As one time, I would have gladly and eagerly voted for Colin Powell as the President of the United States. I still have two Colin Powell for President pins in my top right desk drawer.

But I have reconsidered my opinion …

One, I believe that Colin Powell is embarking on a transformational rehabilitation routine to distance himself from the Bush Administration which almost destroyed his public image with his testimony before the United Nations on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction.

Two, I believe Colin Powell deserted the Republican Party and its nominee John McCain to support Barack Obama for the Presidency. He did this to gain popular support and I have great difficultly believing he did it honestly on the candidate’s qualifications and not simply a racial decision. Especially since McCain was a democrat-loving, aisle-hopping liberal Republican as opposed to a conservative hard-liner. By this token, Powell should have openly embraced McCain and his legislative legacy: McCain-Feingold, McCain-Kennedy and McCain-Lieberman, etc..

Three, I believe that Colin Powell’s prescription for the Republican Party is wrong-headed as it produces a party position that is substantially the same as that of the democrat party. Thus turning the electoral process into a popularity contest rather than a contest of life-affirming important issues.

CNSNews.com is reporting …

“Colin Powell: GOP Needs to Stop Listening to ‘Diktats’ from ‘Right-Wing of the Party’”

“Gen. Colin Powell, who was appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff by President George H.W. Bush and secretary of State by the President George W. Bush, said yesterday the Republican Party needs to stop being controlled by the ‘right wing’ if it is going to expand and becoming a viable national party again.

To my way of thinking, the Republican Party needs to clearly and unequivocally state their platform and invite those who support that platform to join them in righting our foundering ship of state.

Powell’s expression that the Republican Party is not a viable national party is dead wrong. While the Republicans may not have a central spokesman to articulate the still-forming platform, it is my belief that we really don’t need one this exact second. President Obama is doing so much to screw up the nation with his far-left political ideology, that eventually the people will become dissatisfied with his leadership and seek out any party which articulates a coherent, common-sense platform and presents a viable candidate.

“Powell said on CBS’s ‘Face the Nation’ that he is still a Republican and that until he voted for President Obama in last November’s election he had voted for Republicans in each presidential election starting with the presidential election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. Powell also said he voted for John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter for president, but he did not say on the program whether he voted for Richard Nixon or his Demcratic opponents, Hubert Humphrey or George McGovern.”

Lyndon Johnson, Jimmy Carter – some Republican. Sounds more like an opportunist rather than a committed Republican!

“In responding to criticism he has received from former Vice President Dick Cheney and radio host Rush Limbaugh, Powell told Face the Nation moderator Bob Schieffer that some Republican conservatives consider him “too moderate.”

Moderate? I don’t think so! Independent, maybe. Republican, doubtful!

“He said his response to that is that the GOP should be ‘more inclusive.’”

“ ‘What the concern about me is, well, is he too moderate?’ said Powell. “’ have always felt that the Republican Party should be more inclusive than it generally has been over the years. And I believe we need a strong Republican Party that is not just anchored in the base but has built on the base to include more individuals. And if we don't do that, if we don't reach out more, the party is going to be sitting on a very, very narrow base.’”

Considering that the Republican Party has welcomed diversity in the people who have decided to support the Republican platform, what I think Colin Powell meant is not “inclusive” but more “accommodative” of center- and center-left opinions.

“Powell said he believes it is time for the Republican Party to stop listening to ‘diktats’ that come down from the right wing of the party.”

As far as I know, the two most contentious platform items in the Republican party are abortion and illegal immigration.

Supporting human life over the casual abandonment of the pre-cursor to life, the embryo. Which also gives rise to some reluctance to conduct certain types of stem cell research. Research, I might add, that I support whole heartedly as a potential cure for disease.

And as for illegal aliens, I believe we need to enforce our sovereignty by strengthening our borders and to develop a rational immigration policy which does not allow for the import of illiteracy, poverty, unskilled people and people without language skills to flow into the country – with the likelihood that they will not assimilate into our culture and present a picture of loyalty to a foreign sovereign state. I have articulated in other blog entries my common-sense program of dealing with illegal aliens that are now in the United States, without granting them citizenship and, additionally, insuring that children born in the United States assume the nationality of their parents as done in most of the civilized world.

Powell’s prescription …

“ ‘You can only do two things with a base. You can sit on it and watch the world go by, or you can build on the base,’ said Powell. ‘And I believe we should build on the base because the nation needs two parties, two parties debating each other. But what we have to do is debate and define who we are and what we are and not just listen to diktats that come down from the right wing of the party.’"

Powell is a skilled politician and knows that the debate and definition of a platform will not be, as he says, inclusive as it will not pander to centrists, moderates, middle-of-the-roaders who will demand fiscal conservatism, but expanded social programs. Often mutually incompatible as one needs to fund social programs from increased taxes.

“Powell said the Republican Party has been losing people in all parts of the country, and that he is concerned the party is moving too far ‘to the right’ and thus may be surrendering even the ‘right-of-center’ to independents and Democrats.”

I wonder if General Powell has noticed that we have a government who has moved so far to the left, that those who proclaim they are slightly right-of-center are in actuality democrats and independents due to their desire for increased social spending.

“ ‘A Gallup poll had a series of indicators. And in almost every demographic indicator, the Republican Party is losing-north, south, east, west, men, women, whites, blacks, Hispanics,’ said Powell. ‘And I think the Republican Party has to take a hard look at itself and decide, what kind of party are we? Are we simply moving further to the right, and by so doing opening up the right-of-center and the center to be taken over by independents and to be taken over by Democrats?’ Powell said he believes that even ‘right-of-center’ Republicans are ‘concerned about the right-wing.’”

Truth be told, the dissatisfaction arises from the fact that both parties, democrats and Republicans have sold the American people out. The democrats with their obstructionism, hyper-politicalization and profligate spending on far-left social programs. And the Republicans with their obstructionism, hyper-politicalization and profligate spending on programs benefiting special interests. I can hardly blame any citizen for abandoning their party and assuming an independent or third-party stance.

“ ‘And if you look at the other statistics that is around these days and the number of people identifying themselves as Republicans has dropped significantly, into the low 20s, and among those low 20s, they're not all conservatives,’ said Powell. ‘A lot of them are fairly moderate or right-of-center Republicans who are concerned about the right wing. And they're not that vocal about it, because if you are vocal, you're going to get your voice mail filled up and you're going to get lots of emails, like I did.’”

Considering the vituperation heaped on anyone identifying themselves as a Republican, who can blame them for their silence? The way back is to posit a solid platform of fiscal conservatism, capitalism and rational private sector solutions to public problems. Dumping unnecessary spending and get on with the task of repairing and replacing our crumbling infrastructure. Perhaps funding initiatives with money that is building schools, firehouses and roads in Iraq instead of the United States. Withdrawing troops from Korea, Japan, Kosovo and demanding that United Nations’ Peace Keepers do their job. We are willing to contribute, but not 95%.

Bottom line …

Colin Powell brings the Republican Party nothing but admonishment and a suggestion of accommodation. I would have more respect had he presented a full platform (like Newt Gingrich) and worked to strengthen the Republican Party than appear to suck-up to President Obama, possibly in return for a cushy career-rehabilitating appointment.

-- steve

Reference Links …

CNSNews.com - Colin Powell: GOP Needs to Stop Listening to ‘Diktats’ from ‘Right-Wing of the Party’

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