{"id":40641,"date":"2013-12-19T12:15:08","date_gmt":"2013-12-19T18:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=40641"},"modified":"2014-09-29T13:58:02","modified_gmt":"2014-09-29T18:58:02","slug":"the-american-chilton-manual","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.shotinthedark.info\/wp\/?p=40641","title":{"rendered":"The American Chilton \u00a9 Manual"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was almost 20 years ago that Newt Gingrich earned his claim to fame, engineering one of the most radical turnarounds in the history of American politics; flipping Congress to the GOP\u00a0for the first time since the Great Depression.\u00a0<\/p>\n

And he did it using one of the most radical techniques in the history of politics; telling the people what his movement stood for, and what it’d stand by<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It worked; the 1994 elections were one of the most sweeping turnarounds in American political history.\u00a0 The ’94 election did for Congress what Reagan did for the White House; put conservatism on the table.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It didn’t stick, of course; the Gingrich Congress gave way to the Frist Congress.\u00a0 The Class of 94 slowly went Beltway Native.\u00a0 But noting that merely proves one of the most important points of political activism; it’s a marathon, not a sprint.\u00a0 Getting people elected is only the first half of the problem; keeping them honest is just as important.<\/p>\n

But that’s history.\u00a0 I’m here to talk about the present.<\/p>\n

A New American Repair Manual<\/strong>:\u00a0 Of course, the name “Contract with America” had that patina of legalism that smacks of the same thing that gave us the problem in the first place.\u00a0 The System.<\/p>\n

I think conservatives need to revisit the notion of putting down a hard set of…not “campaign” promises, but lines in the sand, things that separate them from the Democrat party for all to see.\u00a0 Something that everyone, from a movement conservative to a college kid looking for a job to a working, not-overly-political family with a cancelled insurance policy and a skyrocketing premium can look at, compare with “Hope and Change!”, and find some red meat to support.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It’s not a “Contract”.\u00a0 It’s a repair manual.\u00a0 Sort of like a Chilton \u00a9\u00a0manual <\/a>for the 2014 United State of America.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Here’s my suggestion for that repair guide:<\/p>\n

It’s Your Money – Not Government’s!:\u00a0 Return all personal, inheritance and capital gains taxes to 2004 levels, immediately.\u00a0 You earned it.\u00a0 You use it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Government Diet<\/strong>:\u00a0 Freeze spending at 2010 levels.\u00a0 I know, that’s already too high – but Americans lack the stomach for radical change.\u00a0 And economic growth will make that sustainable, eventually.\u00a0 Especially if we…:<\/p>\n

Rebuild the Economy<\/strong>:\u00a0 Three points to this one:<\/p>\n