Forty-nine of our Fifty governors found their way to Washington DC this past weekend (Sarah Palin stayed home) to do all sorts of governory things. There may have been a meeting or two, I’ll be honest I was more focused on beer and the UFC this weekend. The bottom line is they were in DC, twenty-one of them being Republican.
And of course, as is the case anytime you get a group of Republicans in the same room together, talk turns to just where the heck our directionless party is going? What’s the future of the GOP? Are a moderately conservative party, or a conservatively moderate party? And so on, and so on.
Really, it’s not much that you haven’t heard before…
But GOP governors differ over whether the party should move to the center or to the right. That split was seen in the debate over the $787 billion stimulus package. GOP centrist governors, including Arnold Schwarzenegger of California and Charlie Crist of Florida, joined Democrats in Washington in embracing the package.
Their more conservative counterparts blasted it; Barbour and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (La.) have said they would return some of the federal money because they’re worried that increased temporary spending eventually would lead to tax increases. One possible White House hopeful, Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. (R), wouldn’t criticize the stimulus despite his red state bona fides. He said that the federal money would fund infrastructure projects that could help the Beehive State’s economy. “You have to have a party that is results oriented, that actually develops solutions to some of our nagging problems of today,” he said.
But Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R), a stimulus critic, said that conservatives will win by sticking by their values, even in blue states. “The Republican party should be and will remain a conservative party,” said Pawlenty, who was vetted for the GOP’s vice presidential nomination last year. Republicans should widen their appeal to swing voters by calling for conservative reforms on big issues, such as health care and energy, Pawlenty said.
I’m going to suggest a radical idea. Conservatives are supposed to be the party of states rights, and next year the STATES are going to be electing their STATE senators, STATE congressman, and even a handful of STATE governors. I say the Republican Party should declare a state of mob rule and see what the states can come up with in 2010.
Let the states handle their business. Charlie Crist may have ideas that would work in Florida, but not necessarily in Utah. Bobby Jindal’s ideas for Louisiana might not help the GOP take back the statehouse here in New York. George Pataki might not be a conservatives soggy dream come true, but if he can take out Chuckles Schumer, I say God bless.
Let the states figure out what they think the Republican Party should be, how it best suits their constituents, and how they’re going to grow the party accordingly. Then once we see who is still standing, and the first Republican forms his presidential exploratory committee the day after the mid-term elections, then we can start to talk aboot where we need to be nationally.
So yeah, I declare Shenanigans.
(Cue the trolls commenting on what’s wrong with the GOP in 5…4…3…2…)
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