Posted on 07/31/2011 12:47:54 PM PDT by Brices Crossroads
With the capitulation of the Congressional GOP all but a fair accompli, the next question beckons: Where do we go from here? Before answering that, I think it wise to assess what Obama and the Democrats hope to accomplish by this so-called budget deal. Then we can consider possible ways to frustrate their plans.
At the outset, one can observe that the GOP has dealt itself a serious, though not necessarily fatal, blow. However, it would be wrong to condemn the TEA Party Freshmen who buckled under the tremendous pressure. The GOP is not just leaderless. Its Congressional leaders are part of the problem. The TEA Party freshmen who voted for the Boehner bill are good people, who made a mistake, and this will soon become clear to them. However, it was their leadership that is principally to blame. The Congressional GOP leaders are not just feckless; they are complicit. The Boehner-Reid-McConnell-Obama compromise was in the can before the Boehner bill was ever brought up for a vote. It was sadly predictable that the Congressional TEA Party freshmen, leaderless as they were, would be roughly as effective as the Confederate Army without Lee. The fact that they were led by quislings who collaborated with the enemy just exacerbated their (and our) predicament. If the next Presidential election supplies this missing leadership, this mistake can be reversed. If not, absent a miracle, the country's decline will become irreversible.
It seems to me that, in the debt ceiling "compromise", Obama and company have achieved at least several of their objectives, both policy and political. From a policy perspective, they have gotten their hands on perhaps 2.5 trillion dollars more to spend and to grow government. Politically, they have tried to drive a wedge between the GOP and the TEA party in hopes of fomenting either a third party in 2012 or, at a minimum, depressing GOP turnout in 2012, both of which can enable Obama's reelection and hold down any more Congressional losses next year. Finally, they have undermined the next President even before she is elected, making her steep hill that much steeper.
But the situation is not hopeless. Make no mistake, however: The defeat of Obama must be accompanied by the election of a leader who is both a resolute conservative and an experienced executive, who has encountered and defeated entrenched interests such as those in DC. The defeat of Obama, by itself, and his replacement by someone as feckless as Romney or as inexperienced as Bachmann would be merely a pit stop on the road to ruin. Romney would do no better as President than would Boehner or McConnell. He would serve one term and yield to someone like Chuck Schumer, who would administer the coup de grace to the Republic. Bachmann has absolutely no experience running anything other than her Congressional office, and the "revolving door" turnover there suggests that she has been less than stellar even at that. The Democrats would use Bachmann's inexperience to hold her in check even in the highly unlikely event she won both the nomination and the Presidency. Sarah Palin is the only option for those who realize that RESOLUTE action is necessary NOW. Romney can never be resolute and Bachmann, whose votes at least indicate steadfastness, has no track record at having ever run anything or even having passed any legislation. In her own way, Bachmann would be as risky as Romney. Too risky given the momentous and time sensitive task ahead.
So where does Palin go from here? In light of this fresh burst of spending and capitulation by the Congressional GOP that owes its majority to the TEA Party (and to her), how should she make her case? In my view, the first tenet of her political manifesto might sound trite, but it is nonetheless central. It is the one element missing in the conservative ranks for the last quarter century It is LEADERSHIP, proven leadership. The GOP needs a President who believes in constitutional conservatism and is able to articulate and to defend it. Governor Palin should frankly indict the GOP leadership for its lack of leadership and its irresolute response to the worst crisis to confront our country since the Civil War. She should analogize the behavior of the GOP elites in Washington to those she vanquished in Juneau and Anchorage. It is a case she can and must make if she is to become the 45th President.
But a platform based upon leadership alone, even when that critical skill is so conspicuously absent, sounds platitudinous, if not accompanied by concrete solutions. Given the hole now freshly deepened by Obama and his friends in the GOP Establishment, how should she reply? Remember that, ideally, a political platform, a policy platform, should not be overly complex or wonkish. If it is easily understood, and commands widespread support, it can yield not just a victory but a mandate. In 1980, Reagan ran on the Jack Kemp 30% Tax Cuts, and these became the fulcrum for his 1980 mandate and subsequent legislative triumphs. In 2012, Palin (and the Country) need not just a victory. If we are to right the Ship of State, we need a mandate.
One of the plans out there which is both effective and appealing, as well as easily understood is the Penny Plan, crafted by another Congressman, Connie Mack of Florida. The Penny Plan cuts one penny from every federal dollar spent.
In a nutshell, The Penny Plan balances the budget by: a) cutting total federal spending by one percent each year for six consecutive years; b)Setting an overall spending cap of 18 percent of gross domestic product in 2018; and c) Reducing overall spending by $7.5 trillion over 10 years.
The Penny Plan would have been an excellent vehicle for the Congressional GOP to pursue in the recent debt ceiling negotiation, but of course, they lacked both the will and the skill to articulate even such a straightforward argument. Given the new burst of spending that will ensue from the Boehner-Reid, is the Penny Plan no longer a viable option? In short, is the new gap in spending sure to result from the "Boehner Reid" deal too wide for the Penny Plan to close? Perhaps.
I suggest a variation of the Penny Plan that will not just focus on spending restraints but on tax reduction as well. A one dimensional "green eye shades" approach which focuses only on spending cuts will necessarily be less effective, both politically and practically, than a positive, growth oriented approach. In lieu of the original Penny Plan, Palin should propose a variation: "The Two Percent Solution" or "My Two Cents" for short. Instead of one cent cut from every federal dollar, the cut would be two cents, with one cent being used to close the yawning deficit and the other being used to reduce tax rates across the board. The resulting explosion of economic growth, with corresponding tax revenue, might even close the gap sooner than would the original Penny Plan. Such tax cuts would also stop the coming inflation in its tracks in much the same way as the Reagan cuts arrested inflation thirty years ago. The Tax Cuts would sweeten any pain associated with the cuts, and tax credits could be targeted to alleviate the relatively small number of true hard luck cases that would result.
In short, the Penny Plan can easily morph into "My Two Cents" or the Two Percent Solution, which will attack the federal leviathan like a giant set of pincers, shrinking the lard and in its place, expanding the private sector. It is a win/win for conservatives--an easy to understand (and difficult to attack) solution that can deliver a mandate and thus become law. Like Kemp Roth three decades ago, it merely needs a thoroughbred who can ride it a cross the finish line. After eight years of Sarah Palin's "two cents" the country will be sounder than ever.
Ping!
I like this, but why not go with a “five penny plan”, where 2c goes to pay down the debt and 3c goes toward tax cuts?
Get off the drugs and stop rewarding people for bad behavior, you just get more of it.
Comment makes no sense in the context of the above posting.
Are you responding to a different thread?
When the history of this financial crisis is written, future historians will marvel at why when in such a debt hole, the leaders of Europe (and America) refused to stop digging.
[Ref: First Rule Of Holes: ‘When you find yourself in a hole...’]
>>>>Governor Palin should frankly indict the GOP leadership for its lack of leadership and its irresolute response to the worst crisis to confront our country since the Civil War. She should analogize the behavior of the GOP elites in Washington to those she vanquished in Juneau and Anchorage. It is a case she can and must make if she is to become the 45th President.
If Palin were to endorse such a plan, I would support it, because I believe in her willingness to actually do whatever she promises to do. But, and this is no small caveat, I honestly think that she recognizes the unconstitutionality of the bulk of what the federal government does. (Depts. of Ed., Ag., Energy, etc..) I would therefore be surprised if she didn’t immediately begin dismantling same after she is elected. Would I be disappointed if she didn’t? A little. Would I settle for what you have outlined above? For a time, but the fight to restore the Constitution must continue ad infinitum, amen.
To get any plan like this passed first we have to kill baseline budgeting. That 1% cut would be communicated by the rats as a 20% cut because they’ll base it on future years planned spending.
I believe Nixon brought us this baseline budgeting crap...so it’s only fair we clean up after ourselves and get rid of that garbage and go to a regular budget.
I believe what you are advocating is a doubling of the Connie Mack plan,Connies plan is the 1 cent plan that will bring the budget in line in 6 years,i like the idea of doubling it.
>> “Comment makes no sense in the context of the above posting.” <<
.
If you’ve followed his posts for very long, you must realize that he has adopted the nonsequitur as his modus operandi.
Very good Plan easily understandable and simple. I would add a Flat tax @ 17% (per S Forbes) onto this and yo have a winning platform.
The GOP needs a solid leader like Palin, no more linguine-spined RINOS like Boner of McConnell. The GOP get’s a solid leader who is a conservative they will do great things. Excellent post Brice!
Great post. Good work.
Didn’t Rand Paul propose the penny plan recently?
org.whodat forgot that when you’re on a Palin thread you’re supposed to treat it as a worship service.
“the unconstitutionality of the bulk of what the federal government does. (Depts. of Ed., Ag., Energy, etc..)”
You are reading my mind. Whole agencies of this government should be shut down, never to rise from the ashes ever again. We should also stop funding our enemies starting with the UN.
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