Even Senior Republicans Decry the Death of GOP
Moderation
Deficits and Dysfunction, Peter Peterson, Nixon Administration Commerce
Secretary and Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, New York Times,
6/8/03.
“Among the bedrock principles the Republican Party has stood for since its
origins in the 1850’s is the principle of fiscal stewardship – the idea that
government should invest in posterity and safeguard future generations from
unsustainable liabilities…Over the last quarter century, however, the Grand
Old Party has abandoned these original convictions…Since 2001, the fiscal
strategizing of the party has ascended to a new level of fiscal
irresponsibility. For the first time ever, a Republican leadership in complete
control of our national government is advocating a huge and virtually endless
policy of debt creation…What’s remarkable is how many elected Republicans go
along with the charade.”
Divided by Zealots, Republican Senator Alan K. Simpson, Washington Post,
6/16/03.
“We have these steely-eyed zealots trying to inflict their personal views
on others. They don’t care a whit whether you are with them 90 percent of the
time. They are the 100 percenters, and what really matters to them is that old
10 percent, and they’ll use venom and invective to tear people down. We do
that too many times and it sure turns folks off.”
When Politics Trumps Science, Russell E. Train, Former EPA Administrator,
New York Times, 6/21/03.
“Having served as E.P.A. administrator under both Presidents Nixon and
Ford, I can say categorically that there was never such White House intrusion
[as the Bush Administration’s editing of global warming from an EPA Report]
into the business of the E.P.A during my tenure.”
Those big-government Republicans,
Stephen Moore, "Contract with America" Congressman, San Diego Union-Tribune,
8/5/03.
"It pains me to say this, but the
Republicans in Washington seemingly have forgotten who they are and why voters
sent them to the capital in the first place. Even though we now have GOP
control of the White House, the Senate and the House, the bloated $2.25
trillion federal government has grown more rapidly on President Bush's watch
than it did under President Clinton. What in the world is going on here?
Aren't the Republicans supposed to be the fiscally conscientious, anti-big
government party?...The new $100 billion farm bill is the costliest ever, and
gives many rich farmers $1 million each in handouts."
Christine Todd Whitman, former EPA Administrator in
the Bush Administration, in her book It's My Party Too (Penguin, 2005).
“in recent years, the Republican Party’s reputation as
a steward of the environment has dramatically deteriorated, and the party is
now widely perceived by the American public as downright anti-environment. Our
efforts have been overshadowed by those in the Administration, and in key
leadership roles in Congress, who never seem to miss an opportunity to dismiss
environmental protection as a priority. Rather than forcefully and
consistently making the case for more innovative environmental policies, the
approach in recent years has always been to emphasize instead the party’s
sympathy with the concerns of business. This was made abundantly clear to me
very early in my tenure at EPA when the Administration abruptly reversed
itself in a way that would have serious consequences… a mandatory cap on
carbon dioxide emissions was listed as one of the Bush Campaign’s promises in
a thick notebook titled “Transition 2001,” the official compendium of the
President’s campaign promises, which I was given when I was nominated for the
EPA position…I knew the President was facing considerable pressure, but when
the White House asked me to hold time early the following week to meet with
the President on the issue, I thought I still had a chance to make my case for
keeping his pledge. But as soon as I sat down, I realized that I wasn’t there
to state my case – I was there to be told that he had decided to reverse
himself…By stating that carbon dioxide was not a pollutant, he had issued a
stronger repudiation of his campaign position than Hagel and his allies had
expected….I believe that the party that succeeds in truly presenting a
sensible, moderate position on the environment stands to reap significant
policy gains and political rewards. The Republican Party has the heritage and
the record over the last four decades to make it the logical party to do so.
What remains unclear is whether it has the vision and the will to move away
from the extreme anti-environmentalist posture it has assumed in an effort to
solidify its “base.” It’s a challenge the moderates must address. To cede the
battle for environmental protection to the anti-regulatory lobbyists and
extreme anti-government ideologues is to ignore our obligation as stewards of
the environment for ourselves, our children and grandchildren.”
