DO NOTHING PARTY

It was very late at night and the Advisor was pacing in his office. For several days he had been studying the journals left by his predecessors. Several of them had entered their own judgments and analysis into the record. All had been faithful to their oath, to advise the President to the best of their ability. He put on another pot of coffee and carried his current journal over to the rosewood conference table. The table was made in Boston in the very early 18th century and had been used by all previous Advisors. The Advisor hoped some of the wisdom from those who came before him would guide his pen. Once a word was entered into the journal, it could not be erased. Only a single black line could be drawn through it.

To advise the President it was important to understand the opposition the President faced from a variety of sources. He filled his Waterman pen, topped off his china coffee cup, and started to write.

This President only recognizes the Republican Party as his a source of opposition. While the President has shown his vacillations and procrastinations to the world, his primary opponent, The House of Representatives is weaker. The Republican Congressional leadership is almost cowardly in their avoidance of confrontations in opposing the President’s health care plan, his energy policies, the expansion of executive power into the Constitutional prerogatives of the legislative branch, and his style of leading from behind as America’s Commander-in-Chief.

While some nationally known conservative pundits have cautioned you cannot govern from one house of the Congress, the other side of the coin is that you have difficulty in governing in the face of a determined House of Representatives. The President has not shied from confrontations with the House. In fact, he has sought confrontations. Confrontations that he usually wins due to the timid and plodding leadership in the House of Representations. The Senate leadership is also weak but they don’t have a majority.

To most Americans, the Republican Party is the party of “NO.” They do not respond to Presidential attacks. They do not communicate with the American people. Even I, who study and research political movements and organizations, do not know what the Republican Party stands for in the critical area of health care. Voting to repeal the Affordable Care Act several times only sends one message, “we don’t like Obamacare.” Neither does most of the nation. But what is the alternative? The Republican Party needs to spend less energy in saying no, and more, laying out clearly and in detail, their own plan to fix the nation’s broken health care system.

Not even the staunchest supporters of the Republican Party can tell you the major elements of a plan to replace Obamacare. The same is true for a taxation policy, bringing jobs back to America, presenting an energy plan, outlining a comprehensive foreign policy, reorganization of the federal government, balancing spending with resources, and discussing a military force level with the required logistics and weaponry to meet National Security requirements.

Unless the conservative members in the House and Senate can change their leadership and present real choices to the nation, a succession of Progressive Party presidents is in our future. Whining about President Obama and his policies is not enough and it’s not in line with the courage and sacrifices of those who have gone before. No wonder people want term limits.

The Advisor stopped writing and laid down his pen. He sighed and leaned back in his chair, feeling a small weight lifted from his mind.

The author has 27 years of Government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an

advisor. Considering today’s volatile political situation, you are encouraged to share this on Facebook and to click the “like” button below. Comments and dialogue are welcome.

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