I spent the weekend of January 29-31 at the Ocean Shores Convention Center attending the first annual Roanoke Conference; A gathering of Republicans. For a first time event, I was favorable impressed with every aspect of the proceedings.
There is no doubt that Republicans are motivated following the surprising success of candidates in New Jersey, Virginia and most notably in the Massachusetts Senatorial election with the victory of Scott Brown. Whether the enthusiasm is attributed to dissatisfaction of voters from the entrenched Democratic non-leadership or the quality of the Republican candidates is yet to be determined. The important thing is that local Republicans now have something to be excited about. The Roanoke Conference is a good tool to bring together valuable election campaign resources with enthusiastic candidates and supporters with the common purpose of winning elections in the fall.
The Roanoke Conference is modeled after the Dorchester Conference held in Oregon for the past eight or nine years. We have to give those Oregonians credit for continuously holding their gatherings during some pretty dark years for Republicans in that state.
Widening the expanse of the party tent to include people of many persuasions that do have differences but similar core principles is critical to the party establishing credibility with Conservatives and moderates to elect capable candidates that can govern well if given the opportunity.
Dino Rossi’s presence made the event credible. Former Senator Slade Gorton was frosting on the cake. Having both of them in attendance put a shine on a great event.
I came home from this conference excited about the prospects for Republicans. Not just because of the move away from the Democrats, but because the attendees agreed that when the Republicans had their chance they blew it. The attendees seemed determined to elect candidates with a different agenda this time around.
I remember when Republicans took over the Congress following the ’94 elections, I speculated then about whether our long years in the minority had taught us how to be better leaders. Sadly, it became clear early on that “pay back” was a high priority for many Republicans rather than leading with humility. If we are lucky enough to have another chance, I hope we can do better than we did then.
I was also encouraged by the Tea Party activists. Even though they were critical of leadership on both sides of the aisle, they formed up with Republicans because we share core values. It is unfortunate that it took such devastation to our country to arouse the sleeping giant, but now that it is, we need to harness the enthusiasm for a positive outcome.
When I ran for Snohomish County Council in 2009, my campaign focused on creating private sector jobs, supporting small businesses, protecting property rights, limiting the growth of government, balancing the interests of the people with the environment and responsibly managing tax dollars. Even though I lost that election by a slim margin, I correctly identified what the issues in the election should have been. I suspect that if that election were to take place in 2010, the outcome might be different.
The mood of the country was changing in the last half of 2009. If I were to challenge Hans Dunshee in the House of Representatives campaigning on the same issues, could I compete favorably?
As our country struggles to get through this recession, everyone agrees that without jobs there is no recovery. The Democrats cling to the idea that government jobs are the same as private sector jobs. We all know that couldn’t be further from the truth. Public jobs may be cushy, but they don’t produce a value. Private sector businesses that manufacture a product create the family wage jobs that are the backbone of our economy. Incentives for those jobs are key!
What is holding back the creation of private sector jobs? A lack of credit! If the President really wants to get the economy moving again, he just needs to make credit available to businesses again. Not off the wall risky credit, but business lines of credit that will allow existing businesses to get back to work.
A tax credit for a job created doesn’t compare to jobs created from a line of credit.
No Loss for Words 
Rick Larsen “Leading us to Ruin”
by Steve DanaI received an electronic newsletter today from Congressman Rick Larsen telling me how he was looking out for my interests by voting on various bills before the congress. It occurred to me that what we really need is elected officials that look out for our interests before the crisis rather than after the crisis.
My number one priority is creating jobs and restoring fiscal responsibility so we can create an economic environment that will grow and support good jobs well into the future.
But if we want to build a foundation for future economic growth, it is critical that we change the underlying rules that helped to create the recession in the first place. A failure to act will merely set us up for another economic disaster.
That is why Congress must pass legislation to end the Era of Big Bank Bailouts.
Two years after the economy collapsed, we continue to uncover shocking new details about the risky practices and reckless behavior of Big Banks that cost Americans trillions of dollars in retirement, college savings and financial security.
Congressman Larsen should tell us specifically what he recommends we do proactively to change our government so us regular folks are better protected from perils like this one. The proposal before the congress has many regulatory changes; which ones in particular does he think change things for the better? If creating jobs and restoring fiscal responsibility are his number one priority, how would passing the Dodd Bill make that happen?
The “underlying rules that helped create the recession” have been in place for a long time. What effort did Congressman Larsen make to safeguard us during his ten years in office?
What exactly is Mr. Larsen or for that matter any of our elected officials doing to solve the significant problems that are spiraling out of control already but are not at crisis proportions yet?
Many of us regular folks have known for a long time that the banking regulations were not protecting us consumers, but Congressman Larsen wasn’t fighting for banking regulations until after the collapse. What kind of leadership is that? We need leaders who are out in front the issues, preventing a crisis, not responding after the fact.
Mr. Larsen would have us believe that big banks are the problem. So what legislation did he propose that would change banking regulations to protect us?
There is a current outcry about the Arizona governor’s decision to sign legislation from the Arizona Legislature requiring that Arizona law enforcement agencies enforce state and federal immigration laws in Arizona. As elected officials in that state, they were bound by their oath of office to enforce the laws, to protect and defend the people of their state. How could that be a bad thing?
So Congressman Larsen tell us what you think Immigration Policy should be! If you think law enforcement agencies will have to do illegal profiling, how do you propose they identify illegal aliens without it? Tell us specifically what you think about this issue? Should we be securing the border? How should we secure the border? Are Mexicans the biggest threat we face from an unsecured border? How should we deal with the millions of Mexicans (and others) living in the U.S. who have come across the border illegally? Do you support deportation or amnesty?
So Congressman Larsen tell us what you think about the explosion on the drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico that is currently creating an environmental crisis in that region? What should government’s responsibility be in the aftermath? Should we suspend all off-shore drilling? Have we learned anything from this experience so far? Do we need more or different regulations?
Every elected official in the land should be advocating we enforce the laws on the books today. If there are laws that jeopardize our well-being and you are doing nothing to change them, we should assume you are in agreement with them. Not serving on a particular committee is not an acceptable answer to inaction!
During his ten years in congress, what exactly did he do personally to prevent the housing crisis, the banking crisis, the energy crisis and the debt crisis? Or whatever other crisis that has not already come to light? And maybe just as important, what is he working on today to avert another crisis from damaging our country?
How has his service in the congress made a positive difference to his constituents? Where has his leadership been demonstrated best during his ten years in office? Has Congressman Rick Larsen demonstrated leadership qualities at all during his five terms in office?
We need leaders elected who will work proactively for the betterment of our citizens, not special interests and after the fact.
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