What the Moderate Republican Stands For

Republicans came to power as the party of big ideas, and without returning to that model they could be looking at a long winter. Additionally, those big ideas need to focus on Middle America. Three issues that could work are conservation, reform and localism.

Conservation- a return to the Teddy Roosevelt model of conservation. One doesn’t necessarily have to buy into global warming to appreciate the need to protect the natural resources we have.

Reform- the federal government is bigger than ever, and won’t be getting any smaller over the next four years. Republicans need to fashion themselves as national reformers. Much of Middle America wants the government as safety net, but bloated bureaucracies breed corruption that needs to be dealt with.

Localism- this is the lynchpin that brings it all together. If we bought our food locally, shopped locally, governed locally, many of the issue we now have to deal with would go away, or at the least become manageable.

Below is a collection of writers who speak about the things that matter. Some are Right, some Left and some Center, but all intelligent and rational voices.

The American Conservative » Rod Dreher

Via Meadia

Front Porch Republic

David Brooks

The Soap Box

Good News/Bad News

President Obama said figures on economic growth and the jobs created through government spending shows that after a horrendous downturn the economy is “moving in the right direction.”

In his weekly radio address, Obama extolled the Commerce Department report that says the U.S. economy grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate the third quarter and separate data showing spending from the $787 billion economic stimulus is directly responsible for 640,329 jobs so far.

While this is great new in and of itself, it does not point towards long term recovery.

Looking closely at the components of GDP reveals a more disturbing picture. While consumption, exports, and the government sector were up, private investment has fallen through the floor. The graphic below tells the tale. Once the government stimulus dries up there is no private investment- the real lifeblood of economic recovery- to take is place.

1 comments:

Beth said...

They are just prolonging the inevitable.