Sage Suggestion for the Right: Putting "Socialism on Trial"

In observing the debate between Dan Riehl and Jon Henke over the immediate future of the GOP, my belief is that both of them may end up being correct.

"[The GOP] lose[s]. In fact, for the next four years, that's going to be the answer Republicans are forced to face over and over again," wrote Henke about various big-government items on the Democratic agenda. "And there's almost nothing Republicans can do to stop it,"  he concluded.

Calling Henke's opinion "sad defeatism," Riehl suggested that the use of the new and traditional media can prevent either party in Washington from steamrolling "such massive legislation."

The eternally optimistic Robert Stacy McCain even sees potential electoral gain for the GOP: "I agree with Dan that a GOP comeback in 2010 is a real possibility, especially in the House, where the Obama Age seems to have inspired the Republican caucus to grow a pair."

It's my belief that the Democrats will try two general strategies to enact their fiscal agenda.  In some cases, such as the most recent stimulus bill, they will demand a whole lot and initially receive little GOP support.  To be sure, that's where the current bill stands at this moment.

My crystal ball tells me that the Dems will get most of what they've asked for after the eventual political compromises, though.  After all, most of the Republican debate isn't over whether we need a stimulus bill or not, but why we don't need the Democrat's version of an enormous spending package.

"We need a short term stimulus bill that will directly help people, create jobs, and provide a jolt to our economy," wrote Senator John McCain (emphasis added) in an e-mail yesterday.

The Washington Post predicts that Republican Senators won't mind spending $700,000,000,000.00 that we don't have.  They simply disapprove of spending $900,000,000,000.00 that we don't have. 

The other mechanism the left will try is incrementalism.  As I wrote not so long ago, "I doubt the Democrats will try another Clinton-style heathcare grab.  Why should they?  They lost on Hillarycare but they'll continue to win new ground, year after year, with their incremental approach."

Like Henke, I expect to see fiscal conservatism lose ground over the next few years.  Like Riehl, I also expect to see some surprising victories, such as the unanimous House Republican vote against the stimulus package.  Obviously the word is getting out, as measured by decreasing popular support for such legislation.

The solution isn't for Republicans to compromise with Democrats on issues which clearly conflict with conservative standards.  If you are going to lose anyway, you might as well lose with principle. 

By the same token, if you are going to energize the grassroots in order to win either an issue or election, you've got to use the words and arguments which energize the base.

Especially for a party out of power, feeble rhetoric will lead to impotent results.

This article illustrates some examples of what members of the right could be saying, and provides a strategy for future victories:

“[T]his whole bill is actually a steamroller of socialism that is being forced down our throats, and the economy is going to choke to death on this steamroller of socialism that you all are bringing forward,” Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.) said on the House floor on Jan. 27.

Despite Broun’s rhetoric, many said the answer lies in changing the language, not the message, given that they see the 2008 campaign as a political anomaly.

“The 2008 campaign was never an honest choice between conservatism and liberalism. Really, it was just a referendum on George Bush,” said Craig Shirley, a consultant and author of a forthcoming book on the 1980 presidential campaign.

Shirley thinks equating Democratic values with socialism is a formula for victory. “What Republicans want to do and need to do is put socialism on trial,” he said.

“Socialism has been a conservative talking point since the late 1880s,” one House GOP aide added.

“As a populist anti-Washington party, we’ve always done best,” Shirley continued.

Being out of power allows Republicans to explore a populist side they were unable to with the previous administration.

When Senator McCain compared Obama's agenda to socialism, a significant portion of America simply yawned.  After all, McCain's proposals are frequently the lite beer version of the same policy.

The Republican Party has a choice to make right now.  It can side with a vast chunk of Republican governors,  Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi -- or it can follow the lead of SC Governor Mark Sanford, who had the courage to say: "Don't Bail Out My State."

UPDATE: S-CHIP just passed in the House, illustrating my point about the Democratic incremental approach to Universal Healthcare that probably will happen.  Michelle Malkin has the list of Republicans coupling with Obama and Pelosi as they move the ball ever closer to the final goalpost of socialized healthcare.