With the November elections looming, and Republican prospects of keeping the majority looking worse than they have in long time, I find myself amazingly calm. The only explanation that I can come up with for the serenity is my indifference with the Republican Party right now. I’m not sure if I actually care if they lose. In fact, it might be good for the party.
Having been a conservative since grade school, calling out the GOP for failure isn’t something that I do easily, but something is terribly wrong. Republicans have held the White House, the Senate and the House for almost seven years. What is the result? Record levels of spending that have outdone Clinton by a long shot. We have a national debt that is out of control. We have a nearly non-existent southern border. It’s estimated that over one hundred thousand illegal immigrants per month cross our border and land in our social services system. On top of these internal failings, respect for the US around the world is at record low levels.
This may sound like a list from Democratic talking points, but I am afraid that having a Republican majority has not helped this country has much as I had hoped it would. It seems that having a blank check to do anything has caused the GOP to do nothing constructive.
What things could have been accomplished that weren’t?
1. Border Control. The vast resources that are currently being used in Iraq could have been used to seal our own borders. Imagine the manpower and resources of this war being utilized where it’s really needed. Don’t want to fight the terrorists on US soil? Seal the freakin’ border! That’s pretty elementary. I’m not sure what kind of relationship Bush has with Vicente Fox, but this President’s reaction to the border crisis is laughable. Mass illegal immigration is the clear and present danger this nation right now.
2. Real Education Reform. The US education system is still as pathetic today as it has ever been. No Child Left Behind has simply become another thing that public school teachers can rig in order to advance children who aren’t learning. You really want to improve education in the US? Pass a voucher system that encourages free market competition. It has been proven in small-scale experiments that voucher systems improve public and private schools at the same time. It is crazy that so many other countries, many of which use voucher systems, are outpacing us. Until fundamental change is made to our education system we will continue to graduate illiterate children.
3. Social Security Reform. Congressional Republicans gave up too easily on fixing the largest sucking wound to the federal budget. As it stands, Social Security will be bankrupt just about the time that I’ll be of age to collect on what I’ve been putting into the system my entire working life. Before bankruptcy hits, the Social Security system will be a major cause of an economic downturn the likes of which we haven’t seen since The Great Depression.
4. Income Tax Reform. True, the one bright point for the GOP has been the tax cuts. They have helped to curb the economic effects of 9/11 and the dot-bomb burst. However, the tax code remains dramatically flawed. To see what could be, check out www.fairtax.org.
This concludes my list of disappointments in the Republican Party lately. You’ll notice that this list consists of mainly domestic issues. If the GOP loses congress, I believe that we may see a rebirth of core values in the party. Republicans against the ropes seem to remember what’s important. Cozy and fat Republicans become a waste of time.
All this being said God save us all from what Nancy Pelosi has planned for our country. This is going to get worse before it gets better.