The Black Republican

John Fund is feeling rather pessemistic today - and he's got me wondering if my agrravation today is being catalyzed by his column or merely reflected in it. My prediction from last month hasn't by a longshot been disproved yet, but establishment Republicans seem to be doing their level best to avenge their submission at the hands of Ronald Reagan upon the conservatives who brought them to the last twelve years of festivities.

A famous advocate of pork-barrel spending, Sen. (Arlen) Specter [RINO - PA] is pushing a plan to spend $7 billion above and beyond Mr. Bush's spending requests for health and education. "The Republican Party is now principally moderate, if not liberal" on spending, Mr. Specter told reporters after a majority of GOP senators voted for his proposals last month.

I've been saying for years that the Democrats had better be mindful of the history of the Republican Party, or they face the possibility of going the way of the Whigs for saying "Me too!" on issues like national defense and middle-class tax cuts. But an honest assessment must concede that at this moment it's the Republicans going whiggish on issues like budget reform and immigration. I'm tempted to say that the party that's going to win the battle of ideologies will be the one that falls apart slowest. Bush Derangement Syndrome may have taken a huge early lead, but RINOplasty is surging quickly.