Republicans Seeking Redemption

The Heritage Foundation hosted Congressman Darrell Issa (R- CA) this past Tuesday as guest-speaker at the Bloggers Briefing. A former CEO and member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Issa has been serving as Ranking Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee for the past four years along with serving on the House Judiciary Committee. Government’s staggering growth, tax policies, and national healthcare were the main points of concern Issa addressed.

Issa continually stressed the need for conservatives in the Republican movement to never lose sight of their principles and always remain level-headed, as so many of the problems in politics is attributable and perpetuated by partisan strife and the double-standards individuals apply. As ranking member of the Government Reform Committee, Issa noted he has “assembled a diverse bipartisan team and group of individuals with a healthy disrespect for government.”

“Government Reform is the conservative committee,” Issa stated, “all the others make laws chipping away at liberty. All we try to do is point out the things hanging out of government’s noses.” When the Congressman was questioned as to how he would respond to the prevailing sentiment and criticism that Republicans had tried but can’t run government, and how or if things would be any different with Republicans in charge, he responded: “You don’t get redemption without confession. Republicans have made many mistakes the past 12 years and government has grown even more. That has been Republicans’ biggest mistake and we have to learn from our mistakes. If we can’t recognize, and bloggers can’t write about mistakes made by Republicans then they’re right— we don’t deserve any credibility.”

According to Issa, grassroots conservatives ought to reiterate the inherent flaws of government involvement and the price for freedom: “…people should be allowed to succeed—and fail. But that’s not to say we don’t believe in safety-nets because there are safety nets to our healthcare system,” Issa noted. Still, as he states on his website, the patient-doctor relationship and accessibility must be protected as “A government takeover of health care would lead to politicians and bureaucrats in Washington making your health decisions for you. They could decide that you were too old for a treatment or that something was too expensive and deny your eligibility.”

With respect to the economy, Issa also made sure to note the unmistakable consequences government overreach can and has had. “The 1995 Clinton home ownership strategy, well-intentioned as it was, is the smoking-gun of the economic collapse, and led to a giant Ponzi scheme” Congressman Issa said. “And some have had enough courage to call Social Security a giant Ponzi scheme,” he continued. He was also careful not to overlook the enabling role Bush has had in the past by “talking about home ownership rather than home affordability.”

But at the core of Congressman Issa’s message was the imperative need for unity and action in the face of the exigent circumstances today. “Medicare is the biggest form of fraud, we are potentially looking at another [Troubled Asset Relief Program] TARP specifically designated just for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, drug prices are tough now but wait until national healthcare. Obamacare doesn’t even address it in his proposed plan,” Issa said. “Why haven’t conservatives put up a united front and engaged more?” Issa inquired, “We are in the fight of our lives, and we should know these things need to be fixed.”

Anthony Kang is an intern at the American Journalism Center, a training program run by Accuracy in Media and Accuracy in Academia.