POST SCRIPTS

I've been a big fan of Newt's too...but Newt also let us down a bit at a crucial point in time. What would the GOP be today had he not been forced to step down? His leadership was crucial to our momentum and we never really regained it after he left. Out troubles are part of the ebb and flow...we need to learn better how to ride the wave.

I agree the GOP is not looking at it's finest hour. I agree we need some direction and a good swift jumpstart to get the engine running again. I agree we have made some mistakes. I even agree that Bush and our congress, especially when they had full control, made some big mistakes. Unlike you, I have not been very critical of the president and my Pubbies. I guess I felt there was plenty of criticism, some deserved and some not, to go around...very little has been what I consider to be constructive. I am sure this is what motivates Newt and you as well.

I don't agree that republicans have done nothing. We have put conservative judges on the Supreme Court. We have given people in foreign countries a chance for real freedom and removed a viscious and deadly dictator. We have led the way in preventing further attacks on America and other nations. We fought a battle for controlling the border first and we won. The fence is being built, albeit slowly due to bureaucratic and regional snafu's. We are training more border guards and have in the works plans for facilities to house illegals prior to being sent back home. We have seen states pass legislation that reverses the immigration trend. New reports show that fewer people are choosing to come to America illegally and more are going home. We did not achieve tax reform, but we did cut taxes dramatically in all income brackets and with incentives for investment. Spending is a tough one. The record is definitely not stellar and that's a real shame. Of all the mistakes this one takes the cake. The record isn't all about black eyes, however. The war, which was not something anyone anticipated in 2001, is responsible for a lot. Some can be attributed to increases regulated by law...social security, medicare and cost of living increases. Republicans did save in some areas by illiminating and consolidating redundant programs and departments. The economy overall has been a success story and, until quite recently, was a miracle given the challenges we faced. Also the current situation is not due to government policy as much as global uncertainties and institutional errors. The changing economic picture (it's global now) will require expertise in the presidency that's unprecidented and Bush governed remarkably well on the cusp with the disractions of an emerging global radical threat unlike any other. This threat too requires new strategies and Bush has led the way. Unfortunately in such circumstances we often get to learn as we go. NAFTA and GAT I will leave for another time and we have both hit on the pork problem before.

This discussion could go on and on, of course. Pointing out where we blew it is important for our future viability and I look forward to the experts opinions as we move forward. I also think it's important to put the past behind us. Democrats refuse to beat themselves up (a flaw that will come home to roost but we can only guess about when). We don't want to be that fantally flawed...but we don't want to drown in an unnecessary stink of our own misery making.

Learn...and move forward with greater resolve. Remeber too that all is not roses in the other camp...they just always pretend that it is. That might give us pause. Sometimes you have to "put on" enthusiasm. Parents with kids fighting cancer have learned this lesson...maybe we can too?

Tina....very well said, and thank you for your well considered words. You add so much balance to my frustration.

Thanks Jack...I guess that's the yin and yang of the male female dance..we each balance out the other.

Oh! I almost forgot. I read a very encouraging piece on the Patriot Post this morning about McCain as our candidate:

Fortunately, McCain has some key advisors who are fiscal conservatives, namely Jack Kemp, Phil Gramm and supply-side economist Arthur Laffer. Despite his initial lack of support for the Bush tax cuts, to his credit McCain has voted for virtually every measure to cut “pork barrel” earmarks from the federal budget. ** McCain recently confided to Stephen Moore, a distinguished Senior Fellow with the Cato Institute, “I’ve learned from what happened after the tax cuts were enacted. They worked.”

...on the principles of Tenth Amendment federalism, among other constitutional issues, McCain relies on advice from his longtime friend, Fred Thompson, who made federalism the central theme of his brief presidential primary bid. ** McCain supports important federalism initiatives like school choice, saying, “The day that members of Congress will send their kids to the public schools in Washington, DC, is the day I’ll know we’ve fixed education in America. Why won’t people like Hillary Clinton send her child to the public schools in Washington, DC?”

...he has adopted the immigration policy outlined by The Patriot years ago in an essay entitled “Insanity on bordering.” Immigration legislation must first address national security issues, meaning border security and enforcement are paramount before any legitimate immigration debate take place.