Solution Revolution

A casual comment from my left-leaning, independent fiancé made me realize one of the missteps of the Republican Party, and I think we would do well to take it to heart. We were debating the merits of government sponsored, nationalized healthcare and he said, regarding the conservative claim that there are free market solutions, “Well, I just haven’t actually seen any other solutions being discussed [besides a socialistic approach].” In that moment I realized the GOP’s problem. We always talk about how the Democrats are socialists, or their plans are socialistic, and we talk about how and why those are bad things. However, we never actually get anything off the ground and in the people’s faces, providing our own, alternative solutions to problems. I do not remember our GOP leadership actually presenting viable solutions that we, the conservative base, could believe in and share with others. If they exist, they are buried somewhere, inaccessible to the masses.

I'm not saying alternative solutions that still mean big government, but rather solutions that real, everyday citizens could enact, without the government.

I believe we should have a "Solution Revolution." No more flowery language, no more rhetoric. GOP Solutions are straight-forward, real, alternative solutions to the problems we face. We need to sit down and actually create SOLUTIONS that are based in OUR principles like the free market, fiscal conservatism, individual freedom and liberty, self-responsibility, and the importance of family.

From there we put it on every website, talk show, hold press conferences, send email alerts, pamphlets, calls, door to door, send out groups of “educators” into communities to have meetings where we describe and discuss our SOLUTIONS to their problems, etc. The word and the concept of creating and providing alternative solutions becomes our mantra, our driving force, and our goal. Here’s an example – I have no idea if something like this could work, but it is a step in the right direction. I am a teacher at a non-profit, and last year the total earned, from only 7 of our operations in one state (and we have more than just these 7) was over $46,000,000. Our money goes towards job training and education. What if there were charity shops whose profits went to fund/subsidize healthcare for low-income individuals? We need something BOLD and DIFFERENT and REAL.

Think about how Richard Branson (the extraordinarily successful British entrepreneur) holds contests for other entrepreneurs who can win gobs of money if they come up with a commercial spacecraft, for example. We should do the same thing. Why can’t a wealthy conservative hold a contest to see who could create a truly free market alternative solution for healthcare? We need to put our minds together to brainstorm and actually create a workable alternative to the Democrats’ lazy plan of socialized medicine. This is what we are missing and we need to crank it out. As a teacher, I work with the very low-income populations of my city – the people who are typically puppets of the Democratic Party. I have MANY ideas about how we can reach out to these people, many of whom are more socially conservative. Let's hold community workshops (free, given by GOP volunteers/experts) to actually teach, to actually explain basic economics to people, or any other issue, putting our solutions side by side with the Democrats' "solutions."

Once we have solutions for all of the hot button issues (energy, healthcare, education, etc.) we put it together in a simple, user-friendly format which states the problem, our solution, the Democrats’ solution, and why ours is better, all side by side. Let’s rush the field in every medium – like comedy, viral videos, and merchandise (i.e. “agitprop”).

There is a website I found recently that attempts to actually build a unified and strong platform by holding discussions on major issues. That website is www.americanplatform.org.

Lastly, have you noticed how many websites like this and the the one I mention above exist now? How do we get all of the various, fractioned sites together, under one umbrella, or to at least connect them all to gain a wider network of volunteers and activists? Any ideas?

SOLUTION REVOLUTION 2009