Opportunity is What I See
A lot of conservatives are nervous because of the large number of Republicans that are retiring from the House and Senate.
With a lot of the Old Guard leaving, I see an opportunity for real anti-amnesty small Gov't Republicans to be elected to those open slots. And that is what the party and America needs, not wish-washy Beltway tainted Republicans that won't listen to it's conservative base.
This is our chance to change Washington for the better, and let's hope it can be done.
Mr Minority
Senate Minority Whip Trent Lott's resignation announcement on Monday was the latest in a wave of retirements to hit congressional Republicans, making an already difficult 2008 electoral landscape even more complicated for the minority party.
Party officials insist that the retirements -- 17 members of the House and six senators -- are simply the result of individual decisions and not indicative of a broader negative sentiment within the party. "I don't hear a drumbeat that 'We're not effective and I don't like it here anymore,' " said National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (Okla.).
But with so many lawmakers -- including a large number from competitive states and districts -- heading for the exits, it's hard not to point to the GOP's newfound minority status in Washington, the turnover in party leadership and the perilous political environment heading into 2008 to explain the exodus.
With a lot of the Old Guard leaving, I see an opportunity for real anti-amnesty small Gov't Republicans to be elected to those open slots. And that is what the party and America needs, not wish-washy Beltway tainted Republicans that won't listen to it's conservative base.
This is our chance to change Washington for the better, and let's hope it can be done.
Mr Minority
