Originally Posted by shinerbock
Well the moral failings so far as we know involve Foley's misdeeds. Now, I don't really consider him to be among party leadership, but he has represented the GOP poorly. If it turns out that Hastert knew something and took little or no action when action was obviously appropriate, then I'd admit he has failed in both his capacity as a human being, a legislator, and a party leader. Personally, I think he has failed in general as a party leader. He has allowed the GOP in the house to be divided, and has not set a clear direction for the party or the country. My primary problem with the GOP at this point is that nobody is willing to play hardball, everyone is concerned with their own motivations. I think the only place where Democrats have shown any sort of unity or strength is in their hatred of the adminstration, and despite this lack of direction from the left, Hastert and Co. have not taken advantage. I'm not sure if you were interested in my thoughts on other immoral acts by republicans, but if you'll specify I'll respond. As for the party, this is what I'd like to see...
Strong leadership (both for the country and internally). Modern politicians don't seem to understand that when acting as a block, most obstacles can be overcome. Republicans will point to Bush's weakened stature, but fail to recognize that if they would continue to stand by him, it wouldn't be nearly as weak. Its similar to the debate on immigration, where politicians are concerned that if they take too tough a stand either way, they'll either lose their base or the hispanic community. What they fail to understand is that by taking a tough stand, they'll solidify their support, one way or another. By staying in the middle or wavering, you're likely not only to lose some of your base, but to fail in efforts to gain more moderate voters. Basically, get off the fence. The problem with politicians is that they're educated and prideful people. If you present a patriotic and honest campaign that appeals to Americans because of their love for this country (aka Edwards before Kerry made him his attack dog), I truly believe you'll generally win. However, politicians are of the sort that they simply cannot stand to sit idly by while being derided by opponents. Thus, they get pulled into a typical mudslinging election cycle. I'd love to see the GOP appeal to people on a level beyond "If you don't vote for us _______ will happen." Ask Reagan how that worked. Times were bad for most people, but his message was one of inspiration, and a lot of people loved him for it. Not everything has to be policy, sometimes it just comes down to leadership. When presented with people starving and those down on their luck, our greatest leaders haven't established new government programs, they've merely appealed to citizens, asking them to help those in need. People have asked me before how Christians can be against social welfare programs, and my general answer is that its not the government's responsibility, its ours. We've taken the burden off of Americans to act neighborly to one another, and placed it squarely on the government. Not only does it not work, it denies Americans the chance to fulfill their civic responsibilities. Alright, sorry for the tangent.
By the way, I'm pretty sure there is somebody coming up who's what I'd like to see in a leader, and his name is Mitt Romney.
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