First there was Kathy Griffin’s disgusting display on CNN with Anderson Cooper. Now there’s this pathetic display by William Kristol making a fool of himself, on Foxnews courtesy of Breitbart:
Posts Tagged ‘boehner’
Boehner Leads the GOP to Electoral Suicide
Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013
Will He Stay?
Speaker John Boehner marched his members to the cliff, and while their bungee cords permitted them to avert one disaster, they managed to magnify others. As I predicted here four weeks ago, Boehner wound up passing the “fiscal cliff” bill with mostly Democrat votes. We’ve seen this before, as this was merely the first sequel in a three or four-volume tale of woe. As Boehner’s competence and commitment are being questioned all over the nation, Eric Cantor is posturing to perhaps unseat Boehner, but given his track record, I wouldn’t trust him any more than the man he would replace. There’s a dire edge to all of this, and it comes in the form of the upcoming debates over the debt ceiling, but also the more immediately threatening posturing about gun control. Suicide had been the order of the day, and in the main, Boehner achieved it. We cannot permit him to take our whole country over a much more gravely threatening “cliff.”
The Republicans in the House have completely wrecked their negotiating credibility, and I cannot for one moment see how true disasters will be averted if they cannot stomach even this small fight. Meanwhile, Allen West has been unseated, so that only a few conservatives remain in the House, and as some Republicans who are moving toward independence look on in stunned disbelief at the wreckage, they’ve begun to notice that the voices of false unity and party loyalty are precisely the same shady characters who have led them into this dark abyss. If the Republican Party is to have any hope of coming back, and if indeed there remains anything in it worth preserving, it will only be with the leadership of outsiders.
As this Greek tragedy plays to a conclusion, it is important to take stock of all that the party machine has wrought. Now inoperable, it is finally possible to begin to assess all that it had rejected on the way to the ash-heap of history over which it now teeters. The party is not in its current state from a lack of “progressivism,” or from a dearth of “moderation,” but from an excess of both combined with a goodly portion of corruption mixed in for good measure. The machine did all it was able to put up a Presidential candidate that would represent its values, but not ours.
It placed in nomination a man who while being a businessman from mostly private sector experience had nevertheless spent most of the last two decades seeking public office or otherwise operating in the public sphere, and it placed as his Vice Presidential running mate a man who has in his professional career known only Washington DC. It was not a surprise to see that Congressman Paul Ryan voted for the fiscal cliff bill, since as he admitted, he liked what was in it. Think of that the next time you rationalize your support of him on the basis that he had been a “good conservative.” No, this is precisely indicative of the reasons he and Governor Romney lost.
If the wizards of the Republican Party had any brains, guts, or integrity, they would now voluntarily step aside. They would leave in shame, abandoning it to be rescued while it can by better characters. Those like Sarah Palin and Allen West among others could theoretically rescue the party, but one wonders if they should, encumbered as they would be by the legions of foul characters who would rush to hitch their wagons to the new team(s.) Everybody seems to have bought the line that such people make good trench fighters, but that they’re not leadership material for some reason, undoubtedly because such wizards can’t imagine getting out of the way.
The truth is that this may be the moment for such people of good character and principles to stand up and make themselves known. As any conservative will witness, it’s not as though we have a surplus of good leadership, and besides: People wise enough to know that sometimes the victory lies in the trenches are precisely the best leaders any cause might ever find. Still, while I doubt either of these would be the sort to hold a grudge of the sort to which I’d be prone, one wonders if they could be blamed for washing their hands of this fiasco altogether.
The other problem is that the sorry lot who runs the Republican Party in Washington DC these days is precisely the sort who never know when their day has come and gone. These are the political vermin who cling to power, with their own versions of “Baghdad Bob” telling the press(and themselves) that they’re still large and in charge. The bunker mentality with which they’re often finally beset only follows on the heals of a rousing defeat, such as the one suffered on New Year’s Day.
Naturally, the underlings immediately begin plotting to undo their leaders, gambling that in a moment of political weakness, they might exploit their positions to maximum advantage. Watch Eric Cantor over the next few days. Boehner is nervous, and so is Cantor, because if Cantor misses his moment, he will be finished, and if Boehner stumbles, Cantor will unseat him. It’s the same old dance, among the same sorry sort of characters who always vie for power when a vacuum appears, however briefly. You can bet that no matter how it turns out, they will remain fast friends.
The problem the GOP faces is larger than normal, inasmuch as they have a newly re-elected President who is seeking(and thus far succeeding) in running the table on them. Even if Obama does not win another thing for two years, he knows that his chances of taking back the House in 2014 have just improved markedly. If he’s smart, he will play carefully and rather than push an agenda that will whip the opposition into some form of unity born of frenzied resistance, he’ll leave Boehner(or Cantor) hanging way out on the limb alone for two years, get the House back, and then do all he wants and more.
If this weren’t all such a fascinating game for DC Republicans, and if they really believed they had anything personally at stake, they’d realize this and get out of the way to let others lead, but power-hungry megalomaniacs seldom do, and what we must remember is that for them, this is all about them. For Boehner, he gave no consideration to the damage this fiscal cliff bill would do to the nation, but instead only worried how it would look if it didn’t pass. Cantor and others will undoubtedly see this as an opportunity, one they will pursue if Boehner looks weakened in the light of Thursday morning. That’s the ugly underbelly of Washington DC, and indeed every seat of government, because true public servants are rare creatures of inestimable worth. The wretched fools now dominating party politics are contrarily all but worthless.
I’ve said as much in my first post of the year: This is a year for choosing, and we must choose between cowardice and courage. We cannot prevail with the former, only the latter offering any chance at a start toward national restoration. No politician is perfect, as no human is infallible, but in the evaluation of their worthiness for the job, the single most important issue remains one of character. You see, we can all make errors in judgment, and we can all make faulty decisions based on incomplete or incorrect information. It is only in character that you discern those who will work to be morally infallible, because one’s moral bearing is a choice. Therein lies the deep secret to rescuing the GOP, or even the country, if either remains possible, because it is only with people who strive to make the right choice each time they face one that there is any hope.
Boehner’s current weakness leaves open a chance to bring in the sort of outsider who stands at least a chance of cleaning things up. Many people have suggested Sarah Palin for the Speaker’s job, but while she spent much of her time as Governor of Alaska battling the corrupt insiders in her own party, she did so with the authority and support of the people accorded to a chief executive. While she undoubtedly possesses the skills, she would be wasted on the speakership when there are higher offices for which she is better prepared. Still, if there is a complete outsider who could pull it off, it would be one of her temperament and diligence. Others have suggested bringing Newt Gingrich out of mothballs to take on this task, and I know those making the suggestion intend a compliment in so saying, but I think the former Speaker is fine with the notion of leaving it that way. More frequently, I hear(and have once made) the suggestion of Allen West. West would likely bring the sort of no-nonsense leadership that the herd of Republican cats would need to accomplish anything useful at all. His military experience would probably assist him well, as I suspect any outsider taking this on would need most of all a firm boot, and the willingness to extend it both firmly and frequently.
Others continue to suggest Cantor, who I wouldn’t trust with the proverbial potato-gun, and a few more have suggested Ryan given his experience as Budget Committee Chairman, although given yesterday’s vote, I still believe he hasn’t the strength of principles to whip this crowd into shape. This Republican majority is adrift on an unprincipled sea, and it will take somebody of firm commitment to gather this flock. I haven’t the sense that Cantor is capable of any of it, and I don’t believe Paul Ryan will fair any better.
At this hour, there are rumors that Boehner will quit as early as tonight, but I’ll believe that when I see it. For all we know, he’s just trying to draw out his adversaries into the open. At the moment, there will be any number quietly plotting against him, and they’d be easier to overcome if he knows their identities, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find the source of the rumors had been him. Naturally, it could also be a sort of trial balloon put up by any member, or even staffer, trying to see if there is the sufficient sentiment to provide an opportunity for promotion after all.
Others in Washington are hedging their bets, or mending their fences. Consider that Grover Norquist is now engaged in rationalizing a victory from this shocking defeat, and others in the DC establishment are trying to cast this as a less thorough defeat. Listen to them if it suits you, but remember that this same crowd assured us that George HW Bush wouldn’t pay a price for his “Read my lips” pledge, despite the fact that in 1992, he most assuredly did. This is what happens when a party or a leader forgets the principles that placed them in power. In one last-minute appeal to the “knuckle-draggers,” it was leaked that Boehner had told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to “Go f… yourself.” Twice! As if this would be some sort of consolation, we are supposed to lap that up as evidence that he was battling for us.
If you’re reading these musings, wondering what might really be going on inside this den of thieves, join the club. Here is what I know with certainty: I have contacted my member and urged him to push Boehner out, and to find somebody other than Cantor to replace him. I will be heard, whether it will have any effect, and you should be heard as well. Just because the GOP committed electoral suicide yesterday does not mean conservatives ought to ride with them to the silted bottom. There is an opportunity in this for us as well, and it’s high time we make the most of it. If politics – like nature – truly abhors a vacuum, let us fill it with conservatism for a change.
Come Thursday, Boehner must go if we can manage it.
What Your GOP Has Done to America Again
Tuesday, January 1st, 2013
Guess who will pay!
I knew the outcome before it had been announced. There would be no way in which McConnell would do anything differently from what he did in 2011. The sell-out Republicans in the Senate, excepting a few token “resistors” have voted with the Democrats to raise taxes and cut spending by a ratio of 41:1. That’s right, they’re going to cut one dollar in spending for every forty-one dollars they’ve raised in taxes. If you are an entrepreneur, just forget about making any money. If you’ve scrimped and saved in order to make your lot in life a little better, forget about it. If you’re a welfare moocher, the gravy train will continue. What this means is simple enough to understand: Your Republican party has succeeded in throwing your hard work, your efforts for prosperity, and your tireless struggles on the funeral pyre of America. These Republicans are helping Obama in his goal to kill jobs, kill wealth, and ultimately, to kill the country. Now the action returns to the House, where John Boehner will push his members to Obama’s bidding. Once again, your Grand Old Party has abandoned you, but what we must now consider is when mere political treachery traverses the boundaries of treason.
Do you want a job? Do you want a better job? Sorry. You want sanity in government spending? Balanced budgets? What budget? Budgets are so antiquated. Why should politicians be restrained by budgeting, never mind balancing them? In truth, our problem is that we have no opposition party. The concept of loyal opposition isn’t even relevant. There simply is no opposition. We are being ruled by a gang of thugs, and the only split between Republicans and Democrats is in the matter of how much they will pinch us. It’s more like rival factions of gangsters, all under the same mob bosses, with only the matter of which particular gang will rule the day remaining in question. Boehner’s arm-twisting tactics will be employed to bring the few remaining actual conservatives into line, and those who opt to oppose him will find their posts on various committees stripped from them. Even now, as The Hill reports, Boehner is busily crafting a voting majority comprised in part of his “100 loyal soldiers” (Loyal to him, but not to the constitution,) and a number of Democrats who will together shove this legislation down our throats.
Back in early December, I warned about the coming betrayals of Boehner and his band of sell-outs, and I urged that we rid the Congress of this fifth-column wart on the face of the party. Now you will have it, and your lives and the lives of your children will suffer for it. It wasn’t hard to predict, as past is prologue in Washington DC. In 2011, when Boehner walked conservatives off the plank, and when so many conservatives were scratching their heads in disbelief at the utter weakness being projected by Republican leadership in the House, I told you that these people were not working for us. At the time, I was mocked, and there were those who scoffed at my assessments, but by now, the matter should be clear. If you’re waiting for the Republican Party to rescue you, or to stand in the name of the dying republic, you will be disappointed repeatedly.
Why do they not fight? The answer is simple: Some of them are in league with the statists, adopting their principles, and some are merely cowards who wish to retain power. These people will disappear when the country collapses, to the bunkers for which you have paid, with the provisions for which you have been taxed, secured by guards you have funded, with weaponry to which you will not have access as the mobs ravage the countryside. They will be safe. Their money or wealth will be shielded. All of the “fiscal cliff” theater is simply one more diversion. The consequences of the so-called “fiscal cliff” were not so severe as pretended, but the debt cliff over which we will now almost certainly plummet shall constitute the real undoing of America.
Happy New Year America! John Boehner hates you. Nancy Pelosi dismisses you. Mitch McConnell despises you. Harry Reid spits on you. How do you know the difference between Republican and Democrat? By their beliefs? As expressed through their actions and their votes? Tell me once more: What is the difference? The Club for Growth is warning the GOP not to make this deal, but do you think Boehner and the boys will listen? No. It’s time to embrace reality, and to see for once and for all that there can be no salvation through the Republican party. The GOP is not interested in saving the country, but only themselves.
And you will pay for it all…
Obama Openly Hints at Dictatorship
Thursday, December 6th, 2012
Dictator Obama
In a speaking engagement that looked suspiciously like a campaign stump speech, on Wednesday, Barack Obama implied that if Republicans attempted to tie the debt ceiling to the budgetary negotiations, he might ignore them, stating “We’re not going to play that game.” All along, Obama has shown a willingness to exceed his constitutional authority. Since the Debt Ceiling debacle of 2011, there’s word circulating in leftist circles that under the 14th Amendment, there is some authority for the President to ignore Congress in order to satisfy the payment of our debts, but no such authority exists in the 14th Amendment. This is a troubling proposition, and the fact that our Prevaricator-in-Chief now makes these kinds of implications portends potentially lethal danger to our republic. Obama has made little secret of the fact that he detests the prohibitions on excessive government authority in the US Constitution, but ladies and gentlemen, if he hasn’t gone too far already, this should be the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back.
To help you understand what this ludicrous, malevolent narcissist has in mind, let’s first view his speech to the Business Roundtable on Wednesday. The most interesting remarks come after the 13:00 mark, but the whole of the speech offers insight into the maniacal thinking of this man. He is going to destroy this economy to exact his revenge, and none should be in the mood to let John Boehner make deals with this sort of mindset:
As to the proposition that the 14th Amendment provides some authority for the President to circumvent Congress, this is a preposterous claim. The relevant sections of the Fourteenth Amendment states:
Section 4. The validity of the public debt of the United States, authorized by law, including debts incurred for payment of pensions and bounties for services in suppressing insurrection or rebellion, shall not be questioned. But neither the United States nor any State shall assume or pay any debt or obligation incurred in aid of insurrection or rebellion against the United States, or any claim for the loss or emancipation of any slave; but all such debts, obligations and claims shall be held illegal and void.
Section 5. The Congress shall have power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article
Notice that section 4 was intended to deal specifically with war debt accrued by the Union in fighting against the confederacy during the civil war. The leftists who advocate on behalf of section 4 as a proscription against a debt ceiling are lunatics. It not only requires the setting aside of the context of the amendment, but also ignoring the subsequent section, that specifically empowers Congress to enact legislation pursuant to this amendment.
In Article I, Section 8, the following are to be found among the specifically enumerated powers of Congress:
The Congress shall have power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;
To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;
To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;
To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current coin of the United States;
Notice that all of these powers that are in fact granted to Congress in financial and fiscal matters fall within the context of the following statement, concluding Section 8:
;—And
To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.
There is no mention of a Presidential role in this process, apart from his ordinary Article II authority to veto or approve legislation. Nothing in Article II provides the President authority to coin money, borrow money, or appropriate funds. No imaginary, tortured rationalizations of the 14th Amendment permit him to touch this apart from signing or vetoing legislation that comes before him. If he attempts what the leftists are suggesting, he is in open violation of the constitution, and this must be confronted.
Naturally, given the track record of Barack Obama, there’s little to suggest that he wouldn’t merely claim the authority, act on such basis, and then simply let Congress try to stop him in court. This would essentially create a window in which we would be reliant upon John Boehner and the Republicans to stop him, but the tepid leadership we’ve seen to date suggests they would present no obstacle to this imperial president.
My friends, there is nothing so dangerous as a demagogue acting as chief of state, and his inclinations toward dictatorial actions provide plenty of cause for concern. Not only must we rid ourselves of John Boehner, but we must also be willing to make a stand against this president in the name of the constitution. Our nation is dying a slow death, but rather than acting responsibly, Barack Obama is rushing to be the first man to throw a shovel-full of dirt on its grave. John Boehner is weak and tepid, a pallbearer to our premature national funeral, and he seems more concerned with his own political survival. We are in deep trouble, but we must stand on behalf of our constitution, or risk losing it.
Boehner Must Go
Wednesday, December 5th, 2012
Holiday Spirit?
Back in the days of the early Cold War, Senator Joe McCarthy spent a good deal of effort trying to uncover crypto-communists, people in government and in popular culture who hid behind labels like “liberal” and “progressive,” but who were secretly working directly or indirectly for the world-wide communist movement. The media (being dominated by crypto-communists) set out to destroy McCarthy’s reputation, and their friends in the historical community helped to blot all of the communist betrayals from future generations. Today, we have a putative Republican majority in the House of Representatives, but for the second time in less than two years, the Republican leadership in the House is working to undermine its conservative members while offering deals on the “fiscal-cliff” to Barack Obama, both publicly and behind closed doors.
These so-called “”deals” are only good for President Obama, but they are disasters for our Republic and its future. No conservative can possibly believe that any of the deals being discussed publicly are anything but destructive, and yet here is our Republican House leadership, the last firewall against the predations of Obama, and he’s making deals, planning for defections, with the intention of getting it through the House primarily with Democrat votes! I believe this is evidence of more than mere incompetence because what these repeated sell-outs evince is a thoroughgoing contempt for the Republic. I no longer believe Boehner is merely weak or foolish. I don’t believe there’s a sober human being alive who could be this incompetent. Instead, I believe he is either a crypto-socialist plant of the leftist variety, or he has been compromised in other ways. Either way, for the good of the country, John Boehner must go.
Never have I seen a Speaker of the House work so unashamedly for his adversary and against his own party. This isn’t the behavior one should expect from a Republican, never mind somebody who claims to be a conservative, but if Boehner succeeds in throwing a deal to Obama, it will be on the strength of only a few hands-full of Republicans. It will be the moderates who will pass this deal out of committee, and there will be a sudden bloom of support from across the aisle. There’s no point in extenuating the matter. When the election for Speaker occurs in the next Congress in January, we must get sufficient abstentions to ditch this jerk. As Ned Ryun writes at RedState, it will take 218 votes to re-install him as Speaker, and that means we must work to prevent Boehner from obtaining that number. It’s a long shot, but it’s our only chance to rid ourselves of this man, and the problem is that Cantor is no better. We are going to need to say no to a number of these DC establishment Republicans, and we have just four weeks to bring sufficient pressure to do so.
On Wednesday, Boehner held a press conference during which he took several questions. His answers indicated that he has already surrendered. He talked about taxing the rich, saying:
“Now the revenues we’re going to put on the table come from…guess who? The rich.”
What has happened to the so-called leadership of the Republican party? Here, John Boehner adopted the language of the left, providing a de facto endorsement of it. Boehner isn’t interested in fixing any of this, but is instead leading his party to doom. As we know from earlier in the week, he dumped four conservatives from influential committees because they were not “loyal.” To whom or to what does a conservative owe his loyalty? John Boehner? Forgive me, but my representative does not owe his loyalty to John Boehner. He must be faithful to the US Constitution and loyal to his home district, but not to freaking John Boehner, particularly when it means abandoning these higher principles.
This sort of damage is not accidental. Either Boehner is corrupt and compromised because those FBI files (or their contemporary equivalents) have come back to haunt him, or because he’s simply a leftist who obtained his office and position as a Republican by playing a role. One might have concluded that he is merely a fear-driven political animal acting due to a faulty perception of his political survival, but that doesn’t explain his behavior with respect to the conservatives in Congress. No, I suspect that Boehner is compromised, and that he is acting as an agent for the left, but even if it’s not that simple, the effect is precisely the same: The destruction of the United States as we have known it. You may be satisfied to leave him in place, but I am not. For the good of the Republic, and in faithful service to that writ of our supreme law that had formed it, John Boehner must go.
The DC Role-Playing Game Continues Over the Fiscal Cliff
Sunday, December 2nd, 2012
Knuckle-draggers…
It’s as though it were a written script. All the players are carrying out their performance with practiced expertise. Given our past experiences with the leadership of both parties, one might guess that the outcome of the “fiscal cliff” crisis had been preordained. It’s beginning to nauseate me to watch this same old crowd play the same old game without any hesitation. Those of us who’ve watched these sorts of situations in the past have come to expect this sort of performance, as exemplified most recently the Debt Ceiling Deal of August 2011. All of the actors know their lines, and the end of the plot will go as planned, while they throw in some plot twist for your entertainment. As it seems we’re to be the endless butt of the insiders’ jokes, we might just as well prepare ourselves to be disappointed once again. These people aren’t serious, and the leadership on the Republican side is downright hostile to conservatives, so we shouldn’t be surprised if they’re readying themselves to put another one over on us. One can almost imagine the script, knowing the deal’s final composition has been determined already:
Boehner: “We’ll need to pass our own plan first, to blunt criticism from the knuckle-draggers.”
Obama: “I know, and I’m going to need to let Harry do most of my talking. Now John, just don’t be too rough on me in the press. Throw in some of those tears-it drives your base berserk! We’re still on for a round after the inaugural, right?”
McConnell: “I’ll let it leak to the press that I laughed at your offer.”
Reid: “Perfect! I’ll come out and say that the Republicans want to starve children and feed the rich their supper.”
Boehner: “Come on Harry, do you always have to lay it on so thick?”
Pelosi: “I just want to know if you’ll let me hold that gavel for a couple more years in 2013. We got rid of that dreadful Allen West, didn’t we?”
Biden: “Hey Barry, can I sit at the Resolute Desk while you’re in Hawaii? It’ll help me build my image for 2016.”
(Joint laughter.)
Obama: “Okay, John, let’s go with your plan. You make the tough stance to get your folks aboard, but don’t blow it this time. They need to believe you gave it your all before caving. The tears will help.”
Boehner: “Yessir, this ship is going down, and there’s no sense in getting people unnecessarily riled up. Let’s keep them busy with the deck-chairs, and when it all goes, they’ll never know what hit them. Permit me to say, Mr. President, that you’ve been masterful this year.”
Obama: “Okay, we know what we have to do. We’ll say we did all we could. Questions?”
Boehner: “How long until we pull the plug? Do we go all the way this time, ’cause I’d like to get sauced on New Year’s Eve.”
Pelosi(Laughing joyfully): “Oh, champagne! The bubbles always make me laugh.”
Reid: “I think we should keep them guessing, at least right up until Christmas. We can probably work up another ‘Grinch’ deal with you as the star this time, Mitch.”
McConnell(Grumbling): “Why do I always have to be the heavy?”
Obama: “Because nobody’s going to buy a crying ‘Grinch.’ Other questions?”
Biden: “Has anybody checked out a 7-11 lately?”
All others: “Shut up, Joe!”
Ladies and gentlemen, that queasy feeling in the pits of your stomachs can be explained not as some sort of premonition, but perhaps a little more like Déjà vu. If it seems as though we’ve been here before, it’s only because we have, but in this case, even the names haven’t changed, because there are so damnably few innocents. For those who may have forgotten how conservatives were betrayed in 2011, during the extended Debt Ceiling debacle, let me remind you that Speaker Boehner watched the House pass “Cut, Cap & Balance” knowing it would be killed in the Senate where he had already worked out the framework of a deal with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Barack Obama. In short, while we were prodding our members to stand fast, he had already pulled the rug from beneath us, and as was disclosed during the aftermath, it was done at the urging of Mitt Romney because he didn’t want to have this fight impinging on what he assumed would be his Presidential campaign, a strategy history now proves had been a failure. At the time the deal was struck in July of 2011, I along with many other conservatives urged the Congress to stand fast, because we knew that this was an election issue any Republican nominee ought not give away.
The truth seems to be that there is never a “good time” to do the hard things in Washington DC. There’s always another election “right around the corner,” and there’s always another excuse to kick the can down the road a bit more. Rational people will have known that there’s really no time like the present to take up these issues, and if the House of representatives won’t exercise the power we’ve given it, there’s not much point in having this collection of perpetual losers on the payroll. If Boehner and his bunch aren’t up to the fight, either due to coziness with Democrats in the DC establishment, or merely as a result of cowardly political calculations, we must at long last send them home.
The so-called “fiscal cliff” and any sequestration is really a small divot compared to the disaster looming with more unbridled spending. Republicans complain that the media complex will blame them, and it most assuredly will, but it will also blame them if they go along and the economy flat-lines as the result of tax increases on the productive segments of our economy. It’s long past time to simply acknowledge that the media is going to blame Republicans, right, wrong, or indifferent, and there’s no point in wasting time with all of this whinging about the state of the media. The media is what it is. It’s awful. Life’s hard. Get helmets.
Unfortunately, we don’t have any leaders currently serving in Washington who are willing to stand up and make a case. Instead, they’re looking to cut deals, any sort of compromise at all, and they’re willing to poke you in the eye while they reach for your wallets [again.] Whether things are quite so collegial as my imagined exchange above, the fact remains that when all is said and done, more will have been said than done [again.]
This is the way things are(or aren’t) done in Washington. As you sip your coffee, watching the Sunday shows, know that somewhere behind the scenes, Boehner and the boys are cooking up another sell-out, and the script is already written. As your country, your children, and the prospects of both are being bankrupted, you don’t need to wonder whether disaster can be averted. It won’t be. Our leaders will cut a deal that will permit them to carry on the charade a little longer, purchasing only one more installment of delay for the coming disaster borne by their inaction.
Note: The site had been experiencing some difficulties with the comment system. I now believe it to be repaired. Thank you for your patience.
Message to Congressional Republicans
Tuesday, November 27th, 2012
Beohner Re-Elected Speaker
I’ve listened to this mewling bunch of whiners tell us they’re “one-half of one-third” until I can stand it no longer. It’s true that Obama was re-elected, and it’s true that Harry Reid still runs the Senate, but it’s also true that Republicans still control the House, and it’s about damned time they begin to behave like it. All, I repeat ALL, spending and taxing measures must originate in the House. This is no time for tears, and no situation for surrender. If we are to hold off these statist loons, we must begin now, and we must begin here, at the cliff’s edge. These slack-jawed losers-in-waiting had better understand reality, if they can see it through all of those tears: You were sent to Congress to STOP OBAMA, and I’m sick and tired of Republicans who have all the spine of overcooked spaghetti, and who will not live up to THEIR mandate. I’m not one to cast unnecessary or pointless profanity into the public sphere, but you squishy whiners in the House had better get your acts together. I have one message for House Republicans: SACK UP or GET OUT!
If you’re not willing to do the work you were elected to do, I expect you to tender your resignations now. Conservatives no longer wish to listen to the excuses. If you surrender on taxes to make a deal with Herr Obama, you will be blamed when the economy goes into recession. If you refuse, and he plunges us over this so-called “fiscal cliff,” you’ll be blamed. So be it. You’re going to be blamed either way, so you might just as well summon the testicular fortitude to do what is right and stand on a principle. My apologies to the ladies in the House Republican Caucus, but I think some of you are more capable of leading, and you’ll need to do so, because you’re surrounded by Republican eunuchs. They haven’t the equipment or the gumption to do what is needed, but a few among your number have.
You people have let this thug-in-chief control the narrative for far too long. While he and his henchmen have castigated Republicans for the alleged “war on women,” he’s been conducting a real war on America. It’s time you say so. While you permit him to get away with alleging that all of your opposition owes only to his race, you’ve let his party machine toss out one of your number who happened to be an African-American, and it’s not coincidental that none of you seem all too unhappy about it, because he dared to oppose some of your deal-making.
Back in 2011, as your so-called “speaker” was making deals with Harry and Barry behind closed doors, selling-out both principle and country, you sat on your hands and made no fuss as this entire debacle was shoved down your throats. You took it. You let it happen. You went along with it. Now, some sixteen months later, you’re surprised to find Obama still controlling the situation? If you rest on your laurels, as you did throughout the campaign season of 2012, what did you think would be the likely result? Your short-sighted deal-making of July 2011 has set this stage, and you’re to be held responsible for it.
Now the president intends to run the table on you, and your answer is “Let’s make a deal?” DEAL??? Let me tell you the real deal, and let’s make it clear: Do you remember in 2006, when you lost the House? 2014 is right around the corner, and if you don’t find your stones for this fight, you might just as well go home. In fact, why wait? If you’re unwilling to make a stand now, why don’t you simply surrender altogether? Why don’t you quit your nifty offices, with all your staff and goodies, and make a run for the border…of your home state?
This is not good enough. It’s not nearly good enough. The “fiscal cliff” is a joke. The monetary cliff is real, and the money-printing must stop, but the only way to do that is for you to put the brakes on it. ALL spending and taxing measures must originate in the House. Simply don’t originate any. Why aren’t you out in front of the White House making a spectacle? Why aren’t you down there marching and yelling? When will you learn that if you don’t have the ball anyway, you might just as well keep it in his court and let him field it? I’ll tell you why: You people have grown too comfortable, and besides, he’ll let your pet earmarks through so long as he can get his agenda into law. It’s time to set all this aside now. Where are your tears for the US Constitution, the destruction of which you are enabling?
Dare this president to spend one nickel without your authorization. Dare him to spend one cent beyond the debt ceiling. Dare him. Where is your courage? Will you stand for nothing? Will you fall for anything? When will you realize that this clown can only make traction when you let him? He is impotent if you take the purse away. Impotent. If he tries, impeach him for high crimes and misdemeanors. There’s simply no other purpose for which you exist in your offices. If you fold, there will be no coming back, and there’s no time to argue about it. If you won’t do what is necessary to preserve this union, then we must replace you. You have compromised your last if you expect to return to office in January 2015.
It’s time for Congressional Republicans to act as though they’re in charge of the House, and if they won’t stand, we must send them home. What is the point in fighting to have a majority that once installed will not fight for the principles on which it was elected to lead? Even now, Obama is trying to incite public support for his legislative tax-and-print agenda, but what is John Boehner doing?
This madness needs to end, but it won’t end until the adults in the room learn to say “no” and stick to it. Who will be the adults? It will need to be we conservatives. We conservatives need to think of this entire situation as an emergency, and as a war, but rather than become despaired at the current situation, we need to think in terms of warfare. That’s how the enemy thinks, and until we realize that it is only the outcry of we conservatives who can make these cowardly Republicans in Congress fetch some resolve, we’re going to be in for a tough time. The country is not nearly so overwhelmed as these election results might indicate if viewed only through the lenses of whining losers. We need to buck-up first, and then we need to hold Congressional Republicans’ feet to the fire, and we need to let them hear us. If we don’t do it, who will? If now is not the time to stand, when shall we?
Boehner Calls Conservatives “Knuckle-Draggers”
Wednesday, August 15th, 2012
Knuckle-Draggers Oppose TARP
Speaker of the House John Boehner(RINO-Ohio,) has never appreciated conservatives. In point of fact, he’s the most anti-conservative Republican currently serving on Capitol Hill, and it’s disgusting to see this man continue to defame and denigrate conservatives and conservatism. In an interview “On the Record” with Greta Van Susteren, Boehner reveals his true feeling about conservatives. Watch Speaker “Born-in-a-Bar” as he explains to Greta why Paul Ryan is a “practical conservative,” but he’s not a “Knuckle-Dragger,” because he voted for TARP. In John Boehner’s world, “practical” translates into “go-along-to-get-along.” I guess this tells us what he thinks of all of those who opposed TARP:
Great! It’s not bad enough that the left refers to staunch conservatives in such terms, but now we know how the highest ranking Republican now serving in the Federal Government views us. “Knuckle-dragger?” This guy has been sabotaging conservatives since he became Speaker of the House. I think he should caucus with the Democrats, at least for the sake of philosophical consistency. He’s apparently moving from the fifth column over into the fourth, as he continues to spit in the faces of conservatives.
The only good news to come out of this interview was that at least Boehner didn’t cry about it.
Disgusting. Can we please have new leadership in the House? Some leadership? Any leadership? Allen West(R-FL) won his primary yesterday. What are his plans for the next two years if he is able to win his seat in November? “Speaker West?” That has a nice ring to it.
John Boehner should go home to Ohio and stay there. In my view, this is the kind of alleged “leadership” the Republicans do not need. He’s not conservative, and while we’ve known that for some time, this is the first instance in some time through which Boehner has made clear his feelings on grass-roots, Tea Party conservatives.
I’m sick of seeing this jack-ass and his tough talk for conservatives while crying over changes in wind speed and direction on Capitol Hill. Maybe Boehner can tell we “knuckle-draggers” what TARP did for the country, apart from creating a big slush fund from which the Party of Washington bailed out all its friends. If ever there had been a cause for crying, the day this guy was elected speaker, we should have bawled like babies.
You have to admire his approach to “party unity,” don’t you?
One-Half of One-Third of the People Screwing Us [Again]
Wednesday, August 1st, 2012
Boehner and the Boys
There must be something in the water in Washington DC, and I think it’s about 80 proof. Speaker John Boehner has led the abandonment of principle once again, and I can’t believe these are allegedly our guys. This evening, the rotten Republican leadership sent down the word that Republicans ought to support a bill that eliminates Senate confirmation for an additional 169 Executive branch positions, meaning that they just let Barack Obama have his way with 169 more positions he can fill, unchecked by Congress, and able to appoint the most maniacal leftists he can dig up. Thankfully, it was a roll-call vote, and you can look to see how your Representative voted. My own Representative voted “Aye” on this hogwash, and before this evening is over, his office is going to hear about it, and tomorrow, his offices both in the district and in DC are going to hear about it. The purpose of confirmations is that there should be Congressional oversight on these appointments so no President can become too powerful. Boehner and the boys just voted to reduce their own power but according to Mark Levin’s sources, there’s a reason they did so: Mitt Romney told them to do it on the basis that he would like it if he were to become President. What?!?
The purpose of this collection of elected jack-wagons is not to dispense with the Constitution, or to weaken the legislative branch on the basis that somebody from their party might become President at some date in the future. It is their job to protect and defend the constitution, and that means to uphold its intent, which includes the Congressional responsibility of oversight over Presidential appointments. Who in the world do these people think they are? It’s not their job to “remove obstructions” to the process. For the love of Pete, why don’t Boehner and McConnell just get together with Obama and give him all power of Congress, since Mitt Romney might want to be dictator someday? This is preposterous. It truly is disheartening, but more than that, it’s a bit more evidence that we cannot salvage the Republican party. It’s broken. It doesn’t represent us in many cases, and it certainly doesn’t represent our interests when our elected Republican majority throws we and our constitution under the bus in the name of expedience.
Others may take a somewhat less terse approach, but I no longer give a damn about holding back “for the sake of party unity.” When they sell us out, I am going to scream it. What party unity? The only “unity” I see in this matter is that between John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Harry Reid, Mitch McConnell, Nancy Pelosi, and Barack Hussein Obama: They’re united against us! I heard part of Mark Levin’s commentary on this, so I’ve decided to share it with you.
Clips 1 & 2:
Alternative content
Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to know what’s wrong with the Republican party, look nowhere beyond this instance of dire stupidity. Or is it something else? Barack Obama is a dangerous thug wearing the office of President like the robes of a king, and yet the Republican leadership in the House just gave him a pass on 169 appointments. Their excuse is that Romney wanted it? What if Romney doesn’t win???
Even if Romney does, do we want him filling those jobs without Congressional oversight, or the ability of the American people to call their Senators to object to appointments? What happens when Romney begins filling these jobs with RINOs? What happens when he fills them with more of his friends, in payment for their support? What are we to do then? I’ll tell you: We should thank John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell and all the other all-star losers in the Republican party who voted for this garbage.
Your voice as a check on the power of the Presidency is being stolen from you, but the they’re not finished. They intend to bypass the confirmation process for up to an additional 270 positions. That’s 440 total possible instances in which some President will have no need to worry that he’s appointing a louse, whether it’s the current jerk, or some future occupant of that office. Do you not see what they are doing to us? Do you not realize it? They are systematically converting the courts and the Congress into a mechanical auto-pen for the office of the President. In short, they’re building a dictatorship, and I don’t much care whether the dictator has a “D” or an “R” behind the name. It matters not one whit to our liberty what party a tyrant might claim.
The Republican establishment is a part of the disease in Washington DC, and with incidents like this, it’s becoming apparent that they’re the larger part. Obama and the Democrats can only get away with this because guys like Romney, Boehner, and McConnell let them, and this sell-out is a prime example.
We pay the price, every time.
This isn’t about Mitt Romney. This is about the separation of powers under our constitution, and the role of the Senate in confirming Presidential appointees. It doesn’t matter that Mitt Romney may become President. It doesn’t matter if Ronald Reagan were to rise and somehow become President again. This is a bad idea, no matter who the President is, and the fact is that at present, the occupant of that office is Barack Obama, and it may just be him again. Defending the separation of powers is something our Congress ought to do, and on Tuesday evening, the Republican “leadership” in Washington DC failed us again.
Boehner Surrendered More Than Legislation Today
Thursday, December 22nd, 2011
Doing What He Does Best
This is a crying shame, and conservatives ought to be weeping, while Tea Party patriots ought to be throwing a fit. John Boehner has managed to lead the House Republicans directly into the jaws of yet another defeat, and in the end, when he surrendered, he did so because losing is all Boehner really knows how to do. The Republicans in Congress capitulated to Barack Obama and Harry Reid again on the matter of the payroll tax cut extension. House Republicans didn’t learn the lesson of 2006, so a mere five years later, they still think they can conduct themselves as candidates throughout their terms, considering only short-run political expedience. The problem with GOP leaders in the House is that each time they go to the mat, but then subsequently cry uncle, they’re harming themselves and the country. This so-called compromise was nothing but a surrender that merely weakens the Republicans, but more importantly, the country.
John Boehner suffers from an inability to lead. He simply doesn’t understand leadership, or he’s not intellectually vigorous enough to exercise it. Either way, he’s a perpetual loser, and we shouldn’t dare hope he will accomplish anything useful during the term of this Congress. Consider him either intellectually or morally incapacitated, and save yourself some trouble fretting over the endless string of defeats House Republicans will suffer because John Boehner doesn’t know how or isn’t willing to lead.
In this context, leadership would have meant sending his members out to have town hall meetings, and to send them forward to every media outlet on which they could find time, and make the case first to their own core of support, and get their buy-in followed by a more active support. Instead, Boehner sat back and waited for it to happen, and he knew it would, but it’s fair to say he helped engineer this defeat. He’s bent upon the notion of trying to restore order within his caucus, and he’s willing to become minority leader to do so.
This latest flap was more than political circus, but that’s how it has been portrayed, and given the surrender of the Republicans, that’s how history will now record it. The truth is that big issues had been at stake, but due to a little bad press, the Republicans wet their collective diaper and ran home. Boehner will offer that this happened because they’re only “one-half of one-third of the government.” The facts suggest otherwise. Did he try to rally the conservative base? Did he seek out support in such ‘friendly media’ where his own declarations haven’t already poisoned those wells? No. He stayed in the back rooms, smoke-filled no longer, and had his head handed to him on a silver platter. He knew it was coming, and indeed, he invited it.
The first thing he did to invite this had been every previous surrender going at least as far back as the debt ceiling vote, when he actually worked on a backroom deal with Reid to undercut the House bill known as “Cut, Cap, & Balance.” From that moment on, Democrats knew they had a patsy who would do anything to avoid a little negative press. In the end, he and his Republican members must now share in the blame for the credit rating downgrade we suffered as a result. Had he instead remained willing to let everything shut down, he might have forestalled the downgrade, because the rating agency might have concluded at least one party had gotten serious about budget control. Politically, he would have taken a hit in the short run, but the truth of the matter is that Democrats would have relented once their base started screaming loudly, or rioting, because they had not gotten their hand-outs on time. There’s no sense making a stand if you’re going to fold at the first sign that somebody’s calling your bluff.
Democrats read Boehner’s moves as clear telegraphing of a bluff, and they called without blinking. Ever since then, the Obama looks at Boehner and thinks: “There’s my b*t*h.” The tears certainly don’t help with that impression. Since that first monumental cave-in, each subsequent instance has been repeated, only more quickly, each time with with less pressure than the last, as conservative and Tea Party members of the caucus are now demoralized. They see things slipping away, much as they did in 2005-2006, and it’s all for lack of effective, committed leadership.
On this basis, I have written a letter I am sending to my own member, and I want from him a pledge to support somebody other than Boehner and his crew for leadership, whether they maintain the majority in 2012 or not. The way things are going with Boehner, you’d better plan on “not.” As it is, due to his vote on the Debt Ceiling matter, I am already eying potential primary challengers for my own Representative. If he’s going to continue to support the sorry leadership of John Boehner, it’s best to get rid of him, too.
Now, for those of you who weren’t paying attention, let me explain what has happened: The House approved a version of the extension much to the liking of the Senate, and it does not include the Keystone XL pipeline provision, meaning tens of thousands of jobs and a fresh conduit for oil will not be had by Americans any time soon. While you must certainly lay the greater portion of blame on the actions of Obama and Reid, the truth is that Boehner shares in this too.
I realize some will say “but, but, he’s right: Without the Senate, what could he do?” The answer is always the same: Stand on principle. Be willing to take the bad press. Be willing. The problem is that this sort of thing makes its own bad press that goes on long after the terms of surrender were signed. You see, when Boehner plays brinksmanship, but then walks away with nothing, it gives ammo to the opposition that this had only been a political game. This is why the Republicans took a beating from Bill Clinton in 1995: They ultimately flinched first in this game of chicken, making it look for all the world as though they had been merely posturing right along.
Instead, had Boehner rallied every member of the House Republican caucus to stand firm, and held out indefinitely, shutting down government, they could have gone to voters saying: We had to be the responsible party, and we had to put our foot down against irresponsible and reckless spending proclivities of the President and the Senate. The people who would have been angry at them would likely have been people other than who had elected them. If they can’t withstand some bad press now, when will it be better? If they will not stand on principle now, when the country is on the verge of a greater depression, if not in it, when will they find the guts to do it?
The answer: Never. John Boehner and his kind are so consumed by holding onto power, and holding onto office, that they cannot dare to risk it all in order to stand for the principles on which they were elected. One begins to wonder if this is because they’re not hip-deep in all of the crony capitalism and insider trading about which we’ve been hearing, because it’s not as though House members have it so good solely on the basis of their salaries and benefits. One quickly begins to wonder if the monetary inducements to hold office aren’t greater in fact than appears on the surface, because I do not think I could trade my principles for the salary they’re paid. No, there must be something more to it, or these are the most morally corruptible people on the planet.
It’s time we hold them to their promises, and the principles they declare while campaigning. For me, that’s going to entail spelling it out for my own representative. I’d suggest you do the same, but what we had better do is say it, and mean it, lest they get the same idea about us as Democrats now have about them and their lack of spine.
Downgrade 2.0 on the Horizon?
Saturday, November 19th, 2011
There They Go Again
Just when you think the fools in Washington DC could scarcely do more damage to our country, they show up with the latest crisis and debacle to prove your theory wrong. This one has been coming since the day John Boehner and the boys cut the deal with Harry Reid and his henchmen. It’s been in the works since Barack Obama decided his best re-election strategy would be to run against a “do-nothing Congress.” (We should be so lucky.) The lines are drawn, and now the super-duper, mega-whopper debt committee is having trouble agreeing to the cuts that were promised when the deal was made back in August. Surprise, surprise! Gomer Pyle could have seen this coming, but clearly, John Boehner and Eric Cantor did not. This game stands to create financial havoc with another debt rating downgrade just in time for Thanksgiving, and just like the last round, it’s being engineered so that the Republicans either agree to a ridiculous deal, or have one thrust upon them via the “automatic triggers” built into the deal to which they agreed back in August. Either way you slice it, it’s a lose-lose for GOP, and as usual, conservatives will get the blame, and this is the reason why we cannot afford more establishment Republicans.
Consider the cuts in question. At present, the deal required that they cut $1.2 Trillion from the next ten years of federal spending. This means lopping off a mere 3.5-4.0% of the projected Federal spending over the period, but perhaps less, depending upon whose projections you believe. This is a small amount in that gargantuan sum of money, and yet what the Obama administration and the Democrats intend to do is to see most of it come from defense cuts. The salient point in this discussion is that none of the cuts under consideration even seriously begin to reduce the Federal expenditures now forecast in excess of revenues. Worse, Democrats are playing fast and loose with the terminology, counting tax hikes as “spending cuts.” More bizarre is the fact that Republicans are now largely accepting that characterization.
What this means to you and I is that by cutting the deal back in August, not only did Republicans get a black eye by getting the blame for the first downgrade, but all they have done is to postpone the bad news into the on-rushing Holiday season, when the bad news will multiply, and they’ll find themselves playing the scapegoats again, this time less than twelve months before the next elections.
Back in July, I warned you about this deal, and that in fact, more had been said than done. As it turns out, virtually everything I expected would happen has now happened. The Balanced Budget Amendment went down to defeat in the House. The Republican leadership in the House has revealed that its bargaining position is awful, and it’s all because when they had the chance to make a stand back at the end of July, they failed. They played to political expedience, and short-run damage control, but now the bill has come due, and it’s going to be paid at our expense, and at the expense of the defense of our nation.
Ladies and gentlemen, I’ll tell you what I believe: Until we clean up the Republican party and the insiders, the deal-makers, and the surrender-monkeys, we’re not going to make much progress. Each and every time one of these people who promises to stand tough ultimately folds, we need to send them home. No “ifs, ands, or buts.” Our country can’t afford any more of this brand of tepid leadership. No more pastels. We need bright, bold colors, and we need them fast. How do we expect to hold onto the House next fall, never mind capture the Senate or the White House, if our alleged leadership can be so easily talked into a suicide pact with the devil? It’s something we will all be forced to consider, as the Democrats force a crisis and at least one more time, Republicans will take the blame. Can you imagine the laughter over at the White House?
House Republican Leadership Prepares to Screw You Again
Thursday, November 10th, 2011
Weak, Pathetic, Ineffective
This is absurd. Speaker John Boehner is now behind a move to bring a “clean” Balanced Budget Amendment to a vote in the House of Representatives. The Amendment in question would provide no protections against runaway government, or limit the ability of Congress to raise taxes. Roll Call is reporting that the Republican leadership is willing to consider the weakened, unrestricted version of the amendment in what will surely be the most ridiculous act of self-defeat in a long string of them by this House Leadership. The Democrats like the “clean bill” because it’s going to present a huge “get out of jail free card” for them. In the form that is now under consideration, the Amendment would serve as a club over the head of people who wish to reduce the size and scope of government. It’s another pathetic surrender, and it’s not acceptable.
What’s at stake is this: The amendment now under consideration is stripped of any requirements to cut spending or limit taxation. Under this so-called “clean” version of the bill, if Congress wished to spend 100% of our GDP, the proposed amendment would permit it, and permit or even require that Congress raise taxes to support it. In short, this proposal is a national suicide pact. Earlier this week, 31 conservative organizations signed a letter published by Americans for Tax Reform to John Boehner insisting on the stronger restrictions. From the letter:
“Unless tax hikes are taken off the table, reckless lawmakers will increase taxes to pay for these new bloated spending levels, rather than bring spending in line with revenues. A ‘clean’ BBA provides the excuse big spenders seek to raise taxes and grow government,”
This is exactly correct. The letter continued:
“Any lawmaker committed to restoring American solvency cannot seriously vote for a BBA that does not include a super-majority requirement for tax increases,”
It’s not surprising that John Boehner would seek to do this for the sake of political expedience, but what is shocking about this is that it will undoubtedly be used to either punish the entire economy, or to politically attack Republicans. Let me explain the way in which it will be used for the latter purpose, since the former is self-explanatory. What will happen is that a number of House Conservatives will revolt against party leadership over this(and they had damned-well better,) but this will mean the Amendment will go down to defeat, and this will enable Democrats to say “We voted for a BBA, but Republicans obstructed it.” The details and the truth won’t matter. The President will claim: “See, we tried to get a Balanced Budget Amendment, but those darned Republicans stopped it.”
The way to prevent a disaster is to introduce the stronger version of the Amendment. This means it may go down to defeat, but if it does, it will have been defeated with Democrats’ votes. That would flip the narrative, and place the burden of defending a bad position on Democrats. What Boehner’s surrender promises us is a complete disaster of unrestricted tax increases, or the loss of the House majority, or both. Boehner isn’t fit to lead. He doesn’t understand the concept. He’s a deal-making, arm-twisting surrender monkey, and if the GOP majority survives this disastrous leadership for another two years, it will have been a miracle, but Boehner must go. Cantor isn’t looking any better.
Downgraded America: We Warned Them
Saturday, August 6th, 2011
Not All Vultures made it into Frame
None of the events of Friday night are the slightest bit surprising to economically-aware Americans. Economists warned you. For my part, I warned my own readers repeatedly, and Governor Palin warned you too. On the Thursday before the debt ceiling surrender, Sarah Palin tried to cajole members of Congress to a firm stand. A simple respect for logic screamed a warning in your minds from which there was no means of escape. We all knew this was coming and we all knew it would be humbling. Responsible Americans heard the warning loud and clear, but when they relayed the stark warning to Washington, the DC-Axis pretended not to hear the din, or castigated their critics and defamed them as terrorists.
None of this is news to you, who’ve been reading this blog. If you’ve tuned to Beck, Limbaugh, Hannity, or Levin, among lesser lights, you cannot possibly have missed this. Governor Palin warned against the irresponsibility of inaction, on her own Facebook page and during Fox News appearances. Millions of thoughtful Americans made it clear that the Budget Control Act didn’t go far enough. Washington sneered at them, and Speaker Boehner told Republicans to “get your ass in line.” President Obama, for his part, continues to mouth aimless, meandering platitudes. His Treasury Secretary, Tim Geithner, promised repeatedly that this would not happen. Happen, it has, and now America can count on even worse economic news. It’s going to take real, solid, unwavering leadership to restore all that has been broken in the last three years, and more.
America is not dead, but the policies of Barack Obama, combined with the moral diminution of our nation, have taken her down to her knees. Appropriately, many Americans have noted our position and prayed. I know faithful conservatives who prayed daily for the President and the Congress to find the courage to do what was necessary and proper to safeguard the fiscal and financial state of our Union. As in all things, such prayers may not be answered on a schedule most convenient to mankind, but this doesn’t mean Americans should despair and surrender their country. At least three years of mostly Keynesian solutions combined with innumerable reflexive statist proposals have brought us to this. The shocking truth is this: Barack Obama is not fit for the presidency, and neither are any who timidly sided with the Budget Control Act and its additional blank checks for Obama.
On Thursday, when the Dow slid over 500 points, the chattering class told you this was about Italy, and Europe generally. While there is no denying that these had an effect on the markets, what’s inescapable now is the conclusion I offered you on Friday morning: The market is revolting against three years of an impossible policy of borrow-and-spend and its immediate implications for our own economic future. It also signifies the bankruptcy of a philosophy rooted in early 20th century progressivism. Last night, as the S&P downgraded our credit rating, the truth became apparent. What we witnessed on Thursday was the movement of smart money in response to an impending threat. All day Friday, the White House worked to stave off this downgrade until the markets had closed, hoping to take advantage of the cooling of passions weekends often provide to nervous markets. They succeeded in large measure, and it was not until after the last echos of the closing bell had faded into memory when the first tremors from Washington began to move the earth beneath our feet.
This isn’t an ordinary event, yet in the hours leading up to its final exclamation point, the narrative from Washington had already begun to work its way into the media at large: “This is no big deal. There’s no crisis. There’s no reason for panic. It won’t mean higher interest rates.” Any who have been deceived by past admonitions to abstain from worries should now carefully consider the sources of those remarks. All needn’t be lost, but we, the American people, must resolve and plan to repair this, and it will take a coalition-building servant of tremendous dedication to lead us in bringing this economy hard-about.
We shall see up and downs; rises and falls, but we must measure the course ahead with care, and not turn to panic or despair. We will have a chance to begin setting this right when the elections come mercifully upon us in November of 2012. It is for this coming political season that you must preserve your devotion, energy, and passion. Any silly liberal can(and will) run screaming into the night in fear and trepidation. We must be what we are: The solid foundation upon which this nation still rests. We must have steel spines and strong constitutions. Each of us.
To restore what has been wrecked by the ultimate drunken-drivers, we’ll be faced with challenges as few of us will have known. That doesn’t mean certain failure, but instead only that we must give it our all. Given the character of my audience, as I have been so fortunate to come to know it, I am well-versed in their capacity to do what is right, rather than what is easy. We’re coming to that crossroad at which we will now be compelled to choose what sort of nation we will be. Will we accept endlessly-mounting debt, at each increment yielding a bit more liberty and a good deal more of the futures of our children?
I am reminded of Patrick Henry’s famous speech, and encouragement may yet be found in the fact that our situation is not yet nearly so dire as the one he described. We are not imminently at the point of arms, and there’s no reason we need ever be if only we will make full use of our power in the political battles before us. Substituting political decisions in place of that context, let us remind ourselves of his staggering admonition:
“They tell us, sir, that we are weak; unable to cope with so formidable an adversary. But when shall we be stronger? Will it be the next week, or the next year? Will it be when we are totally disarmed, and when a British guard shall be stationed in every house? Shall we gather strength by irresolution and inaction? Shall we acquire the means of effectual resistance, by lying supinely on our backs, and hugging the delusive phantom of hope, until our enemies shall have bound us hand and foot? Sir, we are not weak if we make a proper use of those means which the God of nature hath placed in our power. Three millions of people, armed in the holy cause of liberty, and in such a country as that which we possess, are invincible by any force which our enemy can send against us. Besides, sir, we shall not fight our battles alone. There is a just God who presides over the destinies of nations; and who will raise up friends to fight our battles for us. The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave. Besides, sir, we have no election. If we were base enough to desire it, it is now too late to retire from the contest. There is no retreat but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged! Their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston! The war is inevitable and let it come! I repeat it, sir, let it come.”
We needn’t go further than to admit that our situation is not nearly so desperate. We have no need of arms, but instead we have a desperate need of people to rise and challenge our adversaries in politics. Our adversaries names are not only Obama and Reid and Boehner, but also John Doe and Joe Sixpack. We must look to our own homes and hearths and know what is in and amongst us. We must mend the fences between neighbors. Go out this day and find one honest person, and tell them what you propose. For my part, I will do so also, and this is what I shall say:
There is no avoiding the truth any longer. We must reform all that is broken with the people in Washington, and if it means replacing them all, every one, then we must do so, as many as we can, in the coming elections. We must find diligent and honest servants, and we must advocate their cause in our own names. We must seek out such leaders as we’ll need, starting most immediately amongst ourselves. We can choose leaders to help guide us at the top, but no leader can carry on her back the combined weight of the world’s problems. A leader must find equally firm character in those who will be led, or their purpose is in vain. Where shall we start? Where have we Americans always started? In our families, among our neighbors, in our churches, and in the town square are the first steps Americans have always taken toward reform, because we know that for reformation and restoration, this healing tide must flow from within us.
Be of good cheer, despite the screaming headlines. Be solid for those who will need your resolve. Be mindful that when you advocate on behalf of a candidate, or an issue, those who are truly undecided will be watching not only for the logic of your argument, but also for the manner in which you make it. They who have sat too long straddling the fence, half in terror and half in comfort at the prospect of dismounting their perch will need to know they’re stepping onto solid ground. We must be that solid ground.
What must be recognized is that this downgrade isn’t a cause, but an effect. We must see even the debt that has brought us to this debacle also as an effect. The cause at the root of our troubles doesn’t lie with the various issues we see emerging in our time, but with something fundamentally broken in what we’ve allowed our country to become. There are great dangers ahead, but none of them need destroy us. None of them ought to be the cause of our demise. They will mostly be mere effects of what actually threatens our republic.
Glenn Beck had it right in his 8-28 project of 2010, when he said that we must restore our honor. The “fundamental transformation” we must find cannot originate in Washington. I’ve been interested to watch, as the new campaign season approaches, who is and who isn’t taking firm and public stands on these arguments in Washington, or elsewhere. I’ve been watching for signals that an honorable and courageous candidate for President will emerge, and while there have been some hopeful signs from a few of those who have announced, I believe the best is yet to come. Who shall lead us? You’ve already had a hint. On the 28th of August, 2010, before a multitude assembled, she spoke not of politics but on the real meaning of American honor:
Who Shall Lead?
“We will always come through. We will never give up, and we shall endure because we live by that moral strength that we call grace. Because though we’ve often skirted a precipice, a providential hand has always guided us to a better future.
And I know that many of us today, we are worried about what we face. Sometimes our challenges, they just seem insurmountable.
But, here, together, at the crossroads of our history, may this day be the change point!
Look around you. You’re not alone. You are Americans!
You have the same steel spine and the moral courage of Washington and Lincoln and Martin Luther King. It is in you. It will sustain you as it sustained them.
So with pride in the red, white, and blue; with gratitude to our men and women in uniform; let’s stand together! Let’s stand with honor! Let’s restore America!”
Many will have failed to notice that Governor Palin had been telling us this all along. Some will pretend not to have heard it, not wishing to confront that which they know lies within them. The Obama disaster isn’t the cause of our troubles, but instead has merely exposed the source of our disease. Ridding ourselves of his disastrous economic and social policies will not, by itself, repair what is broken. As Sarah Palin pointed out to the assembled hearing of a multitude, “It is in [us].“ We must repair ourselves from the inside, first, and that means honor and integrity in all we do; in our families, among our neighbors, in our churches and our workplaces we must become as honorable as the names of our cherished beliefs demand. At every junction, at every intersection in which one must choose between what is comfortable and easy, or that which is more difficult but right, we must be the people who will choose the latter.
It’s your country. You choose. I’ve asked what sort of freedom it is that you seek. Did others think that by avoiding the choice, they would avoid the consequences of not choosing? Surely not. What your comments and emails reveal is that my readers and millions more have chosen, and I thank you, but there is much work to be done. Let each of us go to it.
