5 December 2014

Notes From Norm: Listen to the Voters

A Lame Duck is, as its name implies, unlikely to survive very long before it succumbs to its frailties.

With that, one will hope that the current Lame Duck Congress has a very limited life span.

A larger GOP House Majority, and a new and substantial GOP Senate Majority, will come to full bloom and life in January – and, just in time to take over from the pale and gasping Lame Duck Congress that has survived far beyond its expiration date.

That the current Lame Duck President will remain in the White House for another two years is not without some disappointment.  The President has by his words, and his deeds, made it clear that little change is in store from his Administration.

As we look ahead to 2015 we know there remains work that must be done in 2014.  And, for my friends on the GOP side of the aisle, I am hopeful they will support the efforts of Speaker Boehner to act responsibly and assertively in the weeks ahead.

This includes avoiding the kind of toxic political tactics that were espoused during the foolish government shutdown of recent times that nearly destroyed the Republican brand.

It’s been said that any jackass can kick down a barn, but it takes a good carpenter to build one.

It’s time for the GOP to be the builders of our nation’s future and kick down the absurd approach of those in our party who whose tactics undermine support for our cause and play into an image of being the party of “No”.

While Harry Reid and the Democrats still control the U.S. Senate for a few more weeks, and Barack Obama will still be the President for the next couple of years, the American people have already pivoted into assuming that Republicans will be, by and large, in control of running the government.

And, not just on the national level, either.  With more GOP Legislatures – and more GOP Governors – there is great risk and opportunity for the party – as well as potential promise for the country.

In the Minority there is the operating assumption that the GOP’s role was to stop the worst of the excesses of the President and his party from being enacted into law.

Where they could not stop it, it was important to ensure that the voices of opposition were heard – even if those voices were largely symbolic given the odds against actual success in stopping the President.