Republicans Find Their Voice

Thank God Republicans are finally finding their voice after all they’ve been through.

“We’re so far ahead of where we thought we’d be at this time,” said Rep. Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.), one of several younger congressmen seeking to lead the party’s renewal. “It’s not a sign that we’re back to where we need to be, but it’s a sign that we’re beginning to find our voice. We’re standing on our core principles, and the core principle that suffered the most in recent years was fiscal conservatism and economic liberty. That was the tallest pole in our tent, and we took an ax to it, but now we’re building it back.”

The second-ranking House Republican, Rep. Eric Cantor (Va.), put it more bluntly. “What transpired . . . and will give us a shot in the arm going forward is that we are standing up on principle and just saying no,” he said.

I’m sorry, what? From what I can tell, economic liberty is just an exciting new code word for “the continuation of the unregulated corporate welfare state.” It’s mind-boggling how out of touch the Republicans are to think now is a great time to remake your image into a party of obstructionists. I’m sure the Democrats will find a way to screw up any goodwill they may have with the country, but I just can’t see how anyone could watch the news right now and think, “the Democrats and the President are trying to prevent the Republicans from fixing our problems.” And honestly, I don’t think their new slogan is going to help much -

The New Republican Party: We’re Just a Bunch of Dicks.