Posted by
Andrews on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 12:43:04 PM
I have read Bill Murchison since I started reading Townhall, and in general he has been rather a nonentity in my mind. He has said very few things wrong enough to get me excited (unlike say,
George Will,
Dick Morris,
Debra Saunders or, sadly,
Charles Krauthammer) nor has he said anything well enough to do the same (like say,
Thomas Sowell,
John Stossel, or, strangely,
Debra Saunders and
Charles Krauthammer). He has always been a rather bland, stable nonentity who has said things that make sense, said them well enough, but never said anything of enough weight to catch my notice. He was like a plate of really good mashed potatoes, satisfying, filling, perhaps slightly enjoyable, but nothing you could really recommend to someone, and certainly nothing you would remember a week later.
And under other circumstances,
his essay today would be more of the same. It does use my favorite platitude, "this too shall pass", perhaps the most profoundly simple statement ever, yet likely one of the most accurate, but that is not why I mention him. No, what brings him to my notice today is, in an environment when everyone seems to be running in circles, scream for a solution, he is the sole voice offering the most useful advice for conservatives, and Republicans, I have yet to read.
Wait.
I know
I have been guilty myself of doing what I criticize. I have been troubled by the many buying into the "
party of no" label, the many pushing for the Republicans to adopt
a "Little Big Government" identity, and have fretted quite vocally that they will end up pushing the party in the wrong direction, but reading Murchison today I realized my own error. You see, what happens today really doesn't matter. The party identity is not carved in stone, and the trends of the moment don't matter. What matters is coming in the future, and the future is not known.
What I mean by that is, even if the Republicans do foolishly accept that Obama is right, that the public is tired of small government, individual freedom, self-sufficiency, and so on, none of that matters. What matters is what happens in 2010. If then, Obama is still placidly predicting a "turn around" as the economy crumbles, the dollar's value plummets and the legions of jobless grow,
THEN the Republicans will have to make a decision. Or, rather, may have a decision forced upon them. And if Obama's big government solutions are still failing come the primary season, and the public is beginning to doubt its choice for liberal solutions and big government, at that point, regardless of what has happened in 2009, it is likely that the primaries will end up fielding a slate of small government candidates. Oh, granted a few RINO incumbents may still slip through, but probably fewer than one would expect. Just look at Specter's defection, or the reasons behind it. Incumbency is no guarantee any longer.
So, though I have in the past argued for the need to push back against those calling for us to "stand
FOR something", I think the better answer is simply to stand our ground. Quietly, but firmly state that we are for something, we are for individuals and freedom, but don't do much more. No need to press, to fight. We need to bide our time, cultivate good primary candidates, and watch Obama's "solutions" collapse about his massive ears. (Maybe
exacerbated by
Democrat infighting, as his popularity drops.) If we simply sit back and watch and wait, I have a feeling the scene will be set for us. If not in 2010, then definitely by 2012.
So, for once, I have to say, Murchison is right, and is worth noting. Now is not the time for fretting or fighting, but rather now is the moment to wait. The time for action will come, but nothing is gained by burning ourselves out with pointless activity or worries before that time.