Posted by
Gregory L. Vince on Sunday, October 01, 2006 1:23:59 PM
WARNING: There are those on both sides of the aisle (but mostly my side of the aisle) who will not be happy with what I have to say in this blog.
Five weeks fron Tuesday, the much discussed midterm elections will be held in what will decide if the Republicans will continue to hold the House and/or the Senate. The House has pretty much been doomed from the start (with Congressman Mark Foley's dispicable e-mails as the icing on the cake). The Senate looked like a GOP victory a while back, but even that is looking like wishful thinking these days.
There are two bumper stickers (actually I made magnets out of them) on my car. One says "Rick '06" (in reference to Santorum) and the other says "Swann/Matthews '06" (Lynn Swann and Jim Matthews). I also have been a vocal supporter of Raj Bahkta's right of center candidacy for Congress against left of center Congresswoman, Allyson Schwartz.
My support of Santorum has to do with the fact that while I have many disagreements with him, he has proven to be a leader and a good Senator. I don't subscribe to his brand of social conservatism as much as I subscribe to him when it comes to the need to reform programs such as Social Security and Healthcare. Bob Casey Jr. (who is virtually the same as Santorum when it comes to the social issues) wants these overfunded and failing systems to stay as is by raising taxes. Wrong answer.
My support of Lynn Swann has to do with the principle of voting for a man who appears to be a Reagan conservative, and a decent man over Ed Rendell whose run as mayor of Philadelphia, I applauded but whose run as governor of PA, I have been disgusted with. Swann, as an outsider, will most likely not win, but it will be a pleasure to vote for him and a lot of fun to vote agaisnt Rendell.
However, when I am asked if the Republicans deserve to remain in the majority, I unfortunately must say, no.
It starts with President Bush. I think he is a good man but as proven to be a very weak leader. He has personally signed pork filled spending sprees such as highway and energy bills. He signed the un-Consititutional campaign finance reform bill. When he attempted to reform Social Security, he allowed his plan to be stalled by liberals and turncoats. The war in Iraq has indeed turned into a miserable failure, not to mention his "Great Society" response to Hurricane Katrina, which proved that big government liberalism doesn't work if your a Republican either. It was the GOP Congress that supported this nonsense on top of bills that were to Constutionally define marraige and ban flag burning (both of which were thankfully voted down). Not to mention Dennis Hassert's ridiculous crusade to ban online poker! I mean what the (expletive that is too explicit for the folks at Townhall.com), people?
When it comes to judges and taxes, these folks are on the right side of aisle. When it comes to much else, I would say they are on the WRONG side and aren't much better than the Democrats. It doesn't make me happy to view it this way, but to give this majority another two years, is vote for the status quo. At least we know what to expect from the Democrats. With the most liberal of Democrats in power, the party of small government, fiscal responsibility, and individual rights will not only rise again, but in a much more respectable manner.
So what do I recomend? Go with your conscience. I can't sit here and endorse the Democrats, but I can't endorse a RINO Congress either (despite my distaste of the term). Swann, Santorum, and Bahtka are candidates who I believe are worthy of my support and my vote. When the Republican Party, e-mailed me asking me for money the other day, I sent one back that said "The Republican Party will get my money when they become a conservative party instead of a beltway one." They should just be thankful that the Democrats are just bad enough, where maybe they will hold on at the end of the day.
As for my predictions? Both Houses are lost to Democrat control. Santorum will lose, Swann will lose, Bahtka will win (his Giuliani style rhetoric on crime in Philly will win the Northeast over). Out of the loss, hopefully the Republican Party will become the Grand Old Party, once again: The Party of Reagan and Goldwater, not the party of Frist, Hassert, and Bush.