2016: A Battle of Ideas

The past two Presidential primary cycles have been very disappointing to conservatives. The Republican Party nominated moderates John McCain and Mitt Romney, who lacked a clear vision for America’s future and failed to draw much contrast between their policies and President Obama’s.
This Presidential primary cycle looks very promising from the conservative perspective. The broad field includes young reformers in the Senate (Ted Cruz and Rand Paul), successful Governors (Scott Walker, Bobby Jindal, and John Kasich), Washington outsiders (Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina) and a former Governor who became a successful media figure (Mike Huckabee).
2016 polling in the early primary states shows no clear favorite. South Carolina, which will hold the First-in-the-South primary on Feb. 20, 2016, will be a key battleground state. Rep. Jeff Duncan hosted the Freedom Summit on May 9 in Greenville which included 9 announced or potential Presidential candidates.
Rather than going after each other, I would like the Republican candidates to focus on their vision for America’s future. Maintaining American Exceptionalism should be the theme in every campaign. Here are some issues that I would like to see addressed in the primaries:
• Keep America Safe. I would like to hear a strategy about how America will lead a coalition to destroy ISIS and other Islamic terrorist networks. What can we do to check Russian and Chinese adventurism? Will we prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and protect Israel? How do we secure our borders?
• Restore American Prosperity. How would the candidates counter the decline in median household income that has occurred since 2008? How do we change our tax code to give America a competitive global advantage? Will we end the practice of favoring some industries while driving others overseas? How do we tear down the wall of regulations that discourage businesses from expanding and hiring?
· Balance the Federal Budget. America’s national debt now exceeds $18.2 Trillion. We paid more than $400 Billion in interest on our debt in 2014, and interest payments will continue to increase. Our candidates need to offer real solutions involving concrete reductions in federal spending. Fuzzy 10-year plans will not prevent America from becoming insolvent like Greece.
• Devolve power from the federal government to the states. Article 1, Sect. 8 of our Constitution enumerates the powers of the federal government. Our 10th Amendment says that powers not expressly delegated to federal government are reserved to the states and the people. Which federal agencies should be eliminated? I suggest that policies concerning education, environmental protection and agriculture, for example, should be the domain of the states.
• Replace the Affordable Care Act with free market policies. It is clear that the Affordable Care Act has caused medical insurance premiums and deductible payments to rapidly increase. Should consumers be able to choose the types of medical coverage they want in their policies? Should insurance companies have to compete across state lines? Should medical providers be required to list the prices for their services and devices? Should Medicaid funds be block-granted to the states and empower the states to decide what services should be covered?
• Give our Veterans the care they deserve. It has been several years since the Veterans Administration hospital system scandal went public, and nothing has happened to overhaul the system. Should we close the VA hospitals and give our veterans vouchers for private sector medical care? Should all service members be assigned to private sector staffing and recruiting agencies to ease their transition into the civilian workforce?
• Should control of most federal lands be returned to the states? Article 1, Sect. 8 of the Constitution limits the federal government’s control of the land which would become Washington, DC and military bases. Starting with the Theodore Roosevelt administration, the federal government started acquiring hundreds of thousands of square miles of land. Restoring this land to the states and private landowners could generate trillions of dollars in economic activity and tax revenue, including the extraction of shale oil in the Rocky Mountain states.
These are just a few of the ideas which need to be discussed during the 2016 campaign. Status quo policies are benefitting the few and diminishing opportunities for the money. I am looking for bold solutions to restore the American Dream!.
JJohn Steinberger is the former chairman of the Charleston County Republican Party,
a leading Fair Tax advocate, and a West Ashley resident. He can be reached at John.steinberger@scfairtax.org.