Posted by
davecatbone on Thursday, March 19, 2009 4:23:50 AM
I live on Cincinnati’s West Side, in one of the oldest neighborhoods in the city, called Westwood. A working class neighborhood tucked up in the Western Hills, it’s filled with 1930’s style German and Dutch style architecture. Once a conservative stronghold, Westwood is now a transitional area and a swing district. I recently had the opportunity to sit down and and speak with former
Congressman Steve Chabot (R) from Cincinnati’s 1st district following his speech at the Cincinnati Tea Party on March 15, 2009. Even with a record of strict fiscal and social conservatism, Steve lost his last election bid after serving from 1995 to 2009, to Democrat Steve Driehaus in the Obama wave of Hope and Change® that swept many Republicans from office,.
Several issues came up during our discussion that I’d like to share with you.
On the issue of
changing the GOP primary rules to avoid letting non Republicans choose the candidate for the party, he is open to it, and thought it was a good idea worth exploring.
I think it’s the only way to avoid having another McCain thrust upon us.
On the issue of earmarks, Steve feels that since the money will not be returned to the Treasury if a Congressman doesn’t ask for it, and would be letting his constituents down if he let it go elsewhere.
But he would also stand together with the GOP if it decided as a party to swear off earmarks completely. I said this is a golden opportunity for the GOP to become the party of fiscal responsibility, and many feel
they are blowing it.
On the issue of GOP leadership, Congressman Chabot doesn’t see any real leader currently, and furthermore sees no charismatic up and comer drawing attention anywhere. But he feels, that’s not the point right now. He reminded me Churchill was an unpopular politician until
the times he lived in made him great. We should have a doozy of a leader pretty soon, eh?
I asked Steve how many calls need to come into a Congressional office to make a difference on an issue. He looked me straight in the eyes and said,
“one”. My skeptical glance lead him to explain how Congressional staffs go over all the incoming calls and mail and discuss them, looking for organized pushes, automated systems and trying to get a sense of what’s real.
On the Republican party, Steve disagrees with moving the party to the Middle and compromising on social issues to appeal to the Moderates. He feels it’s better to
hold consistent values and beliefs, and try to find the common ground with those who disagree with you.
When I asked
where we can look for hope, when the
Democrats are trying to change us to a Socialist nation, when the
Moderate Middle is easily swayed by populist rhetoric, when the
GOP compromises it’s values and beliefs and when the
Mainstream Media gives up journalism to promote the Liberal Agenda,, he replied, really, it’s is in the American people. In the end, they always get it right, even though it’s often a difficult mess and arduous task. People need to talk to each other, to reach out to the neighbors who may be Moderates.
There’s no magic button, no second coming of Ronald Reagan. It really is up to us now.
Steve Chabot