Archive for May, 2010

Today President Obama begrudgingly took ownership over the BP oil spill that has disrupted life both on land and on sea for over five weeks.  Obama insisted that addressing the growing ecological disaster has been a top priority, and anyone who says otherwise “doesn’t know the facts.” It sounded like another sound bite in an endless sea of “from day one’s:”

• President Obama: “From day one we have prepared and planned for the worst, even as we hoped for the best
• Janet Napolitano: “The administration responded with all hands on deck from day one”
• Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said, “from day one, the president has been involved and informed…So from day one, we’ve been on top of this every minute, 24 hours a day, trying to get the situation under control.”

We now know they have an able and coordinated PR team, yet the actual hands-on response has reflected none of these traits.

Democratic strategist and notable Obama ally James Carville articulated, rather vehemently, the incompetency of the White House’s handling the oil spill. As a Louisianan the anger he felt over the failure of leadership was palpable.

“He could be commandeering tankers and making BP bring tankers in to clean this up. They could be deploying people to the coast right now. He could be with the core engineers and the Coast Guard with his people doing something about these regulations. These people are crying, begging for something down here, and he just looks like he is not involved in this. Man, you got to get down here and take control of this. Put somebody in charge of this thing and get this thing moving. We are about to die down here…”

The outrage of Carville mirrors the discontent among citizens in Louisiana and the surrounding areas impacted by the spill. It does not stop there. The inaction of the Obama administration in handling this disaster is raising concern nationwide.  A new USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds that six out of 10 adults say the federal government is doing a “poor” or “very poor” job handling the spill. A majority – 53% – says the same about Obama.  Five weeks into the worst ecological disaster since Katrina and Americans are still waiting. Waiting on the administration to not just take ownership, but show some leadership, in a crisis that so desperately demands it. Waiting, along with inconsistency and inefficiency are the hallmarks of Washington. And it is unacceptable.

President Obama has finally bowed to the political pressure that has been building like the oil under the Gulf. Intent on showing his command of the situation he made an appearance in Louisiana, his second in the five weeks since the explosion. The trip marks a departure from his planned, and much ballyhooed, trip to Chicago for the Memorial Day weekend.

Regardless of where he is, he must begin to show, rather than say, that this is a crisis deserving of his time. Life as they know it in Louisiana and across the Gulf coast is in grave danger. Obama told his staffers at the beginning of this crisis, “plug the damn hole.” We’re not expecting you to do that yourself Mr. President. But we are expecting you to exhibit some leadership as we try.

by Brandon Greife and Samantha Cohen

We waited.

For almost 40 days, the country waited.  We woke up every morning, thinking that this might be the day that our President decided to do something, anything substantial at all, about the incredible plume of oil that was seeping into the Gulf of Mexico.

Instead, we went to bed every night disappointed, left feeling as if it were just some trivial spill that would eventually get cleaned up and have a minimal affect economically, psychologically, and environmentally.  We thought the next day, he’d get it.  He’d finally come forth and address BP’s horrific mistake (and its rather disheartening, feigned acceptance of the part it has played) and become the figurehead for this calamity that would restore the confidence the American people had in him.  Campaign trail Obama is what we were waiting to see.  Ferocious, energized, slightly aggressive.  Willing to “take on the man”.

But the waiting has ended, and we are now faced with a tragedy that has already surpassed the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill.

This morning, our country should be waking up with an intense frustration and a red-hot anger with a President that bit his nails and sat on this spill while questions went unanswered, speculation ran rampant, and lives were changing.  The very people – the citizens of Louisiana – that have stood behind him, supported him, and elected him—he turned his back on.  After a press conference that served as just a pathetic attempt at placating a livid public and an incredulous media, President Obama has, not for the first time, shown his incompetence.  Sure, making the point that one of his daughters innocently asked “did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?” brings an element of humanity to your predicament, Mr. President, but you are supposed to be our fearless leader, party politics aside.

This did not have to be a political problem, but that’s what it turned in to.  President Obama sat on the sidelines, having aide after aide analyze what to do so he would walk away from this as unscathed as possible.  His reputation and poll numbers, not the lives lost or catastrophic damage, were front and center.  We saw him fly to San Francisco for a fundraiser, we’ve heard about how he had to change his Memorial Day plans to go down and visit the shore to at least appear as if he cared.

Now, though, the truth will come out, and his incompetency will be a disturbing theme in them all.  There’s the story that he hasn’t even taken the time to return the phone call from the Congressman that represents the district of the rig.  There’s the painting of a president that seems aloof, almost confused as to what to do next.  And then there is even the most faithful of Democrats, James Carville, who has valiantly and loudly blasted President Obama for his almost complete disregard for the situation. For a president that likes to equate himself to the average American, this is epitomizes just how far removed he is from the American public.

We learned from Hurricane Katrina what dithering around, in an almost pseudo-oblivious haze that dumbfounds the average American, can do to not just a region or state, but what it can do to a presidency as a whole.  Just as the clean up begins in the Gulf, so to does President Obama’s uphill battle of staking his claim as an authoritative, productive presidency whose aspirations lie with his people—not his politics.

This is a president out of touch. Perhaps the better characterization is detached. His go-to political maneuver allows him to simultaneously maintain the image of power while leaving space to wriggle his way out of blame. It often works. But in this case we needed emotion. We needed to see fear, but not because of the spill’s impact on his approval ratings. We needed to see anger, but not because the press had begun to question his lack of leadership. We needed to see empathy, but not because it is what is expected. Be our fearless leader but show some humanity in the process.

We needed to see all of these things. Instead, we waited.

by Leah Dow (edited by Brandon Greife)

Democrats seem to have finally caught on. Spending money we don’t have is not a good idea! But are they really concerned about our bottom line or are they concerned with their chances for reelection. I have a hunch it’s the latter.

Democrats attempted claim to fiscal restraint begins and ends with the recent debate over the Tax Extenders bill a.k.a. “Son of Stimulus.” The bill, which began with a price tag of $200 billion, met with resistance within the Democratic caucus. Bill Nelson was one of many who met the bill with a sense of sticker shock, saying, “when it’s about spending here that’s not offset, you have to feel uncomfortable.”

To shore up support for the bill House Democratic Leaders begun to scale back some of the bill’s pricier provisions.  As RollCall reported,

“In a nod to fiscal conservatives’ concerns about the size of the package and the deficit. The $127 billion bill would now add $84 billion to the deficit.”

Only with Democrats in power could adding $84 billion to the deficit be considered a nod to fiscal conservatives.  Moreover, the reductions were accomplished through fiscal gimmicks first made famous in the health care reform debate. A majority of the purported “cuts” came by shortening the length of the Medicare doc fix by two years. Shortening the budgetary window creates fantasy savings. Without a long term solution the doc fix will have to be continually revisited and extended to prevent doctors from seeing a massive cut in their reimbursement rates. Shortening the length of the fix doesn’t save money, it only reduces the amount of time between spending.

Those cuts were still not enough for the newly fiscally conscientious Democrats. So the leadership again went back to the drawing board, trying to save-face and come up with something that could garner votes. The latest price-tag reductions come by terminating the $31 billion Medicaid bailout and removing the $22 billion doc fix. As Politico reports

For the once activist House, the frustrations this week underscore again how much energy was consumed by the long healthcare debate. The normal budget process has been a first casualty, but the jobs and economic relief initiative gave Democrats a chance still to show some ability to come together and map a course ahead on tough fiscal issues.

Instead the leadership first overreached and then found itself baffled by an almost “Stop the World — I Want to Get Off” posture among nervous party moderates, already in shut-down mode months before November’s elections.

Democrats have finally realized that after jamming their lead foot on the fiscal accelerator for 18 months it’s hard to steer the car. Our nation is swerving in and out of traffic with a clear dead-end in sight. While Democrats are looking to bail, Americans are left to find the brakes. Whether they realize it or not, we are all yelling “I Want to Get Off.” But, it’s too late.

Should we even believe that Democrats have realized the error of their spending ways? Frankly, no. They have shied away from passing a budget because reminding people of record debt and deficits is not popular in an election year. They are treading lightly in their Tax Extender’s package for the same reason. But does anyone think that if there weren’t an election in November that Democrats would be showing the same fiscal concern? They’ve certainly given us no reason to.

The worries about the deficit are really just worries about their chances in November. There has been a dramatic shift in public attitudes about government spending. The recession has forced American families to carefully scrutinize their budget and squeeze the most out of every dollar. They now expect their government to do the same. With the political winds blowing toward fiscal restraint, Democrats are just a party flapping in the wind.

by Brandon Greife, Political Director

Small businesses are lining up with their hands tied behind their backs as Democrat’s health care reforms prepare to pull a plethora of triggers aimed at their wallets. But who is really in the crosshairs? The employees. The problem with targeting businesses is that they are a moving target – shifting and defraying costs to either their employees or consumers. In the end we’re all losers.

A new study by Towers Watson, a corporate consulting company, found that:

“Employers have little hope that the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will help them achieve their top goals to decrease health care cost trend and improve workforce health. Indeed, most employers are convinced that health care reform will lead to increased costs and a stepped-up exodus from employer-provided retiree medical coverage”

Even worse for employees, the study found that:

• 94% of companies believe that Democrats’ health care reform will raise costs
• 88% say they plan to pass that increase on to their employees
• 74% plan to reduce health benefits and programs rather than eat the costs
• 43% of those businesses that offer retiree benefits expect to reduce or eliminate them

Given all we are finding out I look to like back on liberal columnist Paul Krugman’s prediction that,

Health care reform will have broad public support once it’s in place and the scare stories are proved false. The new health care system will be criticized; people will demand changes and improvements; but only a small minority will want reform reversed.

In fact the “scare stories” are worse than we ever imagined. The same survey shows that approximately 25% of companies say that rather than cutting benefits they simply will not continue providing subsidized coverage. As Ed Morrissey of Hot Air explains, if that trend holds true nationwide, 40 million people could lose their company health insurance. Another of President Obama’s promises, that “if you like your insurance plan, you can keep it,” bites the dust.

Krugman was also wrong that “only a small minority” will want reform reversed. In reality, a majority of Americans are urging for repeal in light of the ugly realities of the health care reform law. How could they not given the string of broken promises that now litter the road from passage to implementation? We know that health care reform will not reduce the deficit, it will actually make care more expensive, it creates additional burdens on small businesses, and now we find out that it may disrupt the long-term stability of employer provided insurance.

Since taking office President Obama has had his sights on health care reform. His party bit the bullet to get it done. It’s now blowing up in all of our faces.

by Brandon Greife, Political Director

Yesterday, America reached a sad fiscal milestone. For the first time in our nation’s history, our national debt exceeded $13 trillion, and it is only getting worse. The national debt will continue to grow as the government spends $1.72 for every $1 it takes in this year.

But what does this mean for you?

This means that you currently owe the federal government$117,959 for the national debt. So when the IRS comes-a-knocking at your door, that will be what they ask for. In short, that is your share.

But what is $117,959? Consider this:

• That amount is 5 times greater than the average undergraduate student loan debt – paying $117,959 for the national debt is like paying for college 5 times;
• That amount is 4 times greater than the average cost of a new car – if you didn’t have to pay for politicians’ irresponsible spending, you could have enjoyed 4 more brand new cars in your lifetime;
• That amount is 3 times greater than what the average American family makes in a year (roughly $36,000) – can you imagine your family not spending any money for three years in order to pay for just your share of the national debt; and
• That amount is almost the average cost of a house in the Midwest – that’s right, an entire house.

The frightening truth is that the amount of debt America holds will have devastating fiscal consequences on today’s young people unless something is done to change our current course. As more and more debt accumulates, the future becomes less theirs, and more the federal government’s. Is this the future we imagined for our kids, our grandkids and ourselves?

Join the College Republicans in saying Don’t Put It On Our Tab because it’s about time politicians in Washington stopped putting THEIR spending on OUR tab.

Together we can fight for a better future for young people. If you haven’t already, sign the Don’t Put It On Our Tab petition here, and watch the video below.

Often in history we see people coming together to celebrate ‘firsts’.  A toddler’s first word. A child’s first day of school. A teen’s first date. The first time you vote.

And, for the first time in American history, it looks like the Congress will fail to develop a budget for the next fiscal year.  This is not a cause for celebration, but one for concern.

With Democrats controlling both houses of Congress, passing a budget shouldn’t be impossible. In fact it’s not. Trouble is that Democrats just don’t want to pass one. And with the national debt topping $13 trillion and this year’s deficit topping $1.5 trillion would you really want to pass one either? No. It’s much easier to throw a budget out the window, ignore the fact that our nation is on the brink of a financial disaster, and hope that people don’t catch on before the November elections.

That last one is tough to pull off. This has become all the more true now that the GOP has unveiled their plan to shave $1.3 trillion off of the national deficit over the next 10 years. In an effort they have called “Cut Spending Now” the House Republicans on the Budget Committee are proposing solutions we can implement today to curb the increasing debt and reckless spending that is driving this country into bankruptcy. Representative Jeb Hensarling (TX) has said that,

“At a time when private sector employment is stagnant, so many of us are frustrated that we are living in an America that looks much different than the America that promised unlimited opportunity as a birthright.  The Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats have put us on an unsustainable path of too much spending, too much taxation, ballooning the federal budget and government hiring, resulting in record deficits and debt. This is the same path Greece once took. Despite repeated calls from the American people for fiscal responsibility, House Democrats will not even attempt to pass a budget. House Republicans are standing on principle and offering the ‘Cut Spending Now’ package, which could save American taxpayers $1.3 trillion.”

Some of the provisions in the Republican plan are as followed:

• Cancel Unused TARP Funds: TARP has become a government slush fund that allows money to be used beyond the original scope of providing liquidity to spur lending. Projected savings: $16 billion
• Cancel Stimulus Funds: Despite its $800 billion price tag this bill has failed to create jobs. In the long run the huge debt burden of this program will only increase the cost of capital and slow the growth of the private sector. Projected savings: $266 billion
• Cut and Cap Discretionary Spending: Despite our dire financial situation the government’s discretionary spending has increased dramatically. The government must learn to budget like any family – you cannot spend more than you take in. This would return all non-defense spending to 2008 levels. Projected savings: $925 billion
• Reduce Government Employment: The bureaucracy has become a bloated mess with salaries that far outpace the private sector. This program would cut the size of government by hiring one person for every two who leaves. Projected savings: $35 billion

There is no reason to put off solving our budget problems. Democrats like to call the GOP the “Party of No” but this no program makes clear we are “Party of Now.” Republicans seem to be the only party in town who understand that we cannot continue to put off worrying about the debt and deficit, regardless of the fact that there is an election coming up. But as the Los Angeles Times reports,

With voters in no mood to hear about Washington’s $1.3-trillion deficit, some moderate and conservative Democrats say they would rather sit this one out. They have found common cause with liberal colleagues who don’t want to pass spending cuts, especially while the economy is still struggling

What voters are really in no mood for is politicking. The red ink that splashes our budget every day goes well beyond politics, it threatens to drown the success of our nation. We must do something. But we must also do something now. Republicans new budgetary initiative to slash our deficit is that something.

by Brandon Greife and Samantha Cohen

In the words of Sarah Palin, “How’s that hopey, changey thing working out for ya?”

Apparently, not too well. A slew of recent polls show that Obama and the Democrats continue to fall in the eyes of voters, likely because of increased dissatisfaction with the direction of the country and the health care law.

Currently less than one-in-four Americans is satisfied with the way things are going in the United States. That is well below the 40% historical average and the lowest overall figure that Gallup has ever measured in a midterm election year.

This should come as bad news for Democrats. As Gallup explains,

Satisfaction with the way things are going is a key indicator to watch leading up to Election Day in November. Low satisfaction ratings have typically been associated with greater net seat change between parties in Congress in midterm election years, as was the case for the 1982, 1994, and 2006 elections. In each of those years, the average satisfaction rating was no higher than 33%. In 1994 and 2006, as is the case this year, the same party controlled the presidency and Congress heading into the elections, and party control of Congress changed hands after Election Day.

Managing expectations will be a key challenge for Republicans who are ready to take back control. However, the new Gallup poll is a great sign that if we keep the momentum in our direction we can expect a large number of congressional seats to change hands.

Gallup isn’t the only polling outfit tossing around the words “all-time-low” to describe their results. A new CBS News poll found that the public’s approval of the Democratic Party is at its lowest level ever. In fact, voters views of the party has plummeted 20% in just the past year.

Although Republicans aren’t exactly popular themselves, the enormous fall for the Democrats should act as a repudiation of the recent tax and spend agenda. Democrats spending binge, which began with stimulus and health care reform, is likely to continue this week with $150 billion in additional deficit spending. With Americans becoming ever more worried about the national debt, Democrats have to understand that they must stop treating our tax-dollars like Monopoly money. Until they do, their approval rating free fall will likely continue.

Moreover, new polls show that Democrats may not be able to rely on their secret weapon – the personal popularity of Barack Obama. A new Gallup poll finds that his approval ratings have fallen 16% in his 16 months in office, down to 48% as of today.

It seems the president, despite his obvious charisma and charm, is not made of Teflon when it comes to poor policy choices. As the Washington Times explains:

Perhaps ironically, pollsters say it is Mr. Obama’s marquee domestic accomplishment – the health care overhaul law – that is dragging down his approval numbers from the 60-percent range, where they hovered last summer. Despite an initial surge of support following its passage, the health care plan remains largely toxic among Republicans and independent voters

Obama’s sinking approval ratings can’t be good for any candidates for whom he throws his support behind in the cycle. As we saw in the Pennsylvania primary and in the November elections, a Presidential endorsement is more toxic than enticing in this political climate.

Don’t expect Democrats to give up. It will be up to Republicans to seize control of the spotlight and show voters that they have real solutions to the nation’s fiscal problems. By initiating programs designed at garnering feedback on the direction of the Party and its platform it appears Republicans are taking the lead by listening. America still wants “hope” and “change” – Republicans must show they are ready to offer more than just the mere words.

by Brandon Greife, Political Director

Remember that bill last February—I think it was called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act?  It cost around 787 billion dollars during the worst recession this country has seen this side of World War II. In return for the startling sum it promised job creation, tax breaks, and revamped national infrastructure – in short it promised an end to the recession.  Like all things from this administration, what it promised, is much different than what it provided.

Instead of jobs and tax breaks we got continued unemployment and an enormous debt burden that will necessitate tax hikes. Instead of lower premiums and better service we got a plan that bends the cost curve upwards and implements an entirely new bureaucracy. With each new policy initiative, Democrats do a much better job at creating a sales pitch than they do at creating a good piece of legislation.

Americans are tired of the spending. The out of control bills that tack on to our deficit and bury future generations under a pile of debt will not be forgotten in November. Unfortunately for us, Democrats are apparently not tired of spending.

Democrats are poised to pass the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act – a $174 billion smorgasbord of new spending masquerading as a bill about jobs and tax cuts. Gimme a break. Essentially, those hundreds of billions in new spending does three things (although these might not be the reasons you’ll get from the horses’ mouth):

1. Increases taxes by $40 billion
2. Adds $134 billion to our already staggering deficit over the next 10 years
3. Throws money at long term problems rather than crafting long term solutions

And all for what?  Democrats have taken to calling this a jobs bill. In reality it is anything but. The bill is simply a cleverly named ploy to pass a grab bag of unrelated spending measures. For instance:

• Doctor Fix: The legislation prevents reductions in doctor reimbursements for treating Medicare patients. This should have been done in the health care bill. Unfortunately, with a price tag of $63 billion, it made Obamacare’s price tag too daunting. The solution? Shove it in another bill that should garner wide spread support because it extends a number of expiring tax cuts! What we need is a permanent solution, not another 2 year band-aid.
• Unemployment Insurance Extension: At a cost of $47 billion (and $137 billion total during the recession) we must begin a debate to determine how long taxpayers can fund unemployment insurance. Moreover, studies have shown that unemployment insurance leads unemployed workers to stay out of work longer than those without.
• Medicaid Bailout: The bill uses $24 billion to shore up state’s Medicaid programs that are crippling state budgets. The truly frightening thing is that most of the coverage gains of under the Democrats’ health care plan come from expansions in Medicaid eligibility. If states cannot afford what they have now, will the federal government be on the hook for all of the increased costs?
• Higher Gas Costs: Democrats claim that $56 billion will be raised by instituting a 24-cent per barrel tax increase on oil. This is an enormously ambitious tax. Just last week the White House proposed a one penny per barrel tax increase. Worse, who do they expect to pay this tax? In the end you can expect the higher costs to be at least partially passed on to consumers

Does any of those initiatives really create jobs? Sadly, no. Oh wait, we almost forgot – there is $1 billion to fund summer jobs!

Of course the lack of job creating provisions hasn’t stopped Democrats from trying to message it as such. Fortunately, not everyone is buying into the idea of throwing another $200 billion of taxpayer dollars onto a debt that topped $13 trillion today. Colorado Democrat Jared Polis, wrote in a letter to his colleagues that portions of the bill would “destroy the jobs created by venture capital banked companies. Democrat Gerry Connolly of Virginia said “I oppose the bill, sadly and reluctantly, because it’s not paid for. I do not believe we can continue to bring up bills under the justification of emergency spending that violate the spirit if not the letter of PAYGO.”

More spending is not what Americans want. They understand that a dollar spent by the government today is a dollar-plus-interest that the government must collect tomorrow. If Democrats are truly serious about creating jobs then they’ll get away from driving up the long-term cost of capital by spending beyond their means to pay.

As any cost-conscious family can attest, budgeting is all about priorities. It’s the entire rationale behind PAYGO. So if the government wishes to prioritize spending money on Medicaid, infrastructure projects, and unemployment benefits it should at least find places to cut elsewhere. It is a sad reality that we simply cannot have everything. But it is under this reality that the government must operate. I hope that Barack Obama and the Democrats soon realize this fact before our generation is literally bankrupted.

by Brandon Greife, Political Director

Since the “power of the people” didn’t exactly work out the first time around, President Obama and his fellow Democrats would be wise to take note of yet another abysmal poll number coming their way:  according to a Rasmussen poll conducted this past weekend, 63% of Americans now favor a repeal of his “historic” bill.

When you ram a bill through a bill without giving Congressmen, much less citizens or businesses, time to understand its impact, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that the reform hasn’t scored too many popularity points. As Rasmussen explains,

“While opposition to the bill has remained as consistent since its passage as it was beforehand, this marks the first time that support for repeal has climbed into the 60s. It will be interesting to see whether this marks a brief bounce or indicates a trend of growing opposition.”

For anyone following the constant stream of bad news about the potential impact of the Democrats’ health care reform package, growing support for repeal should not be a surprise. For instance,

• April 21^st: AP Reports that only 3% of employers believe that reform will keep their health care costs down
• May 20^th: AP story shows that many small business owners expecting a tax credit felt as if the Administration made a “bait and switch”
• May 11^th: New analysis from the Congressional Budget Office says that the health care bill will be $115 billion more expensive than they originally estimated
• April 22^nd: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services found that the health expenditures would increase $311 billion over the baseline
• March 29^th: The AP reports that health care premiums for young adults could rise by as much as 17% because of the new reform

Given these new facts it is little wonder that 55% of Americans now believe that the health care plan will be bad for our country while only 33% believe it will be good. Moreover, it appears that most Americans believe there is little in the bill to like. 63% of those polled believe that the health care plan will increase the deficit while only 12% believe it will reduce it. With all that new spending you’d at least expect quality would go up. Again, Americans disagree. The Rasmussen poll finds that 55% of people believe the quality of their health care will actually get worse under the reform plan while 20% believe it wil improve.

When, if ever, is our leadership going to finally realize how angry the American public really is?  We have the freshmen politicians that rode the wave of Obama fever into office that are now campaigning on how they’ve voted against the Democratic leadership.  And the disconnect between Main Street Americans and the “elites” is ever growing:

“The Political Class continues to be a strong supporter of the plan, however. While 67% of Mainstream voters believe the plan will be bad for America, 77% of the Political Class disagree and think it be good for the country.”

The nation needed health care reform. Costs were spiraling out of control and far too many were being priced out of the insurance market. However, the bill that was passed didn’t address any of these issues. It focused on forcing people into a broken system, completely ignoring the fact that they soon wouldn’t be able to afford the coverage they were being mandated to buy. We need reform focused on making health care affordable. Lowering costs will allow for organic growth in the number of people covered. This is real reform. This is why people are now shouting for repeal.

If they would have listened to the voters and watched public opinion polls in the first place, a repeal wouldn’t even be necessary–the plan would have never passed.  Because of the complete disregard, however, we are now set to face not just a staggering deficit, but a loss of confidence in the competency of our leaders.  Only time will tell which proves to be worse.

by Brandon Greife, Political Director (hat tip Leah D0w)

Scene: Three sailing ships are tied to the wharf at 1773 Boston Harbor. A group of men and women are congregating and listening to the shouts of a newsboy. He is carrying newspapers under one arm and waving another in his hand, crying the news as walks up and down the docks.

“Extra! Extra! Read all about it,” he calls, “Three ships arrive from England loaded with tea at Griffin’s wharf! Tea taxed at three pence a pound!”

As the news perforates the town, murmurs of discontent begin to mount. “First it was the Sugar tax, then the Stamp Act! Who would have thought we would be filling King George’s treasury with every piece of printed paper we pay for!” they say. “And now a tax on the one drink a poor man enjoys — tea. This has gone too far! No Taxation without representation!”

The Boston Tea Party exemplified the fiery need of the American people to be heard. No longer would they take what they were given by their government, when they had no say in the matter. The phrase “taxation without representation” embodied the principles of democracy: a government of the People, by the People, and for the People.

Although many years have passed, Americans still have that fiery need. Yet today’s administration is looking more and more like that of King George, and the People are showing their anger.

“Democrats vowed that their ‘08 victory heralded a new era in public faith in government,” says Republican Whip Eric Cantor in a recent Politico article. “Eighteen months later, it would be an understatement to say that this promise has gone unfulfilled. Several recent polls reveal that public trust in government has reached its lowest point in decades. How did this happen? These historically low ratings are partly attributable to the Democratic majority pursuing an agenda out of step with the priorities and realities of American households.”

When the People called for more jobs, Washington gave them a “stimulus” package that failed to keep unemployment below 8%. When they asked for lower health care costs, Washington created a health care law that actually increased costs and hurt our economy. When they asked for fiscal responsibility and discipline, Washington bypasses their own PayGo law to hide the fact that they are still spending what we do not have.

It is time to listen to the People and create an agenda that is based on their priorities and concerns. And as Democrats continuously hit the snooze button on the anti-Washington alarm, Republicans have woken up, and are moving towards just such an agenda.

House Republicans unveiled earlier today a Web site that they will use to solicit policy ideas directly from the public, the first step in the development of a plan to give America back to its people. Starting this week, people will be able to go to http://www.americaspeakingout.com, submit ideas, rate those of others, and post their comments on Facebook and Twitter through the site.

America Speaking Out is a state-of-the-art platform that allows you to share your priorities and ideas for a national policy agenda. You can suggest your own solutions and provide feedback on the ideas of others. Everyone can see the solutions that are on the table, make comments on them, and register their approval or disapproval. It brings the halls of Congress into American homes and uses the best of social media to allow America’s many voices to be heard. The main issues being discussed are: American Prosperity, Fiscal Accountability, American Values, and National Security. And if people have other issues to bring up, an Open Mic category gives them place to do so. A major plus for this website is the direct interaction with House Republicans. “Up to a dozen staff members will be monitoring the Web site, party aides said, both to keep it running properly and to filter out inappropriate messages.” This will be a great way for the public to let their concerns and ideas be known.

It should be clear to the American public that the Republican Party is ready to listen to them, legislate for them, and learn from them. The YouCut program is just one other example of how they are ready to do this. This program is meant to harness the internet’s power of social media to allow citizens more access to the decisions of their government. In an out of touch Washington it is meant to empower citizens. Each week Republican members of Congress will submit a few proposals to cut federal government spending; Americans will be given the chance to vote on which cut they would like to see implemented. Republicans will then use the procedural tools available to the minority party to force a vote on the spending cut. House Whip Eric Cantor, who is putting on this spending “intervention” hopes the method will help. Programs such as this, as well as the America Speaking Out Web site are evidence that the Republican Party is becoming the party of the People.

For far too long, partisan wars and political agendas have been prioritized over the needs of the nation.  Washington has been more about handing down bad legislation than listening up to the good ideas of Americans. We’re tired of an out of touch Washington. Today, we need to take advantage of this opportunity to raise our voice, and BE HEARD.

by Adam Welsh