The Aldrich Alert Gary Aldrich
A Publication of the Patrick Henry Center for Individual Liberty

Summon the "big thinkers"

November 17, 2002

by Gary Aldrich - Volume 2, Issue 50

This article appeared at Townhall.com on November 13, 2002

OK, the Republicans won. Now what?

There will be a period of time during which GOP leaders study last Tuesday’s election when the Republicans added seats to their majority in the House and took over the majority in the U.S. Senate. Now, President Bush can establish the Department of Homeland Security and move federal judge nominees through the confirmation process.

The Left had their day, and they sure made the most of it. Consider everything that has happened since the 1970’s as just more frosting on the Liberal’s cake – they achieved all their missions, and now their mission has become the maintenance of the status quo. But even without a majority in Congress, they are not in bad shape when you consider they still control the powerful and influential mainstream media and academia.

Is it enough for Republicans to smartly manage an unaccountable, ever growing bureaucracy? Is it sufficient to do that which the federal government is supposed to do anyway – to defend our shores from attack? What happens when victory is achieved? Do we then go back to our steady march toward Socialism, or is there more to being a conservative Republican than fighting and winning a war?

We all know that this is a golden opportunity for change, but there seems to be no foundation for a “shining city on a hill,” no clear vision for what we can achieve.

Republicans have rarely held on to power for very long. Recent history only confirms this. In 1994, the Republicans took the House and Senate, but Clinton had the White House and the veto power that comes with it. Newt Gingrich, a man of great vision, had achieved a great victory and became Speaker of the House. Republicans got much of their “Contract with America” programs passed, but made significant compromises to get those through – and in the end, there was no “son-of-Contract with America” to inspire voters. Thus, the power was lost.

They achieved power again just last year only to have it slip away in a few short weeks when a turncoat liberal senator switched sides and wrongfully gave the power back to Democrats.

This time is appears that we will have the power for a while. We all know political change will come, but isn’t there some way we can hold on to power long enough to get the kinds of changes the majority of Americans want?

There always exists inside the conservative movement those who have a vision for a freer America, a more civil society, and a better educated population. They know how to smart-size government. They know how and when to cut taxes. They can solve most of our crime problems. And they do not accept the lame excuses that have been used in the past by “bleeding heart Liberals” to explain the reasons for decaying inner cities, teenage pregnancy, fatherless children, and destructive illegal drug usage.

There are those who will never accept the constant stream of sewage we call today’s “primetime television,” where men openly urinate in front of cameras on network TV, and depictions of bizarre and incredibly violent bloodletting have become usual fare for millions of innocent children left to fend for themselves each evening. Their parents return home late because both have to work just to pay the unrelenting taxes, endless fees, permits, licenses, or union association dues. A lot of us understand families are under heavy financial attack, and now we have a chance to come to their aid. Let’s not fail them.

There are great thinkers who have a vision of not only a kinder and gentler America, but also a stronger America that no longer takes constant grief or threats in the name of accommodations to tin-horn dictators. There are those who agree with President Bush that terrorists must be eliminated before they can migrate to our shores. Let’s elevate these thinkers to positions of influence and power, and the sooner the better.

The special forces who engineered this amazing GOP opportunity need to be praised and rewarded, but then they may need to step aside and allow the second wave to move into positions of power. Those who can push against an enemy – the front-line warriors – are sometimes poor choices to effectively move to the next phase. Some of our friends will have little to do if they can’t attack Liberals in power, but I believe we need fresh faces and new ideas if we are to maintain the majority.

It’s going to be harder to implement the positive visions for a greater America, and it’s going to take different tactics, different approaches. The president should guard against letting loyalty to “good generals” cloud the reality that good generals often make poor policy wonks.

But political warriors who find their usefulness parked for a while should take heart – the Left will make a come-back, they always do. Out of power now, the Dems will act as termites, daily chewing on President Bush’s achievements. And possessing the means (media and academia) to undermine Bush’s reputation, you know they will return.

Many believe it’s time to take back some territory lost to Liberals. Many show disgust with the status quo and have sufficient reason to be, but positive change will never happen unless men and women who have a vision for a greater America are invited to the table and given positions of influence.

And without positive change engineered by Republicans, the power will be lost once again. There is a war to be waged against a cancer that’s rotting our cities. The good people who live there are tired of burying their young dead men and trying to raise fatherless children on dangerous streets.

The Republicans can win that war too. We must stop ceding our problems to the Liberals when in our hearts we know they simply don’t know what they’re doing.