The job of the loyal opposition is to oppose

I stated the other day that I wanted to examine the Six Keys to Turning Around The Republican Party suggested by John Hawkins. Today I’ll take a look at the first offering, The job of the loyal opposition is to oppose. Here is what John had to say:

The key to firing up the base, drawing the clear distinction with the Democrats, and for that matter, good governance, is loudly opposing bad bills at every opportunity. The GOP should never support bad legislation merely so it can claim to be “bi-partisan” or so it can say it “did something” at election time.

I’ve heard it said that you can compromise plans, but never compromise principles. Working from this basis takes us in two complimentary directions.

When there is agreement regarding an action to be taken it is reasonable to compromise over the path used to accomplish that action. An overly simplified real world example would be suggesting to a co-worker that you go to lunch at one o’clock. If they state that they are really hungry and want to go at twelve and you counter that you have a conference call at twelve, but that you should be ready by twelve thirty and they agree, you’ve reached a legitimate compromise. You were both in agreement about the principle of eating lunch. The rest, as they say, is details.

The flip side of this scenario is opposing any alternative just on the basis of who made the suggestion, a desire to wield power, or simple contrariness. That reasoning typically leads to one party being resentful for no legitimate reason. Taken to the extreme nothing gets done and no one is happy.

That being said, John’s point was that the job of the loyal opposition is to oppose. There is a case to be made for standing in strong opposition to issues that are contrary to deeply held principles. There is no virtue in adopting the “go along to get along” stance when doing so goes against what you truly believe.

Let’s go back to lunch with a somewhat silly example to make the point. You have a principled stand against eating at The Pig Trough, a local barbecue joint. Your opposition is rooted in your beliefs that cleanliness is a virtue in a restaurant, visible vermin are a turn-off, trichinosis is something to be avoided, and $19.95 is too much to pay for a pulled pork sandwich. Even if your co-worker’s favorite eatery is The Pig Trough this is not an opportunity for compromise.

How does this apply to turning around the Republican Party? I believe that standing in opposition to bad policy and bad legislation, even when that opposition is unsuccessful, is the right play to make in two primary ways.

Most importantly it is the right thing to do. When our party and it’s leaders take a stand on any issue it should be based on the principles and beliefs that advance what is best for both individuals and the country as a whole. When opposing some policy or piece of legislation it is vital that our opposition is rooted in principle. Being on the winning side is not victory if it is the wrong side.

An important corollary to opposition made on this basis is that the opportunity then exists to show the people and demonstrate the principles that define our opposition. I would argue that standing in opposition while offering neither an explanation or an alternative is no better than tacit support.

Finally, principled opposition creates a clear demarcation between our stands and those that we stand against. One recent and recurring criticism of the Republican Party is that we have become Dem-Lite. There is little reason to support a party that is nearly identical to the other party, just less so.

I welcome you to add your thoughts on this post. Next up — Stop conceding so many groups of voters.

Other posts in this series: Stop conceding so many groups of voters

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