At the moment I’m only seeing one way out of the Republicans’ fiscal cliff corner. President Obama and the Democrats have the Republicans cornered, there is some division among their ranks, and the only thing being discussed with any vigor is the president’s ridiculous and irresponsible tax hikes. Those hikes would amount to a rounding error on the national debt if enacted, while they stand a good chance of hurting the economy going into next year.
President Obama clearly doesn’t care about hurting the economy. He says he does, but he doesn’t. If he did, he would not propose those tax hikes, and he would rein in his Environmental Protection Agency, he would halt his war on coal, and he would stop giving gifts to Big Labor, and he, frankly, would not have run for re-election. He remains fixated on his goal of “fundamentally transforming” America, and a bad economy is evidently among the means he intends to use to reach that goal. Democrats used a “health care crisis (OMG!)” to force through a law that does not fix said crisis, but empowers Democrats by shifting the entire national political conversation leftward. They will use an economic crisis, again, to force their own policies on the rest of us. It’s how they roll.
So what do the Republicans do when dealing with such a man and the party he leads?
Speaker Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have got to force the Democrats into getting detailed and specific on what spending cuts they will and will not contemplate. This will take a flood the zone approach, on cable nets, in prime time speeches, in ads — the works. The comms should frame the debate as the tax and spend liberal Democrats against main street. Go populist and prepare to take no prisoners.
Will the Democrats roll back the 32% welfare spending increase since Obama took office? Why or why not, and show your work.
Will they consider putting off or stopping the implementation of ObamaCare, which will cost the federal government and the states far more than the American people were told when the Democrats passed the bill? Why or why not, and show your work.
Will the Democrats consider cutting the National Endowment for the Arts or any of the other thousands of programs that we don’t need and can no longer afford? How about public radio and public TV? Why or why not, and show your work.
What I mean by show your work, is justify the inevitable Democrat defense of these programs in detail.
The Republicans are also going to have to bring the “tax and spend liberal” meme back into vogue. Use it in every public statement and web video and press release and talking point until the Democrats and everyone else gets sick of hearing it. Find ridiculous items in the budget and force the Democrats to defend them. Make them defend every insane penny they’re spending. Make them get specific. None of this “we’ll raise taxes now in return for the promise of spending cuts later” nonsense. We’ve seen that play out before. The Democrats always lie and increase spending after they get their tax increase, and then they turn around and use the tax hike to destroy Republicans.
That’s how they roll.
– to accomplish that approach and since DEMedia either doesn’t report or distorts what the GOP leadership says, this good idea is DOA.
I think realistic discussions on the secession movement is perhaps the best move forward now. Playing it safe will lose in the long run, since I don’t see the GOP ever having the talent to capitalize against the media headwinds. Even when they do.
I have actually been on the government tit via the Federal Service, in one way or the other, since I graduated college. I like government. It performs a noble function. On the other hand, it is not the only thing that does so in this nation. Also, on the other hand the money I have recieved has always been for hard work performed. I thus do not like government in a “given a blank check” form, or growing to the pont of ruining the economy, nor am I going to sacrifice myslf or my progeny so that the “white trash” of this Republic never have to improve themselves. And they don’t, not to the level needed. It appears that there had in fact been some retreat. Now, I don’t mind a effort to help, but I will not sacrifice the commonweal and all the American Experiment was supposed to be about, and that is what is going on today, in order to just give plasma screens and free cell phones to a bunch of clueless idiots who frankly bring little to the table but demands and a desire not for happiness, but material goods.. Thus, like a pilot in a unrecoverable aircraft, at some point you have to make the decision to eject and save yourself.
We are not there yet. But we do need to talk about the philosophical underpinnings of what needs to be done if we ever do reach that point.
Why not just refuse to up the debt limit? Let the Dems fight over what does not get funded. U.S. income more than covers the debt payment so no ‘default’. Perhaps trade small increases for tax/entitlement real reform? Why not, we get blamed for everything anyway. Let’s enjoy the process.
Until the nations people ‘demand’ that the congress and the executive branch govern on behalf the the nations best interest rather than party special interests, the nations wreck will continue and worsen……
“You need the press….” Given that the press is incapable of doing anything that would support what was outlined above (indeed they would do just the opposite) it would take the RNC to help fight the battle. Yet other than do a half-baked approach to getting Romney’s butt kicked I don’t see them doing much to help. The RINO’s and establishment GOP certainly aren’t interested in fighting the good fight.
Doing what is right in regards to tax reform would be very painful for all working Americans and much of the retired americans, but it should be done!
Close ALL tax deductibles on personal income with exceptions for out of pocket ‘necessary’ medical expense, capped child care, capped home mortgate interest and capped captial gains on home sales (national sales average) and capped retirement investments (adjusted national avg of retirement income) after age 65. Everybody has some skin in taxation!
Then legislate spending priorities, defense and defense payroll, national debt, social security, medicare, VA Health care, national infrastructure and agri ‘research’, bio medical and energy ‘research’ subsidies. Then if anything is left over it can be fought over. No more borrowing by the federal government until they get their house in fine order!
Sure it would be a shock to all the people but everything has consequences and in our nations case, the consequences are mostly bad ones and the price of the consequences has to be paid by ALL.
what spending cuts?