Over at Red State, Erick Erickson outlines what Senate Republicans should be doing right now and in the coming days to slow down the anti-liberty Obama Care beast opposed by most Americans.
Among many others, Erick makes this salient point:
If the Republicans want the news media to cover what they are doing to educate the American people even further about the atrociousness of this bill, they have to create drama on the floor of the Senate.
The national Republican party is flirting dangerously with proving itself an entirely ineffectual ally of liberty and limited government. If they can’t fight the government health care takeover with all they have now, how can they be trusted in any meaningful way as fellow Guards of our future security?
Let it be known that we are paying attention. And a national Republican Party that would callously take for granted the votes of fiscal conservatives and friends of liberty at this most desperate hour will prove itself unworthy of loyal support.
So … WAKE UP!!!
Band-aid Conservatism:
“This is a party which never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt bath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard, indeed, to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth, and has no idea of being guilty of the folly of martyrdom. It always, when about to enter a protest, very blandly informs the wild beast whose path it essays to stop, that its bark is worse than its bite, and that it only means to save its manners by enacting its decent role of resistance. The only practical purpose which it now subserves in American politics is to give enough exercise to Radicalism to keep it in wind, and to prevent its becoming pursy and lazy from having nothing to whip. No doubt, after a few years, when (Obamacare) shall have become an accomplished fact, conservatism will tacitly admit it into its creed, and thenceforward plume itself upon its wise firmness in opposing with similar weapons the (next move to the Left).”
— R. L. Dabney, Evangelical pastor and theologian, CSA.
I think the Senate Republicans as suffering from a talent problem. There just doesn’t seem to be anyone among the 40 Republicans who can articulate the problem or win the time on TV that Nancy Pelosi, Tom Daschle and Harry Reid so effectively used to demonize Republicans when they controlled Congress.
I think Bob Coker (R-TN) is a talent, but health care apparently isn’t his issue.
Yesterday John Thune (R-SD) make a pretty effective appearance on Fox.
Senators Jim DeMint and Tom Coburn just don’t get the air time. I guess they’re too boring, or something.
To me, this is very frustrating.