By Rick Moore

Our readers can basically be categorized as Republicans, Conservatives, Libertarians, Conservative Democrats, Independents, and a new group of Tea Party members. If you ask any member of a group other than Republicans why they would vote Republican this year, he/she would likely respond with an answer most similar to "spending, taxes, economics, finances." If he/she responded "social issues" it's more likely he/she would already be in the Republican Camp as the GOP is known as the party taking a moral stance. And, with 94-percent of Republicans voting for Republicans the election is won by these likely crossover votes. This is why I want to have a heart-to-heart with those of you whose issue is "My pocket book!" yet you are not a registered Republican.

Remember the "B+" President Obama gave himself for the first year? He followed that up recently by boasting about the economy saying, "We are headed in the right direction." When the American people speak up and say, "Stop the spending!," Mr. Obama lashes back. "So the challenge, I think, for the Tea Party movement is to identify, specifically, what would you do?"

As I've walked door-to-door campaigning I've discovered many voters are not familiar with statewide issues. But, they are knowledgeable and absolutely livid when it comes to national issues. At this point is where our paths cross. Did you know that State Question 756 would allow you to opt out of Obamacare if it passes? Republican John Doak, candidate for Insurance Commissioner, said: "Voters need to be aware that State Question 756 is about opting out of Obama Care, though that is not specified in the question's language. Oklahomans do not want mandated health insurance, and this is their opportunity to vote against it. Vote "yes' on State Question 756 to opt Oklahoma out of Obama Care." He is challenging the incumbent Democrat who was a 2008 Presidential Delegate for Barack Obama -- Kim Holland. John Doak has also joined a federal lawsuit to block the implementation of President Obama's health-care law. The lawsuit was filed in Oklahoma's Western District in April and challenges several aspects of the new health-care law.

In 2006, Kim Holland raised more than $700,000 for her race. The Republican raised only $130,000. She outspent him 6-to-1 and yet this was a very close statewide race (52-47 percent) considering Brad Henry defeated Congressman Ernest Istook for Governor 66.5 percent to 33.5 percent, and a midterm election with President George W. Bush having 38-percent approval ratings and losing 30 Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

When it comes to the governor's race, Jari Askins refused to take a position on Obamacare, telling the Oklahoman on July 31, 2010 "Honestly, I'm still reading the bill." Do you seriously want to trust your vote with a candidate who responds in this fashion or with Mary Fallin who actually voted against Obamacare and supports filing a lawsuit challenging Obamacare on constitutional grounds?

The Administration has no shame. Mr. Obama and his ilk are publicly upset because the American people are going to stop the Keynesian Obamanomics as we take a stand on November 2.

President Obama promised that families will pay less for their healthcare premiums under Obamacare. Don't rush out and plan that extra vacation just yet. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that health-insurance premiums are rising instead of falling, probably as a direct result of Obamacare. "Aetna Inc., BlueCross BlueShield, and other smaller health insurers have asked for premium increases of between 1-percent and 9-percent to pay for extra benefits required under the law, according to filings with state regulators." Many carriers are also seeking additional rate increases to cover rising medical costs. As a result, some consumers of health insurance could face a premium increase of more than 20-percent. Still thinking about voting for those Democrat candidates on November 2?

Of course you know that Mr. Obama is also left-bent on killing the Bush tax cuts? The liberals continually clamor that tax cuts never pay for themselves. Did conservatives ever say that ALL tax cuts pay for themselves? People don't work or invest to pay taxes. They work and invest to earn the best possible deals on the products they desire. A good illustration of tax rates and tax revenues is found in an article written by Arthur Laffer and published by the Heritage Foundation in 2004. The trade-off is called The Laffer Curve. Mr. Laffer notes the Laffer Curve was not invented by him; however, it was discussed by a 14th century Muslim philospher, Ibn Khaldun, in his work The Muqaddimah: "It should be known that at the beginning of the dynasty, taxation yields a large revenue from small assessments. At the end of the dynasty, taxation yields a small revenue from large assessments."

We can make the following observations: (1) Tax revenues depend on the tax base as well as the tax rate; (2) Raising tax rates discourages the taxed behavior and therefore shrinks the tax base, offsetting some of the revenue gains; (3) Lowering tax rates encourages the taxed behavior and expands the tax base, offsetting some of the revenue loss.

But, there's more than just commonsense economic principles to prove conservative fundamentals regarding fiscal policy. A surprising report from the Democrat-leaning Congressional Budget Office Director, Douglas Elmendorf, says that keeping the Bush tax cuts that affect upper-income taxpayers, small businesses and investors will give the weakened economy a "considerable" economic booster and create new jobs. "In addition, under current law, both the waning of fiscal stimulus and the scheduled increases in taxes will temporarily subtract from [economic] growth, especially in 2011," CBO warned Congress.

In another sign of Obama Administration's listless stimulus plan, CBO is forecasting a "comme ci, comme ça" 2-percent economic rate of growth in 2011, far from the more prosperous 3-percent growth rate needed to show significant improvement in the unemployment rate. Winston Churchill once said, "The further back you look, the further forward you can see." One only needs to peer back in history 28 years to see the fallacy of Obama's Keynesian economic policies. The liberal Washington Post, presented an article "Reagan's First Term Offers Measuring Stick for Obama", by political reporter Dan Balz, that showed how Reagan's tax cuts were far more successful than Obama's spending stimulus plan. President Reagan presented across-the-board tax cuts in the 1981-82 recession to produce quarterly growth rates of 5.1-percent, 9.3-percent, 8.1-percent, 8.5-percent, 8-percent, 7.1-percent, and almost 4-percent heading into the fourth quarter of Reagan's 1984 reelection campaign for a second term.

But, if the Democrats are victorious there will be a major income redistribution. If the 2001 and 2003 Bush Tax Cuts expire, taxes will increase up to $3.8 trillion across the entire income spectrum. According to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, the typical median-income family making $63,000 a year would be hit with a $1,540 higher federal income tax burden.

The Democrat governor candidate Jari Askins voted NO to cut income taxes for Oklahoma families when she had an opportunity to do so Senate Bill 2022 (4/10/2006). On the other hand, Republican Mary Fallin's goal is to lower taxes for families and small businesses. For her support, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) named Mary a "Guardian of Small Business" and the Club For Growth recently honored Mary with the "Defender of Economic Freedom." Why gamble on the Democrats again?

The parties are polar opposite regarding the state Auditor and Inspector's Office as well. By now you have heard the news in Broken Arrow where the school board asked Democrat Steve Burrage in April 2009 for an audit following allegations of violations of the competitive-bidding law, illegal use of school resources, conflicts of interest and other possible crimes. Ask anyone in the Broken Arrow community if this is not a complete and utter mess. Are you prepared to vote for more of the same or vote for Republican Gary Jones who helped uncover enough information on former state Senator Gene Stipe, allowing the FBI to provide enough information to a grand jury for review, who, in turn, returned a federal indictment of bribery and corruption charges against Gene Stipe? Gary Jones is both a Certified Public Accountant, and a Certified Fraud Examiner.

The following quote from Robert A. Heinlein's science fiction novel The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress is fitting when State Question 744 or the $3 million the National Education Association contributed to supporters of the ballot measure is mentioned, "There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not want merely because you think it would be good for him." If the left-wingers are successful in passing State Question 744, it will be one of the most expensive big-government programs in Oklahoma history. If approved, the constitutional amendment proposed by the Oklahoma Education Association will require a diversion of at least $850 million to as much as $940 million per year in state funds to Common Education. In order to fulfill that requirement, the state income tax rate would have to be increased from 5.5-percent to approximately 7.35-percent, according to the House fiscal staff, or a 34-percent increase overall.

Another option would be to raise the state's sales tax rate, which would go from 4.5-percent currently to about 6.2-percent or a 38-percent jump.

If taxes are not raised, the Legislature would have to make funding reductions to balance the state government. Since Common Education would be excluded from any cuts, the remaining state agencies would see across-the-board cuts as high as 20-percent to raise the necessary funds.

Currently, Common Education receives a colossal 36-percent of the state budget, or $2.4 billion annually. The next closest percentage for a single agency is Higher Education, which receives 15-percent of the budget, followed by the Health Care Authority, which receives 10-percent of the budget. If SQ 744 is approved, Common Education's percentage would increase to 49-percent of the state budget, which would effectively remove legislative control of nearly half of the state's budget.

Republican Janet Barresi publicly states her position against SQ 744 as she campaigns for State Schools Superintendent. Democrat Susan Paddack will not take a position publicly on SQ 744. Who do you want serving you in this position? A person who studies the issue and then tells you what she thinks or a person who simply refuses to act? Where is the leadership for $124,000 per year?

With 23 days left for you to decide our economic future, President Barack Obama returned to Philadelphia to campaign for fellow Democrats Dan Onorato for governor and Joe Sestak for U.S. Senate. Both are running behind the Republicans in the polls but carried Philly by a 67-percentage-point margin in 2008: a full 83 percent of the city's residents voted for him, compared to just 16 percent for Sen. John McCain. That margin resulted from a huge influx of first-time voters whom many are young people and African-Americans. During his speech to the same crowd of supporters, President Obama made the following bold statement as the hip-hop group from Philadelphia, The Roots, was playing on his behalf: "You know what the other side is counting on this time around? They're counting on you staying home. They're counting on your silence. They're counting on your amnesia. They're counting on your apathy. They're counting on young people staying home. And union members staying home. And black folks staying home. And middle-class families staying home. You've gotta' prove them wrong. Let's show Washington one more time."

This is yet one more audacious lie from the Democrats. RNC Chairman Michael Steele himself is embarking on a Fire Pelosi Bus Tour through 48 states and more than 115 cities speaking to all different types of people. Chairman Steele said that taxes do not care if the person is black, white, young, or old. Taxes don't care if you're registered as a Democrat, Republican, or Independent. All that taxes care about is that taxes get paid! The very purpose of the Fire Pelosi Bus Tour is to encourage people to vote with a since of urgency as taxes affect everyone. Before you vote consider for yourself how expiration of the Bush Tax Cuts will affect you by going to the FoxNews website and entering your income in their Tax Hike Calculator. You will be flabbergasted.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/10/11/expiration-bush-tax-cuts-affect/