For the Republicans: What to Do Now?

This article first appeared on Eagle Rising.


Now that the Republicans have captured the Senate and increased their hold on the House of Representatives, the question is, what do they do now? In addition, what is their mandate from the voters (according to President Obama, the one-third who voted)? Is it to stop the Obama agenda and make him a lame duck president-undoing much of his damage? Is it to accomplish positive things for the conservative agenda? Is it to work together with Democrats and "get things done"? Maybe it's a combination of all three. As to the last, however, I don't subscribe much to Harry Reid's comment after the election that the "voters had spoken clearly that they wanted Democrats and Republicans to work together". Whatever Reid says you can pretty much laugh off. It may be an issue to some, but I doubt it is for the majority.

Here is what I want to see the Republicans do:

1 Stop the Obama agenda

2 Advance conservative ideas

3 Chip away at Obamacare

4 Get to the bottom of administration scandals, particularly Benghazi, IRS and Operation Fast and Furious

5 Keep a close rein on Obama's misguided foreign policy

It may sound simple to some, but Obama still has his veto power, and the Republicans don't have a 60 vote majority in the Senate to override the vetoes that will surely come.

Yet the House has sent a lot of bills to the Senate which Reid has hidden in the attic somewhere and allowed to die. That problem has been solved. Without being a legislative expert, I would like to see a Republican led House and Senate show they are doing more than just being obstructionists by sending flocks of bills to Obama for his signature. They should be short and easy to understand in order to sell them to the public. If he vetoes every one of them, who is the obstructionist?

The first crisis will likely be an Obama effort to grant amnesty to illegal aliens by executive order-before the new Congress comes in. Congress should be involved in this because this is a legislative issue. What the mechanics would be I don't know being a layman, but this should be contested. Once the new Congress comes in in January, they should push hard for securing the border before any discussion of amnesty comes up. Eventually, however, they are going to have to face the reality that we cannot logistically round up and deport 12 million people. We have to ensure, however, that this number doesn't continue to grow and that a priority is placed on removing the criminal elements among them.

As for Obamacare, any bill to abolish it will be met by a veto, and it will not be overridden. The Republicans can, however, chip away at the problematical parts of it that even some Democrats would favor fixing. There are also challenges in the courts; just today, it was reported that the Supreme Court will hear some sort of challenge to an Obamacare  provision.

I also want to see the Senate now work with the House to fully investigate the IRS scandal, Benghazi and Operation Fast and Furious. Till now these scandals have been  handled in the House. In my view, they each merit a select committee.

The Republicans have been handled a great opportunity to come back from the dead as some were predicting they were headed. They can also blow it if they don't act wisely. It could all collapse around them in 2016, and the country also has to face the very real possibility of a President Hillary Clinton. Here's hoping they act with true wisdom.