National Republican Senate Leadership Survey

I recently received a survey from the National Republican Senate Committee. The survey contained many questions that did not touch on any real issue or principle. For instance, do you think the government is spending enough on XXX program? That type of question assumes that the program is intrinsically important and deserves money. The question asked is not "should the federal government involve itself in this issue"? The question is how much to spend. In my mind, that is one the key difference between Republicans and Democrats. How much they will spend on a given program! The federal government no longer asks "should I" or "why should I", it only asks us "how much tax dollars should we spend on it?". The federal government is behaves line an adult child who still lives at home and leeches off of his parents. He no longer asks where their money comes or even if he has a right to use it. The government simply states "I want" and expects the taxpayers to pay. There is one difference though, an adult child at home still lives under his parent's roof and (supposedly) their rules. In this case, the government child sets the rules the taxpayers will live by (under threat of jail or fines). In a way, it is legalized robbery.

One final point before I attach the survey, the Republicans asked for $11 to process it even if you did not want to answer the survey or donate to their cause. I thought if a company sends you a bill for a service or product you did not ask for, it was illegal. Oh well... I guess the government can do whatever it wants... and that is what is wrong with America.

Here are the survey and the replies I am sending in.

Part 1: General Questions

In general, are you pleased with the job President Bush is doing?

No, in the name of security, he has become an even bigger threat to our liberty than the terrorists. They can strike us randomly from afar, but his actions strike at all of our daily activities from very close to home.

Which issues are most important for President Bush and the Republican Party to focus on this year? Economy? Jobs? War on Terrorism? Illegal immigration? Education? Healthcare? Abortion? Other?

The duties of our national government and its executive and legislative branches are clearly defined in Article I and Article II of the U.S. Constitution. The powers of both branches are clearly limited only to those listed in the Constitution with the 10th Amendment: “The powers not delegated to the United States (national government) by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people”. Since the topics listed in Part 1 of your survey are related to topics not listed as powers reserved for our national government, neither political party has the right to regulate the economy, create jobs, provide a public education, provide healthcare, or restrict access to abortion. If illegal immigration is a problem, the fault must lie with the executive branch for its relaxed enforcement of existing laws. The head of the executive branch is the President of the USA and he should take full responsibility for the execution of his duties. My personal opinion about immigration is the following: Immigrants who wished to seek greater freedom and better economic opportunities founded this country. If the President seeks free trade of goods and services, it is a contradiction to seek to limit the free movement of people as well. Regarding the war on terrorism, the administration’s focus on the export of democracy is faulty. We should have focused on the export of freedom. Democracy is a tool that can be used in the cause of freedom, but also in the cause of tyranny if freedom is not properly protected. Please recall that democracy is what resulted in the death of Socrates and the election of Hitler in Germany.

Part 2: Economic Agenda.

Do you agree with the liberal Democrats who want to reverse President Bush’s tax cuts?

I have not heard of any “liberal” Democrat who wants to reverse the tax cuts. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a liberal is one who supports liberalism or “theory in economics emphasizing individual freedom from restraint and usually based on free competition, the self-regulating market, and the gold standard [and] a political philosophy based on belief in progress, the essential goodness of the human race, and the autonomy of the individual and standing for the protection of political and civil liberties”. I have yet to meet a true “liberal” Democrat or Republican. Tax cuts should be made permanent and rules should be established to prevent the government from taxing its citizens. The 16th Amendment should be repealed.
How important is a balanced budget?

If the Republican Party wants to become the flag bearer of freedom, it needs to focus its efforts on reducing the size of the national government and its impact on the lives of citizens. It needs to eliminate most government programs and taxes and should minimize (if not eliminate) any government intervention in the economy. Under President Bush (like Clinton before him), the national government has increased in size and taken great strides toward increasing its own power at the expense of individual rights. With the support of both parties, this government has become more authoritarian over the past century and is moving closer and closer to totalitarianism. Balancing the budget would be a good start to restricting the scope and size of government.

Should the Republican Party push for additional tax cuts to further stimulate the economy?

Both parties should work toward the elimination of taxes completely and the repeal of the 16th Amendment. Both parties should work toward a way to finance the government in a free society without taxation.

Do you think we should fix the federal tax code so that it is simpler and fairer?

The tax code should be fixed permanently, like one would fix a dog – to make it impotent.

Which of the following is the most important priority? Creating more jobs? Balancing the budget? Growing the economy so the stock market rises? Making tax cuts permanent? Fixing the tax code?

There should be a strict separation between economics and state – just like there is between church and state and for the very same principles.

Part 3: Retirement Security.

Some Democrats have been lobbying for government-run health care in the United States. Do you support a plan that would hand over your health care to the federal government? And President Bush wants to modernize and strengthen America’s health care system by giving Medicare recipients more health care choices and the access to affordable prescription drugs. Do you support his Medicare reform plan?

The Constitution does not delegate power to the national government to create and maintain a national health care system nor a national retirement system. To demonstrate a commitment to freedom, the Republican Party should sponsor bills aimed at eliminating the Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid programs. In addition, if you think that the current system of doctors, hospitals, and medicines are expensive, how do you think it will be made cheaper when we add a bureaucratic management layer on top of the doctors, hospitals, and medicines?

Part 4: Homeland Security

Do you think our nation is too dependent on foreign oil?

Our nation does not trade for foreign oil. Individual companies and individual citizens make these trades to their mutual benefit. If domestic conditions restrict domestic supply, we will turn to foreign sources of a product. The best solution is to remove any regulations and restrictions on domestic supplies and get the government out of the business of regulating voluntary economic transactions between its citizens and between its citizens and citizens of other countries.

As the world’s most powerful nation, President Bush believes that the United States has a special responsibility (to whom?) to help make the world more secure. Do you support President Bush’s vision for protecting our nation that includes both opposing and preventing violence by terrorists and outlaw regimes, as well as fostering an era of good relations among the world’s great powers?

The Republican Party and President Bush have done a horrible job at protecting its citizens. They have both allowed the U.S. Government to become the biggest threat to our civil liberties. The threat posed to our liberties by the national government is larger than the threats of the terrorists. The government controls our economy, or money, and is creeping into control over financial transactions, telephone conversations, and other personal decisions (abortion and gay marriage for instance). Should the government wish to protect its citizens, it would work to maintain the freedoms at home and bring justice to both domestic and foreign nationals who would seek to harm us. The government should PROTECT our rights. As soon as it requires us to surrender liberty in the false name of security, it has become just as evil as the terrorists it seeks to destroy.

The current government has not only actively sought to destroy individual liberties and privacy domestically, it has also greatly blundered internationally. My family supported the invasion of Iraq. Any free country has the right to invade any slave pen and liberate it – provided that it does not enslave the people itself and provides the former slaves with freedom. President Bush should recall, “Fifty-one percent of a nation can establish a totalitarian regime, suppress minorities and still remain democratic.” Erik von Kuehnelt- President Bush provided them with Democracy – which is NOT freedom, thus he spurred terrorism and sectarian violence.

Do you favor the death penalty for terrorists found guilty of killing innocent Americans?

Should the guilty have received due process promised to them in our Constitution, they should receive the death penalty. Those who do not respect the individual rights of others do not deserve to have their own individual rights respected.

What further steps – if any – should we take to safeguard our homeland?

Abroad: start from scratch in Iraq. As hard and embarrassing as it will be, we need to give them freedom first. Then let them choose the form of democracy they need to protect those freedoms. With a guarantee of freedom, violence there will decrease and the US will be seen as a force for good.
Domestic: We must protect our citizens WITHOUT reducing their freedoms or infringing upon their liberties. The covert operations that monitor financial and phone records should cease immediately and the national government should work to limit its power and influence. The biggest threat to the homeland no longer is foreign invaders or terrorists it is our own government.

Part 5: Foreign Policy

Today, on the continent of Africa, over 30 million children have the AIDS virus. Do you support President Bush’s plan to provide $15 billion in emergency relief to turn the tide on the global effort to combat AIDS?

No. I do not support any plan that redistributes wealth. I support tax cuts and tax eliminations that allow US citizens to keep all of their hard earned money. If Africa and AIDS are a concern to us, we will privately ensure that they get the funds they need – and I am sure it will be more than $15 billion. The most democratic thing we can do is let people “vote” with their own dollars. Give (at least) the $15 billion back to us and let us decide what to do with it.

Should the United States provide more humanitarian aid to foreign countries?

No. The United States government should not provide any aid to foreign countries. The United States should merely allow its citizens to provide their own funds in aid to causes they support. The immense outpouring after the tsunami and Hurricane Katrina proves our capacity for generosity.

Part 6: Family Agenda

Do you believe that every American should have access to quality healthcare?

The question is misleading. Of course, every American should have access to quality healthcare. Does that mean that a quality healthcare professional has to see every American that seeks care at his/her office? Of course not! His supply of healthcare services is limited. Anyone who meets his professional requirements as a patient (both ability to pay and ability to be a good patient) has access to his office. As such, we already have equal access. If people are unable to pay, there are charities and other forms of assistance. If we guarantee health care for all, we enslave the healthcare professionals who can no longer earn their livelihoods like the rest of us – in a free market place.

Should we put an end to lawsuit abuse that is draining our economy, ruining our healthcare system and costing jobs?

Yes. Common sense and justice needs to be restored to our judicial system. Little justice is served when the restitution mostly goes into the hands of lawyers. Multi-million dollar awards for perceived slights or actual malpractice are not justified. How much is a life worth? In many cases, a life is worth less than a case of discrimination against a person. How can one person be awarded a few hundred thousand in a wrongful death suit, but another be awarded millions when his corporation is found guilty of discrimination? One easy way for reform is to have the loser and his legal team pay the court costs. This will eliminate many frivolous lawsuits and, hopefully, make justice easier to achieve.

Do you support President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” act – which is an absolute commitment to closing the achievement gap so every child can receive a quality education and the act is producing real results for every child?

No. The U.S. Constitution does not delegate power to the national government to create and maintain a public education system under federal control. Control over each child’s educational needs should be left to the parents and the teachers, not an impersonal bureaucrat. Please restore sanity to our education system by removing Stalin understood that “"[State-run] education is a weapon, whose effect depends on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed”. Privatizing all education in the US would also resolve the national debates over “intelligent” design, evolution, the pledge of allegiance and a myriad of other issues as parents would choose the schooling for their children. No one would be forced to pay school taxes to educate their child in a way they see as unfit.

Do you support a plan that would allow parents to decide which school their child attends?

Yes. It is called the elimination of public schools and a full privatization of our educational system.

Do you support President Bush’s faith-based initiative that would increase the tax benefits for donating to religious or community charities?

No. Even using tax law to benefit certain religious organizations is a violation of the separation of church and state. It is an evasion of that principle and should not be allowed. Eliminate all taxes and let people choose freely if they will donate to any charity (religious or otherwise).
Part 7: Social Issues

Do you support the protection of traditional marriage – between a man and a woman?

Protection from what? My marriage is not threatened at all by the ability of one man to marry another man. Their personal decision to marry or nor does not impact my life at all, nor does it threaten the relationship I share with my spouse. Individual citizens marry other individual citizens. The federal government should not force itself into those decisions. The federal government needs to protect ALL of our rights and not restrict them. A law banning same-sex marriage creates a group of second-class citizens who do not share the same rights as the rest of us. Finally, there is no scientific or rational evidence to prove some sort of social ill as a result of same-sex marriages. The only impetus for this bill is religion, plain and simple. A law based on religious morals violates the separation of church and state.

Should the United States ban human cloning?

No. Cloning human cells can yield significant advances in curing disease and enhancing/extending the quality of life. Any law that limits a scientist’s ability to improve or extend life is morally wrong.

Should we continue to fight for law-abiding individual’s 2nd Amendment Rights?

So, you do know what the Constitution is – at least whenever it benefits your own agenda. Of course, you should fight to protect our rights as guaranteed by the Constitution. That means accepting the good with the bad. Do your job to secure all of our rights, which includes the rights delegated to the people by the 10th Amendment. Once you do that, you will realize that many of the issues listed above simply will not be any of your business.

Part 8: Campaign

Do you agree that defending and strengthening our Republican Majority in the U.S. Senate is critical to passing President Bush’s agenda and fighting for America’s future?

No. At this point, the Republican majority’s support of President Bush’s agenda only expands the federal government’s power over the individual and has had horrible consequences for individual rights. At this point, both are a threat to America’s future.

Do you believe that building the Republican Party at the local grassroots level is key to strengthening our Senate Majority from Democratic filibustering?

Who cares? Republican Party tyranny or Democratic Party tyranny. Each is tyranny. We do not have a choice for freedom.

Will you support the NRSC’s efforts to build a foundation of grassroots support for President Bush and his agenda for a stronger, safer, and more prosperous America?

No. Not as long as a FREE America is not mentioned in your list of goals, and I can see that it is conspicuously absent.

Will you help to continue to build a strong foundation of Republican grassroots support for President Bush and his agenda by making a generous contribution to the NRSC today?

Absolutely not! I find it insulting that even if one does not wish to participate in the survey YOU sent out without asking us first and even if we do not wish to donate you CROOKS still ask for $11 to cover the cost of redistributing/tabulating the survey.

THE REPUBLICAN SENATE IS FILLED WITH FAT CATS WHO WILL NOT GET MY VOTE COME NOVEMBER. I REALIZE (AS A RESULT OF THIS SURVEY) THAT, SHOULD YOU (OR THE DEMOCRATS FOR THAT MATTER) WIN THE ELECTION, IT IS US AMERICAN CITIZENS WHO WILL END UP LOSERS.

Inflation

From dictionary.com:

in·fla·tion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (n-flshn)n.
The act of inflating or the state of being inflated.
A persistent increase in the level of consumer prices or a persistent decline in the purchasing power of money, caused by an increase in available currency and credit beyond the proportion of available goods and services.

The only institution that can cause an increase in available currency and credit beyond the proportion of available goods and services is.... the FEDERAL RESERVE.

Nobel Laureate and professor Milton Friedman says, "[I]nflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon, in the sense that it cannot occur without a more rapid increase in the quantity of money than in output." In other words, increases in money supply are what constitute inflation, and a general rise in prices is the symptom.

This means that price rises cannot be caused by greedy businessmen, Arab sheiks, unions, or any other group. These groups could cause a rise in the price of specific goods or services, but not a general price rise.

Inflation acts to redistribute wealth from creditors to debtors. Should I loan you $1,000 and, during the term of the loan, the Fed increases the money supply and causes inflation, you will pay me back with dollars that can buy less (have reduced purchasing power). Who is the largest debtor in the country? Uncle Sam.

Inflation is simply another form of taxation - one under the control of unelected officials.

The cure: repeal legal tender laws and eliminate taxes on transactions involving precious metals. Let the people choose what has value - objectively. This is a much better option than letting the government steal from us.

J. Thyme Matz