Won't Get Betrayed Again

David Weigel | October 27, 2006

From my e-mail box, I gather that conservatives and libertarians are tired of punk liberals-in-journalists' clothing raining chum all over the GOP. And maybe they're right; maybe the GOP's purely negative campaign for re-election is what the American people are clamoring for. Just ask conservative icon Richard Viguerie.

The big-spending, high-deficit, morally-deficient Republican Party hasn't anything to offer conservatives except Halloween scare tactics about the Democrats. But since the GOP majority in Congress has engaged in an unprecedented spending spree, conservatives know that Democrats cannot be any worse and that divided government may lead to less spending.

And conservatives have learned that, while Republicans sometimes provide significant symbolism on social issues, in truth, many of them have a disdain for values voters.

Trying to frighten conservatives by yelling "Nancy Pelosi" and "Harry Reid" won't work this time.

Vigurie offers policy salves for the GOP both agreeable (complete termination of "earmarks" and pork barrel spending in appropriations bills, making permanent all of the temporary tax cuts and pushing for significant additional tax relief) and... less so (confirmation of John Bolton as U.N. Ambassador). But at least he's proposing something. Meanwhile, one of the GOP's most endangered candidates is whining about sex scenes his opponent wrote in a novel.