Monday, October 29, 2012

Hunkering Down



Hunkering Down
Charlie Earl

“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That astute observation has been attributed to one of our nation’s Founders and Framers, Benjamin Franklin, Delegate from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Unfortunately too many of us fall into reactive mode rather than behaving proactively. As we scan the various polls and prognostications about the 2012 election, it appears that Governor Romney may be closing in on victory. So, if indeed, the trend continues for the next week or so, we should be looking forward to how his election would affect the state of the nation and our preparations for coping with the challenges that lie ahead.

Should he win, Romney’s first and most vital task is to “stop the bleeding.” In the first few hours (or days if he lingers) the new President can issue a bevy of Executive Orders to stop or prevent thousands of bureaucratic over reaches in all departments of government. He can also repeal hundreds of Obama EO’s such as those that created the unconstitutional czar positions and those which restrict sensible domestic energy development. Clearly he should follow through on his PROMISE to REPEAL Obamacare, and the Congress should follow suit.

Governor Romney statements during the three debates and various stump speeches indicate that other than some tax rate/deductions changes, he doesn’t anticipate proposing massive reformation of our monstrous tax code. He has also suggested that aside from some regulatory reorientation, he has no desire to drastically reduce the various agencies and bureaus. In fact….he has stated that he seeks to increase the impact of the Department of Education. These are not the policies of a government reductionist. These are not the words of a constitutionalist. These are not the plans for downsizing big government and spending control. These statements suggest a “statist-lite” approach to government power, big spending and ever-growing tyranny.

Don’t get me wrong. Although I prefer another candidate for President, I would much rather have Romney in the White House for the next four years than the Marxist incompetent who dwells there now. With Obama at the helm my preparations for the dismal failure of our nation would have to be accelerated. If Romney guides the ship of state, I can arrange my affairs and my bunker in a more orderly manner because … none of the plans proposed by the GOP nominee or his sidekick, Congressman Ryan, will prevent the inevitable fiscal chaos facing our nation. None. Nada. Not any. Their most drastic proposal achieves a balanced budget in 28 years. TWENTY EIGHT MORE YEARS OF DEFICIT SPENDING is not a prescription for what ails us. It is a suicide pill. Again…to give them their due, Obama’s “solutions” are more devastating and less gentle than taking a never-wake-up tablet.

Some of the Governor’s supporters tout his history as a turn-around artist in the business world. I respect his history in that regard and have a tiny glimmer of hope that he might succeed with our nation, but those same supporters fail to mention that sometimes the enterprises Romney sought to save had to be dismantled and sold piecemeal or go through bankruptcy. Even he and his Bain cohorts could not save them all, and I believe that I can forcefully argue that the situation in the United States of America is much direr than at “Bubba’s Widgets.”

Obviously I have not factored in the role of Congress following the election. The Republicans have a fighting chance to win the Senate, but it does not appear likely that they will have a filibuster-proof 60 members. Even if they reach that lofty goal, the Senate GOP is over-populated with moderate RINO’s who will ferociously resist any attempts to seriously downsize the cost and size of government. The Republican House may add a few more members, but Boehner et.al have not shown that they are willing to do the heavy lifting. In fact a resolute minority of the GOP caucus has attempted to initiate some fiscal sanity only to be thwarted and condemned by their own leadership. Whatever changes come about following the election next week will be cosmetic and ineffective. It’s time to hunker down.

Charlie Earl

No comments:

Post a Comment