myerstownherald.com

Former Vice President Dick Cheney finally has provided a voice for the Republican Party. Cheney’s recent vigorous defense of the national security policies of the Bush Administration has been essential to challenge the campaign by President Obama to diminish what his predecessor did to keep the country safe. Cheney has helped keep the conservative view of how to handle national security matters before the public.
Cheney’s effort has been particularly necessary because the Republican Party has been largely leaderless since President Bush’s popularity began a freefall after Hurricane Katrina.
Bush appeared less and less frequently in public to defend his policies on all subjects as his popularity declined. People also may have been less willing to listen to his explanations.
The recent presidential campaign did not produce a clear spokesman for the Republican Party either. None of the Republican candidates for president either galvanized the party’s base or inspired undecided voters.
The nominee, Sen. John McCain, often seemed to be trying to distance himself from the party, rather than embracing it or trying to define its agenda. Since Republicans lost the majority in Congress, they have been unable to effectively oppose the Democrats’ agenda.
While the Republican ship drifted, Barack Obama relentlessly attacked Bush Administration policies during the campaign and after he became president. He advanced the viewpoint that terrorism could be defeated if the United States simply was nicer to countries committed to our destruction and gave greater protection to captured terrorists.
The result of the Republican leadership vacuum and the effective attacks by Obama on the party’s accomplishments in national security is that many good policies implemented by the Bush Administration were not defended. Obama now is trying to undo these policies, including ending tough interrogations of captured terrorists and closing the Guantanamo Bay prison for captured terrorists. Obama has tried to portray tough questioning as ineffective and as torture.
Cheney, whose popularity was even lower than Bush’s, has stepped up to challenge Obama, and he is the only high-profile Republican to defend the party in a meaningful way in a long time.
Cheney does not care about popularity or poll numbers, but he does care about keeping the country safe. He has made the case that valuable information was acquired through tough interrogation and that this interrogation is not torture. He will not convince people who are opposed to these methods, but he has brought important aspects of the national security debate to light.
The Republican Party needs more forceful, vigorous, articulate leaders such as Cheney speaking up for the party’s agenda. These leaders must challenge on Obama on national security and economics. People will be willing to listen if the message is presented in a clear and direct way.