About Me

In writing the "About Me" portion of this blog I thought about the purpose of the blog - namely, preventing the growth of Socialism & stopping the Death Of Democracy in the American Republic & returning her to the "liberty to abundance" stage of our history. One word descriptions of people's philosophies or purposes are quite often inadequate. I feel that I am "liberal" meaning that I am broad minded, independent, generous, hospitable, & magnanimous. Under these terms "liberal" is a perfectly good word that has been corrupted over the years to mean the person is a left-winger or as Mark Levin more accurately wrote in his book "Liberty & Tyranny" a "statist" - someone looking for government or state control of society. I am certainly not that & have dedicated the blog to fighting this. I believe that I find what I am when I consider whether or not I am a "conservative" & specifically when I ask what is it that I am trying to conserve? It is the libertarian principles that America was founded upon & originally followed. That is the Return To Excellence that this blog is named for & is all about.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

WSJ Letter Published - GOP Truce

Below is my letter to the editor that was published today in the WSJ under the heading GOP Factions Must Call a Truce in Order to Triumph. Subscribers to RTE will recognize that the letter is based on the two posts that detailed the House & Senate votes on the Ryan-Murray budget deal that were posted right before the Christmas message.
 
Dear Editor,

Fred Barnes's Dec. 20 op-ed "The Lucky House Republicans," regarding the passing of the Ryan-Murray budget deal, describes what I hope is happening in the Republican Party, namely that the establishment Republicans and the Tea Party Republicans have called a truce and are concentrated on the common opponent—the Democrats in 2014.

The House and Senate votes clearly produced two GOP teams based on overall voting records—the establishment Republican Team A consists of 164 House members and nine senators for a total of 173 centrist moderate politicians, and the Tea Party Republican Team B consists of 62 House members and 36 senators for a total of 98. Looking the list over, there are very few exceptions to this political description based on their overall voting record.

Now the teams should follow the principle that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Any criticism of a fellow Republican will take away from this focus, produce destructive sound bites, and only help ensure a long time in the wilderness.

We can expect both teams to vote like they did on the budget deal when the debt-ceiling confrontation comes up in February as well as all other budget and appropriation matters. This should be accepted with no further criticism by anyone on either team. These people on both sides have told us with vote after vote what they believe. We just have to get through the next 10 and a half months before a new Congress is elected after the American people (i.e., 21% of the electorate, assuming a 40% turnout) decide which way they want to go.

This gives both teams time to present their respective plans so people have a chance to see the substance with which to judge their futures. Every senator and all but seven congressmen cast votes on this budget issue so only a handful of people will not know where their elected representatives stand.

Posted by ReturnToExcellence.net at 3:42 PM

5 comments:

  1. BDDecember 29, 2013 at 9:43 PM

    Nice job Doug! The GOP factions must unite!

    ReplyDelete
  2. BZDecember 29, 2013 at 9:46 PM

    Very fine letter. Bear in mind, many Congress personnel have to vote the way the majority of people in areas they represent want them to vote, they might or might not disagree with those people.

    Don't be surprised in same Congress personnel with few exceptions get re-elected.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. RTEDecember 29, 2013 at 9:54 PM

      One of the points of the letter was for the elected representatives to present their plans - not just vote for the way their constituents prefer. Without such leadership we continue in the same deep trouble we are in.

      Delete
  3. JJDecember 29, 2013 at 9:55 PM

    Hi Doug - I saw your letter in the WSJ and didn't have a chance to congratulate you on an excellent letter. I sincerely hope and pray that the 2014 elections will bring about some needed change in Washington. Best wishes to you and Carol for a healthy, happy new year.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Economics501December 30, 2013 at 5:42 PM

    Republicans should agree on the following: contract the economic role of the public sector while expanding the role of the private sector. It is the latter that creates jobs that self sustain them, creates ancillary jobs, new products, services and industries. If the Republicans present this clearly for all to understand, they will not only take the Senate, but also be in position to legislate to catapult our economy to grow closer to our full potential.

    ReplyDelete

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