This morning, the FlashReport wants to draw the attention of our readers to a very important column in this month’s edition of Red County Magazine. While not a lengthy piece, the commentary, We Refuse To Support A Permanent Minority, penned by Orange County Lincoln Club President Rich Wagner and fellow Board Member Chip Hanlon, represents an important watershed moment in Republican politics — the leadership of one of America’s most prominent Republican donor organizations shining a bright spotlight an ugly side of our Republican Senate and House Conferences in Washington, D.C. — an addiction to big government and pork-barrel earmarking.
Wikopedia defines the phrase Elephant in the Room as an, "English idiom for an obvious truth that is being ignored or goes unaddressed. It is based on the idea that an elephant in a small room would be impossible to overlook." The strongly-worded piece by Wagner and Hanlon does just that — it draws attention to the obvious — which is that Republicans embraced growth in government spending when we had a majority in both the Senate and the House, squandering an obvious opportunity to demonstrate that Republicans can reduce the size and scope of the federal government.
The "call for action" in the piece is direct, and to the point:
Second, we are dialoguing with like-minded groups across the country about electing new Congressional Republican leadership in both houses of Congress. Regardless of November’s outcome, it is time to make a clear statement to voters that we intend to establish a new team and goals, re-discovering our lost principles of a government limited in size, scope, and spending.
We here at the FlashReport wholeheartedly agree with their sentiments, and especially agree on an important point. Senator Republican Leader Mitch McConnell and House Republican Leader John Boehner should have their offices packed by election day — because whether Republicans win, or more likely lose seats in their respective houses, these gentlemen have failed to provide the kind of leadership we will need to become a principled majority party. In the case of McConnell, he has embraced earmarking and big spending himself. In the case of Boehner, he has proven and inability to keep those within his conference who support such largesse from continuing to dominate Republican team decision making.
It is a positive sign that nationally acclaimed syndicated columnist Bob Novak took immedate notice of this piece by the Lincoln Club leaders, and made it the subject of his column this week. This is important for two reasons — first, it ensures that every Republican in the Senate and House is on notice as I am sure that Novak enjoys a 100% readership among their ranks — and second, it telegraphs the sentiments of the authors to Republican major donor organizations throughout the entire country, so that they too can participate in using a big hammer to get a way-too-obvious message through to GOPers on the Hill — we’re not going to take it anymore.
Not too long ago, I spoke at a dinner meeting of the Board of Directors of the Pacific Research Institute in San Francisco. At that function, I had a conversation with one of their Directors who is a prolific giver of funds to Republican candidates. Her ire at all of the spending growth and abuses by Republicans in Congress was obvious, and she was even contemplative of requiring any candidates who request money from her to have filled out a personal pledge to oppose all earmarking. I have had conversations with other major donors with similar findings. So I believe that the message being sent by the leadership of the Orange County Lincoln Club will be reaching a very receptive audience, and I think that while it is rather obvious that grassroots activist outrage has had little impact on the Republican politicians in Washington, D.C., a movement of GOP major donors for a sea-change likely will.
It is also important to note that this is a case of the Republican Party starting to police its own elected officials. A headline in the Orange County Register on this matter proclaimed, "OC Republican donors threaten to cut the party off" — an inaccurate headline placed on an otherwise well written article by Dena Bunis, the Register’s D.C. Bureau Chief. The headline should have read, "Republican Party threatens to cut off money to big-spenders in Congress who pretend to be conservative." I am an elected officer of the California Republican Party myself, and wholeheartedly support the sentiments and action-items called for in the commentary.
The Orange County Lincoln Club is ultimately but one of many major Republican donor groups around the country. But it’s 300 plus members contribute an estimated $1.5 million per election cycle to Republican candidates. And perhaps more importantly, this Lincoln Club in America’s most Republican County has a rich history of showing prescient leadership, and being on the very front end of important movements and causes within the Republican Party. For the sake of future of our country and our party, let us hope that Republicans in Congress get the message — grassroots volunteers and donors alike are no longer going to support big-spending, earmark-addicted Republicans. Or put most succinctly by Wagner and Hanlon at the end of their commentary — "simply put: we refuse to support a permanent minority."
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