{"id":34144,"date":"2011-12-05T11:08:53","date_gmt":"2011-12-05T18:08:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=34144"},"modified":"2011-12-05T11:08:59","modified_gmt":"2011-12-05T18:08:59","slug":"trending-back-to-the-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/12\/trending-back-to-the-states\/","title":{"rendered":"Trending back to the states"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Sarah Lenti<\/p><\/div>\n

Regardless of how you feel about the upcoming 2012 election cycle – which, like it or not, \u00a0is\u00a0squarely upon us – there is a positive element to the U.S. presidential election process. For a solid 12 to 14 months, individual states are given the attention they deserve, some more than others.<\/p>\n

While it’s unfortunate that not every state can be treated like a battleground – and it is unfortunate – at least there is a window every four years wherein states are taken more seriously. Suddenly, states’ leaders matter, for endorsements and policy promotion. Suddenly, state issues are again honed in on\u00a0and amplified at a national level.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, I would posit that this trend back to the states is being realized at a level that supersedes the U.S. presidential election process. Last month, I wrote about the dawn of the super PAC<\/a>. Specifically, I said:<\/p>\n

“…gone are the days of the RNC. Today is the dawn of the super PAC and outside Republican caucus groups. It\u2019s serious.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0smart.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Now, here is what is serious and smart about these outside super PACs and caucus groups: They are prioritizing states over the federal government.<\/p>\n

Take, for example,\u00a0the\u00a0catchy new State Government\u00a0Leadership Foundation (SGLF) – a 501(c)(4) affiliated with the one of largest Republican caucuses in the country. You can check out SGLF\u00a0here<\/a>. I would encourage you to check out the issue pages (and, yes, for the sake of full disclosure, I am currently working as a policy consultant to SGLF). It’s refreshing to see an entity out there that is focused on the states\u00a0and real policy issues, without espousing an extremeist agenda.<\/p>\n

Here is how SGLF talks about itself:<\/p>\n

“The SGLF firmly believes that good policy will ultimately be realized at the state level. As per usual – there is grid-lock in Washington, and the Federal government is out of control and getting absolutely nothing done. Contrast this with the states, who are getting things done – some better than others. America is at its most prosperous and productive when there is limited government, less spending, less taxes, less dictation from Washington; and less encroachment into the states.<\/em><\/p>\n

“The SGLF intends to help place public policy back into the hands of our states. That’s where we will find leadership and good governance.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

“The SGLF is dedicated to educating policymakers and the public about the benefits of smaller government, lower taxes, balanced budgets, and efficiency in governing.”<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Politico noted<\/a> this group’s launch on Thursday, mentioning the fact that the site offers an interactive legislation tracking tool for all of its readers.<\/p>\n

This is, indeed, a smart and serious site.\u00a0 It’s hard to argue with promoting states and state leadership, and\u00a0holding them accountable for meaningful and sensible\u00a0legislation.<\/p>\n

Sarah Lenti is the blogger behind NMPolitics.net\u2019s\u00a0<\/em>The Savvy<\/em><\/a>. E-mail her at\u00a0<\/em>sarah@nmpolitics.net<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here is what is serious and smart about outside super PACs and caucus groups: They are prioritizing states over the federal government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,181],"tags":[239,107],"class_list":["post-34144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-the-savvy","tag-political-committees","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34144\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}