“Now The Republicans Will Have To Govern”

08 Nov, 2010 by John Hawkins

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Since the election, we’ve heard the Democrats say over and over, “Now the Republicans will have to govern!”

First off, that’s not really true. Yes, the GOP controls the House, but the Democrats still have the presidency and the Senate. That means the American people will still be looking to Democrats to lead the way.

The good news is that because of the numbers the GOP has in the House or Senate, the Democrats won’t be able to pass a thing the GOP doesn’t want passed. Of course, the flip side of that is that the GOP can’t pass any new legislation either. From a conservative perspective, that’s not such a bad thing. When you look at the government as a necessary evil that’s more likely to make things worse than make them better, gridlock is not such a bad thing.

That brings us back to the word “no.” “No” is not such a scary word. In fact, 999 times out of a hundred, we’d be better off if the answer to new legislation was “no.” Granted, every once in a while, a “yes” is an improvement. Over the last few years, the Bush tax cuts, building a fence on the border, and free trade agreements were positive pieces of legislation — but those were rarities.

Moreover, we have to consider what has been happening in this country since Obama was elected. Obama has been increasing spending and expanding the size of government at an astonishing rate. It has been growing so fast it’s now threatening the continued prosperity and stability of the country.

We’re like a car that’s headed towards a cliff at a hundred miles an hour and Obama wants to play the radio, discuss getting a paint job, and talk about whether to flip the highbeams on or off. Meanwhile, Republicans are screaming “Put on the brakes!” This is what they have to do because unless we put on the brakes, we have no future, just as this country has no future unless we stop the growth of government and start slowing down our spending. To the Democrats, this is being “The Party of No!” This is missing the point about saying “no.” It’s not so much that nothing else matters right now; it’s that unless we get spending and the growth of government under control, this one problem will be bigger than every other problem we face combined.

This is the starting point from which the GOP will begin to “govern” in the next Congress. If they’re wise, they won’t forget it.