The Specter Of What Lies Ahead

As you probably know by now, Arlen Specter (more on the odd color later) is facing the fight of his life. After all, the Republican Senator from Pennsylvania has been the target of party conservatives for quite some time. Polls even showed Specter losing a primary to conservative former Congressman Pat Toomey.

Now Specter has gotten a break, though not the break I expected.

He's switching to the Democratic Party.

Now, before I get ahead of myself, I will be honest about Specter. While he served as an example of moderation in a party that has become more known for self-serving grandstanders than for promoting efficient, fiscally responsible government -- and I felt a tad disappointed in his decision, Specter was well past his prime and I personally expected him to announce his retirement, as Ohio's George Voinovich and Florida's Mel Martinez among others, have already done. Well before Specter's decision, I have considered supporting Toomey, even though he is rather iffy given his recent service as president of the Club for Growth, which became known under Toomey less for its commitment to limited government and more for its challenges of candidates who fit their districts in favor of ideological purity, which explains the GOP's current abysmal state that has now given the Democrats one of their dream goals: a 60-seat, filibuster-proof Senate majority including Specter and Minnesota Senate candidate Al Franken, whose victory remains tied up in a myriad of controversy that provides the perfect cannon fodder for a blockbuster motion picture.

Rebuilding a Republican majority will not happen overnight, and given how badly maligned the party has become, a lot of painful decisions will have to be made over the course of four years. Breaking from hardcore religious right conservatives will be especially tough, as it will not come without the threat of a mass revolt from such organizations as Focus on the Family. These groups are amongst a number of such groups who claim the GOP has lost by not being "conservative enough" when in fact the GOP has lost ground by siding with such groups who in actuality put themselves out of touch with the average American by straying from the principles of fiscal responsibility, limited government, and sound foreign policy, not to mention the fact because of such "conservatives" the party is standing to lose the business vote, Ron Paul libertarians, and environmental conservatives among others.

And while social conservatives do have a role in the party, the religious right exhibits a holier-than-thou militia mentality which not only turns off many voters who are young, pro-business or representative of a moderate or libertarian bent, but such a mentality would drive away even younger evangelicals and even go as far as resorting to personal attacks on certain religious groups. Mitt Romney, for instance, took heat from evangelicals over his Mormon faith which many regarded as a 'cult'. If this portrayal of Mormons became the party consensus, it would end up costing Republicans the votes of Mormons, a group of people that are committed to fiscal prudence, competence and commitment to service beyond their communities. Catholics, Muslims and Jews -- among others -- have also been unfairly targeted as well to varying degrees, and this combined with a tendency by some organizations which claim to be Christian to embrace money and fame as oppose to ministry and service -- not to mention creating the distorted perception that people of faith are bigoted, mean-spirited and one-sided -- will end up resulting in the Republican Party becoming a permanent minority.

As I go on, where do I stand in the Republican Party? Does the future of the Party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower and Reagan have to go through me? Will the future of the GOP in my home base of Fort Bend (which barely went for John McCain) be dependent upon what I say? Now, I keep putting my blogging on and off for a number of reasons -- not the least of which is personal family business that I will not discuss (if you ask me what specific "family business" I am doing, I will IGNORE you). But there are a host of other reasons why it is simply so hard to post: too many things to think about, not confident of what to say, trying to make a good blog look marvelous, darting off into other subjects, csaba, csaba, csaba.

One thing is clear, though: if you're a "moderate Republican" who may be disappointed and feel like there is no place for you, you can be assured that I am staying put in the Republican Party, and I am definitely not leaving. I believe that the solutions to America's pressing problems require a center-right perspective that is based not on the views of talk radio or a beltway think tank, but on the sound principles of smaller government, fiscal responsibility, a strong national defense, environmental stewardship, individual liberty, practical and pragmatic solutions, and a united American society. While the road to recovery will be very rocky -- and I'm sure the Vocal Fringe will be ready to attack and discredit me -- I see light on the other end of the tunnel, and it is this light that holds the path to overcome the most daunting of challenges.

As I get a grasp of where the party wants to go, I will be focusing on the good works of some of my preferences in the GOP House -- Paul Ryan, Jeff Flake, Mike Pence, Chris Smith, Peter Roskam, Peter King, Ron Paul, Tom McClintock, Mark Kirk, Scott Garrett, Eric Cantor, Walter Jones, Ted Poe, Tom Price, and of course my own local congressman, Pete Olson (you'll have to ask me A: why my list of congressional favorites is so bizarre? and B: which Democrats in the House I have a preference for?) -- the Senate is just plain uninteresting, boring, and stuffy.

As time goes on, I will let you know where I stand. I have seen worse situations before, I have persevered in challenges like these, and this only emboldens the belief that I clearly represent the future of America. For now, I'm offering free tissues and shoulders to cry on to disenchanted women and free beer and tavern nuts to grumpy men.

After all, it's better than having nothing to offer for the moment.