A to-do list for the Republican Congress

By Isaac Yetiv , Ph.D.

Isaac Yetiv, PhD
Isaac Yetiv, PhD

LA JOLLA, California — I was elated by the sweeping victory of the GOP in last mid-term elections , not because  I am enamored with their programs and political acts but because, sadly to say, this is the only way, in our system of government, to put a stop and start reversing the disastrous state of affairs, both domestic and foreign, brought about by six years of the Obama administration.

The most recent polls show a huge majority of Americans–some even found 81%– agreeing with the proposition that ” the country is going in the wrong direction.”  That certainly includes an imposing number of Democrats.

While the House GOP gained a number of seats and the number of GOP governorships passed the 60% mark, it is from the US Senate that the “deliverance” will come…or not. Their victory put on their shoulders a heavy burden of responsibility and an opportunity to reverse the “wrong direction.” If they succeed, good for them and good for the country. If they blow it , it will be disastrous for them as a political party, and disastrous for the country.

In this article, I will attempt, as objectively as I can, a non-partisan analysis. ( I abhor partisanship which I define as an automatic knee-jerk defense of one’s party and one’s representatives even to the point of denying facts and covering up for their mistakes and evident failures.) Thank God, I don’t belong to any party; nor am I beholden to any rigid ideology. I am evidently opinionated, but not doctrinaire and subservient to preconceived ideas . I believe that the finality of any political activity, in a democracy, is, in the words of Edmund Burke, “to provide the greatest good for the greatest number of people.”

Let us note that the Founding Fathers intentionally created a system of “checks and balances” and “separation of powers” to prevent the concentration of power in any one man, in any one group.

The often-repeated Obama’s vociferous threats to “act alone, unilaterally, through executive orders,” and their possible implementation on the issue of immigration in the next few days , which he himself  declared unconstitutional three years ago,, make the task of the GOP much more difficult. The president’s anticonstitutional solo performance, if it comes to pass, looks like a petty act of vengeance for the second “shellacking.”  It will only hurt him, his legacy, his party,and the country. As Prof. Jonathan Turley, an expert on Constitutional Law and a Democrat , said on TV, ” if the president , with one stroke of the pen, grants a work permit and a green card to about 5 million of illegal aliens,he will become a government of one, which will tear the fabric of the Constitution by circumventing Congress where the legitimate power to legislate lies… This will be a sad and dangerous moment in our history.” Turley added that the legislative branch still has many constitutional arrows in its quiver to counter this act of usurpation of power from a co-equal branch of government.

Despite this inopportune contretemps, the decisive test of the Republican majorities in both Houses lies in what they will accomplish to ” reverse the wrong direction.” They need self-discipline among their ranks, and political dexterity in dealing with the minority of Democrats and with the White House. They should not fall in the traps that the president will certainly try to provoke like shutting down the government even if they are right politically. They should not even talk about “impeachment,” although well-deserved,of the president. They should not attempt to “repeal” Obamacare ; it is enough to “amend” the most saliently unpopular features and wait for the Supreme Court to maybe give it the coup de grace, (especially now , after some very harming and alarming videos have been uncovered, showing an MIT professor, Jonathan Gruber, “one of the architects of Obamacare, who was paid 400,000 dollars by the Obama government,” mocking the stupidity of the American people, and boasting that he had explained to the president that he must hide the truth about the law because if the public , including the Congress, knew the truth, the law would not have passed.) We remember Pelosi’s injunction: ” We must pass the law before we see what’s in it.”

And they should avoid controversial issues on which the people is equally divided and concentrate on solving those problems that garner a substantial majority of supporters; and these are galore , mainly in the economic and fiscal spheres: creation of jobs, growing the economy, balancing the budget, tackling the unconscionable national debt that is close to 18 trillion dollars which, left unchallenged, will reach 21 trillion when Obama leaves office, a horrible legacy, (Have you ever heard the president talk about the national debt in one of his frequent political harangues ? Not once,) fix the tax code, repatriate the trillions of dollars held by Americans overseas by giving tax incentives to help invest them here and provide millions of jobs, etc.

As a downpayment on their plan of action, the first act after their installation in January, the newly elected GOP majority should pass the Keystone XL pipeline , favored by 61% of the people,that has been languishing in the president’s drawers for fear of alienating a minority of his party, and dare him to veto the law and explain to the people why he opposes a project that will create tens of thousands of jobs and other collateral benefits to many Americans. And then, they should dig deep in Reid’s drawers and dust off the best and easiest of the 385 (!) bills that the House had sent him and which he capriciously refused to consider, debate, amend, let alone bring to a vote.

The new GOP controlled legislature has its work cut out not only on domestic affairs but on foreign affairs,too: Through ad hoc legislation and non-binding  “resolutions” , they should make it clear that the White House and State Department policy of placating ,like supplicants, the adversaries and potential enemies — mainly  China, Russia, Iran–only to be rebuffed and even mocked by them, while humiliating and punishing the traditional real allies  friends like Israel , has harmed the prestige and authority of our great United States. Our allies do not trust us, and our enemies do not fear us.  Allowing high level officials of the administration to use foul language against the Israeli Prime Minister, pressuring him heavily to force him to do things dangerous to Israel’s security,  threatening  NOT to use he veto power at the UN to preserve Israel from its UN enemies,  and continuing the negotiations with Iran for a deal that will leave them on the threshold of  nuclear weaponisation when their Supreme Leader Khamenei very recently repeated his goal of “annihilating” Israel, all these acts cannot be considered good American policy, and should be countered by the legislature.

To achieve all this, it is imperative that the GOP put its house in order . The leadership of the party should convene a meeting of the leaders of all the “factions” and reach a modus vivendi and a common minimal program of action on which all agree (as I suggested between Republicans and Democrats in order “to get things done for the people.) On fiscal matters, this will not be difficult since there is a general consensus on the basics, not only among Republicans but also among the millions of Independents like me who weighed heavily in the last elections and need not be alienated. On social matters, they will vote their conscience.That will avoid the damaging internecine battles between the factions. The party leadership should also insist on a “Reagan pledge” by all the candidates in the Primaries “to observe the 11th commandment: not to speak evil of your fellow Republican  candidates.” Let it be a real battle of ideas, and may the best win.

I would also recommend that the GOP makes a big and genuine effort to educate the people on the deleterious effects of the Democrats’ politics of identity that divides and subdivides the people into groups and subgroups and sic one against the other in order for the party “to divide and reign.” The GOP should reach out honestly to all segments of the population, especially the “identity groups” like the Blacks, the Hispanics, the women, that have been used and misused by the Democratic machine. It is easy to prove to the Black people, for example, that they have done worse under Obama, and, as the great Martin Luther King said,” people should be judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” which, in politics , means “look not at the color of the president but at what he has done for you and your family.”

It is even easier to show the Hispanics that legalizing 5 million illegal immigrants in one fell swoop, whatever their origin, will put in danger their own jobs and add a heavy financial burden  in employment benefits, welfare rolls, health costs, that will be unbearable and will require heavy taxation and  borrowing from China and others, more and more. I believe that Blacks and Hispanics share the same values with the GOP and should never be  writen off as a group which the Democrats have “in their pockets.”

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Yetiv is a freelance writer and lecturer based in the San Diego suburb of La Jolla, California.  He may be contacted via isaac.yetiv@sdjewishworld.com