Ripon Forum March-April 2005

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VO LUME 39 • NUMBER II • MARCH /APRI L 2005

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POlITICS 5 6 7

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Publisher

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I)rcsidenl

Passing President Bush's Agenda ~

Richard S. Kessler

In terview wi th House Majority LeaderTom DeL1Y

COVER STORY

uecutivc D irector

12 Ending Our Oil Dependence ~ by Amory B. Lovins

Elvis O xley Communications Director, Editor

Jeffrey T. Kuhner

INVESTIGATIVE FORUM Stealing Elections . by Robert Stacy McCain 17 Why Iraq Matters . by Jeffrey T. Kuhner 15

CAPITOL FORUM

Policy Director.

Politi cal Editor Slcplrcn F. Manfredi

19 Reforming Social Security ~ by Rep. Michael G. Oxley Expanding Minority Homeownership ~ by Rep. Bob Ney 21 Are We Running Out of Water? - by Rep. John Linder 22 Funding for a Safer New Jersey ~ by Rep. Mike Ferguson 20

Corporate: Finance: Director

Robin Kessler Design/Art Direction John M . Boone Banta PubNct Productio n Banta Corp.

PUBLIC POLICY 23 Defending Choice · by Rep. Nancy L Johnson 24 Green Opportunities for the GOP ~ by Samuel Thernsrrorn 26 Protecting the Unborn ~ by Sen. Ri ck Saruorum 27 Remembering the Children . by Sara Mead

FOREIGN AFFAIRS

C Copyrigh, 2005 Righl~

Forecasting Social Security Reform - by Donald Lambro Debunking Social Security - by Stephen F. Ma nfredi Tillie Fowler, R.I.P ~ by Richard S. Kessler Disconnected Democrats - by Patrick M. Garry

INTERVIEW

The Ril>Oll Society

By The Ripon Society ' All

Note From the Executive Director

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On e Year Subscript i" n: $25.00 indi vid uals $ 10.00 J\udenlJ "",,,w.ripo.uoc.o.g

Are They Listening to America's Voice?

- by Rep. Henry J. Hyde 29 Confronting America's Enemies ~ by Rep. C and ice Miller 28

THE JUST CAUSE 30 Heart of Darkness ~ by Jeffrey T. Kuhner

T he Ripon Forum ' March/April 2005

www.riponsoc.o rg

Note hom The Executive Dtyector

* Recently. il was my honor 10 address a class of 400 youth :H1cllding a Junior $r:.ue5lllcn Founcl:lIion Congressio nal Sess ion in Was hington. DC. These high schoolcr~ dcmonsmncd solid poise and gelluine i!llcrcst in our Federal system of gOVCrtHllCllt-ellough !O cngage their peers :lIIcl in everything DC has to otTer. It w.lS a pleasure 10 promote our ll1o<lcl';uC Republ ican idc;tlS 10 this band of impressionable [cellS. and il IS my trlle f(:ding that dl esc motivated Junior Stalcs mCll will be amo ngs t our political leaders of tomorrow. If you or your chi ld :IH; interested in Ic:uning mo re. visit W\\'w.;s:l.org.

Mich:td Moore's fil/)rt'lIbl'i/ 911 J is old lll'WS, but I recentl y fCllIed a docu rncllt:lry called Cr1sim 4/. J I. produced by Chcrwynd and Steinberg. which oITers InLlhful coull1erdairns to ~'Ir. 1" 'oon:'5 ovcnly liberal smears. C hc(;k it OUt at ro ur 10c.!1 "ideo store or lihrary. One of the it.. ms IOlIch..x\ on in the film is the so-called I'oter fraud in Oh io during the 2004 prcsidemial election. Read Tlx \l7ashillgtoll limn iournalist Roben Stacy McCa in's article in this Fonllll issue 10 I(':l.rn more abo ut ""ori ng i rregubriti(.~ ~ on Ihe Democrats' side.

Commemorati ng the cst:thlishmetll of the first of 51 bird sanctuaries and the st'tticment of the Absbn Bound;try dispute aVI :trch 1903) by our icon, President Teddy Roosevelt, this ForI/til cOll1 ains thf(:e cnvironnwTII:llly oriell1ed articks.

Re;ld Georgia Representative John Linder's informative piece on his proposed bill 10 protect our n:ttions w:Her supply from d rouglll or miStise. American Enterpr ise.'

Institute's scholar, S:tmuel Thcrnstrom, gives his sound advice how the Clean Air Act of 1990 is a successful Repuhlicm initi:u il'e in need of louder and morc fre(lucllI puhlicity by the GOP-held Congress. Our cover SlOry by Amory Lovins, founder and CEO of the indepe ndent Rocky Mouruain lrmit ule, plcads for wholesale change in the American :ntiutdl." on fos.~il fuel <1l."J)c" dence-arguing for a stran::gy of migrating to :\hernate fuel 3nd bctler energy efficie ncy.

In keeping with our publication's title, this issue also offers a for um for debate between Senator Rick Salltorum (R-PA) and Represelltative Nancy Johnson (Rcn. The former ~Irgu es his sunce ag:tinst abortion. The latter statcs her c tse 10 prOICCI a woman's right to choose. Read both and decide for yo ursdf-Ril>on doesn'l havc a dog in this figh t, only thl' wi rrin gncs~ to offer Ihe forum for Ihe debate.

Within this issue yo u will find our hallmark I>oigll:l.nt poliC)' anicles, a point/counter-point debate, :tnd several informatil¡e insighLS on legislation currelllly being discussed in Ihe halls of Congrcss. I encourage you 10 read TIl' Forum. and then p:lSS il on 10 your F.ullil y and friends so Ihal they. tOO, may p<lrticipale in policy discussions at }'Our local level. WI: hopt, yo u enjo), 71x Ripon Forum. Read on!

Si ncerely,

~I'~ Executive Director (,oxlry@ripoll!oc.org

www.rlpol\<ClC.urg

The Ri pon Forulll ' Mar(-h/ApriI2oo5

Forecasting Social Security Reform From New Deal to Ownership Society

By DOllald umbro

F

orecasting the outcome of President George 'V.I. Bush's high-risk vcnTure to turn Social Security from a cre:!ky New De:!l ;I ntique to a modern 21st century wealth-creating system is a tricky business.

Thc President's plan to overhaul Social Security. especially his call 10 c reatc persollal rettrt'r1lent acCOUnts. will enCOlinter stilT res iS[";1I1Ce in Congress.

However. the battie lines arc still being formed. DemocratS arc Illostly against it, though SOllie, such :IS Stns. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, Tom C1rper of Delaware and Max l3:1ucus of MotHana. arc keeping an open mind.

MallY Repltolicans af(' for i1. but ~o tl1 e :Ire not alld other~ :m' still testing the waters. OV{'r:1l1, it isn', clear iust wheH· t hey ar(' righr tlOW on what is cle:lrly a work in progress. Cen:linly, GOP leaders arc going t"O Hand by President Bush and produce a hill. But wh:1I thaI bill will look like, and whe t her Republic:!11 lawmak('rs will iHlllp ship when the roll is called :tre lllueh hardcr to predict.

A bill is going to be written in the House \'(Iays and Means Committee, chaired by Rep. Bill Thomas of Cal ifoTliia.

Mr. T homas floated some ed eeric ideas in February that would tic tax reform 10 the Social Security overhaul, replacing the corporate t:tx with a value added tax on goods t hat consumers would pay- an idea Ihat is goi llg nowhere.

In tlJ(." end , House Speaker J. Dennis Hasten alld Housc Majority Leadcr Tom DeL1Y will h;lvc ;1 huge 5;1)' over tilt' bill's shape, and they arc nut going (0 bring up a bill that calillOt pass.

Over III the Senatt Finance Comminee. Ch:lirm:m C harles Grassley of Iowa is nor hostile 10 Social Securit y reform. but says he won't move:l bill to thc noor tbat docs not have majority support.

EVl"n with 55 Gor senarors, minus (wo or thret· Jcfections, and a handful of The Ripon Fon1111 ' hhrchiApri12005

Democratic ailies, RcpublicUls arc f.1r from 10 e nd a filibuster.

One of the toughest obst~cles, beyond Democr;uic opposition 10 :my kind of investillellt accoulHS financed by the payroll t:IX. is how Congress will solve Social SecuriTy's coming insolvency ;md pay for the transition COStS to shift to personal reti remen t accounts.

President Bush opened the door slightly to the possibility of r.tising the $90,000 income ceili ng 011 which Social Security taxes arc levied. saying everything was on the table except raising the payroll tax rares. Th:H doesn't sil well with most Republicans. but could draw a few more Delllocrars into President Bush's column. And. if push C:!Zlle to shove. would conservatives gJ\'e a little 0 11 raisillg the ceiling in exchange fOf enacting personal accolllltS? I thillk many would in order 10 bring down the last pillar of the New Deal wclf:1r{' State.

Realistic..111y, however, wha t arc the ch:lJices of President Bush's pe rsonal Social Security 3CCOUIIIS becoming law?

The liberal n:ltion:llnews media have been poundi ng President Hush's propos;11 since )allu;lry, giving us coundess reasons why Congress won't pass it. BtH thc Preside11t has a lot of options in this fight. Moreov{·r. the Democrats' unbending obstructionism could come back to haunt Iheln.

President Bush docs tlOt ha\'e to pass a bill l hat would invest 4 pereent:lge poilUS of each worker's payroll tax- as he has prcviously proposed- to corne OUt ur t his a winner. Fed{nl Reserve Chairman Ala n Greenspan may have given !lIt· President the best advice in Febr ua ry when he told Congress, "11' you arc going 10 move to private accounts, which , approve of, you have to do il in a cautious. gr.tdual way."

My gueS.'! is that President Busll has the makings of a Illajority compromise if

tilt' 60 votes llee(led

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he b{'gins with 2 to 3 percemage poims tit3t autom:llically doubles after a period of t'csting, unless Congress vo tes otherwise.

Economist John Cogan of the Hoover Institution, who advises the \'(Ihite House on Social Security reform. fOld me that "you don't have \'0 start out hig o n this at first. You can stan small and over time, as workers sec their invest me nt :lCCOU IHS grow, the political pressure will bu ild to ('xp:Hld them.~ A pass:!blc bill docs l\:lve to de:!l with the system's fi nancial solvency and the rransition COSts over the next few dec:!des.

But it do('s nOt have to solve all of these is.sue.~ intO the last 'luarter of this «('lHury whc n we ca llnot possibly know the size of our economy to finance future liabilities, o r IIOW Illnclt will be saved in the longerte rlll by weaning workers away from the present pay-as-you-go sySte m and 11110 priv:uc, self-financing ;JCcollnts.

Me;ulI illlt·, don't believe the poll s showing overall suppOrt railing below 50 percent. When you deduct those ova 65, most of whom arc opposed 10 it, and workers 55 and older who won't be able to panicipate anyway, the poll n umbers show strong suppOrt among younger workers berween 30 and 50 who want to earn a hight'r yield on their tax dollars over their working lives.

There arc enough Democrats in the Senate and the House, who know their parry's long-term future rests with these younger \'oters. Such sens ibl e DemocratS arc not going to vote against the political i Illertsts of this pivoral co nstitue ncy.

III short. President Bush h:!s a lot gOing ror him in this epic legislative bank-. r like hi~ dmlCes. (;7

- DOl/aid L(/II/Im) ii :/;(' chi('fpoliriC/11 rorreJpolldflir 0/ The Washington Times alld 1/ l/(uiollldly i)"u/imud roll/llIllisr.

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Debunking Social Security Democratic opposition based on myths

By Stephen F. Manfredi

S

oeial Seemiry is secure and private savings accounts are reckless. T his is how Democrats a re succeedi ng in defeating Republican dTons (0 reform Social Security.

Politics has :l Wly of inverting muhrhis explains why Democrats arc shamdcssly denouncing promising Republ ican idc:IS, such as personal rcriremelH accounts, while defending Pom..i schemes like the curren t Socia) Sceuriry syslcm.

The bcsi :lrgumclH doesn't alw:lYs win. Republicans had bener recognize this reality if they arl~ 10 avoid a potentially disastrous political defeat, and instiTUte the capstone of t heir "ownership society.»

When Dcmocrots arc not too busy mincing words over whether Social Security constitules a ~er i s i s." they are waging a frontal assault on President George \VI. Hush's proposal to create private pension accounts. President Bush's proposal would allow you nger workers the freedom to vol untarily place a small share of thl.'ir Social Security payroll laxes (u p to 4 percent) into personal retiremelll accounts in order to receive a higher financial return than they would under the current government·run system. Democrats immed iately branded this piecemeal free-market relorm "gambling."

So begins our great national dialogue about Social Security.

Sen:l1e Democraric Le<lder H<lrry Reid claims that President Bush is playing "Social Security rouleHe" and trying [0 "destroy Social Security by giving [his money to the fa[ CollS on Wall Srreet." The Democrats' basic argumclH is that private savings accounts will bankrupt the Social Security sYStCm and leave senior citiu:ns without a vilal safety net.

But what is so secure about Social Securi ty? And why is a 1930s pension program sacrosanct when institutions like marriage and [he English language are subject to harsh criticism?

In truth, Social Security deserves no reverence a nd guarantees no economic security to our most vulnerable citi7..{"ns. It has been tried and is now failing its first great test. W ith baby boolllcrs o n the verg<-'

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of retiremellt, Social Security's srrucrural W('3knCS5eS and unsus[ainability arc becommg apparent. \Vhen the program began, 16 worke rs paid into [he system to support o ne Social Security beneficiary. Today, there arc only 3 wo rkers paying itHO [he system for each rccipienr. These numbers are not good. By 2018, Social Security will pay Oll! mort· in benefits than it collects in raxes. Shonf.1lls in the [[illions of dollars will occur ulltilthe system goes bankrupt around 2042. Social Security is the fi scal equi valent of a runaway stag('Coach heading for a cliff.

And Democrats arc telling the passengers to stay in their scats fo r the bumpy and ill-fined ride.

T ht· wi llingness of Democrats to turn a blind eye [0 [his 1ll0nU Illcnral challe nge IS unfortu na te, but not surprising.

Democrats have a vested interest in the Sta{llS quo. They are reluctant to admir thai the New Deal welf:lfe Hate has failed and that free markets llIay provide a better solution.

Democral's promise ro prOtect the Social Security '-IfuSt fund ~ by putting p:1yroll [axes in a "lockbox. Yet this is a myth. As a mailer of practice, poli ticians constan tly usc Social Security funds to make up budget shortfalls and pay for government spending. In reality, there arl.' no real assets or funds set aside exclusively for Social Security. There is no truS[ fund » beyond govl.'rnmelll isslIl.'d laUs-in which legislators promise ro p:1y future Social Sl.'curi[y bendiciaries by [axing future workers at higher r:l1es.

Cri tics of pri v<l!e accounts argue that t he purpose of Social St-curity is not to create weall'h, bur 10 guaralllcc a basic income to our most vul ner:tble citizens.

Hut the mere good will of governml.'nt is no ass urance of economic sl.'curi tY- The federal government cannot guaran tee future economic prosperity any more than it can prevent hurricanes or tornados.

Our government will always have the capacity to write checks to Social Security recipie m s. That's easy. Ensuring the I'alue of these checks is more difficult. If Social Security is not reformed, the federal gOI'H

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ern ment will simply raise taxes or print more mOlley to finance its obligations. The resulting inflation will devalue wealth and imperil everyone's re tireml.'llt security; [he massive (ax hikes needed to bolster the system would badly hurt the middle class and cunail economic growth.

Personal retirement accountS offer a better alternative. By taki ng advantage of modt'rn financial instruments, our nation of investors can use the free market to provide for more com forrabl e and secure rCllrCmelltS. Federal employees have enjoyed this privilege through the Thrift Savings Plan for two decades. Tht'y're not on breadlines. By givi ng younger Americans the freedom to voluntarily place a small portion of their payroll taxes in conservative stocks, bonds, or mutual funds, Americans wi ll be able [0 S~1Ve for their own retiremell1 while earning compound interest on their s.1feguarded iIlvestmell ts.

Personal aCCOlilltS would not only be significantly more profitable, but they would bl.' far less risky than the current Social Security system. Individual ownership of ret irCllll.' nt accountS will eliminate [he type of raiding that has plagued ou r governmCIlI Social Security plan.

RetirelllelH money that is set aside by individuals will consist of redeemable aSSets. Fo r o ncc, reti rees will have a trUSt fund, not an IOU. In a competitive glob;ll econom)', America would be wise ro get ahead of the c urve and e mbrace personal accounrs.

During the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin Rooscvelt cautioned that Americans had "no[hi ng [0 fear but fear itself." Would 11<: really be pleased lhat his party wants America 10 fl.'main in [he financial SlOne Age~ \:Y

- SUphfll F Mallfrdi is policy dirmor fit The Ripon Sodn}

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The Ripon Forum · March/April 2005

Tillie Fowler, R.I.P Republican was a close friend of Ripon

By Richard S. Kessler

CommIttee chatrWOlllsn T!lite Fowler lIStens at meeting to exarmne 5eli;ual mlSCOOduct allegaoons at the AIr Force Acadefrry on

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he Ripon Society r~'Cc'llll y 1051 3 dear friend and SI3u nch Slippo n er. I:ormer U.S. Rep. Tillie Fowler. a Florida Republican and former Ripon bo;lrd member. died of:1 br:lin hemorrhage on M:trch 2 at a Jacksonville hospital. She was 62.

Ti llie served III Ihe House of Represelllativcs from 1993 until 2001. emerging as one of the mosl influent!:tl women in the GO P During her years on Capitol Hill, she gained a well-earned reput,uion as a lIo-nonsense. pro-defense hawk.

She ch:unpiom:d a sHong milit:try and higher defense budgets, Gov, Jeb Bush described Tillie as ~a great rloridi;w and committed public servant. COllgrcsswoma n Fowler W-.lS a great leader and was d<."(]icated to making the lives of Floridians better. She will be missed."

-lillie was known as the -Steel Magnolia-because she struck many of us here in WashinglOn as Ihe perf<''C1 combination of a SoUlhern belle and a rnilirary drill sergean!. She took this descriplion for wh:n it was: a deeply rcspt.'Ctful compliment. She possessed Southern gr-Jce and manners along with a tenacious, shrewd political mind-an impressive rnixmTC that made her a powerhouse on Capitol Hill.

During her congressional career, Tillie became vice ch3irwol1l3n of (he HOllse Republic:tn Conference, the fifth -mnking member in the GOP hierarch y. She also

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The Ripon Forum ' Mardi/April 2005

served (or six years as a deputy 1113jori ty whip.

Tillie was elected 10 Congress in 1992.

She won :l seat rh3r had been held by a Democrar for 42 years. Listed in publicatio ns such as USA Tod'l) and IVorkillg Wi/mall magazine as a "politic31 hotshot" :lnd "someone 10 watch." she waSlcd no time in ('3rning a reputation as an eff<.'Ctive legislator.

She secured :111 :tppoilltm<.·nt to the House Armed Services Commiuee, the only Republican woman on Ihal comminee 31 the rime, She also served on the Transponation and Infraslructu re Commiuee. and in the 100th Congrcs:. she was named Chairman of the newly creat<.-d Subcommiuee on Oversight, Investig;lIiolls and Emergency Management. Her number one priori ty was in\'esrigating the cou ntry's preparcdnc.ss for a domestic terrorist ass.l ull.

She found overlap and inadcqu:lcies among the several federal agencies with jurisdiction over domestic preparednc.·ss ag3inst a terrorist attack. "li llie will be remembered as :tn effective legislator because she 31ways kept her word to her colleagues 3nd conSli tuents," said I-\ouse Speaker J. Dennis !-Llsten, Illinois Republican.

Tillie tendl,d \"0 be more conserv:llivc than most o( u.'> at Ripo n. 13tll she shared our Big lent philosophy and actively participated in the Society's :lClivilies. She was 3 loyal 3nd indis~nsable board member, playing a pivolal role in our growth as a policy and oUlTcach organi1~ltion during (he 1990s.

After leaving Congress in January 200 I , she was mention<.-d as 3 possible Sl'C· rera ry of the Nav), in Ihe Bush administration. bUI inslead joined the national law firm of Holland & Knight. Moreover, Tillie served on the Defense Policy 130ard Advisory Comminee. which advises Ihe secretary of defense on Strategy and policy isstKos. Tillie succeeded Richard Perle as the comminee's chai rman , after he stepped down in the summer of2003.

She also served on otber high-profile boards, such as a comminee investigating prisoner mistreannelll in Ira<1 and a panel www.riIKlllsuc.org

looking into accus3tions of sexual abuS<.' at che U.S. Air Force Academy.

Tillie never back<."(] away from COntrovt.'rsy. The :lcademy panel , which she chaired , critici7.cd the Air Force's senior leadership for being aware of but doing very litde to prevent cases of sexual abuse. The lra<1 panel also crilici1.cd the military and civilian leadership for the prisoner abuse scandal. Despite 3 chorus of atf:lcks 011 Defense Secrelary Donald Rumsfeld (rom many in the mc<lia, however, Tillie argued it would be a mistake for him to resign.

A native of Milledg~-ville, Ga., slle was the daughter of former Georgia srale Sen. Culver Kidd, Till ie once reve31ed to a reporter thai her fill her strongly encouraged her to purSlle a prof~ssion, bc.:cause he h3d wi messed fim-h:md the difficult economic pliglu of widowed women during rhe Greal Depression. He never wanred his daughter co l)Crume dcscitut"e. She did not disappoilll him.

Afler !;raduating from Emo ry Universi ty law school , Tillie worked for Georgia Rep. Robert Slephens and in lhe U.S. Office of Consumer Affairs with Eli1~tbe ch 001(·, who is now a RepubliC:Hl U.S, senawr, Ti]]ie.· viewed Senator Dole as a professional role model , a strong, independen t and slIccessful wom311 who exhibited both power and feminille civi lif)'.

The Norlh Carolina senator felt the S-l me way 3bout Tillie. ~She was nothi ng less than the embodiment of a woman who could achil-ve anything," Mrs. Dole said. " Her compassion, grac~, warmth and cheerful personality will alw;ays live in my heart."

Sur"i\'ors include Tillie's husb:lnd of 37 years, L. Buck Fowler, and her tWO daughters, Tillie A. Fowler and Elizabc,h Fowler, as well as her brorher and rwo sisu·rs.

The elll ire Ri pon family mourns the passi ng of a gre3t p_lI riOl, congresswoman, mother. wife and-above al1-dear friend.

May she rc.·SI in peace. ~

- Ricbl/rtf:,,: Kessler is til(' Pmidmt 0/71)(' Ripoll SocirlY

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Disconnected Democrats Party embraces instant-money mentality

By Patrick M. Garry t \\."JS as if the DenlOCr:Hic Party's finallci:ll Sl'.ltllS insran d y cha nged. Duri ng {he C limon ),e;lr5, the p:my W;IS constantl y bemoa ning its Strained coffers.

During dlc 2000 c:l tllpa ign. the parry pushed hard for C:lmp:lign fi na nce reform.

But then, almost illst:mtl}', things c hanged in 2004. The D(:mocr:llic P;trty was fl ush with cash. It w:a~ the p;my of instant money.

In the wak(: of !:aSt f.111'S preside ntial elt'C\ion, Democrats have been :anguishing aho ut their [,ilure 10 connect wi t h m:linslfeam Americt. BUI sinCl' moral value) :arc apparently {oo mystifying:a concept, perhaps there is a simpler, more secula r explanation for lilt' disconnect: money. On this most hasic ingredient of modern life, the Democratic Illent:aliry is ['u removed from :a\'erage Americans. The corumst is stark: in$laru motll'y versus livelihood money: Il.'ceivers verstls earners.

Democrats have always laken a superficial view of money. To the m , the mere amount is all that matters. It is the sallie ki nd of superficiali ty with wh ich Democr:ItS view pl'Oplc, looking at them o nl y fo r their outward chat':lc reristics, like the color of thei r skin and the acce nt of their language.

Hut jusl as with people, not ~lll moncy is rhe same.

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injured client walk into his office, and the resulti ng insurance setl lemelll yields :t multi-million dollar ftt for Mr. Edwards.

I nSt:m( money. A Hollywood actress and Democr:ar;c :lc(ivist appear in a IS-second commercial and reeei\-e a $3 million check.

I nSfatH money.

With a][ t his instant money nowing

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And most of thaI money

came from "insralH moncyH indusrri t"S like

Hollywood :llld (he [rial b\\'}'t'TS, and from a small I1lllnbcr of very w('alrhy donors like George Soros, who "'<lve nearly $24 million.

NO! surprisingly, dcspilC their previo lls opposition !O the big money influence ill

polit ics. DClTlocrols blocked all ancmpIs res u ic! 527 soft money.

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HIH this instam money id entity has alienated Democrats from mainsrrcam America. W ith thei r malerial wealt h lx:ing the result of large. oneshot infusions of cash, installt money

people tend 011

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be focused primarily

the presell!, immerscO in a cult of

~now.- They arc susceptible the hedonistic self-indu lgence: that such an immersion can bring.

Consequently, they are less conccrnc(1 with pn.':Icrving 1'.'11:11 is valuable from the pas!' nor with finding ways in which [0 arry the past forwa rd into th(: fumfe. P(:fhlps this is why libcr:.Is :lr(: SO quick 10 dism iss u :.ditinJl :It,,! 10 d(:JligrlW tlJ(: v:lltles of Western cu lture that underlie AmeriG.'s histo ry. Perh:lps this is why they have yet to :lrticuilw :I vision of Ameria's fu tu re in a world threat(:Iled by lsbmic terrorism .

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An inst:ant money lifcstyle can Party of Insta nt Money dispcnse with ffi:any of the behavioral 1:01' rhe vast majority of rules to which most JX'Opll' mllst Ame ricans, money represents a lifeadhere. In the pursuit of their livelilong process of earning a li\'clihoodhood. ~earnt'rs" must ahidl- hy the day afler day, week after wl'Ck, year discipline of going to work everyday, after yea r. This prOCl'SS sh:l pcs one's complying with ru les set by thei r v:al ues and im l>oses a code of disciem ploye rs, providing service to their U S Senator Ted Kennedy to-MAl speaks on NBC's 'Meet pline, f05ll'ring perscverance and pe rcustomers. and acting with the honthe Press Kennedy talked about VllrIOUS ISSUes M1CIuding sonal responsibility_ Inc reasingly, w.thdrawtng U S troops from Iraq esty Ihat will command loyalty from however, the DemocrJtic Party has their colleagues. Indeed, ~earners~ driftlxl away from t his mindse!. It has tnto lheir bank :lCcou nlS ttl 2004. must aCI everyday in a manner thaI prOtl'CtS become the p:lfty of instant money.

Democratic 527 groups outspent their the future of their financial survival.

Sen. John Ke rry marries one of the Republ ic-.tn rivals by a margin of three Rccei\'crs of instanl money. on Ihe we:althiest wome n in the world. InstalH to one.

According to t he Cemer for ot her h:lnd, nccd not impose any such dismoney. Sen. Hillary Cli nton signs an $8 Resl>Ollsiw Politics, a nonp:lfli san resea rch cipli lle on their lives. The), nccd not conmillion contract for her memoirs. Insrant group, the vas t majoriry of 527 money was cern the mselves wi th the las k of functio nmOlle},> Former Sen. John Edwards has :m rai sed by left-Ie:min g gro ups ~uch ;15 ing ha rmoniously in a larger grolLp or set-

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www.ripollsoc.org

The Riron Forum ' March/April 2005

ting. Unlike the sdf- r~ tmined I!'arner, the instant-money rl.'Ceive r l-an indulge in a self-absorbed exercise of rights, as Hollywood celebrities do when they nippandy slur Presidel1l George W. Bush with ohscenitics. InS(3I11-mOn'-1' rt.'Ccivcrs become absorbed in a cultu re of the self, eschewing any higher puq>osc 10 life other than selfgratification. Tht1' preach rights without duties, indi vidual entitlements without resl>onsibilitics 10 the larger cOlllrnuni ty.

Thq sec on ly their self-cent ered ends. ignoring any duty to the means-just :IS Dl'mocrats did when they Icct\lred about declOral illfcgrity while partici pating in widespread VOI er rcgislr.uion fraud.

E.1 rners have to takc r(·s ponsil>ility for the institutions that make possible the c,uning of llIoncy. Thcy know that 110 g3in is I>ossibie witho ut sacrifice. and that no productive aClivity is without its risks. They know tl13t lifc is a purs uit IOwa rd improv("melli, and not an immedi:ue anainml·1lI of perfection . They do not adopt Ihe trial lawyer vkw that e,·cry disappointment or in jury amountS to a violation of rights: nor do they indulge in naive Hollywood (1ntasics of :1 f.t lse nir",ma. Cont ra ry to the mentality of earners, lihc-rals de\"alC as thei r mo ral hl"ro no t th e producer o r th e provider. blLl the vieti m. They place the entire bbme on dte food companies for obesit)' in AmeriC"J. witho ut allocating any r(·sponsibility to persollal behavior.

On (he sur(1ce. rccl·ive rs installl mOlley might st'Cm completely independent. frel' of att the institutions and rules that gOVCrtl the ea rtlers of li"elihc)od money.

BUI in reality. it is the reeeivc rs who are the dept'ndcllI ones. Their <lepclldency arises because their instant mo ney com('s from outside so urces beyo nd thei r control ; hence. they arc continually ocset with an insecure reliance on the '"Jgaries of external events. T he Hollywood actor must h O I~ that her particular look is the one currently in ,·ogue with prod ucers and audiences; the young si nger must hope that his listen· ers cont inue to sec him as defiam and rebellious.

Unlike earners. receivers become depcndelll 0 11 the wh ims of OILisiders to magically confe r sudden w("alt h. This S:II11e kind of dependence can be seen in Ihe way Democrats wish to place America·s [,te in th t· hands of an aloof ;tnd uncontrolled United Nations, and in the way they look to France to provide va lidation of Anll'ric;I's role in the world. A dependency mindset

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Tht" Ri pon I'oru nt · M:orchfA pril200 5

shapes the Democratic view of educat ion as a self-esteem exercisc.'. rather than as the instilling of abilities needed to live as indcIx ndeOi earners. It also shapes the way Democrats scoff at Social Securit y refo rms aimed at crea ting an ownership society that is not dependent on gO"ernmelll largesse.

Democratic Hypocrisy Liberals have been rejecting the notion of moral \'alues for so lo ng that they arc completely blind to an y relationship between morality and money. They refu se 10 recognize the cha r:leter tr:lits that the earning of moncy requi res- Haits like sdf-rl."stramt. hone5ty and a sublimation of self-ego CO thl." needs of a l:trger community.

DemocratS believe in spl." nding :tnd redi~­ tributing money. but they don't believe in the fr(-edom of moncy. They don't believe in giving workers control of rheir own retiremelll accounts, or households control over tlll·ir health care needs through med· ical savings aCCOllIllS. or plrelllS control over their children's education through school vouchers.

This inability to undersra nd the links between money and mor:tlity has had a eorrupling influence on Democrats. Ralph Nader summed it up when, after depleting his ca mpatgn resources fi ghting off Democr:uic assaults on hi5 candidac),. he said: "I underestimaled the mendacity of th(· Democratic Pa rt y.~ Unmitigated hypocrisy h;15 corm· 10 define the p"rry. especialty its claim of being the party of the commo n person. T;lkc Mr. Kerry: tht· America he belongs 10 is not the America he claimed to represenL He and his wife own fi ve different homes. valu('d ne ll" $30 million. He flies in a $35 million private jet. windsurfs behind an $800.000 speedboar, and rides an $8.000 bicycle. Vet he kept telling liS how dreldftll it was that 3 perccnt of America's population controls 20 percent of its wealth . H(" condemnl-d those who manellve r spt--cial f.t \'ors from the gove rnmelll . yet he gOt the cit}' of !JOSIOIl to remove a fire hydrant that kept him and his wife from plrking their SUV o utside tbeir house. He preached environment"lism , )"l"t he and his wife sought to di\'efl huge amounts of ri ver water to supply the sprawling lawn of their Idaho ski lodge. He advoclted compassion 10 the needy. ye t in 1993 when he was in between we:lh hy wives and l"arneJ only $1 30.345 he gave JUSt S175 10 charity. He pr('achcd IOll·r:mce. yet condemned his opponl"IlIS with www.riponwc.org

the word ~un -A m erica n" more often Ihan any polirician since Joseph McCarth y.

11te hypocrisy and intolerance of modern li bernls can be seen in their altitude toward those who hold contrary views. On college campuses. professors opposing political correctness are punished by speech codes and academic marginalization. G ay rights acti vists demand sensiti vity and accommodation from others, yel ha"e no hesit:lllcy in ridiculing rdigious believers.

Liber:als continually repeated their "move o n~ m:lntra duri ng the Cli nton sca ndals, :llId yet now refuse 10 move on frOJll a presidential electio n that went against them .

During Presiden t Hush's ili augur,lIion , mobs of liheral aCtivists engaged in adolcsCl"lll violence. vandalism and public vulg,trit}'. al1 in defiance of taxpayers who had to P;IY fo r moh control and of fell ow citizens who had to bailie these mobs while going to work or raking their children to school.

Indeoo , the whining, sclf-absorlx-d refusal of tlu· American left 10 accept the [eSUiLS o f Ihe 2004 c1ection stood in sharp COntrast to the cournge of Irn(lis who risked their lives to vOle. Democrats claim to be the party of thl" future lx:causc demographic trends fu vo r them , with Anll·rica becom ing less and k-ss white. Hut this shallow view of voters. focusing only on what pl"Ople look like r:uher th :1Il on the charactcr of their souls and the aspimtions of their dreams. will only further di vide the Democratic Pa rt}' fronl mainstream Atm·ric:l, This di vision W :IS !Ipparelll ill rhe 2004 electio n. where President 1~lIs h dto\·c deep into traditional Dernocr:uic territory. He took 40 F~c rce nt of the uniOll "ote and a ncar majori ty of that po rtio n of the middle-class that e:lrns OCtv.'(:ell $30 ,000 and 550,000 a year. And whi le President Bush rel ied on larg(" numbers o f sm:tl1 dOllors, Mr. Kerry was finan ce(i by an elite group of wealthy donors. like the HamplOns beach hOllsc owners who ra iSt"d $3 million in one day.

W ith its inst'3m -money mcnrali[}'. the Democralic Parry is destined to fo llow the C linton model- achieving natio nal power only dll ring limes of pt--ace and prosperity.

This is Ix:ca use the parry knows only how to receive pt.·ace and prosperil}" not how 1'0 ea rn il. ~

- Hurick M. e lmy is a profisJor III thl' Ulliwrrity of South Dakottt Schoof ofulIl'.

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Passing President Bush's Agenda An interview with House Majority Leader Tom DeLay

By Stephen E Manfredi ince being elected 10 Congress III 1984, Texas Rcpublicm l'O m DcL1Y hlS risen to become HOllse M ajori ty Leade r, the second mnking Ic:tdcr in the House of Rcprcscnrativcs. [n this role, it has been Mr. Delay's responsibility to work widl d)(,' Republican leadership 10 develop the issues and policies lhal form the Republican agenda while sclling the legislative schedule to ensure that national priorities arc appropriately addressed.

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abroad. T hat means hel ping to create jobs and oppo rt unities in OUf eco no my.

And that means meeti ng the needs of America ns of every age and background to pursue happiness and raise their families in safe and vibtant communities.

Mr. Delay has revolUlionil.cd his office and played a crucial role in geuing the necessary \'otl'S to pass lcgisl:llion since the landmark Republican election viclOries of 1994. Mr. Delay's leadership contribUlcd 10 the passage of key dements of the Contract wit h America. Trade P rOlll0110n Authority. welf.ue reform. the llalanccd Budget Act and the historic tax cutS signed by President George W. Bush.

Mr. DeL"lY has been an ollfspoken defender of the free market. traditio nal \'alue5 and a strong nationa l defe nse throug hoUT his twO decades of service in Congress.

Mr. DeLay was born in bredo. Texas in 1947. He gradua ted with a degree in biology from the University of Houston in 1970 before becoming a successful small busi ness owner. He served in the l exas State House for six ye:lrs before wi nning his seat in the United States H ouse of Representatives.

The H ou~ Majority Leader kindly agreed ro an interview. Wt: wish to thank his sraff for their cooper:l.lion and generosity in m3king lhe interview possible.

HF: What arc your three most imporram k-gislati\'e prioriti('S and in which order will you pursue thei r pass3ge?

D elay: Our thrce tOP priornies are philosoph ic31. nOI legislltive: ro protect lhe securi ty. prosp('riry :lnd [1milies of the United States. That means mailllaining ou r success in til(' W:lf on terro r at home and

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HF : President Bush has made reforming Social Security a centerpiece of his domeslie agenda. Still, some Republicans and many Democrats have stated that there is no "crisis" in Social Securi ty. Is dlere enough support in Congress 10 P3SS Social Security reform and what should our 21st cent ury pension system look likt'?

House MBlonty LBooBr Tom DeLay

Delay: Well. firs t of all. suppOrt for strengthening and Improvi ng Soci:J.1 Securi ty must come-and is comingfrom the American people. That support right now is growing, as more and more people-young and old-come ro understand thc situation faci ng Social Security.

T he Baby Boom gt'ner:llion will staT! to retire in JUS t three years. Seniors are living longer, heahhier and more active lives.

T here are fewe r workers and more retirees all the time, and every year we wait to act. the problem grows $600 billion worse.

Retirement security in the 21st century needs to look more like the 21 st century than lhe current syslem. It can't just be abom getting a check. It has to include flexibility for seniors to retire whe n they want. It wi ll have to aeco uill fo r long-term www.nponsoc.org

health care, which is now bankrup ting millions of seniors. It will have to provide more pcrson:J.1 control, so th3t gO\'ernmelll can't swoop in and change rhe rules in the middle of Ihe game. The specific plan is fel to be worked OUl, but Social Securiry is b ci ng a fiscal crisis, and we have a moral obligalion to acl.

HF : T:u: reform is one of PresidelH Bush's lOp pnOTlues. You have been a \'Deal advoca te of f(¡pb.c ing the federal income tax with a na tional sales taX. Is this going to happen during the 109th Congress?

Delay: In tilt' House of Representatives. we're going to begin wo rk o n rundarnenral tax reform this year.

We're lak ing a dual-track approach o n tax reform, On the The Ripon Forum ' March/April 2005

Exclusive interviews with leading politicians in every issue.

one hand, the Ways and Means Cornmincc is ready to STar{ bu ild ing the legislative case fo r the need to streamline the federal revcllu~' system in hearings. On the other, \\Ie'll also move specific. targeted legislation ro furt her simplifY ponions of the current tax code, to "prepare the battlefield" for fundamcllIal reform when the nation is ready for such an initiative.

HF : You have said th:n if you don't set ~conserya ti l'e goals, yo u do n't get conservative governance," What conservarive goals have you set fo r the House?

Delay: My goals arc the same Rcpublic.1ns have SCI fo r decades: ro prescn'c and enhance the security, prosperity and r.1milies of the United States. O n security, our goal is to fight and win the \IIaT on terror with no excuses or apologies umil the las\ terro rist on earth is in a cell or a cemetery. \'(/c're going to continue to secure our homeland, and also emplo), ever)' diploma tic resource a t our disposal to expand our coalition and isolate terrorist organi1.:ltions and their state sponsors. On prosperit)" our goal is to double the size of our economy over the next 10-15 ),elfS. We'll do that by reducing the burden on AmeriC;lll busi nesses. They have enough to worry about with their competitors without worrying about the onerous mxation, regulation a nd litigation rhey f.1Ce every day.

And on families, Congress must remembe r that all the security and prosperity in the world won't laSt withoLLI the values that enabled our countrymen to achieve them in the first place. We must promOle a culture of life and protect OlLr society from the excesses of judicial activism.

RF: On that note, in recent years, mallY soci31 cOllserv3rives have said th:n they feel betrayed by Congressional Rep ublicans for failing 10 advance a more culTUrally conservative agenda. How do you respond to these complaims?

Delay: The 109th is the most culturally conservative Congress in me mory, and President Bush is the undisputed leader of the conservative moveme nt. Afte r years of thankless work, conservatives in recerl( years have celebrated victories in the fights to ban partial-birth abortio n and prott"(;t the unbo rn fro m violence against their mothe rs. We have begun to take more aggressive action monitoring and expressing our disapproval of judicial aCliviSIS. We passed (he Mar riage Protection Amendment, and continue o ur work today publicly and privately to protect marriage. the unborn and the role of faith in the public square. Insofar as all activists on every side of every issue never think Congress moves FJst enough for them. I salute their vigor and urge them to maintain their advoC3cy. But we respect and support social conservatives and their ideas, a nd our reco rd reflects that.

RF: Some hav(: called the House '¡Bush's rubb(:r stanlp." Should President Bush expecr 1110re resistance to his agenda in lhe House than he received d uring his first term in oAlce?

Delay: The President should expect the sa me support we have always given him.

That suppOrt is nOt cOlllillgent on personality, but ideas. The President and House Republicans agree on 99.9 percent of issues. so I wouldn't expect the re to be some new friction Just because others disagree with our agenda.

HV : Rep ublicans and Democrats alike have argued that America's "open~ southern border has become our nation's soft underbelly. Wh:lI ki nd of immigratio n policy should Congress enact?

Delay: O ur immigration policy should reflecr Arm"rica's tradit ion as a nat ion of rmmlgralHS. We should welco me legal immigrants into ou r country and erlCour-

"On security, our goal is to fight and win the war on terror with no excuses or apologies until the last terrorist on earth is in a cell or a cemetery."

The Ripon

FOTllm ¡

MarchlApril 2005

www.rlponsoc.org

age them 10 become AmeriC3n citizens, JUSt like all our ancesrors did at some point.

But illegal immigration, on the other hand, is a cri me, and it is the responsibility of all branches of govern ment 10 protect our borders. And this isn't simply an ideological debaw--border s("(;uriry goes 10 the heart" of our homeland sccurity. W it hoUl the former, we can not have the latter.

RF : There are real divisions among Rep ublicans regarding the issue of immigration. Do you thin k [he imm igratio n issue will split the Republican Party?

Delay: There arc. real disagreemellls among R('pub licans on immigration, yes, and 011 abonion, taxes, government spending, foreign policy, cntidemenr spending and ewry olher issue under the SUIl. T hose differellces--and our parry's rolera nce of them-arc what make us dle majority pany in the United St:tres IOday. The Democr:lIs have no such d isagrecrnems-dley have a strict parry onhodoxy, and deviation fro m it is an unforgivable sin. Our parry wo1I'1 split, because m lr differences-and working through them- make us stronger.

IlF: After the No Child Left Behi nd Act and the proposed Consti tutional amendment to ban gay m;trriage, some have questio ZK"d whether the Republ ican Parry can still be considered t he party of federalism and local comrol. Is this a fair cri ticism?

Delay: T he Republic:1II Part), has always been comm itted to solving problellls at the level dosest to the problem. Because I d id not suppOrt the No Child Left Behind Act, I can't really speak 10 that, but in the case of the Marriage Protect ion Al11endrnent. that is the only way I can sec to keep marriage a Hate rss ue. Whatever one's opinion o n ho mosexual ma rriage, the judicial decisions foisting it upon unwilli ng c01l1z11unities are groundless. Much like t he Roe v. Wade decision, which even pro-abortion advocares admit was shoddily reaso ned, the Massach usetts Supreme Court simply imposed its political whim on communit ies they disagreed wit h. The U.S. Supreme COUrt shows progressively less concern eVeTY day for the will of the American people, and the amendment is the only way ro ensure marriage rightS are defined by elected legislators ;lIld not judges. ~

- Suphm F N/tlllfredi is policy dirfflor at Th~ Ripoll Soriny.

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backup at 1V1VU'.oilrlldgtl1l1e.com. More than 170 ,000 free copies ha\'e already been downloaded . Here's a summary. But first, a little histo ry is necessary.

In 1850, oil from the giant whaling industry lit most homes. Yet in the nine years before Or.1ke struck oil in 18 59 , fi vesixths of the whale-oil market vanished: compet itio n elicited cheaper aiternati \'es that the whalers had not expected . They ran out of customers before th ey ra n out o f whales, (he rest of which were S;lved by capitalists and technological InnOV;lIors. lo&ty, the globe-girdling oi l industry seems poised to follow suit. Might oil become uncompetitive even at low prices befo re it becom es unavailable even at high prices? To find out. my economists. engineers, scientists and consultants added up the modern competitors for the first time. We exam ined decades' backlog of powerful new technologies for saving and displacing oil. We arranged them in order of increasi ng COSt on a uniform accoullIing basis. Surprise! T he robustly competitive options could save half the oil America uses and substitute cheaper alternatives for the res!, all led by business for profit. The transit ion beyond oil has three parallel elements:

By Amory B. Lovins

T

he United St:lle5 of America has the world's mightiest economy and most mobile society. Yet the oil that fueled its strength has become its greatest weakness.

Fortunatel y, thi s 10.000-gallon -asecond oil habit is also uneconomic, and American business is the greatest force on earth for turning market imperft.""Ctions into profits.

The United States can ~1i1l/j1ll'u its oil dependence and revitalize its economynOt by passing federal laws, taxing fuel s, biasing markets, subsidizing f:worites, mandating tech nologies, limiting choices, or crimping lifestyles, but by adopt ing smart business strategies. If government steers, not rows, then competitive enterprise,

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supported by judicious policy and vibrn nt civil sociel"Y, can turn the oil chalk'nge ilHo an unprecedemed opportunity fo r weahh creation and common security.

How can this be do ne? Pr('sidell( Ronald Reagan's National St.""Curity Advisor, Robert C. McFarlane, wrote in an op-ed in TIN \f/1111 Slrrrl jOllnlll1 published on Dec. 20 , 2004 that "perhaps the most rigorous and surely the most dmmatic analysis ... was tasked by the Pentagon and C'.m ied Olll by ... Rocky Moumain I nSiitute, a respected center of hard-headed , market-based research. ft Three months earlier, my team released that indepe ndent, peer-reviewt.'<i, 329- page study- If/inning the Oil Elldgtl1ll1:: /IJflOI}(uiolf for Profits, Jobs, lind SecuTily--and posted it with all technical www.riponsoc.org

Redoub le the efficiency of using o il.

The United States now gets twice as much G OP per barrel as in 1975, but can wring OUI {wice as much again by applying proven 2004 tecllllologies.

Saving each barrel will cost only $ 12 (in year-2000 dollars)-Iess than half what the governmel1l forecastS oil will cost in 20 25, or a fourth the recent price, so even more efficiency would be worth buying. Conservati\'eJy, we \'alued oil's unmoneti1.ed economic, 1l1ilitary and cnvironmental costS at zero, and assumed the same act ivities, vehicle attributes and lifesrylcs as the government forccastthen fo und ways 10 deliver these outcomes with less oil, less money and more brains.

Personal vehides use 42% of U.S. oil and cause 58% of itS forecast gro wth.

Only 1% of their fuel energy moves the dri ver. YCt George I~ Shuln's Foreword 10 our study says: ~ Hybrid technology is al ready o n the road and currently increases g:15 mile,lge by 50% or morc .. .. New, ultralight-but-safe materials can nearly f('<l ouble fuel economy at little or no The Ri pon Forum ¡ March/A pril 2005

extr;a COSL ..... Ulual ight, uhr:lSI rong carbon-fiber composne 3utobodi es (make-able by;a Icchn ique displayed by :1 Tier One supplier at thc 2005 Detroit Auto Show), backstopped by new ligh tweiSIH steds, c m yield uncompromiscJ, arfordabl(' 66-mpg hybrid SUVs and 92-mrs hybrid cars that pay back in tlH(_'e years. T he materials' extra COSt is offset by simpler au to-m3ki ng :md smaller propulsion systems. Per pound, the composi!t,s can absorb 6-- 12 timcs;as much c ra~h energy as steel, so by 1113king C3rS hiS, which is protectiv(., but not he3vy, which is hostile and fuel-wasting, they can S3ve oilllfld lives.

Evcn wi thout ligiller nl3l crials, if 2025's c lrs :md lighl trucks wert' only as efficient a!. 2005's popular hybrids, tht.'y'd S3\'C a sixth of forecast oil uS<.", or two Persian Gulfs' wOrlh. Together. COS I effc<:tivd y efficient vehicles, f,lclOries and buildings C'"dn cut U.S. oil usc by 29% in 2025, rising ro 52% as whick stocks turn over, Save llalr or natural gas al an eighth or loday's ma rket price, and th e ll subslilute il ro r nearl y a third or the oil. EsrablishL-d, highly profi table efficiency IL'chniqucs an savc 12 trillion cubic f':''el (T C F) of gas a year. In all. 15 TCF .1 rear a n be frl-ed up to displace oil, directly or (more efficiently and profitably) vi3 hydrogen. Saving JUSt 1% of U.S. electricity, including l>C:lk hours, saves 2% of rotal gas usc :Hld CUtS gas prices by 3-4%. By this leverage, JUSt the early savings would make gas affonbble and abundant again, cut gas and power bills by $55 billion a year, and avoid the COSt, siling problems and vulner.lbility of new liquefi ed natural gas (LNG) terminals ;lIld power lines.

Replace the last fifth of U.S. o il with modern biofuel s. l i.vo percent of U.S. gasoline today is substituted hy costly, heavil), subsidi7;ed ethanol made rrom corn-based sugars. Making etll anol instead fro m the woody parts of pbll t·s like swirchgrass and poplar doubles tlte yield while saving capital and energy.

Without competing for food crops' land or water, such "cellulosic ethanol," plus biodiesel, can cost.effC<:ti\'cty displace nearly four million barrels of oil per da)" create 750,000 rural jobs, and boost farm income by tens of billions of dollars :, year. (Sug3rC'"d llc ethanol has displaced 25% of Br:I1.il's gasoline, rep:l)'ing initi3!

The Ripon Forum · March/April 2005

subsidies 50 timcs over, and now be3t·s gasoli ne wit hout subsidy.)

Within rwo generations, combi ning these thrce steps could nuke a more prosperous and secure America complerely oil-free (sec graph). This will rC<llIire $90 bi llion or in vcstment to retool the car, tr uck and govl'rnm~1 projl'ct,on (ntra(>Otall'd anl'r 202~' plane industries, so th:1I after applying tnd · ~~t l'ffic'l'ncy AV . S12/ bbl r3t hcr dun tmpofllllg eAicielH vchicles to rep b ce pl~s optIonal hydr0gen from Il'ftovl'r ,aved foreign oil. we lIIa~'r effinatural gas and lor renl'wabll'S cicnt v.:.-hiclcs and iml>Of[ neithL'T. Building In How oil efficiency and substitutions, deployed at historically advanced biofuels induslry r-easonable rates , can profitably eliminate oil dependence over the nen f ew decades. will lake another 590 bilFurther details at www.oilendgame.c:om. lion. This S 180 billion of private investment will by 2025 return ~vrry yrar more than S150 bilOUI mandates, doable adm inistratively o r lion gross ($133 billion of it from saved oil) al a state level (where many arc bubbling or $70 billion net, add a million new jobs, up), :Iu d previo usly overl ooked III and preserve another million jobs, chien}' Washingto n. I:or example: automoti\·e, now at risk.

• " Feebates for nt,w cars and light Hucks Making America combine fees Oil inefficienr models wi th rebates on effi cielll ones-all c:l.lculated More Competitive The busi ness case is co mpelling: separ3tely within each size cb ss, so o ne clll':llK'r trucking with doubled margi ns, isn't penali /.cd for choosi ng an SUV, but :Iffordable petrochemical fecdstocks and rewarded ror choosi ng ;an ~ffici",t SUv. airline fuel, lower and more srable fuel \Vhatever veh icle size you want wou ld offer more choices as rhc greater price prices for all , JnJ restored AllIeric:tn primacy in making ca rs, trucks and pbnes. spread betwee n morr and less efficient And the alternative is grim. C h ina's mock,ls pulls innov:uions f.1Ster from ambitious ca r-export pb ns fit Beijing's Ihe bb to the showroom. Feebatrs new energy pol icy focu sed on efficient usc encourage you to invcst in fuel savings over the vehicle's lifr, not jusr the first and brea kthrough t('chnologies. Will C hina export your uncle's Buick? More few years. Rebates no bigger than curlikely you'll driv(' home yo ur super-effi rell( 54,000-5,000 manufucturer sales cient Chinese car rrom Wal-Mart. The Hig incent ives would actually make money for producers as wrll as consumers, and Three automakers will b(' toast unless Ihey adopt advanced effi ciency technologies be !fued up each year to stay revenuefirst, neutral. The fuel savings would be like Such "(t i srupt ivc~ business shi rts are buy ins gaso lin e at 57¢ a ga llon],;Ird. However, hesitat ing risks a slow, worthwhile even if the big sav in gs made ch;lOtic transit ion rife with wars a nd o il prices plummet. disruptions. Protecting national competiLow-income f.1 milies lack alford :!ble tivcncss and sc<:urit y requi res instead an personal mobility-the last frolltier of orderly [ransition harnessing America's welfare reform. Junking clunkers and stren gths m technology and pri vate crcat ive ly financing super-effi cient (·Il(crprise. acceler3 ted by light -handed and reliablc new cars cou ld cleanse po licies [hat suppOrt , not distort. urban ai r, expand low-income employhusiness logic. ment opportunities, and create a Our srud y therefore suggested modCSt profitable new nli ll ion-car-a-year nl arpoli cy innovations th.1l arc market-orien tker for advanced-technology vehicles. ed without mxes, innOV:Hion-d riven with Go\'ernments buy hundreds of rho\!H

www. ril"()nsoc.()r~

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sands ofliglu vehicles a year. Sman procurement can speed innovation and reduce aUlOmaker's invcstment risk.

Innovation-frien dly pol icies like tempor:lry federal loan guarantees (structured 10 COSt the Treasury nothing) can help aUlOmakcrs retool and retT"Jin, alld airlines buy efficient airplanes while scT"J Pping inefficient ones.

• T~akin g USDA rules can let profitable biofuc!s and biomatcrials replace 105Smaking crops and dUr:lble revenues replace subsidies, ultimately tripling net tlftll and ranch income.

• Thl.' 48 srares that reward gas and c!ec(Tic diStribution utilities for selling more ('nergy and penali..:e them for cutting customers' bills can easily purge this pen 'erse incenti ve-as state utility commtSSlOners unan imously urged in 1989.

The military imper.ui\·e of light, agile, fud -effi cient forces can prOtect H OO p S and fuel supply lines, save tens of billions of dollars in annual fud -Iogistics COStS, realign fo rce StruCtures from tail to moth, avoid poiso nous geopolitical rivalries over oi l. :Uld ultimately help prevent the fight ing of wars oYer oil.

Iking able 10 Heat countries with oil die s.1mc as coutHries without oil. and no longer givin g anyone cause 10 think U.S. actions arc about oil. would help <Iefuse global suspicions and conflicts. By modestly shifting its technology budgets and procuring fud -efficictll platforms, the Defense Dep!mment could spawn broadly tr.msfonnative advanced-materials civil i:m industries-just as it did with Ihe lnrernet, GPS, and microchips rhat propel today's economy.

A Better Energy Policy Tile required one-time S 180 billion spread reasonably over a decade, averages $18 billion a ye:tr. Th:u's what America now pays for foreign oil every 5-6 week;. At the forecast 2025 price of $26 a barrel , the oil s:aving ofSI33 billion :I year would 3Ct like 3 large and permanent tax cut, blll one that (orrecrs, nO! exacC'rb:u es, today's fiscal imbalances. And the s:lI'lngs would become big C'o'en in the first decade. lUther than sending $1 20 billion a year !l.bro!l.d for oil (panly t'O fund our enemies), we would reinvcst it in our own companies and communities, and pocket the surplus. Drilling for oil under Detroit, we would discover a [rove of vehicular effi in v~s tm e nt ,

14

ciency bigger than Saudi Arabia's oil output, but all-American, squeaky-dean and inexhaustible.

Our analysis assumed vehicle improvements two-fifth s slower than after rhe 1979 oil shock. and enormousl}' slo ....'Cr ,han in the 1920s (when auroOOJies shifted from wood 10 steel in si" years) or in World War II (when Detroit mobilized in si" m01ll/'1).

Indeed, our proposed oil savings are much slower than America achieved when she last paid attention . During 1977-8 5, 27% GOP growth was accompanied by 17% lowtr oil use, 50% 10llJrr oil impons. and a stunning 87% drop in Persian G ul f imports. OPEC's s:~1cs fell 48%, breaking the cartel's m:lrket power for a decade. The United Srates showed it had more market power than OPEC-but o n the demand side: AmeriC3 is the Saudi Arabia o f negabarrels, able to save: oil F..mer than OPEC C3n cOll veniendy sell less oil.

Today's potent Il'dlllologies and policy options could make that old play even more successful.

Autolll:lkefS arc :tlready scrambli ng 10 make advancl,d-tcchnology vehicles. and rhe oil industry, where ['1'(- consulted for 32 years, is gener:tlly receptive. Shel l's fo rmer C hairman , Sir Mark Moody-Sman , wrOte in his Fo r~wo rd that our stud y reflecrs ~t ec hni Cli I rigour, good humour. and common sen ~,~ as well as ~refres hin g­ ly crealive policies . [tha d merit serious attention .... ~ Many oil-industry leaders agree that wit h foresight and supporti\'e poli cies, they can prolitably redeploy asselS and skills in du' pOSt-pt·troleum era . as some already do with branded biofuds.

The hydrogen in their oil may even be wonh more without the carbon (han with the carbon (even if nobody pays 10 keep carbon OUt of the air), bccause hydrogen can be used Elf more effi ciently than hydrocarbons.

The result : By 201 5, early savings will displace as much annual oil as the Uniled Sr:ltes now gets from the Persian Gulf; then ever}' seven years (at 3% annual GO P growth) can save another Gulf's worth. By 2040, oil imports could be gone. Hy 2050, the United Srates economy could be 011 free and thriving, dominalH again in transportation equipment. A mo re effective and effi cient but less o\'erstretched military could refocus on pro tecting American citizens, not foreign pipelines. Rather than prolonging for decades our reliance on the frighte n ingl}' vulnerable Tran s-Alaska Pipeline 10 haul oil that 's too costly for oil www.riponsoc.org

majors to drill, this grave threat to national energy security could phase out on schedule. Carbon emissions would shrink by o ne- fourth as a free byproduct of profitabl e oil savings. Federal budgel deficits would shri nk slightly, trade deficits vastly. The United Stares could reg!l.in moral Slawre and esteem as il led a more peaceful world beyond oil.

Oi l dependence is a problem AmeriC! needn't have, and ii's cheaper no t to.

Getting profitably, anracti vc-l y and co mpletely off oi l ~l ed by busin ess. implemented through markets, Spl-d by b:trrier-busting, boosted technologically by the Pentagon for military effectiveness :lIld conflicl prevention-would e"press America's highest ideals, honor ilS market and political principles, and enhance its sccurity. Informed citizens will drive this transition as they guide markets, enforce account ab ilit y and crea te grassroolS innovation.

A bener energy policy process would ofTer eVl'n wider benelirs for a slTonger cOUlllry and a safer world. Letting all ways to save or produce energy cOlllpele fairly at hOliest prices-no matter what kind they are, whal technology they lISe, how big they are, or who owns th ('m~i s f3.r from today's hogs-;H-the-trough approach, but ii's whal conservative economics demands and what the nation's broad hidden consensus (www. nepinitiative.org) would support.

Mr. Shuit-L concludes: kWe call , as Amo ry Lovins and his colleagues show vividl y, win the o il endgam e." Mr. McF3 r1ane concurs: " It is becoming clear ... that th e means to achiev ing lIear-term energy secu riry and ultimate independence from foreign oil are at halld.

Courage and leadership arc all that it rakes to get us there." And the preamble to PrcsidelH George \VI. Bush's 2001 energy policy statement says it bes(: "Our COulltry has met many great tests. Some have imposed eXlTeme hardship and sacrifice.

Others h;u'e demanded onl }' resolve, ingenuity, 3nd clarity of purpose. Such is the case with energy toda}'. " C'lI ~

Amory Lovilff is fl ulldrr and CEO

O/RMky Mountai" bmitutr (www.nni.orgJ, indepmdnlt, no"partiwlI. 1Io1lprofit "pplied rtuarch Ullfrr i" SuowmaJ$, Colorado. H~ has aduiJ~d tiN O~p(lrm/(lIt.J 0/ EII(1K.} D/ld Oe/m 1(, and C01lill /ts for illdllStry worldlllid,. /111

The Ripon Forum ·

M~rc h/A pril

2005

•

By Robert Stacy McCain lection D:ly 2004 was morc ,han tWO months old, [n:lllgur:uion Day was 1ess ,han tWO weeks away, bUI Sen. Barbara Boxer still had qUe5lions.

"Why did \lOWTS in Ohio wail hours in Ihe rain 10 \'ole~ ~ the California Democrat demanded 10 know in her Jan. 6 floor spc«h. "Why did poor and predominantly African-American communilies ha\'c disproportionately long waits? ~ The long wail on Jan. 6 was for Mrs. Boxer and other Democrats !O finish their pTmot, so that Congress could do whal it

E

had cOI1\'cnoo 10 do: certifY the Ek'ClOral College votes of President George W. Bush's historic fe-election.

Not only had the Repub lican received more popular votes (62 million) than any other president in hislOry, but for t he fi rst time since President Bush's fath er left office, Ame rica ns would have a president The Ripon Forum ' March/April 2005

elected by a majori ty. President Bill ClilHon had twice b,."cn cleclCd by plural ities (43 percelH of [he popular vOle in 1992, 49 percell1 in 1996). Of course PresidelH Bush's 2000 election had been decided by Ihe narrowcs[ margin in Ihe EleclOral College, wi th both he and his opponent each getti ng abom 48 percelll of the popular \·ote- and Democrats had never stopped emphasizing Iha[ AI Gore had aClually won the popular VOle, by a margin of some 540,000 \'OIe5.

There was no such consola[ ion for Democrats in 2004. Besides his record-selting vote total, President Bush had won [he popular vOle by a margin of 3 million votes. In no key stale was President Bush's winning margin anYlhing like the rawrthin edge by which he'd wo n Florida in 2000. He won Ohio by a margi n of more than 138,000 votes- hardly a nail-bi[er. www.riponsoc.org

The faci that DemocratS c hose to focus their post-election complaints o n O hio pretty much gives their game away, si nce President Bush's margin of viclOry was actually much narrower in other Slates. President Bush won Iowa by about 10,000 vOles and won New Mexico by jusl 6.000. (Sen. John Kerry. meanwhile, won Wisconsin by a slender 11 ,000\'ote margin.)

'Irregularities' in Ohio?

Iowa and New Mexico, however, did not have enough elecroral \'otes combined 10 lip the Elecloral College ro Mr. Kerry.

W ith 270 electoral VOles needed to claim vicmry, Presidelll Bush won 286 to Mr. Kerry's 252. If t hey could discredit President Bush's win in Ohio (wilh 20 electoral votes), Democrats cou ld claim that the Republican d idn't really win re-election.

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(This focus On electoral VOtes was, of course, mind-boggling to Republicans who remembt:red 110w, aft er Ihe' 2000 ciccI ion, many Gore supporters called for the elimination of the ~und emocra ti c~ Electoral College.) $0 it was that DcmocralS found occ.lsioll 10 de'claim againsl wh:u Mrs. Boxer calh::d " irregulari ties" in Ohio. ~What 's wrong with ou r d e mocracy?~ Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. of Ill inois demanded IU know. "What's wrong with our voting system? St:l[e after state, year alier year, why do we keep hal'ing Ihese problems?"

The prOtests were fUlil e and Democrlts knew it. Yet such eompl:l ilHs con tinued ('I'en after President Bush's re-deCiion was certified . Mr. Ke rry him self chose the occasion of Martin Luther King D<ly 10 repla), the same litany of chlrgcs 10 :I 130SlOil :luJ icnce: "Thousands of people were' sup pressed in the'ir effort s 10 vOle. VOIi ng machines were distri buted in uneven ways. [n Democralic districrs. it lOo k people four. fil'e, II hours 10 I'ore, whi le Republicans Iwent! Ihrough in 10 minutes.

Neit her ~·Ir. Ker ry nor any other Democrat offered any actual evidence 10 SUppor! their claims that Ohio Democr:tt5 were so mehow cheated by wicked Rt·publicans.

For one thing, the supposed ~ irrcgu · larities" occurred in O hio coullIies wherl' the cleCiion offici:tls were Democra ts. mystified at charges tku tll l'Y had "sup· pressed ~ fdlow i)emocr:HS. " \Xlhy would I disenfranchise voters in my own con1l11U ' nity?" said William Anthony, chairman of the Franklin County Democratic Pany, denouncing purveyors of vote-fraud accusat ions as ~co nspiracy theorists."

Somt· might co nsider it foolish for Delll oc rat ~ evt'r to compbi n about voting ~ irregul:trities.~ given their party's longstanding reputation for electoral eSC'J padcs. Lyndon Johnson e;)Tned the nickn:trne ~ L1ndsl ide Lyndon" after winning a Senate $eat in a 19481eXls electio n that even sympathetic hislOrians adm it w;)s stolen. LBJ won by 87 VOICS wilh the help of 203 l;)st·minute vOters in a srn;11l town called Alic('-202 of whom WCT(' fo und to have voted in alphabetic3.1 order.

Many Repub[icans believe Richard Nixo n was cheated out of the 1960 president ial election by simibr shen:mi gans ill Tex:is and also in [Ilinois. where Mayor Rich:trd Daley's C hicago machine produced JUSt K

16

enough votes to carry the st:lle fo r John F. Kennedy.

Evidencc suggcswd DemocralS were up 10 the same mmili3.r sturm in 2004.

A feweXl mples: In \'(/isconsin, fou r DemocrJt campaign workers-i ncluding rd:uil'es of key state pany officials-wc re accllsed of slashing the ti res of I'ans which the state GOP had rented fo r its get-oul-ihe-I'ole e(fort. Meanwhile. in Mi lwaukee. ;11\ in vestigation found th:tt there were no t city registration records for som l' 7,000 people who voted in the NOI". 2 electio n.

In 17 wards of that heavily Democratic city. there were at least 100 more votes recorded than there lVere voters listed on the rccords. Two wards shOWt'd 500 1I10rc vOles than I'oters, accordin g to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel .

In E.:l.SI 51. Louis. Ill ., prosl'CUlors ~:ly a Democralic official plotted murdt'r in an an e'mpi to thwart an investigation ofl'ole fraud. Kel vin El[is. who he:lds the city's departm en t of regubtory a/fairs, was arresled Jan . 21 along with three others, incl uding his secretary and the city's chief of police. Republicans had charged vote fraud after vOles from East St. Louis helped elect a Democrat to chairman of the 51. Clair County Board. A federal indictment 3.gainst i\·!r. EI[is accused him of in5lructing another perSOIl to ~di s pose of " a witness in the vote- fraud case. Mr. Ellis was charged with fou r counLS nf obstruction of justice. \'(fashington state Rcpubli c:U1s have accused Democrars of stelling th e gubernatorial election by fabri c:uing hogus VOtt's in Detl1 oc rl t-do minatcd King COUnty. Ten da ys aft er Election Day, while absentee votes in Ihe close co nt est were still being counted, 3. judge o rdered d eCi ion officials to provi de' 10 the Democratic P3.rty the names and add resses of som e 900 people whose pro\'isional ballots had been dis:tllowed beC'3 use of lack of proper signatures. King County Democrats securL.J some 600 cxtra votes this way. so ,hat RepubliC'3 n Dino Rossi's margin was trimmed to less Ihan 300 votes. In a mandatory machine recount .

King County officials produced still morc addition;)] votes for Democrat C hristine Gregoi re by "e nh anci n g~ ballots previously rejected by scan ning machines. [rilllming Mr. Rossi's lead 10 4 2 VOtes. In a subsequent hand recount , Kin g County "discol'e red ~ previously uncounted balII'W\\·.

nponsoc.org

lots. just enough to give Mrs. Gregoire' a I 29-vote' victory in the final t:I.lIy. Yet des pite all of this. DemocratS like Mrs. Boxer and Mr. Kerry lVant Americans to believe th:ar it is Republica ns who steal elections through ~ irregul ari ties. K

Democrats in Trouble Democratic "disenfr a n ch j se l1l e nt ~ dem;lgoguery about the 2004 presidential ek'Ctioli is symptomatic of a deeper den ial wit hin the party. a refusal 10 confront the re:ility of the phenomenal decl ine of the Democr;lts' political power. As recently as 1994. Democrat s not only held Ihe White House, hut also had majorities in both houses of Congress and a majorit,), of state governorships. All of thi s has now changed.

Since taking control of the House of Representatives in the watershed 1994 ciccI ion, the GOP has successfully defended its majority status in fi ve consecuti ve electiOns. Nor is ,his likely to change. T he boomi ng growth of Republican wred" states will favor the GOP when House d istricts arc redrawn 3.fter the 2010 census.

Se nale Republicans. meanwhile. boosted their majority 10 55 scats in 2004 , dcfe:tting former Scn:lle Minority Leader Tom Daschle of So uth D:lkota.

And the 2006 midt('rm elect ion offers sti ll more prospects for GOP pickups. Despite the s h e n ;i ll ig;ln ~ by which Democrats ca ptured th e governo rshIp of Washington start·, Rcpubli cl ns h:lI'e a solid majorit}' of governors, with 28 to the Democrats' 22.

Democrats' dwindling po[ilicaJ position me31lS th(· parry has less and less to offe r its special-interest conStituencies.

Even such fana tical Republican-h:tters as left-wing fin3.ncier George Soros are unlikely 10 keep pumping in contributions 10 suppOrt a Democratic Part,), with litt[e hope of regaining mean ingful cloul.

The bizarre Mwe wuz. ro bbed" com · plaints about Ohio from Mrs. 130)(("r and other Democr.l t~ carl Ihus be seen l S an effon to maintain their p3.rty·s image of electoral viabiliry. DemocrJts are in a desperate fix, and laclics like their co mplaints of Ohio eleCi ion "irregubrit i es~ arc merely further evidence of JUSt how desIK"r:llc they've become. <:::7

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Roberr SUIC] McC"ill is" jotm/,r/ill ""Sid ill Wllsln'lIgroll , DC. The Ri lxHl Forum · March/April 2005

r

..

"

~..

Why Iraq Matters Only spread of democracy can stabilize Middle East

"I'

is dll;' policy of the Unil(-d $I!ncs to seek and

~

democr-Jlic movements and IIlSUlUIIons 111 (·....c r y

i

~~;~l

suppon the growth of 1I:lIIOn

!

Democratic Parry. However.

il is cerrainl y understood

by the Bush adminisu!l.Iion , as well a s b y mo s l Republicans on Capitol Hill.

and culture, wilh the ullio Bush's New Realism maw goal of ending rymnny in our world."

This is why Prcsidem Bush's democr:Hic "idealism" These powerful words. has become the new realism.

Ullcred by President Grorgc W. Bush in his S("COnd inauT he President understands gurnl speech, encapsulate the that the only ....'ay to elim iIr.msforrnalion in U.S . fornate the root ca uses of Islamic eXHemism is to transcign policy since 9/ 11. form the Middle East. Only America is no longer willing 10 coddle brutal dictators for by ending the conditions the s;lkc of prese rving "S~I ­ that encourage the rist of terrorists-such as ecouomic bil iIY." In particular, the President has realized that backwardn ess, the la ck of politica l freedom and the pre-W ll foreign policy of supporting pro-American An IraQI mother carnes her daughter as she casts her \iOte In a polling statol"tll1 acco untability. and the In me northern Kurdish CI!:'1 of SulellTIOllI'fB. January 30. 2CJJ5 Millions of :tumcr:!lic regimes in the iraqlS flocked to vote ., the hJstoric elect.K)n abst nce of a frcc media open Middlt' Easl has bik-d ro to different points of vicwcan the United States and the \'(ICSt achie\'e insurrcctionists in ltaq. prorC'Cl. the Uniled Slalcs from Islamic Icr· rorisill. R.u hl'f, ,his so·called "rcali~t ~ polic)" For much of the 1990s, Pakistan's govlasting security.

"In the long run. we cannot li\'e in ernment looked Ihe other way as its top which for dl"C"J.des was supported by both peace and s.,fety if the Middle E.1st continues Rcpubl icans :l.Ild Dt."mocrars, has only nudclr scicntist, A.Q. Khan, sold vital WMD secrets 10 Libya, Iran lnd North undermined our SI..'C uriry- both al home to produce ideologies of murder and Korea. Khan's global network has becn final terrorists who St."t:k the deadliest weapons,~ and abroad.

What the Wll attacks dearly demonly dismantled, but not before doing incalcuPresiclem Bush sa id during his rece nt trip to Europe. "Regimes that terrorize their strated is that thl' old ~ realislll~ is completely lable damage to our 5C(;urity il1lerests.

Then thcre is Egypt. Since 1979, the unrealistic in this age of tcrror. Washington's own I>copie will not hesitate to support United Statcs has pro\·ided nearly $50 billong-standing support fo r the Saudi roy:-al terror ab road.

"A Status quo of tymnny and hOI>clcssfamily, the aUfhorirarian petrO-StatCS in the lion in weapons and mont'}' to the regi me in Gulf. Pakistan's military dictatorshi p and Gti ro. Yet under Hosni MubarJ.k's reign. ness in the Middle East- the false stability Egypt's corrupt regi me have nOt paid longthe coumry has Ix-come increasingly represof dictatorship and stagnation---<:ln o nl y term sttategic di vidends for the United sive. Its Stale-run media has also become lead to deeper resentment in a troubled Statcs. The policy has not only been a thc central focal point for spreading r('sion and further tmgedy in free nations,H fuilufC. but it has played a key role in anti-American and ant i-Semit ic hatred he added. "The futures of our natio ns. :lnd unleashing the \'ery forces of hatred :HlU throughout the Arab world. the future of the Middle East. arc linkedHence, U.S. b;lCking for these governviolence that threatens America's existence. and our peace depends on their hope and mentS has not mlde us safer. It has dcvclopmerll :lI1d freedom. " Instead of bei ng gtateful for U.S. assislance, Ihe House of Saud has secretl y onl y worked 10 embolden and Slrenglhen Many of the President's critics ch:lrge bankrolk"(1 Wahhabi mosques and madrassas America's enemies. [n this new era of that his plan 10 spread liberry to Arab lands 2round Ihe world. These have become the [error, lhe danger to the United Sla[cs is na"i\'e ;md uhim:ucly doomed to failure. prime recrui ting grounds for Islamic docs not come from lradilional armies or Tht")' ci te numerous reasons: Ihe region has a nation-statcs, bUl from lone, fJ.natical long history of dcspotic rule; Islam and jihadiSIS. It is no coincidence that t!(':lriy all democracy arc incompatible; and the "Arab of dle 9/ 11 hijackers were Saudi ci tizens. jihadists who arc more than willing to Qatar's lavish oil reven ucs have been detonate a din y bomb in Washington, S trect ~ will reject the U.S.-led effort as a form New York or Los Angeles. This may not uscd indirccdy to fund al-Jazeera. T he Arab of nl'O-coIOlli:llism. mcdia Ollllet has emerged lS a potent prop:I' be full y gras ped by thc liberal media Moreover. ami-war liberals argue th:11 the Bush ;Idministtation's most ambitious ganda mouthpiece for ;,1 Qaeda and other establ ishment and many luminaries in the Till! Ripon Form11 ·

~larch/April

2005

www. ripollsoc.org

17

straregic initiative. Iraq, is degenl'r:lting illlo another Victnam- a milirary quagmire th:u thrcatt'1lS 10 drain pn'Cious Americm blood allli tre:lsure in a futile cause. They furt her argue Ihal. even if Ihe administratiOn can achicw some kind of rnilirary victory. Imq is roo cthnically divided 10 C\'Olvc info a viable, pluralist democracy.

But rhe critics are wrong. The recent successful elL'Clions in Afghanisran proved that a n:tble democratic order can be ercaed wit hin an Islanlic civiliution. The elect ion of Hamid Karwi dealt a serious blow to the critics of Bush, nOt only bcc-Juse it showl"tl that democracy and Islam can co-exist. The c1l'Ct ion also demonstrated that, when given the opportunity, millions of Afghansincluding countless women, who suffcred perhaps the mOSt uncler the former 'Ialiban n:gime-prcfer the ballot box to blowillg up innocelH ci\'ilians.

Democracy in Iraq Furthermore. the Iraq VOtc in 1:l.Ie Jam!;!ry shattered the lllyths put fo ....varcl by Prcsidellt Bush's opponents. Dl'spite the escal:uin£ bombi ngs and terrorist attacks, Ira<lis demonstrated to the world Ih:!t thl'y arc willing to risk thei r lives to build :t lIew democracy.

Turnout for the \'ote W'JS high, l~pe­ cially among the counrry's majority Shiites.

The Kurds also came out in large numbers.

The result, however, is 1I0t the ethnic strife that many liberal pundits predictrd.

Instcad, the largest coalition of Shiite parties. known as the United Iraqi Alliance, which took JUSt under 50% of the 8.5 million votes C:IS[, has had to reach OUt to Kurdish and even some Sunni allies to forge a working coalition in parliament.

The biggest losers wcre Iraq's Sunni ArJbs. They were the most privileged group under Saddam Hussein's fascist regime.

Hence, many of them have been rc!ucrant to suppOrt the post-invasion reconstruction effort. ilut even m~n y of them have come to reali'le that lheir election boycol! has backfifl'd. It did nothing to strcngt hen lhc insurgency in the Sunni rriangle. It :tlso guar:tnwcd that they will be undcrrepre. sented in the legislature. Many Sunnis :m' now vowing not [0 make this misrake ag:tin. Sunni participation will likely increase dramatically in next year's ballol.

What has been m05t striking about the Iraq ell'Ctions is the restraint and moderation shown by the Shiitcs and Kurds. After having been brutalized for dl'Cades under S:lddarn's iron rule, they easi ly could have

18

sought revenge against former Baathist officials. lnstC":ld. the ove ....vhclming majority of elected candidates are moder.Hes, It is often said that drmocr:acy in the Muslim world will le;Ld 10 the vioory of r:ldicals. But this filils to comprehend the true nature of dernocratic governance.

Democracy itself tcnds to be a moderating force, often compelling de-JI,making, compromise and persuasion. It acts as a solvent against extremist politics of an y SOrt. This is why, for example. the Shiile cleric firebr:and, Moqtada :tl -S ~dr, who last year led a deadly uprising against U.S. trOOPS, Cl.ptured only 3 Seats in (he new parliamenta far cry fro m the 20 sealS predicted by man)' pundits.

The next major challcnge for Iraq is whether all the major p:mies in parliament can agrt.... upon a permanI'll! consrnullon later this ycar. If Ihis hapr)(' ns and nexl year's \"ote gOl'S smoothly, Ihe Country then will be well on in way 10 l>ecoming a fullfledged plur:llist d<.'lllocrJCY. As the Iraqi government cont inue.'> to g'Li n mOr:l1 and legal legitirn~cy, the insurgents will cominue 1"0 be marginalized. More imponamly, thcy will be exposed as murderous rhugs who wish 10 kl"t'P Iraq enslaved under an Islamic f:tsc:isl smc.

A New Middle East?

A democratic and n:tble Iraq will sen'e as the centcrpiece for the broader effort 10 reform Ihc greater Middle r:.;tSI. Already, the elections in Afghanisran and Iraq have begun to spur small reformist changes in S;tudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan and other Arab countries.

The trend is dd"initely in President Bush's direction. Therefore, he needs to stay on the offensive. He should cotuinue to press the governments of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Pakistan-our supposed "all ies~ in the region- to move toward gr("Jrcr freedom and human rights for rheir cmzens.

Moreover, the ad minisrrarion should continue [0 srand up 10 Iran's mullahs :tnd Syria's Baathim. Imn is clearly seeking to acquire nuclear weapons. If Tehran succeeds, it will destabilize the entire region and prompt an immediate arms race rhroughout the ArJb world. Iran is also the world's greatcst sponsor of lerrorist groups.

It provides direct support for al Qaeda.

Yet the United Slates has a powerful ally in irs arrempt to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions: Ihe Ir:tnian people. Having lived for ovcr 25 ycars under ,I brutal theocracy, www.riponsoc.org

(he ove ....vhclming majorit), of Iranians arc desperate to embrace political and economic reform. The country has witncsS(..-d a surgi ng democratic movement. \'(IashinglOll needs to conti nue 10 apply diplomJtic pressure and stringent proliferation measurcs against l ehr:ln's rulers. But now is the time 10 push for regime change-not mil irarify (yel), but Slr:ltegicaUy. By providing politiC',11, finan cial and moral suPPOrt to Iran's dissidents, the Bush adminis(rJtion could playa pivotal role in tOppling the mullahs from power. No matter wh~t the ;Idministr:ll ion decides to do. the one thing it C'J nnot allow is for Iran's dangerous lea(l· ership to :lc(luire a nuclear arsenal.

Syria must also be contai ned. President B:tShar Ass..1d is one of the region's most flllhll'SS Sl"rongmcn. Damascus continues 10 support terrorist insurgents in Iraq. The regime cracks down on all dissent and internal opposition. Also, Syria continues irs milimry occuparion of Lcbanon-despite repe3tl-d promises to withdraw its trOOps. However, As53.d may have finally ovcr, played his hand. The recent assassination of former Leb:H1ese Prime Minister Rafik H:lriri has sp;lrkcd mass protests across Lebanon. What precise role- if anyDamascus pl:tyed in Hariri's dt'3lh may never be fully known. But his murder has shed an international spotlight on Syri:l's long-st:tnding subjugation of Lebanon.

L.cbanese cilizens arc now demanding the rcsroration of their country's democracy and national independellce. \VashinglOn would be wiS{' to b;tck Lebanon's brave democr:lts; they :Ire our natural allies in thc struggle 10 weaken Ass:td's powe.r and inOu· ence in the region.

Ultimarel y. the. U.S.-led war in Iraq has done more than simply topple a fascist regime that sponsored (errorism, aClively sought WM Ds and menaced its neighbors.

It has unlcashNi the winds of change that will alter the Arab political landscape.

Should Iraq's democratic cxperiment succl'Cd, it wil! tr;tnsform tlu: er!tirc Middle East and C:tt:tpult the region 10 its righeful place among Ihe grc:tl civilizations of modernity. If the attempt fuils, howcver, Ihe Arab world, Ihe United States and much of the \'(Iest face decades of more murder, misery and mayhem. C;

- Jdftry T. Klllmrr;s comllllm;ml;O/l.S d;rrrtor at Thr R;pon Soriny.

The Ripon Forum ' 1\hrch/ApriI2005

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Reforming Social Security Personal accounts bolster savings and investment Uy u.s. Repn:sclltmillc Michael G. Oxic),

resident Gcorge W. Bush has 1:tuncht:d

P

all irnponam n31io ll31 dialogue on ,he solve ncy of Social Securi ty.

Social Seeuri£}' touches. or will eventually lOuch, all Ame ric.lI1s. One in six peopic curremly receive cash benefit s from the program: 154 million p(:oplc pay the taxes that finance il. Although n O I originally

designed

to

be a reti r«'s primary source of

support, Social Scruri ry benefits now make up 90 pcrccm of the income for one-third of Amcric-.lIls over the age of 65.

That 's why it is so im poTr-Jnl 10 ho nestly address the challenges filcing t he program .

Social Security is running into a demographic wall. With the retirement of the

baby boom generat ion. a smaller pcrcem".lgc of workers will na\'c 10 suppon a brgcr number of refin..'t"S. Whcn the progra m be!}1n , fhe r.J.f io of contributing workers \0 bc nefi ciarics was 16: 1. It 's now about 3: I, he:ldt,(j \0 2:I-sobcring numbe rs for a payas-yo u-go progr.J.ll1.

Beginning in 2018, tile Social Security IruSt fund will pay OUI Illorc than it collects in taxes. The surplus will run dry around 2042 and if nothing is done, retirees Gce a sellere 30 perccnt cut in be nefits. \Vle must act now 10 save the system. In front of the I-Iouse Financial ServiCl:~ Comminee, Federal Reserve Board C hai rman Ala n Greenspan tcstified, ~ Th e demographics are inexorable and Clil for action before Ihe leadi ng edge of baby boomer reliremCIlI becomes evidel1l in 2008."

Pasonal reliremCIlI aCCOLLlHS arc a kcy part of the solLLlion. The Preside nt has suggcsted allowing younger workers 10 invcst up to 4 percell! of their share of [he payroll rax in indi\'idual accounts. As chai rman of Ihe Financial $en 'ices Commim-e, I fl:COgni1.e Ihe role Ihal rcslx)Ilsible inllcsting can play in relirement security. I'm disturbed by the 1>oIitia being played by rhos(' who claim there is no difference between disciplined invcsTing and gambling in Las Vegas.

The fact is (hat the United States has changed from a nation of S,l\'('rs to a natio n of investors. Tens of millions of Americans h:l\"c 40 I k plans, [HAs, or mutual fund s.

Peoplt, truSt their investments in stocks, The Ripon Forum ' " ':uchfApril 200S

mutual funds ami bonds as a pro\'en way \0 s.;we for a house, their child's education o r thei r own retireme nt.

Even the most conservative stock and bond investments outperform Social Security's paltry returns of less than 2 percent.

Despite the OCC""J.sional dowmurns, the stock market h:lS gone up over C>.'ery 20 yea r period in U.S. history. That speaks to the benefit of long-term irn·csting.

You can cnjoy stead y rClUrns by understanding investi ng fundam cnrals like the power ofcontpound illlcrest, dollar COSt averagi ng :md diversifi cation.

Compound im ercst allows yo ur mo ney, once invested, to nt3ke more mone), for you. Oolbr COSt ;wcraging is a ......-::ty 10 m:tkt' the market work for you during its highs J. nd lows. Index funds offer millions of people a low-cost way to di\·ersilY thei r invcstments.

The Uni ted Sratcs has strong regulatory safeguards to reassure invcstors. T he &:curities and Exchange Commission is dedicated to the fuirncss of the marketplace.

When some com pa nic..~ misplaced their prio rities, Congress responded with rhe prot cc~ tions of the Sarbancs-Oxley Act. There is a model for individu al 3ccounts---the fed eral emplo}'t'CS retirement plan that covers 3.2 million acti\'e and retired workers, The Thrift Reti renll'nt Plan allows workers to invcst :t portion of their w:tges in siocks, bonds, or government st'Curities.

The p!:tn limiu investmcnt options to broad index fu nds, docs not permit risky investments :tnd kL'Cps administrative COStS low. Participants mo\'e to more conscr.'l{tive investme nts o r annuities as they :tpproach their retiremenr rea rs.

Senate Majo rit)' Leader Bill Frist's stafT did a scudy showing t hat $\0,000 inves{(',(j in blended Thrift Savings Plan (T SP) funds in 1988 would be worth 542,000 today.

The same $ 10,000 in Ihc Social Securi ty trust fund would be: wonh only $ 11 .700.

What Social Security recipient couldn·( usc that cxtra $30,OOO? Voluntary pe rsonal accOU Il{S would """"'.riponsoc.org

U 5 RepresantetIVe Michael G OKley

give ever}' AmcriC2n the chance to build a nest egg for thei r golden ycars. T he governmen t could not touch rhe :tccount. It would be yours and could Ix: passed on to your children, something you can't do with a Social Security check.

It's important to clearly Stat e who t his change wo uld afft'Cl. The President has said that p<.'Ople 55 a nd over will continue to receive their benefits under the current program. T here will be no change for them.

Younger workers could choose whether they want personal accounts or not. [think many of them would wall! to invcst in a brighter fmure for themselves a nd their fa milies, Personal relircme1l1 accounts will :llso contribute to o ur ftllure economic growlh by expanding the pool of capital that businesses draw on to expand :1I1d creatc jobs.

President Bush has shown great 1>oliliCli courage in starti ng this discussion. He's proposing that Social 5e<:uri tydo what it h3S always done: meet the net.-ds of the times.

Wilen it was enacted in 1935, Social Securi ty promi sed freedom 10 older AmeriC3ns li\'illg in povc n y. Pe rsonal accounts arc about freedom fo r young IX'Opie who need a retirement system t hat empowers them to take control of their future. ~

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R~p. Mi(""n~'

R~p llblimll

G. Oxlry is flIl Ohio llIId rh'limlll1l oflh~ Ho/lS~

Fill(lIIcinl Mrlr;cn COli/miller

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II

Expanding Minority Homeownership Making the 'Ownership Society' a reality for all

By U.s. Representative Bob Ney ver the last century, cxpJIl(ling homeownership has been a longstanding policy of our country's go\·ern ment. A ho me is morc than JUSt the symbol of the American Dream: it is the b:lckbone of the America n way of life. Every citi7.cn of this cou ntry- regardless of r:lce, creed. colo r, or place ofbinh-should ha\'e the opportunity to own a horne of their own. New homeowners can create wealth for dleir families for generations 10 come. while also Ildping transform neighborhoods and co mmunities.

Howe\'cr, whi le F.1f more Americ;1n IlUuseho lds now share in (he beneflls of homeownership. minority households continue 10 sh:lre at subst:lI1lially lower rates.

T he homcownersll ip rate among white ho useholds is :abom 74.2 percent whill' dlC percell! for mino rit), househo lds is suimantially I('ss.

L:aggin g minority hOllleowlle rship rates a rc a serious co ncern . Mino rity households 3re expected to acCou nt for two-thi rds of household growth over the co ming decade.

Improving the ability of such households to make the transition to homcowl1ership wil! be an i11lport:HH test of the nanon's capacity to cre:HC econo miC o pportunity for mino rities and immigrants al1(1 to build StrOllg, stable com munities.

LaSt yea r, the HOlisinA Subcommittee

4 the Amcric:m

O

J

Dream Down payment Ac t. which will provide $200 million in grantS 10 help homcbuyC'rs wit h thcif down pay-

,

men! and dosing COSts.

r

J

u.s Represente\Ne Bob Ney

assisted in thc sucCl'ssfuJ enact ment of 11 hOlL~ in g rehned bills. Th roug h bipartisan coo peratio n . Congress and the Bush administration we re :able 10 e naCt legislation that IOday is making exist ing housing programs work mo re effi c ie ntl y.

Of those en actc(1 last yea r. th e I\merican Dre:U11 Downpayme11l Act :lJId Ihe proposal to raise Ihe FHA mult if:llllily loan limits are helping thousands of individuals and families realize Ihe dream of homeownersllip. I am cSpe<:ially proud of

"Multiple studies demonstrate that homeowners tend to be more involved

In

their communities

and local governments than renters. Homeowners participate in a greater number of non-professional organizations, have higher church attendance, and also have higher voter participation rates."

20

i

v.'WW. ril)()luoc.org

Housing is the primary source of personal wealth for American f.1mi lics. I-lom e equity represe nts the s ing le 1;lrgcsl asset held by mUSI Americans. The benefits of homeownership cnend beyond the individual ho meowner as well. Retenl smdies show rh:lI children of fami lics who own homes ex pericnce fe\ver beha vio r problems 3nd :I.chil'VC higher ma th and fe;lding scores. In ;[ddition , equity built through homeowncrship can provide an impOrl3n1 link !O cllI fc preneurship. Ho me equity serves 25 one method of e nabling pOIt'miai new business owners !O g:lin access !O Ihe credi t markc ts. Thi s equit ), lends (0 be one or Ihe I:u gest sources or coll:ueral ror bank IO:l IlS to begin :l new business.

Multiple studies also demonslrale thaI homeowne rs tend to be more involved in their communi ties and local governments th:m renters. Ho meowners panicipale in a greater num ber or no n-proressional orgJni1.3tio ns, have higher church artendance. and also ha\,c higher vorcr panicipalio n r:u cs.

In t hl' Ho using Subcommittee, I pbn ro cominul' working h:ud to explore new ways to put people on rhe path to horneownership, so they can reali7.(' ilS m:lIly ben-

efllS. The rederal government, consu mers and the housing industry arc linked by our mUlu:.1 goa l or crc:u ing housi ng opporrunities ror more Americans.

We have much to achie\'e logether for the Aml'rican people, and our besl hope of being successful is to wo rk in close concen with each other-guided by the 5.1me high standards and principles, and motivated by Ihe same goals.

In that way, we will continul' 10 open up our communities to new opportuniries fo r growt h and prosperity C#

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Rrp. Boo Nry is an Ohio Rrpuhlirnll (Illd chllirmall of II}r HOI/Jillg alld Commul/ity Opporwllity SuocolJlllliu('r

The RiJ>OIl Forum ' March/April lOOS

r

Are We Running Out of Water?

Ensuring an adequate water supply for the 21st century

By U.S. Representative Joh n Linder olll ing could be tfUer than :1 1746 quote by Iknj3.min Franklin, ""When the well is dry, we know tile wonh of water. ~ As we cominue our journl'Y fun her into du' 21s1 c('mUfY, this quow from O\'<:r 200 yc:m ago re mains Hue today. \Valcr-rdat cd iss ues h:lVc been ofimercs! to me for many years. In fuel, [ wrote an :midc in 1978 thaI predicted Ihal one of the rwo major challenges for our coumry in the next century wou ld be providing enough fres h water, litcrally [he SOUTce of life on earth, for our booming popul:uion.

N

Accordi ng ro the O ctober 27. 2003. edit io n of U.s. Ntw$ fllld \\'Iorld Report, ~our

population has morc than doubled si nce World War II , and o n our way

[0

31

Ihis ra te. we could!X-

one billion pt-'Oplc 11\'lng in

the United St:nes by the end of the cemury." This population grow!!1 will clearly PUt :1 Slm in on ou r already bu rdened water supply. Although our population is increasing, there is no more fres ll wa ter on earth now than there was 2.000 years ago when the world's population was less than three percent of its current SilX. In addition to the challenge of populatio lL growth, many states across the natio n arc currently facing a w:m'r crisis, or have in the last few years. 10 name juSt a feW', :lquifers are being challenged by salt water intrusion, and our agi ng W3.tcr pipes le3.k billions of g3.lIons ofrresh water in cities all O\'er the counlry. For cxample, New York City loses 36 mill ion gallons per day, lml

us Representative John Linder The Ripon Forum ' ,\b rch/April 2005

Philadelph ia 10sC's 85 million gallons I>cr day due 10 leaking SyStems. Additionally, st'Vere drouglus a few yea rs ago c.luscd W:lter shorrages up and down the EaSt COlSI. Sl:lles once aCC USlOmed [0 unlim ited l ccess to Wlter reali/.cd that they were not immune to till' problems the \'\Iest has experienced for declJ es.

Even willI the hundreds of thousands of flxleral. state, IOCII and pri\'3.lc-soct'or employees working 10 soh-e these W3.tcr problems, Amerio d()(.'s nOl ha ve :m integrated or comprehensive water pol icy. T he difficulty is that there is little conHllunic:ltion and coordination among these water e)[pcrls. If we wait another 10 or 20 yea rs to get serious about meeting demand for de:ln water, it will lx: too late. \X'e musl act now to meet these chaliengl'S. Recogni7.ing this need. I have reintroduced my bill. the "2 1st Century Water Co mmiss ion Act," H .R. 135, in the 109th Congrc.~s. "Ut 135 would emblish a com mission to evaluate the water supply needs of the United Slates and reco mmend measures to t'ns ure: that all Americans ha ve access to adC<ju:ue drinking water over till' lle)[t 50 years. It was l pprol'oo by the U.S. l-Iou5e of Representatives by voice vote on NOI'ember 21,2003. but unfonun:ttely. Ihc U.S. Senate adjourned before being able to consider the legisla tion .

I want to be de:lr; Illy bill does nOt give the federal gove rnment more authori ty or comrol over water. Rather, this commission will propose how to bener cnordi n:! te water managemen t effons on alllel"t!ls SO that locali ties, srJU'S and the federal govern mell! CUI work toget her to enaci a comprehensive w:l.1er policy to al'oid h.uure water shortageswithout encroaching on sl':ue and local governments' tr:lditio nal authorit}' over water policy. In :lddit ion, it wi ll reduce th e burc:lucr:uic red tape man y IOCII communilies flee when trying fO build water reservoirs and other infr:tslfUcrure needs.

wwv.·.ripon.soc.org

Some Highlights of H.R. 135: • The commission will look for ways {O ensure fresh water for U.S. citizens for the next 50 ye.us.

- The commiSliion will be composed of nine members appointed by the Presidem , and key Ic:ldcrs in the I-Iouse and Sen;u e.

- The commission will look (or ways to eliminate duplication and conflict among fedentl governmental agenciC$.

- The commission will consider all available technologics and other methods to optimize water supply reliability, availability and quality. while safeguarding the environment.

- The commission will hold hearings in dis[inC! geogntphical regions of [he United States, and in Washington, D.C., to seek a diversity of views, comments and input.

• No later than six months afler the dale of the first mttting of the commiSliion. and every six months thert:after, Ihecommission will transmit an interi m rt:porl to Congress and the President.

A /in;ll rl'pon will be d ue within three rears of the comm ission's incept ion . The report will include a dera iled Stall'melH of Ihe finding.5 l nd conclusions of Ihe commission, as well :IS recommendations fo r legislatio n ami other policies.

I have :I lot of questions on how tht' Unite<1 St;J{cs should address ils wawr problems. But. as 1 am nOI a "waler cxpen,~ I don't have ali lhe answers. That is why we need a com mission of experts to work on water issues so that we C'J Il ensure ;111 adequate supply of fresh water for U.S. cit izens in the future. Now is the time to get ahead of {his issue, and I believe that the 21st Cell tufY \'\Iater Cotllinission ca n ~crve :IS a channel fOf sharing the successful strategies and ideas that will allow us 10 do so. r:::7 - R~p. }olm Lind,., is (f C/'orgin &publirall 1111(1 fhl' spomor of H. R. 135. ,hI' H11Sf Cl'lItlfry W"ul'r CommiJiiOfl An ~

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Funding for a Safer New Jersey Providing key help to our first responders

By U.S. Representative Mike Fer~gc"w :::.:",---__

T

om Schweitzer. the fire chieffor Rocky

Hill Hook and udder Co. No. I in

Somerset County, Nj, knows firsth:md the benefi ts of the Homeland Security Dcp:mmcnt 's grant program for the n:uiQIl's first responders. After the program began following Ihe September II , 2001 Terrorist :m3cks. his fire dcp3r1mcm 11:15 received $83.700 from Washington.

Rocky Hilt has purchased brt-.llhing 3pparaIUscs lnd an air compresso r 10 fill thai equipment. 'These feder..l gram s hl"'" put our fire department in ;) much bener I>osi tion 10 do Ihl' job we Ilt'ed to do .~ Mr. Schweitzer said.

Several Somersct Coumy fim responders also h:l\'c R'cciwd securiry gr:IIHS, including $225,000 for the Bcrnardsvilk· Fire Co. No. I; $8 1,309 for the G reen Brook Fire- EM S; $94,185 for the t\olaninsville Fir~ Dep!. ; :md $25, 178 for the Montgomery Fire Co. No.2.

ThroughoUl the 7'" Disnicl thaI [ represem-which includes ponions of i-Iunterdon , Middlesex, So me rset :and Union coumies-mofe than 52 million in securit y gr:ams h:I\'e been distributed 10 first responders. \Vc think about firefighters when we see a house fire or :a traffic accident. But since the 9/11 :macks, important homeland sccuriry responsibilities have been added 10 their work. For example, Mr. Schweirzer ami other local fire chiefs say they ha\'c received Ir:aining in responding 10 emergencies involving biological and other weapons of mass destruction.

"1"0 111(."et till'se new challenges, fire departments net-xl add itional funding both for training a11(1 new equipment. Oftcn local governments, already presse<1 widl tiglll budgets, cannot meet Ihis Ill'Cd. That's why the Homeland Security Departnlent's Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program is important. Congress has approved more than $600 million in firstTClipondcr funding for this year.

The application period for S('eking these gran ts is from March 7 to April 8.

Since 2001. I have annually contacted fi re dliefs and maynrs 10 urge them 10 apply for

22

U 5 RepresentatIVe Mike FerguSOf1

Ihegrants and orfer the services of my office in completing the ap plication. Also, Homeland Scru rity Department officials this month arc hosri ng grant workshops for fire chiefs in Somasct :and Hunterdon COUntICS. Overall, New Jersey Ilas benefited from security funding; o ur srat'e ranks as the nation's eighth largesl recipient of federal security funds. That's appropriate give n NC\'I Jersey's proxi mity (0 New York C ity and our extensi\·c ne[","ork of transponation and critical infraslfucture, such as illlersr:ne tunnels, bridges and ports, and nuclear and chemical pbllls.

Although New JefSl")' has received more than $240 million in secu rity funding since 2001, more needs to be done to ensure we fortify our vulnerabilities Jnd

protecr our communities from Ihe It'gili. mate th reat.s we f....ce.

One of the challenges New Jersey faces in sccuri ug mo re fu nding is rhe formula that distributes grams. For ('xamplc, lInder current law each state is given at least sOllle money, regardless of whether certain Slafes fil ee a legitimate threat of an attack.

That mC:l.ns securiry funding isn't sole· Iy based, as the 9/ 11 Commission unani· mously recommended, on population de nsity, critical infrastructure and realistic threJt. And that means states like New Jerscy rccei\'e fe .....e r secu rity dollars than IIley necd o r deserve.

I ha\'e worked 10 try to ch:mge that f\lIldin g formula, including pressing congressional leaders and Homeland Securiry Depanmem officials. Obviollsl)" 1;l\vlII:lkc rs from low-risk StlteS that curre nll y receive securit), funding oppose any formu. la cha nge.

This yeil r. I am co-sponsoring legisla· tion introduced by Illy New Jersey colleague. Rep. Rodne), Frdinghuyscn, which wo uld change the formula to ensure sl'Curity funds are distributed according to a state's risks, vul nerabilities and thre;tls, as well as its capabili ry to respond to terro r· ISIll. Homeland secllrity fundin g is critical· Iy imlX)rrallt to New Jersey, as doze ns offire chiefs like Mr. Schweif"£er can aHen. We need more f\Ulding so our first rcslX)nders can m C-C1 their new responsibilities. C"6

- Rrp. Mi/(r Fn-gIIJOII ;J (/ Nrw j..,.u)' Rrpllb/iol/l

"Throughout the 7th District that I represent -which includes portions of Hunterdon, Middlesex, Somerset and Union countiesmore than $2 million in security grants have been distributed to first responders." www.riponsoc.org

The Ripon Forum · I-.hrch/AprillOO5

Defending Choice A GOP strategy to safeguard reproductive rights rooms !O prov;<le sexual ass.1ulr victims with access 10 EC, <lntl Ihal effOr! cominucs today. lr is unaccc:ptable for any lu:allh care provider to deny a woman acce;;s 1'0 these critical rep roducri\'c health services--cspecially since: the cffecli\'cness of emergency

13y U.S. Represent<ltiw

T

his spring we will mark the 40th anniversary of Griswold t l COfll1rclicul, the landmark Supremt' Court case that first established pri\":tCY righ u in America.

Four decades after the Court's decision, Griswold still rcsonatl'"S and is guiding a prochoice Republican strategy 10 both prevent unplanned pregnancies and s.1fl'guard reproductive rights.

In 1% 1, a N(',y H:II1:n, Connecticut woman named Estelle Griswold was arrested for opening a birth control clinic to dispense contraceptiv~. Slate law rn~_de it illegal to proyide contraceptives or evell birth control information to Connecticut residents.

Gris ....,old protested the law in court. In its ruling four years later. the U.S. Supreme Coun struck down the Connccticut ban on contr:acepti......s.

But the high Court'S decision LI1 Gri;wold wellt F.ir beyond this bw.

In writing fo r a 7-2 majority. Justice \'(filliam O. Douglas argued that inherenc in the Constitution is a "right to pri\':3.CY" that putS l ....":tll be(ween the go\"ernmem and personal reproductive he:llth dl-cisions. That s..me right to privacy larer ix"'Clme the basis for {he Court's dt-cision in Ror t'. Iff/dr.

Widl Griswold's 40th anmve rs<lry approaching, we continue ro f.-C(' challenges in access 10 rep roductive services and an increase in barriers ro abortion services, Under the leadership of the Bipanis::m Prochoice Congressional C,UCUS, Republican moderatcs have been instrumental in evolving tilt' pro-choice strategy from one focuSl..J on pl"Otccting rights guaranll"t..J under Ror I~ \fwdr 10 a two-prongl.J strategy of both preventing unwanted pregnancies and protecting reproducti\'e rights.

This public policy strategy returns us to the inherent rights guarantccd under Griswokl v. COIl1/rrticlII. Modcrates rerognize both the seriousness of till"" decision to choose an abortion and the importancc of providing information and access to contraception. One thing all Republicans can agltt" upon is a shared goal of reducing the nc«f for abortions. This r<.-quirts ;trming Americans with information and birth control access so young women Gill prevelll unw;mtcd pn..'"g-

The Ripon Forum '

,"'~rch/April

2005

comrnccption is gR'3lnl within Ihl' 12 houTS immediately following all as5.1Uh. IX-ca use earl y intervention widl comraccption prevems fcniliz:Hion or impbnration. :my

Republican who <;IIP IX)f[S abortion in cases of ro pe or incest should .strongly suppon EC and any prll~n:II1CY prcvcmion srr.lIeg)' for sexual assault victims. [n addi tion 10 emergency conrract'plion, moderates have also pushed for insur:l.1lcc covcmgt' for prescription comraccplive5. We U S RepresentatNe Nancv L Johnson

nancies. and are not forced 10 make this difficult choice in the first place.

Republicm moder:ares have led the way in legislatiw initiative.:, 10 educate the public about emerging reproductive tcchnologies like emergerK)' COlltf"lception (Ee). EC pre\"Cnl~ pregnancy after unprotected sex or ;r comr:Kcpti\'(' F.iilure through a conccmra,ed dose of birth control pills {hat may be t:tken up to fi\'C days aftCT unprotected sex. This rtsource would gre:ttly rl-duee the number of unirm'ndcd prt'gll;tncies C"".Jch year if it was madt, widely available to women.

Because the dos.1ge is more efreclive the sooner it is taken, it is csscmial Ihat ~'Oung women have enough information to obtain EC in the hours after unprotl'Cted sex.

Righi now the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering a (kcision to gr:UlI emergency contraception over-the-counter St:l.ttls. A "yes" by the FDA would be a viclOry in our figh t to P«''''CIlI abortion and unplanned pregnancies by incTCa.'iing EC awareness and malcing this import:l.nt resource easier 10 obtain, A te:tlll at John Hopkins University found that, despite the s:lfety and effectiveness of emergency Contraception, only 20 percent of women who sought medical treatment al a hospiral after a sexual aS5.1ulr were provided EC It is essential that hospitals adopt uniform guidelines for n.-ducing the risk of pregnanc), among sexual :l..'\S3uh survivors. Republican moderates have pushed initiatives 10 r('(pr ire hos pi tal emergency www.riponsoc.org

have made great slridC5 over the last dec.lde in the bartle for contraception co\'crage equity in insurance plans. In 1998, Congress passed a provision rc<:Juiring hcahh pbns participating in the fooeral employee health program to cover FDA-approved prescription contraception in the S~lme ma nner in which they cover other drugs. In 2000, Ihe U.S. Equal EmploymenT Opportunity Commission nllcd that an employer plan that provides other prcvcntati\'(" drugs but not contraceptives constitutes sex discrimination under the Civil Rights ACI. Twe n ty -one Sta les, including Connecticut, now r("(luire health phns that provide prescription drug coverage to also cover prescription contrareplion. &·...eraJ ft.-cent legal viclQries h;ave also greatly expanded employer coverage of contracepti ...es. But ultimately sr:lIe-by-n:lIe coverage leavcs m;tny women witholll prOiection, and it is csscmial we address the im.'quity at the f('(teral level.

A cohesive federal policy, and there are Illany k'gislatiw initiatives before Congress 1"0 address this, would prevC:1lI unplanned p«''gnancy and reduce the nl'Cd for abortion.

Republican moderates ha\1: a unique opportunity to advance thesc initiatives. If one woman from Connecticut can change the course of reproductive history, imagine what Republican moderates can do together 10 focus public policy on prevention and away from restrictions on reproductive services. C7

- &p. Nalley L JOhnsON is (I

COflllrftirfll

RrplibliCtIfl (Ifld c/mimllUl of rlK Hflllsr \\'1J-ys II/Ill ;\4«(/IIS find!" SlIbrofllmiurr.

23

By Samuel Thernstrom

T

he de;u h of (he cm'ironmcnfal mo\'cment is being mourned- and fiercely debated- fro m cyberspace to the N~w York 7imn Certainly, the 1l10VcmCnt has seen health ier days. Its focus in 2004 was not passage of a new Clean Ai r Act, or impro\-crncllIs to an)' of the major environmental laws; its main goal was defeating President George W Bush. Fifteen million dollars were spent on that effort in vain.

NO! only was the President reelected. environmental issues were largely invisible in the campaign.

Republicans might be fo rgiven for thinking III:u {h is issue is beSt ignored. We shou ld think twice. With the national clcc1Or;lIC closely d ivided, no party can afford 10 ignore a chance 10 seize the high ground on a major i~ue-and the oppon unities for environmenral leadership today arc enormous. The broad oudines o f a new approach to environmental regulation are obvious, but the loudest voices on these issues arc firmly commiued to the old ~command -a nd -co lll rol " (and lilig:ue, litigate, litigate) ap proach.

24

The greatcst challenge in enacting new environmenral legislation is not a lack of issues; it's 1:lCk of leadership. DemocratS :Ire loathe to give the President a victOry on an issue they co nsider their own , and Republicans so filr ha ve been willing to setde for defeat. T he Presidelll and congressional leaders arc understandably focused on higher profile questions, le wing environmental policymaking to drift. h 's a shame, because the sensible reform agend3 is clear, and the political p3yoff fo r leading the way could be significant.

Sixty to seventy percent of Americans sympath ize with the e nvironmental mOl'ement, while only fil'e or six percent are hostile to it. But at the same time, voters don't take their cues from actil'ists: [n 2004, only 9 [>ercen! said they would be mo re likely to vote for the presidential candidate who carried the Sierra Club's endorsement. And basic part)' preferences on the en\¡ironment are more balanced than you might th ink. Only half of the eleClo rate prefers Democrats, while a quarter to a third prefe r Republicans; the ww,,¡.riponsoc.org

rest arc evenl y divided or undecided.

To make progress on th is Issue, Repu bl icans will ha\'e 10 overco me a n:uio nal press corps that considers conservative conservatio nists oxymoron!c. That can be done with a Stro ng agend3 and real com m ume nt. "100 often, the loudest Republican \'oiccs on the environment arc hardliners who mock "tree huggers~ and dismiss the EPA as an American Gestapo.

This ignores the Teal opportunities here: Wid, environ melllalists and Democrats movi ng steadily to the left. the COlll mon scnse cetHer is up for grabs.

For more than ten years, America has stOod at the threshold of a new era in ellvirOllm elll al poli cymaking. but hasn't stepp<.. J forwa rd. T he successes-and filil ures-of many of our landmark environment:!.1 bws (d1c Clean Air Act. thc Clean Water Act, the Endangered Specics Act, the Superfund progr:Jm) ha\'e bct-n d ear since the 1990s. All h3\"e accomplished much. although at 1l<."Cdless COSt. and all 3re straining agai nst their limirarions. undermined by unforeseen co mplications and uni ntendTh~

Ripon Forum ' March/April 2005

cd consequences. They haven'l mel illl·ir goals complelC.'ly, J.nd Ihey face uncermin proSpl'Cl5 for gcuing illC job done.

Enaclt'd a gt'ncralion 'lgO, Ihese laws h:IVl' lx-cn rcviM:d only occlsionalty ami incompletely. if al alt. They wer(' Ihe firs! fed eral efforts to rcspond to impon:ulIand complic;.IIed-problern~. lI's nOI surprising ,hal they weren', pc rlt'Ct: il 's surprising Ihey worked :11 all. By now, lheir strengths and wcaknesses arc well unde rstood, and yel reforms h:l\'e been halting at best.

T~lke, for example, Ihe Clt':!n Air Act. A 1'.15 1 army of SI;lte -and federal hll re:lUCralS is employed issuing thOlisalHis of permits, inspecting filci lities, and litig;ui ng l'verythillg from nwdical science fO speculati,-e engineering questions. Rigid regulations require overl)' prescriptive and ~o m etimes countcrprod uclivc ap proache~ w complex problems. Perl'crse regulatory incentives hinder innov:ltion, as companies focus on the leller of the bw rather than fhe larger gO:11 of environmenral performance. En'ry seCto r of Ihe economy- and ('vcry ho usehold-bears some of Ihe COSI of this ineffici('ncy; in some seClors. Iht' COSI is considerable. Meanwhile, in <;ome areas, air pollution remains a serious publ ic heallh problem, despite 35 ye;lrs of federal regulation.

To do better- to Ill;lke furthe r improvements in ai r quality. where it 's needed, at less cosi-we need a bener regulatory appro;ich. \Y/e nced an approach that promolcs less bUfc-.lUcracy. lcss liligarion, morl' flexibili lY and innov:uion- '.I.nd perhaps mosl importantly, more rdiabl~ rcsull5. In broad [crills. we know what is needed, btll a nnot agree on how 10 do it.

The success of the 1990 C lean Air Ads m arked-ba~eJ ~ca p-:IIlJ - lfad l'" progr.ulI 10 cOlllrol silifur dioxide (S0 ,) emis· sions is 1I11COllleStl,d. Even skl'plics admil Ihal Ihe program has producc..J Elf grl'al('r rcduclions in pollillion. fu r faSter. :11 milch less cost than Mlyone had imagi ned possible. This approach has two slrcngdls: It

givcs compames an economIc incentive 10 excel, and it is 100 percell! crF...'Ctivc. No I:lwS llir~, no :lfIlIy of permil .processing civil servants, and no excuses. It otTers perfeCl compliance al a minimal COSI. EXlending Ihis approach 10 olher 1'01Imallls, and perhaps OIher induSlrial scclon;, is the obvio us neXI SICp. For Ihrce ye:lrs now, President Bush h:is proposed doing jusl dial, willi 110 success. This year, on((' again, he alk.J on Congress 10 eSl'ab· lish a Imional tr:lding program for 50 2. nilrogell oxides. and mercu ry.

The Presidelll's proposal would CUI power platH elllissio ns of dl e~l' poltUlallls hy more Ihan 70 pcrcel\l- to levels 90 percent lower than Ihey were when the Clean Air Act was first enacted III 1970.

Envi ronmemalists concerned about acid r:lin in the Adirondacks could hardly believe tlwir e~rs when tile PresidcllI announced this initiative in 20U2- it was all they h~ll dreamed of- bllt thl)' were el'ell more surprised when til(' lIalional environmental gTOups geared up 10 block the bill in Congress.

Sillce then , "Iere's been hc;u ed dcb:!.t(· over whether dIe c-.I.pSare tOO high. whet her the timetables are tOO slow, wheilier ii's saf(· 10 "trade" mercury emissions ..111(1 whelhl·r it's wise to ignore grt-cnhousc gases. These arc re;l~onablc issucs to debate, ;lIld there arc reasonable ways to resolve them. All that is nl~"(k.J is delermination to gel Ihe job done, -and for the fiTS! lime, there arc sign' of seriousness from thc aclmill iS{r':llion.

Recently, the En viro nm e ntal Protection Agency announced that it wilt mol'(' for.vard this year witll implcmenting as milch of the Presidem's initiative as possible through regulation if Congress doesn'l act firs!. If Co ngress is sm:m , il won't wait for dll' EPA. Policymaking al dlis level is properly the responsibility of legislatures, not Ihe couns or bureaucrals. and the legis\alivc process is f;lr morc likely to produce a a f('fully crafll.J compromise 111:11 accommodal'es v:lli(1 concerns on both sides.

For example, the ability to adjusl ,he aps is one of the slrenglhs of a ap and trade system. This Ilexibility needs 10 be lilniteci- freqllelll adjustlllen ts would b(' costly and inefficient- but il a ll be uscful.

Congress could usc this feature to craft a si mple compromise: Adjust the targels or timetables as needed 10 satisfy a l'OIillg majority (prob;lbly making them somewhal more ambitious), while requiring :1Il independell! review of new inforn1alion about polhuion levels, hc:rhh effects, and dIe efficacy of [he trading system. Every five years, Ihe caps could be :rd jusled, wilh an appropri :m' phase-in period for the new , ~rgets to tak(· effeCl. The tradius sy.~ l em could l'ven be expanded. over time, 10 include new industrial sectors. and Ihe caps resel accordingly.

The wa)' forward on :ii r pollution is clear. TIle reform :Igencla for other art'as is. in many cases. equall), obvious. It is wdl understood, for 1II5Ian (e, that the Endangered Specil'S An c realt~ perwrse incelltivl'S for landowners: If your land offers suitable potel\li:11 habit at for an endangered s ,,{'c ie~ , C It! the hull<107.crsquick! If the owls show up fiTS!, Ihe cabin yo u drcamt.J of building wilt remain JUSt a dream. It's no su rprise thar once a species is listed as l'ndangered , Iht'rc's almost no chance Ihat il wilt ever recover enOlll,:!l 10 be ddisted. A new bll' thai offers landowners posiliV(' ince lHiv('~ 10 prolCCI sp·ccies. and somc reasona!>le ncxibility in accommocl:l.tillg competing Jlec.xis. would Sl'rVl' us lI'eli.

On issue after issue. conservativc eill-iroll Illentalism can be buil! Oil a foundat ion or simpl}' learnillg trom our succeo;;ses-and our f;lilures. ~ -

51111111e/ 71)('Ttlstrom is II/(fJl(fXillg editor oftlu' Al1Ieri((tI/ EI//('rpriu [m/itlll(' Pms I/Ild dirt'ctor oftbe W!.H. 8mdy Progmm 01/ Frt'fdom lI"d eU/lIIlY'.

He J(n~d as (o1II'IIIO/irmioliS director for til(' \'('bi/(' Howe COllncilon Ell/Jirolllllfllltt/ Quality in 2001-02.

"Democrats are loathe to give the President a victory on an issue they consider their own, and Republicans so far have been willing to settle for defeat."

The Ripon FClfUIll · March/A pril 200S

www.nponsoc.OI'I;

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Protecting the Unborn GOP needs to promote a culture of life

By U.S. Senato r Rick $amorum

T

hirty- two years ;Ifn:r Ihe legalil..1lio n of

abortion by the Supreme Court decision

Rtk

II.

\fwdt'o the majo ri ty of Ameri cans

consider themselves to be pro-life.

One would expe:cl Ihal :I ruling of such propo rtions as R(N ~ \I'luIt' would ha\'c achieved a general acccpl;mc(' among the public for abortion, especially when it has 1)("('11 so srrongly promoted oy [he ml..-dia, popular cu1ture :II1J the judiciary. The bel Ihal so m:my sel f· ident ified pro-cho ice indi viduals are slill tfoubled wilh all unlimited right of abort io n is a powerful as (0 wlicrt.' th is coumry stands on

SlalCln CIlI

:.bonion and where the Republican ["my ~h o uld focus ils :m cmion.

T he Republican Pan y has made g rc;!1 Strides in passi ng pro-life legislation . The recent enactment of both the Part ial Birth Abortio n Ba n Act and the Unborn Victims of Vio le nce Act are tcstimo ny !O rhe suppon behind a compassio natl' society that prO[ectS the most innocent and most helpless amo ng us-the unborn child . ·l1u.· pasSo1gt.' of the Born Ali ve InfulllS Prou.'ction Act oflicially and 1C{,>:I.lly recognized the basic righlS of all human life a nd all children born alive, n::gardlcss of their St:l gc of development.

O nce a baby is completdy born, independem of thc mother. he or she nolV receivcs thc full pro l"l."'C lion and di gnity afTonk-d to you o r IIll·.

T he commo n-S(!nsc k-gislarion that W"JS pOlSM.-d upholds a basic principle which I bcli<....·c we should all agree-no man er if you :Irc Republica n o r Democrat, liberal or conscrvOl tive, male or fe male. black o r white. rich or poor. young o r old- that eve ry life is s,1crcd and every life is endowed with digni ty. Yet there are still steps fo r us to ta ke-sreps with brood support.

We sho uld also all agree that no person o r enti ty should be forad, against their will o r conscience, to provide. refer fo r, or pay for an abo rtio n. No one 5110111<1 be forc<.'(1 (0 choose to be involved ill all abortion o r be put at risk of losing their funding. 1-I<::llth care entities (physicians, other health professionals, hospitals. provider-sponsored o rg:l. niz.:nions, health mai menance o rga niutions, and healdl insul":I.nce plans) should nOI

26

be coerc<.-d into providing abortion services that they belie~ to be morally wro ng, and they certainly sho ul<! not be discriminated against because o f their o bjectio ns to providing or payi ng fo r abortions.

Second, the Republic-.m Party must SlOp allowing Democrats to impose an ideological litmus (cst on judicial nominees. In the 108 til Congr<.'Ss, the Democra ts. in unprecedented Obstructio nism, used the cloture vote 10 deny up-or-down floor \'otes 10 ten highl y qua.lifled nominees, all of who m had bipanisan majority suppOrt and would have Ix't'n confirmed if given a vote. It is wro ng to require that a nominee promise to uphold Roc v. Wade in order 10 be t.:Ollfirmed because il compromises their abili ty 10 rule fuirly as a judge. Therefore. we sho uld ensure a f"air confirmation process and no minate jud ges who uphold Ihe const itutio nality of the law, nO[ those who seck to usurp the power of the pt."'()ple.

Additio nally. wome n need to know that alte rnatives 10 abo rtion exist. and that resources are av:lilable for them :I.t these times.

We mUSI conrinue 10 suppOrt . educate and care fo r women who are co nsiderin g abortio ns. have had abortio ns, or are fuc ing a daullling fi.nure of raising a child on their own. Republicans must work to ensure that these women are provided wilh adequate support and information.

For example. while an uncomfo rtable truth, ....,omen ha ve the right ro be informed of the o\'erwhcl ming sciemiflc dala Ihat suggest that unborn children bc)"ond 20 weeks are capable of feeling pain. Knowi ng the fucts surrounding an abortion proced ure allows women to understand the weight of this potentiall y life-changing decision .

Lastly. we must commit our eilo ns to ad vancing uHllau ves ,hal offer co m~ion at e. life-affirming choiccs and suppOrt to wo men facing unp lanned pregnanc ies. Not every woman f.1cing an unplallned pregnancy knows that supportive servi ce<; exisl. Many believe that the futu re they had planned is no longer achiev3ble.

They feel alo ne and abandoned. O ften they mistake nl y think that abortio n is thei r o nly real choice. w ....'W. ri pollsoc.org

Wo me n need to know that they ha ve a cho ice and that people are tileT(' to help. To that end, we sho uld provide women with alternatives to abo rtion tluo ugh progra ms that support crisis pregnancy centers and maternity homes already working 10 meet ..... omen's needs at Ihese times. In o ne initiati ve, a grant progrJm would link wo men 10 a ne{\\'Ork of supporti ve o rganiZ:llio ns who are read y and willing to offer assistance in the fo rm of pregnaney t<::'i ting, ado pt ion information . prenatal and postpartum health care, matern ity and baby clothing. food, diapers, !lIld informatio n 011 childbirth and parellling.

In the end, the debate ove r abortio n will nor be ....,on by the Republican Party hut by individuals, f;1 milies. orga ni 7~1 t io n s and community groups who reach OLII a.nd suppon those in need--especially yo ung wo men Eld ng c risis preg nanc ies . The Republican Parry, ho ....'t'ver. can continue 10 provide a s,1 fety net tor hospitals and health professio n:J.ls who choose not to perform abonio n service<;; confirm judges who will follow the law, !l0! ma ke the law; and SUppOT! commun ity-based services fo r women. In doing so, the pany will be wd commg the majoriry of the public who believe that :Ibortion is a tragedy a nd pr<."}'S on the most vulnerable ill our society. c#

- Sm. Rick Snmonllll is II Pnmsy/tW1I;(1 Republial1/ fllld cb(limlfl1/

oflbe Smfl(t" Repub/;ClllI CoII/rrrllce.

Th~

Ril>Oll Forum · March/April 2005

Remembering the Chi The way to improve preschool education

By S:tra Mead

W

hcn it conK'S to prcscbool. both

Democrats and Republic:U\s tend to miss Ihe boat. Liberal activists talk

abom expanding :1CctSS (Q early childhood (.-d uCltion, but tOO often ignore the impor(~\n ce of the education:!! curriculum.

Conserv:Hivcs, for their p:m , focus overwhelmingly 011 curriculum while neglecting 3.CCCSS and Other imporl2nI :t.'ipectS of early

childhood dc."dopmem. such :15 hC',lllh and socio-emo ti OIl:!1 d('Vdopmem. Some conser·

v:ttivcs also SUSI)l:cI th3t preschool programs family-friendly. and arc an :In;lck on

arc nOl

homemakers.

This err-.nes a s('alcrn;uc and thwarts (Q expa nd preschool .ICCCSS or improve academic {[uaJily. '111:U5 UnrOn\!mile, becltlst' helping fiunili..:s afford highqualifY, academic preschool is one of the best ways gO\'CT lHllC nI can sillHiluneously improw the opportunities of di~1dlr.m tag~d children, strengthen our l1:uion:11 l"Conomic future, and help deme mary and St.'COnda ry schools meet the cllJllengcs of til(' No C hild l.J.{t Behind Act. Longitudinal studi('S of qualiry preschool programs in Michigan and North Carolina find that dwy s.1ve r.lxpayers money in thc long run by «:ducing grade retemio n, sl>ccial education placements, tten pr"'gnancy. welfare participation, and crime rates. In fact. Federal Reserve cronomists Art Rolnick and Rob Grunewald estimate that those sa\'ings net raxp:lyCrs a 16 percelll re;11 retu rn over time on their invcstment in prcsd lOol. That's a much bettcr return thal1 manyeconomic developmcnt inveslnlentS offer.

Bur the ntttl fo r preschool should really be measured from the children's perspective, As schools work to mcct the goals of No Child Left Behind. it's abund:utdy dear that tOO many childrcn- panicularly poor and milloriry children---enler school al ready fur behind. UCLA sociologist Meredith Phillips cstimatcs tllat Ilalf of the eno rmous academic achievement gap between black ;ll1d white SIltdenlS existS before first grade. So while poorly-performing public schools IOday tOO oftcn ('xacerb:ue this g:tp, helping disad\l:l.nraged smdelHS before they start school would help 1'0 close it.

dfons

The Ril)()n FQfum · M:ueh/April 2005

Yet while the liberal-conservative sralemate srymies :Inion on improving early childhood education. it also shows the way for.\l:l.rd. To rC3lizc the benefits of qualiry preschooL policymakel'5 must use ideas fro m both left and right.

We mUSt invest more public money to make preschool available to more children.

The cu rrent p:uchwork of He-old Start, state programs, childclre and primtt: preschool isn't enough. Fewer th:tn haIr of poor children :mend preschool. in COl1ll':15t to two-thirds of :Ill ch ildren and higher percent:tges of children from amuent homes.

Insre:td, children spend their da ys in dayctre programs that arc lit de more than babysitli ng--- iI tremendous wasl'e of time and resourccs Ihal could be spent preparing children for school.

But this invcstment must be linked 10 improvements in preschools' educational <Jlt;llity. l Oo m;my preschool programs rod:ty, incl uding some st;\le preschools and Head Stan celHcrs. offer tOO little aCldemic comem to prepare cbildrcn for school. and Ihey ignore Ihe latest sciemific re.se-.Jfch :Ibom how children learn.

Preschool is nOI the same as daycare.

But what does quality preschool look like?

Firs!, quali ty prc:school focuses on school readiness, not JUSt ch ildcare.

Succc:ssful prt'school programs, such as C hicago's C hild Pa rem Centers and Georgia's Universal Pre- K. have a planned curriculum of activities to develop children's language skills and introducl' earl)' math. reading, and other :tCldemic concepts.

.

1,

i

j

Second , successful preschools have qualified [caehers who have strong verbal skills and understand early childhood development. Research shows the mosl effecrivc preschool teachers have at lcast a bachdor's degree.

T hird , smaller class sizes arc morc conducive 10 rich interactions th;u help preschoolers learn. The N:ttional Association for thc Education of Young Children R'COmmends no more tha n 20 children I>cr class.

Fourth, successful preschools include rt'gu lar, devdopmelltally :tppropriate assessments that guide classroom instruction_ Finally, successful preschool initiativcs reach the children who need them. Both universal preschool ;tnd narrower systems th;11 target dis.1dvalllaged stlldcms can SIlCceed. Yes, qu:tl iry preschool is expensive. but policym:tkers mUSI resist the temptation lO ski mp on qualiry 10 lower the bill or St"rye Illore students. Uy focusing on those most :It-risk. f(.·deplo}'ing existing e:ttl y childhood resources more effectively, and including an element of parelll and comnHtnity responsibiliry lO cover the costs, polic)'lnakers ser.-e the children who mosl need preschool in a fiscally responsihle manner.

Is preschool an ti-family? No. For SI'"J.rtI.'rs, :tccording to tho.: N:ttional Inst itute for Early Educ.uion RCSC3rch, 44 j>Cfcent of children whose mothers are homemakers attend preschool. Morl.'(lver, preschool programs can be fiu nil y-fri endly. by helpi ng pJ.rellis givc their children educational opportunities regardless of whether both parents work or not.

Preschool should not be a partisan issue.

Both Democrals and Republic:tns h:tvc important things to bring to the table. ({epubliCln and Democratic leaders, including GO\'. Jcb Bush (R-FL). Gov. Mike Easley (D-NC) alld Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N M ) ha\'e m pportt::d school l"Cadiness cfron s.

Expanding quality preschool for all children who Ilc\'.o it is a tall order, but by bringing togelher the besl of conservative' and liberal idcas, we at n secure a brighter future for our count ry and our children. C7 - sPm M~(ld is a1/ ~dllm/ion policy mlfllyi/ fir rbt Progrrssh'r Policy hwimu.

www.riponsoc.org

27

, Are They Listening to America's Voice?

U.S. message must get out to Arab world

By U.S. Representative Henry J. Hyde s Americans. WI.' :m,' justly proud of our coumry. If any n:II;OI} has bc('n :. grealer force fo r good in the long :Ind wrrnclHcd history of [his world , I am unaware of it. \Vc ha n' guarded whole comincnu, from conquC5l, showc rt-d aid on disl'am lands. sen! thousands of yomhful ide:llins (0 re mon- and often inhospir:ablc arc:IS [0 help the world's rorgonen. O m g('ncrosiry is a nutler of record , from rebuilding our dcfc:ll cd enemies 10 (('('(ling millions whose n:HllCS will never be known (0 liS. \Xlhy, .hell, when we read or lislen 10 descri ptions of America in the foreig n press, (10 we so oflen s(:c m 10 be em ering a r."lntlsyland of hatroo ? Muc h of the popular press ovcrs<:as. oflen including the go\" crnmcIH -owncd me{]i:!. dail y depict Ihe Uniwd Srales as a force fo r evil. accllsing this cou mry of an ('ndlcss numbcr of nl.llevolcllt plots againli! the wo rld. Today, as wc sirike le rrorislS around Ihe world who have malilerm indcd !he murder of d,o uli3nds of Amc ricnn .~. our :lctions .Irc widely dl' picted in thc Muslim world as <I war agains t Islam. OUf cfron s :u sclfddcnsc, which sho uld be supponcd by t"VCry decem person on Ihis planc!, insrc:ld sp:lrk riots [hal Ihrt':lICn govcrnmellls Ihal dare 10 cooperate with us.

How has this state of affairs come about? How is it that thc country thaI invented Hollywood and Mad ison Ave nue has suc h trouble promoting a pOlii li \'e image of ilsclf o\'crscas? O\'cr Ihe yea rs. tilt' images of mindless haired dirccted :1I us have becomc familiar fixlU fCS 011 o ur television screens. All Ihis timc. wc ha ve heard calls th:iI "some thi ng m uSt be don e. ~ But , c1e:l rl y, whatever has been done has not bttn enougb.

What can we do 10 corren Ihis problem? I belie\'e that Ihe problem is too gfl'at a nd tOO ent fenche(1 10 be solvoo by I"wl'aki ng an :Igency hert' or reshuffling a program there. \'(Ie mUSt rethink our elllire :Ipproach to diplomacy :lIld seek out new

A

28

perspecriws and appro:lches. It is cle:lr th:1I milch of the problem lies in o ur incffccri vc and often antiqua ted methods.

Fo r exam ple, Voice of Ame rica hroadcaSfS on shon-wa ve r;t([io simpl)' cannot compete with AM :md FM ch:lnnels in ter ms of accessibility, (0 sa.y nOlhing of television. the mosr powerful medium of all. Shifting our efforts imo these and other popular media. includ ing the llllcrnet :wd others. will take time and money, but this reoricntatio n is a prerequisiw (0 having any hope for an audicncc.

But there is a deeper problc m.

According 1'0 many observers. we have simply ignored the COlllcst for public opinion and thereby left our e ncmies' sl:uHle rs unanswered . The results are sobcring. [n tcstimon y befo re {he Ho use Internat io nal Relarions Com miut'C. a forme r chai rman of the Broadcas ting Board of GO\'ernors, which O\'('rsees o ur intern:nional broadc-.lSIing effons. stmed tha t Mwe have virt ually no yo uthful audie nn' under Ihe age of 25 in the Arab wo rld." We :ITC beginning to address lhat problc m but have decades of inexplicable :lIld inexcusable l.lJ(i ry to make up for.

OUT firs! priorilY. then, nmsl be to focus our efforts on re:lching an audience and present ing our case to them in clear and pcrsuasi\'e rcrms. \V1t¡ must remcmber that. al though our encmies :Ire 1'0ca1, we ha ve man y friends. and the ranks of the persuadable arc even largcr. But it is up to us to make a compelling case, not once but o\'er and o\'er ag.'lin .

To do t his. we must seek 10 engage Ihe popul atio ns of thc wo rld on a permanent b:lsis. not as an adjunct to our fo reign policy bu t as a ce n tr~ l component of thar policy. To the extcnt that we can enlist the world's popul:itions on our side. or even simply reduce their enmity, o ur fore ig n policy goals C III sign ifiC:lIl1ly advanced .

To Ih:1I e nd, I wOlild recommend that President George W. Bush inaugu rMe th is

U S RepresentBtlVe Henry J Hyde

ncw app ro:lch by making a televised :ld<lr\'s) from Ihe O\'al Officc to the IX.'oplcs of the Musl im world.

His words sho uld be spoke n dircclly 10 the fX'Oplc. not 10 their go\'crnmc nu.

Hc should ex plain our goals and .he r:lI io nale for o ur actio ns in Afgh:lI1isl:tll and ask for their understanding 3nd for Iheir SUPI)Ort. I doub. th3t this address wou ld pcrsu3de everyone in his :ludience, bill thc f.1Ct that thc Presidc nt of [he most powerful country o n e:m h was addressing his words (0 , and asking for the support of. ind ividual Muslims, and 1101 their ruling regimes, would he a powerful symbol of our dctermination 10 figlll for and win tilt' understanding and ~ lI ppon of all of the pcopl e~ of the world. <;7

oc

- Rrp. Hrllry j. HJdr is nil II/illois RrplibliClIII mid cbnirmllli oftbr HoltSr I",rrllllliolllil Rrlnfio/lS Commilfft.

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The Ripon Forum ' 1>.-larch/ApriI2005

I

Confronting America's Enemies Strong defense needed to win war on terror

By U.S. Rep rcscnr:uive Candice Miller came [0 Ihe 108" Congress with :l firm belief dl ;H the first ,mJ foremost

I

responsibility of the fcdcr:al gov(>rnmclH

is to provide for o ur muional deft·nse. Irs in the preamble of our Constitution, and throughout Iht, lOS'" and now illlo rhe 109 '~ Congrl'~ r continue 10 nuke rhis my principal advocacy.

All of ou r lil'cs were c hanged on

Scplernbl' f I I . 200 I , when cowardly lerrorists Illurdcn.:d over 3.000 ;nnocelll civilians, because they hate our freedom.

These lIew enemies arc unlike any we h,IVC ever faced: They hide in Ihe shadows and prey on the innoccllI. It has been sa id th:1I freedom is nllt frcc: and [il:1I rhe price of

ff(x:dom is being ever \·igilalH. I'm proud 10 serve 011 dll,' House Armcd Services Comlllinc(', where ix-C3 U$(' of !1m vigilance there is a gen uine cormniullelH 10 a snong milimry. Pan of this commitmc nt IS to continue tr:Hlsforming OLlr mi litary imo a more modl'rn ;mtl mobile fightin g fo rce. This will allow us 10 respond quickl y and with great fl exibility to fUiure IIm·als.

AmeriC:l's armed forces are, :md musl cont inue to be, Ihe beSI trained, besl ""quipped :lnd strongcst figluin g force in the wo rld. POlclllia l enemies mU$1 know ollr slrmglh is backed up by a firm resolve to defe nd our nalion. They musl know that we will praClice whal Prcsidenc Ronald Re:tgan called "peace through ~ Hength. ~ WIt· h ~lvc lHilizcd technology to upgrade Ollr weapons systems Ihat allow fo r pinpoint largeling of the enemy. enabling us 10 avoid civilia n C3mah ics. \'ile ha ve aUlhori7.ed funding Icvels neccss,1ry to ensure that our troops have thc body armor. \'ehicles and we.tpons dle), need in comb:ll lhat allow5 them 10 lake Iht, fight 10 the enemy.

America's all \'olunteer military is a greal success. Our troop~ a re highl y qualified and motivated. The servicl'S :Ire meeting thei r goals for recmitlllcnt and rctention. And , we recognil.(' th:H our Gua rd and Reservc forcC$ arc playi ng a larger and cxtendt-d role in the theater.

Today, you wilt flnd that Gua rd and Reserve forces l1lake up over 30 percent of OUf troops ill Afghanis tan. Ir:tq and other Thl' Ripon Forum ' March/April

zons

U 5 RepresentatMl Candice Moller

trouble SpolS arou nd the globe.

T h:lt is wh y in the most reel'nl Defense Realllhoriza.tion bill we dl:da rcd 2004 Ihe "Yclr of IIH~ Troops . ~ Congress approvcd a 3.5 I)t'rcelll across Ihe board pay ra ise with special pay. oonLlSt'S and improved housing. \Y,!c ensured thar me ml)t'rs of the Na tional G uard and Rescrve recein' pay at equal kvels 10 our active: duty troops whe n Ihey are called to service, \Y,!e eliminated th e previous l), unfair reduc tion III Survivor benefit plan annuities. enh:Hlct-d TR/CARE bt'llefit s and expamkd health care coverage for military f.1J1lili cs to ensure those on Ihe ho me front arc protected and c:1rcd for. Now we look IOward legislation wh ich will greatly enhance benefits for the F:lIlli lies of so ldi e r~ who nl:lke th t· ultimatc sacrifice. by increasing the death benefit from its current S 12.000 to S I00.000.

The President's proposed budgct goes a long way toward recogni:r.ing that natiOnal defense and homeland s(:curity arc our national priorities with ,1 5 percent al1([ 8 pe rccllt increase res pecti vely, Ilowe\'cr. at the same time, we continue to challenge the Pentago n (() achin'e gre:l ler e ffi ciency. less bureaucrac), :lIld gre:lIcr emphasis on effcCt ive W:lf fighting. www.riponsoc.org

There has bet'n m uch dcball' about Ihe '" Bush Doctrinc" and Ihe usc of prcempti ve action to defe nd oursdvcs. Many ha ve said Ihat it wo uld be benef 10 do nothing, ho ping t hai Ihe terrorists will perhaps leave us alone. This is analogous to a nest of rattlesnakes li ving in yo ur baSCllle nt. You know they're down there.

BUI the qut'S tio n is should you be very quiet and [lOpe th l'}' don'l come up the stairs and bile yo u. or should )'ou el iminate their neSI? List year, I had th ... pri vilege 10 tf;Wc\ widl a small j.\roup of mcm!x'rs o n a trip, which indudt-d ~' is il s 10 Iraq and Libya. [n Iraq . we \\'('111 to Ihe now- inFJlllous spider ho le wht're Saddam Hussei n. who bruf'al i7.ed his people and defil,d tilt' wo rld cotnl1lwlilY. wa~ pulled from the ground.

This was a fining end for such :1 despot.

In Lib),a. we we re the first COIlg ressional delegation in decades to meet with Libyan leader Muamll13r Q:ldhafi. We met with Qadhafi. across a field from his former home which was bombed by I'reside tH Reagan in 1986 due 10 Libya's complicil)' in a lerrorisl bombing of a Berlin Disco. In front of the home there are poslers thaI say: "This is a result of Reagan and Thatcher's madness:' There is :Jlso a large statue of all upraised gold fist elutch ing and crushing an Americ:1n fighter plane. And ye t. because of till' Bush Doctrine, Libya is now seeking reco gn ition in the community of peaceful nations, while givi ng up its weapons of mass destruClion programS. Lib)':\ now unde rstands our stre ngth and rc.wlve.

Ithink of these experiences often when we :\rc c rafting the Defense Authoril.1tion bill. I know it is my job to e nsure thai our brave mcn :lnd WOlnCIi in uniform have c\'ery avaihble resource to continue !O protect Olt r bomcland and to spread fr«<lOIll. hope and <[emocracy throughout the world. I know ,Iiat , if we arc successful in thi s elTon , it will allow future gcner:uio ns to live in peace. ~

- Rrp, G",dicr Milia iJ fl Micbignn Rrpllblirfl1l I/Ild II mrm"rr oftbr Howr Armrd & rl ,if("J Comllliflu fwd Howr COI'rrnmrllf Rtjorm COlll llliurr.

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Heart of Darkness Sudan faces food

By Jeffrey T. Kuhner

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uda n is on the verge of ;t terrible fa m ine. Millions o(liv('$ arc threatened unless the United Sures IOIkes decisive aClion. What is differem 3boUl Ihis famine is Ihat it is not clue to droughl. Rather, it is a deliberate. engineered policy by Khartoum in its ongoing genocide againsl black Africans living in Dlrfur.

Sudan's r;adial Islamic government has been supporting Arab militias, known as the janjaweed , in a brurai ('Ihnic cleansing cam paign limed II wiping out Ihe coullI Ty'S majoriry black population. $0 far, over 70 ,000 in the western region of Darfur ha\'c ix"Cn murdered, OVt'T 2 million have been displaced illlo squalid refug(.'C a mps, and countless women and children have OC'C1l raped and sold inlO slavery.

Yel the doomed peoplc of Darfur now fitce an (~ven deadlier threat: hunger. For two years, Arab marauders havc systematically am.eked the f.mflS of black Africa ns. Thc janjaweed--<omposed mainly of nomads ;Il\d eanle herders-arc seizing large chunks of arable land for their animals to graze on.

They arc also waging a scorched earth strategy, seeki ng nOl o nly to perm:lIlently dri~'(' OUt bbck F.u mers but to create the conditions for widespread starvation. Hundreds

S

â&#x20AC;˘ â&#x20AC;˘

cnSlS of fa rming villages ha"e b("('n razed. Seed stock and agricultural equipment have bct-n destroyed. Viml crops :tre no longer being grown.

The rcsull is a severe food shorrage.

The crisis is so bad international aid agencies arc warning th:tt, unless someth ing d rastic is donc in Ihe nexl few months, millions will slowly st:tTve ro de:tth. ~A11 the indicators are there for a famine," Marc Bclle mans, the Sudan emergency coordinalor for the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organi1..1tion (FAO), said in a rCC('11[ interview with T he Wall Stf('C1 Journal. In a report latc 1:lst year, the I:AO warned "a humanitarian crisis of unseen proportions is unfolding in the Darfur region.",M Due to the \~Jst scale of the crisis, internat ional aid workers arc un:tble 10 stem the rising tide of hUlIger and misery, Yet. as the people of Darfur arc slowly being cxtermin:ued, thc world community wrings it hands. In a just-released report, the United Nations found that, although "systematic" atrocities arc Ix'ing committcd by the janjaw("('d. it docs nOl rise to the level of~genocide,~ Ev(";n for the Unitl.J lations, this is a new low. \'(/Jlile it engages in legal hair-splitting ove r whal cotlStiwles genocide, Ihe Islam ic f.1scists in Khartoum and

their Arab militia allies continue to murder, rapt and pillage with impunity.

T he Bush a(lministration has sought to convince the United Nations and o ur European allies to exert pressure on the government in Sudan. But Washington's allem pts to impose sanctions have been consistently blocked by Russi:t, Ch ina a nd Francc-all of whom ha\'e strong economic ties with Khartoum.

The very same nations, who self-righteously opposed the American-led \'/;Ir in Ira(l, arc now opposed to U.S. effons in $ud:lI1. Instead, they cynically hide behind the veneer of international legal isms. The Europt.'an esrablishmelH insistS that fmuTe war c rimes cases be tried before the Imernarional Cri minal Coun. This is being resisted by the 1~lLsh adminim:uion, which rightly docs not recognize the ICC's legitimacy. Ultimately. however, the debate is a n..J herring: prosecuting some local Arab chieftain in the dista nt future docs nothing to stop the janjaweed's rampage. II also does nothing 10 stop the emerging (."ulline, The crisis in Darfur reveals the moral bankruptcy not only of the United Na tions, but of Old Europe as well. They arc nOt willing to lift a finger to prevent the spilling of African blood- jusr as Ihey refused to pre\'enr the genocides in Bosnia, Rw.mda and C hl'Chnya.

This is why America must act before il is tOO late. II is rime Washi ngton spearhead an intern:llional coalition to rein in Kha rtoum's killers, Critics of military action caution thai the Unirl.J StalCS is strelched tOO thin in Iraq and Afghanistan ro provide any kind of large-scale trOOP deployml'nt. This is true.

But what is needed is American air power and overall leadership. An intensi\'e bombing campaign of government military targets across Sudan would cripple the abiliry of the regime and the janjawl'ed to prey upon defenseless Darfurians. The nations of the African Unio n can provide the ground forces to establish a defensive pe rimeter in Darfur. T his would allow massi,'e aid to be shipped in to $.1Ve the doomed and the dying.

A few bombs and genuine international resolve CJII end the suffering. Why arc we waiting? <:::7

- Jdfrry T Klll)1ll'r is COl1l11l1l11icnriom Oose to death from star'Jatlon. a 1Q.yeaNJld Sudanese girl IlBs WIth hef' mothef' alld brothef' InSIde a compound run by Doctors Without Borders Despite massIVe relief ald. stalVlng Sudanese are stAll dYlng by the tilousallds.

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dirtc(or Ilt

r,,1' Ripol/ Socil'tJ

The Ripon Forum ' M:uch/AI'rii 2005

caring. Advancing.

The In

entertainment software association

Activision. Inc.

Nintendo of America Inc.

Atari

Novalogic, Inc.

Buena Vista Games Capcom USA, Inc.

SECA of America, Inc.

Sony Computer Entertainment America

Eidas Interactive Electronic Arts Her Interactive

Square Enix U.S.A., Inc.

Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc.

id Software

THQ, Inc.

Konami Digital Entertainment-America

Ubisoft Entertainment

LucasArts

Vivendi Universal Games

Microsoft Corporation

Warner Bros. Interactive

Midway Games, Inc.

Entertainment Inc.

NameD Hometek, Inc.

Wild Tangent