Republicans don't want to defend their records

State Representative Ray Cox is the only legislator I know of who has a blog. It's nice to see a legislator use technology in this way, even if it is a Republican. However, in a recent blog post, Rep. Cox also laments negative campaigning, agreeing with Lynne Osterman's claim that negative campaigning is akin to cheating.

Cox is another one of those more moderate Republicans. He is especially concerned about environmental issues, and has broken with Republican leadership on some bills in this area. Nevertheless, even he seems to think that making him defend his voting record is "cheating." Why are Republicans so afraid to defend their records? Why can't they proudly stand up and say, "Yes, I voted against the electronic recycling bill, for the concealed-carry bill, and for the anti-gay marriage amendment. I am proud of these votes."

For some reason, though, Republicans don't want to do that. Perhaps they realize that people aren't in favor of weakening environmental standards, or cutting taxes for the wealthy, or helping HMOs at the expense of the middle class. They can't win a debate on these issues, because they are on the wrong side of all of them.