Our Grand Old Party in Freefall…..and How to Fix It

By:  Will Head

When I was asked to write an opinion piece for The Party Line I gathered my thoughts and realized that I had become increasingly upset at the state of our national Party. I realized that we, as Republicans, deserve all the blame for the mess that we’re in….the lost opportunities, the dismal state of our reputations, and a party with no clear leadership or philosophy.  .  We have set ourselves back 20 years in creating and maintaining a leading majority.  Do you remember the scene in the movie “Network” when the frustrated anchorman finally leans out the window and yells “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore?”  And then the neighbors started doing the same thing?  Well, I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore!  Are you?

Now, what are we going to do about it?

Here’s my take on what got us to this dismal point and what we can do to fix it.

Beginning in the early 60’s, Barry Goldwater lead a movement in our national Party that espoused conservative and common sense ideas.  He sold those ideas to a small and growing bunch of folks, like my parents, who had been democrats up to that point.  He stood on principle, and people respected him, but he was hammered at the polls.  Goldwater set the table for Ronald Reagan, who was able to articulate a conservative and common sense philosophy full of bold ideas……..and America bought it. Then Newt Gingrich was able to articulate this same message throughout the country with the Contract for America, nationalizing the congressional elections.  It was brilliant and it worked.  We controlled both houses of Congress and the presidency……..and then we blew it all.

The Republican led Congress became corrupt, greedy, careerist, and self-indulgent.  It greatly expanded the role and size of the federal government, and Americans couldn’t tell the difference between the two national parties any more.  Our current presidential nominee was even invited to be the Democrat Party’s VP candidate in 2004, and it almost happened……..team John Kerry and John McCain running against the Republican Party.  Who would’ve thunk?  Add a current Republican president who has deviated just as much as our representatives and current presidential nominee have from the common sense and bold ideas that gave us the majority and the respect of most of the American public…this, my friends, is the sad state of our party today.  The Republican Party brand has been lost.

I propose that the Republican Party perform two courageous acts in order to go forward to regain its standing as the party of significance.   First, GOP leaders from around the country need to gather on Capitol Hill, in masse, and make a public apology to the country for their misdeeds, focused primarily on the federal spending and  debt they have laden us with.   I wonder how many of our leaders have the guts to do this?  And second, they need to sign a 10-plank pledge that endorses a new game plan for saving America.

To regain our Reagan-Gingrich heritage of big ideas that made us successful, the Republican Party needs to come together and get behind some bold solutions………to be the party of change……….the party of reform.

I want you to imagine how you would feel if our Party proposed bold policy initiatives, much like an updated Contract with America, with some of the ideas below.  Basis for the 10-Plank Pledge

# 1 Iraq:  It was a mistake to go into Iraq since Saddam Hussein was not involved in harboring Al-Qaida.  I advocate a withdrawal as soon as it is possible, ideally when the Iraqis can handle it themselves.  Acknowledge that we can’t create democracies in areas that are tribal and that have been so since the beginning of time.  We don’t need to be spending all this money on Iraq, estimated to be in excess of one trillion dollars.  Let’s finish this job and get out. 

#2 Immigration Reform:  Current immigration policy is a national emergency crisis.  Our country has been invaded by illegals because the federal government lacks the fortitude to enforce the law.  We all know the problems created by this massive underclass……..the drain on hospitals, school systems, prisons, the gangs, and the breakdown of the American culture by the huge influx of foreigners.  Are you tired of calling customer service at your bank and hearing the gibberish in Spanish?  I am.  And let’s not forget the downward pressure on wages caused by this massive influx of low wage illegals.  We cannot afford to subsidize them any longer, and we cannot afford to give citizenship to their newborns.   The illegals need to go home and real wages will have to rise, because the fact of the matter is that Americans will do those jobs, just not at those wages.  And don’t forget that these foreigners vote overwhelmingly for democrats.

#3 Tax Reform:  The current tax laws that have been created by our elected representatives in Congress are so complicated, detailed, and onerous that most Congressmen must hire accounts to prepare their tax returns.  These pillars of knowledge and common sense have created a tax code that is 66,784 pages thick.  Let’s at least fix the needlessly complicated income tax by scrapping the current income tax and replacing it with a national sales tax, known as the Fair Tax.  It’s simple to collect at the cash register, it encourages savings, it collects from the underground economy when they purchase things, it saves billions of dollars in man hours in the preparation of taxes, and…….it’s fair.  While we’re at it, let’s get rid of the Death Tax.  For us to pay taxes on our income for our entire lives, build a nest egg for our children, and then have the government try to tax us again after our death is double-dipping -  I call it legalized stealing.   

#4 Spending Reform:  The official tax burden that we have imposed on every living American is about $45,000.  The unofficial tax burden, when factoring in all the unfunded mandates, is about $400,000 for every living American.  The very idea that our elected representatives would place this burden on us, our children, and our grandchildren is unthinkable, yet they have done it.

Are you mad as hell yet?

#5 Social Security:  Because the federal government cannot be trusted to handle our money safely (just look at our debt), why would we continue to let them do it?  We need social security personal accounts.  Our own president couldn’t sell this.  Do you think Ronald Reagan could have sold this?  Absolutely.

#6 Energy:  We need a serious energy policy for America.  It’s time to drill and refine more here at home.  We need a greatly expanded nuclear energy program, much like in France, where nuclear power provides 70% of the energy.  If the French can do it, surely we can too. And we need to focus effort on and spend money to  develop alternative sources of energy.

#7 Education:  Currently, about 90% of the teachers in elementary through high school are women. Students need to learn more from men than they do now.  Unfortunately, the large percentage of broken homes in our country has created a vacuum of male mentors that children need in order to develop properly.   Teachers’ salaries should be increased substantially so more men will be attracted to the profession, as will already successful individuals from the private sector.   Our education system desperately needs another perspective in regard to teachers and their ideology.   We need better qualified teachers.  We need to break up the “Education Lobby” and the teachers unions that protect substandard teachers by making it difficult to fire them.  And we need to teach civics and more history (not political correctness history, such as Kwanza).  There is nothing wrong with promoting a little patriotism in our schools.  If our children pledge allegiance to the flag, well that’s a good thing.  And what about Memorial Day?  Does anyone know what it celebrates? Does anyone ever go to the cemetery on Memorial Day to commemorate our fallen soldiers?  I’m afraid not much anymore.

#8 Infrastructure Marshall Plan for the Crisis in Black America:  There is a crisis in black America today where black males have opted out of society, commit too many violent crimes, fill our prisons, and too often fail to support their children.  This must change for the betterment of the black community and all of America. .  America also has an infrastructure crisis, with bridges and roads falling apart and in need of repairs.  I believe a momentous program that provides construction jobs and trade skills targeted specifically to the black community and American youths  that teaches civics, history, respect for one another, and personal responsibility, will largely solve these two crises.  Imagine what one trillion dollars spent here would do for America compared to spending it in Iraq?  Do the Democrats have the guts to admit this problem, and then to propose a solution?  I think not.  We could rally America around this nation-changing endeavor.

#9 No Pandering to the Public:  Congress currently has an approval rating of approximately  11%.  The American public is sick and tired of pandering politicians.  Do you recall the recent rebate checks that our own President, most Republicans, and all the Democrats supported under the guise of spurring our economy?  Most people spent the money on credit card bills or went to Target and bought more goods made in China.  It was like a grant to the Chinese and guess whose debt went up?  Ours.  Then our own presidential nominee suggested that we all have a gas tax holiday for the summer.  How will we fix our broken roads then?  A party deserving leadership and power does not pander for votes.

#10 Moon Space Station:  This one, friends, is not as far out there as it seems.  Back in the 60’s the entire country got behind the race to the moon and the competition with the Russians.  Americans made incredible accomplishments, and America was proud of itself.  We have let ourselves down since then.  We have been afraid to return to the moon, and when the space shuttle crashed, the PC police recoiled and our already scaled-back space program almost went silent.  We, as Americans, and even as representatives of mankind, have a duty to push ourselves further.  For a hell of a lot less money than we are spending in Iraq, America can establish a permanent moon station………a small moon colony.  We need to do this.  In 100 years, when we look back on ourselves, there won’t be a good explanation for letting our exploration of space go dormant.

As we re-brand the Republican Party in a national advertising campaign and promote something like the 10 planks above, we will be giving Americans a clear choice on Election Day.  As always, I will pull the straight ticket lever for our Party, but it really would be nice to be excited about something again.  I know America would be too.

Will Head is a native of Wilmington and resides in Raleigh.  He is a partner in the currency trading firm FX101 and can be reached at whead@nc.rr.com or (919) 413-3337.

The opinions expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Wake County Republican Party.