Barack
Obama has now been elected the forty-fourth President of the United
States. He ran a very organized campaign and has made history as the
first man of color to be elected to the nation's highest political
office. Democrats have increased their margin of representation over
Republicans in both houses of congress and hold a majority in the
senate which should allow them to pass almost all legislation they
desire. This election can be seen as either a repudiation or an
opportunity for the Republicans Party. I see it as a little of both.
First,
let me say right up front that I do not like political parties. I don't
care if they are Democrats, Republicans, Bull Moose, or Whigs. Both
George Washington and John Adams, our nation's first two presidents,
believed that political parties would lead to the downfall of our
political system of representative democracy since it allowed special
interest groups to gain too much power over political candidates. Today
we can see their fears have been realized in Washington with billions
of dollars worth of political influence financing campaigns. Trial
lawyers, trade unions, the medical industry, abortion advocates,
financial institutions, and a host of other lobbyists roam the halls of
congress doling out money to any politician willing to compromise his
principles for a chance to get a piece of the pork. As we recently
witnessed in the mortgage industry meltdown, even those who are
supposed to be overseeing quasi-government agencies like Freddie Mac
and Fannie Mae can collect hundreds of thousands of dollars from those
whom they are supposed to be regulating. This is a classic example of
the fox guarding the henhouse.
In
the election of 2000, Republicans won both houses of congress and the
presidency. This was a great opportunity for those elected to enact the
conservative core values which defined the Republican party in the
1980's - limited government, fiscal conservatism, strong national
defense, and strong social values. These are the ideas which Ronald
Reagan communicated to Americans which allowed him to unite his GOP
base along with "Reagan Democrats" to win landslide elections in 1980
and 1984. However, for six years the Republicans in power ignored these
conservative values and acted like big-spending Democrats. They ran up
a huge deficit and instituted a myriad of expensive
government-sponsored social programs such as the Medicare drug program.
When our military became bogged down in the Iraq war and the deficits
and spending kept growing, American voters got fed up. In 2006,
Republicans lost control of both houses of congress. Americans wanted
change and any change seemed preferable to the status quo. The GOP lost
its way and this year put forth a squishy, middle-of-the-road
presidential candidate in John McCain who claimed he was well-suited to
reach across the aisle to work with Democrats. In truth, McCain had
repeatedly demonstrated this with his record for tag-team legislation,
working with Russ Feingold, Ted Kennedy, John Edwards, John Kerry, and
other liberal lawmakers. "Reaching across the political aisle" always
entails selling out conservative values - something McCain seemed
willing to do more often than not. At the tail-end of his political
campaign McCain tried to convince voters that he was a real agent for
change in Washington. The voters didn't buy it. Then there was the
other candidate who was, by his mere appearance, an obvious change to
the stereotypical politician. Thus, we now have president-elect Barack
Obama, the first mixed-race American to take the oath of office.
So,
what does all this mean for America? The country will now fall under
the control of big-government politicians holding power in the
executive branch and both houses of congress. Taxes will be raised on
the top 5 percent of wage-earners (including most small business
owners), who now carry 60 percent of the income tax burden, and
millions of checks will be sent out to the 40 percent of those who pay
no federal income tax. Corporate taxes, already the second-highest in
the world, will be raised from 15 percent to 20 or 25 percent. The Bush
tax cuts will be repealed and the estate tax will be reinstituted. An
extremely costly government-sponsored health care program will be
enacted which will cover both citizens and illegal immigrants. The
government will very quickly run up a trillion dollar deficit once all
of Obama's programs are implemented. The Supreme Court will probably
see two or three more activist liberal judges appointed. There will be
an attempt to culturally redefine America. Affirmative action will be
strictly enforced across the country and there will be a move to
provide "reparations" for those of African-American heritage. The
courts will shoot down all restrictions on abortion and America will
become the most pro-abortion nation on earth. A liberal Supreme Court
will attempt to change the definition of marriage at the national
level. There will be many challenges to the Second Amendment right to
own firearms. Conservative talk radio will be restricted by the
so-called "Fairness Doctrine" and there will be more political
correctness and speech codes on college campuses. Twelve to twenty
million illegal aliens will be granted amnesty and Democrats will
attempt to make them citizens as quickly as possible and register them
for their party. Military spending will be cut by 25% and America's
armed forces will come under the influence of the United Nations. No
global consensus - no military action.
And
what does this portend for the Republican Party? Actually, this is a
great opportunity for the GOP. Americans are not Europeans despite the
wishes of Democrats that we were more like them. Most Americans believe
that independence, hard work and entrepreneurialism leads one to
success. These are the conservative core values which our Founding
Fathers incorporated into the Declaration of Independence and the
Constitution. Most Americans want a limited, fiscally-responsible
federal government, low taxes, and a strong military which will defend
our country. Most have Judeo-Christian values and do not want to
redefine marriage. They believe that Americans have the right to defend
themselves with a firearm. Will the Republican Party learn a lesson
from this election and return to its conservative roots? Only time will
tell. If Republicans continue to act like Democrats they will live a
long time in the political wilderness. If they rediscover their true
identity and unite behind a conservative standard bearer, America may
experience a second "Reagan Revolution".