2009 Agenda

Peter Kirsanow on The Corner:

Senator McCain is an American hero, a remarkable man. I can think of few I respect more. But he's likely to be the first to be leading the charge toward bipartisanship. This would be a mistake of galactic proportions. This must be resisted.

It's all well and good for Republicans to congratulate Obama today, and on Inauguration Day. The GOP shouldn't oppose merely for the sake of opposition. But if they were paying any attention to what Obama, Pelosi, Reid, Rangel, Schumer, etc, have been saying over the last year, they should realize that on the major issues of the day, liberals are determined to take the nation down a hard left path that will, in the words of Obama, "fundamentally transform" America. . .

For those inclined to make nice, which of the following Democratic agenda items are you prepared to sign on to so that you'll get invited to the right parties?

• Employee Free Choice Act


• Fairness Doctrine


• Freedom of Choice Act


• Nationalization of health care


• Estate tax increases


• "Comprehensive Immigration Reform" (driver's licenses for illegals)


• Capital gains tax increases


• Defense cuts


• Liberal judicial appointments


• Racial and ethnic preferences


• Income tax increases


• Bans on oil drilling


• Global poverty tax/Kyoto

These are but a few. Perhaps the most worrisome agenda items are those that will betray a fecklessness in foreign policy that could lead to a nuclear Iran, a vulnerable Israel, an imperial Russia, and an imploding Pakistan.

In addition to being wrong, I note that McCain's bi-partisan "liberal" positions (immigration, campaign finance, climate change, judicial confirmation) didn't make him electable. Ross Bouthat asks about the sort of electorate to which Republicans should be appealing.

See also Tim Ferguson's Forbes piece: "The Battle Ahead For The Individualist Right", and Reason's Nick Gillespie's: "Three Predictions for Obama's America".

(via Instapundit, The Corner)