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The Republican Soultion

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Real Estate Technology with Carmody and Associates LLC

I am featuring a Terry Paulson article below which calls for a 2008 version of the Contract with America as a solution to the malaise that engulfs the Republicans this year.  While Terry's article is long on motivation, he needs to understand the mechanics of the Contract with America movement from 1994 and why the effort achieved some of the goals that were set and not others.  The policy initiatives were drawn from The Heritage Foundation and from Reagan State of the Union speeches.  The work on the Contract involved a number of congressmen and others but I credit much of the concept and content to Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey.

The Contract with America was nothing short of a Republican revolution in 1994 that resulted in a Republican majority in both houses of Congress.

Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill (retired in 1987) was fond of saying that all politics is local.  This is the conventional wisdom for congressional elections.  But the Contract with America changed that (for a brief time) to our advantage. 

The Contract was very specific and contained a number of rules changes which would be brought to a floor vote the day the Republican majority convened and a number of policy initiatives which would be promptly introduced as bills and acted upon within 100 days. All were published for the public and media and the Contract was formally signed by all but two Republican Congressmen and all of the non-incumbent candidates prior to the 2004 election campaign. 

One can debate whether the Contract was successful as all provisions were not adopted or passed into law (although, I believe, all were brought to floor votes).  But what cannot be denied is that a Republican majority took control of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years.  The congressional elections around the country were run on a national set of promises and issues because the Republicans took control of the agenda and the discussion all over the country.  In effect, we nationalized the elections for Congress that year.  Former Speaker Tip O'Neill had died in January of 1994, so I do not have his comments.

We need a unifying theme for the 2008 Presidential and congressional races that will excite the public and shift the focus from the Bush administration. 

Where is Newt when we need him.

Terry Paulson's article featured below appeared at the Townhall.com site.  It should be noted that whether I feature excerpts or a complete article, the source post still contains additional data such as reader comments which are displayed.  I always try to provide a clickable source link, not only for attribution of the the excellent work of others but also to permit readers to read further for additional information if they wish. 

My source:

http://www.townhall.com/columnists/TerryPaulson/2008/05/20/end_the_republican_pity_party,_give_us_a_contract_with_america_we_can_support!?page=full&comments=true

End the Republican Pity Party, Give Us a Contract With America We Can Support!
By Terry Paulson
Tuesday, May 20, 2008

The media pundits and many Republicans themselves have all but conceded the November election. They seem paralyzed like a deer in the headlights by the mid-term election setbacks, the unpopularity of President Bush and the recent special election losses.

Some psychologists have termed the depression of our age learned helplessness-"There's nothing I can do that will make any difference in what will happen to me, so I might as well wait until they do it to me!" Some Republicans are settling for an early pity party and hoping that the Democrats will falter and hand the GOP a November happy accident!

John McCain may not be many conservatives' favorite candidate, but he's putting the rest of the party to shame by running an aggressive campaign trying to sell himself and his agenda to independents and core conservatives alike.

Where are the rest of the Republican leaders? They're hiding or complaining! GOP Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia complained recently that "if we were dog food, they would take us off the shelf." California Gov. Schwarzenegger warns that Republicans are in danger of "dying at the box office." All this, while their core constituency faces a nightmare-four years with an inexperienced liberal president and a Democrat-controlled Senate and House of Representatives. You don't get support by hiding-you win elections by leading!

There are no perfect candidates and no perfect strategies, but we expect our party leaders and candidates to fight for the principles and values we believe in whether they win or lose. Wayne Gretzky, the all-time NHL scoring leader, gave credit to an early coach for some compelling advice-"You miss a 100% of the shots you never take!" Winston Churchill had his own version-"I never worry about action, but only about inaction."

It's time for action. Don't wait for the Democrats or for the Republican Convention. Go on the offense by coming together to communicate a 2008 Contract with America. Take the focus off of Bush and the past, and put the focus where it belongs on a simple but compelling vision for what we can and must be! Newt Gingrich has helped champion the importance of focusing on the future; it's time the party listens.

Uniting the party behind a "Contract with America" worked in 1984 because it gave Republicans a focus they could communicate that went beyond any candidate. Many independents found that they were actually "Republicans" but didn't know it. Parties ebb and flow, people come and go, but principles last!

There's much that McCain and the Republican Party can unite behind-Cutting federal spending and government regulations, holding the line on taxes, winning in Iraq by leaving when the job is done, securing the border and employer accountability before addressing guest workers, appointing conservative judges who don't legislate from the bench, and promoting personal responsibility and free enterprise to save the American Dream. Make it simple. Make it compelling, but take a stand for something we can get behind!

If you're not excited about some of McCain's positions, get busy working to elect as many conservative Republicans as possible to Washington in order to influence the future of our country. McCain made a life as a political maverick; we need to send a few more conservative mavericks to Washington. A few conservative hot peppers will do wonders to the recipe!

The Democrats won't hand this election to us, but they're seriously wounded. Obama is looking more and more like their defacto standard bearer. But he is so untested and lacking in experience that his questionable associations and recent policy gaffs will cause people in the middle and "disappointed" Clinton supporters to choose McCain.

The Democrat super delegates are feeling a lot less super these days. They hoped to put their stamp of approval on an obvious winner. Now facing a close, contested convention, casting their vote is going to alienate part of the electorate they have to reach in their own campaigns. Those senators and representatives up for election are going to hate upsetting half of their core voters when choosing between Hillary and Barack. If we go on the offense, we will win the White House and some unexpected congressional victories.

Give us a Contract with America worth getting excited about. It's time for action-You lose 100% of the elections you fail to contest! It's time to come out of hiding and to stand for something. When you do, you just may find that there are a lot of people ready to join you in the fight!

Comments (1)

Kevin Robinson
Twin Falls, ID
Fractional Developer

I agree. We need a new contract with the midddle class of America.

May 21, 2008 03:34 AM