I agree that tax reform is something that needs to be done. Indeed, anyway we can remove reasons for lobbyists to add to the corruption of DC, I'm all for. However, government still needs money to operate. And the point made about a 1% tax on corporations equals 1% reduction in wages leads me to say, no duh! And if government wasn't getting it from the corporation, then they'd have to either get it through personal income tax or consumption, no? So it's just a matter of which hand it's getting the money out of. The effect will be felt the same, no? That said, taking the money at the corporate level does seem a bit more fair as the effect would be felt by the whole population. If it is done at the personal income level, then just those who pay taxes will feel it while those that don't won't, no?Lots of things to consider in the area of fairness and transparency as well as what's best for the economy. No wonder nothing gets done about it!

Yes.  That would be awesome!  One day the president will be sweeping the streets he used to own.  Well, at least I can dream.

I have two comments.

One, I really would have liked to hear Kevin asked to compare and contrast his book with Mark Steyn's.  They seem to have similar views on the medium term but have different views on how it will all end.  I'd love to have them both on to debate this issue.

Two, I listened to this podcast while taking care of my 8 month old girl, Vida.  She was named, in part, by the song Vida la Viva.  And she has grown to like it so much that if she's fussy (especially in the car), we can play the song and she'll perk up and be happy again.  Well, what a surprise to hear that song at the end.  My little girl perked up and I'm sure now Ricochet has another fan!

Great podcast!  Thank you for all that you do to have such a high quality show.

If E-Verify went instantly into place, what would happen to the undocumented workers? Do we think they would just pack up and go home? Or would they all have to work under the table? And if they couldn't do that, rely on friends/family that are legal? Eventually, many might have to go to a life of crime out of the mere need to survive. I'm in favor of E-Verify over the long term but am afraid of what might happen if it is suddenly required without a grandfathering of the workers that employees already have. Tough, tough issue!

Yes! His philosophical foundation is exactly what we need going forward. It is always refreshing to hear him speak. It's a cold glass of water to a parched mouth. :)Want to win in 2016? Easy! Rubio/Martinez must hold up our flag. Let's do this.

The federal government doesn't recognize gay marriage so 1, 2, and 3 are not even possible at this point.  So, there really isn't a distinction between the two unless the federal government actually gets involved.

Amen, Jonathan.  That needed to be said.  Now if only the people at CPAC can get the message before they become ostracized and become a pariah organization that no main stream Republican will attend.  Fix it now, or be forever compared to segregation apologists of the past.  

For the good of the conservative movement, stop this bigotry. Now, please.  

Yesterday, if it were possible.

The other issue with which I would caution Governor Jindal on is the idea that we can have a campaign that is free of catchy slogans and instead based on thoughtful arguments.  I'd humbly submit to you that Governor Romney tried his best to have thoughtful arguments.  Remember the cheering by conservatives at the debates?

Politicians must remember how most of the population thinks of them.  They think about them as little as possible!  Americans live their lives and really only consider the political world when something threatens them.  For example, a tax or regulation that could ruin their livelihood.  Only among the political junkies, like the ones reading Ricochet, actually want to spend time thinking about these thoughtful arguments.

As a US History teacher, I saw this in action.  Obviously, many of my students were too young to appreciate politics.  But honestly, most aren't going to change much.  They just don't care about politics.  They don't care about the details of the constitutional amendments.  They care about their own lives.  

With that said, Republicans do need to keep their ideas simple and they need to tell the voter what's in it for them.

For other minority populations, there is a tendency to cling together, knowing that together they are stronger than apart, facing the majority.  Of course, in the majority, there is little of this dynamic as they are comfortable with being in the majority.  So, they can safely vote on more theoretical grounds such as the role of government, moral issues, economic theories, etc.  In the minority world, it is about survival.  Now, we have a burgeoning middle class in our minority populations.  But, they've been culturally raised on the survival mentality.  And Democrats have taken advantage of this fact.  It really is rotten.  In the heart of most Democrats, they know Republicans aren't racist.  And yet, they know that this cultural stereotype is what allows them to campaign so effectively among minorities.  And they just aren't going to give that advantage up.

So, Republicans need to figure out, in my opinion, how to use identity politics in order to destroy it.  Whether it's an all minority presidential ticket (Rubio, Jindal, Martinez, Cruz, Haley, you pick two!), that aggressively fights to change this toxic perception, or some other idea that someone can shift this paradigm.

Jindal's words are a wonderful breath of fresh air.  I do hope our candidates from around the country listen to his advice.

There are a couple of his points that I'd gently argue against, however.  In some cases, he talks of a country he hopes for, and not one we currently have.  I'm sorry to say this, but we do have a country based on identity politics.  Indeed, THIS IS WHY we lost the election!  And as long as Republicans try to convince themselves and others that we live in a "colorblind" society, we will continue to lose a large share of votes.  

Face it, by human nature, people vote for people that are most like themselves.  Now in the white population, there has been a massive education and cultural movement to move beyond that.  Thus, many do vote more on ideas than on identity.  The question is, how do we get other minority populations to do this as well?  How do we convince people in the black population that after centuries of injustice, they can now begin to vote on ideas and not just for the party that will "stick up for them?"

Breaking the rules wasn't my biggest problem. Just as Clinton's affair with Lewinsky wasn't my biggest concern. It is what they did to cover up their "sins" that showed dishonor. Lance Armstrong destroyed anyone that could be a threat to his program. The lesson of Lance's assistant, Mike Anderson, should be instructive. When Lance feared that Mike found something in his bathroom, he immediately fired him and requested he sign a non-disclosure form. When he wouldn't, things went down hill from there. Read about it! http://www.outsideonline.com/outdoor-adventure/biking/road-biking/My-Life-With-Lance-Armstrong.html?page=allLance was a jerk and a bully and I don't think anyone should cut him slack with the "everybody's doing it" excuse. We have rules for reasons. Lets keep the playing field even and prevent super stars like Lance from ever happening.

Amen!  Which is why we need a candidate like Senator Rubio!

I wouldn't think so.  House districts are gerrymandered by politicians to reelect candidates.  You'd have to look at "swing districts" to find out if you are correct.  This would be a job for Michael Barone!  I think his point about the senate candidates is important, however it also turned out that the "conservative" candidates also happened to be the bad ones.  Which goes to an earlier point about the primaries.  Republicans need to find a better way to field their candidates as this system just isn't working.

Good point, to a point. It's indicative of a broader indictment than that, really.

Look, we had fewer votes than McCain when we were facing layoffs at 700,000 a month and with the Dow in free fall. How in the world did we fail to get as many as last time?

We had over 30,000 volunteers scratching their heads wondering what to do because someone promised that this "App," oops, website (I'm sure the campaign was sorry for that confusion) would tell them where the votes were and yet it didnt work.

Was this major fail just the tip of the iceburg? Perhaps... But a pretty darn big one.

A picture is worth a 1000 words.  No one said they couldn't be worthless ones. 

Amen.