The past four posts I've made
have painted a dire picture
for what's left of the Conserva-
tive Movement, as well as the
Republican party.  Years of
missteps, compromise, and
poor judgment have led them
into decline.  So what can be
done now to rectify the situa-
tion?

Well, for starters, they have
great allies.  Barack Obama,
Nancy Pelosi and others are
doing a great job of splashing
ice water into the faces of the
average American citizen.
With last week's vote on the
Obama budget, every man,
woman and child is now some
$68,000 deeper in debt.  Our
National Debt will shortly ex-
ceed our Gross Domestic
Product, a condition usually
afflicting 'Banana Republics',
not properly run nations.

As the Clinton campaign
effectively used in 1992, it's
the ECONOMY STUPID!
Americans tend to vote with
their wallets.  Since late
February, we are seeing the
rumblings of a grass-roots
uprising forming.  The Tea
Party rallies are spreading
like wildfire.

There lies the hope for the
future.  The more nuttiness
that comes out of Washington
will drive more people into
the streets protesting.  And
not just Washington.  Many
state governments are also
now engaged in raising taxes,
such as New York's proposed
'millionaire's tax' which will
affect everybody earning over
$300,000 a year.

New York City is especially
vulnerable, as only some
44,000 people and entities
pay some 90% of the taxes
collected.  As Charles Adams
wrote in his wonderful book,
"For Good And Evil", there
are limits to how much folks
will allow themselves to be
taxed before they vote with
their feet.  It won't take much
for a 21st Century Exodus to
occur, with low-tax states
luring new residents and
businesses to relocate.

Over the last few years, we've
already seen a steady migra-
tion of wealth to China, of all
places.  It's a sure sign that
the world is turning upside-
down when a Communist
nation is practicing a better
form of Capitalism than we
are!  But then, they have a
more aggressive method of
term limits for dealing with
corrupt politicians, a bullet
to the back of the head.

While I'm not advocating that
as a solution here, America
does need to tighten the rules
on term limits.  Allowing those
who were serving in 1995 to
be grand-fathered was not a
good idea.  Had it been done
the right way, by 2007, we
would not have any of the
jokers who are ruining the
nation now in office.

The Republicans need to
put together a new 'Contract
for America'.  One which
cleans up term limits, restores
the firewall between retail and
investment banks, advocates
rational regulation of the exotic
financial instruments (like
derivatives and credit default
swaps).  Simplifying our tax
codes, instituting a flat tax
with limited deductions for
children, mortgages and
health insurance outlays.

A new 'Contract with America'
needs to also dial back taxes
on corporations and capital
gains.  If we want long-term
growth and job creation, then
the nation needs to be a
fertile ground for opportunity
and incentive.  I would also
include a clear, definitive plan
for energy independence in
the contract.  We need a 'Do-
It-All-Now" approach, utilizing
oil and natural gas until newer
sources are fully developed.

Another key plank in a new
contract must also be to ad-
here to the Constitution.  It's
there to limit the power of
government, and right now
nobody is paying attention
to it.  The rights of the
individual must be held as
sacred.  Privacy, self-defense,
freedoms of speech and wor-
ship, and ownership of one's
own body must be protected.

The Federal government has
to get out of the business of
moral and social issues.  It
should stay focused on it's
primary purposes, defending
the borders and promoting
interstate commerce.  Edu-
cation, abortion, marriage,
and even welfare should be
left to the states to determine
how their citizens want them.
Enough is enough!  The
Constitution is very clear on
this.  The 9th and 10th
Amendments are NOT just
ink blots!

A nice 5 or 10 point plan,
keeping it as simple as
possible would be the way
to go.  The GOP should
put it together by this summer
and make sure that every
Congressional candidate,
especially those challenging
Democrat seats, sign on-
board to the contract. Then
promote the heck out of it.

As for the Conservative Move-
ment, there is a divide between
those who have led the Intelli-
gentsia (Christopher Buckley,
David Brooks, etc...) and the
Purists (Rush Limbaugh, Ann
Coulter, Mark Levin, etc...).
At issue is the Reagan Legacy,
which was rooted in the sound
economics of F. A. Hayek and
the fundamentals of our Con-
stitution.  The Intelligentsia
desire to be popular with the
Main Stream Media which is
their avenue for fame.  The
Purists dominate talk radio
and the book circuit.  They do
not need the MSM, in fact, they
enjoy the ‘bad-boy’ image the
MSM paints.

But the Purists have to fish or
cut bait.  If the rest of us have
to choose between the lesser
of two evils, then they have to
come down off their high horse
and choose as well.  We simply
cannot afford eight years of
this nonsense.  I’m not even
sure if we can survive four
years, or even two for that
matter.  This is going to be a
long march through the wilder-
ness.  The damage being done
now could take a decade to
clean up and repair.