Where is the Republican Party these days?

The only clear fact that I see in the political spectrum today is that the Democrats are simply getting further left and socialist. If you look at what they do (which always contradicts what they say) its easy to see where they fall on the issues.

But what about our party, the Grand Old Party. What has become of them? The words Republican and Conservative always went hand in hand (at least as far back as I remember) but it seems that the current Republican party has followed the Democratic lead and moved left as well.

Granted, the GOP is still far right of the liberals, but they are just as far left of the ideals of Ronald Reagan. "We" had 2 completely unfettered years of controlling both sides of congress and the Whitehouse but what happened?

Spending is up. Abortion laws haven't changed all that much, taxes are still WAY to high, people are still being taxed on their productivity (a moral crime if nothing else). Billions are still being wasted on fraudulent welfare roles, Social Security is still a bad pipe dream (anyone over 40 really think they'll see a dime of it?) and now our Nation's leader is no more interested in stopping illegal immigration that king clinton was about doing anything involved with moral integrity.

I'm not placing these problems at the feet of the President, as clearly most of the liberal spending problems come from congress, but why did Mr. Bush not veto a single bill for nearly 5 years in office? There were some seriously troublesome bills that passed his desk with far too much pork. (any pork is too much) so why did he not send some of those bills back to get fixed?

Everyone knows the tax breaks were the single biggest reason our economy didn't tank after the clinton years. Every national and financial event that happened from his last year in office up the day after the WTC attacks should have caused massive economic upheaval in the USA. Save mostly for President Bush's tax cuts, the economy and consumer confidence weathered storm after storm. So why didn't the Republican lead congress make those cuts permanent when they had the chance to do so?

It appears (and I have nothing to factually back this up with) that our GOP elected officials are more interested in "fitting in" than they are doing the people's business. Rather than accepting the fact that Conservative ideals are different than liberal ones, they've chosen time and again to take the road of appeasement. This approach has failed over and over again yet it seems to be the only play in their book now. They want "everyone to like us". Bull Shit! There are very serious problems facing our nation and our world. I really don't care how the rest of the world views us. I believe that true conservative ideas are the best methods to fixing what can be fixed in the world today.

Less government, secure boarders, dictators that quiver at what might happen to them if they step out of line, NO TAXES ON PRODUCTIVITY, tax only for the amount needed to run an efficient government. Let the States, local governments, and people care for those in need (not federal hand-out programs). Put the power for education back in the hands of the local communities (ban the NEA and take the IRS with you!). These are the things real republicans stand for. These are the ideas we need championed in Washington. These are the methods that will return some sense of civility and safety to the world.

Has the GOP left the station? I think so. There are a few potential candidates running under the Republican banner, but so long as we keep putting these moderates back in office, a single conservative or two will never be able to change things. We need to start at the top though. Even with the troubles President Reagan had with a democratic congress, he was able to get his vision implemented. His number one priority for decades had been the defeat of the Soviet Union and he accomplished that.

Perhaps if another visionary would emerge, the GOP could swing their bloated boat around and start heading right again, but I'm afraid this new leader hasn't shown himself yet. If nobody steps forward soon, I think we're in for a long up-hill battle under the flag of a new party. The political spectrum could very well become a 3-party world with the wacko's on the left (we already know who they are), the current Republicans in the left-center, and a moral, honest party holding up the right.

It will probably take many decades, but I pray that if the Lord doesn't come before then, that my children will have better leadership when they're my age.