tag:www.scottj.madisonforum.org,2008://13 2007-01-24T17:07:54Z Movable Type 3.33 tag:www.scottj.madisonforum.org,2007://13.77 2007-01-24T17:06:56Z 2007-01-24T17:07:54Z

By Scott Johnson There has been no shortage of speculation from pundits, political professionals and the rest of us regarding the causes for Republican losses nationally in the recent 2006 elections, in particular the loss of Congressional seats – enough...

By Scott Johnson There has been no shortage of speculation from pundits, political professionals and the rest of us regarding the causes for Republican losses nationally in the recent 2006 elections, in particular the loss of Congressional seats – enough to put my party in the minority for the first time in a dozen years. While we can certainly speculate as to several possible reasons, I contend that the Republican’s 2006 losses are not a repudiation of our conservative Republican principles. Not by any means – though our political opponents and many in the media would like to suggest otherwise. However, I am convinced the American people are as committed to our Republican ideals of limited government, personal responsibility and individual liberty as ever. The debate as to how well our leaders stuck to these principles is another debate for another day but I challenge anyone to offer any evidence that a clear majority of Americans are not aligned with our values as stated above. What was it then? What caused the significant losses that created the realignment in Congress? War in Iraq? Surely somewhat. Immigrations issues? Possibly, but to a small degree in this cycle. I say these were not the principle reasons because the Democrat party surely offered no solutions in either area. No, I believe the chief cause of the loss of Republican congressional majorities in 2006 was the moral failings and ethical shortcomings of individual members in the House and Senate. I have certainly believed this and recently it was confirmed by listening to a friend’s presentation. Speaking at a recent Cobb Chamber Breakfast, Heath Garrett, Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, shared that no less than 15 Republican seats in the U.S. House and 2 seats in the U.S. Senate were lost as a direct result of member’s ethical lapses and moral failures. In addition to this, I suggest that several good Republican candidates lost what appeared to be winnable races by very small margins, including two here in Georgia, for related reasons. The close margin of loss in these races could have easily been due to the general malaise toward Republicans caused by the thievery, immorality and tolerance of bad company of a small but well-publicized number of their fellow party members. The voters simply could not bear this behavior. Were certain Republican members of Congress any more scandalous than their Democrat counterparts? I do not think so. Several instances of moral failures are well-documented by members of both parties. But Republicans took bigger losses (1) because we were in the majority and (2) we seem to be held to a higher standard by the voters. Voters would never return a Republican caught with $90,000 in tainted cash in his freezer or one that had ever run male prostitution ring from his home as they did for two Democrat incumbents. Voters seem to hold us to a higher standard, and frankly, I am okay with that higher standard. In the long run, we will be far stronger by the purge of elected officials who appear corrupt and even those who tolerate it. Here in Georgia, we can be proud of our Congressional Representatives and Senators. None had even an accusation of ethical or moral impropriety and, as a result, not a seat was lost. You might or might not agree with them on every issue but with regard to their character, we can all be proud of our representatives in Washington. If we have more like them in 2008, we can reestablish our Republican majorities in Washington once again. ]]> tag:www.scottj.madisonforum.org,2006://13.42 2006-11-17T18:10:05Z 2006-11-17T18:10:16Z