Colin Powell to Dick Cheney: I’m a Republican, Deal With It.
General Colin Powell finally broke his silence Sunday on national TV, telling Dick Cheney: “I am still a Republican.”
In an interview on CBS Face the Nation, Powell also pushed aside the insular crowd who claim the Republican Party as their own, saying that Cheney or Rush Limbaugh are not “members of the membership committee of the Republican Party. I get to make my decision on that.”
Take that, boys!
As I have written before, the Republican Party has one way back into power and that is to bring together a coalition of conservatives and moderates — and return to the Ronald Reagan Big Tent . This party is like an open evite invitation: Come one, come all. The only fee for entrance to the party is BYOB, Bring Your Own Brain. The GOP does not need mind-meld; we need fresh ideas and an open debate.
“I think the Republican Party has to take a hard look at itself and decide what kind of party are we?” Powell asked on CBS . “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?”
I have worked for politicians in every corner of the Republican Party: a liberal northeast Republican, Rick Lazio, an arch-conservative Christian, Tom DeLay, and a moderate pragmatist, Colin Powell. My belief as a staffer and as a voter is that I will never find one person with whom I agree on all the issues, but compromise and coalition-building are more important for governing.
Furthermore, I strongly believe that the essence of the values and policies of the Republican Party platform are more in line with American family values than the Democratic Party platform. Our problem has not been with our policies. Our problem is in our message and how we packaged our policies. If you look at polls on policy, rather than on political identification, Republican policies and the personal beliefs of Americans match up well.
Interestingly, we learned in the interview that Colin Powell continues to advise Obama privately on foreign policy, which he had done during the campaign. President Obama also said this weekend that he talks to President Bush (43) privately as well. As an American, it’s positive to hear that the president is open to private debate on the issues, and that the partisan mud-slinging the public sees on cable TV does not reflect what goes on behind closed doors in the Oval Office.
As for the Guantanamo debate, the stalemate continues as Powell points out that neither Bush nor Obama has figured out the fine details of how to legally close the prison while keeping the bad guys locked up securely. (Powell rightly stated that the debate over whether it is safe to put the terrorists in American super-max prisons is absurd. The issue is just a diversion to scare the public.Does anyone really think that a terrorist could escape a 24-hour lockdown prison? Or do you think they could escape and be out long enough to put together and detonate a bomb?)
Powell also finally explained his remarks about wanting more government, which Rush Limbaugh (or as Powell calls him, “Mr. Lim-BOW”) has repeated incessantly on his radio show. Powell said that “there is a need for government. What the American people want not just slogans, limited government. They want effective government.” He referenced FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, bank bailouts and other Republican initiated government programs to demonstrate the American people want “government that works and just as much as we need. But if we need it, let’s have it.”
I think one of the central reasons we lost power in the House and Senate is because the GOP lost its bearings on government spending and size. According to Powell, “Republicans have not cut much government even though talk about limited government and cutting government.”.
Government grows like mold; once it is in the wall, it does not stop until it has seeped into every crevice of your house.
Republicans, let’s admit we are to blame for not staying true to our principals by allowing government to grow exponentially on our watch. We got carried away after the unprecedented domestic terrorist attack on 9/11 and panicked when the financial system crashed like not seen in generations.
But now, with rational thought and space to think, we can propose an agenda to scale back these programs and give the American people back the power and tax dollars which they have lost to Washington. This is the time for us to campaign on scaling back these big new government agencies, bailouts and programs to what is actually still necessary and efficient.
Finally, on this Memorial Day weekend, as I watched, tweeted, read and wrote about this political debate, I was forced by Gen. Powell’s words to stop and remember that, in the end, we are all Americans. We are blessed to live in freedom and peace on our own shores. We are grateful to the men and women fighting for us in Iraq and Afghanistan and for all those veterans who fought in wars past for America.
General Powell is an American hero. He has served his country and fought for our freedom for his entire life – as a soldier and public servant. So, I end this column with his words today to remember what is really important this weekend:
“This is a time when we reflect on the privilege we have had as citizens to have had other citizens willing to put their lives on the line. And so let’s remember all of those who served their nation. Remember their families. And remember those who were injured and are still with us. And there will be another wonderful Memorial Day concert this evening on the West Lawn of the Capitol. And I will be there with a number of other people to celebrate the sacrifice of our young men and women, especially those who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan today. They are also a greatest generation.”
