Sotomayor Is Not Our Battle

To My Fellow GOPers:

President Obama has nominated Sonia Sotomayor to be the next Supreme Court Justice. Deal with it. This is one liberal replacing an outgoing liberal. The balance on the Court remains the same.

This is not the time to talk of nonsense like filibusters or trashing the nominee as a person. That is what the Democrats do when they are not in power. Disagree on her decisions? Sure. Disagree on her view on judicial activism? Definitely. Point out her honest record and her reversals by the Supreme Court? Fair game.

Do not, I repeat, do not even think about demanding a filibuster or insisting her nomination be held up due to procedural maneuvers. That is what Democrats do when they are not in power. Why was Sotomayor nominated and brought onto the bench in the first place? Yes, it was George H.W. Bush and his decision but it was due to an agreement struck with Daniel Patrick Moynihan to get seven positions filled, some vacant for over 17 months. The Democrats got 2 nominees and the Republicans got 5 nominees. She was one of their two.

I find it more than a bit ironic that those who will protest most loudly over the Sotomayor nomination are those who probably didn't even bother to vote last November. Do you know that if the millions who simply stayed home instead of voting for John McCain, because he wasn't "pure" enough for them, had not put themselves over their own country, we wouldn't have this discussion now? Elections have consequences.

It cannot be said enough - elections have consequences. Today, as the most liberal Democrat works in the White House, socializing everything from the auto industry to our health care system, Republicans want to squawk and complain that some Republicans aren't "conservative" enough. They don't need no stinkin' big tent. They actually think they have some kind of magic authority to demand some be kicked out of the party, as though the Republican party is a private club. These are the same who complain that moderate Republicans are "country club Republicans." Ironic, yes?

Listen to this carefully- in order to win elections, a political party needs the most votes cast. It is as simple as that. The winner gets to make policy decisions. The winner gets to make nominations. The winner wins. Period.

The Republican party is the original big tent party. Did we all forget that? This is the party of Abe Lincoln. This is the party without whom there would have been no Civil Rights Act. This is the party that promotes small business development - the steam engine of our economy. This is the party that stands up for education for poor children trapped in failing schools. This is the party that truly believes in freedom of speech and religion. This is the party that believes in gun rights as a basic tenet from our founding fathers.

So, stop it all already. Liberals are relishing in the distractions of our party's re-building. We need all who would call themselves Republican and those who are Independents, yet identify with the Republicans far more often than Democrats. The up and coming Hispanic vote is ours for the taking. Hispanic families are centered on conservative values.

This is the time to talk of the differences between a GOP nominee and a Democratic nominee. This is the time to talk of judicial activism versus the rule of law. This is the time to talk of our Constitution and not of "empathy". This is the time to point to the fact that those sitting on the Supreme Court due to Republican nominations have compelling "life stories", too. The first woman on the Supreme Court was put there by Ronald Reagan. The first black Secretary of State was for President G.W. Bush. Republicans can point to just as many ground-breaking appointments as Democrats and now is not the time to be muted.

It is well past time for Republicans to be vocal on issues that matter most to voters. Fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, personal responsibility, school choice, freedom of speech, and most importantly - respectful dialogue. That is growing the party. There is no way to win an election with less votes.

Common sense. Purity tests are ludicrous. No one has the right to judge who is and who is not a 'true Republican'. It continues to amaze me that those so adamant against John McCain fail to understand he was a conservative - pro life, never voted for tax hikes, no earmarks, a Reagan Republican. But it wasn't enough. He was labelled not pure enough. And, now we live with the most liberal Democrat ever in the White House. The most pro-abortion, including infanticide, Democrat in the White House. The least friendly to business and employment in the White House.

Continue to shut out people, continue to be small minded and judgemental, and the party continues to shrink. No one says to lose basic party values. The basics that Republicans agree on are all still there. The party is big enough for everyone. Or else, we will be in the wilderness for a very long time.