GOP must recover its North Star

(By Rep. Tom Tancredo) Barack Obama won the presidential election by making it a referendum on the Bush presidency and by making McCain look like a Bush clone. Voters decided they wanted more "change" than McCain could be expected to deliver. Whether that was a fair or accurate characterization of McCain's policy agenda is now a quaint question for historians. What we know for sure is that the voters opted for “change” without any real understanding of what kind of change they will get.

Even before all the dust has settled, there are some clear lessons for Republicans from the McCain campaign and eight years of the Bush presidency. Some of the lessons are obvious, but some are hidden beneath several layers of political correctness.

First, Karl Rove's grand paradigm for a "permanent Republican majority" built on "compassionate conservatism" was grand hype based on a grand illusion. No political victory can be permanent; each generation must fight for human liberty all over again. Bush's spending programs in Medicare, education and elsewhere succeeded only in vastly increasing the national debt without creating any new Republican constituencies. This orgy of government spending greatly damaged the "Republican brand" and left Republican loyalists dismayed and disoriented. Eight years of George Bush and the idiosyncratic McCain campaign have left voters confused about what Republicans stand for.

Second, it was neither smart politics nor smart policy to allow Ted Kennedy and the American Immigration Lawyers Association to write a Bush-McCain immigration reform plan which gave only lip service to border security. Those congressional battles alienated 90% of the Republican base and 75% of independents. Did the McCain support of two amnesty plans in 2006 and 2007 win him more support among Hispanic political groups than Republicans normally get? No. McCain could not out-pander the Democrat party and it was foolish to try.

A third lesson of the Bush presidency is that a large segment of the American news media has abandoned any serious pretense to objectivity and adopted a partisan agenda. The mainstream news media attacked George Bush for eight years through a relentless barrage of biased reporting and selective indignation: “Bush’s Failed War Strategy”… “Bush’s Oil Company Ties”… “Bush’s Deregulation of Wall Street”…“Bush’s War on Civil Liberties”….”Bush’s Approval Rating Plunges”….Some people can escape the impact of such incessant, poisonous negativism, but the millions of Americans who do not listen to Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity could not.

The lessons of the McCain campaign mirror those of the Bush era. McCain did not run as a Republican until the final month of the election. In 2007 he launched his campaign as a "maverick," a man who was above party, a man who relished bipartisan deals like McCain-Feingold, echoing Bush’s early efforts to “rise above ideology.” This Lone Ranger theme earned him the approval of the liberal media only as long as he was running against conservatives in the presidential primary, but once he had the nomination locked up, the establishment media turned on him. "Maverick" is a style, not a program of reform and not a set of principles. By the time McCain began articulating a Republican agenda that could appeal to independents and blue-collar workers, it was too late.

McCain's campaign did not catch fire until the selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate. The McCain operatives who now try to blame Governor Palin for the campaign's failures are both wrong and dishonest. It wasn't Sarah Palin who failed to deliver even a knockdown punch in three debates with Obama, and it wasn't Sarah Palin who forbade any mention of Obama’s association with Reverends Wright and Pfleger, the anarchist Ayers, the felon financial adviser Rezko, the PLO agent Khalidi and the vote fraud machine, ACORN.

The news media gave Obama a pass on his long association with these radicals and never subjected his tax and spending proposals to serious scrutiny. Republicans were blamed for the credit crisis despite Democrat fingerprints all over the Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac scandals and Fannie Mae political donations to Obama. Sarah Palin was constantly ridiculed while Joe Biden's incoherence and frequent gaffes went unexamined.

In truth, McCain was at times his own worst enemy as a campaigner. "Economics is not my strong suit," he admitted in an interview one month before the financial meltdown on Wall Street. Lesson from Politics 101: Let your opponents discover your Achilles heel if they can, don't confess it on national television.

Can the Republican Party rebuild to gain substantial victories in 2010 and 2012? Yes, absolutely. In the first place, recovering the principles, vision and verve of Ronald Reagan will be a lot easier with Barack Obama in the White House and George Bush back on his ranch. Candidate Obama could demonize Bush, demagogue oil companies and Wall Street, and avoid spelling out his own policies in detail. But populist rhetoric must now yield to concrete legislation. After the public gets a look at the real Obama and his socialist plans for sharing the wealth across the globe—and yes, socialist is the most accurate term to describe Obama’s philosophy --- Republican alternatives will not only seem respectable, they will be downright attractive. Not everyone in heartland America drank the New Change Kool-Aid; many voters would have voted for Benedict Arnold just to poke Bush in the eye. That sentiment will dissipate quickly.

The party of Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan has endured a tortuous detour down the Bush Parkway and then into the McCain cul-de-sac. Fortunately, we do have a compass —a compass called the Constitution and a north star called limited government. The first step to regain our bearings is to stop talking about where we have been and start thinking about where we want to go. More than the future of the Republican party depends on our resilience and our abiity to chart that new course successfully.

Congressman Tancredo retired this year after representing Colorado's 6th district since 1998 and competing in the 2008 presidential primaries. This article first appeared in HUMAN EVENTS on Nov. 5.

High price of emotionalism

Tiger Woods was asked about the election on CNBC. He said emotionally that if his dad had lived to see it, “he would have cried.” Certainly, no one will be hit harder than Tiger Woods with the forthcoming redistributive tax policies. But it doesn’t seem to matter. The Presidential election of 2008 has been racist. A “person of color” elected to the White House will somehow expunge “white guilt”, a guilt upon which civil rights groups have capitalized for the last 50 years. Possibly, the country now will “get over it” and will make the Jesse Jackson’s of the world irrelevant. But we will see.

The expectations upon the President Elect are extraordinarily high:

* Hard left groups that worked so hard to get him elected are demanding payback in the form of destroying the groups they are convinced are preventing the establishment of their vision of a Socialist “heaven on earth”. But refuting obsolescent Socialist Theology is out of place here.

* Minorities are demanding the fulfillment of the promise of “Equality” in the form of a substantial redistribution of wealth. The figure bantered about is the $845 billion over 10 years for “Reparations for Slavery”. If we estimate that black people constitute 12% of a 360 million population, this would amount to $1950 a year for 10 years for every black person in the country. Whether such an amount would lift inner city spend thrifts out of poverty or merely trigger an annual flurry of consumer spending is debatable.

* The Leftist elite believe the struggle with Islam is a creation of George Bush. They expect the “War on Terror” to go away after negotiations with the various Rogue states and Terrorist Organizations, and want to cut back the DHS and the DOD. Yet anyone familiar with Foundational Islamic Theology would understand why a cessation of hostilities is unlikely.

We can only pray that as the disappointments come, we don’t pay a price in millions of lives.

As reality dawns, pray for Obama

As the dust settles after Election Day, it's fair to say that Republicans deserved the thrashing we received. Unfortunately, some good Republicans (Colorado's Bob Schaffer, to name one) lost undeservedly, and some embarrassments (Alaska Sen. Ted "7 Felonies and a Bridge to Nowhere" Stevens) won undeservedly. Only time will tell if America will get what it expects from Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress. We know, however, that many are destined for disappointment if only because so many expectations of Obama are irreconcilable with each other.

Polls indicate the public still desires fiscally conservative government and that Republicans were punished for failing to deliver on what should be our bedrock issue. To Republicans who are frustrated that voters would turn to the party of even-bigger government, the message is clear: voters want contrast, not a watered-down version of the Democrats' agenda.

There are two parties: the party of freedom and the party of government. Democrats enthusiastically advocated government solutions to the economy, health care, energy and poverty. Republicans, too often, seemed unconvinced that freedom-based solutions would work and unprepared to explain how.

For Republicans, the good news is that they can now escape the shadow of George W. Bush, Tom Delay, et al, and that the public now knows that Democrats are firmly in charge come what may.

For Democrats, the bad news is that they can no longer blame everything on President Bush (although they and their media allies will no doubt try to make Bush the Hoover to Obama's FDR) and that they will now receive credit or blame for both things they can control and those they cannot.

It's easy to second guess John McCain's campaign, but give credit where it's due: at a time when as many as 91% of voters said the country was on the wrong track and 67% disapproved of President Bush, McCain managed to convince 46% of voters that he was better equipped to be president than the charismatic candidate of "hope" and "change."

Now we enter a new reality. During campaigns, the public compares candidates to each other, but after the election, the new president is judged against perfect 20/20 hindsight. Remember that in 2003, more than 70% of the public, 77% of the Senate, and 68% of Congress backed President Bush's decision to invade Iraq. The public - and many politicians - can turn on a dime when the going gets tough, but the president owns his decisions and their consequences.

No doubt the sycophantic media will try to help Obama to, in the words of Chris Matthews, "make this thing work." (Funny, I don't remember them affording that same support to President Bush.) But sooner or later the public will expect results - falling unemployment, rising stock prices, declining federal deficits and, oh yes, tax cuts for 95% of us.

Had John McCain won, he would have been saddled with a recalcitrant Congress, a media eagerly anticipating his first misstep, and the incessant hatefulness of the far left. Moreover, Republicans would likely be dissatisfied with McCain almost as often as not.

Which brings us to how conservatives and Republicans should treat President-elect Obama.

The hate and scorn heaped on George W. Bush by many who disagree with his politics is disgraceful: a movie fascinates about his assassination, as did Gov. Steve Beshear (D-Ky.); an entire cottage industry likens him to a chimp; and countless conspiracists knew that he would declare martial law to pre-empt the election.

By most accounts of those who actually know him, President Bush is a fundamentally decent person who has the courage to stand by his convictions and the humility to recognize that his best often won't be good enough.

I truly hope that in four years, we can say the same about Barack Obama and that he conducts himself with dignity. Conservatives will have ample opportunity to criticize his policies, but perhaps there will be times - e.g., if he makes good on his commitment redouble our efforts in Afghanistan - when we can show respect and support rather than opposition for opposition's sake.

Most importantly, all Americans should resolve to keep our country, our leaders and, especially, the president-elect and his family in our prayers.

District captains speak, Part II

As a Republican district captain in Arapahoe County, I’d offer a different perspective from the lament of fellow captain Carl Bonnett. Infrastructure: I disagree with the premise that technology or infrastructure is missing because other districts/counties have technology and infrastructure. That said, just because these are in place doesn’t mean anything will come of it. I liken this to painting a house. You can build the infrastructure (scaffolding), spending time attempting to make it steady, strong, and connected. But, if you don’t ever paint the house; what have you accomplished? It’s not about the scaffolding, it’s about the execution.

Leadership: I offer kudos to District Captains and Precinct Leaders who worked very hard to lead in their stewardship. For example, many District Captains who spent their own money to host precinct leader informational and training meetings, etc. Many sent emails and made phone calls to motivate and inspire precinct leaders. Some drove from house to house to deliver calling/walking lists to those who struggle with technology.

There were countless Precinct Leaders who embraced their leadership responsibility by “walking and dropping” for the party, and “walking and knocking” for campaigns. Both District Captains and Precinct Leaders reached out to their respective area campaigns to help and support the candidates. So, there were many in leadership positions who spent hours and money in an effort to elect our candidates.

As for our State and County leaders…I’m not going to throw them under the bus because I haven’t walked in their shoes. Could they have done more or executed better? I’ll let them answer these questions; they are honest and integrious. If mistakes or misjudgments were made, they’ll own up to it, even if it’s by silent resignation.

Excluding voters: We must reach out to all groups and peoples with our conservative message. Targeting groups isn’t necessary if our message is well stated and consistent. If we are true to the truth and articulate to the word, they will come back.

Summary: Republican losses should be attributed the party being held accountable by the voters. We screwed up. We lost their faith. We deserved to lose. That said, we don’t need a new widget, because our ‘product’ isn’t the problem. The ‘widget’, our mainstay conservative principles, is still sound and applicable to our day and times. Our principles have value, meaning, and are rooted in divine and inalienable rights. We have the right message.

Our challenges lie in keeping our integrity to the message and to our conservative principles. To all elected officials, candidates and future leaders…you want to wear a name badge on your chest announcing your elected office? Be sure you provide the armor of honesty and integrity to protect the heart of the faithful who put trust in your words.

Beware rationalization

Here's my problem with Ken Davenport's view that this was a "throw the bums out" election, rather than an embrace of the Dems. People certainly didn't vote for us either. The problem is we have now had several "throw the bums out" cycles; and at some point we've got to begin to suspect that its more than just the fact that voters are fed up with Republicans who get elected and then stop acting like Republicans. They need something to vote for - this year that was "hope and change." When you don't like what you've got, the first person coming around that's peddling something new and better is going to capture the market. Unfortunately, this year we had nothing more than repackaged same old same old. Change looks mighty good.

There was a price to be paid for all those Republicans who "grew in their office" once they got to DC, there was price to pay for becoming the party of Washington as usual and being the problem of government instead of having a problem with government.

We've paid that price for being the party of Bush and Cheney - and then some. We need to stop and take stock of where we are, and who we are, or two years from now were going to be talking about how continue to lose seats because the voters are still in a "throw the bums out mood."

It's clear that there was some Bush backlash again, and the media - which had effectively laid the groundwork and message for this election over the past 8 years - helped create an environment that painted the party as out of touch, reactionist, elitist and corrupt.

We will have to overcome a huge message and public perception disparity - something I'm not confident that we can do. However the first step is to begin, once again to give Americans something to vote for. Something more than hope and change. We can do that.

We must.