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Redstate...
If
Not Now
by Erick
Erickson
Monday,
July 9th
“At what
point do we hold our side accountable? Contrary to what some of you
want to
think, it was not the Democrats who got us to $16 trillion in national
debt. It
was bipartisan.”
Despite
making clear that I was not advocating a third party, but rather
recognizing
that one will spring up if the Republican leadership does not pay
attention to
the state of its own party, many not only assumed wrongly my advocacy,
but resorted
to the worn out argument of the Republican leaders over several
generations —
“we must fight the Democrats first” or the variant “the top priority is
beating
Barack Obama.”
The problem
with this argument is it never ends. How many more trillion dollars
must we add
to the national debt before the “wait and focus on the other side
first” crowd
wakes up to what they have enabled?
When George
Bush decided to pass Ted Kennedy’s No Child Left Behind plan as his
own,
conservatives were told they needed to rally and help the President,
given his
victory while losing the popular vote. We needed unity.
After steel
tariffs for Pennsylvania, “hush,” we were told because we were trying
to set
the stage for a re-election.
Then came
the prescription drug benefit and we better not challenge the President
because
… 9/11 … patriotism … build the party.
He
nominated Harriet Miers and more than half the conservative
establishment
beclowned themselves standing with him.
Then came
immigration reform and those who disagreed from the right were racists.
Solidarity!
TARP . . .
the General Motors bailout . . . still Republicans told Republicans we
couldn’t
hold our own side accountable because we needed to fight the left “and
oh my
goodness litmus tests!!!!!”
Earmarks?
“Litmus tests!!!!” and “pshaw, they’re just a little teeny-tiny piece
of the
budget.”
That was
some time around $10 trillion in national debt.
Then the
GOP began cutting deals with Barack Obama. “Trust them,” others said,
“they
have a plan.” The tea party led them to victory and the tea party
congressmen
started voting just like their leadership. The debt ceiling increased,
spending
expanded, Pledge to Nowhere pledges were breached, and still we hear
“we have
to fight the other side first.”
And then
there was the Senate variant, “Oh Mitch McConnell had to do that or
else
Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins and . . . and . . . and . . .”
Friends, at
what point do we hold our side accountable? $20 trillion in debt? $50
trillion
in debt? Contrary to what some of you want to think, it was not the
Democrats
who got us to $16 trillion in national debt. It was bipartisan. Some of
it
legitimate, much of it not, and all to the tune of “let’s focus on the
Democrats instead. They’re the real bad guys here.”
The leaders
of the GOP give lip service to smaller government but just last week
shut down
legitimate private businesses to feed the leviathan more tax revenue.
Republicans in the House of Representatives are now urging candidates
not to
sign the ATR tax pledge and Republicans in the Senate are cutting deals
that
will boost revenue because — deficits. And still they add to the debt.
So if not
now, when? Not until we’re all speaking Chinese apparently.
If the
conservative movement cannot fight on two fronts, we’re screwed. But
some of
you will be okay with that as long as its an elephant and not a donkey
screwing
you.
Read this
and other articles at Redstate
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