Why the Sky Isn't Falling: Republicans' Overreaction to McCain's Nomination
My children have outgrown fairy tales, but I remember well the story of Chicken Little, the animal who created mayhem as he tried to convince everyone that the sky was falling. The sky never fell. Yet, to listen to some within our own party on the selection of Sen. John McCain as the Republican Party’s nominee for president, one might think the sky was indeed falling. With all the talk and hand-wringing about the end of the Republican Party one might get the impression this election is over before it even starts!
While it is easy to get wrapped up in this fairy tale of pending doom, reality is far more encouraging than the stories of these Chicken Littles. In fact, I believe that if Republicans take a closer look at the impact John McCain will have in this November’s election, down-ticket Republican candidates across the country should be encouraged by the prospect of having McCain lead their ticket this fall.
In the 2006 election, voters demonstrated frustration with the status quo. They took out their disappointment on incumbents who had failed to deliver on the promises they had been elected to fulfill. Republicans talked-the-talk of limited government and fiscal restraint, but they had failed when it came time to walk-the-walk. Spending increased; budget-busting earmarks numbered in the tens of thousands; and voters responded with a resounding “enough is enough.”
Sen. McCain has been a consistent champion for true fiscal restraint — the kind Republicans often talk about but haven’t always followed through on. Unlike lawmakers who, year after year, put in billions of dollars of earmark requests for bridges to nowhere, Woodstock Museums and aging planetariums, McCain has remained a vocal opponent of pork barrel projects. Further, Sen. McCain has been a staunch supporter of presidential Line Item Veto power to strike unnecessary pet-spending projects from bloated Congressional budgets. Republican candidates across the country should be encouraged to run with a leader who has not only talked of fiscal responsibility but has a solid record to back it up.
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Chairman Steele is at the Mecklenberg County Reagan Lincoln Day Dinner
April 03, 2008
Chairman Steele is in Florida to address the Clay County Federation of Young Republicans
January 26, 2008
Chairman Steele at the Indiana Republican Party Annual Chairman's Club Event
October 22, 2007
South Carolina Charter Member Meeting
May 15th and 16th, 2007