6 Reasons Moderates Should Vote Republican In 2010

6 Reasons Moderates Should Vote Republican In 2010
John Hawkins
8-3-10

The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it. -- P.J. O'Rourke

Picking a politician to support is like trying to decide whether you want to rent your apartment to a crack addict or a raging alcoholic. No matter which one you choose, it's going to cost you money, it's going to leave a mess, and it's probably going to end in sorrow. Granted, you do occasionally have a Ronald Reagan type who shocks you by paying his rent on time, keeping the place clean, and putting a fresh coat of paint on the walls before he leaves, but that's not typical for politicians. What is typical is choosing between the lesser of two evils in D.C. So, if that's the situation you find yourself in, let's talk about why your evil of choice should be Republican instead of Democrat!

1) We Need Checks and Balances: Most Americans pay less attention to politics than what time their favorite TV show comes on. In a strange sort of way, that's good news: It means that Americans are normally confident enough that things aren't going to spiral out of control that they don't feel a need to watch the politicians in D.C. like hawks.

Unfortunately, the Democrats did so well in the last couple of elections that the GOP simply didn't have the power to keep them from engaging in cataclysmically stupid policies that never would have seen the light of day under normal circumstances. America desperately needs more Republicans in D.C. to keep Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid from continuing to implement their extremist left-wing agenda.

2) Restraining Spending: The GOP wasn't fiscally responsible under Bush. You know it, I know it, we all know it. However, we also know the Democrats weren't fiscally responsible under Bush either and since Obama got into office, they've gone completely out of control. We have whole nations defaulting on their bills in Europe, nobody has any sort of realistic plan for how this country is going to pay back what it has already spent, and yet we're spending more money at the highest clip since World War II. Moreover, Obama freely admits that if he has his way, the country will be running deficits for as far as the eye can see.

If the GOP simply held spending back to the levels it was at in the Bush days, it would be an improvement. But, like them or hate them, the Tea Party movement is putting a tremendous amount of pressure on the GOP to engage in fiscal restraint -- and it's working. So, if you don't want to see your children buried under a mountain of debt bigger than the Himalayas, you need to get the Republican Party back in control of Congress so they can slow down the economic crazy train that's rolling out of control towards Bankruptcy Junction.

3) Ending the Uncertainty Created by Government is a Key to Economic Recovery: The Democrats have tried to create an economic recovery with massive amounts of spending mixed with more regulations, bigger government, higher taxes, and a wildly unpredictable government that's hostile to business. In the words of Dr. Phil, "How's that working out for you?" Not so well, right? Republicans have a different vision of how to help the economy. They favor low taxes, fiscal responsibility from the government, free market principles, cutting regulations, and ending the uncertainty created by wildly fluctuating government policies. Given how poorly the economy has fared with the Democrats in charge, doesn't it make sense to give the Republicans a shot at it? It's tempting to say that it couldn't get much worse, but when you see what's happening in Greece, you realize things could get a lot worse in a hurry. That means time is short, the situation is very serious, and people need to get serious about deciding which way this country is going to go economically -- towards the policies that have made America successful in the past or towards the policies that have created a disaster in Greece.

4) Repealing Health Care Reform Before It's Too Late: Obamacare will destroy the quality of health care in America, eventually lead to a complete government takeover of the health care industry, cause the deficit to explode, lead to rationing, death panels, and government funded abortions. The good news is that it's still possible to stop health care reform. Republican leadership in the House have pledged to refuse to fund Obamacare if they take over and the GOP is committed to repealing Obamacare and replacing it with market based reforms that will reduce costs without destroying the quality of care.

Of course, if health care reform goes into effect in 2014, it'll start to destroy the private health care industry in the United States. Then, we'll be stuck with a health care system that will be inferior to the one we already have until death do us part.

5) Fighting Massive Corruption: Capitol Hill has become riddled with corruption and scandals since Obama got into office. Charles Rangel has tax issues. Maxine Waters is about to go in front of the ethics committee. Eric Massa has resigned from Congress in disgrace. The Justice Department turned a blind eye to voter intimidation charges against the New Black Panthers, there has been a sleazy politicization of the census, there are allegations that the White House tried to bribe Joe Sestak to drop out of the Pennsylvania race - it just goes on and on for so long that it could be a whole column unto itself. Unfortunately, this is just a natural consequence of having one party that controls all the levers of power. After all, when the defendant, the prosecutor, and the judge are all on the same team, it shouldn't surprise anyone when justice isn't served. So, whether the Republicans are Boy Scouts or not (Bet heavy on not until they definitively prove otherwise), balancing things out is the only way to start draining the swamp.

6) You've Got to Punish Bad Behavior or You Get More of It: Politicians are like children. They will get away with as much as they can, as often as they can. That's why the voters have to set rules, boundaries, and limitations for them. If your son punches his little sister in the mouth and you just shrug your shoulders, what's going to happen the next time he gets mad at her? He may very well do it again.

If you let the Democrats get away with cutting crooked deals to benefit their union pals in the auto industry, health care reform, a failed trillion dollar stimulus, ethics scandals, pushing amnesty, cap and trade, and bowing to foreign leaders, they're going to be encouraged to do even more of it. Given how unpopular their agenda has been and how arrogant the Democrats have been as they've pushed it through over the concerns of the American people, if the Democrats aren't going to get a spanking this November, then the American people may as well give up on the idea of disciplining them.