Tom Coburn should be the future of the GOP
Mark Ambinder has a press release from Sen. Tom Coburn. Here’s a portion of it:
Conservatives should be reassured that our president-elect did not seek an ideological mandate in this election, nor did he receive one. The failure of the Republican Party in this election does not represent the failure of conservatism, but of the big government Republicanism that took over our party in 1996. Had the Republican Party not governed as the party of socialism-lite for the past 12 years, our candidates’ concerns about the excessive spending on the other side would have had more relevance.
Republican efforts to build a governing majority through spending and earmarks have ended in disgrace. The Republican Party can either restore its identity as the party of limited government or go the way of the Whigs. When Republicans decide to come home to the timeless conservatism present at our founding, the conservatism of Abraham Lincoln – which our president-elect graciously acknowledged last night – and the conservatism of Ronald Reagan that won the Cold War and led to unprecedented prosperity, they know where to find us.
Coburn is right to strongly rebuke the GOP for how they have governed. The rank and file have been doing it for years. He’s right on the socialism-lite charge. As I’ve stated before, the Republican’s “socialist” attacks on Barack Obama fell flat because, as the old saying goes, those in glass houses should not throw stones.
People like Coburn should be who Republicans rally around to right the ship. Ambinder viewed the release as a shot across the bow of current minority leader Mitch McConnell. I hope so.
Couldn’t agree more! I’d love to see Coburn, DeMint, Palin and Watts leading the party.
The entire text of Senator Coburn’s statement can be read @ http://coburn.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=LatestNews.NewsStories&ContentRecord_id=6d66fa5c-802a-23ad-49ea-261e6ecefa06
Coburn doesn’t have the looks, charisma, style, etc. that middle of the road voters seek. Like it or not, these are factors that decide many elections since the advent of TV.
Find another candidate.
Mike, I hear ya but that kind of thinking is exactly what got us into this mess. We have got to focus on message, vision and values. It is been a very long time since any one has articulated a clear vision of what the conservative/libertarian movement is and why it will work.
John McCain just got more than 56,000,000 votes and he’s one of the ugliest men alive (that’s not disparage him in any way because he’d be the first to say it).
However, when I say leader of the party, I don’t mean the candidate. I mean, the leader of the party. The man (or woman, *cough* Gov. Palin) who sets the vision of the party and begins to implement it. Kind of like Howard Dean and his 50 state strategy.
Political Junkie, can we have both tangible and what should be irrelavent, but turns out relevant in many cases? Concur, we don’t sacrifice mission, vision and values for looks, charisma, etc.
Mike, we can definitely hope! :-) I’d rather, for the sake of the long-term, right now have a visionary who can articulate a clear vision than a pretty, electable candidate but perhaps one can be the RNC chairman and one can be the 2012 candidate. Or maybe, just maybe, we’ll get one who’s both!
Dr Tom Coburn is the highly principled PRESENT DAY LINCOLN , and self-term-limited citizen legislator and our next PRESIDENT in 2012.
He created American Jobs with his Virginia company -COBURN OPTICAL
and he is just the fiscal conservative , No earmarks Statesman America needs at this time in history with his one and only Bride -Miss Oklahoma of 1968 – a wonderful First Lady