Who Cares if Colin Powell Calls Himself a "Republican?"

This afternoon I heard Newt Gingrich on the Sean Hannity Show and he again repeated his desire to include Dick Cheney AND Colin Powell under a big tent. He did this while while extolling the need for the GOP to return to its Conservative principles. He said he hopes to bring General Powell back to the Republican fold in 2012. Now, I know Newt gets confused sometimes: am I a Conservative today or am I a Moderate? Am I sitting down with Nancy Pelosi for a global warming PSA or am I sending out blasts to the Winning Solutions email list warning them about the cap-and-trade scheme that Congress is poised to pass? When one is writing five books a year, running two or three web sites/"think tanks" and appearing on every available media outlet more than their regular hosts, one becomes easily confused.

Colin Powell's name should drop from the conversation (at least after I finish my point). Now, he may call himself a Republican. Fine, I'm a ballerina. The GOP ran as moderate a candidate as possible in 2008 and Powell jumped ship. Powell claims that Americans want bigger government and higher taxes. All polls say the opposite, but, regardless, bigger government and higher taxes are not Republican principles. Ironically, if that were so important he should have loved the Bush administration because they did grow the government. Instead, he supported the most radical major party candidate in American history. His guy is nationalizing industries. His guy wants to determine CEO pay. His guy wants to destroy the world's best health care system and replace it with a government paradigm that other countries now admit was a failed idea. His guy wants to balloon the energy costs of middle class and poor Americans to force them into the "Green Revolution." His guy wants to take away the freedom of workers to avoid the pressures of Union thugs in their workplace. His guy has boosted the federal debt more in five months than his 43 predecessors combined. His guy seeks to take away the liberties embedded in the very Constitution he took an oath to uphold.

Powell's recent words and his support for Barry Vladimir Hussein Soetero Obama tell us more about his true political compass than we knew during the previous 15 years, though people always extolled his virtues as a possible President. He deserves credit for his military service, but he has no credibility as a political figure in the Republican party. He has never advanced the party in any way, shape or form.

In truth, it is more laughable than maddening for Colin Powell to instruct the Republican Party on its future direction. His direction is Left and he should get comfortable with his fellow travelers like Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank and Jeannine Garofalo. Those are his political peers. After keeping his politics to himself while basking in bipartisan adulation for nearly two decades, the General has finally played his cards. We know what he is holding and anyone who believes the "Obama way" should be the Republican way should join Colin, Arlen and the gang. Colin Powell is no longer a point for debate; he is a highly-decorated irrelevancy. Now, if he wants to support a Reagan-style Conservative Republican in 2012 we will take the vote. We won't lose any sleep if he doesn't.