COLUMN: New year’s resolutions
The New Year has begun, and the time is here to make some changes in America. The elections are over, and the verdict is in. Republicans now control both houses of Congress and the presidency, and the Democratic Party, planted squarely on its haunches by the American people, is wondering what went wrong.
The Republicans now set out on the daunting task of moving a legislative agenda through Congress. The Senate will actually be able to vote on legislation. That’s something we haven’t seen in awhile.
In keeping with tradition, I thought it might be appropriate to look at some possible resolutions for Republicans and Democrats this year. Let’s start with last year’s winners.
The Republican Party cannot afford to let Democrats set the political agenda for the nation. The race-baiting, success-hating Democratic Party has done its best so far to cast Republicans as friends only of the wealthy, ignoring the fact that the average American family will receive more than $1,000 in tax relief this year if the president’s economic proposal is passed.
This administration also has a growing relationship with organized labor. The head of the Teamsters has indicated that he has better access to the Bush White House than when President Clinton was in office.
The Democrats would also like to cast Republicans as racists, due to the careless comments of former Senate Minority Leader Trent Lott at Sen. Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday party. Never mind that Sen. Robert Byrd, (D — West Virginia) was caught using the N-word while serving as a leader of the Democratic Party or that Al Gore was party to an anti-discrimination lawsuit while he was in office.
The president seems willing to make a strong stand on racial issues, speaking out recently about the negative consequences of affirmative action. The Republican Party must set the agenda to be successful.
It seems that the Democratic Party has not learned its lesson. The American people want answers to social problems, not just people to complain about them. The American people want someone who can provide credible leadership in the war on terror, something Al Gore and his clones could never provide.
The American people are tired of listening to Democrats blame the recent corporate scandals on Republicans only to later hear of the damning ties of Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of the Democratic Committee to Global Crossing. Democratic Resolution number one: No more hypocrisy, whining or baseless race-baiting.
The Democrats need to consider their precarious position. Unless they are resigned to follow in the evolutionary footsteps of the Dodo bird, they need to re-examine their strategy.
Maybe it’s time to let go of some time-honored Democratic Party traditions such as making fun of spelling errors, threatening to filibuster everything with a republican name on it, and character like that of Al Bore and Slick Willy Clinton.
Oh, and ditch Hillary. It becomes more obvious every day that hell hath no furry like that woman scorned, and she makes the whole party look bad.
In short, Republicans need to take charge and carry out the mandate the American people have given them to protect the nation, promote the economy and restore the office of the president to the United States to the respect it had before the Arkansas Hillbillies took office. Democrats need to realize that this nation is heading down a new track, and if they don’t get on the train, they may be left behind.
Gabe White is a senior majoring in political science. Comments can be sent to him at gkw@cc.usu.edu.