'We're past campaign mode. I think it's important for everyone to get some form of health care. So, to offer a basic plan for everybody, I think is important." - Scott Brown by Larry Warrick
(libertarian)
Friday, January 7, 2011
Peter Bordow, a Tea Party organizer in Arizona recently weighed in over raising the debt ceiling (the difference between government revenue and spending, or how fast the debt is allowed to grow). "The debt ceiling is a pivotal issue, a linchpin issue There needs to be a broad understanding of the effect of this decision, but I think we are inevitably going to need to swallow a difficult pill someday," he says. "Not raising the debt ceiling may be that difficult pill." He failed to address the idea of actually reducing the debt ceiling. Maybe that's one pill too many.
Rich Lowry, editor of the conservative National Review, is worried about a 1990's style government shutdown "lest Republicans repeat the Newt Gingrich shutdown debacle The Republican political goal must be to make a government-cutting agenda seem reasonable and practicable," Lowry says, "rather than the obverse of Obama's spending recklessness." Dear Rich, reasonable and practicable is the obverse of Obama's spending recklessness.
Allen West of Florida told Fox News that he would oppose raising the debt limit unless Congress indicates it will take on the financial problems of Social Security and Medicare. He's hedging on his campaign promises already. Guess we're not in 'campaign mode' any more.
Tea Party activists across the country have said that nothing should be off the table when it comes to cutting government spending including entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
TEA party congressmen like Rep. Kremer, are less than specific when asked about suggestions for cuts: "I'm not an economist; I'm not an accountant; I'm not an expert on the economy," she says. "But to rein in spending, you have to make cuts and everything needs to be on the table." Translation: Governing is not like campaigning, but I still remember the right words to keep my voters thinking I know what I'm doing.
There is plenty of advice out there for our newly-minted congress-critters.
Jim Babka from Downsize DC has taken a proactive approach to TEA party activism by recommending specific legislation designed to 'put government back in its box', making elected representatives put action into their campaign rhetoric:
The "Read the Bills Act"
"Ignorance of the law is no excuse for citizens. Neither should it be permitted to Congress.
With great power comes great responsibility. Representatives have a fiduciary responsibility to read every word of every law that they seek to impose on the people they claim to serve. The obligations imposed on public servants must always be greater than those imposed on citizens."
The "One Subject at a Time Act"
"We were taught in school that majority support is required to pass legislation, but Congressional leaders constantly avoid this requirement by loading down popular bills that are sure to pass with unpopular measures that would fail on their own merits. Here are some real examples:
A port security bill became the vehicle for the prohibition of online poker in 2006, thereby serving the special interests of brick and mortar gambling concerns. A consolidated appropriations bill became a haven for a gun control bill in 1997. Must-pass troop appropriations bills have been used to enact legislation for tsunami relief, a national ID card (2005), and an increase to the minimum wage (2007)."
The "Write the Laws Act"
"Take, for example, the behavior of virtually any executive branch agency, like the IRS, the FTC, or OSHA. Frequently, unelected bureaucrats in these agencies
1. Promulgate rules that citizens must obey, which means they legislate 2. Bring charges against citizens to enforce these regulations, thereby acting in an executive capacity 3. Adjudicate their own enforcement, long before a citizen has access to an independent court" Therefore setting up their own judiciary.
The root cause of all our government ills is bloated government. Reducing the size and scope of government to its constitutional limitations will naturally reduce its appetite for spending other people's money and free 'we the people' so we can address our own economic problems. The last thing any of us needs to hear is "I'm from the government and I'm here to help". Some of our new representatives will be keepers, some will be throwbacks. Those who stick to their campaign promises will have an easier time at the town halls next summer. Those who take a leading role in rolling back the pork will have an easier time keeping their jobe in the next elections.
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