Proposed Content for the Republican Battle plan for 2010

With the national debt in the neighborhood of $12,000,000,000,000 (that's Trillion) it might be wise for the Republican Party to make it clear to the American people how they would address this issue for the 2010 election cycle. Given the fact that they LOST in 2006 AND 2008, it seems something different, rather than business as usual, is in order.

The underlying premise on which this is based is that intergenerational theft is immoral and it is a sign of weakness on several levels. If the Republican party is to regain the trust of the American people, we must be bold and honest.

Therefore, I propose a 12 step program for Republican Congressmen and Senators who seek re-election and for candidates running against incumbents of both parties.

1. Apologize for the Trillion dollars plus of debt created during the Bush years. Admit that it was wrong, and that the Party now understands Basic Economics and the proper role of government to support free market entrepreneurship.

2. Provide acknowledgement to: A.) the voters in California ( May '09 vote on taxes), B.) the entire tea party movement, and C.) the handful of patriots that gathered in Washington D.C. on 12 Sept 09 that we have heard their messages LOUD and CLEAR.

3. Make every Republican Candidate for Congress sign a pledge that they will not vote for a budget that is more than 90% of the revenues taken in two years previous. This means, that the budget for FY2012 would be set at 90% of the revenues collected in FY2010.

4. Create joint House and Senate Solution Groups to review the programs and projects of each cabinet level department with the goal of reducing discretionary expenditures by 40% overall. These groups would update their status monthly to the American people on a collection of linked websites.

5. Create joint House and Senate Solution Groups for each major entitlement program (or mandatory spending program) with the goal of either elimination of the entitlement (corporate welfare, crop subsidies, land bank, etc...), or restructuring the entitlement to be sustainable at current tax rates for the next 50 years. These groups too would report out monthly.

6. Pledge to restructure Medicaid and Medicare to be insurance premium assistance programs instead of fee for service programs. Include a Health Care Spending Account for each recipient to handle the little things.

7. Make every Republican Candidate for Congress sign a pledge to eliminate any and all bureaucracies created by the Health Care bills currently moving through Congress. Replace them with free market solutions that start by divorcing health insurance from employment.

8. Make every Republican Candidate for Congress sign a pledge to put a finite limit on the number of Czars the President is allowed to have (a number very close to zero) and the total number of paid positions the President may appoint. Perhaps an average of the last six administrations, prior to the current one, would be a set of numbers to start with.

9. Make every Republican Candidate for Congress sign a pledge to not vote for any bill that contains any earmarks. The candidates, especially the incumbents, must realize they are not royalty, but merely public servants.

10. Make every Republican Candidate for Congress sign a pledge to cut the strings to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and get the government out of the mortgage business.

11. Make every Republican Candidate for Congress sign a pledge to stop all bailouts of private companies and states run by liberal Democrats. Given the fact that the Soviet Union failed, no business on Wall Street is too big to fail, and neither is California.

12. Pledge to reform banking laws that will end the fractional reserve system that leads to bank failures and bailouts by the taxpayer. The goal would be to eliminate any further bailouts of the FDIC program.

These times require bold actions, not pastel efforts. If you want the support of the American people who still love this country, we need to be bold.

Why the George W. Republicans Must Go

Thank you all for your efforts keeping us safe after 9/11, but you botched the second most important role of government, and that is the management of the economy. The tax cuts were nice, but your reckless spending, poor monetary policy, and the senseless bailouts contributed to the economic mess we are in today. Thank you for your service, now make way for real Americans that understand that you must live within a budget, balance your check book, and not attempt to manipulate a free market, even for such noble causes such as home ownership. In addition, your lack of principled leadership opened the door for the Socialist Democrats and their surge to Socialism. There is a better way forward, but it requires men and women of courage, principles, and the willingness to challenge conventional wisdom.

The national debt is now close to $12 Trillion. The Interest alone is one of the largest budget items. This intergenerational theft is immoral to say the least. It is clear evidence of a lack of understanding of the science of economics. Significant cuts need to be made to reduce federal spending the 7th edition of the Cato Handbook for Policymakers has some great ideas to start with. We must shrink the size of the Federal Budget by shrinking the size of not only entitlements, but the structure of government as well.

Budgets should be based, not on projections, but by looking back at actual revenues. Therefore, the budget for 2102 would be based on the "actual revenues" of 2010. Congress and the administration would need to recognize the number from the Treasury Department and set priorities. The actual target should be 90% of revenues, with the additional 10% used to pay down the debt.

The current monetary policy of expanding the money supply and artificially low interest rates must be recognized as the foundation of boom and bust cycles. We must stop the presses, reform banking laws, and allow interest rates to float due to market forces. One only needs to look to Japan and their attempt to "manage their economy" that has resulted in a 20 year recession. Market forces are comprised of millions of private transactions every day. No amount of central planning, no matter how noble the attempt, can adequately manage an economy for sustained growth. Those that do not understand this should not be in government.

Principled leadership means that it is based on principles that have been tested and tried over time with documented success. It also means not compromising those principles in the name of shallow "bipartisan efforts". How can a Conservative compromise with a Socialist on intergenerational theft? Would a national debt of $5 Trillion be OK in the name of bipartisanship? The desire to "get along" with those who lust after power is merely a sign of weakness. It is this weakness that lead to the defeats of 2006 and 2008.

The way forward is to educate ourselves and the American people on free market solutions based on real world experience as an alternative to government dominance and expansion. We must compare and contrast our positions to those of the Socialist Democrats.

Teamwork would also help and is enabled by strong leadership. We need to learn to speak as a single voice of reason in putting forth solution sets for the issues of the day. Not every Republican can be an expert in all areas. We must allow the team members to focus and develop detailed solutions, and then share these solutions among the entire team. To date, I can find only four solution sets: energy, health care, budget, and stimulus at GOP.gov. I believe there are more issues facing our nation. More detail on each should also be included. Ordinary Americans held printed pages of the H.R. 3200 this past August at the robust town hall meetings. I believe, we owe them more details.

This is why the George W. Republicans must go. They have had their chance. This nation needs real people, not professional politicians, that understand economics, teamwork, and making things happen. We need people with a burning desire to stop the surge to socialism.