The Power of NO

Verbose twaddle from the 'let's meet Obama half-way' wing of the conservative/GOP, Irving Seltzer:
http://www.theweeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/454ncnmo.asp?pg=2
He gets verbose because he falls in the trap of taking off the most powerful GOP/conservative weapons and granting far too many premises to the Obama and Democrat side. For example, he will grant as a premise that CO2 is enough of a danger to be worthy of regulation at this time, whn in fact that premise is definitely a false one.

While he is correct in saying the Republicans need alternative ideas, he is wrong in saying that is the only avenue for Republican response to the Obama agenda. Sometimes - like when you are in a car getting driven off a cliff - saying "No! Turn around!" suffices.

As a parent, I know the power of No. Sometimes, its the only leverage you've got. Today, it's the only leverage the GOP has. The Republicans have no majority and no leverage to enact any alternatives, so whatever they propose will be theoretical exercises and PR. The bare fact is that for 6 of the Bush 8 years, the Democrats didn't feel the need to only criticize Bush when they had a better plan. They criticized Bush relentlessly 24/7, often unfairly, often hypocritically, often opportunistically. The Republicans should be fair and without double-standards, but also relentless and opportunistic: Oppose the Obama agenda with both barrels on each and every item where they are doing wrong.

Let's not fall into the either/or trap. We either have alternative policies or we are the party of "No". We need both.