The Georgia run-off election... why it's important

By the way, I'm over the presidential election last week.  

Historical, monumental, decisive.  America wants change, and to tell you the truth with the discourse, non-transparency, and rampant wasteful spending we have seen in the government for the past (God knows how many) years, we need (and deserve) change.

What we didn't vote for, I believe, is the far left agenda that is now being talked about, sometimes secretly and sometimes not-so-secretly, as a result.  Nancy Pelosi (Speaker of the House) and Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader) have some ambitious plans for our country... and with Bush's veto pen in hand and parity in the Senate these were largely kept at bay.  Some may be good for our country, but some (like government health care and potential confiscation of 401K plans) are not so much.  Now, with gains in both houses of Congress and a liberal president in the White House, some of these could move from rumor to highly discussed realities.  

Which is why it's important that we keep some balance in the Senate... currently the momentum is at 57-40 (with 1 independent Democrat and two seats up for grabs).  Minnesota is currently moving toward a recount and Georgia is in a runoff because neither Saxby Chambliss or Jim Martin won a majority of the vote (the same fact is true of Minnesota, but I suppose they can win with a plurality there without a need for a runoff... apparently voting cards in the back seats of cars works well in one district too).  This vote is key, because if Al Franken and Jim Martin both win, then the Democrats will essentially have the 60 votes needed to cease filibusters in the Senate and push these extreme measures to the American people.  I am a big believer in checks and balances... our government has thrived on it for over 232 years with a few exceptions... let's not take it away.

Besides, Saxby Chambliss is a good man... he deserves to be reelected.  Jim Martin has outright lied about his (Saxby's) proposals and record in this campaign, THAT and the momentum of support for Democrats has helped position for this runoff.  Saxby cares about America and is a true conservative, which can't be said of all Republicans.  

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The number one "lie" is that "Saxby wants to raise your taxes by evoking a 23% national sales tax."  That is a half truth, which is in fact a full lie.  It is true that Saxby is a proponent of the Fair Tax which would move the country toward a progressive, consumption-based tax... but what Jim Martin has unfairly not stated is the this proposal would completely ELIMINATE all income taxes and the IRS.  This includes:

- FICA

- Payroll taxes

- US Income Taxes

- Capital Gains taxes

... etc.

I love this proposal for a number of reasons (and I have read the Fair Tax book by Neil Boortz), but I'll state a few:

1. It largely eliminates the politicization of the tax code currently leveraged by politicians to get elected, including the "class warfare" preaching we have seen.  Getting this off the table would vastly improve the debate in this country.

2. It returns taxes to it's primary function, raising funds so that the government can run.  Eliminating any thought of social engineering from taxation would be a great (and needed) change if we're really going to start thinking of ourselves as "not red state, or blue state, but as the United States of America" (to quote President-Elect Obama).

3. It largely consolidates the tax collection function in the US to points of consumption, versus every individual in the US.  We could really downsize (or eliminate) the IRS, which would create some needed cost cutting with a $455B deficit projected for this year.

4. It eliminates the deception that "some people don't pay taxes" -or- the April 15th, I got money back (irrational euphoria) thing...  The reality is that we pay a TON of money in taxes and don't realize it... automatic withholding of income tax is one way that we've become desensitized to how much $$$ is actually going out of our pocket to fund Uncle Sam's programs (at lot of which we wouldn't in any way fund)... I looked at the number in my tax return last year and was {upset}... {very upset}.  

By the way, the "Corporate Income Tax" is also an illusion... we pay those taxes too, in the form of higher prices on goods.  All the CIT is, is a mechanism making US Corporations a tax collection vehicle for the government, which is why I say that everyone pays taxes, whether it is reported to the IRS or not.  

If you want to be more educated on this, I encourage you to read Fair Tax with an open mind (http://www.fairtax.org).  It will open your mind, and probably make you upset (because we are all getting a raw deal with the current taxation system).  This isn't about social justice or environmental protection (stuff that most young conservatives care about)... it's about individual rights.  

This is what Saxby is for... 

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Now, back to the 60% issue... this is a necessary mechanism to ensure that there is true national agreement before moving forward with potentially nation-altering decisions.  Both sides are glad that filibusters happened... Conservatives in 1993 with Phil Graham's filibuster of "Hillarycare" and Liberals with the Dem Senate's filibuster of some of Bush's more ideologue judge nominees.  The result is that rational judges were eventually seated and a quasi free market health care system is in place (okay - the system is still broken, but I don't believe that means it has to be nationalized).  

Let's be honest, today in America the party machinery is very, very powerful... both in the Democratic and in the Republican parties.  I believe that recent "beating in the woodshed" that we Republicans have taken will result in a challenging of the party machinery and more independent minded folks stepping up to the plate.  If you want to know why Sarah Palin is so popular, that's one of the reasons why.  If the Democratic machine has the power to pass its agenda without some checks and balances, we could see some change, and it won't be change we can believe in... and my friends, it may not be change that we can reverse course on very easily.  Let's think about that before we give the Democratic Party a blank check... as much as I congratulate them for what they accomplished on 11/4.