Mike Pence Makes Sense

Via Glenn Reynolds comes some very wise words from Mike Pence:

Some will argue that we lost our majority because of scandals at home and challenges abroad. I say, we did not just lose our majority, we lost our way.

While the scandals of the 109th Congress harmed our cause, the greatest scandal in Washington, D.C. is runaway federal spending.

After 1994, we were a majority committed to balanced federal budgets, entitlement reform and advancing the principles of limited government. In recent years, our majority voted to expand the federal government’s role in education, entitlements and pursued spending policies that created record deficits and national debt.

This was not in the Contract with America and Republican voters said, ‘enough is enough.

Our opponents will say that the American people rejected our Republican vision. I say the American people didn’t quit on the Contract with America, we did. And in so doing, we severed the bonds of trust between our party and millions of our most ardent supporters.

As the 110th Congress convenes next year, Republicans must cordially accept defeat and dedicate ourselves to advancing our cause as the loyal opposition knowing that the only way to retake our natural, governing majority, is to renew our commitment to limited government, national defense, traditional values and reform.

He’s absolutely right, and hopefully Republicans will take those lessons to heart.

11 thoughts on “Mike Pence Makes Sense

  1. “While the scandals of the 109th Congress harmed our cause, the greatest scandal in Washington, D.C. is runaway federal spending.”

    And how long have I- not to forget Andrew Sullivan- been saying this, and been dismissed and ignored? 😉

  2. I think the American people just told you to take your values and cram them up your ass. People are tired of your panty-sniffing, moralist busy-body horseshit. L2 mind your own damn business and maybe you’ll win an election again.

    Did you happen to see “Borat”? Hilarious.

  3. I think the American people just told you to take your values and cram them up your ass. People are tired of your panty-sniffing, moralist busy-body horseshit. L2 mind your own damn business and maybe you’ll win an election again.

    If that’s true, why were most of the Democrats who were elected conservative Democrats? This wasn’t a liberal victory by any means — the Democrats smartest move (and the thing that Rahm Emmanuel deserves credit for) was in picking candidates who could credibly run to the center-right on key issues. (Think Webb and Tester.)

    Did you happen to see “Borat”? Hilarious.

    Not yet, but it looks funny as hell.

  4. It’s so bizzaro-world to me that people care what I do. They care who I’m fucking, what prescriptions I’m taking, whether or not I’m having a sufficient number of white babies, etc. It seriously creeps me out. It’s like the entire Republican party is made up of creepy stalker men who peep through my bedroom window and go through my trash.

  5. It’s so bizzaro-world to me that people care what I do. They care who I’m fucking, what prescriptions I’m taking, whether or not I’m having a sufficient number of white babies, etc. It seriously creeps me out. It’s like the entire Republican party is made up of creepy stalker men who peep through my bedroom window and go through my trash.

    First of all, you’re paranoid. I can assure you that nobody in the Republican Party cares what you’re doing. They certainly don’t care that you really should have done the dishes on Thursday night, and that you completely burned the lasagna last week. Nor are they the least bit concerned that you’ve seen “Old School” way too many times to be healthy. While there was some discussion that your underwear drawer was not sufficiently well-arranged, Karl Rove made the determination that it wasn’t a valid issue.

    Seriously, that is paranoid. Republicans generally care about things like abortion, which involves an innocent third party in the form of genetically-distinct human life. Republicans are opposed to legalizing gay marriage because that is something that effects all of society. Republicans generally don’t care about people’s personal lives except where the state has some kind of compelling reason to regulate. I rather doubt that anyone care who you’re screwing, what drugs you’re taking while doing so provided that they’re legal, and how many kids you choose to have or not.

  6. Jay is right; the Democrats won by recruiting center-right candidates who were disaffected by mismanagement of the war in Iraq (or the fact that we went in there to begin with), invasion of civil liberties, and fiscal irresponsibility. While this is going to swing control of the House (and, from the looks of things, the Senate, unless it turns out that Webb’s 7,000-vote victory was a huge mathematical error or the 30,000 absentee ballots turn out to favor Allen at least 19,000-11,000) to the Democrats, the “Pelosi wing” of the party will still lack the power to pass any major legislation without getting significant Republican support OR the backing of the President, neither of which is very likely. On the other hand, this coalition of liberals and disgruntled conservatives will have congress so tied up in investigations and infighting for the next two years that any “mandate” Bush once had is pretty much down the toilet; last night was the bullet to his lame duck. It also will pretty much ensure that any candidates running for President in 2008 will have to represent a significant change of direction from that we’ve seen out of the Bush presidency; whether that’s a different brand of centrist-conservatism (The most likely outcome… Anybody coined “Giulianisme” yet? I think I just did. Pass it on.), a new liberal internationalism (less likely, with Warner gone from the race), or Clintonism restored (Hillary’s star is still in ascendency), or something completely unanticipated is hard to say.

  7. Wrong. They’ve started an abstince-only program targeted at adults aged 18-29. Wouldn’t you think that people who want to reduce the number of abortions would want to put contraceptives into the hands of as many sexually active people as possible? Amazingly enough, however, they actually take measures to restrict contraceptive use. What am I supposed to assume from this? They either want me to have gay sex, or get pregnant all the time.

  8. Most of the new Democrats are NOT conservatives. Tim Walz is not a conservative. Neither is Bruce Braley….or Kristen Gillibrand…or Patrick Murphy….or Sherrod Brown….or even Jon Tester. Yes, there are plenty of center-right Democrats who were selected for region-specific reasons, and I suspect most sane Democrats will be fine with that so long as they don’t actively seek to sabotage the party the way that Zell Miller did and the way that Joe Lieberman continues to do. You’ll notice that nary a bad word is said in Democratic circles about Ben Nelson of Nebraska. He doesn’t trash his own party at every turn. If Heath Shuler does the same, he’ll be just fine.

  9. Erica, I must have missed something what GOVERMENT steps have been taken to restrict your access to birth control? Since I am a guy I only see one half of the birth control equation, but I can still go to all the usual places to get condoms. As far as I know phamacy’s still fill prescriptions.

    Now there are a minimal few cases where the PHARMACIST has decided not to fill prescriptions and your are free to go down the street in a capitalistic way to do your business. But I do not recall any GOVERMENT policy restricting your access.

    Dave

  10. Now there are a minimal few cases where the PHARMACIST has decided not to fill prescriptions and your are free to go down the street in a capitalistic way to do your business.

    Sure. Just like black people were free to go to a different lunch counter when they got kicked out of Woolworth’s.

    Of course, if your pharamcist is the only one in town…

    I’m looking through the Constitution and I don’t see where you have a right not to be fired when you refuse to do your job. Can you point it out, Dave?

  11. Employers have the right to fire someone who does not do the job. It is not the goverments responsibilty to force the firing, is that what you are advocating?

    My point was and still is what goverment policy is preventing you from getting preventative birth control? You failed to answer that question the first time.

    My second point if a pharmacist does not provide the services that people want, go down the street/across town or mail order if you must. Eventually they will go out of business due to the poor service.

    Dave

    BTW my current health plan requires phone/mail/internet order of all drugs after the first filling. For drugs that you use continually they are shipped automatically. They are cheaper also since there is no overhead of a local drug store.

    Dave

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