The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 6 of 12)

At first I thought the Republicans were spending all that money in Congress because they were trying to help the economy after the shock of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. But, to my dismay they had given up the Reagan Revolution and the Gingrich Contract with America for bipartisan pork.

Congress did cut taxes, but didn't do anything with Social Security, although the president did try to get a component that would allow younger workers to own part of their contributions.

The Republican Congress was a weird thing to watch. Earmarks grew from several hundred to many thousands per bill, with pork added to each bill that passed through Congress. What always dismayed me is that Bush signed them all.

Mike Pence from Indiana and some of the new young turks that were recently elected to Congress spark a bit of hope, but Hastert has always been the kind of leader that made me scratch my head wondering what were they thinking. (Pelosi inspires the same thought.)

When you have the fiasco of the immigration bill and nobody but a few Republicans actually standing up for America, that's when you want a brand new Congress. When Lindsey Graham calls members of his own party "bigots" and Trent Lott basically threatens Rush Limbaugh with the Fairness Doctrine because "talk radio is running the country" -- then Republicans have a systemic problem. They have lost their rudder.

p>Republicans need not just ideas, but someone who actually knows how to lead and inspire their fellow Republicans both in the Congress and out here in the hinterlands. And quit spending our money on worthless crap! br> -- Deborah Durkee br> Marietta, Georgia /p>

Mark this date. I think it is the first time I have EVER disagreed with my hero, R. Emmett Tyrrell.

So, Mr. Tyrrell thinks Dennis Hastert was slow with little flair? That may be, but when Speaker Hastert was in charge of the House, President Bush (and I) didn't have to worry about silly legislation appearing to embarrass us all or worse. Can anyone say, then or now, the same thing about the Senate?

p>On one point I agree: Mr. Hastert should have been more on the ball when the boys started taking illegal money from lobbyists! br> -- Judy Beumler

topics:
Taxes, Education, Mainstream Media, Earmarks, Environment, Global Warming, Iraq, NATO, Socialism, Communism, Immigration