You Call This a Political Party?Republicans are bracing for a political annihilation of epic proportions after losing a special election this week in a solidly conservative district in Mississippi -- yes, Mississippi.
We can call this "a harbinger." And Republicans not only deserve the flogging but also should be praying for more. We can call this "creative destruction." When Democrats claim that Republican presidential candidate John McCain would mean a third term of the Bush presidency, they're not kidding. The GOP offers no coherent policy, no leadership, no imagination, no principles, and most importantly, it offers no choice. The Democrat-run Congress now carries an approval rating of 18 percent -- the lowest in history, according to Gallup. You may believe such mass discontent is fertile ground for a strong opposition party to emerge. You'd be wrong. A betrayal of fiscal conservatism and limited government by George Bush has fractured the Republican Party, and mending it won't be easy. Certainly, co-opting liberal ideas and repackaging them for moderates has failed to elect a single Republican. You may wonder then: Why does it remain the GOP game plan? Exhibit One: Republican presidential hopeful McCain unveiled his plan to nationalize energy with a cap-and-trade system (among other nuggets). McCain, in a speech that easily could have been delivered by Al Gore, bemoaned the "profit" motive and claimed his solutions were "market"-driven. If you believe McCain's new massive energy bureaucracy is essential, there is already a party out there that will undertake the task with gusto. Exhibit Two: In a misguided effort of legacy building (good luck with that), the Bush administration designated polar bears as a threatened species. Seems innocuous enough.
The administration ignored the steady increase in the polar bear population, and for the first time in history, a species was listed based not on evidence, but on the prospective threat relayed to us by computer models used by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This decision may relegate huge tracts of land unusable for the extraction of energy at the worst possible time. Additionally, anyone who has the audacity to emit carbon into the atmosphere is now partially responsible for threatening the polar bear. Wait until the lawyers get hold of this one. If you believe polar bears need protection from theories, there is already a party for you. Exhibit Three (the most egregious of all): The massive $300 billion boondoggle farm bill was approved this week with a veto-proof margin. It features $25 billion in annual charity for farmers -- a majority headed to commercial farms with an average income of $200,000 and a net worth of almost $2 million. A massive entitlement that drives up costs? What's not to like? (McCain opposes the bill.) Bush has signed nearly every budget-busting spending proposal in existence -- and constructed a few himself. A veto here would be some small redemption. Allow Congress to override it and explain to the American people why, when food prices are rising precipitously, government is giving away billions in tax dollars. Republicans, sadly, have offered little else. If they believe victory can be found in convincing voters that Barack Obama is a traitor or that Iraq is worth 100 years, they will lose. It's about time members of the GOP stopped being enablers. And a decisive defeat in November would be the perfect start. David Harsanyi is a columnist at The Denver Post and the author of "Nanny State." Visit his website at www.DavidHarsanyi.com. To find out more about David Harsanyi and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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