To Gen. Powell... Just Where Have We Gone Too Far To The Right?

Posted by Bobby Eberle
May 26, 2009 at 7:34 am

I hope everyone was able to enjoy the Memorial Day weekend. It was a relaxing time over here, but it appears that not everyone was taking time off. Gen. Colin Powell certainly wasn't. He was back on the airwaves talking about how the Republican Party needs to be more moderate and inclusive.

Here's the thing... first of all, it's incredibly frustrating that whenever Colin Powell wants to speak, the political talk shows will welcome him on the air with open arms, yet they never ask him the tough questions. Second, he talks about the party going too far to the right, yet never says what that means. He never gives any specifics. If the party has truly gone too far to the right (which it hasn't), wouldn't it be more productive to actually list specific issues and examples? Instead, Powell simply throws out his rhetoric which members of the media adore and which does not help to get Republicans going in the right direction.

This past Sunday on the CBS program "Face the Nation," Powell was back at it again. As noted by CNSNews.com, Powell said "the Republican Party needs to stop being controlled by the 'right wing' if it is going to expand and becoming a viable national party again."

Here is the Video interview: http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=1519

The analysis of these comments could go on all day, but there are a few points that certainly need to be made. Let's look at this quote from Powell:

"You can only do two things with a base. You can sit on it and watch the world go by, or you can build on the base," said Powell. "And I believe we should build on the base because the nation needs two parties, two parties debating each other."

Powell is right about one thing... we must build up the base. That has been my drive and motivation ever since I became involved in politics. But the question is "What does that mean?" What does it mean to "build on the base?" Based on Powell's reasoning, building on the base means to gladly bring in people who do not share the core Republican beliefs that members of the "base" share. This is his mantra of being more inclusive. That is not my definition.

My definition of "building on the base" first acknowledges that fact that many Americans have been spoon-fed a left-wing set of beliefs by academia, and media, and the Democrats. Many Americans do not understand what conservative policies really are or how the American spirit can excel if government gets out of the way. So... my definition of "building on the base" means taking the conservative philosophy that is embraced by the base and educating more people about that philosophy. When people are exposed to what Republican/conservative principles really mean, they will choose those principles.

Do people really want government controlling banks, the auto industry, health care, and other facets of our private lives? Do people want to pay more and more of their hard-earned paychecks just to pay the government's debt? I'm sure most would not, and thus, expanding the base means cutting through the media filter and getting our message to the American people.

Powell, of course, goes off on Rush Limbaugh again during the course of the interview. On one hand, Powell says Rush is entitled to his opinion, but on the other, he criticizes Rush for delivering that opinion. Powell's misguided statements about the fallout leveled against RNC Chairman Michael Steele and a few congressmen really show that Powell doesn't get it. Steele did not apologize to Rush because Rush demanded it. Steele apologized to Rush because Steele's comments outraged a great number of conservatives across the country.

Finally, I would just like to ask Gen. Powell in which areas he feels that the Republican Party has gone too far to the right. Republican Party candidates ran as reformers, tax cutters, budget hawks, and freedom advocates. Some became as corrupt as the Democrats and more adopted a big-government mentality that is the polar opposite of what we stand far. It is part of this frustration that led to our election defeats. So, over the course of 8 to 12 years, where have we veered too far to the right?

Was adopting a brand new entitlement such as prescription drug coverage a move that was too far to the right? Was jettisoning a host of high-qualified conservative judges a move that was too far to the right? How about the massive spending that went on under the Republican watch? Was that a move to the right?

In his interview Powell talks about the country needing a two-party system, yet with every word, he seeks to make the Republicans more like Democrats. We've seen what that has done over the last several election cycles.

We certainly need to expand the base. We need to tell more people about what conservatism really means. Then we can have a Republican Party that is clearly identifiable and different from the Democrats. Powell may want "Democrat-lite,"

http://www.gopusa.com/theloft/?p=1519