Hey, Republicans: How about less grandstanding and better government? You get what you pay for. And now we — all of us — need business people who bankroll the Republican Party to become much smarter shoppers. In the past few election cycles, conservative political action committees, corporations and wealthy individuals claiming to favor liberty and limited government have shoveled money into the pockets of tea party-style candidates running for office at all levels of government. Along the way, these interests helped to elevate an assortment of ideologues, carnival barkers and self-aggrandizing hucksters into positions of real power — people whose influence previously extended only as far as banning a book via their local library board or writing science out of the curriculum at their neighborhood school. As the just-concluded government shutdown and debt-ceiling standoff vividly demonstrated, the House GOP went on a bender and didnt name a designated driver. The drunkards behind the congressional wheel nearly drove world financial markets into a ditch, draining $24 billion from the U.S. economy in the process. And theres every indication that theyll take the keys and repeat the process in January, when the debt-ceiling timer goes off again. Its time for Republicans to sober up and get to work doing the countrys business. That means reckoning with the outcome of elections that put Democrats in charge of the Senate and, yes, the White House. That means setting realistic goals and hammering out compromises that advance conservative ideas, however incrementally. Instead of tilting at the Obamacare windmill yet again, how about reworking our arcane tax code? How about long-term deficit reduction? How about immigration reform? These are real issues that affect businesses and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods. Reasonable bipartisan solutions can be reached if moderate Republicans push back against the demagogues who have hijacked their party. To this end, business interests must start channeling their influence and their financial resources toward less doctrinaire candidates who recognize that government — no matter how big or small we may like it to be — has a role to play in a civilized society. Some big business lobbyists, such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are making noise that theyll do that in next years Republican primaries. We only hope more move back toward more pragmatic conservatism. Governing by crisis is a luxury we no longer can afford. chicagobusiness/article/20131017/OPINION/131019822/hey-republicans-how-about-less-grandstanding-and-better-government
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 23:58:24 +0000
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