President Biden at his first 2022 press conference made a point of saying that Republicans are just blocking his "Build Back Better" agenda. He kept asking, "What are Republicans for? What are they for? Name me one thing
they're for?" Later in his press conference he asked, "Is there any president who has done more in his first year?" Try Donald Trump. He made promises, and he delivered.
President Trump made a costly mistake of focusing on the inadequacy of Joe Biden instead of emphasizing what he accomplished and what he would do in his second term. Republicans again are sure that Biden's inadequacy is enough to deliver congressional majorities in November and the White House in 2024. Our current candidates should not make Trump's mistake. It's time to run on what we are for and let Biden's ineptitude being the cherry on top of the treasured dessert GOP victories will bring.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkiin proved that an optimistic policy focused campaign can work even in heavily democratic states. He promised, and he's already starting to deliver.
It's time for the GOP to focus on the concerns of American voters. It's time for their leaders and candidates to respond to Biden's desperate question and actually deliver a clear "Contract with America." President Biden, here is a small list of what conservative republicans are for:
Secure Borders: Our Southern border is an embarrassment. Millions of illegal aliens are entering our country and being taken by bus and planes throughout our country. All this while immigrants who have been waiting in line for years to come here continue to wait. We want the Southern border wall completed. We want illegal aliens stopped and sent back at our border. If they seek asylum, let them stay in Mexico until they can prove they deserve it.
Energy Independence: We had finally achieved energy independence under President Trump. It's time we secure it again. We shouldn't have to beg for oil and natural gas from the Middle East or Russia when we have all the supplies we need right here. Instead of building more unreliable wind and solar energy farms, expand our use of clean energy nuclear power.
Free-Enterprise Capitalism: Socialism has never worked. The people who work hard and start their own companies need to reap the rewards of their own work. Hard work must always produce more reward than not working and being dependent on handouts from government. Disappointment is part of life; let it motivate citizens to word harder, innovate, and create new business opportunities.
Lower Taxes: Taxes should be kept as low as possible to fund necessary government functions. Electing politicians to take from their rich neighbors to pay for their entitlements is just another form of stealing. Everyone who works should pay some federal and state taxes; they should have skin in the game.
Welfare: Welfare should be temporary and left to local governments, charities, and non-profits who are harder to con and closer to the people who need help. Let families and neighbors take the primary responsibility for helping people get back on their feet. Creating government dependence is not caring.
School Choice: We are tired of teachers indoctrinating our children and expecting parents to leave them alone. It's time to give parents school choice. Let parents decide where their government education fund goes. Competition works in college; let it work for public education from kindergarten to high school graduation. Authorize public schools to fire non-performing teachers and then let them compete for students by providing a quality education that prepares our youth for life.
Smaller Government: The Deep State is oppressive and needs to be confronted and shrunk. We need every department to justify their budgets every year and to end automatic budget increases. Creating more free entitlement just feeds the beast. We need politicians who will cut the fat. From the lockdown and pandemic mandates to the never-ending stream of new laws and regulations designed to control every aspect of our lives, government bureaucracy needs to be exploded. A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take everything you have. Real republicans want smaller government and more powerful and free citizens.
Law and Order: In plain English, if you do the crime, you do the time. In many states, we have allowed criminals to do "small" crimes robbing stores of up to $950, and they are not prosecuted. Republicans stand for supporting
law enforcement officers and enforcing crimes. We want DA's that will work with our police to hold citizens responsible instead of letting them out the day after they are arrested.
Finally...Fair Elections: This isn't complicated. We've had fair elections in America for years. We don't need multiple days to vote. We don't need people to go out and pick up your vote. If you need a mail-in vote, plan early. We don't need ballots sent by mail to everyone; that's an invitation to cheating. If you are not smart enough to get a valid ID and sign your signature, you shouldn't vote anyway. Clean up the voter rolls! The dead shouldn't vote, and those who have moved shouldn't get to vote twice.
President Biden, we have had a year to see what you are truly for, and it's a progressive nightmare that promises to destroy this country. If Republicans campaign on a clear, conservative contract with America, they will win back the House and the Senate and set the stage for return to sanity in 2024. May it be so.
Terry Paulson is PhD psychologist, author, and professional speaker on Earned Optimism, Making Change Work, Claiming Your American Dream, and Becoming a Conservative Values Voter.
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