RNC's Principles for American Renewal

On October 2, 2014, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus introduced 11 principles referred to as Principles for American Renewal. Included with the online introduction of the principles is a section called "What They're Saying." Here's a taste:

Reince's Principles for American Renewal capture the spirit of serious and fast reform, and a refusal to stand by for the last two years of Obama's epic fail bemoaning but not acting. The principles stress a commitment to deep reforms and an ongoing recognition that a free people are best left to decide for themselves how to use their time, their money and their land, educate their children, choose their health care, and worship their God as they see fit.

- Hugh Hewitt, Nationally Syndicated Talk Radio Host and Author

See the principles and more at GOP.com or

Principles for American Renewal

CONSTITUTION - Our Constitution should be preserved, valued and honored.

ECONOMY - We need to start growing America’s economy instead of Washington’s economy so that hardworking Americans see better wages and more opportunity.

BUDGET - We need to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, make government more efficient, and leave the next generation with opportunity, not debt.

HEALTHCARE - We need to start over with real healthcare reform that puts patients and their doctors in charge, not unelected bureaucrats in Washington.

VETERANS - Our veterans have earned our respect and gratitude, and no veteran should have to wait in line for months or years just to see a doctor.

SECURITY - Keeping America safe and strong requires a strong military, growing the economy, energy independence, and secure borders.

EDUCATION - Every child should have an equal opportunity to get a great education; no parent should be forced to send their child to a failing school.

POVERTY - The best anti-poverty program is a strong family and a good job, so our focus should be on getting people out of poverty by lifting up all people and helping them find work.

VALUES - Our country should value the traditions of family, life, religious liberty, and hard work.

ENERGY - We should make America energy independent by encouraging investment in domestic energy, lowering prices, and creating jobs at home.

IMMIGRATION - We need an immigration system that secures our borders, upholds the law, and boosts our economy.

GOP.com: PRINCIPLES FOR AMERICAN RENEWAL
• Take the Survey
• Watch the Video
• What They're Saying... Read More......

Allen Alley: Rainbows and Moonbeams

"Rainbows and Moonbeams"
By Allen Alley
Was it a “Portlandia” script or an Oregonian front page story? The April 17 article on Governor Kitzhaber and Cylvia Hayes, who spent three hours in a class to learn how to construct a happiness index, could have been either one.  This happiness index, promoted by a Portland State University professor, purports to give a more accurate picture of economic health than the value of all goods and services produced, also known as gross domestic product (GDP).

The happiness index or Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI) was promoted at a recent United Nations summit meeting on happiness and originated in that bastion of economic energy, Bhutan.  The Kingdom of Bhutan is a tiny Himalayan country with a GDP per person of $2,600.  Bhutan’s GDP ranks 129th in the world with other economic powerhouses such as Bolivia, Sri Lanka and Mongolia.  In perspective, the U.S. GDP per person is 18 times higher than Bhutan.

Is the Governor really going to model our economy after a third world country?  Are we giving up trying to measure ourselves by the economic measures of successful nations and instead partner with the Bhutanese and the UN to just make up our own happiness index?  Even “Portlandia’s” writers could not have conceived of this plot twist.

A trip to Taiwan in 1982 proved to me that economic prosperity creates happiness and a cleaner environment.  At the time, the streets of Taipei looked like a scene from Blade Runner.  Acid rain literally etched the buildings and stripped the paint off cars and signs.  Swarms of smoke-belching dilapidated scooters were the transportation mode of choice.  It seemed that Taiwan might sink into the ocean under the weight of the detritus of society, and all that would be left would be an oil slick and Styrofoam packing worms.  Then an amazing thing happened.  They became prosperous.  Today the GDP per person of Taipei is second only to Tokyo in Asia and is higher than that of Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul.  Once they became economically prosperous, they did not want to live in squalor.  They had the community wealth to clean up their environment, and they did. 

Oregon’s economic report card is apparently so stubbornly awful that rather than creating an environment where prosperity can flourish, Governor Kitzhaber is going to change the grading system.  Now our economic F will be waved away, because we try really hard and have nice parks.

Global economic competition is brutal.  There are no bonus points for effort or style.  You either succeed or fail, and lately Oregon has been failing.

Since 1995 Oregonians have been getting poorer relative to other Americans.  We have slipped 10 places in state personal income ranking from 22nd to 32nd.  At the same time our neighbor to the north Washington rose from 16th to 13th.  In 1995 an Oregonian earned $750 less than the average American in personal income, today we are $3,700 behind.  That means the average family of 4 in Oregon is $14,800 a year poorer than the average American family.  So either we have to have significantly higher taxes or settle for inferior schools, roads, and public safety.  We cannot fill potholes with happiness.

Governor Kitzhaber, we need to embrace GDP and rededicate ourselves to creating an environment where it actually increases.  We must maximize access to the assets that make Oregon a potentially great place to build prosperity.  Open and expand our ports.  Use our natural resources.  Go out and actively promote Oregon timber as the greenest building product on earth.  Keep power rates low.  Manage the Columbia River to extract more economic value for Oregon.  Embrace hydro power as the renewable, CO2 free, source of clean energy that it is.  Create an environment where we feel our state is a partner in prosperity, not an impediment.

It’s difficult to attain long-term happiness without some measure of security and prosperity.  Gone are the days when a barter economy could provide all of the goods and services we need.  Besides, much of the capital created in Oregon comes from trade with other states and nations.  Happiness is a result, not a thing that can be traded.  Oregonians cannot pay their mortgage with moonbeams, and even the governor is unlikely to convince the public employee unions to accept rainbows rather than raises.

Here is the link to the op-ed on the Oregonian website. This op-ed was received via email, which also included a link to the ORP donation page. Read More......

Reince Priebus Wins Race for RNC Chief

WASHINGTON --Reince Priebus was elected chairman of the Republican National Committee on Friday after Michael Steele dropped his bid to stay atop the party for another two years. Read more at Fox News... Read More......

Bob Tiernan: It's time for me to "Pass the Torch"

Sorry! This is old news that I didn't get posted in a timely fashion. --bc
TO: Oregon Republican Party Central Committee
FROM: Bob Tiernan
SUBJECT: It’s time for me to “Pass the Torch”
DATE: January 2, 2011

It has been a tremendous honor to serve as your Chairman these past two years! We have accomplished so much and I am proud of all of our joint efforts. However, I have decided it’s time for me to “move on”.

It has been a very tough decision to decide not to run again. I have invested a lot of my time, energy and have put together a great team---- and we now have a very strong party organization. But….Simply put, I told myself many months ago, that if I could find another Republican leader to run for Chairman who could carry on with all the accomplishments, and build on those accomplishments, it was time for me to “move on” and get back to my Consulting business, and a new assignment in the Navy Reserve.

I have personally notified each member of the Executive Committee of my decision and I will be sending out a press release tomorrow morning announcing that I will not be running (see attached).

We have accomplished much these past two years…..but it could not be done without your help. Just to name a few of our accomplishments:

• Opened a new “state of the art Republican headquarters” in the heart of Portland Metro area
  
  
• Extinguished over $200,000 in past vendor debt (Party is now debt free)
  
  
• Hired an extremely talented and experienced staff (Brandon Danz – Executive Director, Julia Miller – Chief administrative officer, Greg Leo – Communications director, Kevin Hoar – Field Director, Mark Krsak – Office manager)
  
  
• Implemented a complete State Party re-organization plan
  
  
• Paid off loans previously incurred by the Party (remaining loans are in a structured pay-off plan)
  
  
• Launched an aggressive communications program, featuring improved Press Relations and an aggressive outreach
  
  
• Acquired state of the art technology, including a New Web-site (with twitter, face book,) VOIP phone systems, and a new and improved “voter vault”.
  
  
• Convinced the RNC to invest over $500,000 dollars to help Republicans get elected in last election cycle.
  
  
• Increased the State Party’s role in aiding targeted state legislative, Congressional and statewide campaigns.
  
  
• Streamlined the Oregon Republican Party Platform

Again, all of this was done with a great staff, especially Brandon, Andrew, Julia (and NO she is not my daughter!), Greg, Polly, Kevin, and Mark. I would also like to thank a GREAT Executive Committee, especially, Tim Smith, Denny Morgan, Darlien France and our 5 Congressional Chairs and Vice Chairs.

My hope for the party is that we continue with the tremendous momentum we have built and clobber the Democrats in 2012!! To do that, we all need to get behind the next Chairman, put whatever differences we may have aside, and unify ourselves into one tremendous fighting force. I will be offering to help the next Chairman to assure a smooth transition.

I will be announcing publically my decision tomorrow morning with a press release stating my intention not to run for reelection. I will also be sending you a copy.

I look forward to seeing each of you at our meeting on January 22nd. Again, it has been an honor to be your leader and I look forward to seeing the Oregon Republican Party continue on with the successes that you and I and our great staff have accomplished.

Sincerely

Bob
Bob Tiernan, Chairman
Oregon Republican Party
PO Box 25406
Portland, OR 97298
(503) 595-8881
Become a part of the Oregon Republican Party by donating at:
http://secure.ssgenius.com/orgop_org/index.asp Read More......

Allen Alley to seek Oregon Republican Party Chairmanship

OREGON REPUBLICAN PARTY, 1/3/2011 - Tigard, Ore. – Allen Alley, founder of Pixelworks and former Republican candidate for Governor, announced today that he will run for the position of Oregon Republican Party Chair. The election will be held at the Biennial Organizational Meeting on January 22nd. Read more at ORP... Read More......

Charlie Rangel holds onto gavel

POLOTICO, 2/2/2010 - Charlie Rangel emerged from a closed-door meeting in Nancy Pelosi’s office Tuesday night to declare that he’s still the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee and hasn’t agreed to give up his gavel – even as some media outlets were reporting that he’d done just that. ∴ But asked whether he’d still be the chairman tomorrow and in the coming days, Rangel said: “I can’t make all those promises at my age.” ∴ And when Pelosi was asked whether Rangel was resigning, she said “no comment.” Read more at Politico...

2/3/2010 UPDATE: Rep. Rangle turned over the gavel in a short, emotional press conference, at which he took no questions. Read More......