Republicans, Lay Down Your Arms (For Now)
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By Nathan Shapiro For Republicans, it has been a long 8-or-so months of a downright frustrating campaign. Saddled with a candidate that, as a party, we never really cared for, we had to run against a slick and well-funded candidate backed by a media that was blatant in their desire to see him win. And we lost. The reins of government have slipped from our hands, but so what? It’s the other party that believes that hope, happiness and prosperity flows outward from Washington. We know better. The spirit of America flows from her people, every individual working in their community for a better life for themselves and their family. Government does not create that—it cannot create it—and it can only stand in its way. That’s what the Republican party lost sight of in its quest for power. We scrambled and spent our energies focused on winning elections and holding onto public offices, which are no doubt important, but we were suckered into believing winning government power was the solution to our problems. We need to take this opportunity to rebuild our communities from the ground up. Let us spend the next two-to-four years refocusing on the goals and aspiration of individuals, and fixing our eyes not upon the halls of government but on the streets of every town and city in America. Let’s put politics aside for a brief moment. Republicans, focus on your jobs and pursuing your education, starting and raising your families. Serve your local churches and synagogues and build a foundation of values from which true change will come. Create a fountain of ideas that will be a source of renewal for the United States and a resurgent Republican party. This does not mean that we lie down and stay silent. Just as we believe government cannot create success, we wholeheartedly know that it can easily destroy it and Obama’s proposals can do so. So until the next congressional and presidential races, we will intermittently need to raise up our arms to fight particularly bad proposals. We cannot stand idly by when the Democrats try to cripple our economy by raising taxes and redistributing our hard-earned money, or stifle our freedom by government regulation of speech. This can be done because we did not lose on our ideas. The Republicans have enough votes in the Senate to stop the most obnoxious of legislation and we have the American people at our backs on the issues. Americans wanted the amorphous idea of change, but they don’t want higher taxes or liberal social policies. We know this because even though the Democrats control Congress, they have done so in large part by running conservative candidates. Obama himself campaigned in swing states on job creation and traditional values, even though back in the hills of San Francisco he bashed those values and promised to bankrupt the industries that give those Americans their jobs. But voters will expect the Democrats to stay committed to some of those conservative platforms, whether genuine or not on behalf of the candidates. It’s the job of the minority party to hold them to it. So until that time, allow Obama and the Democrats to celebrate their victory, but leading is very different than winning elections. After four years of being blamed for everything and receiving no credit for what has gone right, we know how hard governing actually is and it’s their turn to shoulder the burden. Republicans know that election victories are fleeting. Four years ago we were in Obama’s place and have seen how quickly things change. The battle was lost this year, but the war goes on. Nathan Shapiro a student at Hofstra University Law School and a Stony Brook University alumnus. |
