ledeagenda.com

John McCain’s sudden rise in the election is very disturbing to me.

Granted, he still trails Romney in the Delegate count by a huge margin AND he still has won only 2 of the 10 completed States. But that doesn’t mean we can’t read into it a bit. Quite simply John McCain is the candidate for more of the same-old, same-old. But I guess considering that the Republicans successfully re-elected GWB with this attitude, its not wonder so many are looking at McCain as our key to keep the White House.

What states are up next? Click here.

Another thing to note in this election process: outright voter fraud. More of the same-old, same-old. I wonder if it will be ‘hanging chads’ again or maybe a Diebold machine that gives the election to a lobbyists favored candidate.

Clintons witness voter fraud at Casinos whose unions endorsed Obama

Canadian Press claims Clinton fraud

New Hampshire GOP election fraud

And lets not forget about the latest ’Tax Rebate’ that President Bush is proposing.  $800 would be refunded for individuals or $1600 for families. Does this sound familiar? It should, is more of the same-old, same-old. Its a re-do of the 2005 tax rebates. It didn’t work then, it won’t work now. How exactly will $1,600 dollars help a family whose ARM is adjusting? How exactly will $1,600 help the family that Micron just laid off? How exactly will $1,600 help the housing market in Idaho, which is 20% out-of-state-investor owned?

And here in Idaho and Idaho Senator wants to use $5,000,000 of your tax money to fund the Special Olympics.  Excuse me? Where does the Constitution authorize that? That Senator sits on the Idaho Special Olympics board. It must be nice to be a Legislator and be able to use money taken by force for your own purposes.

[And a side note: the Special Olympics budget this week went up from $25 million to $35 million. You know EXACTLY where that money is going to come from.]

So lets sum it up: a continued War in Iraq with John McCain, a continued rigged election system to get those in that the cooperate donors and lobbyists prefer, more bad economic policies and increasing taxation for more special projects.

This sudden swing for the status quo means that you the voter will not be able to vote for a real change in the 2008 Presidental race. The Republican Roadmap 2008, which calls for turning back to our creed of lower taxes, less government and family values, will take a second posistion to keeping the White House. It is exactly as I predicted, let us hope the bloggers  and younger voters will become energized once again before it is too late.

Hmmm…. Welcome to 2008!

Isn’t progress great?

Catch this story?

It highlights perfectly what so many Americans already know- in their bureaucratic and administrative capacities the various branches of government have become governments unto themselves, routinely bumping into each others area of jurisdictions and making it nearly impossible for Legislators, Congressman and the general public alike to set any sort of standard for accountability or reform.

Take for example the case of roads. Idaho has one of the worst managed public road systems in the north west. The level of political partisanship, agendas and ineptitude that is accepted is alarming. The ultimate abuse of the taxpayer lies with the attitude that so many of the public road planners have. Namely they intentionally create stop lights to slow traffic, crowd and mismanage major road arteries and delay projects that the  public demand all to serve their ultimate goal: to force public transportation, the ultimate in social welfare, on the backs of the taxpayer.

And then to make matters worse- they simply seek to pass off their ineptitude to other transportation departments. If, for example, a road project doesn’t meet the agenda of the Ada County Highway department they can simply claim that the Idaho Transportation Department has jurisdiction of the road, or vice versa. The end result is that the public, who is demanding a better managed road, less stoplights, or more lanes, gets stymied in their requests.

It is agenda driven government, backed by the media who is always willing to embrace the socialist ideal, that intentionally creates the problems that require the government o step in, ‘to solve the problem’.

Another case in point here: the administrator for the Idaho Department Of Education simply didn’t like the No Child Left Behind Act. Her solution? Simply ignore the budget that legislators set for her Department. He agenda driven decision has cost Idaho $1.5 million dollars and cut two sets of tests that are designed to make sure Public schools are actually performing their mission.

Is Idaho going to have to learn the hard way? Every action by the government costs money, expands the powers of government and takes away a little more freedom from the citizens.

Even states like Kalifornia are learning that they cannot be all things to all people, that their is a definite and finite amount of responsibility that any government can bear.

Even here, the WaPo notes,Governors, rather than cutting government during budget crises are endorsing risky budget maneuvers to keep the welfare/big-brother state up-and-running.

Talking with Legislators this year I heard this one constant complaint: that bureaucratic regulations infringe on their responsibility to make law.

This is the path of insanity. Do you see where this leads? If legislators or congressmen are powerless to make or change laws, then the government, for all intents and purposes, gets to create its own. The end result of that is bigger government, increased regulations and a lack of accountability for the taxpayers dollar.

We must demand, and should be able to expect, that our government is responsive to our wishes, that our tax money is well accounted for, and most importantly, the constitutional role of government is respected. We can no longer accept the secret shadow government that has emerged to rule us. We cannot allow the bureaucrats to write their own laws, their own budgets, and their own priorities anymore.

Anything less than this, my dear readers, would be adjudicating our role as a voter to the government itself. Now tell me, are you really comfortable with that? I didn’t think so.

Isn’t progress great?

Politico.com has a great article here.

Quite simply, if the Republican party becomes the party of government handouts, then what good is voting Republican party at all? The ONLY real solution for the Republican party is to continue to emphasize a smaller government, less taxation and family values, and a personal responsibility platform.

The rest of Politco.com’s article pretty much sums it up.

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Roadmap For Rebuilding is a LedeAgenda.com series on the best election scenario for the Republican party in 2008. Part one can be found here, Part Two, here.

For those who strive for the advancement of freedom and liberty nothing is more sacred that bemoaning the latest government power grab. Like and orchestrated production the daily affairs a many of men a swept asunder under an increasing and dizzying array of regulations and laws aimed not at preserving natural law but rather in that of ‘Homeland Security”. Men, it is believed, finds itself at constant threat from the unknown face, that ruthless scrounge whom seems to the the reason that so many things in our life need to cede to the power of the government.

So as the size of government grows so must our ways of combating the unconstitutional demands that the shackles of government would impose on our free will.

A brief assessment of many areas that will be critical for Republican election success have already shown signs of pushback. Faced with a absolute crises in the fund raising department, the GOP is having to depend on donors that traditionally have spurned organized politics. Captain Obvious would like to point out that these donors give far less than the corporate lobbyists and often fall under the reporting requirements the FEC has dreamed up.

And another side note: reliance on those small time donors has also forced the party to return to its smaller government roots, a boon to the disgruntled political base of the party.

But even the big money donors are pushing back- have to Googled Ron Paul Blimp lately? If this innovative approach to free political speech survives a few key lawsuits and rulings it may well pave a way for nearly the entire election campaign contribution limits as we know them to be rendered moot.

But there is a even larger issue that deserves consideration. Namely it comes down to one issue: if no one is appointed to administer the regulations then what good will the regulations do?

This story comes to us from the Washington Post:

The Federal Election Commission will effectively go dark on Jan. 1 because Congress remains locked in a standoff over the confirmation of President Bush’s nominees to the panel. As a consequence, the FEC will enter 2008 with just two of six members — short of the four votes needed for the commission to take any official action.

Did you catch that? The FEC is rendered obsolete by default- it will not be able to act on, “deciding whether to launch investigations into possible campaign finance violations and determining the penalties”. Also, the WaPo notes the FEC commissioners are charged with determining which candidates shall receive matching funds.

The lack of approval for President Bush’s FEC appointments in this case is serving as a positive for the Conservative and Libertarian lending folks in the GOP. Chief among the Presidential Candidates slated to receive federal funding is Mr. I Support Amnesty, Senator John McCain. Let me ask you this: considering that pushing the Dems to appoint the Presidents FEC commissioners would grant McCain public money to run is campaign AND allow the FEC to go about its business in meddling in free political speech, do we really want the President to win this battle?

But Bureaucratic appoints need not be the only struggle the Republicans can gain from. The minority party, when given the opportunity to say block the 60 votes needed for a bill to pass in the Senate, can offer plenty of fight in the cause for self-government. I touched on this a bit in the earlier article. It is key that Republicans present a unified and significant force constantly demanding action for lower taxes, smaller government and family values. So far, per reports from frustrated Democratic officials, our leadership has seemingly keyed in on this vital role.

This from NYTimes.com:

Reid’s comments reflected party leaders’ recent decision to temper their boasts about congressional accomplishments with admissions that Republicans have used their veto and filibuster powers to block or weaken many Democratic initiatives.

The originally title that the New York Times used for the above article was, “Republicans Block Democratic Agenda”. The title was quickly re-worked to its more Democratic-friendly wording lede. After all, it must have just killed the New York Times to admit the Republicans where actually able to do something [finally] to block the advancement of socialism in this country. Not that many of the current Republican counter plans are much better, mind you.

And my final survey of current news for the new Republican Roadmap come from my hometown paper, The Idaho Statesman:

The Nampa & Meridian Irrigation District said Friday that it decided to waive the $4.78 it charged Brian Bandhauer for not paying his irrigation bill on time.

the article goes on to note:

Bandhauer said he didn’t know he was in an irrigation district because he doesn’t have access to irrigation water, and because the bill went to the wrong address the first year he lived in the home.

Seems like we can all learn from that battle, no?

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This is part two of LedeAgendas.com’s, “Roadmap For Re-building” series. The first article can be read here.

It is not very often as a Conservative that I read NYTimes.com and come away thinking, ‘that was refreshing’. But such was the case today.

After having been battered about by the Democrats, the Anti-War crowd, the Hate Bush crowd and even a substantial portion of its own party, I was beginning to wonder if the Republican party could get back on track in time to re-solidify the base. Such discord that John Boehner was quoted as saying, ‘our fundraising sucks’.

How bad is our fundraising thus far? Politico.com notes:

At the end of the third quarter, the Democratic campaign arm had $28 million in the bank; the Republicans had $1.6 million (and twice that total in debt).

In short, it’s really not a good time to be a Republican right now. We can’t raise money, can’t agree on a candidate and are fighting an uphill battle in the courts of public opinion and the media. And quite frankly, with how we have spent money and expanded government like drunken sailors over the last few years, we deserve it. 

However, read both of the articles above. They should be must-reads for anyone involved with the Republican party at the moment. There is a plan for the future that has been developed. Allow me, for a moment, to summarize:

1. ‘We have a long fight back to power’.
2. We need to take our position as a minority party seriously. 
3. Coy and precise leadership is necessary to craft and inject our vision into law.
4. Only a return to our principals can regain lost trust and support.

Let me summarize my summary: we need to re-build.

Let me be clear: the best way for the Republican party to regain its power it to once again take its own ideas seriously. Stop dilly-dallying with ‘moderate’ and Democratic proposals and trying to make them ‘less Big-government’ or ‘more taxpayer friendly’. Lets get back to our creed: Lower taxes, limited government and family values.

They are principles that we can use to rally behind and stick to our guns on in the Senate, as we have done thus far with most the budget bills in the Senate. The are practical, time-honored viewpoints that will be respected in debate.

So how does this all play out?

Well, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has figured it out- procedure, procedure, procedure.

In short- It takes 60 votes to pass a bill in the Senate. The Democrats do not have 60 Dems in the Senate. Well guess what, if we stand united and true to our own beliefs, we can inject our policy into nearly any legislative agenda. And the best part is- we get to frustrate the hell out of the Democrats and beat them at their own game. Remember this- during almost all of the Bush II Presidency the Dems have continuously used the filibuster or some other Senate tactic to delay, deny, or stop a bill.

I think it’s time that we unite around our common values- lower taxes, less government and family values. It’s time for us to make sure that legislation does not get our votes unless its values meet these criteria.

It’s time for us to become what the NYTimes.com calls, ‘The Grand Obstructionist Party’.

You know, irritating the hell out of the Democratic party, the NYTimes and still making progress on our cause? That is what I call a win-win situation. I think we may have finally found peace with our party’s current situation. It’s sure gonna be fun.