Last November, the Democrats took a majority in Congress, and I don’t have enough space in this column to talk about all of the reasons why that is terrible news for America. I will simply say that if you consider the ideological perspective of Nancy Pelosi, the newly minted Speaker of the House of Representatives, you would see that she has a vision of a much larger role for the federal government than was ever envisioned by our nation’s founding fathers. Or to put it more succinctly, the freedom, liberty and property of all of the people of this great nation are imperiled by her view of a larger and more invasive role of the federal government. Needless to say, it should be a top priority for all Americans who believe in a truly limited role for our national government to rally together to ensure that the reign of Pelosi lasts precisely two years, and no more. Right?
Herein lies the big challenge ahead in doing just that. Nancy Pelosi and the Party of Clinton did not achieve a majority in Congress because they were just better campaigners than the Republicans — in a very large measure, Democrats gained control of Congress because Republicans lost their way. We have already written a lot on this page about the incredible growth in the size and scope of the federal government during the time that Republicans controlled the Presidency, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. Since 2001, federal spending is up 41% according to the well-regarded Heritage Foundation. If Republicans in Congress are looking for reasons as to why they are now in the minority, they need only look in the mirror.
We all know that alcoholism is a disease, and that it requires a tremendous amount of ongoing commitment by someone with this disorder to beat it, and to keep that desire or appetite for a drink in check. Many fail to do so — yet many are able to meet this difficult challenge. Before you wonder why I have introducing a seeming non sequitur into this column (going from spending addition to alcohol addiction), let me connect the dots.
The Republican Majority that lost the House last November suffered from an addiction to spending money — they were ‘spendaholics’ who were so caught up in a cycle of delivering pork for district projects, and appeasing the Republican lobbyists on K-Street that they lost sight of the reason they achieved the majority — which was to undo decades of growth that had taken place under the reign of liberal Democrats. Instead of coming to the rescue of taxpayers, Republicans piled on. A bad situation became worse.
Usually it takes a major life ‘incident’ to cause someone with an alcohol addition to confront their disease, and start down that road to recovery. That road has to start with an acknowledgement of their addiction, and a commitment to fight it. Then, through a multi-step process, an alcoholic ramps up to change their lives, with the highest-profile step being an apology to all of those whom this person has hurt because of their addiction.
When Republicans re-organized after their stunning election-day defeat, there seemed to be no acknowledgement that they had all been overcome by a spending addiction. There was no major statement that Republicans had lost their way, let alone a bold apology to Americans (especially Republicans) whom they had betrayed. In fact, House Republicans by and large re-elected the same leadership that had facilitated the big-spending ways of the past terms of Congress, leaving those of us on the outside with only one conclusion to draw — which is that the GOP in Congress has yet to come to terms with their spending addiction.
In a two-party system, this is especially disheartening because the Democrats in control of Congress will be awful, and we all need to be able to rally to oust these liberals from office. But doing so will require all of us to step up to the plate and do everything we can to unify behind a Republican effort to reclaim Congress. Which goes to the heart of the question — if Republicans, as the majority Party, are going to return to the status quo (and we have no reason to believe they will not), then what is the point? Some would argue that if government is going to grow bigger and fatter, why not let the Democrats do that?
In the Republican Majority, there is no one who probably typified the glorification of spending more that California Congressman Jerry Lewis. This Inland Valley Republican was the Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee. It was under his watch that a system of redistribution of wealth by taking tax dollars and spending it on pork projects (such as millions for a swimming pool complex in his own district) thrived. Lewis championed a system where billions of dollars were spent on items that really should not be legitimately within the scope of a limited federal government. Using the mantra of ‘returning tax dollars to our constituents’ – the Republican Congress became guilty of playing Santa Clause with taxpayer dollars. Lewis fostered a culture of "elitism" where "Appropriators" were looked at as some sort of royalty in the House, to the point where when common-sense spending cuts such as puth forth by the Republican Study Committee for across-the-board spending cuts, Lewis pressured all of his "Appropriators" to reject the idea on its face. So you ask, what came of Lewis when Republicans lost the majority? Well, nothing. He is now the ranking Republican on the Appropriations Committee, presumably waiting in the wings to reclaim his gavel should he take the majority.
Lewis’ continued presence on the Appropriations Committee is an example of how Republicans in Congress still do not understand that they were overcome with a spending addiction. If they had, they would understand the importance, especially symbolically, of busting the biggest pork-advocates to the back benches. But then, this might require an acknowledgement of the problem.
I would like to see a Republican majority in Congress more than anything. But towards an end. That end is to return liberty and freedom to Americans by significantly reducing the size, scope and cost of the federal bureaucracy. I know that I speak for many when I say that I do not know that this is what will happen if Republicans reclaim the majority. As a matter of fact, right now it seems like we would just be asking a bunch of alcoholics to tend bar.
It is up to House Republicans to make their case to grassroots Republican donors and activists that things will be different if we reclaim the majority. But wouldn’t that start with some clear statements about what went wrong? And, oh yes, that apology…
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