Johnson admits first 100 days pivotal

Op-ed views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author.

Speaker Mike Johnson’s proposed “first 100 days” agenda, proclaimed last week, blends pragmatism with historical reality.

In recent weeks there has been a degree of dishonesty and misinformation originating from Washington, D.C. that is unrivaled. Johnson’s uncomplicated agenda brings everything into focus. It begins with separating fact from propaganda, motivated by Democrats’ need to run away from their record.

Johnson emphasized the importance of extending the 2017 “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act,” due to expire next year. He explained that in not extending the act, America would be adding an average of $300 per month in tax burden to American families.

He also emphasized the need to repeal the inaccurately named, “Inflation Reduction Act.” This legislation should have been labeled “the Inflation Creation Act.” In short, it is chocked full of “Green New Deal” nonsense that mostly benefits Communist China. It is the root of the worst inflation experienced in U.S. history.

Heritage Foundation Misnomer

In the recent debate, the ABC moderator’s first foul was not to distinguish Donald Trump’s platform from the Heritage Foundation’s wish list. Let’s start with the most important element: The federal bureaucracy.

The Heritage Foundation identified correctly that 95% of the bureaucracy had contributed to Democrat political candidates. They described the atmosphere as “wind always in our face.” This contradicts Democrat’s embracement of “dedicated public servants working for all Americans.” This may be true. But it’s equally understandable that a conservative think tank such as the Heritage Foundation would see the bureaucracy as decisively partisan.

The Heritage Foundation’s proposal is the replace Democrats with Republicans. Trump’s campaign has a different twist. It amounts to “reducing” the size of the bureaucracy.” Is it the 75% reduction that former presidential candidate, Vivek Ramaswamy demanded? Nobody knows for sure. But it is a smart bet that Trump would reintroduce the “Hire Act,” originally proposed by Senators Blackburn and Hawley and begin the slow and painful process of decentralizing the federal bureaucracy.

When a bureaucrat is told that their position has been moved to Kansas City, Albuquerque, Charleston, WV or Indianapolis, chances are, they will not accept the relocation. We saw evidence of this tendency in 2019 when the Bureau of Land Management began relocating its employees to Grand Junction, Colorado. 70% of BLM employees said “no,” despite a generous relocation bonus. In effect, they resigned, making them ineligible for unemployment benefits.

It Begins with Academia

There was one commonality shared by Trump and the Heritage Foundation: “The need to abolish the Department of Education.”

The DOE was a “gift” of the Carter Administration and clearly violates the 10^th Amendment. This overbearing department is dominated by Democrats, who have, as of late, threatened local school districts with withholding funds if WOKE initiatives were not adopted. Abolition would begin with sending funds back to the states in block grants, based on their size.

Academia, in general, is badly in need of reform. It starts with eliminating the word “tenure” from the English language! A new initiative calling for “annual objectivity reviews” for all faculty-staff members would become a prerequisite for continued employment. The determination would be made by a triumvirate made up of appointments from the state’s executive branch, the House and the Senate.

Those terminated would be classified “with cause.” Additional insight may be drawn from Senator Marco Rubio’s 2022 CPAC address. TRANSCRIPT: Marco Rubio Remarks at CPAC – Marco Rubio In short, our children should not be subjected to Marxist orientations coming from our public schools, colleges and universities. A reckoning is at hand.

“Drill Baby Drill”

Unlike most politicians on the hill, I have physically stood on the ANWAR. Located in extreme northeastern Alaska, the “Arctic National Wildlife Reserve” is roughly the size of West Virginia. At last count, there were seventy-three (73) mostly BLM workers living there. When Speaker Johnson explained the potential, he was not exaggerating! There may be more oil in ANWAR than in Saudi Arabia!

Through years of discussions with dozens of Alaskan oil field workers, one thing became obvious. Outside of the vast oil reserves, ANWAR is a truly awful place, nothing remotely akin to the “pristine, Arctic wilderness” described by Al Gore and John Kerry. It is flat with no trees. January temperatures hover around the negative 70-degree mark. July temperatures range from the low 40’s to mid-50’s. Because ANWAR sits on a “frozen swamp,” summer is accompanied by millions of mosquitos. It is so bad that “First Nation Yupiks and Inupiats” won’t live there!

Yet drilling in ANWAR offers advantages. A forty-year, Alaskan “roughneck,” originally from Bay City, Michigan explained.

“Drilling through permafrost isn’t like drilling through rock and sand in Texas or Saudi Arabia. The drill easily penetrates the “frozen muck” and when you withdraw the drill, the hole doesn’t collapse. That saves time and money. The oil pockets lie beneath the permafrost. Much of the oil is found in international waters. That’s why the Russians wanted to claim the North Pole.”

Alaskans see ANWAR jobs in the same manner that Pennsylvanians sees “fracking” jobs. They are permanent, high paying Union jobs, with excellent benefits. They consider those opposed to these jobs for ideological reasons “anti-American.”

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