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Opening Arguments

By our deeds will we be judged

Why Mike Pence is becoming THE star of the conservative movement (what's left of it, that is, in the sense of "limited federal government") -- appearing on Fox News Sunday, he said:

Well, I believe President Bush has been an extraordinary commander in chief. I believe he's demonstrated what it is to practice honor in your personal life, in Congress. And in his heart, I believe he is a conservative man.

But when you look at the domestic initiatives of the last five years, a 50 percent increase in the federal Department of Education, national testing in the fourth and eighth grade, and, candidly, Chris, when you look at the creation of the first new entitlement in 40 years, it is hard to argue that on the domestic level, up to this point, this president has practiced a conservative agenda at home.

He goes on to specifically mention the Medicare prescription program and No Child Left Behind, both of which he voted against, and calls for bringing back the line-item veto. And he closes with:

And the course of Republican governance on which turns our policies in Iraq, our posture in the world, our commitment to national defense, the sanctity of life -- all of that turns on our ability to return to our roots, which are limited government, fiscal discipline, and traditional moral values. I believe you'll see the Congress do that, Chris.

People in the public arena must be judged not on what they say they believe, or even on what they are at their core, but on what they do. Mike Pence understands this. It's unclear if George Bush does.

Posted in: Hoosier lore

Comments

Doug
Mon, 01/30/2006 - 7:21am

The Republicans have controlled the Congress for 10 years. It's a little tough to believe that they might really, really mean it this time when they say they want a balanced budget and limited government.

Not to say that Mr. Pence himself doesn't want these things. He probably does. But, I suspect he hasn't done the necessary things to make them happen -- like, for example, reach across party lines to form coalitions to oppose the Republican leadership and cut it off at the knees when it strays off course.

Throw the bums out. If Mr. Pence becomes collateral damage in that process, so be it.

Mike Sylvester
Mon, 01/30/2006 - 7:57pm

I actually think Mike Pence is a good man and will try to reform The Republican Party.

I think he will fail; the Big Government Republicans are solidly in control of The Republican Party.

The vote for a new leader on February 2nd will tell us a lot about what will happen. If Shadegg loses (Which he will), their will be no real reform...

Mike Sylvester

Mike Kole
Tue, 01/31/2006 - 2:00pm

Even if Pence gets his wish and the line-item veto becomes law, what makes him think the President would use the tool? He's had the good old fashioned veto power at his disposal for years. Alas...

I second the idea that the GOP is just a paty of a different kind of big government than the Democrats offer.

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