Too Hot or Too Cold?

How should Congressional Republicans behave?  As pit-bulls or as lap-dogs?  That’s the hot political story today taken up by Rush Limbaugh. 

According to Christina Bellantoni:

Several Republicans confirmed privately that more than two-thirds of House Republicans are favoring a slow approach, while a minority of members think the attacks on Democrats should come rapid-fire.

Rush Limbaugh isn’t happy.  He was grumbling this morning about 40 more years in the wilderness if the Republicans don’t show a bit of backbone.

But Rush, let’s not put the cart before the horse.  Republicans should, of course they should, oppose the usual Democratic menu of privilege, subsidy, and government control—a welfare state that doesn’t care about welfare.

But until Republicans come up with a new agenda, good ideas that resonate with the American people, they’d be better keeping quiet. 

Anyway, the ugly truth about politics is that the voters get tired of the same old same old.  They are tired of Republicans just like they were in 1992.

But as I remember, it took just two years to upchuck the Democrats after the 1992 election.  The Year of the Woman was followed by the Year of the Angry White Male.  And no wonder.  The New Democrats of Bill Clinton turned out to the the same old San Francisco Democrats that Americans had repeatedly rejected.

Let’s not waste all our political bandwidth on opposition for the sake of opposition.  Let’s develop an agenda of reform so that, when Republicans are returned to power they can boast of a mandate from the voters.

And then implement it.