Standing athwart history, yelling, “I’m not wearing any pants!”

I had mentioned aboot the hearings Republican whip and conservative dreamboat Eric Cantor is planning for Thursday, to call together business and economic experts and develop a few conservative alternatives to P.E. BAM’s $1 TRILLION stimulus package.

A list of which congressman taking part in it has started to develop, and at first glance it’s the best of the best as far as the caucus goes. I give you David Freddoso:

A House Republican working group on the stimulus, established by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R., Va.) and including Paul Ryan (R., Wis.), Jeb Hensarling (R., Tex.), Pete Roskam (R., Ill.), Brian McCarthy (R., Calif.) and others, will be collecting input from leaders (such as Mitt Romney) and economic experts. Republican Leader John Boehner (R., Ohio) and Conference chairman Mike Pence (R., Ind.) will be there as well.

The purpose, Republican aides say, is to gather ideas that can be presented to Obama after his inauguration next week. Not only has Obama voiced a desire for bipartisan cooperation, but he has also made Democrats uncomfortable with some of his statements on the stimulus. Republicans see a possible opportunity to have some input through the president, even if they are largely locked out of the legislative process.

The first thing I’m curious to see is if and/or how they keep the (and this is another word I’m starting to hate) “grassroots” involved. Yes, the party needs to grow and expand, but the main thing we need right now are foot soldiers. So far Cantor seems to be doing an excellent job in that area. Every day I get my Daily Whipping Post (since as a conservative in the Age of Obama, sometimes I feel like I’ve been tied to the whipping post) telling me every bill that is coming up or is scheduled to come up in the house over the next few days, as well as any hearings. He has also set up a Twitter feed for the Republican Whip website using the #ericcantor hash tag, and is looking for video submissions if you’d like to ask Mitt Romney a question..

Then the other thing would be to see what ideas are developed. I’m of the camp that we need two or three big ideas as opposed to a bunch of little ones. One of those big ideas is courtesy of Steve Forbes (who knows a thing or two aboot that dolla’ dolla’ bill), and I’m calling it the “Fighting Irish Tax Plan.” So sayeth Mr. Forbes:

The U.S. has one of the highest profits levies in the developed world: 35% at the federal level, with another average of 5% from state and local taxes. Only Japan has worse. In contrast, Ireland’s rate is a mere 12.5%. Imagine the howls from congressional Democrats if Barack Obama were to suggest enacting such a low corporate tax rate in the U.S.

But the accompanying table tells an eye-opening tale: Ireland’s corporate tax take as a portion of its economy is higher than that of the U.S. High rates breed pressure for ever more complicated exemptions and ever more ingenious ways to avoid Uncle Sam’s tax bite. But an Irish-like rate leaves companies to focus brainpower on growing their businesses instead of on jousting with tax collectors.

Besides the lower corporate tax making a lot of sense and being proven to work, Irish Catholic’s are a MAJOR voting bloc that goes back and forth depending on how they feel that day. A plan that will lower taxes, lower prices, and is tied in to the motherland might be appealing to more than a few of them (and a potential opening for an Irish Republican candidate for Senator).

For now we wait, and in the immortal words of Inigo Montoya, “I hate waiting.”

UPDATE: Here’s a little taste of what we’re up against…

UPDATE DEUX: Um…what?

UPDATE TRES: Speaking of alternatives…

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