Friday, September 15, 2006

Conservatives Are Solution to Problems in Congress

To many conservatives, this Congress is not worth saving. Some even say, as Richard Viguerie wrote in the Washington Monthly, a Republican loss this year could lead to "“a rebirth of the conservative movement."”
For the record, I'm a Christian Conservative first, fiscal AND social, and a Republican second.
Conservatives are right to be aghast at the way supposedly conservative lawmakers have spent money-—especially on pork-barrel projects. Pork corrupts one'’s understanding of the proper, limited role of government. Consider this political ad being aired by one otherwise conservative House member: "“Working together we'’ve expanded the airport, which is supporting thousands of new jobs ... We funded more after-school reading and jobs programs across our community. Working together, we'’ve won millions of dollars to build and expand our local parks and our waterfront. We'’ve helped global and local police forces to get the computers and the equipment they need to fight crime and make us safer ... We'’re building a new veterans’ hospital ... It'’s a $600-million investment, one of the largest veterans'’ projects in the country."
Aghast! How about afraid, apprehensive, fearful, fearsome, appalled, annoyed, and just generally PISSED OFF!
Conservatives should devote more attention to the dysfunctional Senate. Liberals there swat down good legislation by forming alliances with between six and nine moderates. They'’ve built left-of-center legislative walls on many important issues (think immigration reform). A liberal makeover of the House will only move that wall further to the left and result in steady flow of harmful bills. Under this scenario, the President would finally use his veto pen as the Founders intended. But many of the bills inevitably will be tough calls, containing a tempting, but toxic, brew of both good and bad provisions. The Senate'’s amnesty-laden immigration reform measure, for example, would surely become law. The real solution is to send more conservatives to Capitol Hill.
But first, we have to actually FIND real conservatives to send.