I have tended to be overly critical of Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele, mainly for involving himself in bickering with other Republicans and not creating a clear message for the GOP. He also spent way too much time in front of the camera and not enough time crafting comeback strategy for the only major party that stands for fiscal discipline and free markets, at least in theory. He has redeemed himself in some respects over the last couple of months, and today on that road to redemption he blasted the president for pushing “a risky multitrillion dollar experiment with our health care.” Steele is right. This is a risk that increase the role of government, an entity that has been shown time and time again to decrease quality, reduce efficiency, and promote corruption. The cost is astronomical. The implications to our freedom in this country are frightening.

The truth is that Republicans need to put their own health care plan on the front page and create momentum behind it. Republicans during the last administration and during this one have done a poor job of communicating their message and the drubbings that the GOP has received at the polls are a direct result of this. It’s one thing to oppose bad policy and quite another to use good policy as a counter. I want to hear a point by point rebuttal of the Democrats’ plan with an explanation of how the Republican plan will be better. We need the party to fight with solutions not mere criticisms. When the president says that “we can’t afford the politics of delay and defeat” he is right, we cannot afford to delay a conservative solution to the health care problem and we cannot let the liberals defeat America’s free markets.

-AG