Last week Newt Gingrich announced his intention to seek the Republican nomination for President. That prompted an explosion of speculation on the talk show circuit about who else might enter the fray. Names like Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Mitch Daniels, Tim Pawlenty, Michele Bachmann, and of course Donald Trump were the buzz of the week. Who else will challenge Obama?

It seems there is a long list of Republicans claiming to bring us a new program of “hope and change.” But looking at the list of current contenders to wrest the resident communist from the Oval Office, is not very encouraging. Romney is another big government politician who has already demonstrated a penchant for Obama like solutions. Pawlenty has flirted with liberal environmental policies like cap & trade. Bachmann will quickly become a lightening rod as too cold and intolerant on social issues like gay rights. Ron Paul’s extreme conservatism may be too much for most independents. And of course Donald Trump is just one of those evil capitalists who cannot be trusted.

So, I’ve decided maybe I should throw my hat in the ring. With the exception of Trump, all of the current contenders are career politicians. What is going to change by simply elevating them to a higher office? So the following is a brief outline of my platform should I decide to run.

First I would eliminate the Federal Department of Education. Education is not a legitimate function of the Federal Government. We keep increasing spending on education but too much of our taxes are being spent on administration. Leave control of the local schools in the hands of parents and local school administrators.

Second I would make major cuts in the Department of Energy. Founded primarily to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, it has failed miserably. I would look to appoint someone like Sarah Palin to be the Secretary of Energy and charge the remaining department employees to reduce our oil imports by 50 percent in three years – before the end of my first term. I would make it clear that if they did not succeed they should look for other work because I would fire them all before the next administration took office.

Third, I would reduce the power and influence of the Environmental Protection Agency. This agency has destroyed more of our economy than any other government program. And what exactly has it accomplished? We have more subspecies of subspecies on the endangered species list than ever. Have any of these “environmentalists” never heard of natural selection or survival of the fittest? They have destroyed the logging, mining and domestic energy industries. They have shut down most of the farms in the central valley of California. They have accomplished much of this without legislative action by Congress.

I would use the anti-trust laws to break up the big corporations and big unions that are destroying the competitive nature that made America great. Corporations are not necessarily bad, but big corporations like big government stifle innovation and competition. Too big to fail should be eliminated from our lexicon.

I’d abolish the current income tax law and replace it with a more balanced tax system. If government is important then we should all pay part of our income to fund it. A modestly progressive income tax is a reasonable accommodation but our current system promotes class warfare and has become divisive.

I would begin bringing our troops home from all over the world. It is time for Europeans to pay for their own defense. We can no longer afford to be the world’s police force.

I would eliminate all Federal Pension plans and put all government employees under Social Security. Any funds currently set aside for payment of those pensions would be transferred to Social Security. Maybe they would be a little more careful with the money if their own retirement depended on it.

My Cabinet and advisory team would be made up of Washington “outsiders” who were committed to fundamentally change the direction of this country. No over-educated Ivy League elitists need apply. I would look for successful private sector leaders who have proven they can get things done.

This is just a quick overview of the aggressive plan I would launch to reform our government if I ran for President. Since I would be running as an Independent I would need a huge war chest to fund a credible national campaign. So the first task in the exploratory phase of whether I should run would be to develop a campaign committee to raise funds.

If you are interested, send me your resume and a brief summary of your plan to get me elected.

If you believe my platform is too radical for our country, I’d like to hear from you as well.