To me, a moderate is someone who does not want to take a stance on a difficult issue. They wait to see how the majority decide, and they just jump in line with them. That is a moderate.
Too many of these people have infiltrated the Republican Party. Thankfully, one of them just left for the Democrat Party, and that would be Arlen Specter. In fact, he was a liberal. he passed by moderate a long time ago.
My problem now is that the Democrats are saying the Republican Party needs to be more moderate. They are too right-wing now. I would say that this is hypocrisy at its finest. When was the last time that the Democrats allowed a moderate to have a prominent position within their party? Does anyone remember what they did to Joe Lieberman? They do not want moderation in their party. They want strict adherence to a specific left-wing agenda.
However, the Democrats are on to something that the Republicans have not yet figured out: Moderates do not help you win elections. Rather, they will pull you down. That is the reason that they want the moderates on the Republican side. They know that moderates do not stand for anything, so they want them with the Republicans in order to split the party apart.
Look what has happened to the GOP when they allow moderates to lead: They lost control of the House, the lost control of the Senate, and John McCain was beaten handily in the 2008 Presidential election. Moderates do not help the Republican Party win. Rather, just the opposite is true.
Now, Republican leaders in Pennsylvania do not think Pat Toomey can beat Arlen Specter in a general election. While that may be true, now is the time to back the candidate and support him, not try to tear him down and throw another moderate into the front-runners spot. The leaders want former Gov. Tom Ridge to run for Senate. While he would be better than Specter, he still has his faults.
But a moderate is not the answer. We need a principled person that we can vote for. We need someone who will stand up for the constituents that voted him/her into office. We need someone who has the courage of his convictions. Now is the time to stand up for something, which would disqualify any moderate who is interested in the job.
Friday, May 1, 2009
ABC News: Helping out our enemies?
Yesterday, ABC News revealed the identities of 2 men who were intimately involved in the so-called torturing of terrorist detainees. What were they thinking? What is their motivation here? Were they aware that they are endangering the safety of these men? Better yet, who in this administration is leaking this kind of information?
Waterboarding was last on the list of tactics to use when interrogating top-level terrorist suspects. I do not believe it is torture. Yes, it may scare the daylights out of them. Yes, they may be uncomfortable. But if this is what is necessary to get information from these people in order to save American lives, than that is what we need to do. Keep in mind, these are the same people that cut the hands off of people who steal, stone women who commit adultery, chop the heads off of their enemies, fly planes into buildings. However, if you listen to the spin machine of the administration (MSNBC), you would think that this is the worst thing that you could ever do to someone. Keep in mind, no one ever died during this (not even close). They want people's heads (figuratively) for waterboarding terrorists, but they think partial-birth abortion is OK? Explain the humanity of that one to me: You can't waterboard a terrorist, but you can suck the brains out of a halfway-born child? Who are the real thugs?
Anyway, by identifying these men, ABC News has put a target on the backs of these men and they have endangered their families. First of all, the media and Democrats in Congress are going to be after these guys. They would love nothing more than to have a show trial with these men. Also, by releasing names, they have helped our enemies know who was behind our plans and methods for getting enemy information. I am sure that they will not let this information go by the wayside and go on their merry way.
Why did ABC News do this? Is there any benefit to do doing this? Why do these news organizations find glory in revealing sensitive information that is related to national security? The media still wants to crucify members of the Bush administration for 'outing' Valerie Plame, the desk jockey analyst at the CIA who sent her husband on a political mission. There is now way on earth that Valerie Plame was more critical to the CIA than these men who were outed by ABC News. Plame was nothing. She just happens to fit a media template for the 'Blame Bush First' crowd, while these men are guilty of the worst sins that mankind could have ever committed. Keep in mind, the gentlemen that revealed her identity, Richard Armitage, has never been attacked and investigated by the major news outlets.
There is also the issue of how they got their hands on this sensitive information? Who in this administration leaked this one? If revealing Plame's name was so bad, then this one is 50 times worse. These men were critical in getting information from terrorists to keep us safe from attack. Whoever revealed the identities of these men should be put in jail for revealing top secret information about who was involved and what we were doing. Then to top if all off, this wonderful administration is going to release pictures of what was going on. This is political ineptitude, at its finest.
Plame is guilty of sending her husband on a politically driven CIA trip to try to undermine U.S. foreign policy. She is the traitor. The men who have been outed are patriots. When will the current President understand that his job is to provide protection for Americans. His job is not to be nice to terrorists, to apologize to them for being treated harshly, to give them Constitutional protections afforded to American citizens. Why is he more interested in protecting the rights of the terrorists than he is in protecting the lives of the American people? And he is using media outlets like ABC News to help him. And he has many people falling down at his feet and worshipping him. If this is his view of what is good for America, if this is the change we need, then we are in trouble.
Waterboarding was last on the list of tactics to use when interrogating top-level terrorist suspects. I do not believe it is torture. Yes, it may scare the daylights out of them. Yes, they may be uncomfortable. But if this is what is necessary to get information from these people in order to save American lives, than that is what we need to do. Keep in mind, these are the same people that cut the hands off of people who steal, stone women who commit adultery, chop the heads off of their enemies, fly planes into buildings. However, if you listen to the spin machine of the administration (MSNBC), you would think that this is the worst thing that you could ever do to someone. Keep in mind, no one ever died during this (not even close). They want people's heads (figuratively) for waterboarding terrorists, but they think partial-birth abortion is OK? Explain the humanity of that one to me: You can't waterboard a terrorist, but you can suck the brains out of a halfway-born child? Who are the real thugs?
Anyway, by identifying these men, ABC News has put a target on the backs of these men and they have endangered their families. First of all, the media and Democrats in Congress are going to be after these guys. They would love nothing more than to have a show trial with these men. Also, by releasing names, they have helped our enemies know who was behind our plans and methods for getting enemy information. I am sure that they will not let this information go by the wayside and go on their merry way.
Why did ABC News do this? Is there any benefit to do doing this? Why do these news organizations find glory in revealing sensitive information that is related to national security? The media still wants to crucify members of the Bush administration for 'outing' Valerie Plame, the desk jockey analyst at the CIA who sent her husband on a political mission. There is now way on earth that Valerie Plame was more critical to the CIA than these men who were outed by ABC News. Plame was nothing. She just happens to fit a media template for the 'Blame Bush First' crowd, while these men are guilty of the worst sins that mankind could have ever committed. Keep in mind, the gentlemen that revealed her identity, Richard Armitage, has never been attacked and investigated by the major news outlets.
There is also the issue of how they got their hands on this sensitive information? Who in this administration leaked this one? If revealing Plame's name was so bad, then this one is 50 times worse. These men were critical in getting information from terrorists to keep us safe from attack. Whoever revealed the identities of these men should be put in jail for revealing top secret information about who was involved and what we were doing. Then to top if all off, this wonderful administration is going to release pictures of what was going on. This is political ineptitude, at its finest.
Plame is guilty of sending her husband on a politically driven CIA trip to try to undermine U.S. foreign policy. She is the traitor. The men who have been outed are patriots. When will the current President understand that his job is to provide protection for Americans. His job is not to be nice to terrorists, to apologize to them for being treated harshly, to give them Constitutional protections afforded to American citizens. Why is he more interested in protecting the rights of the terrorists than he is in protecting the lives of the American people? And he is using media outlets like ABC News to help him. And he has many people falling down at his feet and worshipping him. If this is his view of what is good for America, if this is the change we need, then we are in trouble.
ABC News: Inadvertently helping the enemy?
Yesterday, ABC News revealed the identitiesm/Blotter/story?id=7471217&page=1of 2 men who were intimately involved in the so-called torutring of terrorist detainees. Was this responsible journalism? Was this something the public needed to know? What was the motivation behind this? Better yet, why is the administration leaking this kind of information in the first place?
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Arlen Specter: It's about time you admitted your true allegiance
Well, the inevitable happened today. Sen. Arlen Specter came out and said he was going to change over to the Democrat Party. Is this news? He has been in their camp for years. He has voted with them more than he has voted with his own party. The Democrats could rely on his vote more often than some in their own party. So no, this is not really news, as this is something we have known anyway.
Sen. Specter knew that this is what he needed to do in order to be re-elected next year. Basically, all of the polls had him running behind Pat Toomey for the Republican nomination. And given his recent voting record, he knew he had no chance of catching up to Toomey. So, instead of going through the Republican primary having a debate on ideas, he chose to take the cowardly way out.
He does not want to have the debate, because he knows he will lose on the issues. He has lost touch with those who voted for him and put him in office. He has been in the Senate for several terms, and what does he have to show for it? Nothing. How has he represented those of us in his state who have voted for him in the past? Only according to his own interests and not on the interests of those who voted for him.
Does he have a good chance of winning the Democrat primary? Yes, he does. Does he have a good chance of winning a general election? Yes, he does. Pennsylvania has a high liberal population in and around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Since most of these people are Democrats, they would not have been able to vote for him in the primary, which is why he would have lost.
I am happy to see him go. He does not stand for anything that the Republican base (i.e. Conservatives) stands for. He has thrown us under the bus too many times. After George Bush and Rick Santorum stuck their necks out to support him in 2004, he basically stabbed them in the back. For him, it is all about notoriety, re-election, and a legacy (that he is still searching for). It has nothing to do with principles and doing what is right.
* I am amused listening to and reading the commentary of the media and other politicians.
President Obama was glad to see him join the party and promises to campaign for him.
* Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) said that “Sen. Specter did not leave the Republican Party. The party left Sen. Specter.”
* I have read message boards where people said that this is another nail in the coffin of the Republican Party.
* Some have said that the Republican Party has no business saying it is a ‘big tent’ party after running Specter out.
* Others have derided the party for ‘caving in’ to the right-wing of the party.
* Moderates have applauded him for standing up to the right-wingers.
* Sen. Specter has said that the Republicans are no longer the Party of Reagan that he belonged to in the 80’s.
Let me see if I can answer these.
* Is it any surprise that President Obama would campaign for him? My question is this: Is this even a news story?
* Why would one of the most liberal Democrat senators make such a stupid statement? Specter was never on board with his core constituents in the party. He was always a loose cannon. He has been testing the Democrat waters for a long time.
* This is not a nail in the coffin for the Republicans. Rather, this is what needed to happen in order for them to have a recrudescence in the political world. In fact, there are several other senators and congressman that I would like to see go along with Specter. Conservatism wins when it is on the ballot. We need look no further than Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, as well as the congressional elections of 1994. When conservatism runs, it wins.
* Where is it written that the Republican Party must be a big tent? When did someone ever say that the Democrat Party needs to have a big tent? The left wingers would not allow conservatives or Bible-believers or pro-national security types to be in their party (and I have no idea why those people would want to take part in the Democrat Party). In order to have a big tent, you must compromise on core principles. This is not something that you can do and survive.
* These people that are labeled as right-wingers are the core constituents in the party. We are the normal, ordinary people that go to work every day and pay our taxes (on time). We love America and the freedom we have as Americans. We cherish the rights granted to Americans under the Constitution. We are not embarrassed by the greatness and power of America. We love God (we actually believe in Him). We are not a group that is going to hurt America, as this administration would like to think.
* What are moderates? They are people who are too gutless to take a tough stand on anything. They would rather see what decision the majority makes, and then they will side with the majority. Who cares what moderates think? I certainly do not. I want people on my side who are principled, not like the chaff, driven with the wind and tossed to and fro.
* The problem with the party is that we are no longer a party that embraces the ideals of Ronald Reagan. We do need to be careful not to worship the man, but stand up for the ideals and principles that he held dear. The problem with the Republican Party is that we got rid of those principles and ideals and started to cater to people like Specter. That is why we are not a strong party right now. We let people like Specter in charge and they ran the party into the ground. So it is not the ‘right-wingers’ that hurt the party. It is the wishy-washy people like Specter that hurt the party.
I say ‘Good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you where the good Lord split you.’ Once we regain our footing and stand firm on the conservative principles that the party once stood for, then we will become a great party again.
Monday, April 20, 2009
In Memory of Mrs. Nancy Morris
On Friday, April 17, Mrs. Nancy Morris went home to be with the Lord. A couple of years ago she was diagnosed with a form of cancer that could not be beaten, and she knew that. While they were able to treat it and extend her life here on earth for a few years, they were not able to beat it back into remission and remove it from her body.
Many, outside the world of Mt. Calvary, will not know Mrs. Morris. She was an elementary school teacher at Mt. Calvary Christian School in Elizabethtown, PA for several years and then she served as the elementary school principal for many more years. She served as my 2nd grade teacher. She was serving as the elementary school principal for my 2 oldest boys until her retirement at the end of the 2007-08 school year, so they had a chance to get to know her, too.
Robert and Nancy Morris did not have any children of their own, so she treated all of the students as her kids. She took an interest in them. She cared about them. She wanted to see them succeed. She was proud of them. She was everything that a parent could want in someone that teaches their children. You knew that your children were being taught properly when Mrs. Morris was teaching them. You knew that the teacher had a legitimate care and concern for your children.
For Mrs. Morris, teaching was not just a job. It was not just a way to earn a living or collect a paycheck. Rather, it was what God had called her to do. She took great joy in teaching children and watching them learn. She wanted to see the kids grow, whether physically, educationally, emotionally, and spiritually. That is what made teaching worthwhile to her. In fact, it was under her teaching that I made a reassurance of my own salvation.
From a student’s standpoint, I could see that she enjoyed what she was doing. I realize it was close to 30 years ago that she served as my teacher, but I can still remember her teaching with a zeal and enthusiasm that was real. She was excited about teaching, which made me want to learn. If the teacher was excited about it, then I, too, should be excited about it.
When my wife and I were looking at different Christian schools for our kids to attend, we attended and open house at Mt. Calvary. Mrs. Morris was at the information table that day. While she did not immediately recognize me (as I have very few similarities now to my 2nd grade appearance), once I introduced myself, she immediately remembered me. But it was not just a remembering of my name. Rather, she remembered things that only a teacher could remember. She remembered my parent’s names. She remembered my brothers’ names. What I was impressed with is that she remembered me. I was only one of many hundreds of students that she had taught over the years while she was a teacher. I was not just a name to her. Neither was any other student she had taught over the years.
As the principal, she was not teaching classes, but she still knew the names of the students at the school. As the principal, she wanted the students to know who she was, which was understandable. But more than that, she wanted to know them. She did not want her familiarity with the students to end with just knowing their names. She wanted them to know that she cared, that she was there to help. With Mrs. Morris, you were not merely a number or a name. You were a real person.
Mrs. Morris was a humble person. She did not seek attention for herself because of the position the she held. When she was first diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment, she would deflect from the attention she was getting due to this disease and want to know how you were doing. In conversations with her, she was more interested in you and what you were doing and how you were doing. She did not care to talk about herself. To her, life was about what she was doing for others, not what others were doing for her.
Physically, she was an unimposing figure. She was maybe 5’ tall on a good day (while standing on her toes). There was nothing about her, physically, that stood out. Rather, it was her character, her tremendous interest in those that she taught, and her love for her job, that stood out and make her larger than life to me. While diminutive in stature, her legacy looms large over the hearts of those that had the privilege of knowing her. She left tremendously large shoes to fill.
How can her life be summed up? That is hard to do. How can you encapsulate the life of someone who touched so many lives into just a few phrases. I think it can be summed up best, in words similar to those that the Apostle Paul wrote toward the end of his life: A fight well fought, a course well run, a faith well kept, a life lived right, a job well done, a crown well won.
Many, outside the world of Mt. Calvary, will not know Mrs. Morris. She was an elementary school teacher at Mt. Calvary Christian School in Elizabethtown, PA for several years and then she served as the elementary school principal for many more years. She served as my 2nd grade teacher. She was serving as the elementary school principal for my 2 oldest boys until her retirement at the end of the 2007-08 school year, so they had a chance to get to know her, too.
Robert and Nancy Morris did not have any children of their own, so she treated all of the students as her kids. She took an interest in them. She cared about them. She wanted to see them succeed. She was proud of them. She was everything that a parent could want in someone that teaches their children. You knew that your children were being taught properly when Mrs. Morris was teaching them. You knew that the teacher had a legitimate care and concern for your children.
For Mrs. Morris, teaching was not just a job. It was not just a way to earn a living or collect a paycheck. Rather, it was what God had called her to do. She took great joy in teaching children and watching them learn. She wanted to see the kids grow, whether physically, educationally, emotionally, and spiritually. That is what made teaching worthwhile to her. In fact, it was under her teaching that I made a reassurance of my own salvation.
From a student’s standpoint, I could see that she enjoyed what she was doing. I realize it was close to 30 years ago that she served as my teacher, but I can still remember her teaching with a zeal and enthusiasm that was real. She was excited about teaching, which made me want to learn. If the teacher was excited about it, then I, too, should be excited about it.
When my wife and I were looking at different Christian schools for our kids to attend, we attended and open house at Mt. Calvary. Mrs. Morris was at the information table that day. While she did not immediately recognize me (as I have very few similarities now to my 2nd grade appearance), once I introduced myself, she immediately remembered me. But it was not just a remembering of my name. Rather, she remembered things that only a teacher could remember. She remembered my parent’s names. She remembered my brothers’ names. What I was impressed with is that she remembered me. I was only one of many hundreds of students that she had taught over the years while she was a teacher. I was not just a name to her. Neither was any other student she had taught over the years.
As the principal, she was not teaching classes, but she still knew the names of the students at the school. As the principal, she wanted the students to know who she was, which was understandable. But more than that, she wanted to know them. She did not want her familiarity with the students to end with just knowing their names. She wanted them to know that she cared, that she was there to help. With Mrs. Morris, you were not merely a number or a name. You were a real person.
Mrs. Morris was a humble person. She did not seek attention for herself because of the position the she held. When she was first diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment, she would deflect from the attention she was getting due to this disease and want to know how you were doing. In conversations with her, she was more interested in you and what you were doing and how you were doing. She did not care to talk about herself. To her, life was about what she was doing for others, not what others were doing for her.
Physically, she was an unimposing figure. She was maybe 5’ tall on a good day (while standing on her toes). There was nothing about her, physically, that stood out. Rather, it was her character, her tremendous interest in those that she taught, and her love for her job, that stood out and make her larger than life to me. While diminutive in stature, her legacy looms large over the hearts of those that had the privilege of knowing her. She left tremendously large shoes to fill.
How can her life be summed up? That is hard to do. How can you encapsulate the life of someone who touched so many lives into just a few phrases. I think it can be summed up best, in words similar to those that the Apostle Paul wrote toward the end of his life: A fight well fought, a course well run, a faith well kept, a life lived right, a job well done, a crown well won.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Why Arlen Specter must lose in 2010
As Sen. Arlen Specter is getting ready to run for the U.S. Senate (again), I can tell he is very nervous. The election is in November, 2010, yet he is already running ads in PA telling voters why they ought to vote for him and not for his opponents. This is not the sign of a confident candidate.
He is telling the Republican voter that they ought to nominate him (instead of one of the opponents) because he has a better chance of winning in a general election. He says that he can draw democrat votes. I will agree with him on this. He will draw an abundance of democrat votes, and he does stand a good chance of winning the general election if he makes it through the primary. He tells us that he has a better chance of keeping the democrats from winning a supermajority of the seats in the Senate (which would be 60 seats). This could be a very distinct possibility.
However, what Specter fails to realize is that the core conservative Republican is a principled person. He is not necessarily looking to vote simply for a political party so that the party can stay in power. This core conservative voter is looking to place his vote based on principle, based on those values that he holds dear. This is the very thing that has hurt the Republican Party over the last several elections. We became complacent and voted for people because of party affiliation and popularity, not based on what they stood for and what they were going to do once in office.
I am tired of prominent Republicans telling me that I should vote for someone simply due to party affiliation. I am tired of them telling me that we need Republicans willing to work with the other side. In other words, we need people in power who are willing to compromise on principle in order to remain in office. We are told by the leadership of our party, by the media, and by the other party that this is what we need to do in order to win elections.
But look where this line of thinking has taken the party. We ran a man for President in 2008 that shared very few conservative principles with those that he wanted to represent. He was more than willing to compromise principle for power. And he lost overwhelmingly. We have leaders in the House and Senate that have compromised their principles for some reason or another. And look where they are now. They are in a minority with no power to steer policy discussions away from the hard left.
Compromise of principles has not worked for our party. It never has, and it never will. It cannot change until we stand up and say that we have had enough. The leadership of the party is feckless. We need a recrudescence of conservative people, of conservative values, of American pride to lift this party out of the doldrums that we currently find ourselves sitting in.
Don’t listen to the media when they say conservatism cannot win. It has in the past, and it will win again. Look at Ronald Reagan. He had a very optimistic view of America with less government intervention in people’s lives. He won in a landslide. The Contract With America led to a conservative Republican revolution in the mid-90’s. Conservatism can win and will win, provided we send people out to run on those principles.
This is why Senator Specter must lose. He does not stand on conservative values. He does not cherish the right to life. He voted for the government overreach that we now call the bank bailouts. He will throw conservatives under the bus in order to advance his own progressive agenda. If he will not stand up for us, why should we vote for him?
He is telling the Republican voter that they ought to nominate him (instead of one of the opponents) because he has a better chance of winning in a general election. He says that he can draw democrat votes. I will agree with him on this. He will draw an abundance of democrat votes, and he does stand a good chance of winning the general election if he makes it through the primary. He tells us that he has a better chance of keeping the democrats from winning a supermajority of the seats in the Senate (which would be 60 seats). This could be a very distinct possibility.
However, what Specter fails to realize is that the core conservative Republican is a principled person. He is not necessarily looking to vote simply for a political party so that the party can stay in power. This core conservative voter is looking to place his vote based on principle, based on those values that he holds dear. This is the very thing that has hurt the Republican Party over the last several elections. We became complacent and voted for people because of party affiliation and popularity, not based on what they stood for and what they were going to do once in office.
I am tired of prominent Republicans telling me that I should vote for someone simply due to party affiliation. I am tired of them telling me that we need Republicans willing to work with the other side. In other words, we need people in power who are willing to compromise on principle in order to remain in office. We are told by the leadership of our party, by the media, and by the other party that this is what we need to do in order to win elections.
But look where this line of thinking has taken the party. We ran a man for President in 2008 that shared very few conservative principles with those that he wanted to represent. He was more than willing to compromise principle for power. And he lost overwhelmingly. We have leaders in the House and Senate that have compromised their principles for some reason or another. And look where they are now. They are in a minority with no power to steer policy discussions away from the hard left.
Compromise of principles has not worked for our party. It never has, and it never will. It cannot change until we stand up and say that we have had enough. The leadership of the party is feckless. We need a recrudescence of conservative people, of conservative values, of American pride to lift this party out of the doldrums that we currently find ourselves sitting in.
Don’t listen to the media when they say conservatism cannot win. It has in the past, and it will win again. Look at Ronald Reagan. He had a very optimistic view of America with less government intervention in people’s lives. He won in a landslide. The Contract With America led to a conservative Republican revolution in the mid-90’s. Conservatism can win and will win, provided we send people out to run on those principles.
This is why Senator Specter must lose. He does not stand on conservative values. He does not cherish the right to life. He voted for the government overreach that we now call the bank bailouts. He will throw conservatives under the bus in order to advance his own progressive agenda. If he will not stand up for us, why should we vote for him?
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Easter is not merely a 'Spring Break'
We live within a society today that has a diminishing view of Christianity. Actually, there is a diminished view of religion in general. According to polls, more people identify themselves as atheists or non-religious than at any other time throughout our nation's history (and for that matter, the history of the world). These non-religious people seek to remove anything that has a religious overtone to it from the public square or from the public discussion.
We have seen many people try to remove the true meaning of Christmas, by not allowing nativity scenes in public places or allowing Christmas carols to be sung in the schools. The courts have ruled that prayer is not allowed in public schools, as it violates the non-Constitutional clause of separation of church and state. We have people suing the government to have the words 'one nation, under God' removed from the pledge of allegiance or the words 'In God We Trust' removed from our currency. There is an antagonism toward God in this country.
And now, we have Easter. Where I work, it is now referred to as Spring Break (as if we needed a break from spring only a couple of weeks into the season). There are many at work that are offended by calling this tiem of year Spring Break, even amongst those who are not very religious or do not go to church at all. However, this so-called 'Spring Break' happens to coincide with Easter (as it also does with many public schools today). We also celebrate 'Winter Break' (a mere 4 days into winter, when a break is not needed) at a time that coincidentally falls at the same time as Christmas.
Anyway, Easter is a season that now emphasizes baskets of candy and goodies, easter egg hunts, and easter bunnies (although I am still trying to figure out the connection between the bunny and the eggs). It is a time for new fashions in the stores, when women can wear white shoes, the unofficial beginning of spring.
Are these things bad? No, they are n ot. They are innocent things that have no evil or no malice attached to them. However, they are used by many to distract from the real meaning of Easter. Our focus becomes the giving and receiving of goodies from each other. For many, they have no understanding of why there actually is a holiday we call Easter.
Easter is a time when many people who are normally un-churched might actually go to church. Many churches today, though, water down the real reason behind Easter in favor of a feel good message about being kind to your fellowman, peace on earth, etc. These churches may give a cursory mention to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but that is not their focus. They treat it as a nice story to go along with the holiday, not the reason for the holiday.
The ironic thing here, at least in my eyes, is that churches today are busy telling us to be kind to our fellowman, to help them out in times of need, to give of ourselves to those less fortunate. Yet, they fail to teach how Christ did that for us by coming to earth to die for us. They will give us examples of how we can help out each other. Yet they do not take the opportunity to tell others what Christ did to help us to avoid an eternity in hell.
I am not bemoaning the need to be kind to our fellowman and to help others out in times of need. As Christians, we are to do that. However, we are also told to tell others about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and what that means for our lives and where we will spend eternity.
Oftentimes, we will read a story, whether in the newspaper, on the internet, in a magazine, about a hero what risked his/her life to save another person. I remember hearing the stories immediately after 9/11 of the police and firefighters who went into the World Trade Centers in order to help others get out. Many of them did not get out alive. They gave of their lives so that other lives could be prolonged here on earth. These men are true heroes, and I am not trying to diminish by one iota the things that they did that day.
However, these men gave of their lives so that someone else could spend several more years here on this earth. These men laid down their lives so that others could live. That is noble and they should be honored for the sacrifice they made. We have no problem telling others about these heroes who gave of their lives. However, we have a Savior who died on the cross to save us from our sins. He died, not just so we could live a few years longer here on earth, but so that we could spend an eternity with Him in heaven, yet we are somehow afraid to share this others?
The Great Commission tells us to go out and tell others about Christ. We are not to keep it a secret and save it only for other Christians. Why would we do that, as they already know the reason for Christ's death? Why are we not out telling others that this time of year is not just for a break in our lives to take it easy for a few days? We should be out letting others know that Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate Easter.
We have seen many people try to remove the true meaning of Christmas, by not allowing nativity scenes in public places or allowing Christmas carols to be sung in the schools. The courts have ruled that prayer is not allowed in public schools, as it violates the non-Constitutional clause of separation of church and state. We have people suing the government to have the words 'one nation, under God' removed from the pledge of allegiance or the words 'In God We Trust' removed from our currency. There is an antagonism toward God in this country.
And now, we have Easter. Where I work, it is now referred to as Spring Break (as if we needed a break from spring only a couple of weeks into the season). There are many at work that are offended by calling this tiem of year Spring Break, even amongst those who are not very religious or do not go to church at all. However, this so-called 'Spring Break' happens to coincide with Easter (as it also does with many public schools today). We also celebrate 'Winter Break' (a mere 4 days into winter, when a break is not needed) at a time that coincidentally falls at the same time as Christmas.
Anyway, Easter is a season that now emphasizes baskets of candy and goodies, easter egg hunts, and easter bunnies (although I am still trying to figure out the connection between the bunny and the eggs). It is a time for new fashions in the stores, when women can wear white shoes, the unofficial beginning of spring.
Are these things bad? No, they are n ot. They are innocent things that have no evil or no malice attached to them. However, they are used by many to distract from the real meaning of Easter. Our focus becomes the giving and receiving of goodies from each other. For many, they have no understanding of why there actually is a holiday we call Easter.
Easter is a time when many people who are normally un-churched might actually go to church. Many churches today, though, water down the real reason behind Easter in favor of a feel good message about being kind to your fellowman, peace on earth, etc. These churches may give a cursory mention to the resurrection of Jesus Christ, but that is not their focus. They treat it as a nice story to go along with the holiday, not the reason for the holiday.
The ironic thing here, at least in my eyes, is that churches today are busy telling us to be kind to our fellowman, to help them out in times of need, to give of ourselves to those less fortunate. Yet, they fail to teach how Christ did that for us by coming to earth to die for us. They will give us examples of how we can help out each other. Yet they do not take the opportunity to tell others what Christ did to help us to avoid an eternity in hell.
I am not bemoaning the need to be kind to our fellowman and to help others out in times of need. As Christians, we are to do that. However, we are also told to tell others about the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ and what that means for our lives and where we will spend eternity.
Oftentimes, we will read a story, whether in the newspaper, on the internet, in a magazine, about a hero what risked his/her life to save another person. I remember hearing the stories immediately after 9/11 of the police and firefighters who went into the World Trade Centers in order to help others get out. Many of them did not get out alive. They gave of their lives so that other lives could be prolonged here on earth. These men are true heroes, and I am not trying to diminish by one iota the things that they did that day.
However, these men gave of their lives so that someone else could spend several more years here on this earth. These men laid down their lives so that others could live. That is noble and they should be honored for the sacrifice they made. We have no problem telling others about these heroes who gave of their lives. However, we have a Savior who died on the cross to save us from our sins. He died, not just so we could live a few years longer here on earth, but so that we could spend an eternity with Him in heaven, yet we are somehow afraid to share this others?
The Great Commission tells us to go out and tell others about Christ. We are not to keep it a secret and save it only for other Christians. Why would we do that, as they already know the reason for Christ's death? Why are we not out telling others that this time of year is not just for a break in our lives to take it easy for a few days? We should be out letting others know that Jesus Christ is the reason we celebrate Easter.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Thoughts on AIG and the government-sponsored bailout
Over the course of the past few days, we, as taxpayers and Americans, have come to find out that a portion of the government bailout money that was given to AIG has been given out to some of their executives, to the tune of $165mm (give or take a few million). 73 of their executives stood to gain a bonus of at least $ 1mm.
Please don't get me wrong - I am not against bonuses. I believe that they should be paid to people when a business is profitable, when people are doing a good job, when it is deserved.
However, I do believer it was unwise for AIG to pay these bonuses to their executives. Was it illegal? No. Were they contractually obligated to pay them? From what I understand, yes they were. Could those executives have chosen to turn down the bonuses? Yes. Many things could have happened better. But, what other companies have also paid this same kind of bonus from the government bailout funds that they received? Apparently, they paid enough to Democrats over the years to keep it quiet. How many of Obama's advisors received bonuses in the past from firms that are now failing? Many of them.
My problem, though, is not necessarily with AIG. My problem is with the government officials that allowed for this to happen in the first place. The bailout, first and foremost, was wrong and should never have happened. It is not the government's role to underwrite industry. By handing out money (that they did not have), they opened themselves up for this kind of mismanagement. And let us not forget, they inserted the clause into the bill that allowed for these bonuses to be paid in the first place. Had Congress been allowed to read the bill, maybe more would have voted against it had they known this clause was inserted.
Consider some of the principle characters in Congress (and Washington) that helped lead the charge on this bailout: Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Arlen Specter, and the Obama administration. It is my contention that they had this amendment inserted into the bailout bill in order to create this anger we are seeing right now. They now have the opprotunity to harness the anger of the American people and use it as an excuse to have more government intervention into places where it should not be. The faux outrage shown by Congress (mostly Democrats, with a few Republicans joining in) is nauseating. They knew this was going to happen when they passed the bill. They knew well before the bonuses were paid that these bonuses would become public, yet they allowed it to happen. They wanted a political football to kick around to try and make themselves look good.
My problem is that there are too many people out there who are too dense to see this. They are too lazy to think about it and put the puzzle pieces together. They cannot see it as a government ploy to give the government more power. They see it as being the fault of AIG with no government responsibility whatsoever. People are so reliant on government now that they think government is the cure to everything.
Now, Congress wants to tax the bonuses to the tune of 90%. I am not sure that this is even legal (and Congress knows that), but they are going to try. They want the outrage to be focused on AIG, not on them. After all, government is the one that is causing things to fall apart. They need a scapegoat. Magicians would call it slight-of-hand. In football, it is referred to as a misdirection. In the Democrat Party, it is called blaming someone else.
Barney 'Banking Queen' Frank said in committee the other day that since it is his money, the government's money, the taxpayer's money, that we ought to go in and take it back. He wants the names of those who received bonus money to be released, regardless of the safety of those involved. Many on the loony left are threatening violence against these people. He does not care about safety. He only wants people to think he is being heroic in getting this money back. Many are too caught up in the anger of the moment to realize that this fruitcake helped cause the whole crisis in the first place.
Ultimately, the money was given to AIG (and other companies) to help them continue to do business and remain afloat so as to avoid bankruptcy. However, the government wants to tell them how to run their business (as if the government knew what it was doing). This is the problem you have when you allow government to get involved. They are not content watching from the sidelines. They want to run the show. Since they are handing out the money, they want to tell you how to spend it. This leads to socialism, which is the ultimate goal of these people.
This is the reason some governors do not want to accept stimulus money. It comes with too many strings attached. The governors know that by accepting the money, they will then accept the federal government's power to come in and tell them how to spend it. Who would know better how to spend moeny for the benefit of the state? Would it be the states? Or would it be the federal government? The answer is obvious.
It is time that we, as Americans and as taxpayers, say that enough is enough. Bailouts do not work. While it is not good that companies go bankrupt or go out of business, it has to be allowed to happen. Government intervention will not fix things. The strange thing about a free market is that it has the ability to heal itself. That is what happened in the 80's. That is what happened in the years after 9/11. It can happen again. In an age of instant gratification, we are not willing to be patient and allow for the free market to fix itself. We want it now, and people are unfortunately willing to give the government more power to try to fix things. Once the government has that power, they are not going to give it back. It is up to us to get it back from the government.
So I say to you: Get out and nominate conservative candidates that know the power belongs to the Americans, not to the government. Vote those clowns out of office that think government is the answer. Do your part. I will surely do mine, starting with being active in campaigns to unseat my Congressman and my Senator. Remember, the Constitution starts out "We the people...". It does not say "We the government.."
Please don't get me wrong - I am not against bonuses. I believe that they should be paid to people when a business is profitable, when people are doing a good job, when it is deserved.
However, I do believer it was unwise for AIG to pay these bonuses to their executives. Was it illegal? No. Were they contractually obligated to pay them? From what I understand, yes they were. Could those executives have chosen to turn down the bonuses? Yes. Many things could have happened better. But, what other companies have also paid this same kind of bonus from the government bailout funds that they received? Apparently, they paid enough to Democrats over the years to keep it quiet. How many of Obama's advisors received bonuses in the past from firms that are now failing? Many of them.
My problem, though, is not necessarily with AIG. My problem is with the government officials that allowed for this to happen in the first place. The bailout, first and foremost, was wrong and should never have happened. It is not the government's role to underwrite industry. By handing out money (that they did not have), they opened themselves up for this kind of mismanagement. And let us not forget, they inserted the clause into the bill that allowed for these bonuses to be paid in the first place. Had Congress been allowed to read the bill, maybe more would have voted against it had they known this clause was inserted.
Consider some of the principle characters in Congress (and Washington) that helped lead the charge on this bailout: Barney Frank, Chris Dodd, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Chuck Schumer, Arlen Specter, and the Obama administration. It is my contention that they had this amendment inserted into the bailout bill in order to create this anger we are seeing right now. They now have the opprotunity to harness the anger of the American people and use it as an excuse to have more government intervention into places where it should not be. The faux outrage shown by Congress (mostly Democrats, with a few Republicans joining in) is nauseating. They knew this was going to happen when they passed the bill. They knew well before the bonuses were paid that these bonuses would become public, yet they allowed it to happen. They wanted a political football to kick around to try and make themselves look good.
My problem is that there are too many people out there who are too dense to see this. They are too lazy to think about it and put the puzzle pieces together. They cannot see it as a government ploy to give the government more power. They see it as being the fault of AIG with no government responsibility whatsoever. People are so reliant on government now that they think government is the cure to everything.
Now, Congress wants to tax the bonuses to the tune of 90%. I am not sure that this is even legal (and Congress knows that), but they are going to try. They want the outrage to be focused on AIG, not on them. After all, government is the one that is causing things to fall apart. They need a scapegoat. Magicians would call it slight-of-hand. In football, it is referred to as a misdirection. In the Democrat Party, it is called blaming someone else.
Barney 'Banking Queen' Frank said in committee the other day that since it is his money, the government's money, the taxpayer's money, that we ought to go in and take it back. He wants the names of those who received bonus money to be released, regardless of the safety of those involved. Many on the loony left are threatening violence against these people. He does not care about safety. He only wants people to think he is being heroic in getting this money back. Many are too caught up in the anger of the moment to realize that this fruitcake helped cause the whole crisis in the first place.
Ultimately, the money was given to AIG (and other companies) to help them continue to do business and remain afloat so as to avoid bankruptcy. However, the government wants to tell them how to run their business (as if the government knew what it was doing). This is the problem you have when you allow government to get involved. They are not content watching from the sidelines. They want to run the show. Since they are handing out the money, they want to tell you how to spend it. This leads to socialism, which is the ultimate goal of these people.
This is the reason some governors do not want to accept stimulus money. It comes with too many strings attached. The governors know that by accepting the money, they will then accept the federal government's power to come in and tell them how to spend it. Who would know better how to spend moeny for the benefit of the state? Would it be the states? Or would it be the federal government? The answer is obvious.
It is time that we, as Americans and as taxpayers, say that enough is enough. Bailouts do not work. While it is not good that companies go bankrupt or go out of business, it has to be allowed to happen. Government intervention will not fix things. The strange thing about a free market is that it has the ability to heal itself. That is what happened in the 80's. That is what happened in the years after 9/11. It can happen again. In an age of instant gratification, we are not willing to be patient and allow for the free market to fix itself. We want it now, and people are unfortunately willing to give the government more power to try to fix things. Once the government has that power, they are not going to give it back. It is up to us to get it back from the government.
So I say to you: Get out and nominate conservative candidates that know the power belongs to the Americans, not to the government. Vote those clowns out of office that think government is the answer. Do your part. I will surely do mine, starting with being active in campaigns to unseat my Congressman and my Senator. Remember, the Constitution starts out "We the people...". It does not say "We the government.."
Monday, March 9, 2009
Republicans and NASCAR: Are they heading down the same path?
As I was reflecting on the current political climate that we find ourselves immersed in today, I started to ponder the future of the once-great (and hopefully soon-to-be-great again) Republican Party. It has been much to my chagrin that we have allowed others to define the party of Lincoln and Reagan. Some of these defining our party are (but not limited to) the moderates and liberals in our own party, the Democrat Party, and the media. I could not help but be drawn to several similarities between the Republican Party and one of my favorite sports: NASCAR.
The first thing that may come to your mind when seeing this is that they (Republicans and NASCAR fans alike) are all a bunch of southern, redneck, racist, uneducated, Bible-thumping fools. However, that is not the case. While there may be a couple in the ranks that have some of these traits, we do not espouse them. If you look into supporters of any cause, I am sure you can find some questionable characters.
However, as I thought about this more, I saw some striking similarities.
1. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican voter are greatly misunderstood. The NASCAR fan takes his sport seriously. He enjoys it. It is practically a way of life. To him, there is nothing wrong with a car using a lot of gas and going in circles to see who can get around the track the most times before the checkered flag falls. It is a race of man and machine vs. other men and their machines. It is the thrill of the race, not the yearning for crashes that motivate these core fans. The fact that others may disdain their sport is of no concern to them. Likewise, the core, conservative Republican takes his politics seriously. It is who we are. It is how we live. It is our personal beliefs that shape our ideology. It is not our party that shapes the way we believe. We are not motivated by power. Rather, our motivation is based on principles of right and wrong. The fact that others disagree with us does not bother us.
2. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican are passionate about what they believe. NASCAR fans are passionate about their favorite drivers, about car manufacturers, about the type of tracks they enjoy the most, about the rules and rule changes. They have a passion for their sport and they treat it with respect. Likewise, the core, conservative Republicans have a passion for their beliefs, whether it is lower taxes, no abortions, no gay marriage, less government in our daily lives. We do not compromise on these things in order to be liked.
3. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican are fiercely pro-American and extremely patriotic. I have only had the chance to attend one Nascar race in my life (Richmond, September 2006). What I saw at that time were not only Gordon fans or Tony Stewart fans or Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. I saw fans of America. I saw people who were not only flying the flags of their favorite drivers, but they were flying American flags. When it came time for the national anthem, everyone stood up, almost everyone removed his hat, many sang along. These are folks who care about this country and honor those who fight for it. Likewise, the core, conservative Republican cherishes this country and the freedoms we enjoy because we live here. It is not our desire to see the government take over our lives. Rather, we enjoy the freedom that our founding fathers passed on to us. People in this country should have the freedom to becomes everything they want to be. We salute the flag, we salute those who fought for our country, we honor those who gave their lives so that we may continue to enjoy the freedoms that we have.
4. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican believe our problems lie in this fact: We have moved away from our roots and those things that put us where we are today. I have been frustrated with NASCAR over the past several years as they have been moving towards making NASCAR into a glorified IROC series. Everyone races basically the same car. There is no room for ingenuity. Everything has to be within certain specifications, so there is almost no room for someone to gain an advantage through the use of creative engineering. While I see the need for some basic guidelines, it is now out of hand. The other thing that NASCAR has done that has hurt (in my opinion) is their effort to reach out to people who do not like NASCAR and use gimmicks to bring them on board as fans. While there is nothing wrong with reaching out to the non-fan, don’t compromise your core principles in order to pull in these non-fans. You risk losing the core fan by doing so. NASCAR needs to remember where it came from. Likewise, the Republican Party has allowed non-members to come in and re-shape it. The leaders over the past several years have compromised on core beliefs (mainly government spending and growing the size of government) in order to reach out and bring more people into the fold. Look where it has taken the parts: into the toilet. The party no longer has control in Congress or in the White House. We ran a candidate for President in 2008 who was the ultimate compromiser, and it did not help out at all. We got away from our roots. We forgot what made the Republican Party a great party.
As a NASCAR fan and a Republican, I believe that we need to stop allowing others to define us. I do not define those who I do not agree with. They are able to define themselves. They don’t need my help. We have to go out and define ourselves and let others know what we believe. We need to let others know that we do not appreciate their efforts to re-define us. We also need to let them know how many of us there are out here that do not appreciate what they are trying to do to us. Having these beliefs is one thing. Standing up for them is another. It is time that we go from simply having these beliefs to standing up and fighting for them.
The first thing that may come to your mind when seeing this is that they (Republicans and NASCAR fans alike) are all a bunch of southern, redneck, racist, uneducated, Bible-thumping fools. However, that is not the case. While there may be a couple in the ranks that have some of these traits, we do not espouse them. If you look into supporters of any cause, I am sure you can find some questionable characters.
However, as I thought about this more, I saw some striking similarities.
1. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican voter are greatly misunderstood. The NASCAR fan takes his sport seriously. He enjoys it. It is practically a way of life. To him, there is nothing wrong with a car using a lot of gas and going in circles to see who can get around the track the most times before the checkered flag falls. It is a race of man and machine vs. other men and their machines. It is the thrill of the race, not the yearning for crashes that motivate these core fans. The fact that others may disdain their sport is of no concern to them. Likewise, the core, conservative Republican takes his politics seriously. It is who we are. It is how we live. It is our personal beliefs that shape our ideology. It is not our party that shapes the way we believe. We are not motivated by power. Rather, our motivation is based on principles of right and wrong. The fact that others disagree with us does not bother us.
2. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican are passionate about what they believe. NASCAR fans are passionate about their favorite drivers, about car manufacturers, about the type of tracks they enjoy the most, about the rules and rule changes. They have a passion for their sport and they treat it with respect. Likewise, the core, conservative Republicans have a passion for their beliefs, whether it is lower taxes, no abortions, no gay marriage, less government in our daily lives. We do not compromise on these things in order to be liked.
3. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican are fiercely pro-American and extremely patriotic. I have only had the chance to attend one Nascar race in my life (Richmond, September 2006). What I saw at that time were not only Gordon fans or Tony Stewart fans or Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans. I saw fans of America. I saw people who were not only flying the flags of their favorite drivers, but they were flying American flags. When it came time for the national anthem, everyone stood up, almost everyone removed his hat, many sang along. These are folks who care about this country and honor those who fight for it. Likewise, the core, conservative Republican cherishes this country and the freedoms we enjoy because we live here. It is not our desire to see the government take over our lives. Rather, we enjoy the freedom that our founding fathers passed on to us. People in this country should have the freedom to becomes everything they want to be. We salute the flag, we salute those who fought for our country, we honor those who gave their lives so that we may continue to enjoy the freedoms that we have.
4. The NASCAR fan and the core, conservative Republican believe our problems lie in this fact: We have moved away from our roots and those things that put us where we are today. I have been frustrated with NASCAR over the past several years as they have been moving towards making NASCAR into a glorified IROC series. Everyone races basically the same car. There is no room for ingenuity. Everything has to be within certain specifications, so there is almost no room for someone to gain an advantage through the use of creative engineering. While I see the need for some basic guidelines, it is now out of hand. The other thing that NASCAR has done that has hurt (in my opinion) is their effort to reach out to people who do not like NASCAR and use gimmicks to bring them on board as fans. While there is nothing wrong with reaching out to the non-fan, don’t compromise your core principles in order to pull in these non-fans. You risk losing the core fan by doing so. NASCAR needs to remember where it came from. Likewise, the Republican Party has allowed non-members to come in and re-shape it. The leaders over the past several years have compromised on core beliefs (mainly government spending and growing the size of government) in order to reach out and bring more people into the fold. Look where it has taken the parts: into the toilet. The party no longer has control in Congress or in the White House. We ran a candidate for President in 2008 who was the ultimate compromiser, and it did not help out at all. We got away from our roots. We forgot what made the Republican Party a great party.
As a NASCAR fan and a Republican, I believe that we need to stop allowing others to define us. I do not define those who I do not agree with. They are able to define themselves. They don’t need my help. We have to go out and define ourselves and let others know what we believe. We need to let others know that we do not appreciate their efforts to re-define us. We also need to let them know how many of us there are out here that do not appreciate what they are trying to do to us. Having these beliefs is one thing. Standing up for them is another. It is time that we go from simply having these beliefs to standing up and fighting for them.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
It is time for conservatives to stand up for what we believe
Why do we, as Republicans and conservatives, allow the media and the liberal establishment to define us? They tell us who should lead us, what we should believe, who we should include, and the list goes on-and-on-and-on.
The latest chapter comes from the speech that Rush Limbaugh delivered at CPAC on Saturday evening. After reading the majority of his speech, I must say that I agree with him. We have allowed moderates to come into leadership roles within the Republican Party and tear us down. They have led us astray. They have tried to make the party into Democrat-lite.
The Republican Party, at its core, is conservative. The people who are the base of the party are conservative people. Moderates within the party have a hard time swallowing this bitter pill. They think we ought to reach out to more moderates and liberals and broaden the base of the party.
Well, that is what has put us in the position that we are in today. We ran a moderate for President in 2008, because we thought that is what was needed to win the election. It didn’t work. You cannot out-liberal a liberal. The liberals want people like McCain, Specter, Snowe, et al. running the party because that will guarantee that they stay in power for many years to come.
Conservatism came to prominence in the 80’s with Ronald Reagan, then in the 90’s with Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America. When conservatism is on the ticket, it wins. This is why liberals want the moderate wing of the Republican Party to win. They are scared of the masses that are conservative, and they know that if we have a conservative nominee, that he/she has a good chance of winning.
The mainstream media and the DNC are all over the Rush Limbaugh speech and his criticism of Michael Steele. They are trying to paint Rush Limbaugh as the problem with America. He is dividing us. He is mean-spirited. He is harming the bipartisanship that the President is trying to inflict us with. They want to make him the evil person in all this country, to help distract from the way that they are destroying this country. It is Rush Limbaugh that wants us to have the freedoms that the Founding Fathers intended us to have. With that freedom comes the ability to become whatever we want to be. The Democrats want us to rely on government for everything. They want us to be dependent on them, which will entrench them in power for years to come.
It is time to stand up against these liars, these divisive nutjobs that run the Democrat Party. They are the ones constantly playing the race card. They are the ones constantly trying to divide us (whether its based on class, gender, race, or anything else). They are the ones that want us to be totally reliant on the government. They are the ones who are held captive by the left-wing, anti-capitalism, anti-America fringe base that would rather see us live under the flag of the U.N than under the flag of the U.S.A.
An old adage (that some say comes from Alexis de Tocqueville) says that “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” Those of us who are conservative understand that this goodness does not come from the government and politicians in Washington. Rather, it comes from the goodness of its people. It is not our concern what other countries think of us. If they disdain our greatness as a superpower, that is their problem (but they sure know who to come to when they are in need).
Anyway, it is time for us to fight back. It is time to fight for conservative causes, for conservative candidates, for conservatism in general. We have seen throughout our history as a country that conservatism can beat liberalism. We also know that there are a lot of conservatives that are fed up with the way we are defined by the liberal media establishment, and liberals in general. It is time to fight for what we believe in. I support Rush Limbaugh. I support conservative Republicans. But most of all, I support what is best for America. Liberalism is not good for us. It will lead to our defeat. We need to avoid it at all costs.
The latest chapter comes from the speech that Rush Limbaugh delivered at CPAC on Saturday evening. After reading the majority of his speech, I must say that I agree with him. We have allowed moderates to come into leadership roles within the Republican Party and tear us down. They have led us astray. They have tried to make the party into Democrat-lite.
The Republican Party, at its core, is conservative. The people who are the base of the party are conservative people. Moderates within the party have a hard time swallowing this bitter pill. They think we ought to reach out to more moderates and liberals and broaden the base of the party.
Well, that is what has put us in the position that we are in today. We ran a moderate for President in 2008, because we thought that is what was needed to win the election. It didn’t work. You cannot out-liberal a liberal. The liberals want people like McCain, Specter, Snowe, et al. running the party because that will guarantee that they stay in power for many years to come.
Conservatism came to prominence in the 80’s with Ronald Reagan, then in the 90’s with Newt Gingrich and the Contract with America. When conservatism is on the ticket, it wins. This is why liberals want the moderate wing of the Republican Party to win. They are scared of the masses that are conservative, and they know that if we have a conservative nominee, that he/she has a good chance of winning.
The mainstream media and the DNC are all over the Rush Limbaugh speech and his criticism of Michael Steele. They are trying to paint Rush Limbaugh as the problem with America. He is dividing us. He is mean-spirited. He is harming the bipartisanship that the President is trying to inflict us with. They want to make him the evil person in all this country, to help distract from the way that they are destroying this country. It is Rush Limbaugh that wants us to have the freedoms that the Founding Fathers intended us to have. With that freedom comes the ability to become whatever we want to be. The Democrats want us to rely on government for everything. They want us to be dependent on them, which will entrench them in power for years to come.
It is time to stand up against these liars, these divisive nutjobs that run the Democrat Party. They are the ones constantly playing the race card. They are the ones constantly trying to divide us (whether its based on class, gender, race, or anything else). They are the ones that want us to be totally reliant on the government. They are the ones who are held captive by the left-wing, anti-capitalism, anti-America fringe base that would rather see us live under the flag of the U.N than under the flag of the U.S.A.
An old adage (that some say comes from Alexis de Tocqueville) says that “America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.” Those of us who are conservative understand that this goodness does not come from the government and politicians in Washington. Rather, it comes from the goodness of its people. It is not our concern what other countries think of us. If they disdain our greatness as a superpower, that is their problem (but they sure know who to come to when they are in need).
Anyway, it is time for us to fight back. It is time to fight for conservative causes, for conservative candidates, for conservatism in general. We have seen throughout our history as a country that conservatism can beat liberalism. We also know that there are a lot of conservatives that are fed up with the way we are defined by the liberal media establishment, and liberals in general. It is time to fight for what we believe in. I support Rush Limbaugh. I support conservative Republicans. But most of all, I support what is best for America. Liberalism is not good for us. It will lead to our defeat. We need to avoid it at all costs.
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