Conservative Leadership

“The election was a mandate for conservative leadership in Washington,” said Congressman Mike Pence, chairman of the House Republican Study Committee.

Yes, but will conservatives accept the mandate and get things done? It’s not a matter of whether the Democrats will try to gum up the works. They will. Do conservatives have the courage to do what’s right? These people are used to wheeling and dealing to get things done, so yes, compromises are inevitable. At least one senator is trying to make sure that caving in to Democrats won’t happen too frequently.

Note that I’m using the word “conservative,” which is much more important than “Republican.” According to the USAToday:

Exit polls indicate social conservatives voted in about the same proportion as in 2000. But Pence and others credit them with President Bush’s margin of victory over Democrat John Kerry and say the election was a referendum on conservative values.

“It’s a new day,” Pence said, “and a new Congress.”

For conservative Republicans, it’s also a new chance to enact their agenda — whether it jibes with the president’s or not. Sometimes they agree with Bush, as on the need to drill for oil in the Arctic and revive a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. But sometimes they don’t, as in their call to repeal campaign-finance changes and limit the new Medicare prescription drug benefit to needy seniors.

Mr. Pence, that sounds so promising, but I won’t believe it until I see it.

Conservatives have so far wielded power in the following ways:

Nearly derailed moderate Sen. Arlen Specter’s shot to chair the Senate Judiciary Committee after the Pennsylvanian said anti-abortion judges would have a tough time winning confirmation. Specter was forced to clarify his statement, promising to give nominees quick consideration.

I’m an all or nothing kind of woman (which is why I’d make a terrible politician), and I say they should’ve given the chairmanship to someone else. Can they really trust Specter? This is the sort of thing that worries me.

Held up a bill to reshape the intelligence community despite strong White House support. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., cleared the way for passage and Bush’s signature last week only after winning assurances that a new intelligence czar would not interfere with battlefield intelligence. Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., agreed to drop immigration provisions from the bill after House leaders vowed to take them up early next year.

I say they should have held out for pro-immigration enforcement language, which is one of the most pressing issues in the age of terrorism. Don’t compromise on this!

One initiative I’m pleased to see mention is abortion:

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., will reintroduce a bill that would require those who perform abortions after 20 weeks to tell mothers that their fetus feels pain and to offer it anesthesia. The Bush administration has not declared a position but argued during last year’s successful effort to ban late-term or “partial birth” abortions that fetuses feel pain. “This was a very clear election cycle…The country has shifted. You’ve got a pro-life electorate,” Brownback says.

Real strong words, but why do I have a feeling the “Bush administration” and conservatives in Congress aren’t on the same page? Their leadership roles are different, to be sure, but the operative word is “leader” and both branches owe their constituency — you and me. We deserve to see concrete results of a Republican majority in all three branches.

If we don’t, what was it all for? What do our votes mean? Some say there’s no difference between the two parties, at least nationally. I’m not that cynical. Yet.

Addendum: Heading in the right direction:

Senate Republican leaders yesterday appointed two of Congress’s most outspoken antiabortion members to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is bracing for potentially bruising hearings on nominations to the Supreme Court….

Abortion is certain to be a focus of debate for any nominee to the high court, which for three decades has upheld the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the procedure nationwide. While Coburn and Brownback will be the committee’s newest Republicans, their records suggest they may rank among the most outspoken on abortion.

Coburn, an obstetrician, has advocated the death penalty for doctors who perform abortions. Last year, Brownback introduced the Unborn Child Pain Awareness Act, which would have required a woman seeking an abortion to be told that the fetus might feel pain and that it could be given an anesthetic. (Source — reg. req.)

Unrelated Update: Just One Minute has the latest on John Kerry. Yes, he’s still around.

Update II (12/22): Merry Christmas, Carnival of the Vanities readers! While you’re here, check out an article I wrote for National Review Online.