by Paul Gessing

There was a time when Democrats stood for smaller government. As time went on, the Republican Party under Ronald Reagan and the “revolutionaries” of 1994 took the small government mantle. In a post-9/11 world, both political parties have embraced big-government, thus leaving large numbers of Americans who are serious about smaller-government, without a political home.

Enter Frank Gonzalez, a Democrat running against an incumbent Republican, Lincoln Diaz-Balart, in Florida’s 21st district. By maintaining an independent, pro-liberty platform, against a “tax-and-spend” Republican, Gonzalez is effectively working to use Bill Clinton’s strategy of triangulation to steer clear of unpopular positions typically taken by politicians in both political parties while appealing to the large numbers of mainstream voters who he hopes will turn out on Election Day.

For example, while voters of both parties grow increasingly frustrated with Congress’s irresponsibility on the budget, Diaz-Balart has continued to vote with taxpayers just over half the time according to the National Taxpayers Union. Far from being a “taxpayer friend,” Diaz-Balart is a prime example of Republicans’ fiscal irresponsibility. Gonzalez, in a move that will undoubtedly appeal to fellow Democrats, has pledged to target “corporate welfare” and make budget restraint a top priority.

In another move designed to please Democrats (and those Republicans who are frustrated after 50-years of failed policies toward Cuba), Gonzalez – a first-generation American of Cuban descent – is calling to end restrictions on travel to Cuba and allow trade between the United States and the island nation to commence. While politicians of both parties have clung to the embargo like many Cubans have clung to anything that floats in order to make their journey to freedom, Gonzalez understands that the only way to bring freedom to Cuba is through the free exchange of goods and ideas.

Lastly, Gonzalez takes a principled stand against the Iraq War. While many of his fellow Democrats (and many Republicans) have watched the body bags of American soldiers pile up and poll numbers fall, Gonzalez demands that Members of Congress be accountable and have the final say on matters of war. Unlike many late critics of the war, were Congress made up of 535 Frank Gonzalezes, Congress would have demanded that President Bush abide by Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution, which states in part, “The Congress shall have power...to declare War.”

Had Congress done its homework by having real hearings on the question and not bought the Bush Administration’s misinterpreted intelligence at face value, America might not be more distrusted than Iran and nearly 3,000 American soldiers might be alive today. It is unfortunate – and a sign that Dick Cheney’s “unitary executive” theory has already taken hold – that more critics of the Iraq War give Congress a free pass.

In the past few months, Republicans have shown their willingness to support a Democrat, Joe Lieberman, who only agrees with them on one issue (the War), over the Republican Party’s own candidate. And, the entire Republican Party infrastructure recently engaged in Rhode Island to protect an incumbent (Lincoln Chaffee) that votes against the Party at every opportunity against a principled conservative candidate.

Clearly, the Republican Party is too drunk on power and bereft of principle to be trusted. Hopefully, by returning the Democratic Party to its Jeffersonian roots, candidates like Frank Gonzalez can turn their party into a viable opposition.

Paul Gessing is a senior editor for The Free Liberal.