A rehab kit for Republicans

(Denver Post, Nov. 25) Show me a sore loser, and I’ll show you a loser. This has rung in my ears since the election, as I listened to some fellow Republicans and conservatives weeping, whining, and caterwauling. Not to mention griping, blaming, and sulking. Enough already. Good losers being similarly scorned, who does that leave? Political party animals who rebound from a loss with humility, humor, and honesty. Happy warriors who take a setback in stride, undaunted yet undefensive. Those are the comrades I’ll share a shell-shocked foxhole with. The authors of anguished obituaries for America and the GOP need not apply. For a couple of days after Nov. 6, it’s true, I was bluer than the MSNBC presidential map. Then I stumbled on one of those websites, PoliticalDefeatTherapy.com, with a guaranteed offer to dispel the darkness and put you back on daylight time after voters clean your clock. Click, pay, and my Republican Rehab Kit was on the way.

When it came, I was initially disappointed. No Kryptonite to reduce Reid and Pelosi to jello. Not a word about Obama’s real birthplace. The envelope contained nothing but three toys – a magnifying glass, a telescope, and a small mirror – plus a pocket edition of the Declaration of Independence and U. S. Constitution. My $19.95 for this?

The instruction sheet - which I read last; typical man – quickly clarified things, however. To get past the superficial “optics” of the Democrats’ big victory, it advised, we Republicans can regain clear vision by putting the 2012 results under a magnifier, then scanning history and the future with a spyglass, and then, above all, looking hard at ourselves in the mirror.

But at no point in this perspective-recovering process, the instructions warned, should a shaken GOP entertain the temptation of abandoning its 150-year fidelity to individual liberty and personal responsibility, limited government and rule of law, free enterprise and private property, human rights and moral truth as gifts from God – the principles in America’s founding documents – first voiced by my party in behalf of the African slave.

This country doesn’t need, in other words, two liberal parties. Nor does it need a quixotic third party, a neo-Confederate secession craze, or a John Galt dropout movement. It needs the Republican party to continue our historically indispensable – and resiliently effective – role as the conservative party for these United States.

The magnifying glass that came in my rehab kit showed the Dems’ retention of the White House and Senate, as well as their Colorado legislative gains, to have been a tactical victory won on intensity and execution, not a repudiation of conservatism. The telescope, looking back, revealed many a political pendulum swing after all seemed lost – think 1964 for my side, 2004 for their side – and likely the same when looking ahead.

Then there was the mirror. Gazing into it was painful, but what a reality bath. Had the GOP, me included, often forgotten that politics is about people no less than principles? Was the other side’s edge in intensity and execution, securing reelection for Obama, baggage and all, partly our fault? Who could be to blame for the tarnished Republican brand but us? Ouch and ouch again.

Inviting a number of conservative audiences to try the mirror exercise has been interesting. There was pushback. “Nobody in this room bears any of the blame,” insisted a friend in Denver. “That’s moderate talk, RINO talk,” said another friend in Grand Junction.

“Death of a Nation,” went an online whine from Colorado Springs. “GOP, DOA, RIP,” moaned an email from Evergreen. Oh really? Time will tell. I’m betting that 2014 and 2016 will prove the reports of conservatism’s demise, like that of Mark Twain, to have been greatly exaggerated.

Glories of gridlock, perils of second terms

Divided government continuing into 2014 and beyond may not be all that bad, especially as presidential second terms tend to go awry, says John Andrews in the November round of Head On TV debates. Not so, given Americans' reaffirmation of Obama's leadership and their impatience for government that works, contends Susan Barnes-Gelt. John on the right, Susan on the left, also go at it this month over prospects for the now all-Democratic Colorado General Assembly and what it meant that voters approved most ballot issues. Head On has been a daily feature on Colorado Public Television since 1997. Here are all five scripts for November: 1. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

John: Congratulations to my Democratic friends for their big victory. President Obama will proceed with his agenda of fundamentally transforming America through bigger government and a weak foreign policy. Americans seem to be okay with that. Mitt Romney campaigned valiantly for freedom and limited government, but he couldn’t overcome the negative ads.

Susan: The Obama victory reflects not only a very smart and strategic campaign, but also recognition that the U.S. in 21st Century is more diverse, socially tolerant, less partisan and more independent than it used to be. A viable democracy relies on compromise and flexibility. Americans are sick of wing-nut ideology.

John: Compromise? Flexibility? There’s a concept. We’ll see how the left-leaning Obama does with the right-leaning House on compromising to tame the entitlement monster. His flexibility so far has been mostly with foreign bad guys like the Russians. Presidential second terms often go off the rails. Democrats beware.

Susan: When Republican leadership announces its primary goal is to limit the new president to a single term – it’s testimony to Obama’s tenacity that he still stands. Americans are sick of political grandstanding. Obama is a centrist – it will be up to your team to move to the center.

2. THE NEW CONGRESS

Susan: The 113th Congress will be a bit different than the 112th. Dems took several seats in the House, though R’s maintain control. Dems picked up seats in the Senate – thanks to far right Republican candidates. The 2012 campaign headline: Republican Party hijacked by Tea Party crazies and 18th Century luddites.

John: Americans said no to real change and yes to divided government. Speaker John Boehner is now the man of the hour, and time is short. The House, the Senate, and the President have only a few weeks to save our economy from crippling tax increases and our defenses from a body blow.

Susan: The resounding take-away from the 2012 election is the C-word: Compromise. Voters are clearly frustrated with extremes on both sides of the aisle. Biggest winners: immigration reform; the politics of inclusion, and a balance of tax increases and entitlement reform. Americans want a government that works.

John: Are you sure? Maybe they’d rather have gridlock. Individual liberty, civil society, religious freedom, and economic growth stand a better chance when we don’t get all the government we pay for. Every day Harry Reid and John Boehner are at loggerheads, and sObama is out golfing, is a good day for America.

3. COLORADO GENERAL ASSEMBLY

John: Congratulations to Colorado Democrats for holding the state Senate and taking the state House. Mark Ferrandino of Denver will become Speaker. His sexual orientation is his own business. But his political orientation is to the left, which is not good news for economic growth, energy exploration, or fiscal responsibility.

Susan: One party control of the legislature is bound to give our a-partisan governor, Dem John Hickenlooper, heartburn. If the Dems list too far from the middle on fiscal policy – Hick will be hard-pressed to advance his ambition. I’m optimistic that both sides will resist overreach.

John: When you speak of Hick’s ambition, do you mean the White House? Some say he’s so focused on 2016 that he won’t seek a second term in 2014. Then the fun begins. Meanwhile, one-party control of state government could lead to overreach on fiscal and social issues alike. Democrats beware.

Susan: The voters have no patience for overreach. And Hick is so good at commanding the bully pulpit, that he will prevail on fiscal issues. Any Dem who doesn’t support fiscal prudence is destined to fail. The guv is a pragmatist and superb arm-twister. The smart money is with him

Susan: Wow! I hoped we’d have a kumbaya moment - as in why can’t we all get along? Demographics are stacked against you. Ask New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie about shrinking government to drown it in a bathtub? Christy has tougher waters to navigate for those devastated by Sandy.

4. COLORADO BALLOT ISSUES

Susan: Colorado’s November ballot was littered with issues ranging from local tax increases to cleaning up the state personnel system and legalizing marijuana. Every question was overwhelmingly approved: local school bond issues; tax increases; state constitutional changes and legalizing marijuana. Margins indicate Coloradans are generous and optimistic.

John: I hate to say it, but America is moving left and Colorado is keeping pace. Voter approval for legal marijuana here and in Washington State, along with gay marriage in Maine and Maryland, signals a new moral permissiveness. Local tax hikes in a weak economy defy logic, but at least TABOR is working.

Susan: America is moving to the center, reflecting a more diverse, younger and socially tolerant electorate. The Republican party must re-define its principles to adapt to the less hierarchical and more flexible society. Hurricanes Sandy and Katrina reinforce the importance of federal policy and resources. Take that – Grover Norquist.

John: I love it when you Democrats give us Republicans makeover advice. We already have one party with disposable principles. The GOP will stick to the proven principles of America’s founding, thanks anyway. One of those is federalism, which now faces a test with our state’s pot legalization. Uncle Sam disapproves.

No more freedom on the cheap

(Denver Post, Oct. 28) Have you voted yet? Our state’s nine electoral votes could hand the presidency to Romney or Obama -- and the Colorado outcome in 2012 could turn on a few hundred ballots, much like the Florida outcome in 2000. Within months of achieving statehood in 1876, Colorado tipped the presidential election for Rutherford B. Hayes, as historian Tom Noel noted recently in these pages. Yet the dominant issue of that era, equal rights for former black slaves, wasn’t settled by the election. It troubled the American conscience for almost another century. So in battling over the high stakes to be decided between the candidates next week, we need to recognize how much this election will NOT settle. It’s folly to assume that the Nov. 6 verdict ties a ribbon around everything. “Keeping the republic,” our task as free citizens in Benjamin Franklin’s words, is a marathon not a sprint.

Whether your ticket wins or loses, we’ll all wake up in the same America as before. It’s an America where neither Republicans nor Democrats have yet shown the backbone to keep our deficits and debt from worsening to the level of Greece -- with broke California, no longer the Golden State, leading the way. Think that will suddenly change in 2013?

An AP profile on Xi Jingping, soon to be president of China, says he will assume power confident in “Beijing’s belief that its chief rival Washington is in decline.” Osama bin Laden’s taunt that America is a “weak horse” echoes from beyond the grave, emboldening al Qaeda in Libya, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, the mullahs in Tehran.

Much as I favor the GOP, one party’s victory won’t instantly dispel those doubts. For they arise from what a smart investor or a winning coach calls the fundamentals. Those who are short-selling the USA take note of the actuarial tables for the rise and fall of great nations – which predict a lifespan of about 250 years – and the indicators of slackness in our national character.

They look at what has been called the Tytler cycle, whereby a people climbs up from bondage through faith and courage to liberty and abundance, but then slides down through complacency and apathy into dependency and finally into bondage again. Detractors see America in the late afternoon of our greatness, with darkness coming on. Can we prove them wrong? Absolutely, but it will take more than campaign slogans.

The worst deficit our country faces, looking beyond election 2012, isn’t in jobs, budgets, pensions, or infrastructure. It’s not in energy, health, education, or national security. It is the deficit of personal responsibility. In our enjoyment of liberty and abundance, we’re in danger of forgetting that the price of both is responsibility and self-discipline. Our experiment in freedom on the cheap is running out of time.

A president who constantly ducks responsibility and blames others is but a symptom of this. We elected him with our eyes wide open. Voters took a chance – in hindsight, an irresponsible gamble – on the hip young community organizer over the crusty old war hero. The Obama phenomenon merely shows how far the celebrity culture has gone in swamping principled self-government.

Media elites didn’t care when Obama flew to Vegas for a fundraiser the day Ambassador Stevens was assassinated in an act of war. They shrugged when the former drug dealer Jay-Z threw a party for him. But few noticed either when Kid Rock, whose songs were too dirty for radio, opened for Romney in Denver the other day. Chill out, man.

I hope Mitt wins. He’ll do our country proud. But the rebirth of responsibility America needs, if we’re to survive, isn’t up to him or any politician. It’s up to the person in the mirror: you and me. ----------- John Andrews is director of the Centennial Institute, former president of the Colorado Senate, and the author of Responsibility Reborn: A Citizen’s Guide to the Next American Century (Denali Press, 2011).

Colorado Voter Guide 2012

Friends have asked how I am voting. Here's the rundown for what it's worth. State Ballot Issues

* No on Amendment 64, Marijuana Legalization: It's tempting to agree that prohibition of pot has failed as badly as prohibition of alcohol, and should be ended. But if Colorado does so, locking it into the constitution is the wrong way to go. To my libertarian friends who say that how an adult besots himself is his business alone, I'd argue that widespread doping has huge social consequences which are within the state's police power to mitigate if we can.

* No on Amendment 65, Campaign Finance: This is a symbolic gesture aimed at making Congress narrow the scope of political free speech. Madison spins in his grave. Wrong goal and wrong approach, doubly misconceived.

* Yes on S, State Personnel Reform. Bipartisan support for this measure has long precedent. It went to the ballot when I was a senator, and unions defeated it. Unions are even more powerful now among Colorado's unaccountable bureaucrats. S will give our elected governor more authority to staff the executive branch for results as voters expect.

Local Ballot Issues

* No on school tax increases, in the Cherry Creek district where I live and all across Colorado. Schools have enough money, what they lack is freedom to succeed or fail. See "Won't Back Down" for dramatic proof.

* No on municipal tax increases, in Centennial where I live and all across the Colorado. Government at all levels across this country is over-funded and bloated. Show me one exception. Put'em all on a crash diet.

Judges for Retention

* I vote no on retention of all judges, for impersonal reasons of principle. Of course there are many worthy incumbents. But it's my conviction that America's entire judicial system, top to bottom in Colorado and other states, along with the federal judiciary, suffers from a "God complex" brought on by excessive public deference and weak systems of accountability. Let every judge on election night see a substantial protest vote from citizens. Some day I hope Colorado will lead the way on judicial term limits, a fight I led and lost on the 2006 ballot.

Nonpartisan RTD Board of Directors

* RTD is Colorado's fourth biggest government in terms of spending. Party affiliations are not used in these races, making it harder to gauge who is likely to be more fiscally conservative and market-minded, suspicious of government solutions and labor unions. Nine director seats are up this year. According to my research, the following candidates are best attuned to taxpayers and the private sector.

District E: Dave Williams District G: Jack O'Boyle District H: Kenny Mihalik District I: Jeff Ilseman District K: David Elliott District M: Natalie Menten I'm not unable to recommend anyone in Districts A, D, and F.

Partisan Candidate Races

* I will vote the straight Republican ticket exactly as I've done in 24 elections since 1966. Democrats, though mostly well-intended, are like quack doctors prescribing sugar shots to a diabetic. Their remedy on all issues, fiscal, social, constitutional, national security, cultural, is 180 degrees off target; couldn't be wronger.

Fire Obama, that failure, that fraud; keep Congress and the state House in GOP hands, and elect a Republican state Senate, in DC and Denver alike.

Thanks for reading this far. Comments, questions, and disagreements are always welcome.

John & Susan's dueling voter guides

Obama's record is so weak, his only hope against Romney is to lie and distract, says John Andrews in the September round of Head On TV debates. No, retorts Susan Barnes-Gelt, the challenger's own weaknesses will undo him and reelect the incumbent. John on the right, Susan on the left, also go at it this month over Colorado legislative races, but find themselves in rare agreement that municipalities and schools haven't earned the tax increases they're asking for. Head On has been a daily feature on Colorado Public Television since 1997. Here are all five scripts for September: 1. PRESIDENTIAL RACE / DOMESTIC POLICY

John: Here's all you need to know about the presidential race. Any incumbent with a failing economy and a foreign policy meltdown is an underdog. Obama's only hope against Romney is to lie, distract, and change the subject. He’s doing that, and the media are helping. I think it won’t work.

Susan: What’s not working is Romney’s duck and dodge on every issue: domestic policy, foreign policy, Medicare reform, tax reform, education reform, balanced budget, student loans, the deficit, healthcare, climate change, fiscal policy, immigration, the dream act, women’s health, energy dependence, human rights – You name it. He dodges.

John: Romney will get government out of the way so free enterprise can put Americans back to work. Romney will respect the constitution and religious freedom and stop the war on churches, war on unborn babies, war between income groups. Romney will stand up for Israel and stand against Iran. America needs Mitt.

Susan: Which Mitt? The moderate, pro-choice, pro-affordable healthcare, pro-gay marriage former governor of Massachusetts? Or the elitist rich guy whose written off seniors, single moms, working people and minorities – nearly half the voters. If he governs with the same clumsy incompetence that he’s running his campaign – BIG TROUBLE!

2. PRESIDENTIAL RACE / FOREIGN POLICY

Susan: Voters must think about whom they want answering the phone at 3 AM, in the White House Residence? Mitt – Russia’s-our-greatest-threat Romney? Or President Obama, who killed Bin Laden and his key operatives, ended the war in Iraq and has kept our country safe for four years?

John: It was Hillary Clinton who warned of Barack Obama’s unfitness to deal with that 3am foreign policy crisis, back in 2008. We now know from the recent 9/11 debacle in Egypt and Libya that both are unfit. Obama’s Muslim appeasement policy has collapsed. Voters should dial a call to Mitt Romney.

Susan: Romney has NO foreign policy experience – to wit: his diplomatic gaffs at the London Olympics; his uninformed reaction to the attack on the Libyan consulate and murder of Ambassador Chris Stevens; including injured veterans in the 47% of victims who refuse to accept responsibility? PULEEZE!

John: Reagan had no foreign policy experience either. All he did was win the Cold War without firing a shot. Because he had what Gov. Romney also has – proven ability as an executive and a leader. Obama has neither, and it’s killing us around the world. This apologizer, this appeaser, has to go.

3. DENVER & CENTENNIAL SEEK TO DE-BRUCE

Susan: Denverites should vote NO on 2A. The measure promises to repave streets, add police training classes, expand library and recreation center hours and eliminate furlough days for city employees. Truth is, it’s a substantial tax hike with no guarantees – just unenforceable promises.

John: Government always wants more. It never has enough. Politicians always believe they can spend our money better than we can. I too would oppose Denver’s tax hike, if I were an urban guy. I am opposing Centennial’s tax hike as a suburban guy. Our little city wasn’t created to be a revenue hog.

Susan: Denver voters have a choice. Approve a blank check that never expires for higher taxes, or send Mayor Hancock back to the drawing board to craft a balanced initiative with a mix of reduced expenses and tax increases. 2A is bad for jobs, small business and homeowners. Vote NO.

John: The first word in Tea Party stands for “taxed enough already,” and I’m delighted to hear you of all people urging Denverites to vote that way on school construction and the Hancock proposal. If Coloradans look at the huge tax increase Obama plans for Jan. 1, they will vote him out too.

4. PUBLIC SCHOOL TAX INCREASES

Susan: Several school districts are on November’s ballot with tax increases for K-12 education, including Denver. DPS wants more than a half a billion for new schools, renovation and updating of existing schools and increased operating funds. It’s a tough time to ask for the biggest tax increase in history.

John: I’m voting no on Cherry Creek school taxes. And I agree with your no vote in Denver. Taxpayers in Jeffco, Aurora, and all 29 Colorado districts where a total of $1 billion is being requested should join us. The answer for better education is more choice, not more money.

Susan: Regarding DPS, I’m undecided. Should Denver build new schools when existing ones are way under capacity. Should the District go to a 12-month school year to support student achievement? Yes – I support 3B – increased operating funds. I’d like to see more reform before we build more schools.

John: A lot more reform. Something is happening when I as a conservative Republican and you as a liberal Democrat begin agreeing that taxpayers forever digging deeper while teacher unions keep making excuses is no longer a viable strategy for helping kids learn. For devastating proof, see the new movie “Won’t Back Down.”

3. LEGISLATIVE RACES

John: The battle for the White House is intense, but don’t overlook the state House and Senate. Control is divided now. If Dems take over, it means tax and spend, regulate and redistribute. If Republicans take over, it means economic growth and fiscal responsibility. Vote with care, fellow Coloradans.

Susan: Truth is, Colorado’s legislature is constrained by Gallagher, TABOR, Amendment 23 and federal mandates. The real difference between whose in charge is simple. Small government Republicans will focus on what happens in the bedroom. Dems will pay attention to rebuilding the economy and job creation.

John: Legislative Democrats here don’t understand job creation any better than Obama Democrats in DC. As Coloradans vote for a new president to revive prosperity, they should also elect a Republican state House and Senate to energize our economy with oil and gas. Plus send Joe Coors and Kevin Lundberg to Congress.

Susan: There’s no more informed advocate for the pursuit of conventional and alternative energy that democrat, former geologist Governor John Hickenlooper. If Colorado’s Republican agenda reflected a commitment to small government instead of fascination with people’s bedrooms – we would all be better off.