Help Wanted: Leader for the Republicans

I've been reading a lot of columns and articles lately about the Republican party, and the defacto leader of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh. Most of the Conservative Intelligentsia is saying that having Rush as the unofficial leader of the party is a bad thing. I think it's a bad thing too, but not for the same reasons these guys do. The Conservative Intelligentsia don't like how Rush says things, they don't like how he acts, and they really don't like his dittohead listeners. Notice, I never said they disagree with him. They just wish Rush would deliver the message differently.

Look, Rush Limbaugh is who he is. I like Rush, and I listen to his show regularly. But, he SHOULD NOT be the leader of the Republican Party. He's a radio personality and a strong conservative voice. The fact that the Democrats and the Media are making Rush out to be the leader of the Republicans speaks volumes about the lack of elected leadership within the Republican Party.

Where is the elected leadership fighting against the ridiculous spending being pushed by the Obama administration? Where is the leadership in offering clear alternatives to what Obama and his liberal allies in Congress are pushing? Where is the voice articulating the Conservative position? It doesn't exist. There's no Ronald Reagan or Newt Gingrich out there. This party needs a leader now more than ever, and that leader shouldn't be Rush! But, some Republicans cling to him as a leader because they agree with most of what he says and they admire that he has the guts to say it.

I hear from all the certified smart guys in the Republican Party that the Republicans need to embrace a "big government" message, because that's what people want. These brainiacs say we need to figure out how to make government work for people. These people say the era of Reagan is over. And these guys get paid to say these moronic things!

The era of Reagan isn't over. The principles of limited government interference embraced by Reagan can be applied to today's problems. We just have to stop accepting the premise of the Democrats and the Media and start applying Reagan's philosophy to today's problems. I would love for an elected Republican to say the following (or something similar) the next time he/she is asked about nationalized health care:

I reject your premise that the government has to solve the health care problems in this country. I admit that the health care system needs fixing. It is hurting our companies and making life harder on everyone. However, this problem is too big to be solved by government alone. Government needs to help the private sector make this work.

To that end, government should eliminate roadblocks that prevent small and medium sized companies from joining together to buy group insurance policies. Government should provide corporate tax relief to any company that provides health insurance to its' employees. And finally, government should provide funding and incentives for hospitals to set up free clinics so that people can get basic care. To help these clinics, the government should provide funding to help hospitals construct and staff these clinics, and should provide student aid relief to doctors and nurses to work at these clinics for a specified amount of time.

As a conservative, I would have no problem with a statement like that. This plan would result in a fraction of the spending needed for a nationalized health care program. If an elected Republican said something like that on health care, or made similar statements when faced with more of today's issues, that person would easily become the new "unofficial" leader of the Republican party, and Rush would be back in his rightful place as talk radio icon and stalwart voice for conservative issues.

And while we're on it, when that person finally emerges, whoever they may be, we can't let the Democrats and the media destroy that person, like they tried to do with Bobby Jindahl and Sarah Palin.