Middle State Of The Union

I'd like for someone to explain to me what "middle America" actually is. Is it a fiscally conservative liberal? A socially conscious conservative who spends a great deal of money on entitlements? What is mainstream America?

I don't think it exists at all. I think when the deplorable Ted Kennedy said Robert Bork was out of step with mainstream America that he was being partisan. Wow, partisan, what's that?

If you go to work each day to put food on your table, are becoming more affected by the higher costs of food and gas at the pump then I'd say you are middle American. I'd say you have a stake in how this country is run. If you are on public assistance and abusing a system that wasn't designed to be a lifestyle then I don't care what your opinion is so shut up while the adults figure this out.

You have a car payment, mouths to feed, and a mortgage. That's who I'm talking to, the working class (blue collar and white both) who put in their forty or more each week, play hard on the weekends, and do it again on Monday. More people can identify with that as middle America than anything else.

What are the political leanings of middle America though? Liberals believe the poor need more entitlements ala the war on poverty up until the great society from LBJ. Colossal failures that transferred billions of dollars from one sector of the society to another by the government. We still have poor and disenfranchised, not only that but one could argue that it created more poor and disenfranchised as the less motivated saw an opportunity to live off of a system.

That's not middle America. That's the vision of many liberals though, America is a soup kitchen. The term "rich" is always defined down to meet their standards. Wealth is relative to political whims...unless YOU are the one who has worked eighty hours a week, had a spectacular idea and made it reality, or opened a small business and turned it into a massive chain. Then you will likely have different political ideas from when you started out. One of my favorite articles I read years ago (and can't find now) was about NBA players who were either apolitical or liberal before being drafted and got their first paycheck and became conservative.

Middle America does NOT exist, we are all partisan. I know people in my same situation who are rabid liberals. I also know people in my same situation who are staunch conservatives. We all work and earn our livings, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's each paycheck and have strong opinions on how America should be ran. Partisan.

As a conservative I'm all for gridlock, that means checks and balances work and no one branch can consolidate power that was never meant to be given. If Congress shut down for a few months, I'd be thrilled as they couldn't do any damage then.

Here are my issues: Simplify the tax code and spread the burden evenly via a flat tax or fair tax. Reduce entitlements and spending. A reasonable social safety net is fine but not a lifestyle. Strong military and border security. Streamlined INS process. Term limits on all members of Congress so they are forced to go back and live in the society their policies shape once their term is over. You do that and we have a great shot at staying strong.