by Jack Lee
Despite Obama’s dismal leadership, despite the fact that he sank the nation deeper in debt (16 trillion) and pushed us to the edge of the economic cliff; Despite the fact that he grew government and issued countless presidential orders that were an unprecedented abuse of power; and despite his extravagance in spending our tax dollars on himself and his family, (1.2 billion in 2011) the people, by a significant majority re-elected him. That belies a problem with the populist movement, but that’s not why I am writing. I’ll have to save that one for another time.
My gripe is with the Republican Party’s counter to the left-wing assault on our traditional, founding values . It’s been timid and wholly ineffective. This party can’t seem deliver our conservative message or even follow through when we’ve given them the power. Remember when the GOP was majority in Congress, the Senate and we held the White House? What happened?! No reform, no follow through and we blew one of the greatest opportunities in GOP history!
More recently the President has been lobbying both voters at large and the GOP Washington to move off gridlock and make a compromise on increased taxation in exchange with some limited budget cutting. The odds favor Obama. If he gets his way this will be another major setback to the Party and conservatives everywhere.
On the left coast, Californians are so swayed by the democrat message that promises more entitlements, the Democrats dominate CA government top to bottom. The results of this takeover speak volumes about where the dems are taking the nation. CA is broke and taxation is the worst…big government is crushing us. It seems like the more money the dems throw at any given problem, the worse things get. And the dwindling minority of CA Republican voters keep taking hit after hit; it’s not fair – we deserve better from our Party.
I know CA is a red state, but it’s still hard to imagine that Barack Obama was re-elected by over 60% of the CA vote. That underscores the change in California’s demographics. Those demographics have been steadily gaining momentum until they have snowballed into a giant voting block for liberalism.
In several large key counties long held as by conservatives democrats again scored big in 2012 and were able to surprise the GOP leadership when they gained a 2/3rds majority in the Assembly and Senate. it seems the CA GOP is always being caught by surprise.
In the City of Chico, conservative candidates were trounced. Only one (Sean Morgan) survived to be elected to the city council, making the council split 2-5 in favor of liberals. Also noteworthy was that 26% of eligible Butte County voters failed to turnout..that is a sign the Butte County Republican Central Committee didn’t accomplish their mission, but maybe they couldn’t because they were simply overwhelmed? That’s what we’re hearing from a lot of GOP districts in CA.
California is now known as being a state in a [Death Spiral].
This death spiral is dubious distinction that includes 11 other red states where private sector workers are outnumbered by people who are dependent on the government. That number would include state workers, and people who are receiving welfare or pension. For example, in California the ratio of “takers versus makers” is bigger than one. If you own a software company that employs 100 people, you’re supporting 139 other people in the state who are on the “takers” list. This is unsustainable!
The situation in California has never been worse and with the passage of Proposition 30, the top 10% of earners will now be responsible for over 80% of the projected income tax revenue, a burden that will continue to drive taxpayers out of the state.
We know the state is suffering from an major job exodus and laying more regulations on businesses and more taxes sure isn’t going to turn this around. Welcome to the People’s Republik of Kalifornia! CA now has the highest income and sales tax in the nation. Our car taxes are the second highest. And poverty…well, we now also have the highest poverty in the nation too..isn’t that just peachy? The Golden State’s poverty rate is a whopping 23.5 percent – higher than the District of Columbia, at 23.2 percent, and even Florida, and 19.5 percent.
The Republican Party of California has time and again failed in it’s mission by failing to get the message out and helping RINO candidates run for top state offices.
Republicans in Sacramento grossly mishandled utility deregulation (actually it was a bi-partisan effort) and that cost us dearly. This historic bungling sent PG&E into bankruptcy on April 7th, 2001…. and we’re still paying for it!
In recent years our crumbling GOP was forced into desperation for big donors. This caused them to seeking sources of big money that could only come from special interests, like the insurance companies and Indian casinos. That did nothing to enhance the image of the party.
The incompetence demonstrated year after year by the CA Republican Party is noted in the major gains by democrats. The tipping point was likely back in 2001 when we lost our last big election that was still close. There’s been no recovery since. The situation is so dire here we have little or no hope of turning this around in our lifetime.
On the other side of the political fence it doesn’t seem to matter to the democrat voter that waste, fraud and abuse is rampant. It doesn’t matter that our schools are broke and failing in most areas. CA schools rank 48th in several remedial skills. It doesn’t seem to matter to them that a bloated state bureaucracy is chasing away good jobs at the same time they fleece the rich. Let me remind you, the top 10% of us now pay 80% of the state income tax and our dems think that’s reasonable and sustainable?
The only thing that seems to matter to the [gimme crowd] are their entitlements, and as long as they can tap into other people’s money those entitlements are secure.
This change in demographics can’t be stressed too much because we’ve got a huge problem there. I think it’s provable the majority of the new voters don’t have a clue about unsustainable spending. They only hear the promises of our leftist politicians and their concept of a socialist utopia where the rich pay their fair share. This is where they have invested their future…and unfortunately ours too, if only by default.
The GOP has no power: A good republican in the state legislature can’t pass a bill without democratic permission and they can’t block a bill without help from democrats. They’re entirely at the mercy of the opposition. Better they just stay home and refund us their wasted salaries.
Our nation’s core principles can be lost in the blink of an eye when it’s entrusted in the hands of incompetent and corrupt people in high office. That’s California.
The CA GOP has been too preoccupied with in-fighting, bi-law changes and fund-raising to get out an effective message or hold the democrats responsible for their failures. They have missed way too many opportunities to expose the failures of democrats. Although the media has been complicit in blocking the message, still, the GOP’s had their chances and they blew it. They repeatedly failing to deliver a coherent, compelling message and hold the democrats accountable.
Perhaps the best thing they could do now is to call for a state-wide stand down. Propose nothing in Sacramento, support nothing, just send our legislator’s pay back to the general fund and let them come home. Why pretend they are fighting the good fight? We should send them home and let democrats have it all; they do anyway! So, why be complicit in their inevitable failures? Why give them any deniability?
This grand gesture of defiance would show the kind of courage that has been sorely lacking in our party.
CA need not be a lost cause, we can use it to our advantage. The eventual economic implosion is virtually assured by the democrat leadership.
Right now is possibly the last chance for the remaining minority of competent voters to make a significant contribution for the good of the state and the nation by sacrificing in a boycott. Let CA become a shocking failure quickly… boycott all participation in the system and let CA be the first democrat controlled state to fall.
In my opinion, this is the finest, most selfless act of defiance we could do at this late stage. If we wait any longer, if we risk allowing people across the nation to acclimate to this state’s decline. In a sense, we’re trading away our activism for the risk of apathy and the results could be a disaster for the nation. This time to do nothing is to do something, if not for CA, but for the nation – this is the time. Do nothing! Boycott!
If you agree, then drop the republican party, and re-register as something else, independent is my first choice.
In closing, please understand, I’ve been a stalwart republican for 48 years. For someone like me to call for this drastic action is not easy, but I believe it is the right thing to do. This boycott is the bottom the CA GOP needs to hit! I’m confident that in a few years when the far left have ruined the state, conservatives can pick up the pieces and rebuild. But, if we wait any longer to boycott the shock value will be lost and so will everything we hold dear.
I’m now an official Independent Voter.
I am so pissed at Republicans in US Congress I could just spit right now. Obama came to the table with his jackassed “negotiation.” What did Republicans do? Nothing. They have no counter proposal. They are in the media and on every talk show there is complaining Obama won’t negotiate. Won’t give them a better deal. Why can’t they come with a specific deal? Why don’t they stand up to him and demand that they pass individual tax cuts and spending cuts instead of lumping it all together?
Why can’t Boehner demand that the middle class tax cuts be passed alone, then demand that the rest be passed on its own merits?
Boehner and McConnell look like a bunch of clowns in this thing. I hope LaMalfa gets there and stands up for our district and doesn’t become just another John Boehner stooge for the pathetic RNC.
Princess this may come as a shock to you but Barack Obama won the election. He is the leader of our nation and as such it is up to him (BECAUSE THE PEOPLE CHOSE HIM TO LEAD) to propose a budget and his plan for our nation going forward. But this man never puts his a** on the line. No…instead he plays games. He is a set up artist…a street thug. The country desperately needs real solutions and this man is toying with not only the Speaker of the House but with the future of every single American.
“Why can’t Boehner demand that the middle class tax cuts be passed alone, then demand that the rest be passed on its own merits?”
Ha! You’re kidding, right? Demand? It’s impossible to make demands with a man whose only response in honest talks is to turn his back. It’s like trying to negotiate with terrorists and for very similar reasons! Obama has no intention of fixing anything. His only intention is to make sure republicans take the blame for everything. Chumps like you fall for it and there are so many chumps in America.
Dictators behave this way! In his first term he asked for a commission (there were two actually). He made a BIG DEAL about putting this bipartisan commission together to solve our problems. NONE OF THE SIMPSON/BOWLES IDEAS were included in anything the President proposed thereafter. He never intended to use their ideas; it was a ruse from start to finish. He is an actor for the people, big talker…watch what he does not what he says! And try to notice who exactly is the turd in the punch bowl.
I will say this though it is not the President nor is it Boehner who is to blame. It is the American people. The American people have twice chosen a man that promised to fundamentally transform this nation. I can understand voting for him once, but twice? The only explanation is that the people want socialism. They want someone else to make their decisions and pay their bills. They want a leader to stick it to the business world and the wealthy. Some want a government takeover of business. They want all of this and they have no idea what it will ultimately mean in their lives.
What’s that famous quote…oh yeah! “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn’t exist.”
Likewise the greatest trick the President ever pulled was to convince the people that he believed it when he said:
The soaring rhetoric hides his intention to redistribute and spend (in no way the intention of the founders) and to overstep the constitutional powers of his office, i.e., empowering department heads at the EPA and HHS.
And for the last time, please educate yourself about the root cause of the housing crash and banking failures. Legislation, regulation, and corporatism, devised and exploited by powerful Democrats, is the reason all of this happened. Now the people have stupidly ignored the obvious and put the foxes in charge again.
Republicans do some pretty stupid things. They stupidly expect democrats to come to the table with honest proposals. They have not, however, been the authors of the unbelievably stupid legislation and regulation that became a ticking time bomb…democrats did that. (Some democrats made a *#I%load of money in the process). Wall Street didn’t do that. Banks didn’t do that. Democrats set it up, made a ton of money, used it to pander to the people for votes, and when it all came crashing down passed the buck. I refer you once again to this timeline of events…democrats making deals and playing with the lives of the American people…people all over the world:
http://tjhancock.wordpress.com/housing-bubble-financial-crisis-detailed-comprehensive-assessment/
Jack it is useless to attempt to negotiate with Obama or Reid. They have only one game. Spend more and grab more power…end of discussion.
We can lament that our GOP is insufficient and not up to the task but in what way have they not been forthright and willing to work on a solution? In what way would being able to speak better to the people make any difference in a world where so many refuse to take them or our problems seriously, including so many in the press? In what way would even the charisma of Ronald Reagan penetrate the belief system that has been pounded into the electorate…Kruschev was dead serious…the little commrades have done well. America was “fundamentally changed” long ago. We were given a republic but we, as failed human beings, were unable to sustain it. It takes vigilance, it takes a moral people…we lost both long ago.
On to California…it’s Thelma and Louise time for the conservative message of freedom, personal responsibility, limited government, and personal charity. California has been at the forefront of fundamental change for decades. The people have decided, and like a bunch of hormone driven adolescents without a clue, they are determined to learn the hard way. All we can do to give ourselves some certainty during this death spiral period, is prepare for the worst. Will we rise from the ashes? I don’t know..I may be too old to see it if we do. I sure worry for my grandchildren.
I have no desire to excuse the GOP in California or DC but I believe that the problem they face is pretty much insurmountable due to the lack of societal morality, adult engagement, and awareness of American heritage and founding values. The work that needs to be done, if it isn’t too late, is in our schools, media, legal system, and entertainment fields. (By the way…you can skip the new Brad Pitt flick, “Killing Them Softly”…it is the worst excuse for a movie I have ever seen…blatantly political, and I would have expected a much earlier release date)
You would think at some point people would begin to see or suspect…smell a rat?…but when joblessness, extreme debt, abuse of power don’t do it is there any chance people are even remotely aware? Doubt it.
With a nod to David Burge @iowahawkblog
Dear GOP: when negotiating with imbeciles, sometimes it’s best just to shut the whole Twinkie factory down.
In my opinion, the Fiscal Cliff can’t come soon enough. Yes, I know the scheduled sequestration cuts are in the wrong places, but at least there are some cuts, real cuts to current spending, not projected future cuts to future requests for increases. It would be the first time time that this government has ever actually cut anything at all. Unfortunately, it’s all a mirage, another phony crisis manufactured by Obama to whip the other side into accepting emergency tax increases to “save” the nation. But if Bonehead Boehner would just stand srong for once in his life, we could rejoice. Embrace the Cliff, for it is our friend.
Well said Soaps and I’m sure most of us will agree with you. Why should we be victimized as codependents in democrat run state? Gandhi’s passive resistance accomplished far more than fighting and losing to the British battle after batter because of inferior numbers and leadership.
The talk on the Hill is republicans are willing to compromise in exchange for certain guarantees to shore up social security. Heard from a republican lawmaker on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Thanks Pie, I knew you would understand why I went there. This was a tough call for me, but I believe it’s the right thing to do. I plan to stay politically active, especially at the local level. The powerful Butte Taxpayer’s Alliance is a good place to start. They are non-partisan like the Tea party and their focus is on government oversight and in particular spending accountability. They represent the interest of all the taxpayer, as opposed to a partisan organization that may have many other agenda’s and are more restricted.
Tina, have no fear I am not retreating from activism or the defense our founders ideals, but I am refusing to be a codependent to incompetence and corruption.
My focus now will be at the grass roots level. The republican party has failed time after time to reign in those disruptive and divisive elements that have hidden personal agenda’s for power and money. Bi-laws and the spirit of our idealism was trampled on too many time by republican party opportunists and no enforcement was done to counter this because the leadership was too weak or too compromised by a conflicts of interest. You probably would not be aware of that because this in an inner circle problem. However, this only allowed for more in-fighting and political games by the power brokers and it helped to weaken our chances in elections. We talked one thing and too often did another…people saw it and voted with their feet. Thus the massive exodus from the CA GOP. The arrogant GOP in turn said good riddance! They stupidly refused to let independent voters vote in the primaries. The list of my grievances is a long one, so this left me with no choice but to say good-bye to these corrupters of real republicanism and boycott. I’m hoping thousands more will join me.
George Washington proclaimed political parties are the source of all dirty tricks and I quote him, “However, [political parties] may now and then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time and things, to become potent engines, by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the power of the people and to usurp for themselves the reins of government, destroying afterwards the very engines which have lifted them to unjust dominion.”
Washington was a man of great intelligence and vision and on this, and so many other things, he was absolutely right.
Jack as always I wish you well in your endeavors. The Butte Taxpayers Alliance is a noble group with a worthy purpose and I have no doubt you will all work very hard.
“… left me with no choice but to say good-bye to these corrupters of real republicanism and boycott. I’m hoping thousands more will join me.”
New party…Independent Party…Freedom Party? You sound like a convicted man with a bold new purpose…I hope you’ll let us know exactly where you land, 🙂
Jack, I agree the Calif. GOP dug its own grave. I was shocked to see your CRA resolution to hold candidates accountable to the CRA platform go down to defeat. The last shovel full was seeing during the election in November a CRA officer endorse Jim Reed in his campaign ad against Doug LaMalfa. I’m not surprised the GOP died in CA after the circular firing squad they built.
As for the national GOP I do believe there is still a chance, but Boehner and the others in the House and Senate are going to have to grow some big ones.
Newt Gingrich and Pat Buchanan on talk shows yesterday laid out plans to force Obama and the Senate to deal with the budget and the failure to do so makes them responsible.
Pat Buchanan:
Tell the president politely that America’s problem is not that we are taxed too little but that we spend too much – and the GOP will not sign on either to tax rate or tax revenue increases. For Republicans believe that would further injure the economy – especially an economy limping along at between 1 and 2 percent growth.
Then Boehner should depart the White House, go back up to the Hill and urge his Republican caucus to do two things.
Pass an extension of the Social Security payroll tax cut and block its automatic rise from 4.2 percent of wages to 6.2 percent. To raise that tax now and scoop off the discretionary income of most of America’s families in this anemic economy makes no sense economically or politically.
The House should then vote to extend the Bush tax cuts for another year, with a pledge to do tax reform – lowering tax rates in return for culling, cutting or capping deductions for the well-to-do in the new year.
Then let Harry Reid work his will. If the Senate votes to let Social Security taxes rise, let Harry and his party explain this to the middle class that gets hammered in January. If the Senate votes to let the Bush tax cuts lapse for those over $200,000, decide in the caucus whether to negotiate – or to go home for Christmas and New Year’s.
As for the automatic sequester that would impose $100 billion in cuts next year, half in defense, do nothing. Let it take effect. The budget has to be cut, and while these cuts are heavy on defense, the depth and mixture can be adjusted in the new year.
If Republicans walk away from tax negotiations with the White House, market investors, anticipating a sharp rise in tax rates on dividends, interest and capital gains next year, will start dumping stocks, bonds and investments to take advantage of the last year of lower taxes.
The market may tank. Let the party of high taxes explain it.
http://www.creators.com/opinion/pat-buchanan/who-s-afraid-of-the-fiscal-cliff.html
Newt Gingrich:
The political and news media Left have fashioned an artificial club called “the fiscal cliff”.
They are now standing on national television pounding their club and describing more and more horrifying outcomes if Republicans refuse to surrender their principles and appease the fiscal cliff Gods as defined by the Left.
Their goal is to panic the country so the people will then apply pressure to panic the Republicans.
Every time you hear “fiscal cliff” just remember it is an artificial invention of the Left.
Every time you hear a dire warning about the coming crisis remember the Samoans pounding their war clubs and chanting.
House Republicans should start legislating solutions they believe in, allow President Obama’s alternatives the honest chance to win a floor vote, and move forward.
The current negotiations are phony, dishonest, and calculated to produce either a failure to be blamed on the Republicans or a success defined by the collapse of the Republican policy positions.
Republicans would be far better off to refocus their energy on legislation, appropriation, oversight, and communication — and relegate negotiation to being fifth on their priority list.
http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/2012/11/30/newt-gingrich-there-is-no-fiscal-cliff/
On the Record w/ Greta V. – Gingrich to GOP: Stop negotiating on fiscal cliff: (A Must Watch to the end!)
http://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A0S00Mm9c7pQz1wA5pb7w8QF;_ylu=X3oDMTBrc3VyamVwBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQD?p=newt+gingrich++fiscal+cliff+fox&vid=01f31221469651174e477e908cf5b58a&l=18%3A48&turl=http%3A%2F%2Fts4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DVB.345382002655%26pid%3D15.1&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvideo.foxnews.com%2Fv%2F1998558300001%2Fgingrich-to-gop-stop-negotiating-on-fiscal-cliff%2F&tit=Gingrich+to+GOP%3A+Stop+negotiating+on+fiscal+cliff&c=4&sigr=12qcvop9k&fr=yfp-t-701-1-s&tt=b