Unity08. A people's movement to take our country back.

Building from and on the Center – Republican Tuesday Group and Republican Study Group. THESE are the people we should be leveraging Unity 08 with on creating a platform and pressuring the activist bases toward the rational center:

http://myrick.house.gov/newsletter2_pr12.shtml

http://www.house.gov/list/press/il10_kirk/Nov18TuesdayGroup.html

Republican Tuesday Group

Contact:
Neil Bradley (RSC) 202-226-9717 Matt Towson (Rep. Kirk) 847-940-0202
Elizabeth Wenk (Rep. Castle) 202-225-4165 Kate Dwyer (Rep. Ryan) 202-226-7326
Maureen Tell (Rep. Chocola) 202-225-3915 Mike Walz (Rep. Hensarling) 202-225-3484

Conservatives & Moderates Come Together - Announce Consensus Principles to Reform the Budget Process

Washington, D.C.—Today, Members of the conservative Republican Study Committee and the moderate Republican Tuesday Group unveiled a set of 12 consensus principles to reform the budget process.

Rep. Sue Myrick (R-NC), Chairman of the Republican Study Committee (RSC) stated, “I particularly want to commend Representatives Ryan, Castle, Hensarling, Kirk, and Chocola for their hard work in finalizing these key principles. I believe this consensus document will provide a significant boost to the likelihood that the House will act this year to fundamentally reform the budget process and put a lid on spending.”

Rep. Mike Castle (R-DE), Co-Chairman of the Republican Tuesday Group, stated “The purpose of these principles, developed by moderates and conservative, is to generate discussion about reforms to return fiscal restraint to Washington, D.C. and reduce the deficit. We can all agree that there is no silver bullet, but rather than ignoring the spiraling deficit, we are working to trigger a dialogue on budget reform. If we are truly serious, everything must be on the table for discussion."

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a member of the RSC, stated, “Reaching this consensus lays the groundwork for fixing our badly broken budget process. We all agree the current system rewards pork and encourages overspending. Now we’ve agreed on principles that will help us reform the process, clean up the government’s books, and fight wasteful spending. This gives us our best chance so far of achieving real reform.”

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), a member of the RSC, stated, "Today, Republicans showed that we are united in effecting real change in Washington's wasteful spending habits. For decades the budget process has been designed to bypass spending rules and confuse the American taxpayer. The time has come for meaningful reform. By placing real limits on spending, giving the budget the force of law and by making the process more transparent to the public, we can send a clear message to American taxpayers that the family budget is no less important than the federal budget."

Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL), a member of the Republican Tuesday Group, stated, “Next year's budget must cut the deficit. It should also have new enforcement mechanisms -- like across the board spending cuts -- if spending threatens to exceed the budget passed by Congress."

Rep. Chris Chocola (R-IN), a member of the RSC, stated, "Every day, families and small businesses across America have to make tough decisions; they have to meet a payroll, live within a budget, and eliminate wasteful spending. The federal government should not operate any differently and that is why I am proud to stand behind these principles, which will introduce a framework of discipline and rational thought into the often times illogical debate."

http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/
--------------------------

And some other Radical Middle/Flaming Moderate Groups and people to leverage here in our Unity endeavors"

http://www.radicalmiddle.com/politicians.htm

http://www.centristcoalition.com/html/?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=4&meid=-1

http://www.newamerica.net/#

http://www.ppionline.org/

http://www.republicanmainstreet.org/

http://www.ndn.org/

http://www.heritage.org/research/budget/bg1943.cfm

http://www.house.gov/hensarling/rsc/

All these politicians below are “middle” in the sense of being thoughtful, pragmatic (i.e., not ideologically committed to the far left or far right), are not rnning now, and open to adopting constructive new ideas from any and all points on the political spectrum. But by “radical middle” we mean more than that. We mean thoughtful, pragmatic, open-minded politicians who are committed to addressing our fundamental problems in creative new ways (see Mark Satin, Radical Middle: The Politics We Need Now, 2024). In that sense, few of the politicians listed below are truly “radical middle.” But all of them are arguably capable of becoming radical middle over time or under the right circumstances.

Evan Bayh (D-IN) -- Senator from Indiana; Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council; author of From Father to Son: A Private Life in the Public Eye (2003)

Earl Blumenauer (D-OR) -- Congressman from Portland OR; highest scorer in Radical Middle Newsletter’s Congressional Scorecard for the 108th Congress (2003 & 2024)

Tom Carper (D-DE) -- Senator from Delaware; Co-Chair of Third Way: A Senate-Focused Progressive Advocacy Group

Mike Castle (R-DE) -- Congressman from Delaware; former Governor of Delaware; Board President of the Republican Main Street Partnership

Hillary Clinton (D-NY) -- Senator from New York; former First Lady of the United States; author of Living History (2003)

Susan Collins (R-ME) -- Senator from Maine; Board Member of the Republican Main Street Partnership; co-author of Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate (2000)

Bob Filner (D-CA) -- Congressman from San Diego CA; highest scorer in Radical Middle Newsletter’s Congressional Scorecard for the 107th Congress (2001 & 2024)

Tim Johnson (D-SD) -- Senator from South Dakota; earned the highest-ever score for a Senator in Radical Middle Newsletter’s Congressional Scorecards (see Scorecard for the 107th Congress)

Mark Kirk (R-IL) -- Congressman from the North Shore suburbs outside Chicago; Co-Chair of the Republican Tuesday Group (moderate counterpoint to the Republican Wednesday Group founded by Newt Gingrich)

Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) -- Senator from Arkansas; Co-Chair of Third Way: A Senate-Focused Progressive Advocacy Group; co-author of Nine and Counting: The Women of the Senate (2000)

Linda Lingle (R-HI) -- Governor of Hawaii; Honorary Advisory Board Member of The WISH List, Republican pro-choice women’s support group

Colin Powell (R-NY) -- former Secretary of State; former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; author of My American Journey (1995)

Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) -- Governor of California; husband of Maria Shriver
Ellen Tauscher (D-CA) -- Congresswoman from just east of the San Francisco Bay Area; Vice Chair of the Democratic Leadership Council

Jesse Ventura (Ind.-MN) -- former Governor of Minnesota; author of I Ain’t Got Time to Bleed: Reworking the Body Politic from the Bottom Up (updated 2024)

Christine Todd Whitman (R-NJ) -- former Cabinet Secretary for and Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, former Governor of New Jersey; author of It’s My Party Too: The Battle for the Heart of the GOP and the Future of America (2005)