The people have spoken via the ballot box regarding the politicians they want in power (and, notably, many of the politicians are people like us - not "politicians"). What policies do we want followed? Frank Luntz, the highly regarded pollster, has some ideas based on research he has done among swaths of Americans.From the Washington Post:
Americans' agenda is simple. In broad terms, they want the government to spur job growth, but not by subsidizing more government jobs with taxpayer dollars. They want Washington to balance the budget and reverse the growing influence of government on daily life. They want the government to encourage success, allow failure, punish those who break the law - and then get out of the way. And above all, they want politicians to follow through on their promises, even if that means tempering those promises in the first place.
They also show clear support for the following five ideas:
l (1) Balance the budget as quickly as possible through meaningful spending reductions, a hard spending cap and a constitutional amendment so that it never gets unbalanced again.
l (2) Eliminate all earmarks until the budget is balanced, then require a two-thirds vote by Congress for future earmark legislation.
l (3) Keep taxes down by requiring supermajorities for increases, and eventually enact tax reform with a simple, low, fair rate that drastically reduces the length of the IRS code.
l (4) Create a blue-ribbon task force that engages in a complete, line-by-line forensic audit of federal agencies and programs to end waste and reduce red tape and bureaucracy.
l (5) And require Congress to provide specific constitutional authorization for every bill it passes so that the government stays within the boundaries imagined by the founders.
We also want our representatives to not only work towards these goals but also communicate with us not to us. We don't want just mailings to fill out mailboxes. We want two-way conversations, we want to be heard and not talked down to. One of the most aggravating steps Democrats did in the last election cycle was to try to pick and choose who could attend town hall meetings, or fill town hall with their own supporters, or just cancel them outright over concern regarding what citizens would ask or say.
One more thought Luntz outlines: the people are not wedded till kingdom come to the Republican party. November 2nd was the date we started cohabitating but separation can happen if "things" don't work out and the next elections can being in a whole new team of players.
The slogan is no longer "voter beware" but rather "politician beware."
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