“It’s a glow-in-the-dark compass ring. So you don’t get lost."
-Josh (played by Tom Hanks), in the movie, “Big”
Maybe what we need in California is a glow-in-the-dark compass ring. Or, maybe it’s just Republicans that need one. Perhaps just Arnold Schwarzenegger. Heck, maybe it’s all three. Let’s face it…to our .jpg)
fellow citizens, Arnold is the face of California and the State GOP (with all due respect to Ackerman, Plescia and Sundheim).
As Jon Fleischman and I wrote on the heels of the Governor’s January 5 State of the State address, “Now, ‘Mr. Hollywood’ has come up with his BIGGEST idea yet…Massive spending to finance BIG state infrastructure needs.” That was six months ago. Republicans then asked “What’s the big idea,” but eventually enough went along and placed a big bond question on the ballot. After all, how could they oppose their own “Party,” headed by the very guy that many supported as the only supposed viable means for Republicans to be in a position to lead in the first place?
So, is the GOP leading? It seems legislative Republicans are often in the same position they were with Gray Davis, hoping only to stick together enough to block bad public policy, not driving any good policy. Under Governor Davis they hung together, fairly easily. With Arnold…well, how can they oppose their own Republican Governator? Just asking.
This may be an all too familiar rant for conservatives. Forgive me. But, I don’t remember anything quite like this under Pete Wilson.
Now, we have the big budget idea of subsidized health care for those in California illegally. Sure, it would be simple if it were simply about illegals. It’s not. It’s about children, illegally here, but not through fault of their own. When the debate becomes emotional (kids and animals, right?), Republicans often lose, and this is an emotional issue. With it, the GOP also loses any ability to show real leadership in support of good public policy.
The debate is no longer between liberalism and conservatism. The debate is now, especially in California, between liberalism and moderation. Isn’t every compromise, then, a further shift to the left?
I may be accused of platitudes, of saber-rattling, of not dealing in the realities of permanent minority status in Sacramento. Excuse me, but Republicans do hold the governor’s office, no?
Whether it’s a national Party pussy-footing around on specific issues like illegal immigration, or the growth of federal government spending in general…or a GOP Governor seeming to have lost any compass whatsoever (forget the glow-in-the-dark kind), other than the one he thinks points to November, all lead to one question. Are we on the road to nowhere?
Whether about benefits for the able-bodied non-working, healthcare for the undocumented, or free diapers for the poor (apologies to Jesse Jackson for the rhyme, but “Welfare, Healthcare, Underwear”), has this become the nature of our government policy debates? What happened to the economy? What happened to those boxes we needed to blow up? (They’re still BIG, by they way.) What about living within our means? What happened to when being in power meant having the ability to drive ideas, change, even principle?
Instead, we lose one election that was meant to be about change, misconstrue the results, and toss all ideas for transforming government out the window. Our compass becomes a wet finger in the air. But, it’s a bad wind…and leads to one thing: More government…bigger government. Yet, this is more than just strategically turning a temporary blind eye to change for the sake of remaining in power. We have forgotten why we won at the start. By now catering to the left – instead of to change – we have alienated our base and ignored our middle, while never even truly gaining any newly-desired “friends.” It’s a potential road to disaster, if not nowhere.
Is there really any such thing as a big government conservative? Republicans – sauced on the size of government – have sobered a citizenry that needs to be inspired. The GOP needs to identify some motivating issues quickly. And, there is nothing that gains the public’s attention more quickly than that starting with common sense.
Quickly, somebody, please let Tom McClintock on the bus, and please let the idea folks have a few of the front seats. Speaking of big, you’ve made it a big tent, so why not acknowledge it’s also a plenty big bus?
Needed most is a Republican Party willing to follow the compass of common sense.
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