(Joseph Tatner) – The time for talk is over. The time to take action is now. The question is, “What can I do to help take back my country?”
Recently, the Nevada Policy Research Institute (NPRI) released their legislative report card, written by Geoffrey Lawrence. With tax revenues already in a freefall, lawmakers faced a gap of $2.26 billion between revenues and desired spending. To address this, legislators knew they had two choices: increase revenue or cut spending.
Despite the fact that state is facing its worst economic recession in decades, they insisted on raising taxes, which history has shown neither increases revenue nor does anything to control spending. Worse, they raised fees and taxes on businesses, leaving them less money to hire people (which would actually help the economy and Nevada’s staggering jobless rate).
In other words, at a time when we all have to do more with less, the government wants more of the less we have. With revenues projected at $5.56 billion, Nevada isn’t exactly broke. We aren’t paying people with IOUs like California, but when certain state-funded groups were asked to take a 2 to 6% pay cut in an economy where Walmart prices are to be found everywhere, they squealed like stuck pigs.
Even the Teacher’s Union, apparently unable to do math, screamed they couldn’t afford a pay cut, despite a 4% longevity increase and a 4% cost of living allowance increase in the same year. A 6% cut would have meant a 2% increase in salary (4+4-6=2).
Clearly, our elected officials have forgotten who they work for. They believe that the role of the people is to support and promote the common welfare of government – not the other way around. Meanwhile, we have a Health Care Tax Bill steamrolling its way through the House and Senate without any shred of constitutional authority (it reforms nothing, taxes everything, and is enforced by the IRS). We have a president who has appointed a cadre of unelected, unsupervised, and unconfirmed Czars with the most radical, indefensible views.
All of these people have forgotten what the word “representative” means. This is still a government of the people, by the people, and for the people and it’s time that We the People reminded them of that fact. For too long we have been complacent and weren’t interested in politics. Well, now the politicians have taken us for granted…and they are out of control. But what can we do?
First, we must learn the issues. Second we must get involved, speaking out at every opportunity. Now is not the time to be timid or shy. Instead of complaining about the lousy choices we get in the general election, learn who the candidates are now and get involved in the primaries. At the primary level is where we choose who the nominees will be. We can no longer leave that choice to out-of-touch party leaders and insiders.
Knowledge is power! When was the last time you looked at your voter registration card, assuming you have one? What is your Congressional District? Assembly District? Commission District? What precinct do you live in? Do you even know who your Assemblyman or State Senator is or how they voted in the last legislative session? Did they vote for the tax hikes that plunged our state into an even deeper recession? Have you ever called a Congressman or Senator about a bill in your life?
The American government belongs to you! If you abdicate your authority, you let others choose your leaders for you. That hasn’t worked out very well so far. Find your voter registration card and look up your voter information. Learn about the candidates and decide who you will vote for at the primary level. Then stay involved and support whatever candidate wins the primary. The 2010 election is crucial to the very survival of our country. Spending us into trillions of dollars worth of debt has not slowed our representatives down one bit, and there are even more frightening issues at stake.
While all of our eyes are focused on Health Care and Cap & Trade, Hate Crimes legislation is silently wormed its way through Congress in the form of HR 1913 that will have devastating effects. I call it the Pedophilia Protection Bill, because the bill included “sexual orientation” in its list of protected categories, despite the fact that the phrase is a loophole big enough to drive a truck through. Republicans offered two amendments to the bill to specifically define that the phrase would not include pedophiles, and both times it was voted down by the Democrats. In the end, it was recently slipped into the Defense Spending Bill and passed.
Now let’s face it, the Republicans did everything they said they would in their Contract with America. Then they forgot who they were and spent like drunken sailors, tried to ram Amnesty down our thoughts, and initiated the bailouts that helped bankrupt our country and tanked our economy. But the Republicans never dreamed of spending this much money and they never assaulted our freedoms and the Constitution they way the elected Democrats have. We sent the Republicans a message in 2008, and it’s time to send the Democrats one now! The Republicans who are left in the House and Senate have been standing nearly 100% united against the onslaught on our freedom and liberty, so it’s time to send them some reinforcements – solid conservatives who remember what the Republican Party stands for.
As appealing as a third party option is for many, there simply is no time left. No independent party has ever won a large majority in a single election cycle. The Republican Party was originally a third party, but they lost the first election. Lincoln was the second nominee for President from the Republicans. The third party we need today must come from within the Republican Party – and the signs are clear that this is already happening.
While 100,000 people showed up in Washington, DC for Louis Farrakhan’s so-called “Million Man March,” two million people actually showed up on the Mall in Washington and for blocks around during the recent August 22nd Tea Party. The Clark County Republican Party and the State Party have also seen a resurgence, thanks to an influx of genuine conservatives who are determined not to sit on the sidelines yelling at the coaches anymore.
The Republican Party is being reborn and no RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) need apply. After all, what good is sending a Republican into office if they consistently vote like a Democrat? Most Independents are actually quite conservative. In fact, many are former Republicans who got disgusted with their Party’s leadership. They forgot, however, that we the individual voters are the real Party Leaders, but we can’t lead if we don’t vote, and Independents cannot vote in the Republican primaries.
So it’s time to join the Republican Party, whether you are a Democrat, Independent or haven’t made up your mind. Make your voice heard where it counts. Despite what the Media likes to say, this is not an exclusive party. Republicans welcome everyone who believes in the United States Constitution, even if we have our disagreements. Ronald Reagan himself said that if someone agrees with us 80% of the time, that was good enough for him. We are not the mind-numbed robots the Press likes to portray us as.
Once you join, find out how you can volunteer. Clark County needs about 800 Precinct Captains in place for the next election. Volunteers are needed to man the phones, walk the neighborhoods, and support candidates. You might even consider running for the State Assembly, or School Board in District E or G. Whatever you decide, you’ll find a group of like-minded individuals who love this country and you may actually find you are having a lot of fun.
If there was ever a time to become involved, it is now. If you prefer to sit on the couch watching TV or playing video games while our country is under assault from within, you lose your right to complain about politics or politicians ever again. Worse, if the rampant socialism in our government continues unchecked, you may lose your right to speak out against the government ever again.
(Mr. Tatner is a Republican activist in Las Vegas)
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