Reforming Washington – Securing America’s Future

• A national July Gallop poll indicated that 78% – 4 out of 5 Americans – have an unfavorable opinion of Congress.
• Most national polls concur that over 60% of Americans believe the nation is heading in the wrong direction.

I think most readers of my e-mail today would agree with both of those findings.

They may also agree that there are two Americas.  There is Washington, DC – and there is the rest of America.

In the rest of America, families and business practice sound budgeting, spending restraint and debt management.  When they run out of money, they determine spending priorities and cut what is not priority.

When Washington runs out of money, it prints more currency, increases spending, increases taxes and increases the debt.  But the politicians aren’t doing this with their money, they are doing it with your money.  And the America outside Washington is primarily responsible for supporting their spending and paying the interest and principle on the public debt.

Poor Judgment and Political Business as Usual Have Real World Consequences on Americans

You believe Washington spends too much, taxes too much and has an on-going love affair with growing its power over you and saddling you with an ever larger public debt.

You are completely correct.

And the facts support your opinion:

• Since 2000, our yearly budget has more than doubled – from $1.7 Trillion to $3.8 Trillion
• Since 2001, our national debt has nearly tripled – from 5.8 Trillion to almost 16 Trillion by the end of this year.
• Our national debt now exceeds the gross domestic product of our entire nation.
• And that debt continues to grow faster than our economy.
• Business – particularly small businesses (The people who created private sector jobs)  - are being strangled by the $1.75 Trillion they spend yearly complying with federal over-regulation.

Washington has bungled economic policy and it is having a very real consequences on your life, your children’s lives and your community:

• Between 2007 and 2010, Americans net worth declined 40%.
• We are in the 41st straight month of unemployment exceeding 8%.
• 23 million Americans are either unemployed, under-employed or have given up looking for a job.
• 46 million Americans are on food stamps.
• Higher energy prices.
• A dollar that buys less and less – a vicious hidden tax that consumes your buying power.

Washington is broken and bankrupting our nation.

America is in an economic crisis.  We have a nation full of business people and manufacturers that understand how to create economic growth and jobs, but do you know how many manufacturers are in the US Senate?  1.  Just 1.

America is in a budget crisis.  Do you know how many accountants there are in the US Senate?  2.  Just 2.

And how many professional career politicians are there in Washington?  A professional political class who doesn’t have a clue how to create a proper budget, how to build a business, or how to create a private sector job.  Too many to count.

And we wonder why Washington can’t produce sound economic policy or get their spending under control?

More than Ever – Election Have Consequences

America’s hope is in change.  I believe we can change Washington.  But I also strongly believe that if we are to change direction in Washington – and save our nation – that means changing the people that have created this mess.

Important Primary elections have been occurring all year and more are taking place.  And in November, we will have a general election that will determine who lives in the White House and the make-up of both houses of Congress.

Elections are always important, but given the true crisis our nation faces, this election is more important than ever.

Please vote this year – and please – vote for candidates that understand that Washington must be restrained, reduced and reformed, if we are to avert a financial disaster and renew and rebuild a strong economic future.

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Op-Ed: GOP must prevent a lame-duck looting session

By Senators Ron Johnson, Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham

If Republicans want to win big in November, we must do more than show voters how we plan to govern in 2013. We must also demonstrate how we’re working right now to stop the last-minute spending spree the Democrats have planned for December.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wants to force a postelection lame-duck session of Congress, in which defeated politicians will no longer be accountable to voters. In that context, he will have more leverage to raise taxes and increase spending against the threat of yet another government shutdown, leaving taxpayers on the hook for more borrowing, debts and deficits.

Republicans in the House and the Senate must work together to avert a disastrous postelection looting of the taxpayer. We urge House Republicans to pass — before the August break — a responsible plan that funds the government into the next year, leaving major issues for the newly elected president and Congress.

Should Republicans fail to do this, Americans can expect another carefully choreographed crisis that will needlessly take government to the brink of a shutdown, without concern for voters, consumers and businesses that desperately need stability amid these fragile economic times.

A series of terrible events will occur at or near the year’s end if Congress does not act soon. The current tax rates are set to jump beginning next year. Medicare payments to physicians will expire. Defense spending will be gutted. The government is also likely to reach the debt ceiling again.

Despite this coming “fiscal cliff,” Congress will take its monthlong break in August. The delay is deliberate. History shows that by waiting until the last minute, creating an atmosphere of confusion, fear and alarm, proponents of big government give themselves a much better shot at getting what they want. Lame-duck sessions have been used in the past to ram through gas tax hikes, congressional pay raises, debt limit increases, thousands of wasteful earmarks and trillions of dollars in new spending.

When Congress returns the second week of September, there will only be three short weeks until the next government shutdown. That’s due to Reid’s refusal to pass a budget in the last three years and his failure this year to pass a single government funding bill.

In these moments of planned chaos, Reid will do all he can to divide Republicans and depress their supporters over matters of taxes and spending. But we know his primary goal is to force Republicans into accepting a stopgap, temporary, two-month government spending bill, called a continuing resolution. If he accomplishes this, Congress will be forced to reconvene for a lame-duck session in late November or December to complete its work for the year.

That’s when the real mischief can begin.

During that time, under the gloomy cloud of yet another government shutdown, members of Congress who lose in the 2012 elections can freely vote to raise taxes, increase spending, pass international treaties, increase the debt limit and gut national defense. They will never have to answer to voters again.

These important issues should not be decided in panicked moments. And it would be a complete disservice to the public if we chose to let an old Congress, completely unaccountable to voters, determine the major issues of our day.

We cannot give Reid this chance. Let us repeat: House Republicans need to pass the plan to keep the government funded through 2013 before the August recess.

Republicans should use the August recess to discuss their plan to keep the government running until next year. Senate Republicans can then force a vote on the House-passed government funding legislation. This will make it very difficult for Reid and President Obama to make an honest case that Republicans are threatening to shut down the government.

Responsible leadership never would have created this mess, but we need responsible leadership to get us out of it. If Republicans don’t take bold action today to save our nation from fiscal collapse, there is little reason for voters to believe we ever will.

Sens. Jim DeMint, R, and Lindsey Graham, R, represent South Carolina. Sen. Ron Johnson, R, represents Wisconsin.

Published by The Washington Examiner.

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Spending Past vs Future Obama – Annual Budget

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Budget Cuts? Spending Past vs. Future – 10 Year Spending

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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson talks politics with Oakfield High School students

A small group of students at Oakfield High School that studies current political leaders had a chance to interact with one Monday when U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson paid a visit.

Johnson, who also visited a class Monday morning at Waters Elementary School in Fond du Lac, said he thoroughly enjoys his time with students.

He told the Oakfield students he hoped they appreciated what their teachers were doing to help them lead successful lives.

“I hope you appreciate what this country offers you,” he said referring to the unlimited opportunities before the students. “America is something precious.”

Karl McCarty, who teaches history and political science at Oakfield High School, invites politicians to speak with his class as a way to show students that politicians are human. Recently, the class hosted U.S. Rep. Thomas Petri, R-Fond du Lac. Monday marked the first time McCarty and his students met with Johnson.

Be happy

Sam Hounsell, a 17-year-old junior at Oakfield, said his family members have been involved in local and federal politics — something he also has a strong interest in.

Hounsell said he took note of Johnson’s advice to be happy with what you choose as a career in life.

Johnson said work does not seem like work if it’s something you enjoy. He told the students success would find those that are good at something they enjoy.

“There’s no point in being a big millionaire if you’re unhappy,” said Hounsell, who is thinking about pursuing a career as a corrections officer.

He said he “can’t wait” to be able to vote.

“I’m not happy with the federal government right now,” Hounsell said.

Earlier, he asked Johnson about his stance on mining.

“We have to utilize our natural resources,” Johnson said. “We need jobs.”

Johnson said he gets his water from a well, that he is a fisherman and loves a pristine environment. He said he doesn’t believe people are seeking to pollute the environment.

Lea Moore, a senior at Oakfield, said she enjoys McCarty’s class because it delves into political matters.

Like Hounsell, she said Johnson’s message about doing something that makes you happy made sense to her.

She said she intends to attend college to become an alcohol and drug abuse counselor.

Issues

Student Braden Ryan asked Johnson his thoughts about the future of small, family farms.

Though there is nostalgia for survival of smaller farms, Johnson said some will be lost and others will survive.

He likened it to the emergence of Walmart and Home Depot stores. Though people like the “mom and pop” stores, many people shop at the chain stores, he said.

McCarty asked Johnson who he favored as a potential Republican presidential candidate.

Johnson discussed how Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are portrayed in the press, but declined to endorse any of the four. He did say any of the GOP candidates would be better than President Barack Obama — a president he said ran and was elected on a message of hope and change.

“That (hope and change) was an empty vessel filled by the people that voted for him — their hopes and dreams,” Johnson said.

Johnson spent part of the class talking about fiscal trouble facing the nation and what it may mean for students and future generations.

In September 1987, he said, the national debt was $2.3 trillion.

“Right now, it’s $15.4 trillion,” he said. “In another 10 years it’s projected at $25 to $26 trillion.”

Johnson also spoke of his frustration with the Obama administration’s lack of a plan to fix Medicare and Social Security.

“It’s been four years and he hasn’t done anything (with it),” Johnson said, adding that the president’s “Obamacare” healthcare plan set to go into effect in 2014 will cost much more than projected.

When asked if there was anyone he wished had run for president, Johnson mentioned Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Wisconsin Sen. Paul Ryan.

Classroom lessons

McCarty is no stranger to politics.

In 2004, McCarty was elected to the Campbellsport Board of Education at the age of 21. He ran an unsuccessful bid for the Assembly in 2008.

A St. Kilian native, he has been an instructor at Oakfield for five years, the past three full time.

McCarty said he encourages his students to discuss why political leaders say what they say.

“We take a lot of pride in being civil,” he said, noting that the students have learned to respectfully disagree with each other.

Today, the group planned to talk about Johnson’s visit and his remarks.

“The kids need to learn the (political) process is an easy one to participate in,” McCarty said. “I think sometimes people think it’s hard to be part of politics.”

This article was published on FondduLacReporter.com

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Townhall.com: President Obama’s Budget and Good Faith Negotiations

Kevin Glass, Managing Director

Guy covered most of the president’s budget earlier today, but something that’s important to emphasize over and over is this: Obama does not and never had the desire to pass this budget.

This budget is a political document that likely won’t be treated seriously even by the Democrats on Capitol Hill. I chatted with Senator Ron Johnson at CPAC, and he reminds us that Obama’s last budget lost 97-0 in the Senate. Sen. Johnson also outlined why he doesn’t think the President is negotiating in good faith with Republicans, and which Democrats it might be possible to work across the aisle with.

Even the liberal Talking Points Memo admits that this is just a wish list of goodies for Obama to shore up his liberal base supporters:

Though required by law, White House budgets are largely political documents that tend to become more and more political as reelection time gets closer and closer.

This year’s will technically be no different — but the long-term stakes will be much higher than they usually are and clarifying that fact for voters will be key to President Obama’s appeal in 2012.

This article was published on Townhall.com.

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