Dear Fellow Americans:
At this critical juncture in our nation's history, your newly elected House leadership believes that a few fundamental changes in the direction of this county are necessary.
Let it be resolved that the brutal teachings of wars past will never more be ignored. From Sun Tzu to the Powell doctrine, we will heed the lesson of history. We will plan and anticipate so that military action takes where and when we choose, that we may maximize our advantage. We will not allow our valiant soldiers to become bogged down in guerrilla deathtraps where friend is indistinguishable from foe.
Let it be resolved that the men and women who fight our wars deserve more than lip service and bumper sticker support. Let our defense budget give priority to training, equipping and compensating our soldiers before we splurge on weapons systems and support championed by well-connected defense contractors.
Let it be resolved that we give our best intelligence findings due consideration. Dissenting assessments will no longer be ignored. We must fix our policy around the facts and not the other way around.
Let it be resolved that the government must spend the people's money wisely and transparently in order to keep the its trust. Let us simultaneously acknowledge the virtues of personal economic freedom and the pooling of resources for the common good. Let us recognize that the absence of the former crushes the human spirit, while the absence of the latter would reduce us all to subsistence farming or worse.
Let it be resolved that no member of Congress be permitted to bilk the federal taxpayer. Pet projects that please one constituency while impoverishing all others are bleeding our national treasury to death by a thousand cuts. Henceforth, should a Member want money to be spent locally, let them either raise the money locally or convince their colleagues of the national interest in such a project.
Let it be resolved that no fiscal policy shall be based on self-serving and unsound ideology. Hard, dispassionate and unpopular decisions lie ahead. We call for a sharing of sacrifice to ensure our great nation's long-term health. This is our pledge to future generations: we will not sacrifice your long-term prosperity for our short-term greed.
Let it be resolved that no unqualified crony shall ever be placed in a position of authority over the life or death of our citizens. We must remain aware the seductive appeal of using power to reward friends and political allies. Our separate branches of government must remain diligent, that they may prevent endeavors of national importance being undone by incompetence.
Let it be resolved that innovative policy ideas, presented in good faith, shall get the attention they deserve. We applaud those who strive to reform government for the better, and acknowledge that the best ideas often do not come from the top.
Above all, let it be resolved that we are committed to transparency in government. No past or present Administration or Congress is free from error. Over-classification and obfuscation of inconvenient truths will no longer be tolerated, much less encouraged. Our successes as well as our failures shall be visible to all, as the free flow of information is vital to a healthy democracy.
Fellow Americans, if I were to distill our pledge today into a single sentence, it would be this:
The era of bad government is over.