America Speaking Out for Centrist Agenda

This year House Republicans launched a new website called “America Speaking Out.”  It was to be a sounding board for citizens across the country to express their views of what Republicans should focus on and how to approach those issues.  The message that House Republicans wanted to send was that they were listening while the Democrats were not.  They wanted to brand Democrats as out of touch with average Americans while Republicans were focused on finding solutions to the problems of average Americans. 

                 

However, their plan hasn’t gone as well as hoped.  While issues like fiscal responsibility and limiting the size of government are hot topics on the website, other ideas that are more progressive have become just as popular. 

Visitors to the website can propose ideas and vote on others’ suggestions.  Most ideas have between 500 and 3,000 total votes.  As of August 19th, some ideas that had surprising majorities were:

Stop outsourcing jobs overseas.  Stop providing tax breaks to companies that do.  (Sounds like a liberal.)

Do not end minimum wage laws.  (Socialist!)

Prevent insurance companies from exploiting small businesses and stifling small business growth. 

Make policy decisions based on sound science and quantifiable data.  Not ones based on mythology or ideology. 

Repeal NAFTA. 

Enact a national sales tax (VAT Tax? Really? They must be French.)

Invest in basic science research. 

Repeal the Patriot Act.  (Bleeding heart liberal!)

Increase manufacturing jobs.

Religious arguments should have no place in modern political debate.

Legalize gay marriage.  (I think all of the people that voted for this took a wrong turn on their way to a Democratic website.)

Teach comprehensive reproductive education. 

No public funding to anything related to religion.

More diversity and tolerance (Best idea found)

Do not teach Creationalism in school.

Protect the sanctity of human life with single payer health care, Medicare for all.  (This is not a joke.)

Congress shall pass no law regarding love, intercourse, marriage or religion. 

“What happened to my Republican Party, the one I remember from my youth? Fiscal discipline, wariness about foreign entanglements and taxes but a sober commitment to the public good. I just don't see it in today's Republican Party with its courting of gun owners, anti-environmentalism, and the religious right. Forget the social issues, forget the divisiveness, put some intellectual heft behind the party in place of Beck, Palin, and Limbaugh. What you are gaining in frenzy you are losing in wisdom and leadership.

Repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (Yes this was on a Republican website.)

(And I saved the best for last.)
I am tired of politicians trying to pander to everyday Americans by embellishing their small town roots. I want my president to be EXCEPTIONAL. I want him to be ELITE. I want him to speak 9 languages and have written scientific papers. I want him to have patents. I want a scientist-philosopher who doesn't waste time pandering to yokels.

So are Republicans listening?  According to their website they are not.  And that is completely the opposite message they wanted to send.

What is also clear is that Americans (or at least the citizens that participated) want smaller, smarter government that is fiscally responsible but active in creating a vibrant society.  According to the responses and polls on AmericaSpeakingOut.com, these citizens do not want to ruin government and make it irrelevant as Tea Partiers promote.  Rather they want to use government to improve society. 

AmericaSpeakingOut.com demonstrates that Americans are not boxed into one ideology or party; they want common sense solutions to move America forward, whether the ideas are conservative or progressive does not matter.  And that is great news for centrists.  Because only centrists have enough independence to promote pragmatic solutions no matter which party proposes them or opposes them.  All that matters is that America improves and gets on the right track again. 

To Visit AmericaSpeakingOut.com click HERE!

• American Politics

---