A path forward for Republicans

Ted Cruz (Gage Skidmore)

As the government shutdown goes through its third week, poll after poll indicates that Republicans are taking the brunt of the blame. AsExaminer noted last week, an NBC News/Wall St. Journal poll found approval of the Republican Party at a historic low. Generic congressional polls (summarized on Real Clear Politics), which have been in a dead heat all year, have turned against Republicans since the shutdown. Recent polling shows a consistent advantage for Democratic candidates.

Through it all, Republicans have made no headway in defunding the Affordable Care Act. In fact, the negotiations to reopen the government have shifted toward a new Democratic demand to undo the sequester cuts from last January. The sequester represented a rare GOP victory during the Obama era. It also worked. As Stephen Moore pointed out in theWall St. Journal, the sequester law actually reduced spending and cut the deficit by about half. Removing the sequester’s spending limits would represent a major defeat for Republicans.

The government shutdown also tarnishes the Republican reputation for fiscal responsibility, an area where Republicans polled well before the shutdown. The shutdown is costing an estimated $160 million per day on the conservative side. Higher estimates rise to more than $1 billion per day in lost growth and other factors. To add insult to injury,the House voted last week to give furloughed federal workers their back pay, which means that federal workers will be paid for doing nothing if the Senate passes the bill.

 

Read the rest on Atlanta Conservative Examiner

Rick Santorum: Not just for social conservatives

(Kyle Cassidy/Wikimedia)

Since his surprise victory in the Iowa caucuses, Rick Santorum has been derided a candidate for the social conservatives.  Prominent conservative talk show hosts, such as Atlanta’s Neal Boortz, have declared that social conservatives risk re-electing Obama if they vote for Santorum, assuming that a vote for the former senator is rooted only in a desire to overturn Roe v. Wade and prevent the legalization of same-sex marriage.

In contrast, Santorum seems to be quietly building support among Republicans in states that have yet to vote.  His strong performance in recent debates and his status as the only Republican candidate to avoid going negative against his opponents may be what inspires voters to take a closer look at Santorum, but his conservative principles and detailed policy proposals provide a pleasant surprise.  His blue collar background and the revelation in one debate that he did his own taxes make Santorum seem sensible and approachable in a way that Romney and Gingrich are not.

Read the conclusion on Examiner.com:

http://www.examiner.com/elections-2012-in-atlanta/rick-santorum-not-just-for-social-conservatives