Posted on 11/22/2017 5:55:30 AM PST by Kaslin
A group of 44 conservative leaders have sent a letter to all members of Congress that might be called a conservative wake-up call.
The group represents, through their various organizations, a broad array of conservative concerns. But they boil it all down to three areas that all agree need immediate legislative action.
Tax reform, which currently is in the pipeline, bolstering our defense budget, and getting the federal budget in order through fiscal restraint.
The point these conservatives wish to drive home to Congress is that Donald Trump's election in 2016 was not just an anti-establishment vote. It was a vote to push a crucial agenda, on which he ran, for getting our nation back toward founding principles.
If Congress fails to deliver this essential agenda, say these conservatives, raw dissatisfaction with Washington could well drive unhappy voters apathetically back home, relinquishing power to the left. This might explain Democratic victories in the most recent elections, and particularly the defeat of Republican Ed Gillespie in the race for governor in Virginia.
Gallup polls each month ask Americans, "What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?"
No. 1 on the list for the last several months running is "dissatisfaction with government."
Similarly, a recent study from Harvard Business School focuses on dysfunction in Washington and how it is driving widespread public dissatisfaction.
Pew Research polling, cited in this study, shows that only 20 percent of Americans "trust the federal government always or most of the time." For some perspective on how we've changed, in the early 1960s, more than 70 percent of Americans expressed trust in the federal government.
The Harvard study sums up what is driving disaffection among the voting public. "The real problem is that our political system is no longer designed to serve the public interest, and has been slowly reconfigured to benefit the private interests of gain-seeking private organizations: the political parties and their industry allies."
Hence, the sentiment to elect an "outsider" like Trump to "drain the swamp."
Donald Trump is the fifth American president never to have held prior elective office. But he is the first never to have served in any public office. Three of the five, Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant and Dwight D. Eisenhower were generals. Herbert Hoover was a businessman, but he had been head of the U.S. Food Administration and was Secretary of Commerce before being elected president.
Donald Trump is the first American president with zero prior experience in public life. He was elected as a true outsider.
A sense among voters that they have been shut out of their own country, that Washington politics is now a spectator sport, where voters have as much influence on what is happening on the field as they have when they watch an NFL game, helped elect Trump.
Conservative leaders want to convey that the political capital of this dissatisfaction is short lived. Trump voters are looking for the agenda.
Fortunately, the president can still move things forward administratively. And, indeed, the Trump administration is getting high grades for deregulation on a broad front. This is helping to drive the current economic recovery.
But Congress needs to get into the fray.
We still need to fix health care. The Congressional Budget Office notes the dangers of our national debt, which now hovers around 100 percent of our GDP.
With Speaker Paul Ryan's leadership, the House has just passed critically important tax reform. Now Senate leadership must herd the cats and get this passed. This first sweeping tax reform in over 30 years is vital for an economy looking for oxygen.
The election of Donald Trump was a political event without precedent in our nation's history. Conservative leaders are sounding the alarm in Washington, reminding Congress what the 2016 election meant. And that the clock is ticking.
This slush fund to pay off sexual harassment claims in Congress reeks to high heaven. Both Ryan and McConnell knew about it. They have to go.
Absolutely astounding. Not one mention of the wall or even immigration reform. Completely out of touch.
I agree that this is part of the problem.
But that snippet is aimed squarely at industry and lobbyists. Again: definitely part of the problem. But what about Identity Politics? Black Lives Matter? Transexuals? Fake news? Social Engineering and propaganda? The Left is hurting the country in a thousand ways, but if the key problem is characterized as "political parties and their industry allies", it starts to sound like greedy Republican Business Owners are the heart of the problem. Very misleading.
If anyone is out of touch it is you.
Something tells me that this panty cop sex stuff is meant to capture the full array of our attention in order to keep far worse things out of the news cycles. Far worse.
It would help to have congressional leaders who are conservatives.
- the Tax Bill they are currently trumpeting is a disaster for millions in the middle class; it rewards corporations and the donors at the expense of individuals. If the ram that through, it will be a massive detriment, not an "accomplishment"
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- We are nearly a year into the legislative agenda controlled by a GOP House and Senate, and they have not even funded the border wall. Do you know why? Because they have no intention of doing so.
- No mention in the article about passing legislation to uphold and protect our God given Second Amendment rights such as passing a National Reciprocity law
- The Defense budget is still constrained by Sequestration, and will be until 2023. Almost 50% of the cuts of that "deal" came directly from the Pentagon budget, and the degradation to our armed forces has been deep and awful. But there is no will in Congress to overturn Sequestration
- Paul "I Cut The Pensions For Disabled Veterans" Ryan talks about spending cuts, but never, ever wants to cut the spending for illegals and those who perpetually soak the system through welfare
Ryno is no leader! He is a puppet of the Swamp Establishment! And, a thorn in the side of President Trump and the American people!
That's right: the VICTIMS have to enter counseling. The perpetrators? Nothing. They get away with it and have a slush fund to cover up their actions.
I'm sorry, but that's f***ing amazing. Every single bastard associated with the creation of that rule/policy along with those who've enforced it and written checks out of the slush fund need to be gone yesterday.
Complete every inch of the wall, stop putting American kids last, stop stealing middle class money, stop welcoming illegal immigrants. Period. Track the ones we have.
Or get out, from the top down.
No more trillions for chuck n Nancy.. no more union bailouts via stimulus.
Can’t wait to hear what gift chuck n Nancy get for the Christmas debt deal.
Gillespie lost because he’s establishment.
You’re right, shutting off the illegal immigration spicket needs to be done.
Exactly right. They also have zero intention of repealing Obamacare!
How is it the Republicans in the House and Senate can vote on the same bill to repeal Obamacare for FIVE YEARS while Obummer was President, yet as soon as they win the White House that exact same bill not only DOES NOT get brought up for a vote, the stupid bastards write a different one designed to fail!
One thing's for sure though: they seem hell bent on screwing over the entire country with this "tax reform" bill that's going to be the biggest TAX INCREASE in history on about half the population, me being one of them.
The thing is, the Republican Party has swung to the left of the Progressive Liberal Democrats on economic issues and so few see it. The Republicans are going to drive even MORE people away from working if that "tax reform" passes and the tax payer base is going to SHRINK.
Meaningful tax reform at this point would be a simple, straight, across the board TAX RATE CUT for all. Period. Including Corporations.
Ronald Wilson Reagan (the GREATEST President in my life time) CUT THE RATES! The Economy BOOMED and we had the longest economic expansion in history. Cut the rates and get out of the way. It really is that simple. And if the Government "loses" money and cannot find offsets by CUTTING SPENDING then every single one of them, D and R alike need to go.
No simpler way I can think of to say it other than that.
Any more reason to disassociate oneself w/ the moniker ‘conservative’, if not the (R) party, entirely?
‘Conservative’ “leaders” proposing *GOVT* ‘solve’ problem X, Y a/o Z.
Not ONE note govt having *NO* authority in the issue to begin.
Next ya know, they’ll be proposing tax increases and theft, excuse me, ‘means-testing’, to prop-up SS/MediXYZ Ponzi schemese; govt confiscation of IRAs...for the ‘general welfare’; etc.
it starts to sound like greedy Republican Business Owners are the heart of the problem. Very misleading.
Greedy Republican business owners happily adopt the progressive agenda. They are the heart of the problem.
If such a letter managed to get thru a Senator’s front office staff and landed on his/her desk, the first few paragraphs were scanned and then the letter was tossed into the trash. No senator gives a flying f**k about a conservative opinion or the threat of being thrown out of office because how you gonna do that? He has 2-4 years left on his term and all this will be totally forgotten by then.
Todays ‘Perfumed Princes of the Potomac’ are accountable to no one and are starting to act like it more and more.
GOP Congresscritters on The Hill should be thanking Trump everyday because if not for him the GOP base would be burning the stinking rotten GOP to the ground at the moment.
Yup, congress always has something else to do. I reckon you can put me on that "Out of Touch" list cause I think that wall is pretty damn important as well. That bleeding needs to stop.
I guess it's all a matter of priorities. But whose priorities are the guiding star?
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