A House Divided is Good?

One of the interesting items which occurred during the vote in the Senate to stop the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling was the surprise appearance of the Senate stenograhper at the microphone. She took the mike and began to decry the vote by shouting about the Freemasons and the Constitution and then quoted the Bible verse, “A house divided cannot stand.”

What I found fascinating was that this woman unitentionally stated the current condition of the Republican party especially in the Senate. I saw this division commented on in news programs both before and after the agreement was reached. Commentators from the right and left were both saying how this war among Republicans was a very bad thing for the party. I suggest this is not necessarily the case.

First of all, an examination of the groups within the GOP is in order. One group is popularly known as the “Establishment” Republicans. They are the members of Congress who have been in office the longest and were elected prior to the 2010 mid-term elections. They are characterized by Senator John McCain and those like him. They believe that in politics you must “go along to get along.” They continually give in and compromise to the opposition so as not to offend anyone else and maintain party power in Washington. In other words, the priority of the Establishment GOP is the maintaining of political power for themselves.

The second group in the GOP are known as the “Tea Party” Republicans. They basically came into existence with the 2010 mid-term election victories. They are represented by people such as Rand Paul and Ted Cruz, both of recent filibuster fame. This group is excoriated repeatedly by the main stream media, the Democratic Party and the Establishment GOP as those who cause division and stir up trouble on Capitol Hill. Which is exactly what they do. However, contrary to their opposition, they act because of the ideal that our nation is a Constitutional Republic and should therefore be both morally and fiscally conservative. In other words, the priority of the Tea Party fealty to our founding document and principles of freedom which inspired it. That priority is what they have remained loyal to no matter the vitriol thrown their way.

Democrats suffer no such division. Those on the left are united behind their leader, President Obama. And President Obama is very much a commited zealot to, as he himself put it, the “fundamental transformation of America.” I maintained as long ago as the primaries for the 2008 nomination, this was the one statement then candidate Obama made everyone should believe and beware of, because Obama believes it himself. His actions demonstrate that he is sold out to an ideal of a Socialist state with at least Muslim leanings. He and those with him will never compromise anything unless it furthers his cause.

This appears very bad for the Republicans, however in truth, it is only bad for the Establishment GOP. They are used to politcal battles. They know how to fight for political gain with compromise. They do not know that to win against those committed to a cause, you must be more committed to the rightness of your cause. History has demonstrated this time and time again. WWII and the Cold War were examples of such.

That’s why the Establishment GOP is in big trouble, and why the Tea Party Republicans have hope of victory. Tea Party Republicans hold fast to an ideal of freedom not unlike the Allies in WWII and the West during the Cold War. Establishment Republicans only seek political survival. No one outside party loyalists is inspired to commit to the non-ideal of simply gaining political power. Unless the Establishment types convert to the ideals of the Tea Party, they will continue to lose and eventually cease to exist as even a political force. Money may prop them up for a while, but sooner or later they will fade away, and I would say good riddance. In a war for freedom against “fundamental transformation” to socialist servitude, there is no place for fear and the compromise politics resulting from it. In this case “a house divided” is a good thing for it forces the power mongers to change or leave as long as we who fight for the right ideal of freedom stay the course. The result is a stronger and more effective political force that can fight and prevail against the left.