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A Citizens National Platform

A national party platform should be built like the deck of a Yankee clipper, strong and resilient, and it should be pointed towards a distant horizon to carry all hands on a journey of purpose and exhilaration to achieve goals worthy of Americans. Lured by such a vision, like the crew of the clipper, we may have to get calluses on our hands; our muscles may become sore and tired, but we could at least feel that the trip was worth the effort. Ronald Reagan knew that. I knew Ronald Reagan. Senator McCain is only “Dwight Eisenhower” and Senator Obama is truly no Ronald Reagan.

Regrettably the platforms of the major parties are not much help. The Republican Platform in 2004 was 85 pages of text and The Democratic Platform 43. They are too lengthy and written to appeal to all, thus fully satisfy only a few. Eighty-five pages of formulaic prose designed to draw distinctions from the “other guys” yet continue to appeal to all, leave you asleep or frustrated by page ten. If this year’s platforms follow the pattern of the past, the parties will have missed a truly great opportunity to inspire their own troops and the nation that awaits leadership for a future rich in opportunity for all Americans.

President Reagan signed one of the pictures I have of him with the inscription, “We have every right to dream heroic dreams…to believe in ourselves……in our capacity to perform great deeds, to believe that together with God’s help, we can and will resolve the problems which now confront us… And after all, why shouldn’t we believe that? We are Americans!”

Buck up! My friends! Quit the doom and gloom and get prepared to get your hands dirty. I can’t give you all the answers nor opine on all that is before us, but I can give you a platform for us citizens that may motivate you to ask better of your party and your candidates. A Citizens National Platform may only set the course and not provide the coordinates of each tack to be taken, but at least it should bring us together to chart a destination. In the allotted space my editor gives me, let me sketch out some priorities for this nation we all love:

First: National security is priority number one. If our national government cannot keep us secure, what use is it to us? We are not at the stage where bake sales are sufficient to provide for a modern defense. Both The Marine Corps and standing Army need to be expanded so that the strain on communities and the National Guard are back within established historical limits on their mobilization and use. The design and re-supply cycle needs to accelerate so that we can provide the munitions, body armor, vehicles, and weapons needed by our troops now not some years later to fight the next war where they probably will not be those then required. We also need to resupply the National Guard whose vehicles and equipment are depreciated beyond utility. For the most part, it would be better to leave them in place for our allies to continue the fight to maintain the relative calm in Iraq now prevailing.

We are blessed as a nation to have thousands of serious and experienced men and women who know only the politics of dedicated national service. They must not become pawns in political ping pong. They must be allowed to do their jobs without worrying they may be victims not of the enemy’s bullets but partisan politics. After bitter and partisan wrangling, we recently agreed on a revised provision on wiretaps of foreign source telephonic communication. It took too long, put the country at risk and left many public servants disillusioned.

We are in a state of war. Just because the Constitution says you can say something, doesn’t mean you should abandon common sense. Vote as you feel you should, but your duty as a citizen is not to undermine the country by openly giving aid and comfort to the enemy shooting and bombing your sons and daughters overseas. Speak proudly and supportively of your country. It remains your country and deserves your support.

Second: Our foreign policy should recognize that a great nation has interests, not friends. This notion, while cherishing the great allies we do have, recognizes we need to take a more humble notion of our ability to project our notions of democracy in places around the globe where they are not shared and where our goals must be limited to the immediate U.S. welfare , not nation building. We are where we are because we must be, but we should seek a lowered profile as soon as we can and respect cultural differences so long as they are not directly against our vital interests. Our humanitarian efforts should emphasize support for non government organization provided assistance. Those who work in this sector are our best ambassadors.

Third: the battle in which we are engaged with many of our enemies abroad requires that we re-deploy our energies for a time to our domestic agenda. Our economy has much to commend it. We are still the most productive nation, and our weaknesses are overplayed in the media, but our enemies are exploiting our soft spots, and we ourselves are our own worst enemies in protecting the durability and trustworthiness of our financial core.

This implicates many aspects of our society beyond banking. I have voted for the current administration twice but am continually frustrated that it hasn’t done a better job of using their pulpit to educate the public on just how the system is supposed to work and what role a responsible citizen should play in their own financial practices to keep the system working for all of us. Our financial sector has engaged in irresponsible practices that have appealed to the least financially knowledgeable among us. Together they are putting all our tomorrows at risk and must not be allowed to in the future.

It is clear that going forward government is going to be a bigger part of keeping our financial system ticking. I wish that it weren’t so, but at least until we are through the crisis that is a reality. If it were only the housing melt down we were suffering, it would be one thing, but faced with the pressure of the war we are in, our domestic economy must take a war footing until the perfect storm has passed. I am optimistic that the steps taken in the past few months will see us through, but you can expect and should not panic if there are more shoes that drop before the sun shines. Focus on your work and the prudence of your financial actions. You can take comfort that there appears to be a high level of bipartisanship at work in this area.

Fourth: Because the high price of energy is a key element in the current economic stress, solving it or at least demonstrating sufficiently our determination to eliminate the problem within a decade is essential in the next four years. Government has a role, but the solution will come by freeing up and encouraging our private sector to tackle wind farms, rapid development of our abundant natural gas, nuclear, geo thermal, tidal, clean coal, and our own abundant supply of oil as well as hydrogen. Do all now! Do it here! And pay less almost immediately. Don’t be deterred by those who say it will take years. It is not clear just what a determined America can accomplish, and the journey begins with but a single step. As the speculators see our intent become action not mere lip service and as they are assured that those who would enslave us to misguided notions of environmental protection will not prevail, prices will drop.

Extreme environmentalists brook no compromise. To them responsible development within best available control technology remains a desecration. That is bunk. If the oil rigs off the Gulf Coast didn’t leak during Katrina, modern rigs off our shores, in the Dakotas and Alaska aren’t going to despoil the planet. Further if we don’t do it off the southern shores of Florida, Cuba supported by China or Venezuela will. We are lucky. Oil dependence in the modern era is not restricted to the United States. Unlike most of the world, using sane practices, we have an abundance of oil within our control.

This action is not in replacement for accelerated actions to push hard for replacement of petroleum as a motive power for transportation. Natural gas can help in the near term, and retrofit for existing vehicles is relatively inexpensive, but I am convinced that hydrogen provides the best alternative to put us ahead of the energy curve that will threaten other parts of the world in the future even more than it has already hurt us. And hydrogen’s proffer of zero emissions will become increasingly vital as the world population grows.

Honda has introduced in limited quantity a battery version of its Accord powered by hydrogen in Southern California. BMW will have its direct injection version later this year in its flagship 750. Whichever technology prevails, government’s role in supplying assistance to create a nationally convenient fueling distribution network for hydrogen vehicles may very well be critical to meeting our ambitious goal. While being sensitive to the rigors of the free market, it may also be prudent to assist those domestic manufacturers who lag in being able to convert their fleets with support for mandatory licensing of technologies that work to help them meet our goal for accelerated national fleet conversion.

We are always going to need petroleum for a host of products in industry and around our homes. Perhaps more importantly the expansion that needs to take place in our available petroleum resources may be critical to keeping the Far East stable in the next generation. China is transforming its society and is unlikely to be able to be free of its petroleum dependence as quickly as we can. Our resources will become an important factor in balancing our own trillion dollar debt to the Chinese government and assuring a peaceful continuance of their transformation into what I expect will be a stable and friendly competitor and supplier.

Fifth: A tax fix, if not complete tax reform, is essential before the midterm elections of 2010. If not forthcoming, rates will drastically escalate and economic decisions in the private sector made to advance our society will be frustrated. We are in a global competition in which our tax structure must be the equal of our competitors in encouraging our businesses and our citizens to take the risks required of us in a competitive global market.

Our taxes must be as simple, and applied fairly to all taxpayers. The multitude of changes that have been enacted to the Internal Revenue Code since 1954 have left it unrecognizable and with many inconsistencies requiring intellectual feints of mind to make any sense out of it. It is no longer logical or fair, breeds discontent and stresses the assumption under which our voluntary system is based. Whether we ultimately select a consumption tax, a flat tax or some blend, the rates must be as low as possible to finance the federal government at approximately 18 percent of the previous year’s gross domestic product. We should, while the debate proceeds, adopt the Taxpayer Choice Act to provide our citizens with a choice in how they compute and pay their fair share. Its implementation will provide additional data for the ultimate decision.

I would recommend as well that unless a state of war exists or unless two thirds of Congress specifies a higher level, the eighteen percent of GDP I recommend above (We are currently using just under 21 percent) should provide sufficient revenue for legitimate federal functions and not crowd out the ability of the states to be restored to the independence they enjoyed in a previous era. Federalism, in our “all roads lead to Washington” frame of mind, is under assault and needs to be restored.

I hate to disappoint our citizens, but the serious national attention that must be given to such programs as health care reform, entitlements and immigration reform beyond securing our borders, must await the passage of the storm. There just isn’t time or resources, financial or human, to do more all at once. Our economic health must come first, and vexing as these issues are, their solutions are dependent on fixing our finances. First things first! You can read my numerous articles that explore these other issues in my archive found on our blog page as listed at the end of the article.

One last word, this is the greatest country in the world, and none of us should doubt that we are the equal of our ancestors in determination or grit. I fear however that the blood sport that has become Washington politics has itself become an inhibition to finding a path out of our wilderness. To solve this we don’t need structural change, but a strong president who puts aside the pattern of the past in dealing with Congress. Rather than a detailed legislative program, the President should set the goals and allow Congress to work out how to get there. His Political Party Caucus in both Houses of Congress will have detailed suggestions, but The President is better as a wise mediator focused on a bottom line than rising and falling with each turn of fortune for a piece of legislation.

Robert E. Freer, Jr., is president of the Free Enterprise Foundation, (www.FreeEnterpriseFoundation.org). He is a professor at The Citadel and was selected in 2005 to be their first John S. Grinalds Leader in Residence. A regular contributor to the Mercury, Prof. Freer may be reached at Robert.freer@citadel.edu. Copies of his earlier columns may be found at www.FreeEnterpriseFoundation.org. A new book from Professor Freer, Citadel Values, containing the wisdom of some of his most beloved columns, is available on Amazon.com, through the Foundation’s website and at The Citadel Gift Shop.

Copyright © 2008 by Robert E. Freer, Jr. All rights reserved

About the author: Robert E. Freer, Jr. is President of The Free Enterprise Foundation. He is a Visiting Professor, at The Citadel and elected in 2005 to be their first John S. Grinalds Leader in Residence. A regular contributor to the Mercury, He can be reached by E-mail at The Citadel . Copies of his earlier columns can be found The Free Enterprise Foundation.

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