Town Hall reported on a speech by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on what the Republicans must do going forward if they expect to win the confidence of voters. I feel it is worth repeating here:

So let me suggest an alternative course: opportunity conservatism. Republicans should conceptualize and articulate every domestic policy with a single-minded focus on easing the ascent up the economic ladder.

Americans want to stand on their own feet, and Republicans need to champion policies that enable us to do so: ownership, choice and individual responsibility.

Opportunity conservatism is a powerful frame to explain conservative policies that work. It covers the gamut of issues. Republicans shouldn’t just assail excessive financial and environmental regulations; we should explain how those regulations kill jobs and restrict Americans’ ability to buy their first home.

Don’t just say no to new taxes — fundamentally reform the tax code so that every American can file his taxes on a postcard. Eliminate the corporate welfare and complexity that enrich only accountants and lawyers.

Don’t just criticize union bosses; explain how closed shops confiscate wages and make it harder for low-skilled workers to get jobs.

Don’t talk generically about education; advocate school choice to empower parents and expand opportunity for children struggling to get ahead.

Don’t just dwell on the long-term solvency of Social Security; promote personal accounts to allow low-income Americans to accumulate wealth and pass it on to future generations.

Well said. One hopes the GOP leadership will take it to heart.

Budget negotiations--whose responsibility?

President Obama has been going around saying it is up to the Republicans to come up with a budget solution that avoids going off the so-called fiscal cliff.  But the Republicans control only the House, not the Presidency.  So what's wrong with this picture?

Here's what's wrong:  The responsibilities of the Members of the House and Senate rest with their districts and their States, respectively.  They are expected to vote the wishes of the voters that sent them there.  The President, on the other hand, is president of the whole People.  Therefore, it is incumbent upon the President and no-one else to forge an agreement concerning the budget.

If Barack Obama is incapable of fulfilling that responsibility, then we have the wrong man in the Oval Office.

Fiscal cliff--who's fault if we go over?

The President is on the campaign trail yet again beating the drums for a job-killing tax increase on the wealthy while warning of dire consequences if we go over the cliff.  But, doesn't the legislation now exist which avoids the cliff?

[A] bipartisan majority in the Republican-held House of Representatives passed a package of measures to solve the fiscal cliff back in August.  The legislation maintained the current tax rates for the middle class (and everyone else);  other Republican efforts aimed at offsetting the devastating defense cuts outlined in sequestration -- which the president's own Secretary of Defense has likened to the US military shooting itself in the head -- also passed.  Democrats will hasten to point out that the Republican bills were not "balanced" with tax increases on the rich. [Link]

So,  it seems,  the Democrats are perfectly willing to hold the middle class hostage so they can extract their pound of flesh from The Rich (you know,  the people also known as 'employers').  The Dems get their tax increase or we go over the cliff;  either way they expect to be able to blame the GOP for any negative consequences.  It's a tough situation for the GOP, the media bias being what it is.

It's over

ALLEN WEST CONCEDES AFTER PRELIMINARY RECOUNT

Allen West has conceded the election to Democrat Murphy.  But, it seems to me, it was more the idea that the recount was such a fiasco West simply gave up rather than the recount showed who really won. 

Then there is Gertrude Walker, the 32-year-veteran election supervisor of St. Lucie County, who has spent much of the last two weeks explaining why her office completely botched the count.  She admitted that her office had acted in “haste” in issuing election results, and that “mistakes were made.”  Among her mistakes was failing to count 40 of the 94 precincts under her jurisdiction on Election Night — and then counting the other 54 twice.  Indeed.  On Friday, her office announced it had “discovered” 304 additional early votes left in a box.  None had been counted.