When Barack Obama became President of the United States in January, 2009 the Congressional Republican strategy. Was very clear and all about getting back into power at least in Congress, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. Laid it out in his first speech in the 111th Congress, his number one objective was to see that Barack Obama. Become a one term President and even at times in the beginning they talked about the need to work with the President. And they had those meetings early on from everything from the stimulus to healthcare reform, it was all talk. They were delay tactics, by then House Minority Leader John Boehner and then as well as current Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. But neither John Boehner or Mitch McConnel ever intended to deliver votes for Democrats and the President. It got to the point especially on healthcare reform that if President Obama was for it, Republicans were. Against it even if they were for it or at one point were in favor of it, hopefully you aren't dizzy from reading that yet. The healthcare mandate which was originally a Conservative Republican idea is a perfect example of that.
This strategy worked in the short term as House Republicans won back the House of Representatives in 2010. And Senate Republicans even though they are still in the minority picked up six seats in 2010 giving them a large. Minority in the next Congress but being against things just because the other team is for them is a short term strategy. But not a governing philosophy and as House Republicans hopefully learned in the last Congress that once you. Are back in power even if you only control the lower chamber in Congress, you have a responsibility to govern. You have to propose ideas and put things on the table, something that John Boehner didn't have to do when he was Minority Leader. And going forward Americans are going to need reasons to vote for Republicans in Congress and for President. Especially as President Obama's approval rating goes up and Democrats get behind the President and saying. You might still not like us but at least we aren't as bad as the other team won't put Republicans back in power.
Republicans don't need to be more like Barack Obama or be more like Democrats, thats not how an opposition party. In a political system that only has two major political parties is suppose to operate but they have to be more Republican. Let the real Conservatives the adults in the GOP do their jobs and run the party and tell the Neoconservatives to go home. And be a real anti Big Government party rather then bashing anyone who doesn't hold the party line that was. Developed by George W. Bush and Karl Rove, especially if they are actual Conservative Republicans like Chuck Hagel. You should vote Republican because we'll keep your taxes and government spending and regulations down. And stay out of your personal affairs and not try to tell you how to live your own lives and what it means to be an. American and our foreign policy will be about defending America and freedom but doing it in a fiscally responsible. Way and not run up trillions of dollars of debt in the process and not try to govern the World. This is what the message of what the GOP should be going forward.
Republicans are still a long way from getting back to being a real Conservative Republican Party and they are. Still debating amongst themselves how they lost an election and even dropped seats in Congress, an election. That on paper where they only need solid but not spectacular candidates to win going away but they didn't have. Many solid candidates but instead a lot of quite frankly lousy candidates who had no business running statewide or nationally. And are still stuck in 1950s America and want to pass that onto the rest of the country and thats why they lost.
