The Republican party becomes more weird every day, appealing to an ever decreasing hard core base. It seems, even to me, a dead man, less based in reality by the moment. It's almost as though, to steal a line from a pundit, they have been smoking too much Grassly to be in touch with most Americans outside they are calling "the beltway" these days.
I can't help but remember that a larger segment of the voters were attracted to this Party when it advocated different ideas, ideas that Republican leaders have purposefully kicked out of the platform over the past forty years.
I was on the political field when the Progressive Republicans were at it, as a Populist leader here in Oregon, and as time went on realized that they had it more right than we did.
I once dabbled in running for political office--an endeavor for which I discovered I did not have a suitable temperment. Before my delusion was dispelled, however, someone told me that a candidate needed to give people three reasons to vote for them.
If Republicans today would start with three changes in its appeal I think they could make a comeback--not only to power but to the integrity that Progressive Republicans and Populists (like me) tried to establish in Oregon and the Federal governments.
Today I will present the first of these changes, with the others to follow over the next few days.
1. Strengthen the middle class
Read the books: a strong middle class is the prerequisite of happiness and prosperity.
For example, it seems to me that they could be talking about modifying the tax code to favor building a strong middle class rather than exploiting the middle class to finance the government designed to create a stronger and wealthier upper class.
Perhaps, as a small example, they could equalize the tax rate on investment income and income from a salary.
Perhaps, as another small example, government could encourage education of a larger number of children, instead of ways for rich children to escape public schools and to break teacher unions.
There are a great many other things that could be done to strengthen the middle class and therefore restore economic stability.
Tomorrow, and the following day, I shall explain two other things that the Republican Party could start advocating if it wanted to restore its sanity and influence.
About Me
- William S. Uren
- I am William S. U'ren and I am dead. I was once a big noise in Oregon politics, an activist back in the days when Republicans were called progressive and there was an actual Populist Party. The history books say I am largely responsible for things like the initiative, referendum and recall here, as well as the direct election of US Senators. I ran for governor, once, when William Howard Taft was the Republican president, and I lost. Then I retired from politics and, thirty years later, I died. And almost everything I accomplished has been turned on its head and against the very people it was meant to help. Enough is Enough in Oregon!
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