Believe it or not, I still run into a lot of well-meaning people who just do not understand the degree of frustration among conservatives around the country.
So, as we go into the season of peace and goodwill, I’ll take one more opportunity to explain why so many conservatives and conservative-leaning independents are so frustrated and fed-up with Washington, D.C.
It gets back to what we have been fighting against for decades and continue to fight against now: We never seem able to get anything done.
Republicans control the House and Senate, and yet Barack Obama is getting virtually everything he wants. Take the budget deal as one example. It was a great deal for liberals. Nancy Pelosi said she supported it because Republicans “were willing to concede so much.”
Senator Ted Cruz has an essay in Politico castigating the congressional leadership for repeatedly caving in to Obama’s demands.
For example, consider this quote from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the man most likely to replace Harry Reid as Senate Democrat Leader next year: “Sen. McConnell wants to see the Senate work. But the good news for [Democrats] is, to make it work, he has to do basically our agenda.” According to Senator Cruz, this is largely what Senator McConnell has done on at least two dozen occasions.
“Since taking control of the Senate, Republican leadership has joined hands with a majority of Democrats to thwart their own caucus’ efforts to stop the Obama agenda 24 times,” Senator Cruz writes. “During each of these 24 votes, this so-called Republican majority successfully passed legislation with a majority of Democrats in support and a majority of Republicans opposed.”
And the pundits just can’t understand why Donald Trump is leading in the polls!
Trump is not my favorite, and I’ll be announcing my endorsement shortly. But it is totally understandable why he’s ahead. Look at what has happened in past seven years:
Democrats forced Obamacare on the country. Millions of people lost insurance and doctors they liked.
Taxes are up, wages are flat and jobs are scarce.
The victories in Iraq and Afghanistan have been turned into defeats.
The military is being gutted.
Russia is resurgent. Jihadists are on the march.
Same-sex marriage has been forced on the country, invalidating the votes and values of millions of Americans.
Planned Parenthood is still getting hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars.
Yet most of the ire of GOP elites is aimed at conservatives. Jeb Bush called Donald Trump a jerk recently. Has Jeb ever said anything remotely like that about Obama or the left?
The party’s elites need to come to grips with reality. Conservatives are demanding real change and their patience is running out.
Yesterday’s Quinnipiac poll found that nearly two-thirds of Republican voters are backing anti-establishment candidates. By the way, Ted Cruz is nearly tied with Donald Trump (24% to 28%).
Gary L. Bauer served in President Ronald Reagan’s administration for eight years, as Under Secretary of Education and as President Reagan’s Chief Domestic Policy Advisor.
