Liberal socialist welfare state died in Tuesday's election
Richard "Doc" Rioux · November 13, 1994
The Liberal Socialist Welfare State is dead! All over this country, the people have spoken. A political earthquake of January 17 proportions shook the land. Big Government Liberals sustained serious damage, and there isn't a retrofit program around that will restore the Liberal agenda.
The message handed the Democrats in almost every state was that there must be no more Haiti adventures, no more waste in government. It was an angry message, a loud, resounding message, a fiercely determined message.
The people have had enough, and they want a change in direction. They want smaller government, less government intrusion in their lives, more politicians who place the common good before partisan politics and re-election, protection of the family, and an end to gridlock.
The election of November 8, 1994 will go down in history as a major turning point, a watershed in American politics, a moment in time when the people went to the polls with a common voice to demand change in the way their government works. And Republicans were the beneficiaries.
From California to New York, from Washington to Texas, Republican gained the advantage. Republican Pete Wilson coasted to victory in the Golden State, while Democrat Governor Mario Cuomo has to find another job in New York. Democrat Tom Foley lost his seat in Washington State and will be replaced as Speaker of the House of Representatives by feisty Republican Newt Gingrich of Georgia. Even Texas' popular Democrat Governor Ann Richards was upset by Republican George W. Bush, son of the former president.
And what should we expect out of Congress? The Republican leadership will ask for a balanced budget amendment, term limits, a line-item veto, cuts in capital gains taxes, a family-friendly tax code, welfare reform, private sector-based health care reform, choice in education, and a return of prayer in schools. We can also expect the erosion of America's military defense to stop, less support for the United Nations, less foreign aid, and a greater focus on decentralized empowerment programs operated by state and local governments that allow the poor to help themselves.
Is Bill Clinton in trouble? Yes, he is. You had better believe it. In 1992, candidate Bill Clinton talked about being a New Democrat and moving his party from the left. He pushed for more social engineering programs and made getting abortions and fetal research easier to do. He raised taxes, proposed big government answers to health care reform, and appointed people like Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders to office who advanced condoms in elementary schools and the legalization of drugs. Mr. Clinton floundered in foreign affairs, then took us into Haiti without congressional approval or support from the American people.
Tuesday's election made it very clear that the American people are more independent than ever. They will cross party lines with impunity in search of the best candidates, whatever their party labels or gender. Voters are older, better informed, socially moderate, fiscally conservative, patriotic, impatient, and have lots of common sense. They will no longer buy what the extreme left is selling.
Last Tuesday's election should be regarded as a clarion call to Liberals who still dominate the courts, the mass media, U.S. schools and universities, and film and television programming. The left-wing "political correctness" and social permissiveness they've foisted on us for forty are no longer tenable. The average American believes in God, in the institution of marriage, wants family values promoted, and wants performance standards raised in schools and in the workplace.
For the better part of forty years, Democrats controlled Congress. The challenge to the now dominant Republicans for the next two years will be to deliver on their promises to the American people. If Republicans do, they can retain power. If they don't, Ross Perot is waiting on the balcony to form and finance a third party.
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