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RED STATE
by
Mike Hodge
There’s been alot of talk about the future of the Republican Party, both statewide and nationally, so I’ll add my take on things.
Let’s tackle the national level first. Democrats won in 2006 due to the incompetence of the Republican leadership.
Most of the Democrats that year and this year
ran on a conservative platform: i.e. lower
taxes, etc. The Republicans, when they were
in power, did not act like Republicans. That’s
why they lost. They increased spending, the size
of government, and were afraid to stand up to
the Democrats on anything. There has been no
leadership from the Republicans, in my humble
opinion, since Newt Gingrich left.
The first thing Republicans need to do and
have started doing, is elect new leadership.
I’m glad to see Virginia’s own Eric Cantor
moving up. Unfortunately, we’re still stuck with
Ohio Congressman John Boehner at the top.
When Republicans act like Republicans, they
win. Even Barack Obama ran his successful
campaign on a conservative principle—lower
taxes.
Our presidential candidate was not able to
articulate the bedrock principles of the GOP and
how they are much more suited for success than
the liberal principles of more government and
wealth redistribution. Senator John McCain did
not run his campaign on these ideas; of course
it would have helped if he was a conservative
who believed in them.
The Republicans need to return to
their grass roots foundations in order to be
successful. If they do so, then they will pick up
seats in 2010.
On a statewide level, the GOP had the
worst candidate possible as their nominee for
U.S. Senate. We can only hope this was Jim
Gilmore’s ride into the sunset. Gilmore was a
bona fide conservative; however his likeability
was next to zero with most voters. Just look
at how much of a margin Mark Warner won
by— close to a million votes and he carried 128
of 134 jurisdictions in Virginia. This race was
over when Gilmore barely won the nomination
in May at the GOP convention. You need to be
able to connect with the voters and Gilmore
couldn’t do that.
Next year should be a brighter one for
Virginia Republicans. Bob McDonnell and Bill
Bolling are running as a united ticket and are
probably the strongest candidates we have had
in quite a few years. Ken Cuccinelli and John
Brownlee both bring strong credentials to the
Attorney General race. Again, if these guys run
on true conservative principles, they will win.
The media says it’s a bad time for the
Republican brand and conservatism. If you
look at results from the last two election
cycles, conservatism has a good showing and
will continue to be the choice that most voters
choose.
Comments? Email us at letters@thevalleyamerican.com.
© 2008 The Valley American
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