The Republican Revolution has expired

By Charles Bloomer
web posted November 12, 2001

In 1994, the Republican party swept to power in an
unprecedented revolution, taking control of both houses of
congress, a majority of governorships and majorities in several
state legislatures. Unfortunately, they peaked early and it has
been downhill ever since. The results of last week's elections in
Virginia and New Jersey show that the Republicans have truly
lost their way.

The successes of 1994 can be attributed to their developing a
clear, understandable, popular agenda. The Contract With
America outlined the conservative values of the Republican party
and defined the party's differences with the opposition. Voters
were presented with a party that stood for smaller, less intrusive
government, lower taxes, a balanced budget, and a commitment
to clean up Washington politics. The alternative was more tax-
and-spend, big government status quo.

Since 1994, though, the Republican party has slowly abandoned
the principles inherent in the Contract With America and has
become nearly as Democrat as the Democratic party. Faced
with a president who polled well and a hostile, liberal press, the
Republicans retreated, unable or unwilling to stand and fight.
Republicans in congress folded during a government shutdown,
failed to bring an impeached president to account for lying under
oath and obstructing justice, allowed the president to abuse the
recess appointment process, and failed to stop the uncontrolled
growth of government. In addition, poor judgment in personal
affairs lead to a near collapse of the party leadership.

In every election since 1994, the Republicans have shifted further
and further to the left, abandoning their support base. In every
election since 1994, the Republicans in congress have lost seats
to the point that by 2000 they had lost control of the senate and
their majority in the house had dwindled to just 6 seats. The
Republican candidate for president managed to get barely
enough Electoral College votes to win, despite losing the popular
vote.

It should not be surprising then that Republican candidates in
Virginia and New Jersey lost their bids to become governors.
Timidity does not produce winners. Failing to wholeheartedly
embrace conservative values alienates the Republican base.
Trying to emulate the opposition with mushy concepts such as
"inclusiveness" and "big tent", trying to reach out to segments of
the voting public by embracing their values, trying not to offend
anyone -- all lead to confusion. Voters do not vote for confusion.

Mark Earley never had an agenda or, if he did, he never
articulated it. He waffled when he should have stood firm,
especially on the car tax issue. He should have made it absolutely
clear that he would continue the successful policies of the two
previous Republican administrations. Instead, it appears that
Earley did not want to potentially alienate or offend the wealthy,
liberal-leaning districts of Northern Virginia that border on
Washington, DC. As a result, he did not look credible to the
liberals and he aggravated the conservative base. His campaign
strategy looks even more foolish when one considers that his
Democratic opponent ran on a conservative agenda.

Bret Schundler, in New Jersey, ran as a conservative but the
weak-kneed Republican Party failed to support him. The party
was miffed when Schundler won the primary over their favored
"moderate". As a result, the party played games with Schundler,
supporting him only at the last minute. The party encouraged
Schundler to "reach out" to Democratic strongholds, even though
the chances that any of those voters would vote for him were
slim. In New Jersey, as in Virginia, the support base was
alienated and those groups invited into the "big tent" continued to
vote for the Democrat.

The Republican party needs to realize that its attraction is in its
core conservative values. American voters are, as Ronald
Reagan realized, basically conservative. Those voters respond
well to the conservative message when it is clearly expressed and
firmly supported. Rather than water down the message to appeal
to voters outside the core support group, the party must explain
why conservatism will better serve their interests, explain how
Republican values will make their lives more successful.

If the Republicans are to be successful in 2002, they will need to
return to their conservative ideals. They can not afford to be a
lighter version of the Democrats. Given a choice between voting
for a Democrat with a Democrat agenda and voting for a
Republican with a Democrat agenda, the voters will choose the
Democrat. The Contract With America was successful because
it was clear, it was conservative, and it made good sense.

If last week's elections do not help the Republicans see the light,
they are destined to be in the minority once again. The
Republican Revolution will have, indeed, expired.

Charles Bloomer is a Senior Writer for Enter Stage Right. He
can be contacted at clbloomer@enterstageright.com. © 2001
Charles Bloomer

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