Let’s take a quick trip back to the 2000 presidential election. President Bush did not win the popular vote in his first election, but he did gain the presidency. Given this, it is understandable that he at least paid lip service to the idea of crossing party lines and being inclusive of other ideas. This was an unprecedented opportunity for the Republican Party.

With Republican majorities in the House and Senate, they finally had control of the legislative and executive branches of the federal government. This is something that is not very common for either party. Former President Clinton had to deal with a Republican-controlled Congress, and former President Reagan had to deal with a Democrat-controlled Congress.

This was an opportunity to finally push some meaningful reform to rein in the grotesque federal government. Unfortunately, some things happened and they got sidetracked. We all know about the excuses that Bush used to justify the deficit and recession.

It is hard not to give him the benefit of the doubt when considering the obstacles he had to face: the Internet bubble bursting, numerous corporate corruption scandals and the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

But now things are different (hopefully). He has had four years to deal with these problems. While the war on terror is still going on, Bush needs to remember his roots of fiscal conservatism and concentrate on meaningful domestic reform.

Bush’s major accomplishments for his first four years were tax cuts and the No Child Left Behind program. Tax cuts are considered good to any fiscal conservative, but when considering the increase in spending for programs like No Child Left Behind, that success rings hollow. These two programs hardly amount to much, considering the tax cuts were not even permanent.

What is most disturbing is Bush’s apparent pride in being a big spender. In the 2004 draft of the Republican Platform, it proudly touts of having a huge increase in educational spending. Unfortunately, it seems that this lack of fiscal restraint is something that may continue.

Bush is sponsoring a Medicare prescription drug plan that may cost more than half a trillion dollars. This is not exactly the type of reform you’d expect from a Republican who does not have to worry about re-election or a Democrat-controlled Congress. If anything, it is ironic that liberals hate him even more despite his great gift of spending money.

What Bush and his fellow Republicans need to realize is that the days of Republican dominance of Washington, D.C. are numbered. They cannot assume they will continue to hold this control for very long.

Being inclusive and pushing programs that would make Ted Kennedy proud are not needed now. Conservative reform, if it is ever going to happen, is going to have to happen now. In essence, Republicans need to legislate as if every day is their last.

Republicans may feel they have the world in the palm of their hands after such a significant win as last Wednesday, but soon the pendulum will swing and they will find themselves filibustering Democrat bills. Hopefully, the Republicans will realize that it should not be taken for granted and there is much to do.

The tax code still needs to be greatly reformed and simplified. Social Security needs immediate reform before it becomes financially insolvent. The same goes for Medicare. The list goes on in terms of reforms that are needed throughout the federal government and that is just considering the domestic side.

The Republicans need to see their control of Washington not as a time to cross party lines and “just get along,” but as an opportunity to finally make significant reforms to the government that are long overdue.