Ripon Forum


Vol. 44, No. 1

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Editor’s Note: In This Edition

For a generation of Americans, the phrase Morning in America and the presidency of Ronald Reagan will forever be linked. The phrase represented not just the dawning of a new day for our Nation, but the dawning of a new era for the GOP. Today, Republicans are looking for a similar phrase that captures the mood […]

Health Care Reform Reality Check

“In a desperate attempt by Senate Democrats to “make history” a health care bill was crafted behind closed doors.”

Status Report

“The failed Christmas Day terrorist attack underscores the importance of the current efforts by the United States to work with foreign governments to train, equip, and professionalize their security forces — both military and police.”

Dangerous Decision

Peter King, representative of New York, criticizes how the Obama administration tries to deal with terrorists in civilian courts, “If we are going to protect Americans in our international war on terror, Abdulmutallab and his fellow terrorists should face trial in military commissions, not in civilian courts.”

Understanding the Enemy

Congressman Dan Lungren of California spells out how we must understand the enemy in order to adapt our defenses and protect our nation, “We must understand that we face an enemy who is as elusive as they are deadly and sinister. They have made adaptations in response to the measures we have taken to protect […]

Financial Reform: Getting it Right

Phillip Swagel, previous Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy at the Treasury Department, writes a piece on how financial reform begins with good policy, not populism

The New Horizon

“After two dismal showings in the elections of 2006 and 2008, Republicans in the great political state of Ohio are ready for a comeback.”

The Winter of Ohio’s Discontent

William Binning, Ph.D. says, “The political environment in the battleground state of Ohio is shaping up to be a toxic one for incumbents in 2010. The economic challenges facing the state are chronic and severe. “

2010 Elections: Replay of 1994?

Joseph R. Gaylord outlines three important similarities between the GOP’s status in 2010 and in 1994 when Republicans won control of Congress, and three differences.

The Real State Of the Union

John Feehery writes a letter to the president addressing key issues, “Our budget is not just a little out of balance. It is out of balance in historically high terms. We are deeper in debt than we have ever been in our nation’s history.”

The Blue Dogs: All Bark and No Bite?

“From TARP to stimulus funds to health care reforms, Blue Dogs simply do not constitute a cohesive or powerful force in congressional voting.”

The Archie Manning of American Politics

“Now, with polls showing that the president is hemorrhaging support among independents and those in the political center, another view is beginning to take hold — namely, that Barack Obama is the Archie Manning of American politics, the one shining star on an otherwise hapless team. “

Ripon Profile of Jo Ann Emerson

To reclaim its congressional majority, the GOP must, “Return America to the days when an entrepreneur could make his idea a profitable reality entirely within the United States.”

Editor’s Note: In This Edition

For a generation of Americans, the phrase Morning in America and the presidency of Ronald Reagan will forever be linked.

The phrase represented not just the dawning of a new day for our Nation, but the dawning of a new era for the GOP. Today, Republicans are looking for a similar phrase that captures the mood of the country at this time and sets the tone for the mid-term elections this fall.

Surely, the wind is at the party’s back. And certainly, Democrats are in as vulnerable a position as Jimmy Carter was in 1980. But if the picture at this point remains unclear about the party’s electoral prospects in November, an image of the electoral landscape is becoming sharper everyday. It is a landscape that presents Republicans with something they haven’t seen in a very long time:

A New Horizon.

It is a horizon that looks completely different than the one Republicans faced in November of 2008. Then, the GOP was coming off one of its worst defeats in recent history, as Democrats recaptured the White House and added to their majorities on Capitol Hill. The horizon today is much brighter. It is one shaped as much by the missteps of the Obama Administration as it is by the victories of Scott Brown, Bob McDonnell, and Chris Christie over the past few months. It is also one that presents Republicans with both opportunities and challenges.

In this edition of the Forum, we examine some of these opportunities and challenges. We begin by focusing on the political environment in Ohio. The state has trended blue in recent years, electing a Democrat as Governor and to the U.S. Senate and supporting Barack Obama for President. But as former Congressman Mike Oxley explains in our lead essay, Obama’s “soaring start has stalled and is now more of a freefall, as Ohioans increasingly disapprove of the broad direction on mega-issues like the economy, health care, energy cap-and-trade, government spending, and security/terrorism.” As a result, Republicans have been presented with a new horizon in the Buckeye State, with John Kasich and Rob Portman leading the effort to reclaim electoral ground that has been lost in recent years.

Similar opportunities await Republicans elsewhere in the country as well. In fact, as Contract with America strategist Joe Gaylord writes, the horizon facing the GOP this year is very similar to the one the party faced in 1994, the year it took control of Congress. But Gaylord also notes that there are differences, too, not the least of which is the fact that the party has not yet gotten behind a Contract-like slate of solutions that would tell people what Republicans are for, not just against.

One important area where the GOP has no shortage of solutions is national security. In light of the failed bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day, these solutions have been receiving not just more attention, but a greater sense of urgency as well. We look at some of these solutions with Representatives Peter King, Buck McKeon, and Dan Lungren, three leaders in Congress who are working to keep America secure.

And finally, to the extent that the health care debate is at a crossroads (or, depending on your perspective, in a ditch), we feature a terrific essay by Utah Senator Bob Bennett explaining why he supports reforming the current system but is opposed to what the Democrats are trying to do.

We hope you enjoy this edition and encourage you to write at editor@clu.ccw.mybluehost.me with any thoughts or comments you may have.

Lou Zickar
Editor
The Ripon Forum