Christian Newswire is reporting this press release from Jason S. Jones, the president of CatholicPrecincts.org. It is a succinct and spot-on review of why the G.O.P. took such a thrashing on Tuesday.“Conservatives were shocked when President Bush tried to pass off Harriet Miers as a competent Supreme Court nominee; Conservatives were shocked when the Administration appeased the homosexual lobby by offering up Scott Bloch (head of the Office of Special Counsel) as a sacrificial lamb; and Conservatives were shocked when President Bush—with less than 90 days to the mid-term election—stated that he favored over-the-counter sales of the abortifacient Plan B drug.
“On November 7, 2006 the Republican Party Establishment was shocked to discover that Conservatives were not willing to be exploited.
“Republicans lost because of their cowardice in handling those issues of paramount importance to the Party’s base, particularly the defense of innocent human life and the preservation of traditional marriage between one man and one woman. This was evidenced by the fact that voters turned out en masse in seven out eight states to pass marriage amendments, but this did not translate into electoral success for many weak-kneed Republicans.
“In Virginia, Sen. George Allen—whose cozy relationship with Plan B manufacturer Barr Labs became a campaign issue—ran away from taking a clear stand in favor of life or marriage. He lost, but the marriage amendment passed. In Missouri, Sen. Jim Talent’s reluctance to clearly condemn the state’s pro-human cloning ballot initiative cost him his Senate seat and helped lead to the amendment’s passage. President Bush campaigned heavily for Talent, but ignored the cloning debate completely. And he and his administration’s deafening silence on the South Dakota abortion ban was equally inexcusable.
“This election strategy represents the Giuliani-McCain-Romney wing of the party whose weakness and inconsistency on these foundational matters makes them unfit to lead. For far too long the Party has treated its pro-life, pro-family conservative base like the low hanging fruit that practically falls into the basket on its own. This election was a wake up call that a Republican Party slouching toward the left does not possess a ladder tall enough to reach the coveted fruit of the conservative vote.”
