Quotes

• Newt Gingrich's Twelve Solutions for Jobs & Prosperity : "Washington solutions of more money for more government, more power for politicians, more debt, and more bureaucrats will not lead to real growth in jobs and prosperity. We need a clear and decisive alternative that creates jobs and rewards work, saving, and investment."
  
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• A. Lincoln's Farewell to Springfield, February 11, 1861 : "No one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place, and the kindness of these people, I owe every thing. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being, who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him, who can go with me, and remain with you and be every where for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell."
• An Expert Consensus on the Stimulus? : Brian Riedl of the Heritage Foundation Writes:
  
  The Obama Administration has claimed that virtually all economists support their approach to "stimulus" spending.[6] This is patently untrue. Nobel Laureates Ed Prescott, James Buchanan, and Vernon Smith recently joined 200 other economists signing a letter opposing the legislation.[7] Other notable economists critical of the stimulus package include Nobel Laureate Gary Becker, Robert Barro, Greg Mankiw, Arthur Laffer, and Larry Lindsey. More liberal economists such as Alice Rivlin and Alan Blinder have also strongly criticized certain aspects of the spending bill.
  
  Even President Obama's own economic advisors--who are leading the fight for the "stimulus" bill--previously criticized the bill's economic underpinnings. Before becoming chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisors, Christina Romer wrote that "countercyclical fiscal policy is not achieving its intended purpose." Why? "[I]t is difficult for fiscal policy to respond quickly to economic developments."[8] Presidential economic advisor Jason Furman has also criticized infrastructure "stimulus," having written that "[I]n the past, infrastructure projects that were initiated as the economy started to weaken did not involve substantial amounts of spending until after the economy had recovered."[9]
  
  White House's National Economic Council Director Larry Summers joined in, writing a year ago that "[P]oorly provided fiscal stimulus can have worse side effects than the disease that is to be cured.... [F]iscal stimulus, to be maximally effective, must be clearly and credibly temporary--with no significant adverse impact on the deficit for more than a year or so after implementation. Otherwise it risks being counterproductive by raising the spectre of enlarged future deficits pushing up longer-term interest rates and undermining confidence and longer-term growth prospects."[10]
  
  Not to be outdone, the President's budget director, Peter Orszag--who was previously head of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO)--oversaw a 2008 CBO report stating, "Large-scale construction projects of any type require years of planning and preparation. Even those that are 'on the shelf' generally cannot be undertaken quickly enough to provide timely stimulus to the economy."[11]
  
  That same CBO has joined the chorus of critics by recently releasing a report projecting that the "stimulus" will worsen the long-run performance of the economy.[12]
  
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• Tom Price's Open Letter : From the Desk of an Eternal Optimist: An Open Letter to Conservatives
  
  Dear Fellow Conservative:
  
  Election Day 2008 produced a liberal governing majority that no one envisioned even as little as two years ago. The Democrats control both chambers of Congress as well as the Presidency. And while they are motivated by politics rather than solutions, Americans perceive them as the true agents of change and reform.
  
  Buried within election data is troubling news. The Republican Party is losing grassroots support, and conservatives are peeling away from the party. According to exit polls, one-in-five self-identified conservatives voted for Barack Obama, clearly illustrating the Republican Party's inability to project conservative values with credibility.
  
  And this reality has been manifested into a set of greater truths: Americans in 2009 believe that Republicans are tied to the status quo, cannot be trusted on the issues that matter most to them, and are incoherent when articulating a positive vision for the future.
  
  But in light of this, I believe Republicans, by firmly embracing conservative solutions-based traditions, can rise again and set the best course for America. From the desk of an eternal optimist, better days are ahead.
  
  Before coming to Congress, I helped transform the Republican Party in the State of Georgia from permanent minority party status to a governing, conservative, principled and solutions-based majority. Now, it is some of the most fertile ground for conservatives in the nation. This happened in Georgia because of a commitment to what is at the core of leadership: to lead with principle! Yet right now, conservatives are correct about a Washington in which too few are fighting consistently for their values and concerns.
  
  The Republican Party is at its best when its leadership has a bold vision and is rooted to conservative principles: personal responsibility, liberty, limited government, traditional values, providing for the common defense, and optimism about the future. But Republicans seem to have lost the ability to intelligently or ideologically define these principles and convey them to the American people.
  
  Moreover, elected conservative leaders need to act immediately in order to facilitate the rebuilding of the Republican Party and reconnect it to the conservative movement.
  
  --Back to basics: The first step starts with a little bit of self-reflection and "re-learning" the core principles of conservatism. Only through understanding the past can our core principles be applied and developed into meaningful solutions to tackle the challenges facing America.
  
  --Party of Solutions: A new Republican platform of ideas and language must be created and championed, built on a foundation of conservative solutions. It will also need to be built from the ground up from fresh and innovative ideas.
  
  --Rebuild the party's infrastructure and coalitions: There must be a specific focus on nurturing the grassroots, shoring up ties with existing coalitions and leading thinkers, and creating new infrastructure to meet the challenges of politicking in a new century.
  
  --Hold Democrats accountable: This begins with a proactive and coordinated strategy between elected conservative leaders and outside allies. Americans need to be reminded on a daily basis that Democrats want to play politics and centralize power, raise taxes, cut defense spending, and undermine traditional values.
  
  --Go on offense, engage and educate: Yes, Virginia, someone in Washington is fighting for you. And when Republicans stay on offense and engage, then it garners attention and provides opportunities to educate every American on conservative solutions that work. Look no further than the Energy Revolt on the floor of the House of Representatives this past August which gave Republicans a needed voice and identity.
  
  --Remain unified and disciplined: Hostile Democrat majorities and liberal special interests are more energized than they have been in decades. Without unity and discipline, the differences between the two parties become blurred, and conservatives have every right to question allegiance to Republicans.
  
  --Reclaim the American lexicon: Democrats have been successful in altering the mindset of what made this nation great through language and institutions. Once, Americans valued "responsibility," "self-determination," and "hard work." Now, these ideals have been replaced by fuzzy appeals to "diversity," "fairness," and "social justice." No longer can Republicans cede the language or institutions.
  
  --Broaden the appeal: Republicans win elections when they run on an across-the-board conservative solutions-based agenda. However, the appeal must be broadened to acknowledge and embrace the demographics in our country. Failure to do so will relegate the party to permanent minority status.
  
  My letter ends with a direct appeal to you. With continued optimism and clarity of purpose, action can be taken to rebuild the Republican Party, reconnect it to its conservative roots and provide the solutions to tackle the challenges facing America. Last week's principled and unified opposition to a big-government spending spree that would mortgage our nation's future and prolong economic strife was just the beginning. Please join me and set us on the course for a better tomorrow.
  
  Yours truly,
  
  Tom Price, M.D.
  
  Congressman Tom Price represents Georgia's Sixth Congressional District serves as Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (Sign up for e-newsletters at rsc.price.house.gov)
• Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny : Be among the first to pre-order your copy now for just $19.95 plus $4 shipping.
  
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• Amity Shlaes on a Brief History of the New Deal & the Stimulus Now : "The Depression tells us that public works are probably less effective than improving the environment for entrepreneurs and new companies. The president has already put forward a big tax cut for lower earners. He might offer a commensurate one for higher earners. He might expand the tax advantages he is currently offering to companies -- wider expensing of losses, for example -- and make them permanent. A discussion that permits the word "trillion" might also include the possibility of bringing down U.S. corporate taxes, taxes on interest, dividend and capital gains -- again, permanently. The cash that a relatively competitive United States draws from abroad will move the country forward faster than any stimulus."
  
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• Abraham Lincoln on our Political Religion : "Let every American, every lover of liberty, every well wisher to his posterity, swear by the blood of the Revolution, never to violate in the least particular, the laws of the country; and never to tolerate their violation by others. As the patriots of seventy-six did to the support of the Declaration of Independence, so to the support of the Constitution and Laws, let every American pledge his life, his property, and his sacred honor;--let every man remember that to violate the law, is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the character of his own, and his children's liberty. Let reverence for the laws, be breathed by every American mother, to the lisping babe, that prattles on her lap--let it be taught in schools, in seminaries, and in colleges; let it be written in Primers, spelling books, and in Almanacs;--let it be preached from the pulpit, proclaimed in legislative halls, and enforced in courts of justice. And, in short, let it become the political religion of the nation; and let the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the grave and the gay, of all sexes and tongues, and colors and conditions, sacrifice unceasingly upon its altars."
  
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• Liberalism's Strong Man? : "In 1978, the Harvard political philosopher Harvey Mansfield diagnosed the malady: 'From having been the aggressive doctrine of vigorous, spirited men, liberalism has become hardly more than a trembling in the presence of illiberalism. ... Who today is called a liberal for strength and confidence in defense of liberty?'
  
  "Over the next three decades, it was modern conservatism, led at the crucial moment by Ronald Reagan, that assumed the task of defending liberty with strength and confidence. Can a revived liberalism, faced with a new set of challenges, now pick up that mantle? The answer lies in the hands of one man: the 44th president. If Reagan's policies had failed, or if he hadn't been politically successful, the conservative ascendancy would have been nipped in the bud. So with President Obama today. Liberalism's fate rests to an astonishing degree on his shoulders. If he governs successfully, we're in a new political era. If not, the country will be open to new conservative alternatives."
  
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• Bennett & Cribb on Post-racial Politics : The election of Barack Obama confirms a new self-evident truth: that there is no ceiling to achievement in America based on race. Yes, of course, there is still racism in America. But there are no more viable excuses based simply on race. A black man or woman can become President in America - or anything else he or she wants to be. The recipe, as it largely was for Barack Obama, is to take a serious education seriously, to work hard, and to maintain a strong family ethic. The message to non-black America is that the Huxtables are not just a fictional drama or sitcom of the past; a version of the Huxtables is now about to run Washington with the paterfamilias leading the free world. A successful, upper-middle-class black family now serves as a role model for the success of the rest of black America and the rest of non-black America, too.
  
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• Lincoln's Second Inaugural : "Fondly do we hope, fervently do we pray, that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away. Yet, if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bondsman's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk, and until every drop of blood drawn with the lash shall be paid by another drawn with the sword, as was said three thousand years ago, so still it must be said 'the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.'"
  
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• Israel & Proportionality--Alan Dershowitz : Israel's actions in Gaza are justified under international law, and Israel should be commended for its self-defense against terrorism. Article 51 of the United Nations Charter reserves to every nation the right to engage in self-defense against armed attacks. The only limitation international law places on a democracy is that its actions must satisfy the principle of proportionality.
  
  Since Israel ended its occupation of Gaza, Hamas has fired thousands of rockets designed to kill civilians into southern Israel. The residents of Sderot -- which have borne the brunt of the attacks -- have approximately 15 seconds from launch time to run into a shelter. Although deliberately targeting civilians is a war crime, terrorists firing at Sderot are so proud of their actions that they sign their weapons.
  
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• Marley & Me: A Reflection on our Movies & Ourselves : "Children, the sociologist Neal Postman once wrote, are the living messages we send to a time we will not see. I worry, a lot, about what we are putting down on those blank and nascent slates. Adults have slates with room on them too, still."
  
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• Thomas Paine's American Crisis : "THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."
  
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• Still Too Much Teen Pregnancy : "I feel that the community is afraid to talk about all the girls who are getting pregnant....Once you get pregnant, they do everything for you, but they ought to be doing all they can do to show girls how difficult their lives will be if they have a baby. I love Angel, but if I didn't have him I wouldn't have to work after school, I could study more, I could be a normal teenager."
  
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• Captain Kangaroo High, by Robert G. Morrison : "Patriotism was a part of the curriculum. We were, of course, daily reminded that we were "One nation under God..." I remember Mr. Zuckerman taking me aside when I first led a student assembly in saying the Pledge. "Don't stand with your feet apart, Bob. Put your heels together, toes apart, stand up straight, clench your left fist and locate the seam of your trousers with your left thumb." George Zuckerman was proud of having been a veteran. When we boys made fun of the orchestra leader for his duck walk, we were quickly snapped back into line. The leader had lost both legs in World War II, we were sternly told."
  
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• John Podhoretz on an Obama Realignment : We know what Barack Obama is. He is a pathbreaking political figure, a human watershed, an orator of surpassing skill, a politician of genius. We do not know who he is. We will find out only when he becomes President. If he aims to be a leader guiding a realignment that will restore the Democratic party to a position of political and ideological dominance, he will have to take the measure of a country that has lost confidence in his rivals but has not yet shown its fealty to his fellow partisans.
  
  America may not be a "center-Right" country, but it is not a "center-Left" country, either. Perhaps Obama thinks he can make it so. But the memory of the shortcomings of American Left-liberalism that still resides somewhere in the nervous system of the American body politic offers reason to believe that a lurch to the Left is not the change America voted for.
  
  On election night, with his two enchanting girls flashing their million-watt smiles in anticipation of that "new puppy that's coming with us to the White House," Barack Obama told the worshipful throng before him and the tens of millions who voted for him that they had chosen to "put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day." The day is now upon us, and hope, however audacious, will no longer be enough. Click here to read more.
• Herb London on the Western Struggle Today : "It is time the United States begins, once more, to speak a language our adversaries can understand; it may be too much to say America should be sacralized, but at the very least it must recognize and defend its religious heritage. When Pope Benedict delivered his Regensburg lecture in 2006, he was engaged in a two front war. He was confronting the inclination to violence among Islamists and also attempting to convince his co-religionists of the fight ahead. His challenge still stands. Whether Islam will find the will to reform itself is a looming question of our time, but it is equally important to ask whether Christendom, which has often wanted to sit out of the battle, will mobilize the spiritural strength to fight for the greatest and most liberating tradition the world has yet known."
  
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• Patriotism & Mumbai : "Patriotism is an indispensable weapon in the defense of civilization against barbarism. That was brought home over the weekend in an article in The Times of India on Sandeep Unnikrishnan, a major in India's National Security Guards who died fighting the terrorists at the Taj hotel. The reporter spoke with the young man's parents as they mourned their son: "His father, dignified in the face of such a personal tragedy, was stoic, saying he was proud of his son who sacrificed his life for the country: 'He died for the nation.' ""
  
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• Ramesh Ponnuru on Rebooting the Right : "When a party suffers the kind of beating the Republicans have taken in the past two elections, the public has not rejected one of its factions. It has rejected the party as a whole. Voters have turned on pro-choice as well as pro-life Republicans, on Senators who favored amnesty and ones who fought it. Evidently voters did not believe that Republicans of any stripe offered solutions to the challenges America faces now."
  
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• Larry Arnn on the Gettysburg Address : "In Southeast Pennsylvania, about 50 miles from Washington, there is a field beneath a hill. It is about two-thirds the size of a major league baseball diamond. Upon that field, and amongst the rocks above, the Union was saved over the course of three hours. This happened on July 2, 1863. Abraham Lincoln dedicated a cemetery near this field on November 19, 1863."
  
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