As Obama’ policies cascade in popularity, as national debt sky rockets, as government take overs loom over our health care and industry, the Republicans remain effectively silent on the sidelines. The American populous is sick and tired of Washington, pick a party, but right now the angst is directed at Obama’s policies. What do the Republicans do? Not much in my opinion. They offer up objections to the massive spending while they place their own earmarks in the Omnibus spending bill. They have a vacancy sign in their policy hotel. They don’t even have a leader. Let’s face it, the Republican party has lost its way. It has strayed from the conservative and libertarian principles that made this country great. The Republican party appears to be constructing a 2010 campaign platform that goes something like this; “We don’t suck as bad as the democrats,” or maybe like this; “We are drunken sailors when it comes to spending but not as drunk as the democrats,” or maybe an honest slogan like “It’s our turn to be in charge of ruining the country.” Who knows? If the country is to be saved, the Republicans have to undergo a redemption, more of redemption than even Glenn Beck went through. Here’s what they need to do, and this agenda is not prioritized:

1. Put a flat tax in their platform.

2. Put a balanced budget amendment in their agenda with a war exception clause. Don’t worry Washington, we’re Americans. We can and will survive without you and your pork and your wet teat.

3. Outlaw, within the party, earmarks. If an earmark is worthy of federal attention, let it stand on its own, in its own bill. Period.

4. Put a term limit bill in the platform. They can grandfather themselves in so the next generation of scoundrels is only afforded a fixed amount of time to scar the country.

5. Re-invent the Department of Energy to do what its supposed to do; Get us to energy independence. Thus, build nuclear reactors, drill for oil and gas on our land, and offer tax incentives, not corporate welfare, for alternative fuel innovation.

6. Fix health care by allowing inter state competition between health insurers, tort reform, and allowing nurses and physicians assistance to provide more care. Institute policies that put health care responsibility, even for seniors, back on the backs of the people and not the government. Terminate the prescription drug plan for seniors. It’s not fair. We can’t afford it. It’s generational theft.

7. Secure the borders and deport illegal aliens.

8. Eliminate the depreciation schedules and allow business to immediately expense capital investments. Eliminate corporate taxes and treat all corporations as a sub-chapter S corporation. Thus, only individuals are taxed.

9. Put a National Right to Work Bill in the platform. Unions need to be put in check. Don’t believe me, look at the industries and geographical areas that are clothed in the union cloak. They are way bad off, because of the unions.

10. Put a line item veto bill in the platform.

11. Shut the lobbyists and special interests down by taking the money out of the equation. You want to persuade a congressman, use your ideas and not your wallet.

12. Require drug testing for recipients of welfare, food stamps, and disability.

13. Vow to shrink and simplify government, another way put, (strange phrase “another way put”) get out of our lives.

14. Stop the Cap and Trade non-sense. Global warming, climate change, call it whatever marketing term you want, don’t put an albatross around our country’s neck in the name of the green movement.

15. Clean up our rivers. Just about everybody lives near a river and most of our rivers are toxic. Folks will like cleaner rivers. It hits close to home. A clean river is a good thing. Folks can go fishing, rafting, canoeing, swimming, all kinds of things. As the late Mayor Daley said, his most intelligent statement ever, “What da’ heck could be better den a fish.”

16. No bail outs. Period. You win, you win. You lose, you lose. And I mean YOU!

If the Republican party does this, they will rule, not by power or need or fraud, but by principles. And they need to do this too; kick out the Olympia Snows and other Rinos (Republicans in name only) from the party. Better to die with your principles than to die a slow death without them. But don’t worry Mr. Michael Steele, if you take my advice your party won’t die, it will triumph. This is your time, the time to do the right thing. Don’t fail yourself. Of course, I might just be a naive idealistic who believes in doing the right thing and is ignorant to the absolute reality of government’s inherent evil. I hope not. Still, in deference to my gut feeling of government and maybe my ignorance, I still don’t let politicians on my boat.

I will tell you this Republicans. If you run on the “We suck less” platform, you will be equally culpable of ruining the greatest thing a people have ever created, America. What’s the saying? Here it is: Screw me once. Shame on you. Screw me twice. Shame on me. The people of America are sick of being ashamed by our government and its politicians.

That’s my Reetzality for the Day.

Thanks for the read.

Brett Reetz