No, Gingrich isn't dropping out

Newt Gingrich has a press conference lined up for later tonight after the Nevada caucuses have probably wrapped up.  Speculation is circling that maybe he's dropping out.  I don't think so.

Instead of the traditional election night party, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich will hold a press conference after the Nevada Caucus on Saturday, raising new speculation about his future in the race.

An e-mail sent to reporters on Saturday morning set the Las Vegas press conference for 11 p.m. to midnight Eastern time. It will be held at the Venetian, a hotel run by Sheldon Adelson, who has donated millions of dollars to the pro-Gingrich super PAC Winning Our Future.

Gingrich: Contract with America 2.0

Sure, Newt may be unelectable, he won't be the next president.  But since the first Contract With America was such a success, the sequel deserves a listen.  The video below is a full hour about the 21st Century Contract With America.  Give it a chance, because whether Newt is a serious contender or not, the ideas here are worth consideration.

The other big takeaway from this - when exactly did C-SPAN start allowing their videos to be embedded? That's a win for the blogosphere, particularly us on the right.

Some long needed GOP ideas

There is so much more now that needs redress for conservatives, unfortunately, that the GOP should have no problem coming up with a new contract with America. There's some low hanging fruit, to put it in business parlance, that not only are easy wins, but long overdue changes that would really help re-orient the country on a path to prosperity and re-visit America's greatest days.

Because of the nature of the United States - the freedom, the opportunity among other characteristics, America can truly claim a unique mantle in the ideal that the greatest days for the country are yet to come. Can Russia say the same? Great Britain or France? There are other countries like India and China that clearly have greater days ahead. But their greatest days ever? Not likely. Not without the freedoms enjoyed by Americans. They can aspire to continuous improvement but things will always be dampened by their systems, be they social, political or both.

Because American improving greatness, a trait dependent on a system that is built to foster continual improvement, always lies in the future, the occasional hiccup of backtracking might never become permanent. That however is dependent on a populace that is eternally vigilant against an erosion of those champion qualities that keep that future improvement possible.

That's where the GOP comes in. There are a lot of things that have been plowed into reality by liberals and more recently progressives (a.k.a. socialists) that have the potential to decimate that America. The Republicans are not without blame in that regard but they are definitely in a position to both solve the problem and solve their own electoral problems in the bargain. It's a win-win-lose situation for America, the GOP and the liberals respectively.

Here's a few ideas that if presented with some minimal explanation, and anecdotal references presented with true conviction could win the hearts and minds across the nation. It is by no means an exhaustive list.

-Elimination of riders on legislation. Each bill must be presented as a standalone. No arts subsidies should be tacked onto a military spending bill. And vice versa. Piggy backing legislative items amounts to nothing more than subterfuge. It's deceitful and it's wrong.

-All legislation should be in a form that is readable by the non-lawyer public. There should be no 1502 page legislative proposals. Legislation should have a true limit on its length and on its scope and should have a minimum amount of time that the public can have their say before it gets voted on. It's not an original idea, but so far those who have promised it have not delivered on their promises.

-All legislation currently in existence should be subject to review and to a removal (not a reversal). There are many legislative rules that are outdated and meaningless and/or have had their application twisted so as to be unrecognizable by its creator(s). Rules in certain categories should have any barriers to removal, removed or reduced. Let's make it easier to redress past legislative mistakes.

-Tort reform. It's always good to pare back the legal implications of any reasonable action. The trick with tort reform is to be able to make the case to the public as to why it is so important.

-Elimination and consolidation and simplification of redundant programs. Unlike tort reform, this is a pretty easy sell, except in the dependent class. Everyone else knows there is phenomenal waste. And even that dependent class could buy in if they knew that programs that are to be run more efficiently benefit them in the end.

-Removal of district gerrymandering. Every 10 years there is a new census and based on that electoral college votes and state Congressional allotments are determined. Soon afterwards how to determine which district lines drawn on a map best suit each party and the fighting begins. Districts that result are illogical geographic mishmashes designed to serve incumbency. The districting must be incumbency neutral and driven by some sort of geographic logic not subject to agenda-driven human interference.

-Court appointment rules so that Presidential appointees are not subject to unreasonable delays or irrelevant 'advise and consent' judiciary committee questioning and more importantly litmus tests.

More ideas to come in part 2. Soon.

An open letter to the GOP leadership

Having suffered electoral setbacks in 2006 and 2008, it is incumbent upon the leadership of the Republican Party to develop a recovery plan for the reinvigorating of the party and the preservation of the conservative principles we espouse.

Perhaps you are not aware of the reasons for your declining presence in Congress, the Senate and the White House. It’s been ascribed to many things – poor candidates, being too moderate, being too conservative, being too focused on re-election instead of governance. But it really boils down to a few simple factors that it seems, unfortunately, need to be outlined for you as a reminder of what brought the GOP to the heights of Ronald Reagan, and later during the era of the Contract With America.

The Republican Party has gotten away from what’s been referred to as first principles. You don’t need a second Contract With America, although it would be a nice marketing tool, and probably help clear up some confusion. It could also serve as a motivator. But here’s a more basic laundry list to consider. It isn’t actually all that long, but it is pretty specific. The points are really pretty simple, and by following them, you don’t need to worry so much about specifics on how to win. The pieces will end up falling in place by themselves.

Firstly, lead by example. You have been railing against the absurd levels of Democrat spending since the election and the Inauguration. But that doesn’t come across to America as more than partisanship, political posturing, or even worse, whining. What do you stand for, rather than what do you stand against? You don’t think banks and automotive companies that have been poorly run should be bailed out? Then neither should the government.

Promise fiscal restraint, and then deliver it. If you’re going to make a Contract 2.0, or however else you wish to promote your own vision (which you MUST do), you have to guarantee that if your party is returned to power, you will no longer submit deficit budgets. All budgets submitted will be balanced. If the Democrats intend to filibuster it, stand your ground (a point to be elaborated on below). On drilling for domestic oil – participate in grass roots efforts to promote domestic drilling – if you have to do it at a state level, do it. Leading by example often means being on the front lines.

Second point – live your beliefs. You believe in a strong national defense? Defend people like Rush Limbaugh when they are unfairly portrayed or attacked by the mainstream media. You want the private sector innovation to solve the economic crisis? Innovate yourself – don’t rely on a tired playbook to get your message out. Don’t get comfortable in the D.C. mindset – it keeps you distant from your supporters.

Don’t be hypocritical about how you live versus what you say – think Ted Stevens corruption. How can you be in favor of fiscal restraint yet be accepting bribes and accepting pork for your state? That’s a black eye on the party. If you believe in conservative ideals then live them. If you don’t believe in them then you are in the wrong party, get out.

To sum it up in a sentence: Be true to your faith in the Constitution and free market capitalism.

Thirdly, Don’t hide from the fight or wither under criticism. You should know by now the media are not your friends. They may be friendly towards you but those are crocodile smiles they flash. At the first sign of a fight, they will not only abandon you, but they will rip you to shreds like a wounded wildebeest. You want a recent example? John McCain. You want an example of how they are when there’s blood in the water? Sarah Palin. George Bush. Compare the treatment of Larry Craig with that of “Cold Cash” Jefferson – frenzy versus a yawn.

So if you can’t get a fair shake from them, don’t try to win them over. Instead, stand your ground. Stick to your guns. You’ve got nothing to lose. It might help to talk in short, but clear sentences so that things don’t get taken out of context. And maybe instead of ‘I hope he fails’ go with ‘I hope he changes his mind on his policies’.

Which leads to the fourth point – Communicate your ideas and accomplishments effectively, and often. Conservatives don’t trumpet their achievements from the rooftops – it’s not our style. But in politics salesmanship is important. You need people to know what good you’ve done. Most politicians are comfortable with selling themselves, but you need to be doing it constantly in order for the message to sink in. In politics, with only half an ear listening by much of the public, repetition is important. It's the only way to get people to retain the message. Why do you think you see the same piece of junk mail every month or the same commercial dozens of times a day?

The other part it, is to communicate effectively. You can’t rely on the mainstream media to promote your points, to publicize your points or to even not try to twist your points through a liberal filter. You have to control the conversation and when they own the microphone, you can’t do that. Do an end run like Reagan did. Take your message directly to the people. How many Republican leaders turned out for the Tea Parties across the nation? Perhaps a few well placed Congressional Representatives sprinkled across the country would have gotten a little more attention for the effort. Certainly you can leverage the work of others to help accomplish this – Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh. They share your beliefs, so don’t be afraid to embrace them and leverage them to help spread your word.

But go beyond that. You’ve got to be masters of community outreach. You’ve got to take our message to the uninvolved, because they won’t come to you if they don’t know you’re speaking. And the message certainly won’t be delivered, or delivered fairly, by the press. So go to churches, go to Union meetings, go to the NAACP, go to Hispanic citizen’s groups (perhaps not La Raza, but others). Go everywhere. Many people in these ‘groups’ have conservative values but don’t even realize that they are voting against their beliefs when they vote Democrat. Conservative principles are not gut-level principles. They require discussion. They require that “a-ha” moment. Where are you doing that? Where are you promoting that? Where are you defining what conservatism is and what we as conservatives believe? Just do it! The existing model for winning is clearly broken, or simply beaten. Why stick with it?

Fifth – know your friends, know your enemies. As a corollary- pick your battles accordingly. It needs to be spelled out. Your enemies are the mainstream media. Your enemies are the weak Republicans who side with the Democrats when there needs to be a unified front – either you believe in conservative principles or you don’t. Your enemies are the Democrats. These people are working against your purpose. Be aware and act accordingly.

Conversely your friends are people to be defended and supported. Be forgiving of friends’ errors, and ruthless in taking advantage of the errors of enemies. Don’t be ashamed to be that way. The Democrats do it, and they often do it brazenly and shamelessly. Guess what, they’re winning the culture war.

For too long Republicans, conservatives have fought with one arm tied behind their back. You’ve tied it there yourselves with kow-towing to the media, with drifting away from conservative values. But you can maintain your principles and still fight. In fact, if you don’t maintain your principles, why bother fighting? And if you don’t fight for your principles, why bother having them in the first place? You have to ask yourselves if you still believe. And if you do still believe, then why aren’t you being fierce in your dedication to preserving and defending the Constitution and the free market?

If you can answer both of those questions positively – you still believe and you are still fighting then you deserve to be a leader in the party. If you can’t answer both questions positively, you need to retire. It’s that simple.