Republicans, We Have a Problem

Here at the Montecito Journal, we have long believed in offering a variety of views, letting each side have its space to speak. In light of the upcoming election, two of our longtime contributors have written in on what they think you should consider when heading to the ballot box this November 8.

With Rinaldo S. Brutoco on the Left and Bob Hazard on the Right… Read on to find what each side would like to say. – MJ Staff

Nationwide, Democrats hold a 10-point edge in registered voters, 39% to 29% over Republicans. Republicans can stay competitive, but only if they offer a compelling message to attract a substantial majority of the 29% of Americans registered as Independent voters.

In California, the reality is different – a whopping 47% of voters are registered as Democrats, compared to only 24% registered Republicans. Independent voters in California comprise 23% of registered voters, nearly the same as GOP voters. With a 23-point edge in registered voters, Democrats have made California a reliable one-party blue state. The GOP has not won a statewide office since Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor in 2006.

Why Have Republicans Become an Endangered Species in California?

In California, Democrats and their friends in the media have successfully caricatured Republicans as “nasty, old, rich, fat, greedy white men”; “deplorable, bigoted rednecks who cling to their guns and bibles”; and “systemic racists who lack human compassion and caring for the poor and homeless.” 

Democrats control all the levers of power from coastal county supervisors to school board members to judges and mayors, police and fire chiefs, universities and labor unions. Democrats have an iron grip on both California’s Assembly and the State Senate, the Governor’s office, the civil service, and all the Regulatory Commissions.

Common Sense Agenda

This year, Republicans may have found a few key issues to attract more Independents, working Hispanics, Asian Americans, the under-privileged, middle-class voters, and suburban women who have been turned off by Donald Trump’s lumpish behavior. 

Freedom From Runaway Inflation

This year, punishing inflation and the rising cost of living are every voter’s biggest nightmare. U.S. food prices have risen 13% in the last 12 months. The cost of bacon is up 28%. Low-fat milk is up 40%. Building materials are up 26%. Airline tickets are up 40%. The Core Consumer Price Index (CPI) has hit a 40-year high of 8.2%. Millions of low and middle-income Americans are facing an economic squeeze, never before seen in their lifetime.

The average fixed-rate 30-year home mortgage hit a 20-year high of 6.92% this month, pricing many home buyers out of the market. America’s national debt surpassed $31 trillion for the first time on October 3, up $3.3 trillionin the last two years.

Congressional Democrats have pumped a staggering $3.8 trillionof taxpayer money into the economysince 2020 – $1.9 trillion for COVID relief in the American Rescue Plan, followed by $1.2 trillion in new and baseline spending for infrastructure. Over the summer, Democrats passed a $280 billion bill to compete with China, plus a gun control bill with $20 billion in spending. Finally, they passed the Inflation Reduction Act at a taxpayer cost of $430 to $480 billion. This act does everything except reduce inflation. Canceling student loans will add another $400 billion. Meanwhile, the stock market has recorded massive selloffs, sensing the fear of a deeper recession as the cost of doing business has increased far faster than consumer prices. 

Democrats blame runaway inflation on COVID and the Ukraine War, rather than Congressional spending blowouts loaded with local pork. They refuse to acknowledge that excessive spending, borrowing, and printing new money is the root cause of inflation. Like him or not, under President Trump, this country had the lowest unemployment rate in the last 50 years, 2% inflation, and steady growth in income for most Americans.

This year, more voters acknowledge that inflation is primarily caused by too much money chasing too few goods and services. Expand drilling to bring down energy prices. Support business owners with pro-growth policies to grow the economy, create jobs, and cut regulatory control. Stop printing money this country doesn’t have. These policies worked for Reagan to lower President Carter’s double-digit inflation; the same policies will work now.

Abortion After Roe v. Wade

It is hard to measure the effect of voters angered by the Supreme Court’s rejection of Roe v. Wade. The Court recognized Roe as bad law, requesting that either the Congress, or each state, pass legislation expressing the will of their people. Pew Research claims 61% of Americans believe that abortion should be mostly legal with exceptions, while 56% of Americans believe that a human fetus that can live outside the womb at 20 to 24 weeks has a right to life.

Perhaps our bitterly divided nation could look to the Swiss for a practical solution that was supported by 90% of Swiss voters last year. Abortion in Switzerland has been defined as a medical issue between a woman and her doctor, not a political issue. The Swiss have made abortion legal for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, subject to mandatory personal counseling on alternatives, including adoption.

Swiss physicians can authorize an abortion between weeks 12 to 22 in cases of rape, incest, saving the mother’s life, or serious fetal medical complications. Abortion is illegal after 22 weeks when the fetus is deemed a human being, able to survive outside the womb. 

Eighty-eight percent of U.S. abortions occur in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy; 96% by week 16; and 99.5% by 20 weeks. Bitterly fighting over the last one-half of 1% of abortions makes no common sense. In addition, FDA approval of the morning after abortion pills which stop the fetus from growing, and empties the uterus of the fetus, have replaced surgical procedures as the preferred choice for safe abortions during the first 10 weeks worldwide. Abortion pills that can be prescribed and delivered to patient’s homes, privately, safe, and fast, from anywhere in the world, without a doctor visit, make a no-abortion policy unenforceable.

Reduce Energy Costs

California’s punishing increases in gas price are visible every week. Premium gas hit $7 a gallon in Montecito, meaning it cost a record $105 to fill a 15-gallon tank. The average price for regular gas in Texas is $3.11 per gallon; in Florida it is $3.39, even after Hurricane Ian. In California, the average price for regular gas is $5.37 per gallon, a 58% premium over the price paid in Florida.

California residents pay the highest gas prices in the nation, but get no cleaner air than Utah, nor better highways than other Western states. The Democrats’ war on fossil fuels that are produced in America by American workers, has reached comic proportions when the President reaches out to buy dirty Venezuelan oil to produce dirty air in the United States. Draining our strategic petroleum reserve to a 1984 level puts the U.S. at greater strategic risk of a major pipeline disaster or an oil embargo.

Elect Republicans who will create a reasonable plan to convert to renewable energy with a realistic time schedule at a reasonable cost; approve the Keystone pipeline; strengthen the power grid; expand fracking; stop demonizing oil companies; and encourage energy independence. 

Stop Rising Crime Rates

Murder rates have increased 22% in Chicago in the last two years; 127% in Los Angeles County; 113% in Minneapolis; 132% in Oakland; and a whopping 800% in Portland. Violent crime, defined as rape, sexual assault, armed robbery, aggravated assault, and murder, has infected major cities, making residents fearful and afraid for their personal safety. Of the 20 most dangerous cities in the U.S., 18 are run by Democrat mayors and two by mayors elected in non-partisan races.

Since the wrongful death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020, public opinion of policing has undergone a major shift. After the resulting massive inner-city riots, lootings, and burning of businesses in cities across America, Democrats sided with Black Lives Matter in calling for defunding the police and replacing uniformed officers with social workers.

Democrats support shorter prison sentences, early release of convicted felons, and elimination of cash bail bonds. It is unfortunate that police put their lives on the line to take criminals off the street, while compassionate district attorneys and liberal judges impose lighter sentences, even on repeat offenders, to prevent prison overcrowding.

Republicans support embattled police officers. Stripped of public and political support, experienced officers retired and resigned in record numbers, leaving cities and towns with gaping holes in law enforcement. Police officers, told to stand down in riots and looting, understandably have been reluctant to initiate aggressive actions that rioters and criminals may find offensive. 

A majority of Americans oppose soft-on-crime justice. Moderate voters view public safety as a necessary cornerstone of civilized behavior, especially in low-income neighborhoods where the victims are disproportionately people of color. They support more funding for law enforcement, more professional training, protective riot equipment, and respect for police officers who routinely put their lives on the line to save others from violent criminals.

How to Win Elections?

The Republican Party needs to broaden its appeal. It can no longer be portrayed as the party of the rich, Christian white and greedy, but not the needy. It needs to attract voters who love their country but want it improved. It wants voters who seek less government intrusion and control. It needs minorities who want safety and security in their streets. 

Republicans are especially interested in Asian Americans, Hispanics, and disaffected Jewish voters who have supported Democrats all their life, but now support a growth economy with a stable currency, less debt and low inflation, lower taxes, a strong military, less crime, affordable housing, a secure border, lower energy costs, and the best public education system in the world.

NEXT WEEK: Part II. A look at Racism, Public Education, Competitive Capitalism, Workfare Not Welfare,and Open Borders.