Thanks to the ongoing debate over health care, the American people are starting to become more aware of the way our government is spending our money. The American people are also aware of the fact that it is indeed their own money that is being spent, and they are becoming less content with that overspending each and every day, as they should be.
Well, the hardcore liberals are now doing what they do best: they are deflecting the blame to the previous President and taking no responsibility for their own actions. After all, it is much easier to deflect the blame on someone else than it is to actually take responsibility for one's own actions. Thankfully, there are not as many buying into this idea as before.
First, let me say that I am a supporter of former President George W. Bush. He did his best to protect this country from those who were bent on destroying it. As commander-in-chief, he took that responsibility seriously, and I am thankful for that. However, in his second term, along with a Republican-led Congress, he supported spending programs that were contrary to conservative principles and led us into a lot of debt. (Let's be clear: It is Congress that writes the checks. The President only signs the bills. However, President Bush did not veto these spending plans, which thus shows no disagreement with the bills he was signing.)
Many Bush supporters (and especially conservatives) were (and still are) unhappy about the out-of-control spending that took place during that second term. Many conservatives spoke out about it then, and they continue to speak out about it, so there is not hypocrisy happening. The Democrats, for the most part, were partakers in the spending under President Bush, but they separated themselves from it for electoral purposes only. They are the hypocrites in all of this.
And while the spending spree in the last few years of the Bush Administration was unwise and financially reckless, it pales in comparison to the spending that the Obama Administration is now partaking in. It is President Obama's contention that this spending is necessary to get us out of a recession. He believes that the government needs to spend this money in order to dig our country out of a financial hole that we now find ourselves. And, somehow, it is all President Bush's fault.
Blaming President Bush for anything has been commonplace for at least the last 8 years. It is almost comical the lengths that people go to in order to blame Bush. But why are they doing it?
First, I believe they are blaming President Bush in order to take attention off of the health care debate and the fact that they are losing the fight (at least, for right now). When you are losing the battle, blame someone else in order to draw the attention away from the fact that you are losing. It is a classic misdirection - try to get someone focused on something other than the main issue and you might be able to sneak it through.
Second, they need a bogeyman to hide their own shortcomings and failures. These guys have a Democrat controlled House and Senate (and the majorities are significant). There is nothing that the Republicans can do to stop legislation. Yet, they still cannot get some of their key issues through Congress.
Third, they are blaming President Bush because they do not like him. This, of course, is no secret. They hated this man. Many would have been happy if President Bush had just died, or been shot. Now, we have the Obama Administration trying to feed off of this perceived, supposedly still-lingering Bush Derangement Syndrome.
The Obama Administration is trying to sell the American people on the fact that this excessive spending (whether Cap-and -Trade, Cash for Clunkers, Health Care, TARP, etc) is necessary in order to bring this country back from a recession caused by the Bush Administration. I am having trouble trying to understand this concept. If it was wrong for the deficit to reach annual rates of $500,000,000,000, then how can it be OK for the government to go at least $1,500,000,000,000 in the hole this year alone in order to dig out of the hole?
This is a deficit at least 3x larger than any deficit we ever saw under the Bush Administration. In fact, there are some estimates now that show this year's deficit will be larger than all 8 years of budget deficits under George Bush, combined. And there is no end in sight to this madness. The liberals that are currently running the country are trying to find new and unique ways to spend our money. Instead of paring back government, they are trying to introduce government to new areas where they do not yet have a presence.
The founding fathers of this great country saw to it that the power of the government was to be limited. There were some basic areas where the government needed to be involved, but for the most part, powers were given to the states or to the people. The founding fathers did not want to see a government that was involved in every phase of our lives. Over the past 200+ years, government has slowly added to their power, while taking away the power of the state and the power of the people. Let us not forget the the role of the government is to protect our freedom and to clear the path so that Americans can chase their dreams and their goals without the fear of the government punishing them for being successful.
So my message to President Obama is this: Take responsibility for the decisions that you and your administration are making. We know that you do not want to admit to this, but this is what you have wanted to do. We know you wanted people to be dependent on government and not on themselves. Stop blaming others. Admit that these are your goals. Be proud of your achievements. And start packing, because if you continue down this path, you are destined for a one-term presidency.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Do we need another Declaration of Independence?
For some reason, I pulled out a copy of the Declaration of Independence a couple of weeks ago and read it. Now, I am sure that I have read through it before, but I do not think that I paid attention to it like I did this time. I tried to absorb the words, to get an understanding of the situation that the Founding Fathers were confronted with. I would like to share some of my thoughts with you.
One of the first things that caught my eye is that our inalienable rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are not guaranteed happiness, only the freedom to pursue it. I do not see health care as a right, a new car as a right, a house as a right. We have the freedom to pursue those things, ot the right to own them.
The following text I find interesting: "That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."
I put the emphasis to the above sections. If these sections do not speak about today's government, then I do not know what does.
The writers of the Declaration then go on to list the many grievances that they had against the King of England, several of which apply to today's national leaders. Among them are:
One of the first things that caught my eye is that our inalienable rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We are not guaranteed happiness, only the freedom to pursue it. I do not see health care as a right, a new car as a right, a house as a right. We have the freedom to pursue those things, ot the right to own them.
The following text I find interesting: "That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. That whenever any form of government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for their future security."
I put the emphasis to the above sections. If these sections do not speak about today's government, then I do not know what does.
The writers of the Declaration then go on to list the many grievances that they had against the King of England, several of which apply to today's national leaders. Among them are:
- "He has erected a multitude of new offices, and sent hither swarms of officers to harass our people, and eat out their substance."
- "For imposing taxes on us without our consent."
- "For taking away our charters, abolishing our most valuable laws, and altering fundamentally the forms of our governments."
The signers then go on to declare their independence from Great Britain due to these grievances. They did not do so flippantly. They did this with great solemnity. They then conclude the Declaration with this phrase: "...with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor."
Many of the men who signed this document eventually went on to fight for America's independence. Some of them lost their property and their wealth due to their stand. Some of them lost their lives in the Revolutionary War. These men took a stand, and our country is better for it today.
We do not face the same kind of persecution today. Thanks to our Constitution, we have the freedom to speak out when we believe the government is wrong. We can do this without fear of reprisal (for now). We can speak up without fear of being arrested. We do not have to go to war to fight for independence, because we already have it.
Since this is the case, then I only have one question to ask. Why are we so afraid to stand up for what we believe in? These men who signed the Declaration knew what was coming when they signed that Declaration. They know their lives were going to become more difficult. They know that they might lose everything they owned, possibly even their own lives. But they did it anyway.
We now have an opportunity for a revolution. No, not one that is fought with guns and swords. Rather, it is an ideological revolution, one for the hearts, minds, and values of the American people. It is time for us to stand up to our representatives, senators, and even the President to let them know the will of the people. If they do not listen, then we need to remove them. Even if they do listen, it may be time to remove them.
Our government is on that is "Of the people, By the people, For the people." It exists because of us, not in spite of us. It is time our government officials realized that.
Democrats complete disregard for the electorate
Over the past week or two, there have been many news accounts of ordinary citizens attending town hall meetings, confronting their congressional representative with their objections to the Health Care Bill that Congress is trying to push on top of us. The complaints are many. It costs too much. It will do away with existing, private health care plans. It will give too much authority to the government. It will cause health care rationing. And the list goes on.
Now, all of these are very valid complaints. And after reading about this bill, as well as looking at examples of other countries that currently have this government-sponsored health care, these issues are very accurate.
Now we see that the Democrat leadership (both in Congress and the White House) is trying to fight back, to try to get a foothold in this debate, as they can now see that they are losing on this issue. They have done everything in their power to demean the people who are speaking out against this issue. They are trying to threaten those who speak out against them. They are being nothing more than playground bullies on this issue.
They have accused the 'protesters' of being organized by the Republican Party. I know this is not true. I would not give the Republican Party that much credit right now. Then, the liberals go to their playbook. They blame entities like Fox News and talk radio (esp. Rush Limbaugh).
Their argument goes something like this: Conservatives are too stupid to create their own opinions so they have to listen to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh in order to get the day's talking points. I find this viewpoint narrow-minded. Conservatives know what they believe and why they believe it. We do not like it when someone tells us what to think.
But there is an irony in all of this: Liberals can only argue in Democrat talking points. They do not have original thoughts of their own, as can be seen by their continual use of the Fox News/Rush Limbaugh argument. In fact, this argument is so popular amongst liberals that the President even uses it when he cannot get his way on something.
Now, the congressional leaders are saying that these protests are part of a small, lunatic fringe of the radical right. Barbara Boxer said that the protesters are too well dressed to be concerned citizens (as though, ordinary citizens do not dress neatly). Harry Reid said that these protesters are trying to destroy the democratic process. I am not sure how he arrives at that conclusion, as though speaking out on issues to your elected representative is a bad thing. I would think that trying to cram a bill through Congress that the overwhelming majority of Americans does not want and limiting debate on that bill is more responsible for the death of democracy. But who am I?
The same people that are decrying these opponents to the health care proposals are the same ones who spoke out against the Tea Parties earlier this year. They do not like that fact that we do not agree with them. To the elected representatives, power does not exist with the people. It exists with the government. They want the power for themselves, and they want to remove anyone that gets in their way, a la Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro.
The administration is doing their best to strong-arm everyone in their own party to get behind this bill. They are trying to bully the American people into getting behind this bill. And now they are getting physical with some of the protesters at these town hall meetings around the country. They want to beat us into submission. If they were really intent on getting the American people behind them, they would try to persuade us, not beat us. That tactic is just turning more people against them.
It is time we stand up and tell our elected representatives that they work for us. We put them there. If they are not going to listen to us, then we will vote for someone who will. We should not be living in fear of what they may do to us. They ought to be afraid of us and not voting based on the will of the people.
Now, all of these are very valid complaints. And after reading about this bill, as well as looking at examples of other countries that currently have this government-sponsored health care, these issues are very accurate.
Now we see that the Democrat leadership (both in Congress and the White House) is trying to fight back, to try to get a foothold in this debate, as they can now see that they are losing on this issue. They have done everything in their power to demean the people who are speaking out against this issue. They are trying to threaten those who speak out against them. They are being nothing more than playground bullies on this issue.
They have accused the 'protesters' of being organized by the Republican Party. I know this is not true. I would not give the Republican Party that much credit right now. Then, the liberals go to their playbook. They blame entities like Fox News and talk radio (esp. Rush Limbaugh).
Their argument goes something like this: Conservatives are too stupid to create their own opinions so they have to listen to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh in order to get the day's talking points. I find this viewpoint narrow-minded. Conservatives know what they believe and why they believe it. We do not like it when someone tells us what to think.
But there is an irony in all of this: Liberals can only argue in Democrat talking points. They do not have original thoughts of their own, as can be seen by their continual use of the Fox News/Rush Limbaugh argument. In fact, this argument is so popular amongst liberals that the President even uses it when he cannot get his way on something.
Now, the congressional leaders are saying that these protests are part of a small, lunatic fringe of the radical right. Barbara Boxer said that the protesters are too well dressed to be concerned citizens (as though, ordinary citizens do not dress neatly). Harry Reid said that these protesters are trying to destroy the democratic process. I am not sure how he arrives at that conclusion, as though speaking out on issues to your elected representative is a bad thing. I would think that trying to cram a bill through Congress that the overwhelming majority of Americans does not want and limiting debate on that bill is more responsible for the death of democracy. But who am I?
The same people that are decrying these opponents to the health care proposals are the same ones who spoke out against the Tea Parties earlier this year. They do not like that fact that we do not agree with them. To the elected representatives, power does not exist with the people. It exists with the government. They want the power for themselves, and they want to remove anyone that gets in their way, a la Hugo Chavez or Fidel Castro.
The administration is doing their best to strong-arm everyone in their own party to get behind this bill. They are trying to bully the American people into getting behind this bill. And now they are getting physical with some of the protesters at these town hall meetings around the country. They want to beat us into submission. If they were really intent on getting the American people behind them, they would try to persuade us, not beat us. That tactic is just turning more people against them.
It is time we stand up and tell our elected representatives that they work for us. We put them there. If they are not going to listen to us, then we will vote for someone who will. We should not be living in fear of what they may do to us. They ought to be afraid of us and not voting based on the will of the people.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Applying the Wisdom of Ronald Reagan in Today's Political Landscape
Many people today know Ronald Reagan as an actor, who then went on to become Governor of California, and then the 40th President of the United States. He was a man who knew what he believed and actually stood up for those principles. He did not sell out his principles in order to gain political favor. He led us out of a brutal recession. He brought back a faith and trust in the American way of life at the height of the Cold War. He believed in Americans and America, even when they did not necessarily believe in themselves.
In the past couple of years, I have received Ronald Reagan calendars from the Reagan Ranch. These calendars are full of pictures of Ronald Reagan, both at work and at his ranch. They contain interesting factual nuggets. But more than anything else in this calendar, they contain many quotes from his speeches and his writings.
Today, politicians need speechwriters to come up with many of the pithy things that they say. This was not true with Reagan. While he did have speechwriters, many of these quotes belong to Reagan himself.
In reading these quotes, it is easy to see that Ronald Reagan believed that the problems that Americans face today are solvable. He believed that government intervention was not the way to solve these problems. Rather, Americans can solve these problems when the government steps out of the way, when we have a faith in God to get us through our trials, when we are free to help others in time of need.
As I read through these quotes, I am amazed at the things he believed and the way he governed. I marvel at a politician who governed as he said he would, something we do not really have today. Then I wonder, if we applied his wisdom to the way we are governed today (or allow ourselves to be governed), then how much better off would we be as a country?
I wish to share a few of these quotes in this post. I will occasionally share more of them as time goes on. But please take note of the things he says and how we could apply them to government today.
In the past couple of years, I have received Ronald Reagan calendars from the Reagan Ranch. These calendars are full of pictures of Ronald Reagan, both at work and at his ranch. They contain interesting factual nuggets. But more than anything else in this calendar, they contain many quotes from his speeches and his writings.
Today, politicians need speechwriters to come up with many of the pithy things that they say. This was not true with Reagan. While he did have speechwriters, many of these quotes belong to Reagan himself.
In reading these quotes, it is easy to see that Ronald Reagan believed that the problems that Americans face today are solvable. He believed that government intervention was not the way to solve these problems. Rather, Americans can solve these problems when the government steps out of the way, when we have a faith in God to get us through our trials, when we are free to help others in time of need.
- He believed in a limited government; not an oppressive, overreaching government.
- He believed in a government of, by, and for the people; not in a government in spite of the people.
- He believed that people should have a freedom to worship as they please; not a freedom from worship and all things spiritual.
- He believed that the founding fathers put together a document that could withstand the test of time; not a document that changes over time to whatever we want it to say.
As I read through these quotes, I am amazed at the things he believed and the way he governed. I marvel at a politician who governed as he said he would, something we do not really have today. Then I wonder, if we applied his wisdom to the way we are governed today (or allow ourselves to be governed), then how much better off would we be as a country?
I wish to share a few of these quotes in this post. I will occasionally share more of them as time goes on. But please take note of the things he says and how we could apply them to government today.
- "You can't be for big government, big taxes, and big bureaucracy and still be for the little guy." Ronald Reagan - 1988
- "Common sense told us that when you put a big tax on something, the people will product less of it. So, we cut the people's tax rates and the people produced more than ever before." Ronald Reagan - 1989
- "We have long since discovered that nothing lasts longer than a temporary government program." Ronald Reagan - 1992
- "All of us should remember that the federal government is not some mysterious institution comprised of buildings, files, and paper. The people are the government. What we create we ought to be able to control." Ronald Reagan - 1981
There are so many more quotes that I could post here, but I think you get the main idea. Reagan believed that government was not here to fix everyone's problem, to provide for everyone, to be a nanny to us.
Ponder these "Reagan-isms". Read them over and over again. Try to understand that the way that the government is leading us today is 180 degrees in the opposite direction of Reagan. Then ask yourself "Why?" What is it that today's government officials (in both parties) do not understand about the ideas and principles that Reagan espoused and lived by? Why can't they see that, under Reagan, this country prospered? Why can't they see that when you get government out of the way, Americans can prosper and live in the freedom that the founding fathers envisioned?
Why do today's elected government officials feel that we cannot make our own decisions on anything? Why do they feel that we need the government to hold us by our hands every day of our life? Why do they feel that we are not smart enough to make good decisions?
Remember, we have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. Why do we vote for these knuckleheads who do not believe this? Why do we vote for people who do not care about the people they represent? Mid-term elections are coming up next year. It is about time we vote for people who represent us and the freedom we cherish. We do not need to elect people who represent government bureaucracy. Let's take our country back.
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