The Republican party has lost it’s collective mind. They are so certain of sweeping victory in November that they may just lose any shot at regaining control of the House or Senate.
Much has been said since the November ‘08 elections about where the Republicans went wrong, and what to do now. I fear that many will want to do nothing, allowing for recent Democratic fumbles that will surely lead to Republican victories in the 2010 mid-term elections. The problem with that approach is that it is just a continuation of what got Obama elected in the first place. Consider that 30 percent of the voters are rabid Democrats and 30 percent are Repubs of equal dedication. That leaves 40 percent in the middle, enough of whom were swayed left to elect a “dark horse” that should have never left the primary starting gate in ‘08. While the Democrats and Obamaniacs would have you believe that victory was because they wanted Obama, the race was in fact won because John McCain was a pastel. Neither here, nor there, but more there than here. Americans were convinced that they were fed up with 8 years of George W. Bush’s wars. The level of mis-handling of the PR for these wars is stupendous. Bush couldn’t give us a timeline for getting out of Iraq and Afghanistan, but nobody really cared about that. If a time line was all that mattered, we would be out of Korea, Japan, and Europe. Every war that we fought that ended in victory, resulted in a permanent presence of American troops. The issue became a time table for withdrawal because the conservatives allowed the liberals to make the lack of a timeline a central issue instead of focusing on why the terrorists needed their asses kicked and what will happen if we don’t.
Follow up:
But let me return to the issue of what the Republicans are to do now. Some conservative pundits are calling members of the TEA party and others who would run on conservative but non-Republican platforms ’spoilers’ in that they would most certainly split the conservative vote and result in another victory for the Left. And that may be true. But what no one is saying is how to keep those spoilers from splitting away from the Republican party in the first place. Here’s how to do it: Every business lives in fear that their competitor will one-up them with the “next big thing". The only way to combat that is to stop thinking like yourself and start thinking like your competitor. Ask yourself what’s the thing you’re most afraid of your competitor doing? Then do that thing. If Republicans don’t want to lose votes to the TEA party, then make sure the platform includes tax rates that are favorable to businesses that provide jobs. If you’re afraid that Libertarians will take a lot of voters that believe our government is too big, then make sure the new Republican party focuses on not just limiting the size of government, but rolling it back. Look at the agencies that are useless and redundant and eliminate them. In short: Quit pimping the Republican party platform and return to a platform of conservative, constitutional values. To paraphrase Tiger Woods’ dad: Focus on the constitution, screw everything else. (Apparently Tiger took the ’screw everything else’ part to heart)
Issues to consider include:
* Amending the constitution to require a balanced budget and a two-thirds majority for any tax hike.
* Permanently repealing all tax hikes scheduled to begin in 2011.
* Requiring every bill in Congress to be made public seven days before any vote can be taken.
* Requiring each bill to identify the specific provision of the Constitution that gives Congress the power to do what the bill does.
* Permitting all health insurance plans to be sold anywhere in the United States through the purchase of insurance across state lines. Allow small businesses and associations to pool together across state lines to buy insurance.
* Adopting a simple and fair single-rate tax system by scrapping the internal revenue code.
* Imposing a statutory cap limiting the annual growth in total federal spending to the sum of inflation rate plus the percentage of population growth.
* Allowing Americans to opt out of Social Security and Medicare and instead put those same payroll taxes in a personal account that they own, control and can leave to whomever they choose.
* Preventing any regulation or tax on the Internet.
* Improving education by eliminating ineffective and wasteful programs.
* Authorizing the exploration of proven energy reserves to reduce our dependence on foreign energy sources from unstable countries and reduce regulatory barriers to all other forms of energy creation.
* Creating a Blue Ribbon task force that engages in a complete audit of federal agencies and programs.
* Blocking state and local governments that receive federal grants from exercising eminent domain over private property for the purpose of economic development or enhancement of tax revenues.
* Preventing the EPA from implementing regulations that inhibit economic growth.
* Eliminate earmarks by requiring that any amendment attached to a bill be directly related to the object of that bill.
* Making sure the federal government does not bail out private companies. The government should also immediately divest itself of its stake in the private companies it owns from recent bailouts.
* Amending the constitution to require congressional term limits. No person shall be elected to the Senate more than twice or to the House of Representatives more than six times. And no retirement benefits for legislators.
* Making all regulations “sunset” after 10 years unless renewed by congressional vote.
* Enact legislation prohibiting federal funding for all non-medically necessary procedures.
It is obvious to all but the oblivious that the Democrats believe big government is the answer while the Republicans believe it’s big business. Both sides have gotten away from “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness". Life being *not* defined as having every necessity of my life provided for by (and thereby controlled by) the government, but defined as the right to live my life as I please so long as I don’t infringe on other people’s right to live their lives. Liberty defined as freedom from oppression and unjust imprisonment by the government. The Pursuit of Happiness defined as my right to choose whichever courses of life that will make me happy, without fear of interference from the federal government. If you believe the answer lies in letting individuals make their own choices and bear the consequences of their success or failure then you must insist on adherence to a policy of individual freedom and individual responsibility. And I believe that’s precisely what our constitution affords us.
Conservatives need to return to a platform of “The constitution, period!” with the same zeal that the SociObamalists decried Obama’s rallying cry of “Change You Can Believe In". In 2010 and going forward, the conservative’s rallying cry needs to be “Believe In Your Constitution". Republican, Libertarian, Tea Party or Independent, if you build your platform on the constitution, that key 40% of moderate Americans will flock to you and that, along with the 30% or rabid Republicans will be enough to win huge in November. But you must always remember: It’s not about winning, it’s about whose values you want to live under for the foreseeable future.
With apologies to the Bill Clinton campaign of ‘92: It’s the constitution, stupid!
Disclaimer: While I agree with all of the thoughts contained herein, some are mine while some were taken from various other sources (research or plagiarism, you make the call). I have not the mental capacity to remember all the authors providing material. It is a conglomeration of articles and opinions (mine and others) dating back as far as February of this year.
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