A Boston Tea Party …(Will They Follow?)

With a little help from his friends, George Bush can bring fundamental change to America. With an even greater majority in both houses of Congress and the approval of 53% of Americans the battle for the future of this country can begin. Tax and Social Security reform, Supreme Court appointments, and fiscal responsibility will occupy much of his domestic agenda. Will he succeed? Much depends on his fellow Republicans.

You remember the Republican Congress, don’t you? The “spend first pay later” group of so-called conservatives. Reform will require a partnership between the President and the legislature. Bush had a press conference the day after winning the election stating that he was committed to following through on the agenda he talked about while campaigning. The only problem with that is it will take the political will of the Republican Congress to push forward his ideas. If Bush were smart he would do what Reagan did and talk directly to the people of this country rather than his fellow party members. Congress has been in the control of the Republicans for 10 years and has yet to show any fiscal responsibility or face the tough choices that come with any kind of reform. Like their Democratic counterparts Republican Senators and Representatives are much more worried about reelection than any sort of conservative agenda. If you don’t believe that, then you certainly are one of the kool-aid drinkers we accuse most Democratic supporters of being.

Eliminating the tax code as it is today in favor of a flat tax would be a sincere step towards reform. In order for that to happen Congress would have to be willing to give up the power it gains from providing special interests with tax loopholes. Social Security reform would provide young people with a genuine chance of seeing a payback to the money they pay in. For Congress to enact such reform would require an amazing amount of will and honesty. It will also require them to eliminate wasteful spending in order to pay for the high transition costs that will come with reform.

President Bush can speak of wanting to spend his second term attacking fundamental reform in government. I certainly hope he succeeds but for that to happen he must lead and get his party to follow. Much easier said than done. If he is succeeds there will be plenty of successes to point to in 2008. If he doesn’t it will be because Republican Congressmen continue to be conservative in name only. I suggest you pay attention to guys like Republican Senators John McCain and Tom Coburn, men that while Republican will not drink the Republican kool-aid. For them honesty and integrity still triumph over pretending to be the party of smaller government. The question is will the party follow Bush or will Bush follow the party?