For many months now I have been suggesting that it is long overdue for Republicans to update the Newt Gingrich-led Contact With America of 1994 that led to the Republican takeover of the House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years. Last November, at the National Conservatism Conference, the Edmund Burke Foundation well noted that the Reagan Revolution is over in terms of the core issues that now threaten the republic. Gone are the Soviet Union and 70% tax rates. What threatens us now even more are the “woke” cultural issues that undermine the very foundational elements of our founding. Russell Kirk called them “the permanent things” and we need a reordering and return to them. And we need to reach much higher than winning key elections at the margins in a 50-50 country.
The Republican Commitment to America is a good start. It addresses four basic priorities for policy if the party wins control of either or both houses of government in November: an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future that’s built on freedom, and a government that’s accountable. These, along with the supporting details for implementation, are a good roadmap for a national campaign and the basis for a conservative-led agenda for legislation.
But more is needed. It needs a preamble, a statement of what Republicans are for. As Yuval Levin has recently noted, “the point of such work is not the technocratic management of public affairs but the putting into practice of different facets of a distinct vision of the good”. In case this sounds “wonky”, it is–this is often wonky work, and sometimes deeply philosophical. Earlier this year, President Joe Biden rhetorically asked in a press conference what are Republicans for, beyond opposing Democrats and denying him success. Good question. And maybe, in this turbulent post-Trump era, the party is not yet sufficiently settled on a consensus on this point. There are some good people struggling to find this consensus. They need to find one in a hurry that is grounded not in merely checking the boxes for the next election, but in principled conservatism and our founding ideas for the long haul.
K-12 reform is the issue that will work. Virginia and Florida show that Repubicans can win big on this issue.
There is a way to start a landslide movement, pay successful homeschoolers.
Homeschooling pods would see explosive growth, moving K-12 away from its public school monopoly control very rapidly. There is an abundance of proven educational material for homeschooling. There are private sector tests that let parents see how their children are doing without dealing with indoctrination, and more would be created as the market developed.
The best way to bring this about is to redirect education funding to create an educational endowment fund for each child. The endowment would pay out yearly when minimum grade level achievement was met. If grade level achievement was not met the money would stay in the student account, providing twice the annual amount to a successful educator the following year.
Seriously underperforming students would accrue several years of catch-up funding, providing extra incentive for the type of personalized attention that would benefit them. Military veteran servicemen and women teaching small groups of students, developing personal relationships, can change lost kids into enthusiastic young adults.
The funds should remain on deposit indefinitely, allowing dropouts who get their act together after some time in the adult world to get an education.
There is another very large but so far unmentioned benefit in moving to home schooling, it will let those who got a poor education learn as they teach their kids.
Funding students not systems is a winning issue. All that is needed is a simple practical method to implement it. Personal educational endowments is that method.
I’ve been working on this stuff for over 30 years and I agree we’re in the best period of opportunity yet, but in Texas at least we’re going to have to take a smaller first step, like with Education Savings Accounts, before moving to something like your endowment idea. But I like it, particularly the accountability element.
An even smaller step is to put discipline back in the school system, quit making the teachers babysitters, teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, leave the other subjects for home and parents.
The idea that the funding follow the student is sound and opens the door to the better schools of several types: charter, parochial, vocational, etc. It also diminishes the power of the teachers’ unions, which has become ominous, both culturally and politically.
But secure borders, inflation, freedom of expression are also issues about which American care deeply.
Appreciate the admonition to focus on the PURPOSE of government in this post-Trump era. Appreciate, too, that P:res. Trump set us back on course that the role of government is PROTECTION from enemies without & within: protection of our freedoms, protection of our children, protection of our borders, protection of our economy from avarice, & protection from personalities (but not from principles) that are divisive.
An even smaller step is to put discipline back in the school system, quit making the teachers babysitters, teach reading, writing, and arithmetic, leave the other subjects for home and parents.
As to K-12 in Texas, Rs ought to push for every delegation of powers to parents they can achieve. Virginia is a model on that score. The educrats and Charles Butt need to begin to lose more and more ground each session until parents and students come first and bureaucrats, last.
Some sort of choice needs to be sought. The public is turning on this issue, and rural Rs in the House need to be pressed each session until they let something through.
Nationally, the target needs to be first on the back on inflationists. NO MORE BIG SPENDING! Rs need to explain how and push expanding supply.
Fighting crime is #2.
Controlling the border is #3.
Getting stronger as against our enemies and competitors internationally is #4.
Bottom line, though: Rs must make it simple and speak clearly as to the essence of it. I’m not hearing them, so it’s clear they’re NOT being effective yet.
You’ve got the issues in about the right order. But we are not hearing them yet, because we need a principal spokesman and the Rs are not yet ready to nationalize the election. DeSantis seems to be the only one yet on the scene who can fully nationalize these priorities and build a consensus without alienating Trump and his support base. As Bill McGurn notes in today’s Wall Street Journal, he’s doing it in Florida, but can he do it on the national stage?
Successful Home Schoolers deserve to be paid. Making that an issue will energize a huge group who will get out the vote.
I ran the endowment idea past a Black Democrat activist and was surprised at the positive response. As we talked I discovered that his grandchildren struggle to read. He was retired but during his working years had been a Texas Democrat Party employee.
The endowment idea is simple, fair, and easy to understand.
The Democrats have only one issue, abortion. Instead of repeating decades of pro-life points, Republicans can attract huge numbers of Independents by paying home schoolers.
A statement of conservative principles from the R party would be useful. In 2020 there was no R platform, yes none. The Texas R party recently wrote a platform. The highlights are as follows: 1. Reject the 2020 election results 2. Require students to learn of the dignity of preborn human life beginning at fertilization 3. Homosexuality is an abnormal lifestyle choice 4, Get rid of the income tax 5, Reject the equal rights amendment 6 Return Christianity to the schools and government 7. Arm teachers 8 Defend capital punishment 9Dictate Alamo events history 10, End gay marriage 11. Have a vote for Texas to be independent.
I expect that the national R party could do a better job but I doubt that they will.
I have to disagree with my friend Ann McCulloch that we are in a post Trump world. Trumpism is being preached by hundreds of public figures. The most woke idea ever is that 2020 election was stolen. Millions of people just say it without any evidence to back it up. This is a most combustible idea. It happened on Jan 6 and will continue to happen. Lose an election and then just deny it. It is called being a sore loser and being dumb.
Jim – great minds run in the same gutter as they say. I agree that they need to come up with a statement of what the party stands for as well as not only tackling problems like the border, schools – CRT, Green energy, fentanayl, election integrity, draining the swamp, etc. but be specific as to how they are going to do this (a real plan like opening up fracking, opening the Keystone project back up, building the wall, hiring competent teachers and holding kids back that don’t pass muster for the year, etc. It is not hard to do but we need leaders who will sign off and do it.
Issues come and go, but the party needs to examine itself to determine its core values. Yes, in 2020 there was no platform. The ‘values’ of the party became ‘agree with Trump’ no matter how crazy or false his claims were on matters of policy, science, morality, etc.
How about if the GOP valued honesty? I’ve noticed that ever since Obama was elected, our party has tended to latch on to BS online with no regard to truth. It began with things like “Obama is a Muslim.” Or, “Sandy Hook was faked just to try to steal your guns.” Later, “the military is going to take over Texas and Arizona during the Jade Helm 15 drill.” The culmination of that trend to beliefs unmoored by truth was the stolen election lie.
I disagree with the Biden administration’s policies in many areas. But let’s argue those differences based on facts, not BS. The inflation we are experiencing was due to a number of factors, most significantly the trillions of dollars in COVID relief combined with the FED’s massive balance sheet expansion. Most of that COVID relief was larded out by the Trump admin. He even wanted to send paper checks with his signature on them. Let’s debate deficit spending and the inflation it has caused in a factual way.
In many ways, we no longer have a conservative party in the US, except on social issues. A true limited government party would leave the social issues to society at large. A true limited government party would not selectively care about excess government debt only when the other party is in power.
The only difference between the two parties today in terms of macroeconomic policy is that the Democrats are still “tax and spend” while the GOP is “reduce taxes and spend.” At some point the debt will strangle the economy.
If Republicans are going to lay out values…let’s start with honesty, integrity, limited government and fiscal responsibility. We aren’t really doing any more than lip service to those things right now.