Quote Of The Day: Lessons From Eeeuw! Edition

Moving forward, my advice to Republicans is simple: Don't go back and check on a dead skunk. The question Republicans now need to answer is: How do we once again convince the public that we are in fact the party many Democrats successfully pretended to be in this election?
-- Dick Armey in the WSJ

Armey's post-election WSJ op-ed is a reminder of what the GOP is supposed to be, and how far astray it has gone.

It's a very good read in which he does spend a bit of time sniffing the dead skunk for us, then lays out a plan of sorts for a turn-around in '08. I'm not so confident it can be done that quickly.

A lot depends on the Dems, and I don't see a spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship coming out of them. That's an option, to be sure: Show that they put sensible leadership and country first, thereby creating a calming effect in the nation, as voters realize that their 2006 votes sent a message without causing severe listing of the ship of state.

But the more likely option, as I see the new committee chairs. Think of privacy hawk Patrick Leahy chairing Judiciary and using his bully pulpit to conduct hearings on the legality of Bush's intelligence efforts and other hearings to feret out GOP corruption in every nook and cranny. This is more likely what the Dems will use the next two years for: to conduct highly divisive hearings into all matter of Bush administration policy and actions. That means two years of the GOP on its heels, trying to bear up under a withering, sustained barrage by the media and its friends in Congress.

Still, if this is the deck we're dealt, Armey's advice is good:

We need to remember Ronald Reagan's legacy and again stand for positive, big ideas that get power and money out of politics and government bureaucracy and back into the hands of individuals. We also need again to demonstrate an ability to be good stewards of the taxpayers' hard-earned money. If Republicans do these things, they will also restore the public's faith in our standards of personal conduct. Personal responsibility in public life follows naturally if your goal is good public policy.

The GOP can stand for reduced taxes and individual freedoms, but it can't do much about it as minority party. So leadership is needed that can speak defiantly against wrongs, remain on point through defeats, and find ways to stop the most horrific violations of the Reagan legacy the Dems foist on us.

Related Tags: Politics, Election 2006, GOP, Democrats, Armey