There's
been a lot of talk lately about "leadership" and whether or not our
elected representatives are demonstrating it.
What exactly does leadership mean?
Let
me start by giving you my definition of leadership. For me, leadership is an
act. It is a decision to take a stand in order to encourage, inspire or
motivate others to move with you. What's more, the most effective leaders do
not rely on their title, or power, to lead. Rather it is the assertion of their
personal character combined with their use of strategic influence that makes
them effective leaders. This implies of course that there is a platform from
which to lead. The support for that
platform comes from our values and beliefs. For the true leader there is a
defined goal, and the ability to lead others in achieving it. For our political leaders the goal is
established by communicating with the electors. A leader listens to the People. A leader finds out what works and what
doesn't work and fashions policies that
will advance the general well being of the citizenry. Most importantly a real leader acts to the
best of his ability to fulfill the promises made to the people who elected him.
So
do you think that we are getting any leadership from our elected representatives?
I
don't think we are, and increasingly large numbers of people don't think so
either. The reason for this disappointment in our elected politicians is that
they campaign on promises that they don't keep. Through several election cycles
candidates for office have been making very specific promises in order to deal
with very specific issues. This isn't simply promising that you will work to
create jobs, or improve the economy, or reform our immigration policy.
By
way of illustration, let me mention just 25 broken promises made to the country
by our President:
1. If you like your
health insurance plan, you can keep it.
2. If you like your
doctor, you can keep your doctor.
3. This administration
is the most transparent, ever.
4. Our borders are more
secure now than ever.
5. My executive orders are just what Reagan and Bush did.
6. Benghazi was a
reaction to an anti-Muslim internet video.
7. Your health insurance
premiums are going to be reduced by $2500 per year.
8. There's not a smidgeon
of corruption at the IRS.
9. Bill Ayers is just
some guy I met in the neighborhood.
10. Jonathan Gruber?
Never heard of him.
11. We've defeated core
Al Qaeda, and ISIS is a JV basketball team.
12. America is not a
Christian country.
13. America is not
exceptional.
14. I won't have any
lobbyists in my administration.
15. There's nobody more
outraged about the VA abuse than me.
16. All healthcare
negotiations will be broadcast on C-SPAN.
17. I'll reduce the
deficit by 50% before the end of my first year in office.
18. The border fence is
"basically" complete.
19. I did not set a
"red line". The world set it.
20. We've got
shovel-ready jobs all across America to be funded.
21. The NSA is
completely transparent and doesn't collect data on citizens.
22. Before I sign a bill
I will post it online for 5 days.
23. I will not support
the Patriot Act.
24. I will close Guantanamo
Bay.
25. I promise to defend
the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic.
There
is a disconnect between the professional political class and the voters. We have
been lied to plain and simple. The people have lost trust with their elected
representatives. All of this is very dangerous because it represents a failure
of the political system. And once the people feel the political system has
failed, apathy sets in and history teaches us that chaos and revolution is not far behind.
In
the last several election cycles, the voters have sent a very clear messages to
Congress. We have said we don't want our taxes raised. We have said that we
want Obama-care to be stopped by any means possible including de-funding and
outright repeal. We have demanded that before citizenship rights are extended
to those criminally entering the country, we should strengthen our
borders. We demanded new leadership in
Congress. We want those bad actors who
commit crimes to be held accountable.
In
last November's election we told our representatives loud and clear, we want
you to oppose Obama's policies. We did not tell our representatives we want
you to compromise where compromise means giving something up and getting
nothing in return. We did not tell them to increase the size of government and
raise the deficit to $18 trillion. We did not tell them to abdicate their
legislative role and grant law-like regulatory powers to gargantuan
bureaucracies. We didn't tell them we want to have our business taxes raised,
have service fees imposed, and endure crushing regulations imposed upon us that
diminish our freedom and opportunity. We
didn't tell them we need to nationalize our healthcare system and do the same
with our educational system via Common Core.
And we certainly didn't tell them that it was ok to pretend the
Constitution doesn't really apply to them, because they're smarter, they know
better, and are morally superior to you and me.
But,
that's exactly what happened. When House Speaker John Boehner had the opportunity to do so,
he didn't put an end to Obama care, he fully funded it. After saying he would fight to block
executive amnesty, he funded that too. Right
after the election, Mitch McConnel, the Senate Majority Leader, trotted out to
a microphone to announce that he was "ready to work" with Obama. Whenever
an opportunity arose to show any kind of leadership on the budget, the borders,
even national security, the leaders in both the House and Senate took every
tool in their arsenal out of play by promising that impeachment was off the
table; there would be no government
shutdown; it's impossible to undo ObamaCare; and that we are really not going
to be able to do much about executive amnesty after all.
Unfortunately,
we face the same disconnect between our politicians and We the People right
here in Nevada. In his recent State of
the State address, Gov. Sandoval broke virtually every campaign promise he made
when he first ran for office in 2010. In
his campaign literature
the
governor promised to:
1.
Balance
the budget and solve the budget deficit in 2010 without raising taxes.
2. Cut
runaway spending by fighting to pass state spending caps that would rein in
government spending.
3. Stop
job killing tax increases that will kill Nevada jobs and weaken our ability to
compete for new business.
4. Reduce
government bureaucracy because I'm a true conservative who believes in limited
government and that limited government is the best government and I will fight
for states' rights.
5.
End
illegal immigration. I oppose any plan
that encourages or excuses illegal immigration and I support the Arizona immigration law. From amnesty to
driver's licenses for illegal immigrants Brian Sandoval says not now, not
ever. (Even I had to reread this one!)
6.
Protect
Nevada values. Gov. Sandoval opposes gay
marriage and will work to preserve the definition of marriage as the union of
one man and one woman.
It
is apparent that in Carson City we now have a well-connected corporate
sponsored statist, bureaucratic, top-down, donor class gang of politicians more
concerned about getting reelected than they are about the effects of their
failed policies upon the citizens of Nevada.
Like John McCain in Arizona, the RINOs in our own Assembly have purged
important leadership positions of conservatives.
We
don't have to accept this kind of government. The early founders of our great
country who wrote the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution had a
different vision. They too were facing an intrusive, oppressive bureaucracy and
a tax burden that crushed liberty and opportunity. And now it is time for us to
return to that same vision of individual freedom, economic opportunity, and a
government that protects property rights.
It is time "We the People" make it clear that we will no longer
tolerate business as usual. We need to remind the politicians that have been
elected, that they are our servants. Remind them of their campaign
promises. Let them know that there are
no more excuses. Tell them where the lines have been drawn and that if they
step over the line they're finished. Let
them know they will be challenged in every primary. Tell them that where possible, you will seek their removal from office. Write and call their office. Write letters to the editor in support of
your views and call out these politicians for their blatant hypocrisy.
In
the future it is vitally important that we elect true conservatives who believe
in limited government, constitutional governance, no new taxes, and free
markets unfettered by burdensome regulation. We need people to run for office
who can be trusted to do what they say and not just give lip service to
conservative principles. We need to elect people who have shown that they take
their guidance from our Constitution.
