Rice County Republicans

One of the recent mailings I received from the Bly campaign (via the Minnesota DFL State Committee) promises that

“He’s working for Rice and Scott Counties to get our fair share.”  [emphasis added]

Our fair share?  Our fair share! This short-sighted, what’s in it for me, attitude toward government money is the ruin of democracies.  Neither party is doing its job well right now (consider the bailout), but this egregious and blatant attempt to buy votes stands out in this economy like a warning buoy in a channel. It says, “this is the wrong way, do not go this way.“  And we will not go that way. We must vote, proselytize and keep the discussion on the important principles that guide us.

We cannot win this battle one bill at a time, we must win it at the principles level.  There are many possible creeds out there that claim to be Republican.  Some are close … claiming

• That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice.
• That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society.
• That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government.
• That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing constitutional limitations.
• That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense.

Others more basic:

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Others more foundational …

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. (Excerpt from The Declaration of Independence)

All derive from basic assumptions about the role of government. The underlying assumptions are that governments serve best that serve all of the people by:

• providing basic security by:
  • securing the borders and
  • providing for the common defense
• providing for prosperity by
  • coining and printing well regulated money and
  • enforcing legal contracts
• providing for the freedom of the individual by ensuring and protecting the freedoms we promised ourselves in the Constitution

The founders started the system with a requirement that only taxpayers (land owners at that time) were allowed to vote. They were worried about precisely the sort of appeal that we see above, an appeal to the greed of the voter by promising to get them “their fair share!” My friends, this is not good, this is not freedom. It is proper that we have extended the vote to all adults. It is dangerous that we have done so without ensuring that they know the importance of that vote, and especially the ramifications of voting their pocketbooks rather than their principles.

We are in for some turbulent times, made worse by the upcoming divisive election. Over the next two years we will be revisiting these principles-based discussions with an eye toward creating a grassroots movement to bring reason back to the ballot box in numbers that will swamp the self-serving and self-righteous who would use the power of the bayonet to subdue the people.

The upcoming election has an unusual twist to it in that we will be voting for judges.  Doug Jones summed up the urgency of this low-visibility issue nicely in a letter that he submitted to the editors of a local paper.

A field report comes in from our good friend,  Ray Cox.

Tim Rud and David Bly appeared at a candidate forum at Carleton College on Tuesday [28 Oct 08] evening. There was good attendance by students and some folks from the Northfield community.

It was interesting to hear the significant differences between the candidates on some important issues. The first question from the moderator dealt with Minnesota’s projected budget deficit and how the candidates would deal with it. Bly told the audience that he thought it would be very difficult to reduce state spending and that he promotes ‘revenue enhancements’ as a way to deal with the shortfall. He then explained that he also wants to see a new 4th tier for income taxes created, higher than any tax level Minnesota presently has in place. It was clear that Bly’s plan to deal with a budget shortfall is taxes, taxes and more taxes. And remember, this is on top of a 2007 budget that expanded state spending by 10.4 percent.

Tim Rud on the other hand said he felt it was essential that the state reduce spending to deal with the budget shortfall—-just as businesses and families in Minnesota do when dealing with their own finances. He then went on to explain that he also wants to expand job growth and opportunities in Minnesota which in turn will increase revenue. Finally, he said he feels there is still inefficiencies in state government agencies. Becoming more efficient in delivery of services will lower expenses.

The moderator than asked about health care, specifically asking if the candidates support the proposed Minnesota Health Plan. Tim Rud said he thought much of the plan had fine goals, but that the 9 percent payroll tax was too much of a burden to ask workers and businesses to pay. He identified how our present health care system is generally working very well, but he would like to see more efficiencies in administration, thereby lowering costs of health care insurance. Rud also promoted competition in the health care industry, allowing people to purchase insurance products from companies located in other states.

Bly explained that he is a solid supporter of this health plan. He said Minnesota must invest in this type of program and if we do ‘we all will do well’. He said competition in the health care business is not good, in that it only works because health care providers deny care to people that need it.

In addressing a question about the State Grant Program for supporting qualified college students with state funds, Tim Rud told the audience that he was a solid supporter of the plan. He noted that the 2007 legislature reduced funding for the Grant Program and stated he would not support such action that reduces funding for this important program.

Bly’s response was to blame the budget reduction on Governor Pawlenty. He went into great detail explaining that the Governor would not support a higher education bill that didn’t contain a particular new initiative for granting 9th grade students funds for college costs. He said the committee ‘looked around for ways to fund the Governor’s initiative’ and ended up having to take it from the State Grant Program.

In summary, Tim Rud represented great personal responsibility concepts and for state government to live within its means. Bly promoted extracting more and more taxes from residents and plans for the state to transfer assets from one group of people to another group. The choice was very clear….we need to send Tim Rud to St. Paul.