President Bush repeatedly made similar statements throughout his presidency. However, the mainstream media regularly chose to ignore his words in an effort to paint him (and all Republicans) as unenlightened on issues of the environment.

Romney can benefit by providing thoughtful, market-based solutions to climate and pollution issues. Most Americans won’t buy in to the hyperbole that comes from the fringes and is perpetuated by media histrionics.

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One year ago, I wrote the following in response to a similar POLITICO Arena question:

Prior to the credit market freeze in September 2008, the highest monthly unemployment rate during President George W. Bush’s two terms was 6.3 percent. The overall average monthly unemployment rate during his 8 years in office was 5.3 percent. The tax relief President Bush signed into law pulled America out of the recession he inherited in 2001 and spurred six years of uninterrupted economic growth and a record 52 straight months of job creation.

President Obama’s policies to deal with economic challenges have been diametrically opposite to his predecessor’s. Obama’s higher taxes, job-killing government intervention and massive deficit spending have sent us down a destructive fiscal path. His policies have failed based on his own yardstick. President Obama has not held unemployment under 8 percent as his administration promised would happen if the massive $787 billion government spending package was adopted by Congress.

Those sentiments hold true today, 12 months later. For President Obama to have a shot at reelection, there must be a real recovery that drops the unemployment several points. We vote with our pocketbooks, and billfolds have been pretty thin for far too many Americans during Obama’s time in office.

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I live in Seattle, where encountering someone from the loony left is a common occurrence. Last year in the span of just a few days, I had two people ask me if, given my service as President George W. Bush’s deputy press secretary, I was “in on it” (Sept. 11) or if I knew my boss had “planned the whole thing.” After politely asking what color the sky was in their world, I disengaged from the conversations. I couldn’t help but wonder if these two otherwise seemingly normal people knew they were suggesting I was complicit in the slaughter of nearly 3,000 innocent Americans.

The very idea that the birther conspiracy could be compared to that of the truthers is deplorable. One group’s crazy idea is that the current president wasn’t eligible to hold the office because of his birthplace. The other’s belief is that the former president was a mass murderer. One theory is laughable. The other is despicable.

If Terry McAuliffe or Howard Dean (DNC chairs during President Bush’s two terms) issued statements disavowing the truther conspiracy of their fringe, I’m not aware of them. Republican leaders like RNC chairman Reince Priebus, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and Gov. Mitt Romney have been very responsible in putting the birther idea in its place. Maybe that’s because the mainstream media is more prone to tar the entire right side of the political spectrum with the faulty ideas of a few, while the same reporters give leaders of the left a pass on answering for the hateful theorists in their ranks.

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The United States military is actively engaged in combat operations in Libya. Though United Nations Resolution 1973 is limited in scope, one could certainly understand if Americans believed our forces were trying to achieve President Obama’s stated position that Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi “must go.” If that impression (whether it accurately reflects the administration’s muddled policy, or not) isn’t enough for President Obama to take time to speak directly to the American people from the Oval Office, then what subject would ever rise to such a level?

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Despite having control of the House, Senate and White House last year, Democrats in Washington failed to produce a budget. Making initial progress on cutting federal spending by passing two-week extensions of the current budget is a logical way for Republicans to put pressure on President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid and other congressional Democrats.

With each fortnight, Republicans have an opportunity to demonstrate to the country that they are serious about trying to put our fiscal house in order and have heeded the clear message of the 2010 election. Democrats will be on the defensive when President Obama and his allies defend the status quo while the public learns that it is quite possible to make significant cuts to federal spending.

In the long term, we would all be better served if Congress adopted a two-year budget cycle. That way, members of Congress could spend the year after an election addressing the spending priorities of the federal government. This would result in more certainty in planning for necessary programs. The following year could then be dedicated to conducting oversight of the bureaucracy and addressing other critical policy issues.

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So, let me get this straight. Asking government employee union members to dedicate a small amount (5.8 percent instead of zero) to their own pension and to pay just 12.6 percent (about half the national average for private sector workers) of their health care coverage is “union busting” and amounts to an “assault” on union members? It seems to me that many mainstream media headline writers have had a little too much hyperbolic Kool-Aid and have helped fuel the rowdy government employee union protests.

Government employees used to trade the higher salaries of the private sector for the job security of public employment. That’s no longer true. Government employees make tens of thousands of dollars more per year than their private sector counterparts when their generous salaries, pensions and health benefits are tallied. The government employee unions, led by the SEIU, NEA, AFSCME and others are consistently the largest financial contributors to Democratic candidates and elected officials throughout the country. At some point, responsible leaders across the country are going to have to come to grips with the crippling effects of government employees simultaneously paying for the election of the people who are then responsible for setting their salary and benefit packages. It’s a lucrative racket.

Gov. Walker’s sensible effort to bring costs into check on behalf of Wisconsin taxpayers is simply the first modest step to bringing sanity to his state’s budget. He’s trying to make government work for the people of his state, instead of forcing them to work for the benefit of public employees.

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Here in Washington State, the race for chairman of the GOP centered not so much around establishment vs. tea party activists, but rather around whether the party apparatus had been as successful as it could have been in the 2010 election cycle.

While Republicans did make gains in the state legislature and picked up one U.S. House seat, we didn’t win as many races as many had hoped. We lost the hotly-contested U.S. Senate race, and GOP candidates weren’t able to grab onto the coattails of the strong anti-tax campaign that delivered a thumpin’ to the proposed state income tax initiative. Washington Republicans were ready for someone else to take the helm.

Having spent many years advocating Reagan conservative principles (long before the tea party phenomenon), Kirby Wilbur was (and is) well known among GOP activists of all stripes. Kirby ran on a platform of making the Washington State Republican Party as effective as possible. He advocated linking the state GOP to the pocketbook issues people struggle with every day. Additionally, he said the path to becoming a majority party in this state depends on welcoming new ideas and new people into the party.

If Republicans choose effective leaders and dynamic candidates who are able to run sound campaigns and make real connections with voters, we’ll continue to make gains in 2012 and beyond.

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