Red State quotes Churchill in warning that we have to fight and push while the advantage is ours.
The most powerful words in the Senate are “I object.” Senate Republicans should have been shouting those two words on the Senate floor early and often from the moment this bill was considered, instead of the complete silence we have heard – other than to constantly agree to conduct business through unanimous consent. Here are just a few ways those words can (and should) be used in a very effective way:
He then lists rule after rule that republicans have eschewed that could be used to advantage.
Robert Stacy notes this and point out the time and timing make such a difference in general::
Had more conservatives jumped onto the Hoffman bandwagon in August — when Erick Erickson did — maybe Scozzafava could have been driven out of the race a couple of weeks earlier. Instead, she got about $1 million from the RNC and NRCC and hung in until the last weekend before Election Day, then endorsed Bill Owens, making just enough difference to elect the Democrat by a margin that, in the end, amounted to about 3,200 votes.
Republicans are instead allowing things to go forward Bill Kristol pointed out on Fox News Sunday today that the ideal is for this to be passed 60-40 so every democrat can be made to blame for the unpopular bill.
If your goal is to gain a political advantage that argument might hold water, but silly fellow that I am, I think the idea of voting conservative, or republican is because you believe in certain principles, and want those principles to advance for the common welfare.
If the only purpose of voting republican is to give republicans power and the only purpose of that power is electing republicans then what’s the point? It’s political Sola scriptura and it’s just as circular.
Let’s bottom line this: If “Health Care Reform” passes in ANY form it will NEVER be repealed. As the years go by whenever the democrats have the opportunity or the votes they will amended it little by little, in increments so tiny that as each amendment passes we will not see what it does all we are worrying about and more comes to pass.
This was the political genius of Ted Kennedy, he understood this and was able to use these tactics to reshape the country. That’s why he got along so well and compromised so much. He knew that every time he made a small compromise he pushed us one little bit closer to the dependent society that would vote democratic to keep the checks coming and those he made defendant would worship him for it..
I’m sorry but I’m not in favor of risking passage because we hope for an extra 5 house and/or 2 senate seats in the midterms. I’m not going to risk disaster because we are afraid of what a media that doesn’t like us and never will might say. As Cleveland said: “What’s the use of being elected or Re-Elected if you don’t stand for something?”
Erickson and McCain are right, we should use every single rule in the senate and in the house that we can in our favor. If we don’t and we lose, then those couple of extra seats are going to be small consolation for a mess we could have prevented.
It will be our own fault and future generations of Americans will rightly not forgive us for it.
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