Previous |
Next |
November 05, 2008, 06:33 AM ET
The Republican Brand
With the Democrats picking up five seats in the Senate — a few states are still too close to call — there is a lot of talk on the cable channels this morning about the poor condition of the “Republican Brand.” The party has a bad odor, they mean, and while voters in different states remain loyal to individual leaders on the right, disgust and disillusionment with the party machinery and profile is widespread. Many conservatives, in fact, wouldn’t pull the lever for a Republican this time if you paid them.
One reason crystallized on the Senate floor way back in October 2005. For many conservatives, it embodied everything that had gone wrong with a Party that had let success and popularity go to its head. One of the root principles of conservatism is that people are inclined toward sin, and that without the support and restraints of enduring institutions, without noble exemplars ever in mind, individuals in power slide inexorably into corruption.
No better case arose than this one. It was Ted Stevens engaging in what the Post called “the senatorial version of a hissy fit.” An amendment had reached the floor, proposed by Republican Tom Coburn, to take $453-million dollars earmarked for bridges in Alaska, one of them the infamous Bridge to Nowhere, and shift it over to rebuilding efforts after Katrina. Stevens went to microphone and issued a threat:
“I will put the Senate on notice — and I don’t kid people — if the Senate decides to discriminate against our state and take money only from our state, I will resign from this body.”
Well, I remember watching that and thinking, no doubt along with thousands of other conservatives and liberals of various stripes, “So long, buddy!”
But it didn’t happen. The 2005 body, controlled by Republicans, the party of small government and taxpayer responsibility, sent Coburn’s amendment down to defeat by a vote of 82 to 15. It was, I think, a defining moment in miniature, and it signaled deep problems in Republican governance that played a part in the declining repute for the last three years.
And it may get worse. At this writing, Ted Stevens, recently convicted on all counts, is winning in Alaska by 3,353 votes.
Add Your Comment
Commenting is closed.