From Senator Mitch McConnell’s remarks to the Heritage Foundation November 4, 2010. \u00a0Just after the Tea Party delivered the GOP a stunning victory:<\/p>\n
Republicans have a plan for following through on the wishes of the American people. It starts with gratitude and a certain humility for the task we\u2019ve been handed. It means sticking ever more closely to the conservative principles that got us here. It means learning the lessons of history. And, above all, it means listening to the people who sent us here.<\/p>\n
[pullquote]So we renewed our commitment to our core principles \u2014 win, lose, or draw.[\/pullquote]<\/p>\n
While the media was still groping to define the 2008 election, Republicans were taking stock. We knew the principles that had made our party great were the same principles that had made America great, and that if we were going to solve the problems of the day, we would have to embrace and explain those principles, not discard or conceal them. So we renewed our commitment to our core principles \u2014 win, lose, or draw.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s why this, in my view, was the single most important thing Republicans in Congress did to prepare the ground for Tuesday\u2019s election. By sticking together in principled opposition to policies we viewed as harmful, we made it perfectly clear to the American people where we stood. And we gave voters a real choice on Election Day.<\/p>\n
For the past two years, Democrat lawmakers chose to ignore the American people, so on Tuesday the American people chose new lawmakers. They held their elected representatives to account. And they demonstrated to all of us that Constitutional conservatism is alive and well. This isn\u2019t a reason for Republicans to gloat; rather, it\u2019s a time for both parties to realize who\u2019s really in charge \u2014 the people.<\/p>\n
November 4, 2010<\/p>\n
via Republicans \u201cCan and Should\u201d Vote on Repealing ObamaCare Sen. McConnell Tells Heritage Foundation\u00a0|\u00a0NetRight Daily<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
These sentiments now seem a hundred years old, a product of a different time. \u00a0 Remember that? \u00a0Back when the Republicans knew what it took to win and what they were supposed to be working toward. \u00a0And it was not even a year ago. \u00a0Same for John Boehner:<\/p>\n
… reject the spending sprees, the bailouts, the backroom deals, the takeovers and all the nonsense \u2026 and to join your fellow Americans in putting Washington on notice.<\/p>\n
Because for far too long, Washington has been doing what\u2019s best for Washington \u2013 not what\u2019s best for America. \u00a0Tonight, that begins to change.<\/p>\n
With their voices and their votes, the American people are demanding a new way forward in Washington. And I\u2019m here tonight to tell you that our new majority will be prepared to do things differently\u2026 to take a new approach that hasn\u2019t been tried before in Washington \u2013 by either party.<\/p>\n
\n
- It starts with cutting spending instead of increasing it.<\/li>\n
- Reducing the size of government instead of expanding it.<\/li>\n
- Reforming the way Congress works and giving government back to the people.<\/li>\n
- And for all those families asking \u2018where are the jobs?,\u2019 it means ending the uncertainty in our economy and helping small businesses get people back to work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
[…]<\/p>\n
We can celebrate when small businesses are creating jobs again.<\/p>\n
We can celebrate when the spending binge in Washington has stopped.<\/p>\n
And we can celebrate when we have a government that has earned back the trust of the people it serves \u2026 when we have a government that honors our Constitution and stands up for the values that have made America, America: economic freedom, individual liberty, and personal responsibility.<\/p>\n
November 2, 2010<\/p>\n
via\u00a0Boehner Gives Powerful Midterm Elections Victory Speech | POPDECAY<\/a>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Call me naive, but I was seriously banking on the possibility that the STUNNING ELECTORAL VICTORY would have shocked them into candor. \u00a0I guess not. \u00a0I am beyond caring whether Speaker Boehner or Leader McConnell meant what they said at the time–the fact is they have backtracked completely on what were some fundamental, existential points made in these speeches. \u00a0What they both said was completely correct and what they have both done is an immoral betrayal of the promises made in these speeches.<\/p>\n
[pullquote]GOP worthy of neither support nor victory[\/pullquote]<\/p>\n
I have never been, until quite recently, attracted to the internecine warfare which erupts periodically. \u00a0I have been a party man, albeit an angry one at times, because my abiding faith in our system of government has encompassed the two-party system. \u00a0I’m not ready to pitch that yet, but I do feel that we only have one and one-half parties at best. \u00a0We shall have to simply conquer the Republican party or bring it down in the attempt. \u00a0It has proven its worthlessness by fully funding ObamaCare, offering Defense up for unprecedented automatic cuts, and actively, bitterly resisting efforts by conservatives to stiffen its spine. \u00a0We are now so heavily socialized that bad government spending is displacing good government spending.<\/p>\n
The derision and scorn heaped upon the Tea Party and the conservatives we sent to Washington, D.C. are a far cry from the humility and gratitude which were so readily offered, and sounded heartfelt at the time, upon the GOP’s stunned acceptance of a sweeping majority in the House and a resurgence to near parity in the Senate, from a Democrat super-majority everywhere.<\/p>\n
[pullquote]You have lied to us, denounced us, and worked against us. \u00a0You will no longer have our support.[\/pullquote]<\/p>\n
Congratulations, Speaker Boehner. \u00a0Well done, Leader McConnell. \u00a0You have radicalized a significant percentage of your base against you. \u00a0 You have lied to us, denounced us, and worked against us. \u00a0You will no longer have our support. \u00a0Good ideas and legislation which makes sense will always deserve support, and will have it. \u00a0But you have severed your connection with these things. \u00a0If I support you now, it is because you are carrying a football in the proper direction. \u00a0You’re still not getting your contract renewed.<\/p>\n
The bad news will continue to pour in about this miserable debt ceiling debacle. \u00a0Enjoy it, Speaker Boehner, Leader McConnell. \u00a0It’s yours.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\r\n\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div>\r\n \r\n <\/i>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/span>\r\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From Senator Mitch McConnell’s remarks to the Heritage Foundation November 4, 2010. \u00a0Just after the Tea Party delivered the GOP a stunning victory:<\/p>\n
Republicans have a plan for following through on the wishes of the American people. It starts with gratitude and a certain humility for the task we\u2019ve been handed. It means sticking ever more closely to the conservative principles that got us here. It means learning the lessons of history. And, above all, it means listening to the people who sent us here.<\/p>\n
[pullquote]So we renewed our commitment to our core principles \u2014 win, lose, or draw.[\/pullquote]<\/p>\n
While the media was still groping to define the 2008 election, Republicans were taking stock. We knew the principles that had made our party great were the same principles … Continue reading