Beyond the presidential race, it goes without saying the Republican Party took a shellacking nationally. Some on the left will say our electoral losses are a repudiation of our principles of lower taxes, smaller government and individual liberty. But Tuesday was not in fact a rejection of those principles -- it was a rejection of Republicans' failure to live up to those principles.
I'm listening. [Gov. Sanford making sense Alert Button on standby]
America didn't turn away from conservatism, they turned away from many who faked it.
Sanford cites Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) as an example. O sure, pick on the convicted felon.
Borrowing from Medicare, Social Security, our grandkids and the Chinese to remedy a problem created by too much borrowing strikes me as odd, and hardly the "change" Americans really want. Accordingly, on these and other issues that involve borrowing to spend, I will work with others to change this kind of change.
[Stand down on the alert. Back to partisanship as usual.]
The thing is Gov. Sanford, the GOP's idea of lower taxes is lower taxes for the wealthy. Trickle down economics has been failing us for years. Or are you in the "fundamentals of our economy are strong" camp?
As far as your party's idea of smaller government goes, we gave that principle a real try with deregulation of the financial industry. Turns out, greedy bastards will not keep their bastardy greed in check when left to self-regulate. Huh, whodathunkit?
And when you talk about individual liberty, I'm assuming you are excluding women, whom your party seeks to deny the right to choose; political opponents, whom your party seeks to smear with McCarthy-esque attacks of guilt by association - even when no substantive "association" exists; and registered voters whom your party seeks to disenfranchise at the slightest hint of dropping poll numbers.
America didn't turn away from conservatism or the principles you mention - they voted down the Republican platform of dismissing the middle and lower classes, enabling corporations to line their pockets while grinding the working man under their heels, and attempting to divide us by color, religion, sexual orientation or whatever other wedge issue your polls show might win your party more votes.
And speaking of fakers, change starts at the top. Your party put at the top of its ticket a man who went back on every principle he ever held, trading in his integrity to campaign with the most unqualified VP candidate in history who drove the Hate Talk Express into a ditch then walked away chuckling about her prospects in 2012. The GOP allowed their rallies to become lynch mob gatherings and sent their mouthpieces on missions to plant the seeds of UnAmerican Activities and faux outrage in the media, in the halls of our representative government and in living rooms across America.
Governor, it's time to do more than scratch the surface of what's wrong with the GOP. Blaming Ted Stevens on his way to prison is a little too convenient. Before you dash back into the open arms of politics as usual and continue your efforts to sabotage the Obama administration before it even sets foot in the White House, you might keep in mind that Americans voted against your party for some tangible reasons. You can deny, ignore or try to spin those reasons at your own risk. Which would qualify, to my mind, as faking it.
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