Down but certainly not defeated!
I'm sure the subject of this post will laugh and point out the recent election results as he smugly sits in his ivory tower; however, since Issac Smith at Free State Politics linked to one of my recent posts I'm going to respond in kind.
He did have some left-handed complements for the Prince George's County GOP, as he cited a recent Gazette piece about the party attempting to "reinvent" itself there. His comment on the piece was telling though:
No one expects Republicans to start winning in Prince George's, of course, but it seems focusing on actual problems in Maryland is a better course than offering up the usual -- and increasingly unpopular -- agenda of endless tax cuts, warmongering, and anti-immigrant hysteria.
Personally I prefer to think of this agenda as prosperity, defending our freedom, and discouraging illegal immigration, but I'll allow Issac his claims for the moment.
There is one good point Smith brings up as far as how far behind the Republicans are as far as taking advantage of the power of the Internet to influence voters. (Ok, at least some Republicans are behind. I was here before quite a few of these upstarts were, and I'm doing my best to reinvent the party for 2008 and beyond.) But appealing to today's youth can be a problem when you hew to what's considered a point of view that's so like when MTV actually played videos 24/7. (Insert current teen/young adult slang for not being hip because it's too much like being a mature adult; in my day the phrase would've been "lame.")
So obviously there's a generation gap here. But good ideas are timeless, and I write as I do because I believe that enacting the ideas I have will lead to a renewal of the Republican Party and another Reaganesque "morning in America." Most of the under-25 set doesn't remember it well, but the 1980's were some very good years. And sometimes the trouble Republicans have is they hope to find a person who is the Reagan of this generation - that's simply not possible. However, we need not stray from the principles of smaller, better government either.
But I'm not seeing a "progressive" agenda that does much besides simply roll back what they perceive as the bad parts of the last six years. Let's use Smith's three items as an example.
"Endless tax cuts." I don't know why so-called progressives have such a problem with people keeping their own money. And I don't have a problem with Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, or Oprah Winfrey keeping more of their money - after all they earned it. They took risks and were paid off handsomely. And the same goes for millions of other people, many of whom own businesses, managed to invest well, or even parlayed a skill they have into fame and fortune for themselves. I'll even put John Edwards in that category for his gift of gab and playing to jurors' emotions.
"Warmongering." This one is where he cited my recent post, "Wayne's world (view)". I suppose if wanting victory over the forces of radical Islam makes me a "warmonger" I'll gladly accept the label. Imagine we give folks like Issac Smith what they wish and withdraw from Iraq today, waving the white flag as we go. My bet is before the year would be out Iraq would become an Iranian puppet state and the bloodletting in that nation would be only beginning as the Kurds would be victims of "ethnic cleansing." (Maybe the Democrats would want to get involved then? I doubt it.) And sometime after the 2008 elections we'd have another attack that would make 9/11 look like a day at the park.
These guys ain't playing around - we have to fight fire with fire.
"Anti-immigrant hysteria." Thousands of immigrants come to our country legally every year and make productive places for themselves in our society. But they come to be Americans, not just to make cash to send home, or, more darkly, come to America to victimize both the native and illegal population. In California, problems with prison overcrowding can be traced to all of the illegal immigrants locked up - not just for the offense of crossing the border illegally, but for a multitude of felonies. If there were no illegal immigrants in California prisons, the number of prisoners would be under the capacity allowed.
The fact that three of the six members of the "Jersey jihad" were in our country illegally should give us pause; however, since the "progressives" have no problem with felons voting they must see six more possible Democrat votes among these men.
Finally, it's interesting to note that, while the Maryland GOP is thought by Smith to be at an ebb, it's going to be interesting to see what sort of spin the Maryland Democrats will put on the higher sales, gasoline, and other taxes that Marylanders will be paying by the time the next election rolls around. One thing about Governor O'Malley delaying the fiscal day of reckoning - unlike Governor Ehrlich or the two Democrats preceding him - and adding new spending on top of it is that all of this reaching into the back pockets of Free State residents will be a bit fresher on the minds of the voters.
And, like the elephant is known for, people like me in the Maryland GOP don't forget.