Out
here in proverbial politico flyover country, we little folk are
watching the debt ceiling debate with great interest and concern. Today I
re-read the open letter I wrote to Republican Freshman Members of
Congress in November 2010, just days after they were ushered into office
in an historic landslide victory due in large part to the activism of
commonsense patriots who are considered part of the Tea Party movement. I
respectfully ask these GOP Freshman to re-read this letter and remember
us “little people” who believed in them, donated to their campaigns,
spent hours tirelessly volunteering for them, and trusted them with our
votes. This new wave of public servants may recall that they were sent
to D.C. for such a time as this.
The original letter is pasted below, with added emphasis to certain passages that I feel are especially relevant to the current discussion.
All my best to you, GOP Freshmen, from up here in the Last Frontier.
Sincerely,
Sarah Palin
P.S. Everyone I talk to still believes in contested primaries.
******
November 13, 2010
Welcome to all Republican Freshmen and congratulations!
Congratulations
to all of you for your contribution to this historic election, and for
the contributions I am certain you will make to our country in the next
two years. Your victory was hard fought, and the success belongs
entirely to you and the staff and volunteers who spent countless hours
working for this chance to put government back on the side of the
people. Now you will come to Washington to serve your nation and leave
your mark on history by reining in government spending, preserving our
freedoms at home, and restoring America’s leadership abroad. Some of you
have asked for my thoughts on how best to proceed in the weeks and
months ahead and how best to advance an agenda that can move our country
forward. I have a simple answer: stick to the principles that
propelled your campaigns. When you take your oath to support and defend
our Constitution and to faithfully discharge the duties of your office,
remember that present and future generations of “We the People” are
counting on you to stand by that oath. Never forget the people who sent
you to Washington. Never forget the trust they placed in you to do the
right thing.
The task before you is daunting
because so much damage has been done in the last two years, but I
believe you have the chance to achieve great things.
Republicans campaigned on a promise to rein in out-of-control government spending
and to repeal and replace the massive, burdensome, and unwanted health
care law President Obama and the Democrat Congress passed earlier this
year in defiance of the will of the majority of the American people. These are promises that you must keep.
Obamacare is a job-killer, a regulatory nightmare, and an enormous
unfunded mandate. The American people don’t want it and we can’t afford
it. We ask, with all due respect, that you remember your job will be to
work to replace this legislation with real reform that relies on free
market principles and patient-centered policies. The first step is, of
course, to defund Obamacare.
You’ve also got to be deadly serious about cutting the deficit. Despite
what some would like us to believe, tax cuts didn’t get us into the
mess we’re in. Government spending did. Tough decisions need to be made
about reducing government spending. The longer we put them off, the
worse it will get. We need to start by cutting non-essential spending.
That includes stopping earmarks (because abuse of the earmark process
created the “gateway-drug” that allowed backroom deals and bloated
budgets), canceling all further spending on the failed Stimulus program,
and rolling back non-discretionary spending to 2008 levels. You can do
more, but this would be a good start.
In order to
avert a fiscal disaster, we will also need to check the growth of
spending on our entitlement programs. That will be a huge challenge, but
it must be confronted head on. We must do it in a humane way
that honors the government’s current commitments to our fellow Americans
while also keeping faith with future generations. We cannot rob from
our children and grandchildren’s tomorrow to pay for our unchecked
spending today. Beyond that, we need to reform the way Congress conducts
business in order to make it procedurally easier to cut spending than
to increase it. We need to encourage zero-based budgeting practices in
D.C. like the kind fiscally conservative mayors and governors utilize to
balance their budgets and reduce unnecessary spending.
There
in the insulated and isolated Beltway you will be far removed from the
economic pain felt by so many Americans who are out of work. Please
remember that if we want real job growth, we must create a stable
investment climate by ending the tidal wave of overly burdensome
regulations coming out of Washington. Businesses need certainty – and
freedom that incentivizes competition – to grow and expand our
workforce.
The last thing our small businesses need is tax
hikes. It falls to the current Democrat-controlled Congress to decide
on the future of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. If it does not permanently
renew all of them, you should move quickly to do so in the new Congress.
It would remove from households and businesses the threat of a possible
$3.8 trillion tax hike hitting all Americans at the worst possible
moment, with our economy struggling to recover from a deep recession!
You must continue to remind Democrats that the people they are
dismissing as “rich” are the small business owners who create up to 70%
of all jobs in this country!
Another issue of vital
importance is border security. Americans expect our leadership in
Washington to act now to secure our borders. Don’t fall for the claims
of those who suggest that we can’t secure our borders until we
simultaneously deal with the illegal immigrants already here. Let’s deal
with securing the border first. That alone is a huge challenge that has
been ignored for far too long.
On foreign policy and
national security, I urge you to stick to our principles: strong
defense, free trade, nurturing allies, and steadfast opposition to
America’s enemies. We are the most powerful country on earth and the
world is better off because of it. Our president does not seem to
understand this. If we withdraw from the world, the world will become a
much more dangerous place. You must push President Obama to finish the
job right in Iraq and get the job done in Afghanistan, otherwise we who
are war-weary will forever question why America’s finest are sent
overseas to make the ultimate sacrifice with no clear commitment to
victory from those who send them. You should be prepared to stand with
the President against Iran’s nuclear aspirations using whatever means
necessary to ensure the mullahs in Tehran do not get their hands on
nuclear weapons. And you can stand with the Iranian people who oppose
the tyrannical rule of the clerics and concretely support their efforts
to win their freedom – even if the President does not.
You
need to say no to cutting the necessities in our defense budget when we
are engaged in two wars and face so many threats – from Islamic
extremists to a nuclear Iran to a rising China. As Ronald Reagan said,
“We will always be prepared, so we may always be free.” You will also
have the opportunity to push job-creating free trade agreements with
allies like Colombia and South Korea. You can stand with allies like
Israel, not criticize them. You can let the President know what you
believe – Jerusalem is the capital of Israel, not a settlement. And for
those of you joining the United States Senate, don’t listen to desperate
politically-motivated arguments about the need for hasty consideration
of the “New START” treaty. Insist on your right to patient and careful
deliberation of New START to address very real concerns about
verification, missile defense, and modernization of our nuclear
infrastructure. No New START in the lame duck!
You can
stand against misguided proposals to try dangerous, evil terrorists in
the US; precipitously close the Guantanamo prison; and a return to the
failed policies of the past in treating the war on terror as a law
enforcement problem. Finally, you have a platform to express the support
of the American people for all those around the world seeking their
freedom that God has bestowed within all mankind’s being – from Burma
and Egypt to Russia and Venezuela – because the spread of liberty
increases our own security. You, freshmen lawmakers, can and will be
powerful voices in support of foreign policies that protect our
interests and promote our values! Thank you for being willing to fight
for our values and our freedom!
In all this, you should
extend a hand to President Obama and Democrats in Congress. After this
election, they may finally be prepared to work with Republicans on some
of these issues for the good of the country. And if not, we will all be
looking forward to 2012.
Remember that some in the
media will love you when you stray from the time-tested truths that
built America into the most exceptional nation on earth. When the Left
in the media pat you on the back, quickly reassess where you are and
readjust, for the liberals’ praise is a warning bell you must heed.
Trust me on that.
I and most Americans are so
excited for you. Working together, we have every right to be optimistic
about our future. We can be hopeful because real hope lies in the
ingenuity, generosity, and boundless courage of the everyday Americans
who make our country exceptional. These are the men and women who sent you to Washington. May your work and leadership honor their faith in you.
With sincere congratulations and a big Alaskan heart,
Sarah Palin