The GOP May be The Underdog, But We’re not the Lapdog

I was going to post this as a comment, but because I think it’s too important to put it somewhere you may not read it, I’m making it a post.

Clinton posted an article from Reagan political director Ed Rollins earlier, in which Rollins argues against GOP criticism of Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Rollins makes a strong argument against much of the infighting that’s been increasing in the GOP since the election in November. I agree that the Republican Party should not have a rigid, dogmatic ideology. We know from experience that the GOP does best when we can bring people who would never have considered themselves Republicans into the “Big Tent.” However, we can’t do that if we don’t stand for anything, like Colin Powell and Tom Ridge who have been tearing down the party recently.

The Reagan years brought about a curious political creature that we haven’t seen in similar proportions since, the Reagan Democrat. They weren’t just Democrats that decided to support Reagan because he spoke well, or treated people with class and respect, which he did, but because they agreed with his principles. Those principles included limited government, low taxation, and with those the expansion of economic opportunity—they also included a strong opposition to judicial activism and the politics of race, which have only been shown (through Affirmative Action etc.) to tear down the underpinnings of our society.

Over the last eight years Republicans from the White House to the State House have left Reagan’s principles—conservative principles— by the wayside. Government grew along with government spending and government programs. But, in the Supreme Court President Bush nominated two Justices with impeccable originalist credentials who will be on the court for decades. These upcoming confirmation hearings are not the place for the Republican party to roll over to the Democrat majority.  Sure, Sotomayor will most likely be confirmed and of course she must and will be treated with the respect and honor she deserves. But these hearings can be a defining moment for the GOP.

This is the oath Supreme Court justices take before taking their seat on the bench:

“I, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as Justice of The Supreme Court under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.”

Judge Sotomayor has denounced judicial impartiality as a  lofty aspiration that may well be a”disservice to society.”  She embraces the school of Judicial Realism which believes specifically that justice cannot be carried out “without respect to persons.” Ask yourself, not just as a Republican but as an American, should Obama’s nominee be confirmed unanimously, as Rollins calls for, before we know whether she will take this oath seriously?

We may be the underdog now, but if we choose to be the Democrat’s lapdogs we can be sure that we’ll be the underdog for many years to come.