Patent politics going bad for GOP

The Republican Party won resounding elections in 2010 and again in 2014. These wins were a response to an out of control liberal-Democrat agenda like we have not seen since the Johnson era.  Big government is on the march under President Obama in ways that many Americans have not experienced in our lifetimes.  Washington’s career politicians are increasingly intruding upon the daily lives of the American people.  They forcibly pass laws the American people do not want like Obamacare.  Courts decide, and even making up law, on controversial matters that should be left to American citizens and their elected representatives to work out at the State level.  The EPA has gone rogue, making decisions with tax dollars behind them that they have no authority to make, and they don’t seem to care.  The bureaucrats are run-a-muck in Washington and there is virtually no check and balance on these unelected institutions.  

For these and numerous other reasons, the disconnect between Washington and the rest of the country continues to expand, as does the gap between the GOP and its grassroots base.  Recent polls show that Speaker Boehner (R-Ohio) and Majority Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) are extremely unpopular with the general public.  The American people want a Republican party in the nation’s capital that will stand up to the Washington machine rather than a party that often goes along with liberal agenda.  

{mosads}This is why it is so surprising to me that Republicans in both Houses, who just helped Obama pass a trade deal that was not actually about free trade, are now considering giving the president another big assist – this time on so-called patent reform.  When it comes to patent legislation, the proposed liberal bills undermine the free market, property rights, and the constitution. They will have a deleterious impact on innovation and small business.  

The legislation is being pushed by Obama and his friends at big tech companies like Google, with many Hill Republicans helping. The bills amount to yet another unnecessary, government overhaul of the private sector.  Surely, we have had enough government overhauls that are failing the people, namely Dodd-Frank and Obamacare.  The president wants it because he loves government expansion, and because it will benefit his friends at Google.  What many of us cannot figure out is why Hill Republicans seem to want to give yet another political assist to the president’s liberal agenda when that plan is so egregious that even many Democrats are opposed to it.     

Supporting an overhaul of the patent system is not only horrible policy, it is horrific politics for the GOP.   Further, if the “Innovation Act” sponsored by Rep. Goodlatte (R-Va.) passed the House, it will be completely ignored or overhauled in the Senate. This will cause a distracting and time consuming mess in both Houses when our country faces so many more important challenges that we could be putting our time and energy towards solving.  Thankfully, House conservatives are starting to take a second look.  Conservative members like Massie (R-Ky.), himself a patent holder, and Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) are working to explain to fellow Republicans why they should not support this legislation, and conservatives in the Senate like Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and David Vitter (R-La.) have raised serious concerns.  To their credit, the House Republican leadership recently made the laudable decision to defer a vote until after the coming recess.  It should be delayed permanently, however, while more targeted and limited reforms are considered. 

Leading conservative groups have become even more outspoken the legislation in recent weeks, this includes the Club for Growth, The American Conservatives Union, Heritage Action, and Eagle Forum.  Some have said they plan to score the legislation in their annual ratings.  Heritage Action chief executive officer Michael A. Needham minced no words when he stated, “Heritage Action opposes H.R. 9.  The bill should not come to the floor.”

I urge all conservatives in the House and Senate who are still in favor of these bills to ask themselves why they support legislation that will only further divide the GOP, and give yet another big government victory to Obama.  The American people continue to reject Obama’s progressive agenda, and so too should their elected officials.   

Conservative groups have joined together and have risen up against this legislation for good reason.  We do not need another overly aggressive Washington overhaul undermining free market, pro-growth solutions.  When it comes to patent legislation, it is a win for Obama, Google, and China, and a huge loss for the GOP and the American people

Blackwell, former Ohio secretary of State, is on the board of the Club for Growth and National Taxpayers Union.