As we start 2012, we have everything before us, or maybe nothing. President Obama is beatable, but if we do not work hard and smart, we could lose. It will take the most significant GOTV effort ever to counter the Obama Chicago machine and the billion dollars they plan to spend. We also cannot go the third party route because we are not 100% happy with our nominee, unless we want to lose.
How Conservatives Can Redo DC if We Win
If we win in November, winning will not be enough to turn the country in the right direction. We need to get the country on the right track or else we will continue to decline. With thanks to Human Events, National Review and many experts, here are some things we must do when we take control in D.C.:
- Repeal Obama Care;
- Simplify the tax code with a flat tax;
- Enforce our border;
- Reform entitlements;
- Reduce red tape and government regulations;
- Encourage energy production;
- Close Federal agencies like Education Commerce and Energy;
and reassign essential duties to other agencies, but mostly to the states;
- Balance the federal budget after dividing it into operating and capital accounts (Note debt is ok for capital improvements only);
- Public pension reform (and while we are at it, cut bloated government salaries and gold plated healthcare plans);
- Strengthen the dollar;
- Ensure free and fair trade.
Could the Voting Rights Act, Which Discriminates Against Texas and Others, Be on Its Way Out?
One good thing has come out of the Federal Government's micromanagement of voting in Texas, the Supreme Court will hear a case setting up a potential striking down of the misnamed Federal Voting Rights Act as it applies to Texas. Redistricting in states not covered by the Voting Rights Act where Democrats control things, the Republicans are being treated badly. The difference is no Federal Government and courts messing with our voting rules and redistricting.
In the meantime, Texas needs to fight for its redistricting plan. Another reason we need the White House in 2012.
Iowa Preview And The Coming Post-Mortem On The Perry Effort
Iowa votes by caucus tomorrow. At TCR we think they get way too much attention for a state that voted for Obama last time and has so few electoral votes. That being said the voters there are and have been moving around with recent leaders Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul rising and then falling. TCR sees Mitt Romney doing well and second to the latest riser, Rick Santorum. Iowa also probably is the end for Michele Bachmann, and our Governor Rick Perry. If the polls are right and he finishes fourth with 14% and with no prospects for success in New Hampshire, it looks about over.
So what happened to Perry? He is the most successful politician in Texas in a decade and never defeated until now. The answer is not simple, but complex. First, it is clear they waited too long to get ready to get in. Months were lost that could've been used to prepare for a national race with national issues. The team falsely believed that a Presidential campaign is not much different than a Texas governors race. The Governor needed more time for preparation for dealing with the media and the debates because the national media and the primary debates are a lot different than Texas ones. Second, the bringing in of an outsider team to work with Team Perry never meshed. Third, the "real" Rick Perry has only recently emerged. You remember him in Texas as the best retail campaigner to hit our parts since Bill Clinton. Fourth, the campaign did not seem to visualize what was needed to be done to be successful in smaller states. Winning elections in Iowa and New Hampshire are different than Texas. Fifth, the high profile rollout gave no time for Perry to transition to the higher scrutiny of a national campaign. He got in and the media focus was on him, which magnified mistakes that otherwise would not have been a big deal. Sixth, other than candidates named Bush, it usually takes more than one race for a President to get it. You remember Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, John McCain and this year, Mitt Romney, all ran better campaigns the second time they ran.
TCR on the Air
Red, White & Blue featuring TCR Editor Gary Polland and liberal commentator David Jones, Fridays at 7:30 p.m. and replaying Sundays at 5:00 p.m. on PBS Houston Channel 8 and on the web at www.houstonpbs.org.
Upcoming shows:
01/06/12: Texas State Senator Dan Patrick.
01/13/12: Mayor Annise Parker.
01/20/12: Harris County District Attorney Faceoff.
For a fun feature go to www.houstonpbs.org and under Red White and Blue, you can see commentary about the show and its guests by Gary and David each week. The current show as well as past shows are also available on YouTube.
About Your Editor
Gary Polland is a long-time conservative and Republican spokesman, fund-raiser, and leader who completed three terms as the Harris County Republican Chairman. During his three terms, Gary was described as the most successful county Chairman in America by Human Events - The National Conservative Weekly. He is in his fourteenth year of editing a newsletter dealing with key conservative and Republican issues. The last eleven years he has edited Texas Conservative Review. As a public service for the last 8 years, Gary has published election guides for the GOP primary, general elections and city elections, all with the purpose of assisting conservative candidates. Gary is also in his ninth year of co-hosting Red, White and Blue on PBS Houston. Gary is a practicing attorney and strategic consultant. He can be reached at (713) 621-6335.
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