I have often wondered if anything could be done to save our American way of life now in jeopardy due to the out of control spending of this and previous administrations. The recent election has given me some hope. But that hope has waned as this year’s negotiations in Congress resulted in spending cuts that can be described (at best) as nominal.

The debt ceiling dilemma being negotiated now makes me think that recent gains in the House of Representatives by conservatives are being wasted. My view is we should go the distance on this, regardless of the political flack.  I believe it is an all or nothing type of battle. I am not an economist. Neither are most of the folks in fly over country. But we pay the bills, so Congress ought to start listening.

There are many ways to balance the budget, but no Congress–whether Republican controlled or Democrat controlled–will have much of it. In my opinion, the politics of a balanced budget would be a worthy topic for a Voices of the Tea Party e-book.

Here are my thoughts on how the economics of a balanced budget could work:

We could start, for instance, by reducing the budget every year 1% across the board on every department.  No exceptions!

We could  implement a blue ribbon committee similar to the base closing committee to schedule elimination of all duplicate programs in the next year’s budget. If the budget doesn’t balance, we could reduce all spending another 1% across all the programs again. This process could be repeated every year until a balanced budget is reached.

We could put a freeze on adding any new programs without a corresponding cut of existing programs across the board evenly.

We could require a 60% super majority to start a new program unless there are corresponding cuts in spending to offset increased spending.

The press makes it all sound too complicated to get done. But I believe we can find a solution that works. Our American way of life is in danger. When we attain a balanced budget and reduce taxes we will be on the way to keeping our way of life intact.

Conrad Larson is a tea party supporter from Minnesota and author of The Overcoat and Carry On, Private Dahlgren.

Wednesday, in the least suspenseful press conference of the political season, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich announced that he is running for President. Gingrich’s announcement, which was greeted across the country with a loud yawn, points again to the need for a Voices of the Tea Party e-book that rates the 2012 Presidential contenders, as Jon Friesch and Conrad Larson have suggested in this space previously.

Lacking such a guide currently, I’ll offer my own view of Gingrich’s candidacy from a tea party perspective. Despite his best efforts to associate with the movement for well over two years, Gingrich is not a tea party guy.  He deserves credit for volunteering early on to co-sponsor the April 15, 2009 Tax Day Tea Party through his group, American Solutions.  But from a tea party perspective, it’s been all down hill since then for the former Speaker.

Who can forget his insistent and unapologetic endorsement of the famous RINO candidate, Dede Scozzafava, in New York’s 23rd Congressional District in the 2009 special election? Then, of course, there’s his continued support for ethanol subsidies, which even in Iowa does not ring true with tea party supporters who oppose giving tax subsidies to politically connected industries. And who can forget his unusual proclivity to join hands with such liberal icons as Nancy Pelosi and Al Sharpton in those dreadful “We Are the World” television commercials that promote the notions of man-caused global warming and advocate more Big Government in education?

Newt’s biggest problem with the Tea Party movement, however, is Newt Gingrich himself.

His natural style of speaking is the one-sided monologue, reflecting his training as a Phd. in History. The track record of the only president in American history to have a Phd.–Woodrow Wilson–was one of promoting Big Government and ignoring the Constitution. This does not recommend that particular professional background to those of us who support the limited government ethos.

Newt’s problem with us stylistically is that he wants everyone to know he’s the smartest guy in the room. When he appears before tea party groups, he simply doesn’t listen to views other than his own. He’ll temporarily stop talking while the other person speaks, but he doesn’t listen to what they’re saying. He’s merely tolerating their use of his time until he can demonstrate, when he reclaims the microphone, why the audience needs to hear his brilliant and unique “vision” for America.

I’ve seen Gingrich’s vision, and I’ve got some news for him. Many of us in the Tea Party movement are not all that interested in hearing it again, because it lacks consistency. We’ve heard enough lectures from Speaker Gingrich over the past decade. As for me, I can go well beyond November, 2012 without hearing another one. Others may have different views, but from this corner of the Tea Party movement, the message is loud and clear:

No thanks, Newt.

Michael Patrick Leahy is the editor of the Voices of the Tea Party e-book series, co-founder of Top Conservatives on Twitter and the Nationwide Tea Party Coalition, and the author of an upcoming book on the ideological origins of the Tea Party movement. He can be reached on Twitter at @michaelpleahy .

Previously in this space, Jon Friesch suggested that a Voices of the Tea Party e-book that rated the 2012 Presidential field would be very helpful. After watching Thursday night’s debate between five of the ten current Republican candidates, I strongly agree.

In my opinion Pawlenty won over Cain by a nose, with Santorum placing a respectable third. Pawlenty benefits from his experience working in the Democrat stronghold of Minnesota, my home state. Cain doesn’t quite yet have that kind of savvy, though his corporate success gives him a dimension most of the other candidates don’t have. The group as a whole did not flinch in attacking the big government policies of President Obama.

The biggest losers were the five candidates not in attendance.

We in flyover country are waiting for the candidate who will go to the mat. We are tired of candidates who are weak, timid, and scared to stand up for conservative American beliefs. Strong conservative leadership in the White House in 2012 is a must if we intend to carry out the Tea Party values that swept  Republicans to power in the House of Representatives in 2010.

Conrad Larson is a tea party supporter from Minnesota and author of The Overcoat and Carry On, Private Dahlgren.