Small Thoughts for a Complex World™

"Defending your individual rights, whether you like it or not!"

It's Romney's Job to Win Over the Johnson Voters In most presidential elections within memory, there seems to always be a sizable portion of the public voting against one candidate rather than voting for the other one. Or to put it in different terms, many people continue to find themselves in the unenviable position of having to choose between the "lesser of two evils." Occasionally, a viable third-party candidate gains traction as an alternative to what is seen as the status quo being offered by the Republicans and Democrats. This happened in 1992 with the independent candidacy of Ross Perot, and this year we are seeing signs of growing support for the Libertarian party candidate, Gary Johnson. Without a doubt, this is a critical presidential election. After suffering four years under Obama's administration, many people have come to the conclusion that he must be replaced at any cost, even if it means voting for the lesser of two evils and supporting a suboptimal candidate such as Mitt Romney. Other people, taking a longer range view, are choosing to support Johnson who most closely represents their values and principles, understanding that his chances of winning this fall are slim, but hoping that a significant showing in this election will produce a more favorable crop of candidates next time around and ultimately lead to a better future. Those who believe that Romney's election is of paramount importance are fearful that a majority of Johnson voters will come from people who would otherwise vote Republican, possibly swinging the election in Obama's favor. One such person commented that should Obama win, it would be Johnson's loony supporters who will be to blame. I don't have a strong quarrel with how people choose to vote in this election. As is the case every four years, this country is in an unholy mess and the state of political leadership is disgraceful, so making a serious choice as to how to vote requires a strategy and calculation that can be complicated for intelligent, thinking people. However, one thing should be made clear. If Romney fails to convince enough people to vote for him and defeat Obama, then the responsibility will rest squarely on his shoulders. It will be Romney's inconsistencies, waffling, record of past actions and his inability to adequately sell his current soft and unfocused message that will be at fault. If Romney and the Republican Party cannot convince a large segment of smart, informed voters that it is in their best interest to cast their ballot for him rather than for Obama or for a third party candidate who has almost no chance of winning, then it is really disingenuous for anyone to try and shift that blame from him onto those alternate voters who are pursuing what they believe is their best available option. In truth, it would be a fairly easy matter for the Republican Party to convert a great many of the Ron Paul, Johnson and independent Obama supporters into Romney voters. All they would need to do would be to adopt some of the policies and positions that this voting block heavily favors. But instead of considering that, the GOP continues to kick this constituency in the teeth as it has recently done by forcing the exclusion of Ron Paul from a convention vote through procedural tricks, and by adopting an extreme abortion position that is impossible for liberty-respecting people to swallow. If the GOP wants the independent and libertarian-leaning voters to come into its tent, then they have to actually demonstrate that they support individual rights, free markets and personal liberty, through action as well as words. However, not only do they fail that, they demonstrate repeatedly that they support the exact opposite! Look no further to see why there is a growing shift towards a third party. Johnson is an ineffective campaigner. It is not so much his performance that is drawing voters his way, but the GOP itself that is pushing them, with great force, in his direction. I suspect that this recent convention tactic will further swell Johnson's ranks with disaffected Paul backers. Everyone in the Republican, Libertarian and Independent camps agree that Obama must go. There is no need to push that message. Obama's every action automatically does it for us, and people not long ago convinced of this are a lost cause. But for those of you who have decided that the only serious path forward is to elect Romney, I would respectfully suggest that you should stop attacking individuals who are leaning towards supporting Johnson. These people have good reasons for their choice. Rather, you should be directing all of your focused energy and anger towards Romney and the Republican Party, demanding that they abandon their quest to impose their own personal vision of morality on everyone else, and instead adopt a program that truly embraces individual autonomy, personal responsibility, stands for the equal rights of all citizens, and supports a strict application of the principles that form the bedrock of our Constitution. This is the pathway towards naturally expanding the Republican base and defusing any harm that a third party might represent. It is not looney for people to follow their conscience and stand up for their principles. What's looney is an organization like the GOP that expects to receive support from those that it overtly despises and attacks, and then whines when it fails to achieve the results it wishes. C. Jeffery Small August 25, 2012

• Liberty's Torch – [PDF]

• The Libertarian Enterprise

Dear Republican Members of Congress: As time draws ever closer to the August 2nd deadline for the debt ceiling debate, pressure is increasing from many quarters in and attempt to force you to back down from your principled position and accept some form of compromise. Statist-oriented pundits, including the very foolish E.J. Dionne, suggest yet again that all members of the Tea Party movement are unhinged, and that listening to their demands is politically unwise. Well, of course this is what you would expect them to say, since the Tea Party stands in opposition to everything that they advocate: A further undermining of the U.S. Constitution Ever increasing government power and control Nationalization of business and industry Centralized economic planning Further entrenchment of the welfare state Fiscal irresponsibility Wealth redistribution The abrogation of every citizens' individual rights If you were to consider a compromise with these statists, in just which of the above areas are you willing to make concessions on behalf of the American people? As Ayn Rand so eloquently put it: "In any compromise between food and poison, it is only death that can win. In any compromise between good and evil, it is only evil that can profit." Identify that which you know to be the good, and defend it with every fiber of your being. Then there are the various proposals by Paul Ryan, John Boehner, Barack Obama, The Gang of Six, and on and on, which attempt to trade off an immediate $2.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling in exchange for some amount — between $2 and $8 trillion — of spending cuts that extend out anywhere from ten to forty years into the future. Let's be serious! No one is fooled by these absurd and totally unrealistic scenarios. Each of these proposals is a classic case of the Big Lie! We all know that any future Congress could overturn these spending cuts at any time — and history has shown that they more than likely would eventually do so. These are not real cuts in relation to today's spending, but cuts against proposed future budgets that already include huge spending increases. While these proposals might slow those increases, they make no actual cuts, allowing future budgets to continue to grow. What practical good is a $6 trillion spending reduction spread over ten years? That amounts, on average, to $600 billion in cuts per year which, when offset against deficits well in excess of $1.6 trillion, still leave us with an annual deficit around $1 trillion. These proposals do nothing to balance the budget, let alone effect real reductions in federal spending. Given these facts, supporting any of these budget proposals is just another exercise in punting on the responsibility that Congress has for dealing honestly and realistically with our fiscal situation. Passing the buck forward only means that in two more years we will find ourselves in a hole that has grown from $14.5 trillion to $17 trillion, and will still be racking up huge deficits that require yet another increase in the debt ceiling. Exactly what level of debt do you believe is enough? There is another form of pressure that the President is attempting to apply in an effort to force your hand. By sending a message to the markets that disaster looms on the horizon, he is trying to create a stock market panic that will influence people, including those of you in Congress, to respond irrationally to fear and make foolish choices, similar to what occurred in 2008. The President is also working to rattle the American people by telling them that if Republicans refuse to raise the debt ceiling, he may not be able to cover the national debt or send the elderly their social security checks. But notice the nature of his threat. If he is forced to make a hard choice as to where to allocate limited dollars, his proposal is to continue funding organizations such as NPR, the Corporation for National and Community Service, and so on, instead of issuing Social Security checks? He proposes to continue paying for all of the welfare programs, doling out money to people who have never contributed a dime to the system, while denying payments to those who have financially back our country, or to people who have spent a lifetime paying their hard earned cash into this so-called retirement program! It's a no-brainer. To counter this empty threat, all you need to do is loudly and publicly call him on this and the American public will see that this wannabe Emperor has no clothes — or more precisely, no principles at all. These tactics make Obama one of, if not the most craven Presidents in our history, and you must not allow them to stand. Identify his actions for what they are, report them to the American people, and refuse to be coerced by these tactics. And then we have the shameful and unconstitutional proposal by Mitch McConnell. In a ploy that is all political theater with absolutely no benefits for the country, he suggests that Congress should relinquish its constitutional responsibility to determine and control federal spending and appropriations, and simply turn that power over to the executive branch, allowing the President to unilaterally raise the debt ceiling at his discretion. And this is being done so that Mitch and his fellow traitors who support this idea can be relieved of the necessity of committing to a position of either raising or not raising the debt ceiling. Cowards! Do not abase yourself by even considering supporting this. So, what should you do regarding the debt ceiling and the budget? It's simple. Start representing the wishes of the American people who sent you back to Washington in 2010 with a very clear message. Let me spell it out. We do not want the debt ceiling raised at all. Period. No compromises. No trade-offs. Raising the ceiling simply provides more funds for more spending, which is exactly the problem needing to be fixed. Refusing to raise the debt ceiling is a positive step in that direction. Do not raise taxes. Just as with the debt, taxes are another source of revenue for the government and those dollars will support additional spending. The money spigot must be shut off. Federal revenue for 2011 is $2.57 trillion, which, in equivalent adjusted dollars, is greater than the entire outlay for 2002. By simply scaling the size and scope of government back to 2002 levels, the budget would be immediately balanced with no need for additional taxes or debt financing. Based upon the preceding facts, what the American public expects and demands is for you to cut spending immediately and deeply. The simplest approach would be to immediately impose a spending cap for 2012 equal to current revenues of $2.57 trillion and then do one of the following: Make an across the board cut to every federal program. (The easy way out.) Simply unwind government back to the 2002 configuration, eliminating all programs that have been added since then, and scaling the others back to their previous level. Examine the budget carefully and negotiate which departments and programs should be eliminated, which ones should be reduced, and which should remain at current funding levels. What is clear from the past forty years is that so long as there is an open source of funding, Congress will continue to devise new ways to spend. And until a fixed dollar limit is rigidly imposed, Congress will refuse to examine and prioritize its spending. Time is up, and you and your fellow Republicans must finally stop playing at the childish game of politics, man-up, and do the adult thing. It is time to stop this ship of state and make an about face. The budget must be balance not in ten, twenty or forty years, but right NOW, in the upcoming 2012 fiscal year. You must cut over $1.5 trillion from next year's budget. Will it be hard? Of course. But it's not going to get any easier tomorrow, next year or after the 2012 election. It has to be done immediately. So what is your answer? Are you stepping up to the plate and swinging for a home run, or are you going to take the coward's way out and add one more bunt to a lifetime of bunting? Are you finally going to be the hero, or end your career as the goat? This is the moment of truth. No one can guarantee what the political fallout will ultimately be from this, but there is a huge and growing contingent all across America that will stand firmly behind you if you choose to do the proper thing and actually lead the Republicans in a serious charge into the battle to save this country from ruin. We are all watching, so forget the words and simply give us your answer through your actions. Sincerely, C. Jeffery Small

A Call To Activism:

To send an email message to John Cornyn, click here.

To send an email message to Lamar Alexander, click here.

To find the address of you Senator or Representative, click here.

Senator Cornyn: Only two days into the job and the press is already reporting that some of you Republicans are ready to renege on your pledge to ban earmarks! You say "Most people think we need earmark reform — not a ban." Well, listen up. You are dead wrong! "We the people" have made it perfectly clear that we will no longer accept business as usual from those of you in D.C. You have one job to do, and that is to reduce the size and scope of the federal government. Period! You don't have need for a single earmark in order to accomplish this task. You toss around words like "self-discipline" and "transparency" to give the appearance of thoughtful sincerity. Exactly whom do you think you are fooling? You sound just like Barack Obama — a lot of hot air and no substance. It makes me wonder what your real agenda actually is? It is all quite discouraging. I see reports that you Republicans are already backing away from the pledge to cut $100 billion from the current budget this year. What is wrong with you people? Quit screwing around and start doing what is expected of you. We're not going to sit idly by while you fritter away the opportunity that the majority of voters have worked so hard over the past two years to afford you at this precise moment in time. Get on with the real task at hand and quit jerking around with the American public as if we are a bunch of idiots. Remember, you work for us — not the other way around, and we are watching your every action. Sincerely, C. Jeffery Small

"two-month summer social action activities such as looking after the elderly as a cure for the 'national scandal of all this wasted promise'. He originally proposed a compulsory scheme until voluntary sector bosses persuaded him that would not work - but will pledge to get all teenagers involved 'over time'. Money for the first two years of the programme ... will come from the Government's "community cohesion programme".

Commonsense Reform to Protect and Strengthen Health Care by Republican, WA State Representative, Dave Reichert I believe we must reform our healthcare system now. Today, millions of Americans realize that health care costs are becoming too expensive. They worry that they will lose their health care coverage or already lack the coverage they need. We must lower costs, reduce the number of uninsured, and increase access and quality at a price our country can afford. MAKING HEALTH CARE MORE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL AMERICANS: Implement comprehensive medical liability reform that will reduce costly, unnecessary defensive medicine practiced by doctors trying to protect themselves from overzealous trial lawyers. Provide Medicare and Medicaid with additional authority and resources to stop waste, fraud, and abuse that costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year. Provide immediate substantial financial assistance, through new refundable and advanceable tax credits, to low-and modest-income Americans. Increase support for pre-and early-retirees, those aged 55 to 64, with low-and modest-incomes. Bring greater fairness to the tax code by extending tax benefits and savings to those who currently do not have employer-provided insurance but purchase health insurance on their own. MAKING HEALTH CARE MORE AVAILABLE & ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL AMERICANS: Focus on individuals and families so Americans can keep health insurance regardless of a change in or loss of a job. Encourages states to use new and existing programs to guarantee all Americans, regardless of pre-existing conditions or past illnesses, have access to affordable coverage. Help employers offer insurance to their workers by reducing their administrative costs through a new small business tax credit. Recognize that not all high school and college graduates are able to find a job that offers health insurance after graduation. By allowing dependents to remain on their parents' health policies up to the age of 25, we stand to reduce the number of uninsured Americans by up to 7 million. Take significant steps to enroll the 13 to 16 million American children and adults who are currently eligible for Medicaid and CHIP but who are not enrolled to ensure these programs serve the populations they were created to help. PROMOTING HEALTHY LIVING FOR ALL AMERICANS NOW AND TOMORROW: Promote prevention and wellness by giving employers and insurers greater flexibility to financially reward employees who seek to achieve or maintain a healthy weight, quit smoking, and manage chronic illnesses like diabetes. Develop interoperability standards for health information technology to better coordinate care, reduce medical errors, and reduce health care costs. Reward high-quality care, instead of encouraging health care providers to order more and unnecessary services. Use new and innovative treatment programs to better coordinate care between health care providers, ensuring that those with chronic disease receive the care they need and do not continue to fall through the cracks. Make health care more convenient by eliminating bureaucratic red tape to expand access to Community Health Centers that are so critical to underserved areas, both in large cities and in rural America.

"The event will honor the enormous advances of the service movement that began 20 years ago under the leadership of President George H.W. Bush and that has been sustained and grown through the leadership of Presidents Clinton and George W. Bush. The movement is now being extended under the Obama administration ..."