Solid goals for GOP

A British writer, G.K. Chesterton, in the mid-1920s, observed that “The whole modern world has divided itself into conservatives and progressives. The business of the progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the conservatives is to prevent mistakes from being corrected.”

In the main I believe this to be a fairly accurate description. I would add that from my perspective the progressives (Democrats) believe that any ill can be corrected by throwing money at it. If things go awry, throw more money. It would be useful to establish what you want to achieve with measurable metrics, be sensitive to the inevitable waste, fraud, and abuse and be ready to correct behaviors with penalties, prosecution, and tweaking. This could be the role of the conservatives (Republicans), but they rarely take up the challenge constructively.

As an example: The infrastructure bill will be a classical example of funds mismanagement. Many of the goals are worthy, but as usual we are likely to get far less than we should for our tax dollars.

I’d like the Republicans to forget about showboating through investigating things of little or no consequence. I’d rather that they began developing the tools to identify and correct the problems inherent in the Democrat-sponsored initiatives. Spending smart and producing outcomes that save money and make the country better off are solid goals, measurable and useful in burnishing the party’s declining reputation.

ROD NEAL

Little Rock