Who the hell do you think you are?

March 27th, 2008 by Sam Luchow | Posted in Other |

Have you ever logged on to the world wide web, looked in on some political commentary and heard the notion that expanding the reenrollment period for CHIP from six months to a full year costs Texas taxpayers another 80 million dollars a year and that doing so opens the door for the same move in Medicaid? Or how about the notion that Speaker Tom Craddick has put more minorities in leadership positions than any democrat Speaker before him? Ever been told that the budget cuts of 2003 were the responsible move for a newly elected Republican Legislature suddenly faced with being 10 billion dollars short?

Our guess is no, you haven’t. You’ve read nothing about the CHIP reform price tag; nothing other than the idea that Speaker Craddick has been unfair to his Democratic counterparts; and that in 2003 an unsympathetic uncaring Republican Legislature very selfishly cut social programs spending in Texas for no good cause.

One of the reasons you’ve never heard the other side of the argument is simple–despite being a mainstream mode of communication, the Republican perspective (both conservative and moderate) is grossly under-represented on popular web-based news outlets.

Enter Sam Luchow, Jake Hatlin, and Old Government Road.

In short, the objective of this site is to better educate its readers by offering political views from the right and center right. But trust us, we’re not going to be just one dimensional; Lord knows there are enough political bloggers in Texas that are just that.

A wiser man than either Sam or Jake once said, “Iron sharpens iron.” If Republicans can’t have an honest, policy-based discussion within their own ranks, then we’re screwed. Some bloggers want to cheerlead and that’s their business. But unlike these others, Old Government Road will not suppress differences from within, because we hold firm that the only way to truly educate is to foster an environment where multiple opinions and various perspectives are offered for readers to consider and use to form their own conclusions.

One other beef with the Republican blogosphere: we’re supposed to be the party of local control and The People, right? Then why are so many authors on the web focused solely on the national scene? While we might, as events warrant, stray off into the affairs of DC, the topics discussed here will center on state and local government. As Peggy Noonan once wrote, changes in culture can only happen at the local level. And since culture drives everything else–from laws to development to ugly, ugly shoes–that’s what politics should be all about.

That gives you a look at what OGR seeks to accomplish. We’re here to offer you the perspective of two young folk who happen to find themselves in agreement with Republican principles more times than not, and also our insight as two normal guys who by chance happen to be enamored of Texas politics. All in hopes that, at the end of the day, we can provide thoughtful and entertaining commentary.

Stay tuned, we’re just getting started.