I Am Depressed.

I have followed politics since I was around 8 years old. I remember when Regan was elected. My parents let me stay up late to see the returns. I distinctly remember the feeling I got from my parents that his election was very important to the country.

I remember that I was playing in the hallway of our house the day Regan was shot. I remember watching the replays over and over on TV.

In 1984, I was privileged to hear Regan speak at a rally in Macon, Georgia. I could not tell you what he said, but it does not matter, I got to hear the great one speak in person.

I was at my best friend’s house watching the returns in 1988 when Bush spanked Dukakis. His dad is a local politician and a staunch Republican. My dad and my best friend’s dad both shaped my views on government.

In 1992, I was able to vote for the first time. I voted for Bush, Sr. and was depressed when Clinton won. I was excited about the Republican Revolution as I felt it signaled a shift to smaller government.

Up to now, Republicans have best represented my views. But now I am losing hope in them. I will never vote Democratic and I do not want to piss away my vote on a third party candidate, so I am stuck with them, but I am not happy about that.

Kodos: It’s true, we are aliens. But what are you going to do about it? It’s a two-party system; you have to vote for one of us.

Man1: He’s right, this is a two-party system.

Man2: Well, I believe I’ll vote for a third-party candidate.

Kang: Go ahead, throw your vote away.

I believe that government is here to protect its people, to guarantee the rights given in our Constitution and to refrain from trampling those rights. Government is to protect us from our enemies, both domestic and foreign. I even believe that government can be used to lend a temporary helping hand to those in need. Other than that, the Federal government should leave us alone.

I believe the main power is supposed to rest with the States. After all, at the local and State level the ordinary citizen has much more pull with their elected representatives. I still believe in limited State government, but that is the prerogative of the people in that state. If the State of California wants to be a utopian dream where the government takes care of you from cradle to grave and regulates everything you do, then great, let them be that way. They will draw people to their state and that will tax their system, but it is their system. If the whole thing goes bust, then oh well. The Federal government should stay out of it.

Limited government means limited spending which means limited taxes. We should run the government like a business. If we do not have the money, then you have to raise taxes or cut spending. If you raise taxes, be prepared to pay a political price if it was not really needed. I also strongly believe in a National Sales Tax.

In many ways I guess I am borderline Libertarian – though not THIS Libertarian (see quote towards end of post), but I have always considered myself a Republican. But now I am depressed.

The Republicans finally wrested control of Congress from the Democrats in the mid 1990’s after almost 40 years of Democratic dominance. They had an agenda, limited government, cutting spending, lowering taxes, taking back the courts.

Those days are long gone. Republicans are now almost as bad as Democrats when it comes to spending. Bush has not used his veto one single time to try to tame the drunken spending habits of the Republicans. That leads me to believe that he was serious about Compassionate Conservatism. That is obviously code for “Just like the Democrats only we want some restrictions on abortion and gay marriage and we want lower taxes.”

Great. Just great. I have been bitching about the GOP lately (see here and here) but I am just so aggravated with them right now. Michelle Malkin had a post up the other day and in that post she had a comment by a reader who is basically as disgusted as I am with the GOP. Where is their back bone? They should have pushed through the more than qualified judges. They should have slashed spending to offset the tax cuts. They should have stood up and fought for what they believe in. Rest assured, the Democrats, once back in power, WILL NOT SEEK COMPROMISE WITH THE RIGHT. They will not do it. Oh sure, they may toss a bone or two to the Right, but they will scorch the earth in order to get their way. They sound full of compromise now, because they do not have a choice, but they will damn the consequences and move ahead.

I want my old Republican party back. The one where they wanted to limited government growth and spending and they wanted to cut taxes. They are long gone.

Here is my prediction: Republicans are going to take a beating in the 2006 mid term elections. I do no think they will lose their majority, but it will be close. I know that the base is aggravated with them for their refusal to push quality judges and they are upset about the spending and about Bush appointing a seemingly weak Supreme Court Nominee.

I hope that the election will send a shock wave through the Republican establishment. You need to control spending and the growth of government and you need to push through quality judges. In short, you need to be an actual Republican.

Looking at 2008 I am even more depressed. If Giuliani or McCain runs as the nominee, I will support them wholeheartedly, not because I agree with their positions, but because even with a left leaning Republican, the country is better off than with a Democratic President, especially with regards to national defense.

2008 is a long way away and many things can change. Also, there may be a candidate that emerges that will be able to unite the base and reach out to the moderates.

You never know.

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