2012 is a presidential election year. That means we can expect more voter turnout than in the so called mid-term elections. That really disappoints me since every election is vitally important to the quality of governance we get based on who we elect. If our goal is to achieve better governance, then every election is equally important!
There are a lot of different “wish list” items that would ostensibly make our governance better. Chief among them are a balanced budget amendment and term limits for congress. I submit these are not necessary and discussing or debating them only serves to maintain the status quo. The one item that needs to be addressed is the repeal of all campaign reform laws since these laws do not serve the needs of the people but virtually ensure an incumbent politician will keep his seat. The people should elect representatives who will overthrow those laws.
To accomplish this we really need better informed voters who will go to the polls and cast an intelligent ballot in every election. Last year we established the Wayne County TEA Party (WCTP) to do just that – educate and motivate the local voters to affect the type of governance we want. We want a return to the limited government provided by our Founders; a government that protects the rights of all individuals and states resulting in limited spending and sound fiscal policies that encourage free-market activities so that our economy can flourish.
We need to communicate with as many like-minded citizens of Wayne County to pull together with a common goal that will bring about meaningful change and overthrow the status quo. The TEA in our name is an acronym for Totally Engaged Americans; and that is what is required to fix the mess our nation is in.
Both major political parties are culpable in bringing our nation to its current unsustainable state of increased debt and hindering economic growth. I cannot see the Democrats reversing course and abandoning their core values of wealth transfer and ever-increasing tax-and-spend policies to fund their goals. Our only real hope is to get the attention of the Republican Party leaders, beginning at the local level and spreading eventually to the national level.
Republicans have traditionally been conservatives; but the real problem can be summed in this observation; good men and women go to Washington to serve the people and stay in Washington to serve themselves. Why must we accept the status quo? We don’t need term limits; we simply need to replace those members of Congress who are self-serving with representatives who will serve the public!
All politics is local, as the saying goes. I submit that all political solutions are also local. We need to pull together and speak as if there is one voice calling for change. The local Republican Party will be forced to listen to us if we represent a large enough voting bloc, since ignoring us would render them moot. We must insist on better governance beginning with the township trustees, city or village councils, and county officials. All government meeting need to be attended by a member of the WCTP so every elected and appointed official knows we are watching and evaluating their performance in accordance with our standards.
I am soliciting all conservatives regardless of their political party affiliation. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and others are all welcome to join us as long as they share our vision, values, mission, and goals. As an individual, I only have one vote; but together, conservatives comprise more than half of Wayne County residents. Let’s all endeavor to reach out to other like-minded citizens and invite them to join us so that we may speak with a louder voice – hopefully, one that is so loud that we can no longer be ignored.
A large team of volunteers is needed to monitor all governance in the county. We are in need of concerned citizens who are able to donate time to attend those government meetings. The WCTP will need between 75 and 100 volunteers to accomplish the desired oversight. We are looking for individuals who can volunteer a few hours each month to be seen as they personally attend government meetings and report what they observe to the WCTP. We must also be vigilantly looking for potential candidates who are willing and able to serve the public.
Once we fix the local levels of government, we can expect to make changes on the state and national level by replacing those politicians who do not consistently act to provide better governance. There are numerous conservative groups in Ohio that are communicating with one another to send a clear message to our statehouse. We are seeing some progress but more unity is needed since we receive almost no response from the major media in Ohio. On a national level, virtually every member of the House of Representatives is up for reelection every two years; we could continue the performance of 2010 by electing more conservative representatives. The Senate term is six years, with roughly one-third of them up for reelection every two years; which means it will take a little longer to improve the conditions in the Senate. We do not need term limits imposed by law, we simply need to replace those who are in office for self-serving reasons and replace them with patriots who want to serve those who elected them.
Always keep in mind that those in power do not want us to converge with similar core values because, if we do, their dominance in national and state political power will abruptly end. When citizens avoid the distractions of class warfare and distracting rhetoric and cooperatively band together to replace all politicians who serve themselves, regardless of their party affiliation, the power shifts back to the people and the politicians will act in our best interest or be replaced by someone who will.
The future of Wayne County, the State of Ohio, and the United States of America is very bright indeed for all of us who are willing to commit to a little time and hard work while tenaciously resisting the indoctrination from incumbent politicians. When we are convinced they work to serve us instead of the other way around, the future will be secure. We owe it to our children and grandchildren to take positive steps now to prevent a ruinous status quo to continue past the November 2012 elections.
Gary Harper
President, Wayne County TEA Party
