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My wife and
I are in the
process of
renovating
our house.
It’s a great
home, a
1940s
colonial
that was
built right
after the
war. The
kind with a
solid
structure
and a solid
foundation
and walls
made of
plaster two
inches
thick.
It’s a mess
right now,
with wires
hanging from
exposed
ceilings and
piles of
brick and
other rubble
cluttering
the floor.
What had
been the
back of the
kitchen is
no longer
there; what
had been the
master bath
is nowhere
to be
found.
As I was
looking at
it the other
day, the
whole scene
kind of
reminded me
of the
Republican
Party. The
GOP is a
party in
ruins. Its
poll numbers
are down.
Its image is
in the
dumpster.
The
candidates
vying to be
the party’s
next nominee
for
President
are trying
to be the
next Ronald
Reagan but
are failing
to catch on.
The mood is
indeed grim
inside the
Republican
Party. It’s
grim because
the party is
living in
the house
that Reagan
built, but
it’s trashed
the place
and the
walls have
fallen
down. And
now the
house needs
to be
rebuilt. It
needs to be
restored.
It needs to
be
renovated.
As any
homeowner
will tell
you,
successful
renovations
generally
begin with
hard
truths.
Some truths
are good;
others are
bad. Before
we began our
renovation,
my wife and
I faced some
hard truths
about money
and space.
We also
faced two
other truths
that are
relevant to
Republicans
as they work
to restore
the party.
Truth #1:
We had to
find a new
architect –
since our
home was
built nearly
60 years
ago, it was
safe to
assume the
man who
designed it
was no
longer
around.
This was not
unexpected,
but it was
still
unfortunate
– as stated,
the man
built a
great
house. We
didn’t let
nostalgia
over what he
could have
done get in
the way of
what needed
to be done,
however. We
simply went
out and
found
someone who
could get
the job done
now.
As much as
Republicans
may hope,
and as much
as their
candidates
for
President
may try,
Ronald
Reagan
cannot be
replaced.
His vision
helped lead
America out
of a period
of weakness
and
disillusionment
and into an
era of
prosperity
and
strength.
He was the
right man at
the right
time. But
he is gone,
and this is
a different
time.
Republicans
need to be
looking for
a new
architect, a
leader who
will help
them meet
the
challenges
our nation
faces ahead,
not the road
we have left
behind.
Truth #2:
For all its
faults, our
house was
structurally
sound --
oftentimes
during home
renovations,
you hear
horror
stories of
termite-infested
wood or
cracked
basement
walls or
problems
that
threaten the
integrity of
the entire
house. With
our home,
that has
never been a
problem.
As stated,
the walls
are thick.
The
foundation
is solid.
The
foundation
of the
Republican
Party is
solid, too.
Yes, the
party is
facing
pressures
related to
Iraq and
Iran. And
yes, the
party had
its head in
the sand
when it came
to Katrina
and spending
and ethics.
But on the
key issues
that
continue to
define the
Republican
Party –
limited
government,
lower taxes,
and a
stronger
national
defense –
poll after
poll shows
that America
is a
center-right
nation, and
that the
American
people are
on the
party’s
side.
These issues
are the
pillars of
the GOP, and
the pillars
around which
the party
can be
rebuilt.
Not with old
strategies
that take
1980’s-era
solutions
and try to
impose them
on the
problems of
today. And
not with
DeLay-era
tactics that
try to
demonize the
Democrats
and anyone
else with
whom the
party may
disagree.
But rather
by doing
what any
good
architect
will do –
updating the
pillars so
they are
relevant and
have a
positive
impact on
people’s
lives.
It’s what
Wisconsin
Congressman
Paul Ryan
and other
Republicans
in the House
are trying
to do with
their
“Taxpayer
Choice Act,”
a bill that,
among other
things,
would give
Americans
fed up with
the current
tax code the
option of
continuing
to pay taxes
under the
current
system or
opting into
a new
“Simplified
Tax” system
with just
two standard
rates.
It’s what
New
Hampshire
Senator Judd
Gregg and
other
Republicans
in the
Senate are
trying to do
with their
“S-O-S Act,”
which would
get the
federal
budget under
control by
putting caps
on both
discretionary
and
entitlement
spending and
reforming
the budget
process so
the
government
has a fiscal
blueprint it
can follow
instead of a
pointless
document
that is too
often
ignored.
And it’s
what Maine
Senator
Susan
Collins is
doing by
working
across party
lines with
Connecticut
Senator Joe
Lieberman to
pass the
“Bombing
Prevention
Act,” which
attempts to
get ahead of
the IED
curve by
making sure
the kind of
Improvised
Explosive
Devices that
are being
used against
our troops
in Iraq are
not used by
terrorists
against
Americans
here at
home.
Efforts like
these are
critical to
rebuilding
the GOP. As
with any
renovation
project, it
won’t happen
overnight.
There’s
still work
to be done.
The key
thing is to
keep moving
in a forward
and positive
direction,
with an eye
on the
pillars that
keep the
party
standing,
and a vision
for the
walls that
have yet to
be built.
RF
Louis M.
Zickar is
the Editor
of The Ripon
Forum |
