The Coming Republican Revolution

We live in a country with a two-party political system. That's the reality and nothing is going to change it - at least not prior to November 2010.

Both parties suck. That's a fact. Human nature has everything to do with this.

The GOP sucks far less than the Democratic Party. That's also a fact. Still... the GOP sucks.

Again... human nature, people... human nature.

Both parties are full of - and represented in elective and appointive office by - crooks, liars, incompetents, and degenerates. No... not all... not even most when it comes to malfeasance and bad behavior "beyond the pale"... but certainly both parties include more than enough "bad apples" to tar each with the same brush of disdain as far as most of the public is concerned.

But it's gone beyond the point of disdain now. Now I fear for our country if the coming Republican Revolution of 2010 fails to meet expectations and sputters as did the original Republican Revolution of 1994.

The weak links threatening to strangle the coming Republican Revolution before it gets out of the gate are selfishness and pride.

These wink links are personified in two Republicans: John Boehner and Mitch McConnell.

Now I'll admit, Boehner has done a pretty good job managing the House Republican Caucus and keeping them in near lock-step as regards fighting for the right legislation and against the wrong legislation.

That said...

Boehner voted for TARP.

This disqualifies him from being the Leader of House majority Republicans... from being the next Speaker of the House... come 2011.

In my mind it does at least. Not in his I'd wager.

And that's the problem. When push comes to shove I have no doubt that Boehner not only will put self above party... he'll put self above nation.

A worse problem... I can't imagine any "Young Gun" or even fellow "Old Bull" seriously challenging Boehner - let alone engineering a successful "coup."

(Oh... and by the way... out of the three founders of the aforementioned "Young Gun" program... two of them - Cantor and Ryan - also voted for TARP.)

My plea to the House GOP Members... a plea that won't be heeded - I know... is to get behind their smartest, most honest, most fiscally conservative colleague who is most wedded to "originalist" Constitutional principles and elect that man or woman as their Leader and House Speaker come January 2011.

As to the Senate...

Mitch McConnell is a disaster. His "conservatism" is rooted mainly in the "good ol' boy" sense of the term.

No. I'm not saying that McConnell is a liberal or even a RINO in the strictly ideological or even policy sense. He's not. The man boasts an 89.66 lifetime rating from the ACU. But I'm not talking about dogma... I'm not talking "business as usual" conservatism... I'm calling for McConnell to step aside for someone who didn't vote for TARP... who doesn't "go along to get along" and "put party first" by supporting abominations such as TARP in order to support "his" president of the time - George W. Bush.

Nope. To my way of thinking McConnell's yea vote on TARP plus his inability to hold his GOP Senate Caucus together on a number of crucial votes plus his propensity to support "progressive" establishment figures as long as they're GOP incumbents over worthy libertarian-leaning, conservative, constitutionalist challengers disqualifies the current GOP Senate Minority Leader from seeking to become the once and future Senate Majority Leader.

Where the rubber hits the road, Mitch McConnell is for Mitch McConnell first, second, third, and last. The good of the Party... the good of the country... these are not McConnell's primary motivations.

Me? I'd like to see Jim DeMint as the next Senate Majority Leader.

Time will tell if the GOP can escape the moniker of "The Stupid Party." God knows that if any group of men and women can fumble an opportunity to pull this country back from the brink of disaster it's the men and women of the Republican establishment.

I don't know, folks... I'm trying to stay positive. I'm doing what I can by involving myself in my local congressional race, supporting Dr. Nan Hayworth for Congress.

Dr. Hayworth and I don't always see eye to eye, but she's a good woman - intelligent, principled, wed to her understanding of the Constitution; I'd say we're on the same page 90% of the time, perhaps more. To riff off Voltaire... In our search for the "perfect" candidate, we must not disdain the merely excellent candidate.

That's it, folks. That's all I've got. A bit of thinking out loud...

I pray that if a second "Republican Revolution" takes back one or both Houses of the Congress of the United States that the men and women representing "We The People" are able to succeed where the leaders of the 1994 "Republican Revolution" ultimately failed.