Right Pundits

Courtesy of Sean Hannity’s website, the top 10 items listed below are Sean’s solutions for a Republican party that is suffering from a serious branding problem. While I agree with most of his measures, there are 1 or 2 that I think need more detail and 1 or 2 that I do not agree with at all.

For what it is worth, I think Hannity is a tremendously talented broadcaster and debater. I have even heard people on the far left, such as Al Sharpton, make similar comments. There are times when I think he repeats the same talking point a little too much, but I find him to be entertaining and prefer him to the blowhard, Rush Limbaugh and an increasingly paranoid Glenn Beck.

Anyway, could Sean Hannity’s top 10 items below be a prescription for victory in November for the Republicans or is it meaningless rhetoric? I will give my opinions below the fold and invite everyone to give theirs as well.

Hannity’s Top 10 Items for Victory

1) To be the Candidate of National security:
a) Victory in Iraq
b) Fully support NSA, Patriot act, tough interrogations, keeping Gitmo open
c) A Candidate that pledges to NOT demean our military while they are fighting for their Country. eg Harry Reid: “the surge has failed”, “the war is lost”
d) Candidate that promises to ensure that our veterans can live out their lives in dignity.

2) The Candidate who pledges to oppose Appeasement:
a) The Candidate will oppose any and all efforts to negotiate with dictators of the world in places like Iran, Syria, N.Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela without “pre-conditions”

3) The Candidate Pledges to support Tax CUTS, and fiscal responsibility:
a) The American people are NOT under taxed, Government Spends too much
b) The Candidate who Pledges to ELIMINATE and VOTE AGAINST ALL Earmarks
c) The Candidate pledges to BALANCE the budget

4) The Candidate Pledges to be a supporter of “Energy Independence”
a) supports Immediate drilling in Anwar and the 48 states
b) Building new refineries
c) Begin building and using Nuclear Facilities
d) expand coal mining
e) realistic steward of the environment
While simultaneously working with private industry to develop the new energy technologies for the future, with the goal being that America becomes completely energy independent within the next 15 years.

5) The Candidate pledges to secure our borders completely within 12 months:
a) build all necessary fences
b) use all available technology to help and support agents at the border
c) train and hire agents as needed

6) Healthcare:
The Candidate will look for Free-Market solutions to the problems facing the Healthcare industry, and will vigorously oppose any efforts to “nationalize healthcare”.
a) The Candidate will fight for Individual health savings accounts, that includes “catastrophic insurance” for every American, so people can control their own healthcare choices.

7) Education:
a) The Candidate pledges to “save” American children from the failing educational system
b) The Candidate will fight to break the unholy alliance of the Democratic party and teachers unions, which at best has institutionalized mediocrity, and has failed children across the country
c) fight for “CHOICE” in education and let parents decide
d) fight for vouchers for parents

Social Security and Medicare:
a) The Candidate will “save” social security and medicare from bankruptcy.
b) Options will include “private retirement” funds so people can “control” their own destiny.

9) Judges
a) The Candidate vows to support ONLY judges who recognize that their job is to interpret the Constitution, and NOT legislate from the bench.

10) American Dream:
The Candidate accepts as their duty and responsibility to educate, inform, and remind people that with the blessings of Freedom comes a Great responsibility. That Government’s primary goal is to preserve, protect and defend our God given gift of freedom.

That Government’s do not have the ability to solve all of our problems, and to take away all of our fears and concerns. We need their pledge that we will be the candidate that promotes Individual liberty, Capitalism, a strong national defense and will support policies that encourage such…

It is our fundamental belief that limited Government, and Greater individual responsibility will insure the continued prosperity and success for future generations.

We the people who believe in the words of Ronald Reagan, that we are “the best last hope for man on this earth,” “a shining city on a hill,” and that our best days are before us if our Government will simply trust the American people.
Advertisement:

Copyright © 2008 Sean Hannity and MediaSpan

The following are my opinions:

1a - We need to define victory clearly. So far the Bush administration has failed to do so and that may be the reason that the Democrats have been able to convince the majority of Americans that we are going to be in Iraq for a very long time.

1b - I suggest reading the Patriot Act. We may need to refine some items but overall I support the necessary measures to protect Americans against terrorists.

1d - Again, this has been a huge failure of the Bush administration. The conditions that some of our wounded veterans are living in is simply disturbing. The government did take action on the conditions at Walter Reed but wounded vets should never have to suffer the indignity of living on welfare and food stamps. These men and women put their lives on the line for our freedom and the least they deserve is the right to maintain their dignity.

2. I agree completely.

3. I also agree 100% with these items. Frankly, it is what the Republicans were supposed to do when they took control of congress in 1994. Over their last 6 years in control of congress, they abandoned the idea of fiscal responsibility. The GOP deserved what happened to them in 2006.

4. I generally agree with this but find it hard to believe that all 48-mainland states will sign on to drilling. That is a political non-starter. We DO need to drill domestically but we need to be smart about where it is done. Also, we need to incentify Americans with the proper amount of tax credits to reward conservation by promoting hybrids and energy efficient doors and windows. I am well aware that there are incentives already in place. I propose doubling the incentives. Also, I would propose a plan, akin to Kennedy’s moon plan, that would result in 30% of our automobiles being fueled by hydrogen by 2020. I would also remove the tariffs on sugar cane (for ethanol) from Brazil. Our current ethanol policy is an abject failure.

5. I find it hard to believe that anyone could possibly disagree with these measures. If you do, then please tell us your rationale.

6. Well, this is certainly interesting. Even Sean Hannity has caved as is now promoting some form of universal care for all Americans. Hannity states that catastrophic insurance should be available to all Americans. Am I reading this wrong? Would the individual have to purchase the catastrophic insurance or would that be included with the purchase of more typical insurance? Also, would there be tax credits for these plans? By the way, John McCain’s tax credit plan that allows Americans to purchase healthcare is about as free market a solution that we are going to have, at least in this election cycle.

7. Vouchers are part of the answer but the key is to have the parents involved in their children’s educations. Until that happens the inner cities educational systems will still be a complete mess. While I think the teacher’s union has way too much power, it is hard to blame them for the chaos that is our educational system in the inner cities. New teachers, normally fresh out of college, take these positions and leave within a year or 2 after they have gained the necessary experience to teach in a suburban school. Many times the flight is primarily due to a realistic fear for their personal safety. This brings us back to the parents and how to get them involved. How about holding the parents and/or guardians for a child responsible for that child’s behavior? When a student punches a teacher in the face, the mother or father can decide which one of them can serve their little angel’s sentence. Much of this nonsense would end immediately.

8. On the surface, it is a great idea to give people control of their own money. The only problem is that every single study ever published has concluded beyond a shadow of a doubt that individuals do a horrible job of managing their own money. We should look to Canada, of all places, for measures on how to shore up our social security system. The Canadian Pension Plan (their version of social security) was in deep trouble in the mid 90’s and was on the verge of going broke. The reforms implemented included managing the pot of money like a real pension plan with diversified assets (domestic stocks, foreign stocks, infrastructure, alternatives, domestic bonds, global bonds to name a few) designed to produce a rate of return that, over long periods of time, would greatly exceed that of short-term government debt. They also set up a system of governance that ensures no interference from individuals in the government. The system is now solvent for at least the next 75 years and probably much longer. Compare that with our mess where all the proceeds are invested in low earning treasury bills and the government can raid the proceeds at any given time. I cannot believe our so-called experts have not focused on these simple measures.

9. I agree but I am not sure that many outside of our own party would. Maybe I am wrong.

10. We should expect this much from any President and it should not matter if the person is a Republican or Democrat.

Any thoughts? Will Sean Hannity’s top 10 items for victory in November help or hurt?