Contract with America 2022

June 25, 2021. Never let a disaster go to waste. The dangerous, disastrous Dem plan for America provides Republicans with a great opportunity to focus on policies that will make America better, and get away from the politics of personality.

One of the positive things to come with Democrat control of congress and the White House is that the American public can see the legislation that comes out of a smug sense of control of the federal government, usually resulting in a harsh accounting of their actions in the next election. This happened under Obama in 2010 and, probably more pronounced, under Clinton in 1994. One ironic legacy of both Obama and Clinton was that they inherited "full control" yet, eight years later, they turned over control to the Republicans. Some legacy! But some lessons don't require eight years to be learned. Some key lessons are apparent after two years of Democrat governance.

The 1994 "Contract with America" was able to capitalize on the specific outlandish Dem efforts in their two years of "control,' even if many of their ideas did not pass. You have to give Newt Gingrich full props on this platform for congressional races. I remember reading of the results of the 1994 elections from my hotel in Kuala Lumpur, reading the International Herald Tribune and the shocking turnaround in the House and the Senate.

So no time like the present to start drafting the 2022 contract. The Dems have revealed their hand with their legislative and cultural agenda, providing ample opportunity for a stark and constructive response from Republican congressional candidates in 2022. Add the markedly weaker person and politician in the White House in 2022, vis-a-vis 1994 and 2010, and there should be good room for a strong showing by Republicans, perhaps even to control of both the House and Senate in 2022.

This time around there are several controversial and even repugnant issues promoted by the Dems, including BLM, woke culture in the military, defunding the police, "Critical Race Theory" in the public schools, male athletes participating in women's sports, acquiescence to China, promotion of late term abortions, climate change histrionics, and open border chaos, just to name a few. So where to begin?

Here are a couple possibilities for the contract. First, abortion might be a lightning rod but abortion limits should not be, including limiting federal; funding for free abortions and post-birth abortion restrictions. Second, "climate change" alarmists have come under further scrutiny as the "follow the science" mantra has begun to backfire on the Dems, who have little clear science to back their proposals, despite the political claims to the contrary. "Follow the science" could also help the argument for abortion limits, as science has progressed well beyond the fifty-year old Roe v Wade that opened abortion floodgates. Third, the politicization of gender as a personal choice rather than as a scientific reality has also exposed the disingenuous "follow the science" claims emanating from the Democrats when it comes to male athletes in female sports. Even the 'progressive' feminists tend to agree with the biology-determines-gender approach. Fourth, massive 'spikes' in the murder rate in the woks, most democrat-controlled cities offers another opportunity to reinforce the police as heroes, as they were after 9/11, with more funds, better training, and better mandates for police held hostage by irrational defunding policies. African-Americans and the poor are the first to suffer from defunding; they can turn the tide to a more realistic stance on policing. Fifth, critical race theory has been thoroughly rejected in any place that allows a dissenting voice. More expansive school choice, primarily with fully funded vouchers, might be a solution. Again, the poor and marginalized benefit most from vouchers, while the public teacher unions protect their interests over those of parents and children. Sixth, the southern borer has become an outstanding disaster, as the Dems look to create more entitled voters from among those streaming across thew border without authorization, documents or even good justification.

For now, let me finish with a sixth point that merits full attention in the 2022 contract, and that is a commitment to restoring the military to an apolitical, not politically correct institution that promotes and protects American interests.

Sadly, I could go on for at least another six or seven issues but I also know better than to push too far on the first effort to identify points for consideration in the contract. This also offers the reader a chance to think critically about what I've included so far, while also applying that thinking to identifying additional issues. It is not my attention to write the contract; rather, it is time to start thinking about the need for contract, and what it contains. This will take leadership from some segment of the Republican party. One can only hope....