Dakota Beacon

It seems that all we hear these days from the left (yes, I’m talking to you Byron Dorgan!) is their appeals for “compromise”. The American Heritage Desk Dictionary defines compromise as “A settlement of differences in which each side gives up some of its claims and agrees to some of the demands of the other”.

The problem with compromise is that it comes about only by yielding on principal. Let’s say your teenage daughter wants to wear a sleazy top and hot pants to school. A “compromise” would be to allow the top but require jeans or a knee length skirt. But what the daughter really needs is education as to what the parent considers acceptable standards for school dress and direction concerning compliance.

What Washington DC has needed for a long time is lawmaking by consensus, not compromise. The same dictionary defines consensus as “collective opinion or concord; general agreement. And from the word concord comes concordance, “a state of agreement”.

Good legislation results when small groups (or subcommittees) place all ideas on the table and examine and discuss the pros and cons of each. And the ideas that ALL parties in the discussion can agree on are included in the final legislation to be presented to a larger group for even more consideration towards removal of any objectionable elements. This kind of process results in far LESS legislation, and NO legislation in which the principals of either party are compromised… A GOOD THING! You’ve heard the expression “No news is good news…well, this is especially true in the halls of legislation.

A good example of “concordance” is the impending expiration of the Bush tax cuts. The parties agree on one point…now is a bad time to raise taxes…that’s all. A “compromise” would result is “some tax increases” for “some taxpayers”…the one thing that both parties will eventually realize is worst for the national economy right now.

So when you hear a politician bemoan a lack of compromise, what you are really hearing is that the politician doesn’t care about “principals”. They only care about “winning” to one degree or another. And when you hear a politician appeal for concordance and consensus, you should expect legislation that results from only the “good” ideas of the parties at the table, with the bad ideas OF BOTH SIDES ferreted out. If we demand this standard over the next two years, we will receive what we demand…and if we do not demand consensus and concordance, we should expect bad legislation and not be surprised by it.

So tea party patriots, stay active and demand less legislation and only legislation that is approved by all parties at the table. Anything else will just make our economy worse.

Republicans have a large majority in both houses of the North Dakota Legislature; watch out! The potential for bad legislation has increased substantially! Citizens from all over the state must come to Bismarck and testify on issues they feel strongly about. And a “Liberty Alert” system is being developed to advise citizens from all over the state when bills are being considered that threaten to:

1. Raise taxation
2. Excessively Regulate
3. Expend public resources:
   1. inefficiently
   2. unconstitutionally
   3. for political patronage
   4. for historically privately funded purposes
4. Obstruct transparency or openness in government
5. Create government activity that competes with private enterprise.
6. Limit the rights of voters to question actions of elected representatives
7. Dishonor veterans and their families, who pay the price for our freedom
8. Promote a segment of the economy at the expense of another (legal plunder)

Look for further information and opportunity to be included in the “Liberty Alert” network in the month of December. And come to Bismarck to counter the influence on lobbyists that have concern only their own special interest constituencies. Volunteer conservative “Liberty Alert” support personnel will be available to help you to comfortably get through the testifying process the first time or just help you to become a better communicator.

This legislative session must be one in which the people are heard…I challenge each and every one of you out in the vast regions of our state to get involved, get in the car or pickup, and get to Bismarck this session…we need your voices to deliver conservative messages on many issues during the first months of 2011. Please don’t let your state down. Thank you!