Winning: A Lost Strategy

Whatever happened to the will and desire to win. We exhibit those traits at our sports events, but certainly not in the political arena.

This small tribute to Jesse Helms celebrates his conservatism. Jesse was not interested in compromising just for the sake of political gain. He had his principles and whether you agreed with him or not, he could be reliable in the way he dealt with an issue. A proponent of smaller, less oppressive government and individual freedom were his hallmark. He presented his issues with backbone and stuck to his guns to either win or lose. No compromises for Jesse! Other than Ted Kennedy, I cannot think of another with the determination to see his point of view prevail. That mindset is sorely missed today. God speed Jesse, may you come to rest in Conservative heaven.

I cringe whenever I hear the word compromise. No matter if the issue is Republican or Democratic, the spirit and terms of the issue should remain intact. But the process of 'compromise' waters down any hope of letting an issue stand or fall on its merits. Compromise is one of the ways that both sides buy into an idea. It is a way of spreading the blame so that neither party is injured if bad or that both sides can take credit for if the idea is a success.

The problem with the compromising is that we never get to test the issue as first proposed. Sometimes poison pills are inserted into legislation that has the appearance of being a good idea if it appears that one side or the other will be able to claim success. Either way, the American people are cheated out of being able to judge whether their Congressman or Senator is a winner, loser, or just another ambitious politician.

The whole idea of compromises by today's standard are designed to help incumbents win re-election.

Cheers,

-Robert-