. . .and we may have found a candidate!
October 26, 2009
Newt Gingrich said he would run for president in 2012 if there is support for his candidacy. Win or lose, his candidacy would do wonders for our party. [via] [video]
Vote with your wallet. . .
September 25, 2009
Dissatisfied with the Democratic agenda? Frustrated that Pelosi struck down a bill that would have required them to actually read the bills they are voting on? Confused by Reid’s unwillingness to require background checks on ‘czars’? Angry that Obama claims he is not increasing taxes when he increases ‘levies’? Scared by the unprecedented deficit spending? You aren’t alone.
Millions of Democratic donors are voting with their wallets. Democratic fundraisers across the board have seen a steep decline in their fund-raising efforts this year – more than 20-30%. Paul Kane suggests that the decline is “a result of complacency among their rank-and-file donors and a de facto boycott by many of their wealthiest givers, who have been put off by the party’s harsh rhetoric about big business.”
The midterm elections this year will be perhaps the most important of our lifetime. Take a moment to fund the opposition – you don’t have to agree with the GOP – but if you give them a few more seats in the Senate they can block Obama’s agenda. Got a credit card? Send the Republican National Committee $25, $50 or $100 – small contributions matter most!
The government that doesn’t work. . .
September 8, 2009
Lots of my friends on the Left want Congress to take over health care. I just got back from the DPS office where I unsuccessfully tried to renew my drivers license and I shudder to think that these are the same people who would be running health care in a state run system.
Scott and I both need new licenses so we drove down to the DPS office prepared to spend an hour or two to renew our drivers permits. For Dallas County, the largest metropolitan area in Texas with more than 6.3 million people, there are two employees empowered to issue drivers licenses. The first employee’s sole function is to answer questions and provide a number to wait in a second line where the other employee collects fees (only cash or check, no credit) and takes your picture. After waiting in line for some time the first employee gave me my number and explained that the wait was now more than 4.5 hours. I asked if there was a better time to come by, she laughed and suggested that this WAS a good time. I took the form, but suggested I would come back another time.
Why do we accept this sort of customer experience? How hard would it be to take reservations or make appointments? Surely this could be run better by the private sector. The Governor of Texas does very little, but he is responsible for appointing the Public Safety commission who runs the DPS (i.e. the guys who issue your license). The current board is comprised of Allan Polunsky, Tom Clowe Jr., Ada Brown, John Steen and Carin Marcy Barth. If someone would run for Governor and promise to appoint people to run the DPS with experience running customer service related businesses – i.e. restaurants, hotels or other service businesses they would get my vote.
Newt Gingrich has a great speech that he gives on the same subject called ‘the world that works and the world that doesn’t work’. Worth watching:
The Silent Majority gets Social (media)
With Congress heading back into session the town hall meetings will be winding down. The dissent we heard was refreshing for some of us; but for many, especially those on the left, it was troubling. In the past the youth were the source of much of the loudest dissent – from civil rights to anti-war movements the left has depended on children to hasten change. It makes a lot of sense. The youth, either still in college or just out of college, have the clarity of values and free time to pursue town hall demonstrations, sit-ins, street protests, pickets and other forms of protest. The difference today is the loudest dissent was coming from normal everyday people, young and old – people with families and jobs – most of them from the Right. Why?
First, our society has been evolving from a manufacturing to a services economy. This means more free time. Free time we can spend at dinner, the movies, amusement parks, museums, the library or in the town hall. The Right, historically too busy worker or raising their families to participate in political action was formerly known as the silent majority. Our new found free time means more speech – from the Left and the Right. This is a good thing.
Second, technology has allowed otherwise disconnected people to connect. Connections that, in the past, were only readily available on college campuses. There, students control the newspaper and the students are concentrated in a single geographic location. Today, social networks, like Facebook, allow normal Americans to express their dissent and organize themselves easily. The Right and Left have equal access to the social media format meaning more speech. This is a good thing.
The silent majority finally has a voice. The issue isn’t as important as the medium: social media. Anyone with a computer and an opinion can participate in the political process using Facebook or Twitter. Sitting at their desk at work someone, like myself, can draft a proposal for change and distribute it to thousands in the blink of an eye. Our ideas can be set free. Today like minded conservatives are connecting on an ad-hoc basis. The biggest force on the block aren’t labor unions, community organizers or political action committees anymore – the biggest force on the block is YOU.
Beyond just Facebook and Twitter, the Right has embraced YouTube. Had I told you that Van Jones, the Presidents former Green Guru/Czar/Advisor, complained that Democrats couldn’t pass legislation simply because Republicans were ‘‘ or that he was a self-avowed you wouldn’t have believed me. I sound crazy. With YouTube I can provide a link to HIS OWN WORDS and share it on Facebook and Twitter. I don’t care if you are on the Left or on the Right, you don’t have to trust me – you can trust yourself.
Of course with any sort of change there is fear. My friends on the Left are scared. They don’t understand what is going on. They think that somehow our democracy is at risk from the Right. They aren’t used to seeing or hearing us complain. They are used to the ’silent majority’ sitting quietly by as they make all the noise. I think their concern is unfounded. Free speech and the dissent it allows is VERY important to our republic. In places like Gaza, ironically, there is no speech or dissent allowed. Palestinian children aren’t allowed to read or hear anything that “confirms the Holocaust and raises sympathy for the Jews.” The UN believes that the truth is necessary to bring the Palestinians and the Jews together – Hamas won’t allow it. They rely on controlling what is said and is heard to control their population. Of course none of us believe this could happen here. But I would argue it ALREADY does.
For example, the Supreme Court is taking up whether or not corporations have the right to free speech during elections. Today the McCain-Feingold Act prevents companies from airing documentaries or printing books during an election cycle that pertain to issues or candidates. Why shouldn’t corporations have the same rights as citizens to free speech? Only rich individuals can air documentaries or print books during election cycles? What about the rest of us? We can’t form a non-profit to tell our side of the story through media? According to the current laws we can’t.
Take a minute and think about whether or not you want to continue to oppose free speech that you disagree with. Now, quit complaining about the Right and start exchanging ideas with them…
How Texas Can Save Education. . .
September 4, 2009
. . . From the liberals. Two states, California and Texas have tremendous power when it comes to textbooks. Whatever these two states demand of textbook makers sets the rules for the rest of the country. The Texas State Board of Education is made up of 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats – the group is responsible for setting textbook standards for the state. This means that normally left-leaning curriculum will now have a chance to be balanced. More and more I have been troubled by textbooks that minimize Reagan’s contribution to our nation – our state board is ensuring that our children will read the truth. Of course, liberals are scared to death.
Congressional Republicans Suck?
September 1, 2009
That is the opinion of most Republican voters. According to poll conducted by Rasmussen, 74% of Republican voters “say their party’s representatives in Congress have lost touch with GOP voters nationwide over the past several years.” No doubt. I agree completely. We, as a party, can’t be afraid of losing anymore. We shouldn’t accept leadership from so-called Republicans who don’t lead. Calling yourself a Republican shouldn’t be enough anymore. Lets clean out our own party and then start cleaning out the Democrats. What do you say?
Making sure conservatives get the seats. . .
August 31, 2009
Experts are predicting double-digit losses for the Democrats in 2010. Nate Silver, a Democratic analyst who is almost always right predicts that Republicans will win between 20 and 50 seats (40 seats gives the GOP control).
I don’t know if they are right, but assuming they are we need to ensure that conservatives who are willing to fight for their values are elected (and not the sort of Republicans willing to go along to get along). We need something similar to Newt’s Contract with America to help define what this wave of conservatives promise to do with their opportunity. Too often we send Democrats and Republicans to office without a clear set of goals. Instead we get a lot of – “I share your values” “I will fight for your rights” “Yadda, yadda, yadda”.
Lets outline a set of laws we want to see passed. Lets outline the change we want. Lets outline the reform we demand. Then lets find lawmakers who share our values and are willing to enact our legislation. Here are a few plans I would love to see included (edit as you see fit):
- My plan for tax reform
- My plan for health care reform
- My plan for immigration reform
- My plan for the environment and energy
After Newt left the House I felt as though the Republicans lost their way. With control of the House, Senate and White House we managed to get almost nothing accomplished. We didn’t balance the budget. We didn’t solve our energy issues. We didn’t tackle immigration. We didn’t institute tax reform. We might as well have had Democratic control; hell Bill Clinton was a better Republican than George Bush – don’t you think?
Of course Democrats don’t have a monopoly on stupid. . .
August 28, 2009
Our favorite Senator from Oklahoma, Jim Inhofe explained to his constituents, “I don’t have to read it, or know what’s in it. I’m going to oppose it anyways.” Genius.
Cut off aid to Honduras?
August 27, 2009
The State Department is taking steps to cut off $150 million in U.S. aid to Honduras. Why? Because Obama supports ousted President Zelaya, despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Honduras determined he was violating the Constitution by attempting to avoid term limits – i.e. in the tradition of Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez.
The acting president of Honduras, Roberto Micheletti, suggests that the military shouldn’t have deposed him. Instead, he explains, he should have been arrested and put on trial. I tend to agree. The Honduras Supreme Court has taken steps to explain that they will put Zelaya on trial for treason and abuse of power when he returns to the country. We should leave this matter in the hands of the Honduran government – we don’t need this headache.
With regard to cutting off aid – I say cut it off. We should transfer wealth from the United States ONLY when we have budget surpluses. When you run a deficit (especially a $10 trillion deficit) you don’t have enough money to pay your own bills – don’t agree to pay someone elses. Does this make sense? Who should we cut off? EVERYONE. If we can balance the budget and have available capital we should feel free to share it with those who need it. We send billions to Israel, Egypt, Columbia, Jordan, Pakistan, Peru, Indonesia, Kenya, Bolivia, Ukraine, India, Haiti, Russia, Ethiopia, West Bank, Gaza, Liberia, Bangladesh and Bosnia to name a few. Cut them all off – or send them the GM cars no one else wants.
Conservatives Fail
August 25, 2009
Conservatives in Congress and in the Senate embrace the ‘conservative’ label, but more often than not they fail to live up to conservative ideals. It is one thing to call yourself a conservative, it another thing entirely to actually take up the conservative cause. We need more conservatives who will stand up for conservative ideals. Newt Gingrich has endorsed Michael Williams for U.S. Senate in Texas. I was struck by this point very when I read his endorsement:
Having been a part of the last effort to retake the congressional majority, I am convinced we don’t have to wait 40 years this time to regain power. Democrats in Congress offer the same old, tired recipe of Democrats past — big government hand-outs, bloated bureaucracy and big-time deficit spending.
The kind of change they offer is simply a return to the discarded practices of the pre-Reagan era.
Our problem is not that Americans are newly attracted to Democrat ideas, but that Republicans simply failed to live up to their own ideas.
Let me illustrate my point this way: while conservatives continue to embrace the conservative label, liberals have been re-marketing themselves as progressives. You can call a used car pre-owned all you want, but I will be just as worried about the engine going out.
We do not need to change our ideas, we need to live up to them. And when I talk about modernizing the Republican brand, I mean using tried and true Republicans principles in new ways to solve new problems.
The key to building a new Republican Majority is not simply branding Democrat policies as the destructive and discredited ideas of the past…but offering real alternatives that meet Americans where they are. And offering new leaders not bogged down by the old fights of the last decade.
We need conservatives willing to engage the Democrats on the field of ideas…willing to speak of a 21st Century conservatism…willing to stand and fight on principle. We need leaders like Michael Williams.
I have not decided who I am going to vote for, but Newt’s endorsement means a lot to me. Follow Williams on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube. I am going to interview him for the blog, I will let you know where I end up.
