A recent Time magazine cover featured a drawing of the GOP elephant under the headline “Endangered Species.” Members of the mainstream media are giddily pronouncing the Republican Party in danger of extinction. We’re frequently told that only 25 percent of voters identify themselves as Republicans and that the American people demand a big, expensive government to provide cradle-to-grave services. To survive, the media preach, Republicans must become more like Democrats.
Amidst this talk of impending Republican doom, I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s famous quote: “Reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” Before the other party and their media acolytes declare permanent victory, let’s review some recent history.
In 1964, Lyndon Johnson crushed Barry Goldwater by three times the size of President Obama’s victory margin. Two years later, after launching the massive Great Society welfare programs, the Democrats lost 47 seats in the House of Representatives. Bill Clinton won the presidency in 1992. In 1994, in the aftermath of the “Hillary Care” fiasco, Clinton lost 52 seats and both houses of Congress.
Overreaching by either party is risky business. American politics, they say, is a game played between the 40-yard lines, with voters tending to punish any party that veers too far from midfield. The Democrats in Washington are sprinting toward the goal line at the left end of the gridiron, arrogantly assuming they have a mandate to transform the United States into a European-style socialist country.
Political fortunes can change rapidly and radically when voters sense that the nation’s financial underpinnings are collapsing. We are at that point. Beyond the current recession, our country faces some of the toughest economic problems in its history, but the party in power seems oblivious to the danger.
On May 14, we learned the federal Medicare program has gone negative. More money is pouring out than flowing in. Social Security will soon follow suit, and we’re only beginning to deal with the retirement of the baby boom generation, 78 million strong. On May 13, word spread that the U.S. budget deficit will hit $1.8 trillion in fiscal year 2009, four times higher than the previous record. The federal government now borrows 46 cents of every dollar it spends. International creditors are talking about dumping the dollar as the world’s reserve currency, which would deal us a devastating blow.
In the face of these perils, a prudent government would begin pulling back to more sustainable spending levels. But the Obama budget does just the opposite. According to the Congressional Budget Office, it will create $1 trillion deficits that loom as far as the eye can see. Our national debt is already $11 trillion; Obama will add another $9 trillion by 2019. Interest payments alone will hit nearly $1 trillion a year.
If current trends continue, our nation will descend into economic chaos, with stifling taxation, rampant inflation and a generation of young people who will inherit a bleak future in a bankrupt land.
In Maine, the Democrats have controlled the House of Representatives for 35 years. During their reign, the state has been transformed from one of rugged and resourceful people into a welfare state that breeds dependency, drug abuse and lack of ambition.
Maine is among the most highly taxed and regulated states in America. Because of these taxes and regulations there has not been a major infusion of private capital here since the 1960s. Our young people leave in search of opportunity elsewhere. Our retirees are leaving to escape the crushing state and local tax burden. These are pillars of their communities, and when they leave, they will take with them years of wisdom and social continuity.
Now we are told the retirement system for teachers and state workers will require an emergency infusion of about $1 billion for the 2012-13 budget. Health insurance in Maine is among the most expensive in America. Yet on May 13, on a nearly party line vote, Maine citizens were denied the right to purchase their health insurance from out of state. Maine families could have saved thousands of dollars a year. But the majority party said no.
This is the lay of the land as I see it: major economic problems on all fronts. That’s why I believe the Republican Party is poised for a comeback.
The current economic upheaval will bring voters back to a philosophy built on bedrock. It includes fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, free enterprise, hard work, national security and a deep respect for the wisdom of our Constitution. These are the timeless principles of true Republicanism, the backbone of a GOP revival that will lead to a revitalization of our nation and state.
Paul Davis, R-Sangerville, represents District 26 in the Maine House of Representatives. He is the ranking Republican on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee.