GOP At Crossroads After Bush?

This is an interesting article, but it states that after George Bush leaves office that the answers on how to turn around the Republican party aren't easy. I say they are and here's some of the things that Republicans can do to win over more of the American public.

Tax Cuts: Economic experts have repeatedly said that tax cuts to a degree in just the right areas can boost the governments revenues significantly. For example, if someone starts getting an additional say 5% in their pockets at the end of the year, what do you think they do with that money? They'll pay off bills, purchase goods and services, and help stimulate the economy. Those goods and services are taxed, thus, putting money back into the pockets of the government. Sure, some people will save that money and earn interest or invest it, but by and large they will want to take that family vacation, purchase that new plasma TV, or new car. People are smart enough to know what to do with the money that they earn, so let them decide.
Listen to Democrats, especially John Edwards or Hillary Clinton. They want to "TAKE" profits from corporations and "GIVE" them to various places such as universal health care and other pet projects. So, what happens if a corporation has a bad quarter and they say lose $100 million dollars? Are Democrats going to take money away from universal health care to help people keep their jobs? No of course not.

National Defense: The Iraq war has divided this country very deeply. Soldiers on the ground are saying that they are doing good work and want to stay there. Politicians are pushing to have them home sooner then they'd like. Doing this would be disastrous. It would tell ordinary Iraqi citizens that they cannot trust the Americans and that we would be willing to "leave them to the wolves". How many people do you think would turn to terrorism if we turned our backs on an entire nation? Terrorists are coming to Iraq, not to New York. They are fighting armed and armored soldiers, not office workers. Regardless of what you think, that is a good thing.

Secondly, find Osama and al-Zahrawi. I cannot stress this enough. Symbolically and strategically, these two are the most important people to find right now. Finding these two will be tough for military and intelligence services, but I believe that we can capture or kill both of them without infringing on the rights of ordinary American citizens. That being said, any abuse of the rights of ordinary Americans should be punished severely. There's a reason why this is the greatest country in the world, and we cannot afford to turn it into a police state with people's rights being trampled on. If you believe that someone is involved with terrorism, get a FISA warrant. You can even get one after the fact. There's no reason not to.

Lesser Government: People don't like "big brother" looking over their shoulders all the time. We should trim the fat wherever possible. Pork projects should be eliminated or severely reduced to come back to fiscal responsibility. I'm not saying put someone working for the government out of a job, but let's start using the people we have in smarter ways to get a better "bang" for our buck. Corporations work to make a profit, the US government should be run the same way.

Fiscal Responsibility: This is a very important one. We need to cut out the fat in spending. No more private jets for all but the most senior members of government. No more "bridges to nowhere". No more "taxing the rich" just because they are successful. Grab the brightest financial minds from around the world if need be and come up with a plan to get rid of this country's debt and pass a law stating that the budget has to be balanced unless there is an emergency that is agreed upon by Congress and the President (war, natural disaster, etc). Learn to tell people "no". There's no reason why the government should be still supporting Hurricane Katrina victims a year and a half after the fact. Why should these people be living in rent free places when you and I have to pay rent? I don't mind helping natural disaster victims, but there comes a time where you have to say "enough".

Gun Control: No new gun control laws until existing ones are enforced. There is no reason why a person cannot purchase more than 1 gun a month as with some states. Gun collectors and people who find bargains are the ones being hurt by that. Slap on an additional 5 year sentence for serious crimes involving a gun. Law abiding citizens are ALWAYS the ones most hurt by gun control legislation and it's about time someone stood up for their rights instead of allowing a few bad apples to spoil the barrel.

Abortion Rights: This is a sore subject with conservatives, but I'll make it perfectly clear. If you are against abortion, don't have one. Don't infringe on the rights of others because it's against your beliefs. The same holds true for gun control laws. Conservatives don't like it when liberals ask for gun control laws, so it's only fair for liberals to not want new abortion laws. At least we can all agree on that. The Supreme Court ruled that abortions are legal. The Supreme Court has the final say in matters such as this one, so let it rest.

Stop Trying To Be Reagan: No one likes an imitator. Don't "try to be like Reagan", be yourself. After all, who was Reagan trying to be when he went into office?

Be Honest With The American Public: We all get it that the President can't share a lot of information because it's classified or it would show our hand to other nations we are having disagreements with, but if you are honest with everyone, the American public is very forgiving. Also, if you don't know the answer to something, just say "I don't know". I prefer that than a half assed answer with no real substance. How about "I don't know, but I'll get you that answer", that gives me honesty and follow through that I respect a lot more.

Follow Through: Which leads me to this point. If you're going to say something, do it. If you promise something on the campaign trail, follow through with it. Yes, you have to get it past Congress, but at least you give it a shot and make attempts to keep your promises. The American public would forgive someone if they attempted to keep a campaign promise but Congress didn't let it pass.

Give Great Speeches: This one gets overlooked a lot. If you give a great speech that offers people hope and a new outlook at their homeland, it makes them feel better about you, our country, and their lives. Happy people are productive people. Productive people are the ones who come up with the great ideas that fuel our economy and make our lives easier and better.

If the Republicans go back to these values, you can bet that they would win over more of the American public as a good majority support these values.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com