By Steve Thompson, Chairman of the Butte County Republican Party

In the last twenty years or so, American politics have seemed to become more divisive. There are a lot of theories out there on why this is, which range from the cultural (Bowling Alone) technological (internet) and ultra-political (right-left takeovers). My own theory incorporates some of all of these, but I believe that politics pre-Reagan was less combative because Republicans before Reagan had very few principles that differentiated them from the democrats. They also were unable to get elected outside of country club circles. It wasn’t until Republicans started to actually stand for real American values and won Congress that democrats went totally ballistic and threw fits like the demon-possessed getting holy water thrown on them. That’s my humble observation at least.

Whatever the case of national political turmoil, it’s funny to watch pundits after each election declaring the end to any given political movement or party. After the election of Barrack Hussein Obama in 2008, there were a lot of statements made about the death of conservatism, for example. After 1994 I’m sure a lot of Republicans also thought the democrats wouldn’t be coming back either. Right now a lot California political pundits are asking if Republicans can ever get elected in this state again. While California is certainly a difficult state for Republicans, I would wager the fight’s not over here. Why do I say that? Because I have patience friends.

All I have to do is wait for the democrats, who now completely run this shipwreck-bound state, to be themselves.

California is already in deep deficits. Put bluntly, we spend more than we make in tax revenue. We also have over 12% unemployment, with no real hope of it getting better. The majority of job growth in the U.S. right now is in states like Texas, and our policies are the exact opposite of theirs. High unemployment means more people who need money from the system. Our state is borrowing money from the feds just to pay people on unemployment. This doesn’t account for our welfare spending either, where people have moved to California for our higher than average welfare payments and we now carry a third of the national welfare caseload.

So while Jerry Brown actually campaigned on being a miser with our money, he was voted in by those who are expecting him to pay their bills (not unlike Obama). While Republicans have lost the albatross of Arnold Schwarzenegger hanging around our necks, the dems have made one of our state’s worst past governors the new face of their party. It’s telling that, in his election night acceptance speech, Jerry Brown actually used the pathetic phrase “good enough for government work.” Way to set your standards high, Governor.

I would love to be hopeful that California is going to recover soon, but I can’t see how that is possible. Democrats pay lip service to jobs but their policies are destroying jobs in the private sector. Without a private sector, you cannot support government jobs for very long. Jerry Brown’s father actually did build dams and create infrastructure, but today’s democrat party only wants to tear dams down. The worst is far from over as democrat legislation such as AB32, which we were unable to suspend this year, will come back and destroy a million more jobs in this state.

Seriously, does anyone who disagrees with me have any real hope or reason that our state can improve with the left at the helm? Can they really make an argument that killing the private sector will be good for our economy over the long haul? Democrats may have won, but I doubt the smart ones in their ranks are celebrating.

Over the next two years democrats will create a perfect storm, Obama style, that will give Republicans another shot at taking back California. Like the national battle that saw us take back Congress, it will not be easy. We must give California voters something to vote for and not just be the lesser of two evils. We must continue to remind voters that we are the party of jobs, while democrats are the party of higher taxes and economic misery. Democrats will help us by proving to voters they are the party of epic failure. Will we stand strong and convey our message that we are the party of success? Time will tell, but for California’s sake, I hope so.

By Steve Thompson, Chairman of the Butte County Republican Party

Writers note: If you agree with this writer and want to help out, come to Chico Republican HQ, 896 East ave. this Saturday at 9:00am and help us take back our country.
In the roughly twenty years I’ve been politically involved, I can’t remember a time as pivotal as now. Darkness and misery on one side, prosperity and hope on the other. Perhaps we saw the warning signs (an overzealous environmental movement, tax and spend democrats creating deficits, socialism preached in the classrooms) but for so long so many of us thought it wouldn’t affect us personally. Until it did.

Look at where our country is right now. So far this year, 1 in 10 American homeowners missed a mortgage payment, 1 in 6 Americans are unemployed or left the workforce (BTW, if you’re a student out of college who can’t find work, they don’t count you as unemployed!), over 4 in 10 have been out of work for over six months, and 1 in 4 Americans have negative equity on their home mortgage. Pretty bleak proof that stimulus spending didn’t do much good, and chances are you know someone who is suffering right now as a result of the economy.

Negativity against positive solutions persists though. In California voters face tough battles to retake their government from entrenched bureaucrats. Despite a failing private sector and hundreds of thousands of lost jobs, the liberal stranglehold on government remains strong. But even they know the end is near. They know that you can’t fund bloated government without business, and that drastic cuts will have to be made to maintain the draconian regulations they impose. They know and don’t care. There is no one less compassionate for the suffering of others than a left-wing activist. They know their policies are destroying our middle class and will drive people out of our state, and they don’t care. Truth be known they relish the pain, as they see America as over privileged and unjustly prosperous to begin with. This is truly the darkness in the heart of our country.

Despite all of this, optimism remains. The rising strength of the American TEA parties gives hope to middle class voters who have been disenfranchised by government elites. There is a growing sense that they can take back their country and restore sanity to our government’s policies. Nationwide it is likely that Republicans will seize control of Congress from the Democrats. Even the Senate may change parties this year. Voters will see the power of their vote actualized at the polls, and will know that they can make a difference.

We are making gains with voters not traditionally on our side. Prop 23 showed an 18 point advantage with latino voters. It makes sense as there’s not a whole lot of ethnicity in the environmental movement. The face of California’s environmental movement is an upper-income white guy trying to save the world from his condo in San Francisco. He likely won’t lose his financial job due to AB32. A lot of minorities in California will.

America is truly at a crossroads this year, and the impact of our decision means more now than ever before. The stakes are higher for all of us. Will we listen to those who despise American prosperity and wish to encumber our children with government debt and loss of personal freedom? Or, will we place our hope and faith in those who believe America’s best days are still in front of us, as the TEA parties have? I think the answer lies in the optimism of our fellow Americans, and not in their pessimism. Ronald Reagan called our nation a shining city on the hill. America is reaching for it once more.

Dear Readers,
In the final weeks of campaign season I am really pressed for time, so I am sharing with you some written work from famous actor and conservative writer Chuck Norris. I think you’ll be pleased to know that Mr. Norris is actually a pretty thoughtful and intelligent writer. Not to mention he is so tough that comedians write continuous jokes about his deadly abilities, but always anonymously.Republican Corner will be back soon with more fun light to shed on liberal corruption. Enjoy!
Steve Thompson
The Feds’ Disease: Spending! (Part 1)
By Chuck Norris
We all know ad nauseam that Washington’s spending is completely foolish and totally out of control. But will we show ourselves to be equally misguided by allowing those same bureaucratic bandits to stay in office?

Since World War II, federal spending has remained roughly between 18 and 22 percent of gross domestic product. Under President George W. Bush, spending increased from 18.4 to 20.9 percent of GDP. Since President Barack Obama took office, revenues have fallen by $381 billion and spending has increased by $508 billion, increasing the deficit from $459 billion to $1.35 trillion. Non-defense discretionary spending alone has jumped 28 percent.

According to the Congressional Budget Office analysis released Sept. 7, by the end of fiscal year 2010 (Sept. 30), there was another deficit of at least $1.3 trillion — what the CBO labeled “the second-largest shortfall in the past 65 years,” second to last year’s deficit of 9.9 percent of GDP. Even if all the Bush tax cuts were repealed, the CBO concludes that the deficit still would be nearly $1.1 trillion in 2011.

The cumulative deficit from 2010 to 2019 under the president’s proposals would total $9.3 trillion. Washington projects the debt to top $24.5 trillion by the end of the decade, even exceeding the GDP projection for 2019 ($22.8 trillion).

Back in August, President Obama asked, “How do we, over the long term, get control of our deficit?” That’s a great question, Mr. President.

The CBO made one strong and simple recommendation: Stop spending so much. Is that really economic rocket science? The CBO’s recent report reinforced exactly what we already knew: The feds still are spending out of control.

Isn’t our nation seeking to recover from a recession? Then why would the federal government spend so recklessly?

Do the following sound like the fiscally responsible people and plan you want in office?

–In a mere 31 months, Congress has added more than $4.4 trillion to the 10-year spending base line. In 2005, total federal spending was only $2.47 trillion. (What about that recession the Obama administration “inherited”?)

–Even as the economy recovers and war spending decreases, the projected budget deficit never drops below $1 trillion and reaches nearly $2 trillion by 2020.

–And how about all the frivolous spending, such as the incredible $192 million splurge-fest in taxpayer money to plaster every possible highway with signs touting how stimulus cash is “Putting America to Work” with infrastructure projects?

–From 2009-20, it is estimated that the Troubled Asset Relief Program will cost $67 billion. The Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac bailouts are estimated to cost $190 billion.

–And of course, let’s not forget the string of massive debts spent by Obama under the guise of “economic stimuli,” including the $787 billion stimulus bill, the $410 billion omnibus spending bill (with 9,000 earmarks — 60 percent Democratic in origin) and the $634 billion required for a down payment for universal health care (debt No. 4). And all of that doesn’t include other so-called “economic stimuli” deemed necessary on the fed’s horizon, as Daniel Inouye, the chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, noted when he called the mammoth $787 billion spending bill “stimulus No. 1.”

–According to the Bureau of the Public Debt, as of Aug. 20, after just the first 19 months of President Obama’s four-year term, the public debt grew to $8.83 trillion, an increase of $2.53 trillion.

This present administration promised hope and change, but all we are getting is more of the same.

President Obama spoke out of one side of his mouth a while back when giving financial advice to the people in New Hampshire. “When times are tough, you tighten your belts,” he said. “You don’t go buying a boat when you can barely pay your mortgage. You don’t blow a bunch of cash in Vegas when you’re trying to save for college.”

But he then spoke out of the other side of his mouth when he informed the American public that he was proposing a record-breaking $3.8 trillion budget for fiscal year 2011, which equates to spending $7.3 million a minute. (The federal budget was only $1.9 trillion in 2001.)

It has been estimated by watchdog organizations that the government wastes nearly $1 trillion every year. That is a staggering amount, especially when one considers the annual federal budget is roughly $4 trillion.

Even liberal media predicted that Obama’s spending would “leave a string of deficits dwarfing any in the nation’s history.” And they were right.

If our country is to survive, let alone again thrive, we must elect only those who show proof of fiscal discipline, refuse under all circumstances to increase our national deficit, disdain special interests, commit to pass and live under a constitutional amendment for a balanced budget, and would cut spending radically.

Time is running out, but it’s not too late to reverse Washington’s fiscal frenzy. But you only have a couple of days left to register to vote, if you haven’t already. Check your state’s registration deadlines at http://www.register-vote.com. And you can download the voter registration form for your state at http://www.eac.gov. Click on “Resources for Voters” and then “Register To Vote.”

The future generations of America are counting and depending on us.

(Next week, I will give a specific plan and strategies for reining in and cutting federal spending. For a more exhaustive treatment of that plan based upon our Founders’ fiscal prudence and wisdom, please see the chapter titled “Stop America’s Nightmare of Debt” in the paperback expansion of my latest New York Times best-seller, “Black Belt Patriotism.”)