Dustin Will Be Addressing the House Tea Party Caucus on Wednesday. Leave your suggestions here:

Along with Judson Phillips, Jenny Beth Martin, and Herman Cain I am honored to have the opportunity to address the Tea Party Caucus in the House of Representatives.  Generically I plan to say something like the following, please add your ideas below but I won’t promise to take your suggestion but I will read and consider it.

You are in a unique position and we need your help.  As the general election nears this is an opportunity to show that the Tea Party has the ability to restore confidence in government by passing common sense, stand alone legislation.  We have tested a number of issues but the policy that resonates best with the people is No Budget, No Pay.

We need you and your staff to walk us through the process of getting this legislation passed. If someone tries to muddy it up with amendments or block it in subcommittee, we need to know about it, so that we can mobilize and publicly shame that person.  We will work to get every member of the House and Senate on the record on this issue.  I challenge anyone running for office to answer why they think they should get paid when they can’t perform the most basic responsibilities of their job.

We are eager for a fight but we cannot do it without communication from our people inside these walls.  Already our members have sent more than 200,000 individual letters to their representatives supporting this legislation and if you will help us navigate the legislative process we will help you whip the votes you need to get it passed, without amendment.  If we can accomplish passing this bill it will give our candidates across the country a tangible accomplishment to run on.  Now isn’t the time to sit back and play the same old political games, it’s time to seize this opportunity to take a step in the right direction!

 

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Tea Party Turns To The Senate

Like many of you, I’m not a huge fan of the New York Times. But when a newspaper of that size is able to overcome its liberal bias and point out the success of the Tea Party, even I will take notice.

After the recent success of Richard Mourdock, who unseated 6-term veteran Dick Lugar for Indiana’s Republican nomination for Senate, the Times notes that

In Arizona, Missouri, Nebraska and Texas, Republican Senate candidates are vying for the mantle of Tea Party outsider. A number of them say that they would seek to press an agenda that is generally to the right of the minority leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, and that they would demand a deeper policy role for the Senate’s growing circle of staunch conservatives.

Why does this matter? Because, having gained a strong foothold in the House, our movement is marching on. While the pundits have been quick to proclaim the death of the Tea Party, we’ve been working under the radar, consolidating power in the House of Representatives, and now we’re pushing into the Senate by defeating veterans like Lugar who have lost touch with their constituents and their conservative principles.

This slowly-building success shows that the Tea Party, in sharp contrast to the Occupy crowd, is making inroads in fixing our broken political system. And with the debt deal deadline looming, with mandated cuts to the military budget, it is important that America understand that the tectonic shift that took place in our country’s politics in 2009 and 2010 is not over.

Uniting around a presidential candidate was a challenge for our broad, bottom-up movement, but if we continue to make gains in the House and Senate, the Tea Party revolution will roll on. My fellow patriots, we are taking this country back… and even the New York Times has to sit up and take notice.

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What’s Wrong With Cutting Government Spending?

Yesterday I wrote a piece for Politico, in which I wondered why a Republican senator like Tom Coburn would undermine the contrast between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney by caving to Democrat calls for tax increases. I wrote the piece out of sheer frustration: here was one of the erstwhile heroes of fiscal responsibility, undermining the movement he once championed just before a crucial presidential election. As someone who works hard every day to make sure we hold the line on government spending, Coburn’s cave felt like a betrayal. Someone had to say something, so I did.

And boy, did I get Coburn’s attention. Today, his Communications Director penned a response to my piece that dripped with D.C. arrogance, calling me inexperienced and my criticism a smear. Some might be intimidated by such a response, but to me it just clarified the problem.

Coburn is right to defend his record as a fiscal conservative. I did not criticize him because he is a tax-and-spend liberal, but because he has been a leader of our movement who is now abandoning the cause in our hour of need. I absolutely share his frustration with the slow, often backward, pace of change, but that does not excuse his giving up on the cause he was elected to champion.

The simple truth is this: with government debt capped, the only choices left are to cut spending or increase taxes. If we hold strong against new taxes, and if we make this election a referendum on that choice, we have the opportunity to realize the goal that generations of budget hawks have fought for. But by softening our position, Coburn has undercut that entire effort.

Like his past record on fiscal responsibility, Coburn’s stance against careerism in congress deserves its due credit. But, having had the foresight to know that someday all idealism will be bent to fit Washington’s purposes, Coburn has still become walking proof that even committed conservatives like himself eventually fold under the strain. Just look at his self-defense: he claims that he has never called for an increase in the tax rate, when what Americans want is a simplified, enforceable version of the tax code. While Washington tries to distract us with debates over the tax rate, my fellow patriots and I know that the loopholes and complexities in the tax code render the official tax rate nearly irrelevant for those who can afford the best accountants and lobbyists.

But Coburn has spent so much time in Washington that he doesn’t understand that Americans see past the political theater. And with a unique opportunity to reform the federal budget without raising taxes or adding debt, his indulgence in D.C.-style evasion is bad policy and bad politics. I’m saddened that Coburn doesn’t understand that politics in this country have changed for good, but I refuse to let him hold back the movement for fiscal sanity now that we are so close to unprecedented success.

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Op-Ed At Politico.com: Time For Conservatives To Unite

With a tough fight for the presidency coming up, I can’t for the life of me understand why alleged Republicans like Tom Coburn would be going on TV to undercut the conservative principle of addressing the growth of government spending before raising taxes on the American people. I address this phenomenon in a new Op-Ed at Politico.com, titled “Time For Conservatives To Unite,” concluding:

It’s not surprising that Coburn and fellow long-serving Washington insiders like Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) are searching for a way to go-along-to-get-along. After all, Washington’s culture of overspending and cronyism has a way of infecting everyone — given enough time.

But when the Democrats have no serious proposals to solve the debt problem, where is the room for compromise? The time has come to make choices: Either side with Obama’s record of doing nothing about the debt crisis, or rally around serious proposals like Ryan’s budget and strategies like Norquist’s anti-tax pledge.

The choice couldn’t be clearer to the American people. Coburn, Lugar and anyone else who talks the talk about America’s debt crisis need to think long and hard about which side they want to fall on.

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John Stossel On Regulation And The Role Of Government

In a fascinating interview with The Daily Caller, John Stossel lays out his vision of limited government… including the point that “we need some government.” Too often, libertarians are so busy defending liberty that they refuse to acknowledge that some regulation is not only good but necessary. Stossel makes the important point that there’s a major difference between advocating for smart, limited government and romanticizing anarchy. Though it’s easy to demonize government agencies like the EPA for its more recent overreaches, Stossel points out that early environmental regulation was important for protecting America’s quality of life. In the same way, some financial regulation (like Dodd-Frank) constitutes unhealthy government intervention in the market, while others (Glass-Steagal) was one of the only things preventing the last financial crisis before it was repealed.

As our movement continues to grow, we have to become more sophisticated in how we attack the growth of government. If we let people believe that we prefer no government and no regulation, we will find ourselves as marginalized as the Libertarian party is. Instead let’s not be afraid to admit, like Stossel does, that there is room for government to do some good. The key is to limit government to those areas where it can improve our lives with a minimum of cost, interference and dependence. It’s a more difficult position than “all government is bad,” but it is the way forward for those of us who are serious about restoring this nation’s greatness.

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Mourdock Defeats Lugar!

Today is a proud day for me. USA Today is reporting that Richard Mourdock, whom I have supported since early in his candidacy, has defeated 6-term incumbent Dick Lugar for the Indiana Republican nomination for Senator. Lugar, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate, embodies the DC insider politics that are destroying this country… in fact, it was revealed in this race that Lugar hasn’t even lived in Indiana for decades.

The media is already heralding Lugar’s defeat as a rare occurrence: only 11 Senators have been unseated in primaries since 1980. But for me this comes as no surprise. I’ve helped unseat comfortable Senate incumbents in primaries before, and I know that the American people are frustrated by the disconnected, DC-first mentality of many of their Senators. While the liberal media whines about the Tea Party “pushing Republicans to the right,” I know that what people want is nothing more than a sense that their senator actually represents their beliefs.

But winning a primary is just the first step. Next, we have to make sure Mourdock wins the seat. But Indiana is a solidly conservative state (and people wonder why Hoosiers don’t like Dick “Obama’s favorite Republican” Lugar), and barring unforeseen events, it seems likely that Richard Mourdock will be the next Tea Party senator. My fellow patriots, our movement is marching on!

 

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Paul Ryan On Compassion Versus Spending

The eternal attack on fiscal conservatives is that they just don’t care about people. But as the most eloquent budget hawk of our day, Paul Ryan, points out, there’s more to compassion than simply spending money. We have to look at whether programs actually help lift people towards prosperity, or whether they are simply a feel-good waste of taxpayer money. Worst of all, throwing money at a problem can often make the problem worse, and breed dependence. Effective policy, not sheer volume of money, is how governments, charities and churches actually show their compassion.

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Know Your History: Conservatives And The Republican Party

Since the Tea Party burst onto the scene, we’ve had a a sometimes difficult relationship with the Republican party establishment. And if you read your history, you’ll know that this is not the first time Conservatives have been frustrated with the Republican party structure. Over at Politico, Reagan biographer Craig Shirley covers the interplay between Republicans and Conservatives across the centuries in a fascinating piece that all true conservatives should at least take a look at.

In it he concludes:

Republicanism is grounded in winning elections for politicians, while conservatism is grounded in winning freedoms for individuals. American conservatism has changed over the years only to the extent that it is always about the expansion of freedom. Thus, Lincoln and Reagan were true revolutionaries, anti-status quo conservatives — and not really Republicans.

Read the whole thing here, and ask yourself: are you a Republican or a Conservative?

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Ryan Budget: The Choice Is Clear

Still don’t understand why Malia Obama’s vacation is a distraction? Take a look at this graph. This year, we will face a choice: either allow Barack Obama to push this country towards insolvency, or rally behind the bold leadership of Rep. Paul Ryan. The choice couldn’t be more clear. The Ryan Budget is the bold leadership this country has been demanding.

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Enough About Malia Obama, Let’s Focus On The Issues

From the beginning of my involvement in the Tea Party, I’ve seen our grassroots movement as more than just a force for freedom and fiscal sanity. My hope has always been that the Tea Party would sweep away the entire corrupt system in Washington DC, and fundamentally change the way politics are conducted in this country. After all, the people I speak to around the country are not just angry about bailouts, government debt and runaway spending… they are angry about the entire charade that passes for political debate these days.

Unfortunately, I now see too many conservatives falling into the old games of personal attacks, and muckraking distractions. I understand that to some extent this will never go away from politics, but when it gets to the point where my friends and colleagues are using a teenager’s Spring Break to score political points, I fear that my dream of an issue-focused conservative movement is slipping out of reach.

Let me be clear: as the parent of three beautiful daughters, I understand the challenges of raising children in the modern world. And as someone who was a teenager not all that long ago, I remember how difficult that stage of life can be. But I can not imagine how hard it must be to be, or to raise, a teenager under the microscope that every First Family must subject itself to. Given how challenging that experience must be, I certainly can’t begrudge Malia Obama a relaxing vacation with friends.

Of course, there are some valid criticisms of Malia’s vacation; for example, some argue that the President would have done better to spend his vacation money in America. But by making an issue of the first daughter’s vacation, we conservatives are losing important strategic positions in pursuit of a not-wildly-compelling tactical criticism.

For one thing, we are validating the kinds of ugly attacks that the Left has launched in the past, most notably against Sarah Palin’s family. Some argue that we must sink to the same level, but I completely disagree. Remember that politics isn’t just about Left and Right: by using these attacks, we push more voters towards the third choice, which is apathy. With so much at stake right now in our politics, we can’t afford to turn voters off of the entire political process with these attacks. We need to convince all Americans that we are focused on solving the staggering problems, not just winning at all costs.

Which brings me to the most important reason we should move past these attacks: the reason the Tea Party has become such a power in American politics is that we have always been focused on the real issues. While Democrats and Republicans alike marched this country towards bankruptcy, we, the Tea Party, were able to get past the partisan distractions and push for action on issues that neither party really wanted to fix. In order to keep our movement strong, we must continue to remain laser-focused on the real issues: joblessness, runaway spending, government intervention in the economy and our ruinous national debt.

After all, there are so many crucial issues to discuss right now. Instead of reading and talking about Malia’s vacation, why aren’t we talking about Obama’s reckless new budget? How is a teenager’s Spring Break more important than the new Ryan budget? Eric Holder is losing support in the wake of the Fast & Furious scandal, so let’s get rid of an Attorney General with no respect for the law. Stephen Chu is coming under attack for his Department of Energy crony loans, so let’s push to end that corrupt program. Obamacare is going before the Supreme Court, so let’s rally to end the government takeover of health care.

These are the issues that affect the lives of ordinary Americans, and if we rise above the partisan distractions and insist on real solutions, the Tea Party will truly live up to its potential as the savior of American politics. By getting distracted by such personal and unimportant issues as Malia Obama’s vacation, we are squandering this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When I look at my daughters, and think about the future that they are going to inherit, I remember why I am part of this movement, and why we must focus on making real change instead of scoring cheap shots against our opponents.

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