1994 All Over Again? Possibly.

A guest editorial by my former Congressman, the Honorable George Nethercutt, Jr., appeared on Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal's OpinionJournal.com.

Mr. Nethercutt's piece was titled Pelosi's No Gingrich and focuses on the differences between the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress---the mood of the voters' then---and why the political climate is different today. It is an interesting editorial.

Here are some excerpts:

Some political pundits are speculating that the Democrats are poised to retake control of the House of Representatives this fall, much like the GOP did in 1994, when it dramatically ended 40 years of Democratic control. As a proud member of 1994's "New Majority" Republican class in the House, I understand the historic dimensions of that victory and the dynamics that made it possible. I also know why neither will apply to the elections in November. Those who predict a Democratic takeover of the House are wrong--but maybe by just a couple of years.
[. . .]
The excitement and promise of 1994 could happen again. An aggressive ideas agenda is not just within the purview of the minority party. It is an imperative of the majority if it is to deserve the majority. So my friends in the majority should publicly take on issues the public cares about, like a spiraling federal budget deficit, a huge and growing federal government bureaucracy, fair and rational entitlement reform, and an unnecessarily complicated and burdensome tax system.

There are a whole myriad of other opportunities, large and small: Americans are waiting for someone to take on the challenges of an international energy situation that potentially leaves our economy and maybe even our security at risk. Or how about smaller but important things, like tweaking the unintended burdens of Sarbanes-Oxley on small-business owners? American voters will warm to leadership based on any of these issues. But so far we're hearing nothing.

I was quite excited to see Mr. Nethercutt's editorial, as I volunteered a lot for his 2004 Senate Campaign against icky Patty Murray. He was, unfortunately, not victorious, but I hope he will continue to participate in shaping this country. Hopefully the Republicans in the Majority will pay attention to his words. They are in danger of losing this country if they don't start acting like Conservatives, rather than R.I.N.O.s.

We the People won't put up with two parties of big spenders, who don't listen to what we say. I know I am exceedingly weary of it.

Case in point:

My current Congresswoman, Cathy McMorris, who ran for George Nethercutt's seat when he gave it up to run for the Senate, doesn't seem to understand that we don't want Amnesty for illegal aliens, and nor do we want to allow more people to come into this country and stay illegally. This is from the Washington State Republican Party e-mail newsletter:

Congresswoman McMorris Shows Leadership on the Impact of Guest Worker Programs

On July 20, 2006, Congresswoman Cathy McMorris (WA-05) chaired an important Education and Workforce Committee hearing that focused broadly on the impact of guest worker programs on the U.S. workforce. Rep. McMorris focused on the need for a temporary legal agriculture workforce and the impact of the prevailing wage provisions that were included in the Senate-passed immigration bill.

Rep. McMorris said,"The witnesses at the hearing highlighted the complex issues involved with implementing an effective guest worker program and we will to continue to examine this issue further. We need to find a way for people who want to come into this country to work on a temporary basis to do so legally and then return home. The agriculture industry in Eastern Washington is facing worker shortages and we need to find a way for them to have a legal labor force to meet their seasonal needs. This includes having a better verification system for employers to use that keeps our nation secure without impeding the economic livelihood of our agricultural economy."

What need? We don't need to bring in foreigners to do our work. We just need to get lazy Americans off welfare and into the jobs that President Bush and the Amnesty Crowd say "Americans won't do." What a perfect opportunity to pair jobs that need to be filled with people who need jobs to repay the American People for our generosity.

Of course, the Republican Party might just ignore us and continue on the Amnesty-bricked road, but that would be to the detriment of the Republican Party and the United States. I am not very optimistic.

All I can say is: Say No to a Speaker Pelosi!

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