Entitlement At The Top

The following is an email shared with me by Dr. Ada Fisher, one of the smartest, most decent and most popular members of the North Carolina Republican Party. Dr. Fisher was elected as NC Committee Woman in a grass roots rebellion against the NC Republican Party leadership. She really is someone who represents "we the people".

The email was a reply by her to a CNN email requesting her opinion on Newt Gingirch's comments.



Dr. Ada Fisher


From: Dr. Ada Fisher (fisheram@msn.com)
To: peter.hamby@turner.com (CNN)
Subject: RE: CNN question re: Newt Gingrich
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:50:11 -0400

Thank you for your inquiry.

I do not believe that members of the RNC are as ego driven as some professional politicians and pundits would like to believe. Most of us are not receiving large sums from being on television, serving as commentators, giving speeches or writing books nor do we devote our waking hours to playing politics; rather, we are getting on with the realities of life which impact us, our neighbors, friends and other equally engaged citizens. We still live, walk and talk among the people who need to be better served. Most of us believe in transparency and accountability through the organizations to which we were elected.

It is unfortunate then when those of us on either side of the aisle who try to do what is right find those who want to defend the status quo or deny the democratic process to the electorate raise issues or impune motives to such actions which aren't there and reflect a hunger for power ... whether from the Obama Administration challenges painting conservatives as out of touch ... or those elected to serve on conservative principles who forgot who brung them to the dance. We are in the midst of an emerging entitled political class which is cloaked by the media and doesn't in my opinion want to be accountable to We the people. (I am enclosing a column on this that I have written but not released.)

I like many others take seriously what we thought our role was on the RNC which is to help set the agenda for the party as well as raise the funds necessary to get Republican candidates elected, particularly on the state and national levels. In so doing, many of us are concerned that our actions and activities be above reproach so that when we speak as standard bearers on behalf of freedom, democracy and the US Constitution, we are credible and reflect the beliefs of those who are truly at our grass roots.

Ada M. Fisher, MD
NC Republican National Committeewoman

***** Start of Article *****
by Dr. Ada Fisher
May 11, 2009
The Growing Entitlement Class -- Politicians

Many complain about the burgeoning expansion of entitlements fostered under programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, child protection services-CHIP insurance and other safety nets which increasingly become intertwined and entangled. In hard times, everyone wants to slice and dice these programs around the edges but fundamental changes are avoided in the supposed cause of preserving safety nets.

Meanwhile the numbers of citizens with jobs who will have to bear the burden of taxation for these programs continues to decrease without safeguards for their money. I believe President Obama views it as his right to redistribute our individual wealth; however, when the ratio of workers to recipients gets below 3:1 as is happening with Social Security, we have a different kind of crisis. My parents told me you can’t spend your way out of debt. Call it what you will, if there are no folk bringing home the bacon your house is built on sinking sand - not standing on a rock.

The converse is grouped as politicians and think tanks who do indeed feel changes are needed. These are they in “the New Entitlement Class”—a closed segment of the population which believes it has the right to rule without yet being elected to anything. These might be titled the blessed divine of self importance who are self selected and believe they have a right to dictate how we are to think and act no matter the US constitutional guarantees for “We the people. . .”

Those in the emerging self inflated political class ranks start early. They can be seen in discussions with college students who are interested in running for office so they major in political science to go to law school, then off to work on a campaign or in a think tank, possibly next to the legislature as an assistant and then using inside connections run for office in carefully chosen seats. These specially annoited are those who too often keep political seats when they are out of touch and deny the diversity of opinion and people needed in rotations of seats to keep a democracy vibrant. And these are those with the gift of gab who have captured the media’s ear and can pontificate with the best of them.

This sounds innocuous except this emerging “Entitled Political Class” has been too long removed from the laboring fields of life, many have never had a real hands on job and have no idea how such is created, show no evidence of serving people in a direct way such as volunteerism which is not related to their party or ambition, and are often hawkish or anti-government yet won’t serve in the military or volunteer agencies.

These are they of many stripes who are seemingly disregarding citizen input in their decision making; after all they were elected on a platform of ideas from which they willingly quickly disassociate themselves if elected. Ask yourself of those who say they want to lead, do they live among those who they claim are our problem; has their contact with people been motivated by the people’s interest or their ambition; and when they lose will they stay with those they say they represent or move to remain among their newly entitled class?

The increasing rise of populism might make us take a hard look at considering putting incumbents out and giving new folks a chance. Let’s think on this over a cup of steaming hot brewed tea.

Dr. Ada M. Fisher is a Physician, licensed secondary education school teacher in mathematics and science, previous county school board member and the NC Republican national Committee Woman. Contact her at P. O. Box 777; Salisbury, NC 28145; telephone (704) 223-2321; DrFisher@Fishernchousedistrict77.com.

***** End of Article *****

Subject: CNN question re: Newt
Date: Thu, 30 Apr 2009 17:32:35 -0400
From: Peter.Hamby@turner.com
To: fisheram@msn.com

Hi Ada,

Peter Hamby from CNN here. Hope you're well. I wanted to see if you had any reaction to Newt Gingrich's comments on CSPAN today?

Asked about the Ralph Hallow story, Newt said RNC members "all think they're precious, and they all think they should be taken care of, and they all think the job of the chairman, first of all, is to make the RNC members happy."

And Gingrich also speculated that chairman Steele "probably has not yet learned the art of massaging the egos of RNC members."

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/04/30/gingrich-members-of-the-rnc-think-theyre-precious/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvw4rlEy19M

Thanks
-Peter
202 997 0432