Walter Patterson Herald ColumnistRepublicans on the national level find themselves in an untenable position.  
Not much of what the GOP stands for today can be sold to the public.  The Democrats, on the other hand, have outmaneuvered the Republicans, and almost anything they want will be passed in congress and signed by the President in short order.
We hear talk of going over the “fiscal cliff,” and all of us worry that no compromise will occur to keep us from sliding over the edge.  I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we went over the “fiscal cliff” when Obamacare was declared constitutional by a heavy handed Supreme Court.
Now we face another economic deadline.  When the New Year begins, all of Obama’s taxes will kick in and the so-called “Bush Tax Cuts” will expire.  Everyone who is working will pay more taxes – a lot more taxes.  Unless something is worked out in Congress, this is the “fiscal cliff” you’ve been hearing about.  Additionally, the “debt ceiling must be raised, and Tim Geithner has stated that it should be raised to infinity.  
So what are the Republicans to do?  Should they vote to raise taxes on the rich or should they cave in and just give the Democrats their way.  
Unfortunately, they will cave.  They have no other choice.  If you make more than $250,000 per year, your pay check is going to get smaller. Will the Republicans try to curb spending and modify the entitlement programs that are gobbling up billions of dollars each year?  They will give lip service to trying to curb the growth of these programs, but in the end, they will give in and let the Democrats have their way.  If they don’t, the Democrats will simply blame them for letting the country slide off the fiscal cliff and causing another recession.
Do you honestly believe that Harry Reid will compromise with the Republicans? Do you believe that Barack Obama will compromise with the Republicans?  Why should either of them compromise when in the end they are going to get what they want?
Harry Reid is one of the most partisan politicians I have ever seen. He hates the Republican Party and what it stands for, and he will do or say anything to get his way.  During the recent election, he stated publically that if Romney won, “none of his proposals would be considered in the Senate.” That’s compromise for you.
Senator Patty Murray, the Democrat Senator from Washington has stated that she wants to see us go over the “fiscal cliff.”  This woman is a multi-millionaire, yet she wants this economy to tank.  Well, not really.  She says that she is willing to go over the fiscal cliff, but in reality, she knows that the GOP will fold like boiled spaghetti.  
The Democrat Party has managed to get the Hispanic vote squarely in its corner. The Democrats have done this by making things like food stamps and Medicaid available to those who have illegally crossed the border into our country. Then they have managed through hook or crook to get these same people eligible to vote.   The truth is that the GOP may never win another national election.
Freedom and the ability to rise or fall on your on talents and work ethic are now just memories.
The government will take care of all of us from the cradle to the grave.  We will morph into France or Greece, and we will only become upset when our “benefits” are denied.  Mr. Obama has promised that he “wants to fundamentally change America.”
In four short years, he had managed to do what he said he was going to do, and we became a socialist country with not so much as a whimper.  The GOP talked a good game, but the talk was cheap.  As a result, conservatives have found themselves in an untenable position without a leader and without a cause.  
The Democrats, after more than 50 years of dedication to the socialist movement, have won this battle.  I wonder if I’m too old to learn to speak French or Greek?