A new conservative party?

The burgeoning "tea party" movement represents resurgent traditionalist forces. It is more than a call for limited government and fiscal sanity. It is an embryonic nationalist-populist coalition that threatens the corrupt Beltway establishment. The patriotic right understands that we are slowly, relentlessly losing our country. Our globalist elites have turned their backs on America. The symptoms of decay and decline are everywhere: runaway spending, ballooning deficits, the erosion of our manufacturing base, the loss of national sovereignty, the onslaught of illegal immigration and an imperial, arrogant political class. Yet, is the Republican Party the most effective vehicle to spearhead the conservative counterrevolution? Many on the right believe that electing Republicans will stem the growth of statism. They are wrong. Led by Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, the GOP claims it has changed. The party of Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan is allegedly returning to its conservative roots. Mr. Steele vows that political exile has chastened - and humbled - Republicans, teaching them the folly of their spendthrift ways. But conservatives would be wise to follow the old adage: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Actions speak louder than words. And it should take more than a mea culpa from Mr. Steele to buy conservatives' allegiance. Instead, the "tea party" movement should demand that the Republican Party outline a detailed platform for the 2010 elections. To receive conservative-populist support, Republicans must promise to repeal Mr. Obama's policies root and branch. This means Obamacare must be rescinded - immediately. The election should be turned into a referendum on government-run health care...read more