It’s much easier to criticize a policy than it is to change it.Nobody is learning this maxim better than the Republicans in Congress. Since the Democrats gained overwhelming power on all fronts, the general GOP strategy to regain power has been simple: sling the most mud possible as often as possible, and hope that the opposition looks foolish enough to get the boot.Hardly any political observer will dispute the fact this strategy is at play in the health care debate. Like a bad film critic, Republicans shrilly criticize the plan, but do nothing to discuss what is redeeming or what can be done to change it.Sure, Republican congressmen have proposed a few stop-gap measures, such as tort reform, and the Democrats have made at least a cursory effort to keep these proposals on the table. But these measures are nowhere near sufficient to make any significant progress, and they are largely the product of the more moderate party members who sadly constitute a minority.Essentially, the mainstream conservative strategy is the one Rush Limbaugh and his endless array of imitators have been perfecting for years — wait until a plan is proposed by a perceived public enemy, then trash it.  They certainly rarely propose solutions (other, of course, than the obligatory “Cut taxes!”) because such plans would require actually, you know, thinking about the issue itself, rather than a passionate gut-reaction hatred for the great evil known as liberalism.Most Republican congressmen sound suspiciously like drunken football fans booing their own coach as loudly as they boo the opposing team  — and they evoke the same air of rationality and competency.The purpose of the opposition isn’t to sit like some kind of deranged parrot on the shoulder of the majority party and criticize their proposed solutions. The purpose of an opposition is to balance, point out flaws and (here’s the kicker) actually propose ways they might be rectified. It would be arrogant to believe either only Republicans or only Democrats have all of the perfect solutions to an issue as mind-numbingly complex as health care reform.The sad fact is, it appears the majority of both sides are actually this arrogant. And in their arrogance, both sides have stifled input from the Republican side of the aisle that might greatly improve the process and have prevented the creation of the well-constructed legislation this issue demands.Few people want to see a purely Democratic health-care plan any more than a purely Republican one. The probable cause for this partisanship — other than unmitigated hubris — is a calculated political move. Republicans hope derailing Democratic efforts to fix health care will ensure them a quick resurgence when mid-term elections come up next.This play-from-the-sidelines strategy is a craven attempt to regain political power at the expense of our national well-being.Somewhat surprisingly, Governor Bobby Jindal has joined the few rational voices of moderation, such as Sen. John McCain, in the quest for compromise.Jindal, whose strongly held conservative convictions and national aspirations have tended to push him far right on the political scale, has recently started advocating rationality and compromise with Obama and the Democrats, whom he has almost universally criticized. “I think now is the perfect time to pivot and to say, not only here’s what we’re against, and not only here’s how we’re going to contrast ourselves, but here’s what we’re for,” Jindal said in an interview with Politico last week. He continued to say the Republicans continue on their current course “at our peril and the nation’s peril.”Jindal could potentially face significant backlash from these statements. If University students haven’t noticed, Obama and “his liberal cronies” are not terribly popular in this state. Additionally, he is speaking truth to the Republican power, which could potentially harm his already dimming presidential prospects. But maybe Jindal realizes the time for political games has ended. Maybe he realizes the costs of doing nothing are far greater than the costs of letting Democrats keep their power for the time being.I hope he does. And I hope against hope the Republican party will come to this same realization before it’s too late.Matthew Albright is a 20-year-old mass communication major from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_malbright.– – – -Contact Matthew Albright at [email protected]