My Representative Speaks for Me

I am very proud to say that my representative is Jeff Flake. He was one of a few Reps yesterday who had no cause for concern (he won 62 - 35). An editorial from him was published in the Washington Post this morning. I've included it below. I think Jeff would be a great House minority leader moving forward. It will be interesting to see how the shake up goes.

A Way Out of the Wilderness
Well, we Republicans have just made history.
Not the type of history we wanted to make, mind you, but history nonetheless.
Not only did we lose the White House but, after losing our House and Senate
majorities in 2006, we followed it up last night with even steeper losses in
Congress.In January, Democrats will enjoy lopsided congressional ratios not seen
since the 1970s. Let's face it: We Republicans are now, by any reasonable
measurement, deep in the political wilderness.The temptation for Republican
members of Congress today will be to assume the role of the post-Watergate
Republicans of 1974 and accept minority status as a permanent condition. Indeed,
the terrain is more difficult for us now than it was in 1992. Then,
Republicanism was still largely defined by the Reagan years. Today the party is
defined in the public mind by the Bush presidency. We've got a steep hill to
climb.Much of the backroom maneuvering and media speculation in the coming weeks
will focus on identifying new standard-bearers for the party. This is important,
and after a second straight drubbing, the House Republican leadership should be
replaced. But the far more critical task is determining what standard these new
leaders will bear.I suggest that we return to first principles. At the top of
that list has to be a recommitment to limited government. After eight years of
profligate spending and soaring deficits, voters can be forgiven for not knowing
that limited government has long been the first article of faith for
Republicans.Of course, it's not the level of spending that gets the most
attention; it's the manner in which the spending is allocated. The proliferation
of earmarks is largely a product of the Gingrich-DeLay years, and it's no
surprise that some of the most ardent practitioners were earmarked by the voters
for retirement yesterday. Few Americans will take seriously Republican speeches
on limited government if we Republicans can't wean ourselves from this insidious
practice. But if we can go clean, it will offer a stark contrast to the
Democrats, who, after two years in training, already have their own earmark
favor factory running at full tilt.Second, we need to recommit to our belief in
economic freedom. Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations" may be on the discount
rack this year, but the free market is still the most efficient means to
allocate capital and human resources in an economy, and Americans know it. Now
that we've inserted government deeply into the private sector by bailing out
banks and businesses, the temptation will be for government to overstay its
welcome and force the distribution of resources to serve political ends.
Substituting political for economic incentives is not the recipe for economic
recovery.Most House Republicans opposed the recent bailout and will be in a
strong position to promote economic freedom over central planning as the Obama
administration stumbles from industry to industry trying to determine which is
small enough to be allowed to fail and which is not. Since timetables will be in
vogue, perhaps Republicans could even insist on a timetable for getting the
government out of the private sector.There are, of course, other pillars of the
Republican standard -- strong national defense, support for traditional values
and the Second Amendment -- but these are not areas where voters question
Republican bona fides. In any event, as we have seen over the past several
months, economic woes tend to subsume other concerns. We shouldn't complain. We
can now play our strongest hand.In some respects, raising a new standard was
made easier by yesterday's rout. The Republican Party is not bound by
election-year promises made by its presidential nominee. More important, the
party is finally untethered from the ill-fitting and unworkable big-government
conservatism that defined the Bush administration.This is not to say that it
will be an easy transition. Congressional Republicans picked up some
unattractive habits over the years in an effort to hold on to power. Whether it
was relying on the redistricting process to help us choose our constituents,
using the appropriations process as an ATM or passing legislation -- such as a
generous prescription drug benefit and a bloated farm bill -- to pacify
individual constituencies, these habits and voting patterns will be hard to
break.But there is reason for Republicans to feel optimism. Politically, America
remains a center-right country, and America loves a chastened and repentant
sinner. As surely as the sun rises in the east, the Democrats will overreach.As
long as we Republicans are willing to admit our folly, get back to first
principles and work like there's no tomorrow, we've got 'em just where we want
'em.