Column: Republicans Will Benefit By Backing Up Obama
This story was written by Cecil Ballew, The Daily Gamecock
It has been a week since history was made in our country, when Americans chose the first African-American to be the president of the United States. It has also been a week since many people, outraged with the outcome, posted hateful Facebook statuses and said things that I am sure they did not mean.
But now that it has been a week since the election, the people who didn't support Obama should take after their presumptive choice, John McCain. In his concession speech, he eloquently proclaimed that even though he doesn't necessarily agree with Obama in his policies, he would still work together with him. Working together during the political process is necessary because bitter bickering over petty issues will neither promote the Republican Party's agenda nor shed a greater light on their leaders - something they desperately need at this point.
Working together is also essential because America is facing an economic crisis like it has not seen in quite some time. It does not matter who was at fault for the mess. All that matters is that our leaders work together for a compromise that will not only please both parties but will hopefully provide the best solution for America.
Although the Democrats are in complete control of the federal government, they should still be willing to listen to conservatives because proper solutions always have to have a balanced view on the situation. Conservatives often complain that the liberals now in control in Washington will blindly try to tax and spend their way out of this crisis.
Even though higher taxes seem inevitable for the programs Obama wants to implement, the Republican Party should act as an overseer and make sure that the taxpayers' money is spent wisely and absolutely none is wasted. Keeping the Democrats accountable for their actions is important for the Republicans if they want to be prominent in Washington within the next decade.
Working with President-Elect Obama and keeping him accountable for his decisions and promises is the best possible scenario for Republicans, as well as for the American people. With all the things the American people were promised, from health care to tax breaks, keeping Obama accountable will either reap great benefits for Americans, or they will expose Obama to be a fraud, which many conservatives claimed over the last six months.
Every American should want Obama to succeed because our crisis can get much worse than it already has. For a successful next four years, it is going to take hard work, compromise from both parties and the willingness to work together because we as Americans deserve that much from our leaders.