How do Republicans Take Back the Congress? One seat at a time...

Finally there appears to be a sign of sanity in an otherwise insane political stance being taken by the Republican Party. John Cornyn has taken his NRSC post seriously, and is on the hunt for Moderate Republicans to run in moderate districts. It is his hope that the Republican party can make a return to power in the Congress.

All I can say is, "it's about bleepin' time!" Let's take a look at the political ravages of the party, shall we?

In 2004, the GOP had 55 Senators, up to 230+ Congressmen and Women, as well as a sitting Republican in the White House. And not just any Republican, but a CONSERVATIVE President, who would go along with just about any spending or social bill put in front of him, as long as it came from Bill Frist and Dennis Hastert.

Fast forward to 2009. The GOP has 41 Senators (lucky to have that), 178 Congressmen and Women, and the best representation of their Republican party in the Executive branch is Sec. of Transportation, Ray LaHood (former GOP Congressman from Illinois). At LEAST 4 of those Senators are retiring, and a half dozen Congressmen have had enough. Bravo to GOP leadership on recruiting and campaign strategy!

How did the GOP get here? How did the "Party of Lincoln" become the "WHIG Party"? Heck, even the Lincoln Mantra has been stolen by this Democratic President!

I can hear the cynics now. "...same thing happened in 1992, and by 1994 we got the House back, and just 6 years later, we got it ALL back!" But the 1994 election had other factors involved, including a tired, 40 year Democratic reign at the top, with old and weak leadership, and a realignment of the South that had finally reached its pinnacle in the mid-term elections that year. Try as they might, the GOP, during their recent 12 year reign on top, never really got the kind of stranglehold on the Senate that Democrats had enjoyed in the years preceding, nor did they ever get the kind of Republican numbers in the House that the Dems currently enjoy. Even George W. Bush never got the kind of election mandates that Clinton, or even Obama currently have.

But during these past years, the Conservative Right took the opportunity to exploit a tiny majority, and use it to test all aspects of the Reagan and Laffer philosophy. Taxes, Government, Supreme Court, Foreign Policy, etc. As the Hard Right took over more aspects of the government, ideological purity was demanded, and any attempts at pragmatism, or expediency were dealt with in harsher and harsher terms. Loyalty was the only currency left with the administration, by the end.

The Republican Congress started to realize this during the run up to the 2006 elections, and tried to find ways to save themselves. But by then, the momentum of a Country fed up with budget deficits, jobless expansion, a "lack of wealth" effect, foreign quagmires, Katrina, Harriet Miers, Corrupt Executive officials outing CIA Spys, and firing US Attorneys who wouldn't toe the political line; it was all too much.

Once the economy and stock market fell, that was the last straw. People from the right of center, to the center, to the left, all looked around, and said, "is there ANYTHING in my life here that is better than it was 8 years ago!?" Who could blame them for wanting to vote for the guy offering a message of hope, rather than the old guy yelling at you to "stand up and fight"?

But that's all history. It's time for the GOP to take a good, hard look in the mirror, and figure out what to do about it. I would offer a word of advice (for any Republican willing to listen). John Cornyn has the right idea, but if you can get over this stubborn adherence to ideological purity at all costs, the Congress is there for the taking in 2010. How do you get there? Well, one seat at a time. But more practically, you get there by taking back the portion of the electorate that was thrown away by the Bush loyalists--running Center and right of Center candidates.

I will make my case this way--Arlen Specter has been a loyal Republican for years, and has faithfully served his state, his party and his country as the Senator from Pennsylvania. While having a solidly Republican voting record, he has broken with his party on social issues at times, and has most recently broken with the party in his vote for the Budget Stimulus package.

My question is this--given today's Republican Party, would Specter ever have been able to even RUN for Senator? The party has spent the past number of years recruiting more and more conservative candidates, and the country just can't get behind these people who are espousing the very ideology that has led the country to where we are today.

25-30% of Americans are stridently Conservative, and probably about 50-75% of those are the Limbaugh "dittohead" population. The problem is that a good percentage of the party has some independent thought on topics as far ranging as fiscal responsibility vs tax cutting, immigration, energy independence, abortion rights and social issues, and on and on. A party demanding ideological purity drives many of these folks to the other alternative, or keeps those people home on election day. Let's look at it, region by region, shall we?

Northeast--Why can't a Republican win in the Northeast these days? Because the only Republican left in these areas is the "Rick Santorum" model. The stridently social conservative in a land of steady habits, free thinking, and Liberal Social positions. Why not try to recruit politicians more like Chris Shays, Susan Collins, or (dare I say?) Arlen Specter? As Cornyn has just noted, "I'd rather get someone in the Congress who will vote with me 80% of the time, than [never]"

Mid-Atlantic--For the most part, same as the Northeast, but there is certainly no reason that Virginia and North Carolina should be turning blue so fast. Fiscal conservatism is a plus, but what about someone without the snake tongue of an Eric Cantor, George Allen or Virgil Goode? Certainly, in Allen and Goode's cases, they had no business losing those elections, but for their very foolish comments. In both cases, it was a situation where the right politician for the right district tried SO hard to embarass the competition, that they shot themselves in the foot. The issues, social AND fiscal, are on your side. Time for Brand R to start winning BACK some of these seats already.

Mid-West--Why is this such a hard place to win? LOWER TAXES ALREADY! Enough with the Social Agenda. Get people working again, and they will let you put the 10 commandments on the walls, Life Sized images of Bill Buckey on the flagpoles, and declare every Friday Ronald Reagan Jelly Bean day.

Mountain West--Why not a sensible play to the Libertarian nature of the region? Immigration policy that makes sense, water rights laws, and someone with a human touch should help. Bob Schaffer had all the common man touch of Nelson Rockefeller. The Democrats learned this lesson, running candidates like Brian Schweitzer, Dave Freudenthal, Mark Udall, and the like. These guys could all pass for Republicans, if the GOP could accept something other than total ideological purity.

West Coast--Sensible Education and Immigration policy should help. And for crying out loud, how about a few fiscal conservatives who are not SO Conservative on social agendas? If you EVER want Republican representation in the state again, you have to look for more people who act like the Governator (Arnold). I know his name is like death in the GOP circles these days, but that is the kind of Republican you are going to need, if you EVER want a return to the reigns of power. The alternative is Governor Feinstein, and Senator Pelosi. Now tell me who you'd prefer--Arnold or Pelosi? Yeah, I thought so...

In the end, there are 250 seats that the Republican party can reasonably go after in 2010. But they have to accept a few hard truths. If you want John Boehner and Mitch McConnell driving policy, you are going to have to plug your nose, and accept a few more Olympia Snowes and Gordon Smith's in the party.

There's finally a Republican in the Senate who has looked up from the herd. Let's hope it's not too late.