Congressional GOP used taxpayers' money to launch their propaganda site Americaspeakingout.com. The ineptness displayed by the site design and the management/filtering of the content has been hilarious. But jokings aside, now that the site has been up for a week, some serious and really good ideas have emerged to the top. Let us keep an inventory of these good ideas and hold GOP accountable for them - they cannot be allowed to waste taxpayers' money on propaganda, and then decide that they don't like people's suggestions and ignore them.
The ideas listed below are all serious, mainstream ideas that would be reasonable to any sane Republican. The mischievous and the trollish ideas have all been filtered out by user votes. Let's see if the GOP can deliver on these serious voter suggestions. If they cannot, then we should hold them accountable, expose them and possibly pursue legal channels to get our taxpayers' money back.
The top ideas listed by category. These are the ideas that received at least 500 votes, with up/down vote ratio better than 2:1.
- American Prosperity
908 total votes
End all subsidies to farmers and business from the Federal Government. Currently, ten of thousands of farmers receive government checks to NOT grow any crops or raise livestock. One exceptionally insane example concerns tobacco. The US government will fund programs to stop people from smoking but subsidize tobacco farmers so they will not go out of business. Let the free markets work!
784 total votes
Illegal immigrants are coming across the border from Mexico for one reason: jobs. Instead of passing insane laws why don't we instead arrest and heavily fine the CEO's and owners of businesses that hire illegal immigrants? If they had to serve 6 months in a jail and were fined $100,000 for every illegal immigrant they hired, then there wouldn't be a demand for illegal labor and they would stop coming across the border. The majority of Mexicans wanting to come here are hard working people who are Christians and want an opportunity to provide for their family. What's more American than that? If they want to come here and work then let's open up legal avenues for that to happen by granting them citizenship like everyone's ancestors in this country were at one point. Their wages will be taxed, creating income for our government and by having opportunities to get jobs with benefits they'll no longer be a burden on our hospitals. If they can come here, earn money and legally get accepted to schools, then they WILL learn the language.
586 total votes
We need to decriminalize marijuana, which currently wastes taxpayer money.
- Fiscal Responsibility
747 total votes
Amendment 28 - "Congress shall make no law that applies to the citizens of the United States that does not apply equally to the Senators or Representatives, and Congress shall make no law that applies to the Senators or Representatives that does not apply equally to the citizens of the United States ."
617 total votes
Transparency - American taxpayers deserve to see where their tax dollars are going, on the way into the legislative process and on the way out. This means ending the practice of rushing bills through Congress at the speed of light by requiring legislation be posted online for five days before it can be scheduled for a floor vote. This gives taxpayers the opportunity to read bills and offer feedback and potentially devastating legislation. We also must demand that ALL government expenditures, down to the line-item expense, be put online in a searchable, easily accessible format so taxpayers can track, dollar-for-dollar, where their hard-earned money is going. The only way to stop the spending is to keep representatives accountable - American taxpayers deserve the tools that will empower them to become good fiscal watchdogs of the state.
614 total votes
Remove caps on oil spill liability so we aren't spending billions of taxpayers' money to clean up the messes caused by (highly profitable) private corporations
565 total votes
I very much want to see a strong Balanced Budget Amendment. Congress pays lip service to this and makes no serious effort to pass it. We need this desperately.
- American Values
1238 total votes
Government funds should not go towards religious organizations. I don't want big government getting involved in my religion, and I don't want money being wasted on something I don't believe in. End the "christian nation" bull, taxpayer money shouldn't be wasted on religion (it falls into the category of "wasteful government spending"). So repeal the law about faith based initiatives.
1198 total votes
The United States is not a christian nation and never has been. The idea that it is should be eradicated and we should continue to re-enforce the separation of church and state.
1032 total votes
Termination of pregnancy should be safe, legal, and rare.
1091 total votes
get rid of dont ask dont tell
1076 total votes
Remove religious entities from tax-exempt status. The churches are using their amassed wealth to influence voters and campaign politically which is unacceptable for a tax exempt church to do. A great example of this is just how involved Utah's mormon churches were in California's Prop 8 vote. If they want to use the money they get for charity instead of taxes, it should go to charity -- not politics.
813 total votes
I think America would be a better place if Republicans were more liberal and democratic.
688 total votes
We need to pass a law, perhaps a Constitutional Amendment, that clarifies that the First Amendment is supposed to protect INDIVIDUALS, NOT CORPORATIONS, UNIONS, TRADE ORGANIZATIONS, or other GROUPS, from Government restriction of speech and ACTION based on sincere religious and political beliefs. In other words, we need to overturn the Supreme Court's invalidation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and Campaign Finance Reform.
565 total votes
Keep the government out of our personal lives. Government has no business being involved in dictating morality beyond simple public-safety concerns.
- National Security
No ideas have more than 500 total votes and 2:1 favorable ratio.
- Open Mic
535 total votes
What happened to my Republican Party, the one I remember from my youth? Fiscal discipline, wariness about foreign entanglements and taxes but a sober commitment to the public good. I just don't see it in today's Republican Party with its courting of gun owners, anti-environmentalism, and the religious right. Forget the social issues, forget the divisiveness, put some intellectual heft behind the party in place of Beck, Palin, and Limbaugh. What you are gaining in frenzy you are losing in wisdom and leadership.