Commence Operation Counterweight
Some of us here at Ricochet are enthusiastic Mitt Romney supporters. Some of us are reluctantly backing Romney. And some of us just aren't on board the Romney Express at all and may never get there. But The Washington Examiner's David Freddoso gives us something that can unify us no matter what our position:
So what to do if and when Romney finally sews this up? The temptation is always there to drop out of the political process. But if conservatives are interested in advancing their cause from beneath Romney's banner -- as they will likely have to -- they must think beyond the presidential race and to the elections that will provide context to its result for the next four years.
The institution in greatest need of conservative influence right now is the U.S. Senate, the place where House conservatives' ideas for limiting government and expanding the economy have been going to die for the last 13 months. This year's Senate contests offer many opportunities to push the party and the nation to the right, and conservatives should pay attention.
Freddoso points out that the 2010 elections gave Republicans some solid wins -- Mike Lee of Utah, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. They joined Jim DeMint of South Carolina, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma and Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
But this year there are some additional gains that could be made. Jeff Flake of Arizona. Ted Cruz in Texas. Mark Neumann in Wisconsin. There may be additional conservative candidates in Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Indiana and Utah, depending on the primaries:
So yes, conservatives have something to look forward to in 2012, even if the presidential field disappoints. If Obama is re-elected, a more conservative Senate will provide a better check on his ambitions. But it will be even more important if a Republican president is inaugurated in 2013.
A larger conservative core in the Senate may represent the best chance to avoid a repeat of the Bush years, in which Congress became the handmaiden for a Republican executive's big-government "conservatism."
If conservatives pick the right battles now, they can build a Senate that won't be bossed around by anyone.
He's right. Getting solid, small-government, liberty-minded individuals into the Senate is at least as important as any other electoral contest.
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Sep '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Wisconsin will probably send RINO Thompson to the senate, but at least he is promising to vote for ObamaCare repeal.
Dec '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
If we can't herd the 535 cats of the legislature, what's to make us believe we can herd them plus the one in the executive as well? The whole thing just works better if we have one in the executive that doesn't need the goad to be a conservative so he can lead the government in conservatism. Even if we get a filibuster proof majority in the senate we still have to contend with 60 people whose primary purpose in life is to retain their seats by buying enough votes with funds from the treasury. The only time (that I can remember, at least) that leadership has come from the legislature to corral the president was when Newt became speaker in '94. We republicans currently aren't so keen on giving him a shot at doing it from the other end of Pennsylvania Ave.
Jan '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
There are no presidential candidates that excite me. But the idea of two, perhaps three more Supreme Court nominations absolutely petrifies me.
It would be wonderful if we had a president who would nominate a conservative, and a Senate who would confirm one. At the very least, the senate could block another liberal. Given the current state of affairs, I'd bet that the senate is as important as the president.
Obama's incapable of appealing to anyone but a blind partisan or a blind independent. Even with two pliant sides of Congress, Obama had to resort to parliamentary "reconciliation" to pass Obamacare. Not being able to lead himself, he needs help to get anything done. If he has neither the House or the Senate, he's politically inert. He's only hanging on now because the partisan Senate is blocking for him. If conservatives also get the Senate this time, Obama is much less dangerous.
With a conservative Senate, neither a hostile Obama or a weak Romney will have enough clout to do much damage. I can live with that, until 2016, when a movement conservative might have a chance to be president.
Dec '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Gee, I wonder which candidates Romney is backing in Republican Senate primaries, the TEA Party insurgents or the establishment moderates?
Dec '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
He's running his entire campaign on "to hell with the legislature, I'm just going to do things," and you think he'll be inert and less dangerous? I simply can't agree. He'll be even more dangerous as the only control on him will be impeachment, and Joe Biden is insurance against that course of action.
Jul '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
I've decided the main issue with Newt is that he is trying to fill the not Romney void. He is neither as conservative nor as much as a Washingon outsider as I'd like. Combine those with some potential stability issues and his support bases are questionable. He still is the sharpest man in the race. If he makes it, I'll vote for Newt with pleasure and trepidation even though I expect he loses by a larger margin than Romney will lose. To your point, our other votes matter quite a bit and even if half of the GOP base is upset they ought to show up.
Edited on Feb 1 at 12:47amFeb '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Don't forget that here in Ohio we have a decent chance to replace the most liberal member of the Senate - Sherrod Brown. That might count as a two-fer in the grand scheme of things.
Dec '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
This is just so sad. Obama is about the most vulnerable Democrat president I can imagine, and here we are having to look to Congress for inspiration because our field is so pathetic that even a win in November is going to feel like a loss. I suspect Mitt (or Newt), if elected, will be just enough of an improvement over Obama to generate some false hope that we caught things just in time and averted disaster. But I can't escape the conclusion that this is one giant, slow motion train wreck and that these guys put the "little" in too little, too late. Santorum might not do any better, given the chance, but at least he's shown a bit of character and class in continuing to talk about the important stuff while the others have given themselves over to scorched earth tactics. That still counts for something -- or should. I had hoped to outlive the inevitable demise of this noble experiment. That's feeling less and less likely. What a colossally squandered opportunity.
I need a doughnut.
Jul '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Not buying the Senate as an effective counter to Obama if he gets a second term. He is abusing executive orders in a preposterous fashion, and kicking the economy around pretty hard doing it. This President has proven the weakness of Congress' impeachment power by defying the Congress, the law, and the Constitution repeatedly. It is becoming a regular feature rather then the occasional outrage.
Train wreck all the way round. And the stupid party thinks they're in the catbird with their newer, better federal ObomneyCare. That dog not only don't hunt, it never did.
Jul '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
The base will show up, but will it be to vote for the GOP or an anti-ObomneyCare Tea Party candidate?
May '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Flake is a good man, but many up there are lousy. The GOP meme that a Gingrich ticket will chill Senate down-ticket results is mostly a stalking horse for the fact that a Gingrich ticket will be generated hand in hand with some primary challenges. It is not the democrats the GOP is steeling itself against, but the Tea Party.
The GOP functionaries chose strategies poorly last year, and will pay the price this year. IF we are to support Romney, it will only be because he is the only remaining alternative to Obama. Every other option must be fought and died for first, or we're not trying.
May '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
To start things off, I want to make sure that we give credit for "Operation Counterweight" to Prof. William Jacobson and his blog Legal Insurrection. His disappointment with the GOP field led him to coin (to the best of my knowledge) the term way back in June...
King Prawn: Yes herding 585 Congresscritters is an impossible task, but if we work to place more conservatives within that number, perhaps the herd will tend to stampede less to the Left side of the ranch...
Freeven: "This is just so sad. Obama is about the most vulnerable Democrat president I can imagine, and here we are having to look to Congress for inspiration..." I look at it this way. Yes perhaps a Mitt Romney presidency is not the conservative dream, but we can not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. Romney would be the good-enough to Obama's horrible, and a more conservative Congress would help to keep *him* on the Right side of the ranch...
Oct '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
in texas, it's dewhurst vs ted cruz.
in florida, will allen west run for the senate? i think he should. he's got good name ID statewide in FLA.
in wisconsin, i'd rather not take chances. tommy thompson should be the nominee.
Feb '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Freeven: I had hoped to outlive the inevitable demise of this noble experiment. That's feeling less and less likely. What a colossally squandered opportunity.
I need a doughnut. · 5 hours ago
At the risk of being told "Look who's talking!" I'll ask if those two thoughts are connected.
Dec '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
I'm throwing the BS flag. Why on God's green earth should we have a candidate that needs a counterweight? The left should be more afraid of our guy than we are.
Apr '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
As we can see...the anti-Romneys are as impractical as always. I don't really imagine how they would expect Gingrich to herd the congressional cats any more conservatively than Romney. The way you get a majority to come with you is by ...dear I say it...compromising. Which as we know is the one thing they don't want their leaders to do. If the Republicans just do what the Democrats did and ram things through congress in a partisan manner we will only hurt ourselves and the nation. We actually need a leader that can build a significant national consensus, not just get their legislation through with one vote. That is what Obama was. We don't need a Republican version of that.
If we get more conservatives in congress it will mean we need to compromise less. I doubt though we will get 60 senators...even then I think it would be wise to get democrats on board with us. We must not repeat the Obama's governing style.
Oct '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
KC Mulville: ... Even with two pliant sides of Congress, Obama had to resort to parliamentary "reconciliation" to pass Obamacare. Not being able to lead himself, he needs help to get anything done. If he has neither the House or the Senate, he's politically inert. He's only hanging on now because the partisan Senate is blocking for him. If conservatives also get the Senate this time, Obama is much less dangerous.
With a conservative Senate, neither a hostile Obama or a weak Romney will have enough clout to do much damage. I can live with that, until 2016, when a movement conservative might have a chance to be president. · 8 hours ago
<FAT CHANCE>
Do you actually believe that the gutless eunuch party will oppose HRH-Os rule by executive fiat? He will arrogantly co-opt the Congress with autocratic rule, knowing that impeachment is a near impossibility, and the Supremes will not cross the great divide of separation. HRH-O is in his element.
Expect nothing to change if the Senate goes GOP, and the Tea Party conservatives in the House remain emasculated.
I won't be the first to say the words, "third party".
Dec '11
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
Valiuth: As we can see...the anti-Romneys are as impractical as always. I don't really imagine how they would expect Gingrich to herd the congressional cats any more conservatively than Romney. The way you get a majority to come with you is by ...dear I say it...compromising. Which as we know is the one thing they don't want their leaders to do. If the Republicans just do what the Democrats did and ram things through congress in a partisan manner we will only hurt ourselves and the nation. We actually need a leader that can build a significant national consensus, not just get their legislation through with one vote. That is what Obama was. We don't need a Republican version of that.
If we get more conservatives in congress it will mean we need to compromise less. I doubt though we will get 60 senators...even then I think it would be wise to get democrats on board with us. We must not repeat the Obama's governing style. · 6 minutes ago
You can keep the status quo of the obama administration thank you. Romney cannot build a consensus, he never has.
Jul '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
The media is doing a fantastic job of reporting on voter discontent with Congress while all of us are too busy worrying about the presidential primary. And who do the sober, neutral journalists of the MSM pin the gridlock on Capitol Hill on? Republicans. I am seriously doubtful that we can win the Senate, and I am not against the notion that we may lose the House this cycle. Weak presidential candidates, run-off from OWS, the cool-down (in public perception) of the Tea Party and Republicans getting the blame for overall Congressional incompetence means that I think we will have a very bad November.
Dec '10
Re: Commence Operation Counterweight
There's also the option of leadership.