As I read in the newspapers, blogs and other online sites and watch television, I see that for many if not most of the elected officials who are Republicans it is once again "business as usual".  Yes, there is the occasional headline-grabbing announcement made purely for rhetorical effect; e.g., "Governor Perry considers refusing Texas' share of stimulus funds!"  And "Bill introduced in Texas legislature to re-assert state sovereignty!"  Then you read a bit further or a few days later and it's, "Governor Perry signs bill to accept stimulus money."  And, "Sub-sub committee on government delays consideration of 'sovereignty resolution."  Now it's, "Senator (fill in the name of your Republican senator, if you have one) supports (fill in the name of a tired old RHINO) for the office of (fill in the office the RHINO couldn't win last time around).

 

Here's a news flash for all of the Republican office-holders at the state and federal level.  As soon as the Democrats have a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, none of you are going to get your "entitlements" to hand over to your buddies in the counties, cities and towns of your district.  None of you are going to get "federal grants" for your state Republican officials to divide up among your usual cronies at the state level.  In case you haven't been watching, a bit at a time you're being cut off from the "hog trough" in Washington.  Once the Democrats think they don't need you to get their legislation passed through Congress, you're going to be as welcome as Monica Lewinski at the Clinton's next wedding anniversary party; and for the same reason:  they got what they wanted out of you and now they don't need you at all!  Think not?  Consider what has been going on since the inaguration of President Obama.  What did he tell the House Minority Leader when that worthy gent asked how come there had been no evidence of the bipartisanship the president had promised in his campaign?  "We won the elections."  Do you see President Obama getting involved in any of the fussing and "issue-raising" that you federal level Republicans are working so hard at these days?  Pelosi?  Think about it.  White House Press Secretary:  "I had the chance on Friday to comment on that and I'm going to decline to say anything today, as well."  Notice that Professor Ayers and Reverend Wright are back on the stump, talking about whatever nonsense they like to indulge in and you are all rising to the bait.  Still on about the Fairness Doctrine?  You ought to pay attention to what bills the Democrats are passing these days:  now there's a law that the President - alone and in his sole discretion - can limit the Internet both in terms of useage and content any day he feels like it.  Are you beginning to get the idea here?  You've been distracted with the usual foolishness that engages the public's attention in national politics and the Democrats are slowly but surely, one brick at a time, walling you off from any meaningful participation in legislation.  That means you don't get any of the "perks" of being important in Washington any more, noticibly, the ones that give your supporters back home either advantages over their business competition or money in their pockets.  Guess what that means?  When the Democrats run opponents against each one of you in the next election for your respective offices, you're going to lose.

 

Well, what choices do you have?  One:  you can be an Arlen Spector - who has turned his coat so many times that he nears the record set in Ancient Republican Rome by Phillipus, the father of the stepfather of young Cesar Augustus for changing sides - and change over to the Democratic Party, if they'll have you.  Two:  you can resign yourselves to losing and either find another line of work - which is unlikely, since most of you just like the Democrats in office have never worked for a living (and don't fuss at me about practicing law; I did that and it isn't work) - or resign your offices and retire.  Three:  you can stop trying to win re-election by copying Democrats' corruption and utter absence of principle by becoming what you have pretended to us the public to be for years:  conservatives, whose greater desire is to see a reduction in the size and cost of federal and state governments, to see a reduction in government power closer to something that the U.S. Constitution sets forth, to see unelected bureaucrats and other government officials forced to find more honest work other than poking their noses into the personal lives of your constituents.  Just for starters, that's what being a conservative is all about.  And guess what?  You all - none of you - have not been doing a damn thing about those conservative principles - other than flapping your jaws about how conservative you are - and as a consequence your Republican Party got its hind end kicked from here to Tuesday in the last election and are going to get it kicked again in 2010.  Remember why your Republican Party lost seats in Congress and lost the Presidency:  seven million former Republican voters either didn't vote at all or voted for your opponent.  And that, as Lily Tomlin used to say, is the truth!!  You can pretty it up with surveys and studies and learned articles and all the smoke and mirror tricks you like, but that is the flat-out, plain, unvarnished truth.  Does it stick in your craw as my daddy used to say?  Well, it ought to.

 

I can hear it now, the whiney, self-justification:  "Well, we can't get any laws passed, 'cause the Democrats control Congress and the Presidency."  "Well, we can't do nothin' 'cause we're not in power any more."  "Well, the public don't like conservative values or libertarian foolishness like that."  Well, bull crap to you!!  You lost because you abandoned the conservative principles that brought you to power, and you were seen to abandon those principles so you could enjoy the unearned and immoral fruit of your election victories:  getting money and business advantages and other goodies for yourselves, for your families, for your friends, and for your political supporters.  Yes, I understand that all that is in the immemorial tradition of the American spoils system.  Quite right.  The problem is that "hope and change" has caught up to you and to all of us in the form of President Obama and the Democratic sweep into power.  Now, I "hope" you all can "change" your ways and get the country that I and many others have given our lives - literally or figuratively - to protect and serve.

 

Here's what you do:  start off by opposing, loudly and publically, every single one of our "democratic socialist" president's proposals that are not consistent with conservative "small government = freedom" values.  Yes, that means everything he's proposing, pretty much.  Don't just make noises with your mouths, say intelligent stuff, like "That proposal will allow the union leaders to unionize businesses whose workers don't want to be unionized" ... oh, wait, you guys already did that and it worked!  So far anyway.  How about condeming his interference with the rule of law in connection with the Chrysler bankruptcy?  How about his firing of the CEO of GM?  How can you tell which of his proposals is wrong?  Easy:  if a Democrat makes a proposal for legislative or executive branch action it is 95% or more certain to be unconstitutional and/or wrong for the nation's people.  Next time I post something, I'll be more specific about what I think you folks ought to be working on.  For now, just a few examples:  you all ought to be opposing the bill introduced in the House to repeal the 22nd Amendment, thereby allowing President Obama to continue to be president until he decides he doesn't want to be any more;  propose terms limits for members of Congress - propose your own Constitutional amendment on that one; introduce legislation taking away criminal and or civil penalties for disobeying administrative regulations, unless those regulations and the penalties are actually laws passed by Congress - remember "separation of powers"? - just to name a few.  Yes, I actually know that you're not going to get any of that passed by Congress, let alone have President Obama sign any such bills into law.  So what?  You're not going to accomplish anything for yourselves or for the people whose interests you have pretended to represent - that's all of us, not just your buddies - for all these years anyway.  This gives you real conservative stuff to talk about, to remember and get the voters to remember for the next elections, which I may remind you are just about 18 months away.