Posted by
arandomguy on Wednesday, November 08, 2006 3:47:33 PM
In light of the recent elections, President Bush has asked for Rumsfeld's resignation - I'm sure with Rumsfeld's compliance - and will appoint a new Secretary of Defense, to be approved by an increasingly democratic Congress.
This comes after Bush said he would not fire Rumsfeld, or ask for his resignation, and this comes after Rumsfeld served admirably for 6 years on the Bush staff. He really modernized the military, and some of his reforms of the Pentagon will be long lasting. However, recently, some generals are upset with Rumsfelds handling of the Iraq war, and Democrats and Liberals have long been calling for his head.
Bush has refused to comply, until now, when he has caved into Democratic pressure to fire the defense secretary. However, I have to say I agree with Bush on this one. Rumsfeld, regardless of how he ran the Pentagon, or the Iraq war, is becoming a liability to the Bush administration. Democrats made Rumsfeld the villain this past election cycle, and it worked candidly - because the Democrats now control one, and likely both houses of Congres. Too many people dislike Rumsfeld, for better or worse, and the time has come for him to go.
I personally like Rumsfeld, and what he has done for this country. But the Iraq war isn't getting better, and change is needed, especially with Democrats in control of congress. This will put fresh faces in the Bush cabinet, and possibly change the mess in Iraq. Democrats have said they won't push for immediate withdrawl, or slash funds for the war, at least not right away, but we'll see if they stick to that. The John Murtha's of the House will undoubtedly push for an immediate cessation of funds to the war, but hopefully some of the new "conservative" democrats will prevent this from happening.
I'm trying not to be too glum. Democrats won, probably in both houses, but the country will rebuild. Republicans will purify their message of conservatism, and we should be able to come back. That said, we need to take a serious look at what has happened. We are conservatives first, and only then Republicans. If the Republicans cease to be conservative, then I know I (as well as most of you readers) will cease to be Republican.
And in these latest elections, Conservatism won. The Democrats realized that by running far-left candidates like Ned Lamont and Nancy Pelosi, they would only ever win on the West Coast, and the East Coast. If they ever wanted to win a majority, they had to moderate their message, by nominating conservative democrats and moderate democrats. Regardless of which party, more conservatives and moderates in congress is a good thing, even if I believe they are on the wrong party.
Additionally, the ballot initiatives were wholeheartedly conservative, and almost all of them passed. This shows that conservatism is not dead, just that 2004-era Republicanism is. The Republicans have to change and modify their message, nominate more true conservative candidates, and when they achieve power, stick to their guns and get the things they say they will get done, done. If that happens, they will be an immensely popular party.