Republicans in ’08: The Party’s Over

When I was in high school I can remember asking a teacher of mine which he thought was more likely to appear: a second undefeated NFL team or a prominent third political party in America. With the 18-0 New England Patriots playing in the Super Bowl this Sunday and with Senator John McCain driving the final nail into the Republicans’ coffin, there’s a good chance we’ll get to see at least one by week’s end. Needless to say, this has a few conservatives wondering how they got where they are now. How exactly a once mighty party went from controlling just about everything as recently as two years ago to getting tired of winning elections and throwing its most loyal base of voters to the trash heap. To make a long post short, the two are strongly correlated.

It is said that while success has a thousand fathers, failure is an orphan. In this case, however, there are enough potential patriarchs of this bastardization of the Republican Party to fill Maury Povich’s studio. Consider if you will three Republican Congresses which spent like drunken sailors who had just been given $1,000 FEMA debit cards. Or a stubborn curmudgeon of a Defense Secretary who wasn’t given his walking papers until the day after 30 Republican Congressmen and six Republican Senators were given theirs. Or perhaps a hermit Vice President, who not only redefined the nature of the office but became his own branch of government as well. Or, yes, the guy at the top: the son of a great squanderer of political inheritance who more than lived up to the family legacy while in the process trying the patience and the intelligence of even the fiercest of party stalwarts, like yours truly. Personally, it will be a championship-celebrating day in Cleveland before I forgive George Walker Bush for pissing away the permanent Republican majority we were promised in 2004.

There were other events and issues which transcend the baffling actions of incompetent men. Hurricane Katrina and a freakishly-unstable economy seemed to catch the administration by surprise, and it was wholly unable to deal with them. The war certainly didn’t help the Republican cause, and neither did waiting to take the ferry across only after all the oxen had drowned. Meanwhile, the Mexican border quickly turned in to the GOP’s Meech Lake, with the volatile issue of immigration tearing the party in two and playing Pac Man to their electoral fortunes. While the Republican establishment desperately clings to one amnesty after another in the hope of courting millions of Hispanic voters, the strongly conservative base seems ready to party like it’s 1836. Indeed, there hasn’t been this much division between the Republican National Committee and the “loud folks” who do the voting since an unelected RINO from Michigan was fighting the base (and a popular former Governor of California) for his first full term.

We Republicans were promised a three-ring circus for our first genuinely open primary season in decades, and in the end it was the party establishment (along with the mainstream media and several thousand crossover Democrats) who made the decision for us. McCain’s Double-Talk Express must make frequent stops to the land of make believe as he pretends to be both a conservative and the agent of change America seems so desperate for. After all, he does have the support of a commanding 36% of the Republican electorate. In truth, however, when not playing up his war record like a Massachusetts Democrat, McCain has spent his entire career frustrating, stymieing, insulting, cussing, betraying, dismantling, and outright lying about his fellow conservatives. After all, it was never Democrats whom McCain called “an a-hole” or “a f*cking jerk.” Conservatives know full well this member of the Keating Five Scandal (you’ll hear all about that sometime between Labor Day and Halloween) is part of the problem in Washington, not part of the solution. McCain’s ascendancy fits well with the epic and monumental collapse of one Rudolph Giuliani. America’s Mayor went from national frontrunner to complete washout in less than a year. Quite frankly, a team of New Yorkers hasn’t performed this badly in the State of Florida since the 2003 World Series. In short, his choke for the ages is like the New York Mets, Portland Trail Blazers, and Phil Mickelson put together- a number-one ranked golfer who skipped the preliminary tournaments and failed to make the cut at Augusta National.

McCain’s victory in Florida established him as the clear frontrunner if not the inevitable nominee of the Republican Party on Tuesday, and while the New York Times (and millions of fired up Democrats) couldn’t be happier, conservatives are trying their best to stay away from sharp objects, high windows, and bridges. The decimation of the Republicans as a national party will almost certainly be completed this November with McCain at the top of the ticket and Republican Senators and Congressmen retiring in droves. To say John McCain- who served in Vietnam- doesn’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning is perhaps a bit harsh. Instead, it would be more accurate to say the 6-14 Oregon State Beavers have as much chance of winning the college basketball championships this March. The Democrats might have an equally tough time uniting conservatives for McCain in a race the base will see as between Tweedledee and Tweedledum. Voting for the RNC-approved wolf in sheep’s clothing out of fear of a supposedly more-vicious wolf doesn’t seem to make much sense.

The Republican Party had a real chance to not only learn from the mistakes of the last seven years but to recapture the conservative base and the tried and true ideals of truth, justice, and limited government that swept them to office so many times before. Instead, the Republican National Committee seems content to watch their treasuries dry up, their once-enthusiastic if not fanatical base continue to grow alienated, and their candidates for higher office searching the want ads for post-November work. In the meantime, the “loud folks,” as Senator Lindsey Graham calls them, the “nativists,” as George Bush refers to them, the lion’s share of the 62 million voters who gave the Republican Party its greatest electoral victory (and probably its last for quite some time) will be right here waiting for you to return. If you ever get tired of becoming the coyote to the Democrats’ road runner in the next eight to twenty-four years, let us know. We conservatives will be happy to welcome you home with open arms and open wallets when you feel you need us again. Until then, as it was said Tuesday night on FreeRepublic.com, “John McCain can go to hell . . . and take the GOP with him.”

The Most Popular Man in Washington’s Last Hurrah

You are looking LIVE at the House side of the United States Capitol where the most popular man in Washington is about to give his last hurrah. It’s the 2008 State of the Union, Presented by Citi, live and in high definition on ABC. Welcome everybody, with my pardner Kirk Herbstreit, I’m Brent Musburger. And folks, the President’s eight year stay in the White House is almost at an end- it seems like just yesterday a newly-inaugurated President Bush was giving his first speech to Congress back in 2001, but to some, those eight years have seemed like twenty. Kirk, what can we expect from the President tonight and the Democratic Congress he faces tonight?

Well, first of all, Brent, I’m not Kirk Herbstreit, I’m Congressman Jeff Flake of Arizona. Plenty of people have made that mistake, I’m sure. I think tonight you’ll see a President eager to finish strong. The re-elected President started off so well after his second inaugural before things fell apart in 2005. He lost Congress a year later and now he’s trying to put back the pieces, trying to save a recruiting class of primary candidates and voters, and trying to salvage a positive legacy. I’d look for him to focus on the important themes that have defined his presidency: strengthening and sustaining the economy, keeping taxes low, defending the homeland, and winning the war on terror. I wouldn’t expect any new or ambitious programs tonight.

One thing is certain, folks, at the end of tonight as we head in to primary season, one party will get to “Celebrate.” Tonight’s telecast is available in high definition, presented by Pioneer. Now we see the Sergeant at Arms emerging form the hallway . . . and here comes the President! The tumultuous greeting from this full House is going to be followed by the greeting from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in her second year at the post. To her right is Dick Cheney in his eighth year as Vice President, not sure what he’ll be doing in his retirement, maybe a few hunting trips would be in order. With tomorrow’s Republican Primary, that means only the Democrat candidates are here as we take a look at Barak Obama, sitting next to Ted Kennedy, who created quite a stir by endorsing him today. Sitting somewhat closer to the front is his opponent, Hillary Clinton, with her customary scowl. Expect that to stay the same throughout tonight. You’ll also notice that many Democrats have brought their own reading material to keep them from nodding off during the address.

As we take a look at the Pacific Life Game Summary so far in this first quarter, the President started by focusing on the economy with a very cautious and conservative game plan. He promoted the economic stimulus package and urged Congress not to change or add to it, went to the steady ground attack on keeping taxes low, and pushed an executive order restricting earmarks. Overall, nothing we haven’t expected to hear tonight, folks. In fact, it seems to be working so well among the Republicans in the House you have to wonder why he didn’t mention the executive order before! Now we see the President mixing passes with runs: pressing for earmarks reforms and a balanced budget while at the same time pushing for reforms to No Child Left Behind and sustainable entitlement programs. He also discussed new energy initiatives to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and move toward cleaner fuels. Again, nothing we haven’t heard before, Pardner.

As we move toward the end of the first half, we see President Bush shifting the strategies around a little bit. What was a balanced approach to start the game has now given way to a strong emphasis on his compassionate conservative passing game. He’s aiming for tens of billions of dollars in additional funding to fight AIDS in Africa and almost two billion more in fighting global hunger. We also saw him discuss faith-based initiatives and the need to help struggling private, religious, and charter schools in America’s urban areas. And with new benefits for veterans and more funding for health savings accounts, it’s safe to say the President is throwing the ball all over the field tonight. I’d expect mixed results as we head in to the locker rooms. You’re watching the 2008 State of the Union, presented by Citi, on A . . . B . . . C!

Well folks, as we move midway through the third quarter we come back to the steady ground game and a focus on national security and terrorist issues. To our troops watching overseas, we and those assembled here in the House want you to know we support you 100 percent! We see President Bush now employing a methodical running game to pound home the messages of the War on Terror. The terrorists aren’t going to quit until they’ve driven Americans out of the Middle East, so it’s up to us and our allies to defeat them, as the President says they can and must be. These plays are even getting a lot of support from Democrats, folks. What seems to be helping him now is that the surge in Iraq is working and that is taking the issue away from the Democrats. President Bush is now running off tackle and slashing in to Iran, urging them to come clean on their nuclear program, stop supporting terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East, and stop the oppression at home. He’s also running around end and condemning authoritarian governments in Belarus and Burma, while supporting free movements in Colombia, recent elections in Ukraine and Georgia, and a free and democratic Palestinian state.

Now we’re here in the money quarter with President Bush now taking on an issue that really cost him these past two seasons. Immigration was one of the factors that cost his party control of Congress and now it threatens to tear the Republicans apart. We know there are folks in the party pushing hard for amnesty and a few others who want to build a new Berlin Wall and send the illegals home. But folks, even though he pointed to stepped-up enforcement on the border and an end to catch-and-release patrol, he may have come up short again. It looks like a message combining enforcement of the borders with our tradition of compassion and good-will is going to fall incomplete yet again. I guess that means the issue is going to continue to chip away at the Republican Party heading in to the campaign season.

That’ll do it from the Capitol as we bring you the last State of the Union of George W. Bush’s presidency. Overall, I’d say it was a lot of the same plays and the same game plan we’ve seen before mixed with ambitious but incomplete passes on domestic policy issues. His best moments on the field tonight came with the power running game and the War on Terror. It remains to be seen how much of the President’s agenda will be fulfilled and how much else will be lost to history. For Kir-Congressman Jeff Flake, I’m Brent Musburger. So long, everybody! Stay tuned for the Thrifty Postgame Show with John Saunders!

35 Years Later: Roe is Me!

Tuesday marks 35 years since the Supreme Court officially stopped using the Constitution of the United States as a guide for its decisions. In the worst and most blatant act of activist policymaking in the history of jurisprudence, the Court ruled 7-2 to strike down a Texas law prohibiting abortion for no reason other than wanting to legalize abortion. Reading the Constitution as it is written, there was absolutely zero justification for the ruling, unless one was under a great deal of hallucinogens (this was 1973, after all). The normal, sober reader would find no references to “abortion,” “privacy,” or any other supposed evidence for the seven justices coming to the pre-determined policy preferences they did. Thirty-five years later, not much has changed in the debate that has come to define social policy in this country. Congress is still forbidden from taking on the issue, Norma McCorvey (“Jane Roe”) is still the leader of an anti-abortion group, 50 million lives have still been lost, and the ruling is still not going to be reversed.

After what must have been years of ceaseless searching, the young and ambitious lawyers Sarah Weddington and Linda Coffee- with the full backing of an entire legion of pro-abortion and radical feminist groups- finally found their test case. Ms. McCorvey was willing to agree to the lie that a pregnancy she helped create was the result of rape. The lawyers knew as most familiar with the issue did that no free legislature in the world at that time would take their side and legalize this barbaric procedure (as a side note, the only dissenting votes ever cast in the history of East Germany’s communist Volkskammer came in a vote liberalizing abortion law). They sued in Texas- what more of an iconic state- and after three years of appeals (during which McCorvey gave birth), the battle was on. The hearing based on a lie was a charade from the beginning. The Burger Court, as the Warren Court before it, had an established and well-deserved reputation of liberal activism without regard to precedent or constitutionality. William Rehnquist, one of the two dissenters, wasn’t even able to hear the first round of arguments. Thus, 35 years ago Tuesday, the Court issued its arranged decision. Citing little more than their desire to legalize abortion (they even rejected Weddington and Coffee’s Ninth Amendment argument), the Court declared the procedure a fundamental right.

The results were as predictable and well-known as they are popularly lampooned on college campuses. In 35 years an estimated 50 million abortions have been committed in the United States. While Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Rights Action League trumpet this figure with National Socialist-like sadism and pride, the Genocide Awareness Project is made fun of, protested, harassed, vandalized, or worse when they cite this figure on America’s havens of Stalinism we call “academia.” Certainly anyone responsible for 50 million deaths would today find themselves on a United Nations war crimes tribunal (Comrade Stalin is blamed for somewhere around ten million deaths, Hitler around twelve million), but not in this case. Abortion is a ritual to the radical feminist, and Roe liberated them.

The aftermath is perhaps less reported. Those 50 million abortions came at a steep cost the likes of Planned Parenthood and NARAL would rather Americans not know about. Abortion is a horrific procedure, the details of which I’ll not describe here, which results in many cases in severe and permanent psychological trauma. Very permanent and life-threatening injuries can also result, ranging from the inability to conceive or bear a child again to, yes, death. Shockingly, no effort has ever been made to attempt to clean up the procedure: any legislative effort to bring the procedure to within the bounds of modern medicine is seen as an unconstitutional attack on a woman’s right. In which case the procedure hardly seems safer than the “back alley abortions” radical feminists warn us about. So, counter to the slogans of left-wing pro-abortion organizations, the procedure, while legal, is neither safe nor rare. It’s no wonder that Norma McCorvey became an anti-abortion activist and since 1994 has fought to reverse her own Court decision. Maybe you saw her Tuesday in the annual March for Life in which thousands of men and women from all over the country come to Washington, DC in an ultimately futile attempt to change the decision (this is not, of course, to be confused with the annual March Against Life staged by Planned Parenthood, NARAL, and the National Organization for (Liberal) Women).

The sad truth is that, arguing as a strict constructionist who doesn’t hallucinate when reading the Constitution of the United States of America, there is nothing that can be done. As there was no legal or constitutional basis for Roe being decided as it was, there is also no legal or constitutional basis for it being overturned. Stare decisis- the supposed basis of our judicial and legal system- dictates that court decisions, even erroneously-decided, nonsensical, policy-preferenced ones which blatantly ignore the American Constitution, must be upheld. There are, of course, exceptions. Cases such as Dred Scott v. Sandford and Plessy v. Ferguson were overturned not just because they ignored the Constitution but because they openly defied it. The 14^th Amendment clearly guarantees equal protection and due process of the laws as ignored in Plessy, which Brown v. Board eventually corrected.

In Roe, there is nothing to correct since there was nothing defied. Simply put, two judicial wrongs don’t make a right. The situation is even more unlikely to change considering the current (and future) makeup of the Court. Already there are five solid left-wing justices who will uphold abortion until the day they die (which in a couple of cases may be closer than we think) and four justices who are not particularly interested in injecting their own personal views into jurisprudence. With President Bush’s two appointments of strict constructionist precedent-upholding jurists (and with mainstream Republican nominees promising not to appoint the likes of Pat Robertson to the bench), the law is even less likely to be overturned. That perhaps is the most frustrating thing about Tuesday’s infamous anniversary. “We the People” never had a say in the matter, and we never will.