"The Republican majority 105th Congress stands as a great disappointment to the people who elected it."
Conservatives have been betrayed by the current Congress, say the editors at Human Events. In a blistering front-page editorial, the national conservative weekly skewers the Republican Congress for having "increased government to a record size" and for even considering "the biggest tax increase (targeted on tobacco) in the history of the republic." Human Events chastises Republicans for having done "little to advance the cause of social conservatives. It has all but groveled before President Clinton because of his high ratings in the polls," the paper complains. Receiving special censure, however, is Republican reticence in investigating "perhaps the greatest scandal in our national history -- the question of whether the government of China provided illegal contributions to the President of the United States with the President's complicity."
Human Events recommends several steps the Republican majority should take to redeem itself. First, it should "return every penny of the surplus to the American people in the form of a long-overdue tax cut" and slash the federal budget by a like amount to reduce the national debt. Republicans should also push for abolition of the tax code and an end to Most Favored Nation status for China. "China has emerged as the greatest threat to U.S. security in the 21st Century," the paper warns, and it is folly to "bolster the economy and the military-industrial complex" of such a formidable potential enemy. Delaying the launching of a strategic missile defense is also unconscionable.
Human Events advises Republicans to block all funding for abortion, all funding for the alleged U.S. debt to the United Nations, and all funding for the International Monetary Fund. "The Mexican bailout of 1995 established a precedent in which middle-class American taxpayers are expected to bail out multinational banks for making stupid loans to corrupt Third World regimes," the paper observes. "The foreign aid is funneled through the International Monetary Fund, removing it from U.S. congressional oversight, and eroding the sovereignty of the United States. Conditions the IMF puts on its loans often weaken recipient countries' economies rather than strengthening them."
Human Events also recommends block-granting federal education funds back to the states, scuttling the disingenuous tobacco deal, and initiating the privatization of Social Security. "Social Security is a ripoff," the editors explain. "It is stealing the wealth and freedom of the American people. Virtually any American worker who saved the equivalent of the Social Security tax in the stock market could retire a millionaire -- and never be dependent on the government for his sustenance."
Finally, Human Events urges the Republican majority to initiate impeachment proceedings. "Evidence strongly suggests that the President repeatedly perjured himself, and that he also suborned perjury and obstructed justice," the paper observes, noting that Congress has a "constitutional duty" to investigate. In point of fact, Congress has a constitutional duty to do all of the things Human Events recommends. But since when do Congressmen -- Republican or otherwise -- care about the Constitution?
