More Liberal Pundits tell the GOP what to do

Another howler of a column is out today from Jacob Weisberg of Slate. According to Weisberg, the Republicans face a difficult problem after today's elections: "Should they pursue the agenda of the Tea Party movement that brought them to power? Or should they try to mollify their party's base with gestures and symbols, without taking its radical ideology too seriously?"

The true nature of the article shines through the moment that Weisberg calls the Tea Party ideology "radical". Is it radical to want to balance the budget? Is it radical to want to have a smaller government? Is it radical to want more individual freedom in the country? Oh wait, it must be radical to want to abide by the Constitution!

The truth is that there is no uniformity as to each solution to probems faced by the country, but there surely is uniformity within the GOP as to the basic principles to follow and they are nothing remotely radical. Even a lefty like Weisberg should know that.

But Weisberg goes right on with his trope. His next point is to explain how Ronald Reagan was really not a conservative; he only played one in DC. Indeed, it was only those radicals like Newt Gingrich who tried but failed to cut spending after 1994 who actually tried conservative approaches -- and the result was a disaster.

It seems that Weisberg has no knowledge of history. And by history, I mean what actually happened, not the ideology that he learned in his history class at Yale. After all, Weisberg was 15 when Reagan took the actions that Weisberg now labels phony conservatism. I doubt he was paying attention to the President at that time.

Let's start with the truth about 1994. When the GOP won that election, it ran on the Contract with America. One of the ten planks of that document was the passage of a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution. congress tried to pass that amendment, but it failed in a very close vote to get the needed super majority. After that failure, the GOP leadership decided to try to budget and pass appropriations as if that amendment were in place. As a result, the GOP congress was able to bring the country to a balanced budget within two years. The government shutdown was just the first battle in that war. Clinton and the liberal media used the shutdown as a weapon, something Weisberg is still trying to do. In truth, however, Clinton backed away from any further confrontations and the budget was brought under control. It was comical at the time to see Clinton try to take credit for balancing the budget. (Gee, I wonder if Weisberg thinks that Clinton was following a radical ideology?)

I have no intention of refuting the idiotic notion that ronald Reagan was not really a conservative. I find it amazing that Weisberg could even say such a thing. Next week we will see Weisberg's article on how Osama Bin Laden is really Christian; Sarah Palin is actually a man and, last but not least, Nancy Pelosi will ascend to Heaven on a chariot after she resigns as Speaker.