This is one of the first articles I have read that poses the stark question; so what's it gonna be, punk? are you feeling lucky today? Do you Republican Congresscritters feel lucky, lucky enough to wish, to scheme, to work to make President Obama fail, in hopes that the country would not suffer equal or worse damage? To put it bluntly, we're all in this together. A lot of Democrats went along with the Republicans' Great Conservative Experiment Ride. And some got badly injured for doing so, as did our economy, our international standing and by many measures the health of our armed forces. Now it is time to try something different, and now it is time for Republicans to either (a) give it a chance to succeed, or (b) throw their bodies and those of their constituents in front of the bus.
Peggy Noonan just had an epiphany. And she wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal, in a convincing manner. Noonan occupies an interesting position in the cosmos. Since she ghost-wrote (okay, since she was the speechwriter for) many of Reagan's most lauded speeches, Noonan is in some ways a surviving part of Ronald Reagan. She can write the speech he is no longer alive to give and people somehow kind of sense that. To the extent that is true, or that we accept my peculiar claim, Ronald Reagan just told the Republican Party to suck it up and help save the country.
Will they listen? Some will not. Some are so wedded to one or another niche issue that they would rather have their flesh chewed off by rabid weasels than accommodate that silver-tongued young liberal. Others are not so wedded to the "rabid weasels" option, as appealing as offbeat martyrdom might be. My guess is the Republican members of the Senate and House break down into three groups: fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and champions of business. Some others probably combine a bit from one basket with a bit from another, but all of them seem to like being in Washington and hope that by staying there they will become really important and make a lot of money. I hope that I am not shocking anyone by suggesting that politicians (a) love power (b) love money, and (c) sometimes vote not out of principle, but to pursue a strategic or financial goal. I realize these are harsh and stunning accusations for me to make publicly, but someone had to say it. What Noonan wrote is an acknowledgement that for an important segment of the Republican establishment, the game is over. How many will listen to her and start to buck Party cohesion is yet to be seen. We don't need many. What some of the more sensible Republicans in the Senate have got to be noticing this week is that Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins got some of what they wanted inserted into the omnibus stimulus bill, while the rebel forces got zip. Oh, and the Republican Party got dinged a couple of points in popularity polls. Ooops.
One last thought on Noonan. Have you ever noticed how many of the pundits who appear on television are former speechwriters and political operatives? David Frum, Pat Buchanan, Peggy Noonan, Bill Moyers, Chris Matthews and the list goes on. What qualifies a speech writer to speak on important issues? or are they featured merely because they can turn a good phrase? That's my guess, but it doesn't tell us whether they have the common sense of a chicken, or whether we ought to care what they say or think, yet people seem to.
Arthur
Peggy Noonan just had an epiphany. And she wrote about it in the Wall Street Journal, in a convincing manner. Noonan occupies an interesting position in the cosmos. Since she ghost-wrote (okay, since she was the speechwriter for) many of Reagan's most lauded speeches, Noonan is in some ways a surviving part of Ronald Reagan. She can write the speech he is no longer alive to give and people somehow kind of sense that. To the extent that is true, or that we accept my peculiar claim, Ronald Reagan just told the Republican Party to suck it up and help save the country.
Will they listen? Some will not. Some are so wedded to one or another niche issue that they would rather have their flesh chewed off by rabid weasels than accommodate that silver-tongued young liberal. Others are not so wedded to the "rabid weasels" option, as appealing as offbeat martyrdom might be. My guess is the Republican members of the Senate and House break down into three groups: fiscal conservatives, social conservatives and champions of business. Some others probably combine a bit from one basket with a bit from another, but all of them seem to like being in Washington and hope that by staying there they will become really important and make a lot of money. I hope that I am not shocking anyone by suggesting that politicians (a) love power (b) love money, and (c) sometimes vote not out of principle, but to pursue a strategic or financial goal. I realize these are harsh and stunning accusations for me to make publicly, but someone had to say it. What Noonan wrote is an acknowledgement that for an important segment of the Republican establishment, the game is over. How many will listen to her and start to buck Party cohesion is yet to be seen. We don't need many. What some of the more sensible Republicans in the Senate have got to be noticing this week is that Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins got some of what they wanted inserted into the omnibus stimulus bill, while the rebel forces got zip. Oh, and the Republican Party got dinged a couple of points in popularity polls. Ooops.
One last thought on Noonan. Have you ever noticed how many of the pundits who appear on television are former speechwriters and political operatives? David Frum, Pat Buchanan, Peggy Noonan, Bill Moyers, Chris Matthews and the list goes on. What qualifies a speech writer to speak on important issues? or are they featured merely because they can turn a good phrase? That's my guess, but it doesn't tell us whether they have the common sense of a chicken, or whether we ought to care what they say or think, yet people seem to.
Arthur
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