http://washingtonexaminer.com/there-are-14-years-worth-of-reasons-why-the-gop-grassroots-scoff-at-washington-republicans/article/2544661?custom_click=rss#There are 14 years worth of reasons why the GOP grassroots scoff at Washington Republicans
By Mark Tapscott | FEBRUARY 26, 2014 AT 8:52 AM
Remember last fall when Sen. Ted Cruz single-handedly forced the biggest, most powerful government in human history to grind to a halt?
That's the conventional wisdom of Washington Republicans, who also claim the GOP suffered a public relations catastrophe because Cruz demanded that their votes match their promises.
No matter that President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid were at least equally intransigent about having their way. The government shutdown was solely and only the fault of the insurgent Texas Republican senator, according to the conventional wisdom.
Wait till the debt ceiling
Now, remember how those same Washington Republicans also said Cruz picked the wrong fight because the real battle would be in February over raising the debt ceiling? Then the GOP would have real leverage and be able to accomplish some genuine conservative reforms, they said.
But then, when February rolled around, suddenly those same Washington Republicans decided the debt ceiling was not the real battle after all, so they gave Obama an open-ended debt-ceiling hike.
Now the Washington Republicans argue that the GOP must do nothing to distract the public's attention from the Obamacare debacle. Don't rock the boat and the Senate GOP will regain the majority come November.
Then in 2015, so goes the Washington Republican line, the new Republican Congress will have some real leverage over Obama and will be able to begin accomplishing those genuine conservative reforms that were previously beyond reach.
Same song, over and over?
With that preface in mind, those who seek to understand why grassroots Republicans don't believe much of anything said these days by Washington Republicans should read today's RedState post by Daniel Horowitz.
Horowitz notes that, even if the Senate goes GOP in 2014, Obama will still be in the White House in 2015. He'll still have his veto, his executive order "pen and phone." Then what?
"Republicans who lack the will or principles to fight on major issues will still use Obama’s obstructionism as the baseline for excuses not to advocate bold initiatives. Whether it’s a debt ceiling or a budget bill, they will fear brinkmanship with Obama as much as they do now," Horowitz predicts.
Think what one will of the Horowitz analysis, but given recent history, isn't the burden of proof on the Washington Republicans who, whether in power or out, haven't achieved a major conservative reform in 14 years?
