don’t have millionaire backers like MoveOn has, but what we have is conviction and the moral high ground the Republican party sacrificed through the Bush administration.
We were told to shut up during the Bush administration, and some have told us to shut up this time.
That won’t happen ever again.
Tags: #dontgo, #tcot, conservatism, Republican Party