Off With Their Heads!

The GOP leadership, metaphorically-speaking:

This election year, conservatives have been in agreement that the Republican Party has abandoned its principles to maintain its grip on power. The big disagreement has been over whether it would be better for the future of conservatism if Republicans lost the election and learned a lesson, or if they were put back in power, and then urged to change afterward.

Whether Republicans lose handily in next Tuesday's elections or defy the experts and hang on to both chambers by a razor-thin margin, the party will face a choice. They can either remain the party of Washington, or they can once again become the party of limited government. There is one bold move that Republicans can make to signal to conservatives that they are ready to change for the better: make Rep. Mike Pence their House leader.

"I believe that as a movement we have veered off course into the dangerous and uncharted waters of big government Republicanism," Pence is fond of saying, and he should know. The congressman was elected in 2000 along with President Bush and has been witness to the largest expansion of government since the presidency of Lyndon Johnson.

Speaker Dennis Hastert may have publicly vowed to run for his leadership post again, but while it was one thing to stand firm and dismiss calls to resign in the wake of the Mark Foley scandal that broke so close to the election, after nearly eight years of presiding over runaway spending and a scandal-tainted House, he has become part of the Washington establishment. After Tuesday, it will be time for him to go. The House is scheduled to choose its leaders on November 15, but that could change depending on the outcome of the midterm elections (especially if the outcome of some races is still uncertain).

When organizations fail, the buck stops with the leader. Present leadership is never the best choice to reform an organization formed by policies they established.