Turn up Heat ... on GOP, Former Congressman Barr Says

NEWS & ANALYSIS

HOLDING GOP'S FEET TO THE FIRE: Former Congressman Bob Barr, right, signs his book for Arizona State Senator Karen Johnson./Dennis Durband photo

Turn up the Heat … on the GOP, Former Congressman Barr Says

By Dennis Durband, Editor
September 5, 2005

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Referring to the National Federation of Republican Assemblies’ (NFRA) 2005 convention theme – Turning up the Heat on the Left -- former Cong. Bob Barr said we’ve already been there and done that.

“What we need to do today is turn up the heat on the GOP,” Barr said. “If we are actually going to have political parties, they should actually do something."

Barr’s comments resonated with the NFRA delegates, conservatives who disdain the compromise and appeasement of the liberals and the neo-cons within the Republican Party. In the audience were numerous people wearing anti-McCain stickers on their shirts. Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) typifies the type of RINO that platform Republicans loathe. Liberals in both parties often shut down debate, Barr says.

“Debate and informed decisions rarely happen,” Barr said. “When it does, it is at the margins, usually in sound bites and banalities. Unless it happens, America becomes a second-rate power.

The Republican Assemblies serve a purpose by encouraging the GOP to stand for something, Barr said, not an ever-changing system of sound bites. He also said, “We have nothing to fear in a fight with the left. Our conservative ideas are better and voters almost always agree – if given the choice. Too often, the debate is not about traditional values, but about trivial things.”

Barr challenged those in the audience to do something he’s done: listen to C-SPAN with your eyes closed and guess whether the speakers are Republican or Democrat. He said he was only able to guess correctly about half the time and that was because he recognized some of the voices.

“If you listen to the debates, you will be hard-pressed to find substantive information,” the former Georgia congressman said. “It’s gross generalities. These folks care more about who gets the best sound bite rather than what is in the interests of our grandchildren’s future. Do candidates read the Constitution and pay attention to the people? No, they look at public policy data. Candidates rarely exist independently of their policy affiliation.”

Health care and Iraq offer a couple examples of what Barr is complaining about.

Barr said, “We fought tooth and nail against ‘Hillary Care.’ One decade later, Republicans stood and cheered a debt-creating (health care) monster they can’t afford. The old boy network shook hands and moved forward ignoring public opinion. The same thing happens on the left.”

How many Democrats protested, Barr asked. “Few, and they remained muted in the face of polling support.” John Kerry spoke out against the Patriot Act, George Bush accused him of a flip flop, he hardly spoke of it again and the debate died on an important Bill of Rights concern.”

The Trouble with the Grand Old Party

Barr complained that political party operatives hope voters become habitual in their election time decisions, rather than holding their feet to the fire. He suggests that citizens tell the elected officials that their support is not automatic, but will be awarded only if they stand for something. Barr said the Republican Party tells Blacks that they should vote Republican based on what the party stands for. Should not the GOP practice what it preaches and indeed stand for something?

“Ronald Reagan appealed to the Constitution – not to a party,” Barr said. “He left the Democratic Party for the GOP because it better represented the Constitution. He was an outsider from his first day in politics to his departure from the political stage. Presidents come and go, but principles endure.”

Barr continued, “What you in the Republican Assemblies are about is principles: government is based on shared beliefs, markets create political freedom, government should be reigned in and privacy is not found in the Patriot Act."

"NFRA principles read as a roadmap of America’s ideals," Barr continued. "The government performs a handful of functions, but leaves individuals alone. Government does not create guarantees, and it’s up to us to spread freedom wisely.”

On the other hand, GOP leaders are all too willing to make deals and sacrifice principles, Barr said. He quoted from James Madison and Alexis de Tocqueville, who warned of powerful factions and tyranny.

Solutions

Barr’s recommended solutions include:

Working with others. He spoke of his work with the American Conservative Union and the ACLU on privacy issues. “I disagree with the ACLU on so many issues, but this makes practical sense. On personal liberty, the GOP has left us. The Republican Party now stands for bigger and more political power and less freedom. You can’t keep some freedoms and give up others. I refuse to sit by while the GOP abandons our ideals. I’m willing to work with like-minded groups.”
Stand up for principle at local GOP meetings. Oppose the administration when it is wrong.
When you vote for the most conservative candidate, you are voting for Ronald Reagan’s ideals. “Let the national party ignore us; our principles will be right and they will be wrong. We kept the faith and did not bow down to expediency. Expediency is for cowards.”