Conservatives Continue to Offer Post-Mortem on Dems' Election Victory
by Jim Brown and Allie Martin
November 16, 2006
(AgapePress) - - A powerful House Republican contends it wasn't conservative ideas that were defeated in last week's elections, but rather conservative candidates. Regardless of the reason, a Democratic majority on Capitol Hill will likely have long-term effects -- particularly in the area of judicial appointments, says a conservative attorney.
Some say it was the "Foley factor." Some say is was a repudiation of conservatism. Still others say it was a referendum on the Iraq war. But House Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri says there is no single explanation for the GOP's loss of majorities in Congress following Election Day 2006.
In a speech at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, DC, Blunt -- who won 67 percent of the vote in his district, sending him back to the House to serve a sixth term -- called on conservatives to acknowledge and learn from their failures. He says an honest assessment of the last few years of Republican-led government reveals three distinct shortcomings.
"First, as the party in charge of most of the last six years, we've often become defenders rather than challengers of 'business as usual,'" the veteran lawmaker said. "Second, we've failed to create a culture of less but better government -- and too often have given in to the culture of spending that's so pervasive in Washington."
The third failing, according to the Missouri conservative, dealt with values. "[W]e've allowed our efforts to defend traditional values to be defined as little more than politically driven efforts to appease family groups," he stated.
Blunt says these disappointments, combined with a seemingly constant stream of ethics issues affecting a few members of Congress, caused some in the conservative movement to "lose faith." In that specific area, the Republican congressman says his party did not effectively confront those engaging in immoral and illegal behavior in their midst.
"The truth is that no amount of law or rule-making will cause all people to behave well all of the time," he told his audience at the Heritage Foundation. "Before 1994, when conservatives were out of power and were unable to make new rules or to pass new laws, we recognized this truth and confronted serious legal and ethical violations by declaring that those who were part of them had no place in our movement.
"I suggest we need to recommit ourselves to that standard," he said. Neither Republicans nor Democrats, and neither conservatives nor liberals, he pointed out, are immune from having "bad actors" in their midst.
Judge Not -- Dems' Credo?
But regardless the reason for the GOP's fall from power last week, conservative legal experts are predicting that the Democratic takeover in both house of Congress will bring major changes for the nation. One of those observers is Mike Johnson, senior legal counsel with the Arizona-based Alliance Defense Fund. He says the elections will have a lasting impact because, as he puts it, "it matters" who is in control in the U.S. Senate.
"There is rumor in Washington right now that one of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices has taken ill and may be considering announcing his retirement," says Johnson. "If that happens, we'll be expecting for a battle royal on Capitol Hill."
The attorney says it will be critical for moderate Democrats to have a voice in the legislative process, particularly when it comes to Senate confirmation of President Bush's nominations to the federal bench.
"President Bush has shown thus far that he will appoint individuals to the federal courts -- and certainly to the Supreme Court -- who will strictly interpret and imply the Constitution and the laws," says Johnson. "It will be crucial that enough members in the Senate understand those principles and agree with them so that they can approve the appointment that he'll make."
Johnson says he expects the next two years will see gridlock on Capitol Hill. And with the Democrats in power, the ADF attorney believes pro-homosexual forces will push even harder for legal recognition of same-sex "marriage."
Jim Brown and Allie Martin, regular contributors to AgapePress, are reporters for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
