“Socialism on Trial” Will Necessitate Republican Defendants

About the direction the Republican Party should take, Craig Shirley said:

“The 2008 campaign was never an honest choice between conservatism and liberalism. Really, it was just a referendum on George Bush,” said Craig Shirley, a consultant and author of a forthcoming book on the 1980 presidential campaign.

Shirley thinks equating Democratic values with socialism is a formula for victory. “What Republicans want to do and need to do is put socialism on trial,” he said.

“Socialism has been a conservative talking point since the late 1880s,” one House GOP aide added.

“As a populist anti-Washington party, we’ve always done best,” Shirley continued.

Being out of power allows Republicans to explore a populist side they were unable to with the previous administration.

While I certainly don’t agree with many other items on the GOP agenda, I found this advice sage enough to try to convince members of the right to heed Shirley’s words.  However, if socialism is to be placed on trial, we should probably take a quick peek at who some of the indicted co-conspirators will be:

Former President George W. Bush

Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin

Governor Mike Huckabee

Governor Bob Riley

A sizable stack of GOP governors

A probable stack of GOP senators

Mind you, this is just a very short list.  For example, one would need to look carefully at each and every Republican legislator who voted for any of Bush’s bloated spending packages.  When John McCain referred to Barack Obama as a socialist, most libertarians I know just laughed.  As the old saying goes, “It takes one to know one.”

H/T to The Other McCain