It Will Take Passion to Win in 2012
"The trouble with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money." Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher had a gift for gab. So did the real ‘Gipper’ – Ronald Reagan that is. These inimitable leaders articulated their principles with ease and a flair for creating vivid word pictures - so much so that President Reagan earned the title of “The Great Communicator.” Was it simply a matter of saying what you mean and meaning what you say? Some say that it’s just that simple to be a good communicator, or is it?
Actually, the age-old problem for Republicans, especially conservative Republicans, has been the inability of the rank and file to clearly articulate conservative core principles. Can’t we just leave that to someone else? Hire someone, a marketing genius, to do the work for us? Can’t we leave it to Rush Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin or Thomas Sowell? I’m afraid not.
Painting a word picture of a better America through conservatism is the responsibility of each and every true conservative Republican. That’s right. It’s not an option; it’s not a choice; it’s not something that we can put in our ‘bucket list’ until next year. It is the duty of each and every one of us to ‘get scripted’ as we say on the political circuit, that is, if we truly want to defeat socialism or worse from the Democrats.
In fact, Thomas Sowell and Walter Williams, to mention a few free-market thinkers, are deeply concerned with our inability to articulate. Sowell recently opined that, “Knowing that they are going to get hit more often in the media, you might think that Republicans would put extra time and effort into developing a knockout message. In reality, however, Republicans seem to invest much less time and thought into getting their political message across than is done by the Democrats.”
If Republicans want to win in 2012 we better get scripted, because the President will have the bully pulpit, and he’s already using it. If you’ve heard ‘tax cuts for the rich’ one time you’ll hear it a thousand times over the next 18 months. So, what’s your response to that one? Well, what is it? Read More...
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Now’s the Time for Unflinching Leadership
February 12,2011 | 03:17 PM Filed in: Florida Politics | 2011 Legislative Session
Will this Florida Legislative Session be more of the same? Or, will the Republican majority in Tallahassee finally advance the conservative agenda for which they were elected?
I hate to say it, but I’m not holding my breath. Yes, I do have heightened expectations for this legislative session, but all of us in the ‘great unwashed’ have been let down before. We’ve seen too many of our hometown representatives head to Tallahassee or D.C. claiming to be unflinching conservatives, but turning turn to ‘butter’ in the face of wave after wave of special interest advocacy.
I was greatly encouraged by Senate President Mike Haridopolos in his recent pre-session video interview with House Speaker Dean Cannon. President ‘Mike’ warmed my heart when he said that the Senate would no longer be the graveyard for good conservative legislation from the House. God only knows how many great ideas I saw shot down by the state senate RINOs during my tenure as Speaker.
The conservative pronouncements of the new legislative leaders notwithstanding, the ‘backbone’ or lack thereof shown by the legislative committee chairs and their committee members will tell the tale. For better or worse, these legislative leaders are on a first name basis with lobbyists for each and every industry they regulate – everything from corrections to education. You name it, the legislators will be inundated with cries that the world will end if a lobbyist’s special interest is cut. Legislators will be warned that cutting the budget of a particular interest group will have dire consequences, such as a loss of campaign support, endorsements, contributions and grassroots efforts. Many knees will buckle. Many hearts will grow faith. Many forward looking legislators will contemplate their careers in public service as being more important than getting crossed up with the teachers union, the healthcare industry, government employees, local government officials, road builders, trial lawyers, etc., etc., etc. Many will head for the middle of the road, trying to firmly place a foot in each camp. It will be a sight to see.
Yet, one thing is different this time around: Governor Rick Scott is a ‘new sheriff in town’ who got there without having to suck up to anyone or any special interest. That is a difference. That could be and should be a big deal. So far it is. Rolling out the budget in Eustis was good stuff.
While writing this article my cell phone buzzed with an encouraging email from Rick Scott (via the RPOF) touting his budget plan, asking for me to give it a thumbs up on Facebook. Yes Governor, I will. This is awesome stuff. The Governor needs to embrace every social media and alternative to the main stream Tallahassee media which is salivating over a possible intra-party budget fight.
How could Governor Scott stumble? Well, first and foremost if he would rather have ‘half a loaf’ than no loaf, he’s done. If he starts looking over the horizon toward re-election, then all is lost. If he starts playing defense, it’s over.
Now is the time for Scott to take the offense and remind the legislators of the important Republican talking points that seem to be forgotten once the legislators get to Tallahassee. A good start would be for Governor Scott to anticipate and shut down what I call the public education ‘rites of spring.’ Without exception, every spring the public school lobbyists come to Tallahassee and ‘hold a gun to the head’ of some particular aspect of the public schools and threaten to pull the trigger unless the taxpayer dollars keep flowing. Scott needs to remind the Republicans of our conviction that the problem with public education is not ‘inputs’ (lack of money) but more to do with lack of measuring ‘output’ (are children learning and what are they learning). In other words, if Governor Scott treats public school funding as an untouchable ‘third rail’ then he’s done. Take my word for it.
So, we are off to the races on the first Tuesday in March. Who will be unflinching?
I hate to say it, but I’m not holding my breath. Yes, I do have heightened expectations for this legislative session, but all of us in the ‘great unwashed’ have been let down before. We’ve seen too many of our hometown representatives head to Tallahassee or D.C. claiming to be unflinching conservatives, but turning turn to ‘butter’ in the face of wave after wave of special interest advocacy.
I was greatly encouraged by Senate President Mike Haridopolos in his recent pre-session video interview with House Speaker Dean Cannon. President ‘Mike’ warmed my heart when he said that the Senate would no longer be the graveyard for good conservative legislation from the House. God only knows how many great ideas I saw shot down by the state senate RINOs during my tenure as Speaker.
The conservative pronouncements of the new legislative leaders notwithstanding, the ‘backbone’ or lack thereof shown by the legislative committee chairs and their committee members will tell the tale. For better or worse, these legislative leaders are on a first name basis with lobbyists for each and every industry they regulate – everything from corrections to education. You name it, the legislators will be inundated with cries that the world will end if a lobbyist’s special interest is cut. Legislators will be warned that cutting the budget of a particular interest group will have dire consequences, such as a loss of campaign support, endorsements, contributions and grassroots efforts. Many knees will buckle. Many hearts will grow faith. Many forward looking legislators will contemplate their careers in public service as being more important than getting crossed up with the teachers union, the healthcare industry, government employees, local government officials, road builders, trial lawyers, etc., etc., etc. Many will head for the middle of the road, trying to firmly place a foot in each camp. It will be a sight to see.
Yet, one thing is different this time around: Governor Rick Scott is a ‘new sheriff in town’ who got there without having to suck up to anyone or any special interest. That is a difference. That could be and should be a big deal. So far it is. Rolling out the budget in Eustis was good stuff.
While writing this article my cell phone buzzed with an encouraging email from Rick Scott (via the RPOF) touting his budget plan, asking for me to give it a thumbs up on Facebook. Yes Governor, I will. This is awesome stuff. The Governor needs to embrace every social media and alternative to the main stream Tallahassee media which is salivating over a possible intra-party budget fight.
How could Governor Scott stumble? Well, first and foremost if he would rather have ‘half a loaf’ than no loaf, he’s done. If he starts looking over the horizon toward re-election, then all is lost. If he starts playing defense, it’s over.
Now is the time for Scott to take the offense and remind the legislators of the important Republican talking points that seem to be forgotten once the legislators get to Tallahassee. A good start would be for Governor Scott to anticipate and shut down what I call the public education ‘rites of spring.’ Without exception, every spring the public school lobbyists come to Tallahassee and ‘hold a gun to the head’ of some particular aspect of the public schools and threaten to pull the trigger unless the taxpayer dollars keep flowing. Scott needs to remind the Republicans of our conviction that the problem with public education is not ‘inputs’ (lack of money) but more to do with lack of measuring ‘output’ (are children learning and what are they learning). In other words, if Governor Scott treats public school funding as an untouchable ‘third rail’ then he’s done. Take my word for it.
So, we are off to the races on the first Tuesday in March. Who will be unflinching?
Tyranny by the Majority - Part I
“The Story of the transformation of the fundamental principle of American government from liberty to democracy is compelling, partly because the powers embodied in America’s twenty-first century democratic government are those that eighteenth-century Americans revolted against to escape.” Randall G. Holcombe
American government has progressed far from its birthright that held individual liberty sacred. Today, we have a nation where it is taken as a fait accompli that government not only has the power, but also has a duty, to look out for the economic well being of every citizen, even if it means taking from a productive citizen and giving to an unproductive one. We have apparently arrived at a point where the individual citizen must completely and totally defer his or her life, liberty and property to the will of the majority. Many political economists aptly refer to the current state of affairs as a ‘tyranny by the majority” because democracy in such a form has taken us a long way down the ‘slippery slope’ toward communal ownership of property and all its proven failures, most notably an economy in decline.
Several political economists have examined the motives of the Founding Fathers and have made credible arguments that the Founding Fathers never meant to create a democracy, but only a republic that was well insulated from the fickle nature of raw public sentiment. One excellent effort to put the matter in perspective was From Liberty to Democracy – The Transformation of American Government written by Randall G. Holcomb, a Florida State University professor of economics. Because it is a comprehensive study of American political economics, From Liberty to Democracy is not an easy read. Holcombe is an economist, not a novelist! Yet, Holcombe’s elucidation of the mega-trends in American politics from pre-revolutionary days to the beginning of the 21st Century renders the essence of the transition from liberty to democracy. From the protection of liberty as the central duty of government to a complete transition to democracy, or majority rule, as a central tenant of governance, it has been a slow but sure march indeed.
In a recent article, Steve H. Hanke, a professor of economics at Johns Hopkins University, arrives at the same conclusions as Holcombe Read More...
