House GOP & NRCC = Not Really Creating Change

Change, verb
1. To make the form, nature, content, future course, etc., of something different from what it is or from what it would be if left untouched.

Republicans have lost the past three special elections because they appeared resistant to the concept of change. But finally, after being hit upside the head by the voters, Republican leaders this month unveiled a new and improved conference message: “Change you can believe in.” But the sort of change House Republicans this week have peddled may have me longing for the bygone days of Warren Harding …

This week’s public embarrassment for the party was the farm bill. Notwithstanding the fact that scores of House GOPers actually supported hundreds of billions in shameless, needless pork for an ever-burgeoning corporate monolith the first time this bill passed, they’re still at the trough.

In a rare display of fiscal discipline, President Bush himself attempted to push a change in frivolous government spending by vetoing the pork-filled farm bill. Unfortunately, 100 House Republicans didn’t get the “Change you can believe in” memo. Instead they voted to flippantly spend over $307 billion — and for what? In reality, a “Get me reelected” bill masked by the word “farm.” After all, two-thirds of the bill doesn’t even pertain to the agricultural industry.

In another bone-headed move, the bill removes some of the federal funding for crop insurance — the money farmers truly want and can use to improve their businesses — and replaces it with money for welfare programs, urban initiatives, and home-district hand-outs.

Now I’m just guessing here, but an increase of spending is not the type of change Americans were looking for. Nonetheless, Republicans have joined the Democrats in excessively spending taxpayer dollars. I’m not sure why the red-state party seems so afraid to stand up for what it believes in — but its refusal to stand up for good old-fashioned belt-tightening — real change, by the way — will leave it walking in the legislative wilderness for 40 years or longer. Maybe Republicans should actually look up the word “change” and commit to it before they promise it to the American people. After all, cutting government spending would truly make the future course of America something different from what it is or what it could be.