The Soul of the GOP

Americans were recently given a prime opportunity to see the two sides of the GOP. The true conservative side was portrayed by New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who is taking a serious approach to rationalizing the state’s school budget spending. He’s holding back money from districts where unions won’t accept some responsibility for their own benefits packages, and or agree to a one-year pay freeze, similar to those imposed throughout most of America. The tough measures were supported by New Jerseyans this week when the majority of school budgets were blasted out of the water at the voting booths. New Jersey residents are tired of paying higher taxes and getting less from their teachers, their schools, and their government.

On the other side of the party, far south of New Jersey in my home state of Florida, governor Charlie Crist vetoed a bill that would have allowed schools to evaluate teachers based on the actual performance of their students. Unconscionable. The conservative wing of the Florida Republican Party spent serious political capital moving this bill forward, and Charlie Crist left them hanging out to dry.

In November, conservative Americans will get a chance to save the soul of the GOP from the big-government neocon types that have controlled it for far too long. In Florida, they can start by voting for Marco Rubio in his race against Charlie Crist for the Senate.