Winning Platform

I've noticed a sudden decrease in political involvement in those around me. A lot of that has to with the perception that politicians are out-of-touch and not really responsive to the needs of the people.

I've taken the time to craft what I think would be a winning platform. It is composed of just 5 small planks. Unfortunately, in most cases, neither party has a strong interest in these planks.

1. Illegal Immigration - Most of America wants a strong, zero-tolerance policy that is enforced. Both sides of our current parties give lip service to illegal immigration, but don't really want to do anything about it. Instead, they float ideas about guest worker programs or accuse people who want something done as being racist.
   
   However, this issue is on everybody's mind. Citizens are mad about illegal immigration. They are mad at the strain on our social services. They are mad at the language barriers. They are mad at the influx of crime and drugs. Americans are not racist or discriminatory in this respect...they just want to control the borders. They feel we are being invaded and that America will lose her cultural heritage.
   
   I believe that the average Joe American would be amenable to the idea of guest workers if that were coupled with very, very tight border security; I'm talking like a 20 foot high fence, patrolled by the Armed Forces. Yes, there are lots of practical problems like what do you do with the estimated 12 million illegal aliens here. It is practically impossible to round them up and send them all home. However, until politicians can stop the flood we don't need to focus on cleaning up. Stop the leak. Then break out the mops and start repairing the damage done. Politicians have to prove they are serious about stopping the influx, though, before people will listen to their ideas about clean-up.
   
   
2. Eminent Domain\Private Property Rights - We need some politicians who will stand up for private ownership rights. Americans are ticked off at the Supreme Court's Kelo v. New London ruling. While people in both parties gave passionate speeches about protecting people, nobody has really done anything to change the laws. We need a politician who is committed to fighting to let people keep what they own and to use it how they see fit.
   
   
3. Real Tax Reform/Pork Barrel Spending - There is a general dissonant with our tax code. It is oppressive and intimidating. People want a change. They don't just want tax cuts. They don't just want tax reform. They want a full-out tax revolution. Throw out all the old ways of thinking about taxes and give us something new, something fair. Maybe the FairTax.
   
   Included in this issue is out-of-control spending. People are pissed when they see how badly government mismanages its money. Why has non-defense spending skyrocketed the past three years? What happened to the party of limited government?
   
   
4. School Choice - There is a vast under current of regular Americans who want and desire the ability to choose through voucher programs where their children will go to school. It is time for government to get out of the way and allow parents to choose. I've often imagined the following lithe interchange happening at a debate:
   
   "Pro-choice" Politician : My opponent wants to take away a woman's right to choose. He wants us to return to a time of back-alley abortions with coat hangers. However, I am pro-choice.
   
   "Pro-life" Politician: Really, you are pro-choice. Then how about giving a mother the right to choose where she sends her child to school? How about giving a father the right to choose to spend his money on his children's college instead of painting fish on planes? How about giving universities the choice of which athletic programs they want to fund and giving employers the right to choose what benefits the pay for?
   
   (P.S. - I think the issue of abortion plays way too big a role in politics and is misused as a litmus test by too many people. I wonder what kind of response a politician would get if he said, "It doesn't matter what I think about that issue.")
   
   Who is really pro-choice in this debate?
   
   
5. Common Sense Security - Americans have no problem with defending ourselves at home and abroad. We just want it to make sense. Are there really threats from grandmothers that require them to be stopped in the airport? Iran is making nuclear weapons, but because of some bad press in Iraq and some intelligence failures, we have to sit back and wait for the mushroom cloud? This kind of thinking doesn't make sense to most Americans. We are not foolish. We can see danger and we want it taken care of. We don't mind making sacrifices, but not when the sacrifices don't make sense and are merely activities to make it look as if the government is accomplishing something.

So...just some random ideas that both parties are failing at...