To govern the GOP needs ideas and leadership not just slogans and name calling.

This speech by Senator Bob Bennett (R-UT) was given to the Ripon Society. Many of the points that he made rung true to me including the example of Ronald Reagan.

Who is Obama most like?

As the midterm election approaches both parties are creating a sense of nostalgia for themselves. Republicans are using Reagan as the inspiration for everything that they stand for (and the yardstick to measure everything Obama is not). The Democrats are reaching much farther back into history and characterizing themselves as the heirs of the progressive era (TR and Wilson). Have you ever noticed that the shows on MSNBC no longer use the word liberal? They are now progressives!

I don't quite buy the argument that Obama will be the downfall of the Republic (sorry Glen Beck). He also lacks the big stick philospohy of Teddy Roosevelt on both foreign and domestic issues, rather I see him as Carter 2.0.

Jimmy Carter was swept into office because he represented everything that Richard Nixon wasn't: an all around nice guy. People felt the Nixon had betrayed the ideals of the presidency with Watergate and Ford was merely a caretaker president. Carter's ideals resonated with many people who had grown cynical about politics and the leaders in Washington. However his leadership has been defined by the Iranian Hostage Crisis. The crisis seemed to drag on forever and people could not believe that the indestructible country that could do anything and solve any problem could not seem to handle a small group of revolutionaries? Carter floundered and the American people questioned his competency as chief executive.

The BP oil leak such as crisis for the Obama administration. Instead of a foreign country causing the country heartache it is an environmental disaster and like Carter, Obama seems disconnected. Until recently, Obama had not allowed foreign countries to lend us their oil skimming boats. Efforts by State governments to defend their own shores were denied by the Federal Government. Currently the president seems more concerned about enforcing a moratorium on off shore drilling which many economist believe will be more dangerous to jobs than the oil spill itself.

Finally the $20 billion escrow fund secured by the administration has posed an interesting issue. Although I believe that BP should pay for the damage, it worries me that the White House unilaterally negotiated this fund. I would feel more comfortable if it was awarded by the courts (after a suit pursued by the DOJ) or a windfall profits tax was passed by Congress. Checks and balances were installed for a reason.

Mr. President, we need leadership. We need to know that are working with all affected parties to solve this problem. We need to know that we can solve this problem through our classic American ingenuity and determination. Please be the leader we want and need you to be!

Immigration Reform...Its about people, not fear

The dialogue in our country has exploded over the last few weeks (to say the least) about illegal immigration. It is sad to see that most of the discussion on both sides has been centered around fear not logic. Both sides are living in a fantasy world and refusing to face the problem head on. The left acts like a porous border where people can come and go as they please has no implications to our national security, while the right reverts to illogical xenophobia where all immigrants are 1) from Mexico and 2)here to deal drugs, murder, and attack our sovereignty (etc).

Recently NBC Nightly News did a story about illegal immigration in Utah:

<

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

We as a society as a whole (including our politicians) need to get real and implement humane reform. Illegal immigrants are human beings and are children of our Heavenly Father and as such need to be treated with respect and human dignity. They also contribute greatly to our economy and result in lower prices for many goods such as restaurant meals and construction. If all immigrants magically disappeared, we would have enormous labor shortages which would result in dramatically higher prices across the board and consumer welfare would decrease. I don't believe that unemployment would go down because there are already labor shortages in these markets (mostly due to a high minimum wage). Otherwise there would be no incentive for an "under the table payment" system.

I believe a good solution would be like this:
First we need to secure our border with the right number of troops and the resources to do their jobs (unlike what the Obama Administration is proposing now). Then we need to implement a work visa program that would document those that are here. Under a work visa program, immigrants pay income tax just like a citizen does, but will not receive entitlement benefits. Particularly concerning seasonal workers, we can then allow then to return home when their temporary jobs are done. Finally, if an individual on a work visa is convicted of a felony, their visa will be revoked. Working here is a privilege and as such we should have a zero tolerance policy for convicted felons.

We can fix this problem and treat immigrants humanely while preserving our dignity as Americans, but it requires leadership not slogan shouting. Something that (I am afraid) is lacking right now.

Extension of Last Post

Speaking of Bob Bennett. On Sunday morning, the Washington Post ran an op-ed piece by him that was very interesting. He has decided not to run as a write-in candiate, but seems to be taking the role of a moderate voice in the future of the GOP.

You can read it here:

The Direction of the GOP

Recent congressional primaries across the country have caused me to think about the direction that the Republican Party is taking and what the consequences may be. I have been a registered Republican since I turned 18 and have been active in Republican politics at multiple levels. However the recent tea party movement has me worried. In order for parties to be successful (especially in a two party system) it is critical that the party expand its base. It seems however that as the GOP moves to the right) (and to a lesser extent the Democratic party shifts to the left), the party is leaving more moderate members behind.

Two events have especially concerned me. The first is the dumping of Senator Bob Bennett from Utah at the convention. I feel that the party has done itself and the state a disservice by not nominating Senator Bennett. I believe he cast many votes such as TARP and immigration reform that were very unpopular but in the end were right. I dislike the philosophy behind TARP, but we could not watch our nation's money supply (and individual consumers' deposits) vanish overnight. What was truly his major crime, however: working across the aisle with Democrats.

Meet the Press:



KSL:

Video Courtesy of KSL.com

It starts...

Hi Everyone. I guess it is the small amount of narcissism in me, but I decided to start a politics/economics blog. My senior year at Weber State, one of my good friends and I wrote a point-counter point column for the Signpost (Weber State's student newspaper). I was a great experience sharing my thoughts and it opened me up to opinions and thoughts of people across campus. Now whenever I watch the news or read an interesting book or column, I wish I was still writing that weekly column. So I guess this is my imperfect substitute for that.

As I hopefully post new issues and my initial thoughts on them, please feel free to post your thoughts as well. Just keep it clean and respectful.

Thanks for reading!