Are Republicans the Answer?

By Rep. Steven Thayn

I was listening to the radio this morning and the host said that the Republicans were poised to win in November and that all voters had to do was kick out all the Democrats. His inference was that all our problems would be fixed if we just had conservative Republicans in office.

Wait just a minute, not so fast. What makes you think that conservative Republicans are going to fix our nation’s problems? Where is the proof? Republicans have been in charge in the past and our problems got worse not better. I will grant that President Obama could possibly be the worst president in American history and that we need to replace President Obama and his liberal Democratic friends; but, the question remains with whom and what policies need to be replaced? I have three suggestions. Until I hear these three issues being discussed, I have no expectation that improvements will occur at the national level.

1. The federal government is too large with 63 percent of the federal budget goes to human services. Most, if not all, human service responsibilities need to be transferred to the state level where costs can be reduced and services improved.
2. The economy is in shambles. The key to stimulating the economy is increasing “the big five:” Logging, mining, agriculture, manufacturing, and energy production. “The big five” cannot be stimulated until environmental regulations are reduced and made business friendly.
3. The character of the American people is changing from a sense of personal independence to dependence upon government programs. The philosophy of human service programs needs to change from a focus on the short-term material needs of individuals to, a much more healthy approach, where long-term needs are addressed to encourage people to become independent and self-sufficient. Success of a social program should be measured on the number of people that no longer need help rather than the number of people on the program.

The problem in the past with the Republican Party and conservatives in general is that they have had virtually NO IDEAS on how to deal with real social problems. Until Republicans engage in solving real human problems using limited government principles, I do not believe our problems will improve.

Rep. Steven Thayn, R-Emmett, represents District 11 in the Idaho House of Representatives.