The Barking RINO 3
The cold hand of catastrophe
According to the Wall Street Journal (03/24), “The national
Republican Party’s new 97 page blueprint for rebuilding the GOP makes no fewer
than 30 mentions of the need to become more welcoming and inclusive, mainly on
immigration and social issues.” [1]
The national party is telling us, ‘We were wrong and the
need to set a new course is at hand; that is if the GOP wants to win elections
at the Federal level.’
As we look at the notion of inclusion, whether in terms of
immigration, homosexuals or RINO’s, what’s clear is “our tent” is too small and
current ideology is not sufficiently pragmatic to lead to election victory. As
the report states, the GOP lost the popular vote in last five out of six
Presidential elections.
Instead of wallowing in a short term idealistic agenda that
leads to losses at the polls, GOP leadership must look over the horizon for
long term solutions to real world problems. This strategy is contrary to
elected official’s tendency to provide last minute band-aid solutions to real
world problems: for example, the budget and the debt.
Think about it, the real miracle of the Sequester is that
the GOP was able to cut the military budget without having to vote for such a
cut. How convenient AND it can all be blamed on the lack of leadership by President
Obama. Talk about manna from heaven! Such a move may be politically expedient
but it is not leadership nor is it offering proactive solutions to the problems
our great nation faces.
“We the People” have tolerated the empty offerings of dogma
and thus allowed the Federal Government to compile a national debt that unborn
generations of Americans are going to suffer paying off. Congratulations, you and I have dropped the
ball by accepting failed ideologies instead of demanding solutions. The root of
this problem is in the mirror.
Specifically, as the voting public – what are we doing to
address the budget mess? The ‘debate points’ from today’s heady GOP is to cut
government and not raise taxes. Just like immigration, it doesn’t take much
mustard to know this is no real solution. It is a self evident truth that both
program cutting and tax hikes are in our future. Yet the GOP faithful abet
foolishness by holding an ideal line against tax hikes. Mr. Obama is correct
when he tells us we cannot “cut our way” to a balanced budget. And any fool can
see it is nothing more than class warfare to suggest that we can tax the rich
to solve this problem.
Rather than sticking our heads in the sand (again), let’s
cut to the chase and demand real world solutions from OUR party. Let’s ask for
REAL leadership on what is perhaps the most important issue facing our
generation – fiscal responsibility. It’s too late to expect a balanced budget
amendment to solve this problem.
So there are your choices; demand real solutions (which
include tax hikes and cuts to programs you support) or engage in hollow
dogmatic double-speak which leads to no solution, continued losses at polls and
party leaders that are allowed to continue to serve up non-solutions disguised
as solutions which, in our selfishness, ask for little sacrifice and engage in
the comfortable but false illusion that hard problems can be solve with simple,
short-term, painless solutions.
What’s clear is that the money and power of politics is
moving against solving this problem. Elected officials are being bound by the
unrealistic expectation which echo’s 1991’s failed promise of, “Read
my lips, no new taxes.” The time to demand leadership which negotiates for
specific expenditure cuts, that tenaciously eliminates waste and fraud and finally
ends the ‘path dependency’ of antiquated government programs. THEN, and only
then, are tax hikes on the table. A Wall Street Journal article (7/21/12)
indicates that Canada was able to successfully tackle this problem with a platform
of $7 in cuts for every $1 in tax hikes.[2]
You probably missed it but during the Democratic Convention former President
Clinton suggested a 2:1 ratio.
The challenge of such a bold and honest move is to support
elected officials as they embark upon the risky journey where ‘your cow gets
gored’ and ‘your taxes go up.’ We know what future our current path holds. America
does not have to once again be foolish enough to wait until the cold hand of
catastrophe touches us - we can begin solving this today if we choose to
empower our elected officials to become leaders rather than casual pedestrians
watching as the fiscal train wreck approaches ‘Destiny Station.’ Or we can
allow the President’s partisan invigorating strategy of class warfare continue the
failed policy of doing nothing. What is the legacy of our generation? Decide. Do it today.
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