The Republican Road Back
Posted on August 6th, 2009
by Patrick J. Buchanan |
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Reports of the death of the Republican Party appear to have been premature.
Not since Sen. Bob Griffin derailed LBJ’s scheme to replace Chief Justice Earl Warren with crony Abe Fortas, before Nixon got to the Oval Office, has the GOP defied this city and voted to reject a liberal judicial activist for the court.
In 1970, after revelations of scandal forced Fortas to resign, Rep. Gerald Ford moved to impeach “Wild Bill” Douglas on similar grounds. Then the fire went out — for 40 years.
Meanwhile, Democrats trashed Republican nominees Clement Haynsworth, Harrold Carswell, and Robert Bork, forced Reagan to withdraw Douglas Ginsburg, and made Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito run an Iroquois gauntlet.
Finally, yesterday, Senate Republicans, defying threats of an Hispanic backlash if they voted to reject the first Hispanic nominee, stood up and said no more EZ passes for any liberal judicial activist.
And this is only the most recent act of defiance by a party that, at long last, seems to have found its conservative compass and to be finding its way home.
Recuperation began when House Republicans stood beside Middle America and rejected the Bush-McCain-Kennedy-Clinton amnesty for illegal aliens, inflicting a humiliating defeat on the establishment.
The next sign of recovery was the decision of John McCain to damn the torpedoes and put Sarah Palin on the ticket. The smashing reception Palin received stunned mainstream media, vaulted McCain into the lead, and signaled the party what America wants it to become again.
The next act of defiance was the Republican rebellion against the $700 billion bank bailout of last September. Though House resistance was swiftly broken, Republican instincts were subsequently proven right.
Next came rock-solid Republican opposition to the mother of all pig-outs, the Pelosi stimulus package. Not one Republican voted for it in the House and only three went over the hill in the Senate. How many Blue Dogs are back home bragging about having supported that beauty?
Then, yesterday, mirabile dictu, the Republican minority in the Senate voted four-to-one to send Sonia back to Greenwich Village.
Wailed retiring Republican Sen. Mel Martinez of Florida, “We have allowed ideology to hold a preeminent role as opposed to qualifications. I find it very, very appalling.”
But what is truly appalling is the senator’s inability to understand what is going in his country.
For decades, a leftist ideology has permeated the Supreme Court. Protected by lifetime appointments, liberal justices have imposed upon this once-democratic republic a social, cultural and moral revolution no Congress could ever have survived imposing and no majority would ever vote for.
Prayer, Bible study, the Ten Commandments were purged from public schools of a nation whose coins bear the inscription “In God We Trust” and whose Constitution never mandated any kulturkampf on the birth faith of the West.
Pornographers were awarded First Amendment protections. Abortion, a crime in every state half a century ago, was declared a constitutional right. New shackles were put on police and prosecutors. The death penalty was outlawed for 20 years because Bill Brennan and friends did not like it. Forced busing for racial balance was imposed, generating white flight, destroying urban schools, and tearing communities apart.
For decades, federal judges and justices were on a rampage. For decades, we lived under a judicial dictatorship.
As for Sotomayor, she was a political activist whose academic and legal career is marked at every step by clamors for raced-based hiring, promotions and admissions. As a judge, she trashed the appeal of Frank Ricci and the New Haven firefighters who had been robbed of promotions they had earned in competitive exams solely because they were white.
She declared the New York state law denying voting rights to convicts a violation of the U.S. Civil Rights Act because it had a disparate impact on minorities, who are overrepresented in prison. Using that yardstick, Justice Sotomayor would have to vote to outlaw the death penalty.
Suddenly, in national politics, the momentum has shifted.
The Republican Party is stirring. Its poll numbers are rising, as support for Obama has fallen to 50 percent in the Quinnipiac Poll, support for his handling of the economy and deficit has fallen into the 40s, and support for his health insurance scheme has plunged to 39.
Of his big initiatives, the stimulus bill is looking like a loser, cap-and-trade may not survive the Senate, and national health insurance may have to be pared back — or be killed by nervous Blue Dogs.
In both big races three months off, the Virginia and New Jersey governors’ contests, Republicans are running 14 points ahead.
As they say in the press box, “Fans, we have a brand-new ball game.”
And the reason is that some exasperated Republicans decided to declare independence of the White Houses of both George W. Bush and Barack Obama — and “dance with the girl what brung ya.”
Patrick Buchanan is the author of the new book Churchill, Hitler, and ‘The Unnecessary War,’ now available in paperback.
COPYRIGHT 2009 CREATORS.COM
Ah, Pat, just aching to crawl back into the womb of the Dumb Right ! Palin helped sink the GOP ticket. The Miranda
decision is not going to be repealed and shouldn’t. Americans have come to accept abortion rights for as our mutual friend, Murray Rothbard, wrote in The Ethics Of Liberty, what person has the right to remain inside the womb of another person against that person’s will ? Who has a right to be born ? Ergo for drugs and all the other statist conservative bugaboos. Obama’s pick for the court will be confirmed. Probably for the worse. Forced busing is gone and good riddance. Pornography stays and the state needs to stay out of it. Pat, see Rothbard’s 1989 political post-mortem on Reagan, it can be viewed or downloaded under his name at the Lew Rockwell website. He was a disaster for
individual rights and his foreign policy, which you blindly supported, was dictated by Israeli, not American interests.That big lie that Libya bombed that black disco in Berlin was disgraceful. Considering the nature of the place
and its clientele it was more likely a drug deal gone south.
Same with the terrorist Contras in Nicaragua, supporting ex-Guardia thugs to kill hundreds of thousands did not promote anything resembling freedom. The bottom line is that you are much better politically out of government than in it just as the GOP is better out of power.
Is this a short-term tactical position, or sings of a longer-term strategy? I supose time will tell. Republicans won’t achieve dominance until they start appealng to their White constituency–White Americans, i.e. Americans. Anything else is a waste of time. Get it? Incidentally, I write as one who was involved intimately in the Manhattan GOP of the 1990s, fractured by financial scandals and ethnic competition (White vs. Jew vs. Indian/Asian).
Gee, after only eight months its all over for Obama and Company and the GOP will ride back into control on what exactly…?
That loser Obama and the democrats are in power because the republicans SUCKED. Now that the demos are sucking
(big surprise) we should run back to the republicans? Here in Iowa the big comeback is apparently going to be based on gay marriage and abortion and other socially conservative topics. Yeah right. Until the party does more than pay lip service to traditional conservatism then they get no support from me. Go 10th amendment!
As a life long republican who was broken of that bad habit by W and company, I watched with dismay for 8 years as the “party of small government” continually voted to increase the size, power, and intrusiveness of same. The fact that they’re now opposing democrat legislation is absolutely meaningless. Until every republican legislator gets up and tearfully apologizes for their infidelity to their priciples, their base, and the republic (Ron Paul excepted) during the Bush years, the party remains nothing but a collection of small-minded, power-hungry hypocrites who will eventually go the way of the Whigs.
I gotta go with Sean Scallon and daddysteve on this one.
About twice a month, I get a letter, faked to look like it comes from the IRS, and it is an “official” survey, with questions like:
“Should we unite as a Party to oppose President Obama’s huge tax increase on the American people, particularly the new tax on dividends, capital gains, and small businesses?”
Vote “Yes”, “No”, or “Undecided”.
After two pages of this crap, follow a page and a half of appeal to send “Cash, Check, Credit Card…” to the good folks at the Republican Central.
Then 2 weeks later, same document appears, sometimes with slightly changed wording.
Never have seen the results of one of these “polls”. Never have seen a “transparancy” as to what they spend the money on. But it must be a good business, judging by how many of these thing I receive.
Michael Steele, from where I sit, I can’t tell your organization from the Chicago-Daly operation. Y’all look crooked to me.
An’ I been registered as a Republican for sixty-some years.
The Democrats are now sowing the seeds of the events that will lead to their exile in 7.5 years.. or sooner. Americans are waking up to the damage that this administration is leaving for financially responsible people is a time bomb of diminishing productivity for small businesses and cost-of-living increases for the lowest-earning Americans. Well, the Republicans have only paid lip service to those problems, and lack the fortitude to orchestrate a meaningful debate to the Democrats scorched earth tactics. Ever feel like you’ve been cheated?
Randy, I couldn’t agree more. Until the GOP makes a public act of contrition so to speak, they will have little public credibility. The appalling thing about the GOP was the way they used the language of prudence and honor and patriotism to advance their cupidity and bad faith.
Barney, when I get those “Surveys,” I just write, Go get your money from the Mexicans f*** head.
I am embarrassed to be a conservative these days. With Fox, Rush and Sarah Palin leading the charge I am disgusted. Where are the intelligent, substantive arguments against Liberal policy? From the “Birthers” to Rush likening Obama to Hitler, this is just nuts, pathetic really. And Fox continues to spew “entertainment-shock” news that is fun to watch but so obviously crafted and orchestrated even the enthusiasts of professional wrestling believe it is staged. Our party will continue throwing gutter balls until find have a leader who can speak to America with conviction and leadership and the rest of us follow his lead. Anyone out there??
Buchanan’s like a schizophrenic. One day he’s a conservative. The next day he’s a GOP hack.
Make up your mind, Pat. It is simply not possible to be both a well-informed conservative and a Palin supporter.
Well said, Dave Ross and S.L. Toddard.
C’mon Dave Ross, you already know the answer to your last question.