Conservatives vs. Republicans

David Frum has a very good article on why Rush Limbaugh is bad for the Republican party. He illustrates why if the Republican party continues to revere Limbaugh, they are doomed in the polls. It's a pretty decent article for MSM.

However, it misses the larger point. The Republican's problems go much deeper than Limbaugh. At the heart of them are a lack of firm ideological foundation and worse, a tendency towards hypocrisy when they do gain power. Both of these are rooted in the modern Republicans near constant opposition status. Since the end of the second World War, for only a few years did Republicans hold both Houses of Congress and the White House. When they did, they abandoned the principles they claimed.

Because they were in opposition for so long, to a large degree the Republicans defined themselves in opposition to the Democrats rather than creating a base of ideology. Consequently, they tend to attack more so than suggest alternatives. This is precisely what causes the hypocrisy when they do achieve power. Because the focus was simply on what the Democrats were doing wrong, the Republicans did not have a ideological framework to base their administration on. Instead, they go about it as righting wrongs and rewarding patrons. The best example of this is 2000-2004. For decades the Republicans had been complaining about "tax and spend" Democrats. They finally gain control of all three Houses, and what do they do? Skyrocket spending. Sure they cut taxes, but only for 10 years. Even if the tax cuts didn't sunset, they would eventually have to be repealed, as you can't cut taxes while increasing spending indefinitely.

As a result of a lack of agenda and hypocrisy, the Republican Party, is limited to opposition. True conservatives must not bow to the lesser of two evils mantra that is rolled out each election cycle when the Republicans field another lousy field of candidates that are "not great but at least they're not a Democrat". Aren't true conservatives against rewarding mediocrity? Until we demand excellence, we will keep getting the same welfare-grade candidates. We need to make our voices heard, and let the GOP know that they won't get our votes until they start standing for something, and following through on it when they have the chance.