Although it’s not their
intent, Republicans are on a fast track to handing the November midterm
congressional election to the Democrats.
The real canary in the coal
mine was the March special election surprise in Pennsylvania’s 18th District,
where underdog Democrat Conor Lamb upset Republican Rick Saccone in a district
Donald Trump won by 20 points in 2016.
This electoral outcome would
have been unthinkable a few short years ago. This district was so historically
red that the previous GOP incumbent, Tim Murphy, didn’t even face a Democratic
opponent in 2014 or 2016.
So, what happened? Republicans
stayed home and Democrats showed up. A lot of them.
According to a Cook Political Report, Democratic stronghold Allegheny
County saw a voter turnout at 67 percent of 2016 levels. But Republican-leaning
Westmoreland County saw turnout at only 60 percent of 2016 levels.
With control of the House, Senate and White House,
Republicans have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create an enduring
legacy of free markets, lower taxes, shrinking debts and economic growth.
The Pennsylvania special
election results should serve as a political warning shot for Republicans
everywhere. It reminds me of an old axiom used by conservative activists: When
we act like us, we win. When we act like them, we lose.
When Republicans act like
Democrats, Republican voters stay home. If the GOP wants to lose its majorities
in the House and Senate in November, the playbook is simple: Stay the course.
Keep doing what you’re doing.
Here are four ways Republicans
can guarantee a loss in the midterm elections:
In the first quarter of this
year, Congress passed two massive spending bills that required last-minute
votes before lawmakers even had time to read the legislation. So much for the
2010 Republican promise to post all legislation at least 72 hours before a
vote.
Republicans justified the
dysfunctional process as a “necessary evil” to avoid a government shutdown. But
the reality is, there would be no fiscal emergency if Congress simply returned
to regular order and followed the annual appropriations process as it’s
written.
2. Pass giant spending
bills that waste money we don’t have.
Since Republicans took full
control of Congress in 2015, the national debt has grown by almost $3 trillion.
The latest congressional spending spree will cost taxpayers $1.3 trillion,
busting the 2015 Budget Control Act spending caps and further increasing our
national debt to $22 trillion. Which side is the “party of fiscal responsibility?”
3. Blink on the votes that
matter, and stand on principle for the votes that don’t.
After forcing through a $1.3
trillion omnibus spending package, House Republicans are thinking about
introducing a balanced budget amendment later this year. Don’t get me wrong, a
balanced budget amendment would be great. However, this proposal is little more
than another empty promise made by GOP leadership after – yet again –
disappointing its most active voting base, fiscal conservatives.
Constitutional amendments
require a two-thirds majority vote for passage. Taking a realistic look at past
votes on similar proposals and the current composition of Congress, the chances
for passage are highly doubtful.
What’s more likely is that
Republican leadership will do some damage control after passing two massive
spending bills during a highly competitive midterm election year. “Sure, we
folded when it counted, but we took a safely principled stand on a balanced
budget amendment destined to fail. That’s not nothing, right?”
4. Demean fiscal
conservatives and the legislators who represent them.
When Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky.,
objected to a budget deal that included $300 billion in new spending over two
years, he was ridiculed and attacked by his colleagues in the
Senate. Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, called Paul’s efforts “grossly
irresponsible” and accused him of “wasting everybody's time.”
Former Speaker John Boehner,
R-Ohio, recently belittled the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus,
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., in a Vanity Fair interview, calling him “an idiot”
and saying, “I can’t tell you what makes him tick.”
To Republican voters, the only
thing worse than completely abandoning fiscal conservatism is holding a general
attitude of disdain toward the people still fighting the fight.
With control of the House,
Senate and White House, Republicans have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to
create an enduring legacy of free markets, lower taxes, shrinking debts and
economic growth.
It would be a shame to lose
this opportunity because Republicans forgot what principles got them elected in
the first place.
Noah Wall, Fox News, April 23, 2018
Noah Wall is the vice president of advocacy for FreedomWorks.
Noah Wall, Fox News, April 23, 2018
Noah Wall is the vice president of advocacy for FreedomWorks.
Nenhum comentário:
Postar um comentário
Não publicamos comentários de anônimos/desconhecidos.
Por favor, se optar por "Anônimo", escreva o seu nome no final do comentário.
Não use CAIXA ALTA, (Não grite!), isto é, não escreva tudo em maiúsculas, escreva normalmente. Obrigado pela sua participação!
Volte sempre!
Abraços./-