Every time Ken Mehlman, the chairman of the Republican
Party, opens his mouth I just want to cringe. He can hardly make a statement or
get through an interview without uttering “the Democrats have no agendaâ€ÂÂ.
Apparently in Ken’s little two-dimensional world there should only be two views
on the governing of our nation.
America is a highly diverse nation. We share a wide array
of views and beliefs and that is what makes our country so unique. We all know
that the Republicans stand for small government, big business, and faith based
initiatives. That is what makes the Democrat party more appealing.
Now I know Republicans would disagree with me on that
statement but take Bill Frist as a prime example. He strayed from party lines on
one small issue – stem cell research. That opened up a can of back lashes to the
Senator as members of his party lashed out at him.
You can even make a prime example out of George Bush. He is
one of the biggest spending Presidents we have ever had. That’s not really
conservative. Even his “Rebuilding the Gulf†initiative is now taking heat from
fellow Republicans. They are starting to feel that the deficit is getting to far
out of hand.
Today in the
Washington Post, they have numerous quotes from Republicans questioning the
spending in the Gulf and how to cover it. “Conservatives are calling for
spending cuts to existing programs, a few GOP moderates are entertaining the
possibility of a tax increase, and many in the middle want to freeze Bush tax
cuts that have yet to take effect†the article states, and is something I have
felt since I heard the President give his speech six days ago.
Representative Thomas Davis of Virginia summed it up best;
“I don’t know that anyone ever lost a race because of the deficit, but there is
concern. You just can’t keep piling up debt”
This should send a sign to Democrats. Here is your line of
defense against Ken Mehlman’s continued “they have no agenda†attacks. The
Democrats can now try and take the helm of being the fiscally responsible party.
That is an agenda item that reflects concern amongst all Americans.
Right now the Democrats have been given a gift and they
need to use it. The Republican Party is falling apart fast and the Democrats can
quickly exploit that for a take over of congress next fall.
Keep with the Democratic Party’s history of being the
diverse party and use fiscal responsibility as a sole agenda item. Keep other
items such as right to life and separation of church and state open. There are
numerous views on these items that can not be summed up by two parties. That
would get the greatest draw from the people.
Next year every Democrat should go out in force pledging to
hammer down our deficit. Other issues should be taken up based upon their
constituency. Let the people they represent decide on other issues that carry a
wide spectrum of views. That is the purpose of our government.