In politics, as in life, there can be an overwhelming temptation to go along to get along; to be a team player; to do the easy thing even when it’s not the right thing.

For far too long, insiders from both parties have played these games. Talk up fiscal responsibility, but spend big. Talk about a federal government that fulfills its basic responsibilities, but then vote to expand it beyond all recognition so that it cannot possibly do so. Talk about doing what’s right, but then do what the establishment wants instead.

Americans deserve better—and they deserve to get to choose something better this year. In 2012, Americans have the opportunity to decisively move away from big government, built up over years and years by both parties in Washington, D.C.

As I said in Sunday’s NBC/Facebook debate, President Obama has thrown gasoline on the fire, but let’s be honest: The bonfire was raging well before Obama ever left Chicago.

Policies and spending served up by Washington, D.C. insiders, in several notable instances designed and written by Wall Street insiders to suit their needs, not ours, caused and then exacerbated this situation. In too many cases, these advocates of big spending and bad policy have used their positions of power to enrich themselves, both while in office and once outside of it. Republicans have been complicit in this scheme, just as Democrats have.

It is time for it to end.

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The United States is at a fork in the road regarding which way we will go as a people. The 2012 election could be the most important in our lifetime, and conservative leaders have reached a consensus on how to channel the energy and concerns of the American people to realize historic change this year.

The status quo will not survive the year. Our debt and spending have reached catastrophic proportions in the context of global financial difficulties and political upheaval. Consequently, by the end of 2012, America will either have taken a decisive step toward socialistic collectivism in the name of “equality” and “social justice,” where businesses and owners are punitively taxed to “pay their fair share,” or America will take a major step in the direction of returning to our Founders’ constitutional government, restoring the rule of law, federalism, free enterprise, and individual initiative and responsibility.

The American people will decide which path to take in the 2012 elections, not only in the general election on November 6 but also in the nominating process in primaries over the next several months for all major offices, including the presidency. Conservatives must act in a concerted and informed fashion in all of these contests to shape the public dialogue and thoroughly vet the candidates.

To achieve these ends, top conservative leaders acting under the umbrella of the Conservative Action Project have released “A Conservative Consensus for 2012” announcing agreement on major policies. These issues span all three wings of the conservative movement: economic, social, and national security.

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In an interview at The Heritage Foundation, Texas Senator John Cornyn had strong words for President Obama. “Unfortunately the President is already out complaining trying to channel Harry Truman, railing against a “Do Nothing Congress”, when he has apparently given up on governing and has decided to campaign full-time and he’s not really contributing towards the solution.”

Cornyn (R-TX) was at Heritage to stress the importance of enacting the strongest possible Balanced Budget Amendment, one that caps federal spending at 18 percent of the economy and requires a super-majority vote in Congress to increase taxes.

During his interview, Cornyn gave a brief overview of that fight:

Starting in the House this week they will vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment. And then before the end of the year, we are guaranteed by the provisions of the Budget Control Act a vote in the Senate. I expect there will be two votes. One on what I call the “strong” version that 47 Republicans have co-sponsored and another on one that will, honestly, be more in the nature of a cover vote.for Democrats up for election in 2012.

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The agreement to force Congress to have an up or down vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment is the cornerstone of re-establishing America as the world leader in sound economic policy. For decades, America’s small government model was internationally respected as being supportive of higher levels of economic growth. But that image died after Republicans gained domination of the Presidency, Senate, and the House in 2002 and ramped up outlays in every direction – increasing spending by 90% and the national debt by 150% in just nine years.

This irresponsible action gave cover for politicians around the world to join in on the spending bash. But with the American public now favoring a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution by 74% according to the most recent CNN poll; Congress and the President will be forced to either approve an Amendment, or suffer the over-whelming wrath of voters in the next election. Following America’s re-born economic leadership; President Sarkozy of France just proclaimed he will run for re-election on a platform in support of a French Balance Budget Amendment.

America has long been the envy of the world. With 5% of the earth’s population, America still controls 25% of the entire world’s GDP. Since 1871, the U.S. has grown its economy rather consistently at about 3.47% per year compounded, compared to less than 2% for other developed nations. One of the keys to that victory has been the U.S. remaining in the bottom 10% of tax burdens percentages of developed nations – with 25% tax burden as a percentage of GDP. But according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) the explosion of deficit spending means either tax rates must rise to the French and German average of 38% or spending must be cut.

American businesses have been planning for the advent of higher corporate taxes by continuing to outsource production to lower tax platforms, such as Mexico with its 17.5% tax burden as a percentage of GDP. This explains why Mexico’s unemployment rate has fallen to 4.9 percent, while joblessness has risen to 9.4 in the U.S. Mexican Consul General Carlos González Gutiérrez responded to questions about why less Mexicans are now entering California illegally:

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson and Ben Domenech are joined by Senator Mike Lee to discuss the debt ceiling deal, and his new book, The Freedom Agenda: Why a Balanced Budget Amendment is Necessary to Restore Constitutional Government. Then Francis Cianfrocca discusses the wild week for the markets and the latest jobs report.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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The debt limit increase debate is heating up and conservatives have put together one fascinating proposal as a means to get spending cuts in consideration for a debt limit increase:  The Cut, Cap, and Balance Pledge.  Conservatives seem to be coalescing around this idea, because no other concrete ideas have been put on the table as a precondition for conservatives to allow an increase of the debt limit.  A senior Senate source tells Capitol Confidential that “this is everything.  This is the the big push for conservatives on the debt limit fight.”

The House is controlled by Republicans, yet the Senate is controlled by Democrats.  Divided government makes it hard to pass conservative ideas.  Hard, yet not impossible.

The debate on the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution (FY2011 CR) was a case study on how NOT to negotiate with liberals.  The House can pass solid conservative legislation and appropriations bills, yet the Senate can defeat these ideas with inaction.  And they did on the FY2011 CR fight.  Senator Harry Reid (R-Nevada) defeated Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) Continuing Resolution by not scheduling a debate on the measure. The original House passed FY2011 CR contained massive cuts to spending, yet Reid beat it back by not doing anything and awaiting the inevitable panic by House leaders who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.  Instead of daring the Senate to just never pass a bill and let the government shut down, the House blinked and sent over short term spending bills, then negotiated a final bill that was bad policy.  The House negotiated against themselves and conservatives ended up with a Continuing Resolution that, according to the Congressional Budget Office, actually increased spending by $3.3 billion.  The leftists over at the Daily Kos made fun of Speaker Boehner for the spending increases in the FY2011 CR.   The resolution of the debate on the continuing resolution for conservatives was an epic failure.

Hopefully conservatives have learned a lesson and will not make the same mistake again.

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On Mar. 31, Senators Orrin Hatch and Mike Lee introduced a Balanced Budget Amendment (BBA) to make it a constitutional requirement for Washington, D.C., to end our deficit spending and culture of debt. And our national grassroots organization, Pass the Balanced Budget Amendment, is working with them to compel lawmakers to approve this change to the Supreme Law of the Land.

The BBA requires that the U.S. cannot spend more than it takes in, making the federal government act just like most state governments, and for that matter just like all of you reading this column.

There are a few emergency exceptions, such as allowing two-thirds of the House and Senate to suspend it for a specific reason for one year, with lower thresholds to respond to a military threat to our national security or an official, declared war against a specific nation (not some open-ended or global military operation).

But with the exception of an all-out war, those exceptions only apply if there’s the political will for a supermajority of Congress to support it. If those of us who fought to get the right people elected in 2010 keep those efforts up in 2012 and beyond, then we can finally force Congress to live within its means.

The amendment is cosponsored by all 47 Senate Republicans. This raises eyebrows in that the last time a proposed BBA was voted on, 1997, it enjoyed Democratic support with 66 votes, falling a single vote short in the Senate. (It also means that we need some solid constitutional conservatives to win a few more Senate seats.)

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I posted yesterday at International Liberty about the stunning political incompetence of Republican Senators, who reportedly are willing to give Obama an increase in the debt limit in exchange for a vote (yes, just a vote) on a balanced budget amendment.

As I explained, there is no way they can get the necessary two-thirds support to approve an amendment, so why trade a meaningless and symbolic vote on a BBA for meaningful and real approval of more borrowing authority for Obama? My analogy yesterday was that this was like trading a all-star baseball player for a utility infielder in the minor leagues.

I did acknowledge that forcing a vote on a BBA was a worthwhile endeavor, but said that the GOP has that power anyhow, so why trade away something valuable to get something you already can get for free?

Little did I realize that Republicans already did force a vote on the balanced budget amendment. Less than one month ago, on March 2, Senator Lee of Utah got a vote on a “Sense of the Senate” resolution in favor of a balanced budget amendment. Senator Lee’s resolution was approved by a 58-40 margin, which is nice, but an actual amendment would need a two-thirds supermajority, so this test vote demonstrated that there is no way to approve an amendment this year.

I’m glad Senator Lee proposed his resolution. I’m glad Senators were forced to go on the record.

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On today’s edition of Coffee and Markets, Brad Jackson is joined by U.S. Senate candidate Jamie Radtke to discuss the Tea Party movement, budget cuts needed in Washington and much more.

We’re brought to you as always by BigGovernment and Stephen Clouse and Associates. If you’d like to email us, you can do so at coffee[at]newledger.com. We hope you enjoy the show.

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Glenn Reynolds in today’s Washington Examiner:

With the new Congress being sworn in this week, everyone is full of advice. Well, I’m no exception. The first advice comes from Han Solo in the debut “Star Wars” film: “Don’t get cocky.” Republicans won big in the last election, but, if they think that constitutes an excuse to slip back into their old ways, circa 2004 to 2006, then they are doomed — not just as individual politicians, but quite possibly as a party. The public’s patience is quite limited, and is likely to stay so for the foreseeable future.

Second, remember that fortune favors the bold. It’s true that ordinarily in politics, most progress occurs at the margins. But it’s also true that these are not ordinary times. Big money-saving and government-shrinking proposals in the House, even if they’re shot down by the Democrat-controlled Senate, will nonetheless establish a tone.

They’re trying to hide it, but the Inside-the-Beltway permanent-government political class is currently scared. Keep them that way, while showing the public at large that you’re serious.

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Appearing Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Senator-elect Rand Paul (R-KY.) told host Christiane Amanpour he would push for a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

This is an idea whose time has come. In 1994, Republicans campaigned– and won — on a balanced budget amendment (as part of the Contract with America). Back then; the deficit was just $203 billion. Today, the national deficit is at $1.4 trillion (that’s roughly $3,500 for each American, and some $14,000 for each family of four in deficit spending just this year alone).

Most states require their elected officials to balance their budget each year, but no such requirement impedes the reckless spending of the United States federal government. A constitutional amendment would bar the federal government from spending more money than it brings in each year — and require a supermajority in order to raise taxes. This is not a radical idea, but the consequences of failing to enact such a measure cannot be overstated.

Fortunately, as evidenced by the Tea Party movement, there appears to finally be the political will required to get this done. Newly elected Republicans simply must realize they weren’t elected to merely “trim” spending or “slow down” the rate of government growth, but rather, to cut, de-authorize and balance the budget. (If they fail to grasp this fact, it will be a short and depressing two years).

It is also worth noting that the conservative movement is united behind this cause.

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One thing our founding fathers could not foresee… was a nation governed by professional politicians who have a vested interest in getting reelected.  They probably envisioned a fellow serving a couple of hitches and then looking forward to getting back to the farm.” — Ronald Reagan

The energy of 1994 led to the Contract with America, and the huge Republican victory of that year.  It was a victory for Republicans, but was it a victory for America?

The Contract with America had an inherent flaw.  It was a political party bargaining with Americans:  give us power and this is what we will do for you.  The Freshmen 50 is different:  it is Americans telling the federal government what it will do.

We are citizen-candidates united on a platform of six simple and realistic reforms for our government:

• Apply the Law Equally: All laws that apply to all citizens also apply to Congress
• Term Limits: Limit terms in Congress to no more than 12 years in the House and Senate, respectively
• Enforce Congressional Ethics: Yearly tax and expense audits, former Congressmen and their staff cannot be lobbyists, allow the ethics committee to do their job
• Read the Bill: Prior to final vote, the entire bill must be read out loud on the floor of the House; if a representative is not present for the entire reading, he cannot vote
• Tax Reform: Repeal our current tax code in favor of one that taxes only once, at one rate, and require a 2/3-majority vote for any new tax
• Balance the Budget: Amend the Constitution to require a balanced budget

We are unique.

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This week, the US federal debt surpassed the $12 Trillion threshold.

Congress will vote in December to extend America’s indebtedness above $12,100,000,000,000, necessitated because our national debt grew last year by more than $1,400,000,000,000 and will grow this year by $1,400,000,000,000. According to the Obama White House estimates, the national debt will continue to grow by more than $1 trillion for the next nine years.  Except it won’t…because it can’t. There just isn’t $9 Trillion to borrow.

For years we’ve heard about the immorality of putting this debt on our grandkids. Forget the grandkids, our economy is at grave risk of collapse right now!

The dollar is in free-fall. The Ponzi scheme Congress calls Social Security is about to collapse. Foreigners are beginning to balk at loaning the US government more money. That grave economic turmoil our debt and deficit will cause in the future? It’s here now.

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