Mike Pence Speech

One of my fellow bloggers, Mark Lancaster, pointed me to a speech given by Mike Pence, who is a Representative from Indiana. He gave a speech that accurately points out some things that absolutely need to change about the Republican party. Here are some of my favorite quotes:

We are in danger of becoming the party of Big Government. And for the sake of our party and for the sake of the nation we must say, here and now, to all who would lead us in this new century, "the era of big Republican government is over!"

This is absolutely right. We are spending too much. The Republicans are about giving the government less of your money to waste. Government spending is always inefficient. Therefore they need to be doing less of it!!

But what of those other promises central to our nation’s values and liberty? The promises that said, "We’ll cut spending. We’ll rein in big government. We’ll restore ethics and honesty to government."
On these promises? All sizzle and no steak. The ship’s galley just keeps sending up giant pu-pu platters of pork, platitudes, promises and never-ending pleas for patience to the passengers on the deck.

Again, a giant "Amen" from me. There is no reason that the Republicans have to spend the way we are spending other than using their ability to spend my money to get re-elected.

So it’s not enough to change the way lobbyists spend their money. We must change the way Congress spends the people’s money.

We cannot make enough rules to keep our Congressmen honest in regards to Lobbyist money. Just like campaign finance reform, lobby reform will be chock full of holes. However, if Congress doesn't have public money available to spend, then the lobbyists will not be spending their money on our politicians. I can't say it nearly as well as Dr. Williams - so read it for yourself.

Then there is my absolute favorite part of the speech:

And while fiscal and ethical renewal will not be easy, I’m puzzled by those who say it will take courage to make these changes. Perhaps they confuse courage with will. It takes no courage to cast a vote or speak from the well of the House of Representatives. There are no grenade launchers or snipers in the visitors’ balcony.

I have nothing to add to the above statement.

So, are there any brave politicians out there? Well, obviously Mike Pence is an example. I hope that you will also take the time to read George Will's column about Oklahoma's Tom Coburn. We need more men like these two guys.