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Replace most incumbent Republicans

Guest Commentary

By DENNIS A. BENFIELD

Published: October 11, 2009

Our nation had a big "town hall meeting" last Nov. 4. We conservatives lost a lot of seats, and leftists won complete control of our government and also of many private assets. There's a natural human tendency to blame Obama and his radical allies, but that's like blaming the snake that bites you.

We conservatives need to change our own behavior, not try to convince the snake to be less threatening.

Polling has shown for decades, paradoxically, that "everyone hates the Congress," but people love their own representatives, as long as they are of the same party.

Are we really too ignorant to understand that a large majority of congressional winners are determined in primary elections? So, if we keep electing the same people over and over-and expect different results — are we, by Einstein's definition, "insane?"

Ninety percent of Republican congressmen are in "safe" seats that, barring extreme ethical or personal misconduct, cannot be won by a Democrat. These safe-seaters, with their long-term job security, can extort large amounts of campaign money from special-interest groups, scaring off primary challengers who can't compete in fund-raising.

These Republican safe-seaters now parade around in front of packed town halls, pretending to exhibit genius for stating the obvious: Obama is turning our great nation into something that most of us no longer recognize. These GOP geniuses don't mention that "the numbers" make us powerless to stop Democrats, and that the GOP is to blame.

When they had the chance, from 1994 to 2006, these career GOP politicians should have enacted conservative policies, effectively communicated the benefits and lived exemplary lives that matched conservative rhetoric.

Congressional Republicans blew it with their policies, messages and tolerance of unethical behavior among GOP members. We can accept this, or we can throw these bums out in the next GOP primary and let some real conservatives have a try.

One self-proclaimed conservative from North Carolina on the House banking committee joined Barney Frank and the Democrats in promoting the sub-prime mortgage scam.

The aforementioned Republican — Patrick McHenry — wrote favoring sub-prime lending in 2005. He supported this discredited practice in House committee hearings up to fall 2007, after which the impending credit collapse scared away even the densest, most corrupt politicians.

When Republican Mark Foley was caught inappropriately approaching young male pages in 2006, we lost respect, credibility and votes in every district in the nation. McHenry appointed himself to appear on national TV before the election. He could have mitigated the damage by condemning Foley's behavior and apologizing; instead, his statement was that Nancy Pelosi was "using the situation politically."

Had GOP legislators like McHenry done the right things and lived the right lives, she never would have come to power.

Conservatives, we can do better. When will we stop blaming the snake, fire the career GOP politicians and replace them with genuine conservative citizen legislators? "Throw the bums out," as TEA Party speakers shout, should include most incumbent congressional Republicans.

Dennis A. Benfield is a resident of Hudson.