A Young Black Dad-Parenthood, Politics and Prose

“Black in America”: The war against fascism in 2008

2008-08-02T21:17:00.001-07:00

Much has been made recently of liberal network CNN’s decision to showcase a program called “Black in America”. In this age of constant political correctness as well as extreme liberal bias, this was a documentary that posed as factual news while merely serving as intellectual masturbation for the Political Left. In arguments that have been rebutted time and time again by Black intellectuals from Thomas Sowell, Shelby Steele, and even liberal Black columnist Juan Williams, the Left is still content to maintain the facts that African-Americans are in a financial rut because of the catastrophic effects of slavery. This caused me to take a deep breath rather than screaming, and wonder to myself, really? In 2008, generations who have not even known segregation, let alone slavery are suffering from the adverse effects of something that occurred over 200 years ago. And so because the argument that Blacks are affected because of racial instability in consistently made on the Left to the point where many repeat these arguments as known facts, it has become necessary to look at where the Left chooses to fight its battles; as long as the GOP and conservatives are unwilling to have the conversation about race in the name of forgoing the acknowledgement of identity, we will cede ground to the Left and the Democratic Party to continue to brainwash generation after generation.

Up first is the idea of education, one of my favorite battering rams to use against the Left. Many people argue that it is the poor financial status of the schools that causes schools in predominantly African-American neighborhoods to do poorly. Many liberals point to the fact that as long as schools are financed based on property taxes, there will continue to be a large achievement gap between Blacks and whites and Asians. Ah, but there is a key, insomuch that this is not simply a Black-White achievement gap; rather this is an achievement gap between Blacks, Whites and Asians. In addition, African-Americans even trail Latinos who have to overcome a language barrier to achieve in school, and who have a mean income very similar to African-Americans. So what it comes down to is not property taxes, but the ability of the public school system to monopolize the free market unlike any other business in the country. While there is a problem with the coddling and swaddling of African-American students by liberals, the real problem is the lack of choice within the public school system through the great equalizer of our society, the free market. This is where the Democrats prove themselves to be so dangerous, because while they talk about the evil of big business controlling the little guy, they are in charge of the biggest business of all-the public school system and the teachers unions, who vehemently oppose anything that would challenge their status as protected radicals who are given a free ride to indoctrinate children with whatever agenda comes to their minds that particular day. School choice would allow schools to actually function as legitimate businesses, in the sense of performing or being closed, rather than continuing to act as a shadow business benefiting only the employers and not the customers. This is brought up because schools are the first blow when we talk about inequality between the races, but by going point by point, it is not schools but liberalism that is killing African-Americans.

Since its inception as we define liberalism in the 1960s, liberalism has been the most destructive factor for African-Americans in the United States. It began with the beginning of the welfare state and LBJ’s “Great Society”, which destroyed the Black family by replacing fathers with Uncle Sam and focusing on shipping a busload of African-American kids to all white schools rather than focusing on educating all skin colors of children. The welfare state which began in the 1960s, is the single most responsible factor for the destruction of African-Americans, because rather than giving African-Americans more responsibility in lieu of the progress Blacks had made in terms of integrating and fully functioning as equal citizens of American society, the government negated these accomplishments by implementing affirmative action, showing the world that Blacks were not able to achieve on merit; rather Blacks must be included to meet racial quotas, and constantly be questioned on whether there really was a more deserving person to get their job, place in school, or house. The Honorable Justice Clarence Thomas mentions this in his book, My Grandfather’s Son, that his degree in Yale was treated almost as invalid because there was the sentiment that he received it not on merit, but based on the color of his skin. And the final blow on Blacks and liberalism comes in the denunciation of the Moynihan Report, which reports that the Black family is in a crisis, as racist conservative diatribe. Here is where liberals make their bread and butter, and where the line between liberalism and fascism becomes blurred in the way that this becomes a shibboleth to liberals, that any disagreement on the basis of race becomes racist and just as importantly, conservative. The entire goal is to change their opponent from a disagreeing human to a monster, in which only they can conquer. And that is how liberalism functions today in 2008.

We see the swirling of liberalism in fascism from everything from their talk about race to their leader, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama. This is one of the most important points that must be made, because Obama is, and never will be the candidate of African-Americans. Obama is much more dangerous because he is the candidate of the American Far Left, which includes everyone from Jesse Jackson to Bill Ayers, to more violent radical anarchist groups. And Obama is the cultural icon of fascism, who says things like he is the symbol of the possibility of America returning to her best traditions. Like the fascists who preceded him, Obama seeks to become more than a man running for President; Obama wishes to become a symbol of something bigger. These signs began early in his campaign with his constant talk to his supporters that “we are the change that we’ve been waiting for”, evoking the image of a Messiah rather than a President. Like the fascists of the past, the media is there to consistently reinforce their message from Chris Matthews indicating that Obama gives him a “tingle up his leg”, to anchors comparing him to the last sainted President, John F Kennedy, talking of how someone like Obama comes along only “once in a century.” The media has been for Obama another tool to reinforce his message of Messianic deliverance for America. And true to the legacy of the Left, Obama has already struck with the tone of race, accusing America of not wanting to support someone who doesn’t look like the other guys on the dollar bills; ie old and white. Long hailed as a disadvantage Obama knows he can frame his race as an advantage, offering whites ailed with centuries of guilt a way out; a vote in exchange for liberation from decades of claims of racism. Now, a simple I’m not racist because I voted for Obama will expunge all whites who wish to worship at the holy altar of Saint Obama, and he will deliver us the change that we have been waiting for. While Obama stokes the flames for a race war, he has attempted to blindside us with another war; the war of the fascist Left on an unsuspecting public. It is up to us to beat the Left on both fronts.

I'm in it to win it-in Hinzsight, is courting the disaffected Clintons the way to go?

2008-06-22T06:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, we're all supposed to be courting these supposed "moderate" Clinton voters, who are allegedly soooooo disgusted with Barry O that they are willing to do the unthinkable and instead of pulling the lever for their liberal candidate, they are going to go ahead and pull the lever for our liber...er the Republican. But in Hinzsight are these the people that we want on our side to win?

One of the common things that is being floated by the Clintons is that Hillary is the final victim of the Democratic Party gone to far to the left, a combination of sexism and the anti-war factions taking over the party and delivering the nomination to someone far left of sweet, centrist Hillary. On top of that, she is the Goldwater Girl victim, and the true victor for rural America, while Obama is the academic elite. If that's not the worse, she had regular folks voting for her, while Obama had this messianic movement behind him. To be quaint, Victoria, bull.

These are the Clintons that we are talking about at the end of the day people, the most ruthless politicians in the decade. The Clintons are the best and most efficient liars that we have seen, and they lies their way into the Oval Office the first time, but weren't good enough to lie their way back into the White House a second time. That is the true story of the facts: the fact remains that they almost pulled it off. With Senator Kennedy's run in the Senate ending tragically with brain cancer, Hillary has the position to ascend as the majority leader and lion in the Senate, where she will likely remain for life. Unless...

Unless we give in to the GOP's desire to continue to lurch left, with McCain willing to abandon the conservative base to appeal to these Clintonesque voters. Let it be said, that Obama's voters are not the only ones with the Messianic complex, believing that their candidate will save the country. The Clinton folks believe without a doubt, that their candidate is the savior who will return us to the glory days of the 90s where things were good and we had no problems. Of course that will be the way they and their liberal historians will tell the tale. But mark my words, for all the conservatives who believed the lies, Hillary Clinton is no Annie Oakley. In fact, she's probably just slightly to the political left of Huckabee.

Let's pause and remember that with the exception of two issues, Hillary and Barry voted together over 90 percent of the time! This is not Kerry and Zell Miller here, this is a few slight deviations, separating Clinton and Obama. And at the end of the day, let it be known these are not the big issues: they both support abortion in every step of the way; they both support and timetable and a retreat on the War on Terror. And they both talk a good game about cutting the tax cuts for the "rich", as well as their opposition to drilling, their places on the altar of Al Gore's church of Global Warming, their protectionist talk against free trade, as well as their bowing to the unions trade, education and everything in between. In short, they are the same liberal enemy, with one difference. We have seen how the Clintons operate in the Oval Office: ruthlessly implementing their liberal agenda without regards to how the country will survive after them.

Remember the politics of the 90s: while liberals remember them as the time where everyone was rich and happy, we remember the truth. The 90s were the time where the Clintons gutted our military to Jimmah Carter levels, leaving us open to the attacks of 9/11. We also proved ourselves to be the military paper tiger in Somalia, with Bill Clinton being too busy with private meetings with his various hussies to take advice from anyone but Okinawa Jack Murtha, and so the Democratic position of cut and run became the official national security position of the Democratic Party. I love Winnie the Pooh Bear too, but I don't want a Pooh Bear in charge of my national security. These are the people who let Osama Bin Laden walk because we had "nothing to charge him with", according to Slick Willie. And you want his wife in charge? You could live with a defeat in the hands of her? Oh my brothers, how quickly we forget the way we hated her when she was the frontrunner because of how she lied to cultivate this centrist image when we knew she was a far left liberal.

And so we get to the Hillary voters, who saw her ascension as the return to the glory days of the Clintons and the 90s, when Democrats were in power and could continue to run government and the people were happy! Oh the glory! To have won the Presidency with the Clintons, our lords and saviors! Imagine this though: we would be having this discussion had Clinton gotten nominated over Obama with Obama's supporters. We would be sitting here opening our hands and arms to Obama's supporters urging them to vote for McCain to show how angry they were with the Clintons. So imagine we beat McCain with no base and loads of Hillary supportes in 2008. We just simply make the case for her to come back even stronger in 2012, running almost unopposed, with Barry and his supporters backing her 100 percent as she has asked her supporters to do for him. She will make the case that she is the strongest, and McCain will move even further to the left to persuade the Hillpublicans not to leave. And who suffers through all of this?

Us, the base, the conservatives who know what Hillary and her minions are doing. Would it be worth it if we were running someone like Guiliani? Sure, because we know Rudy has a history of not giving a da*n about his political opponents and seeking to bury them in the political graveyard. It would be worth it for Fred, who would be more conservative in 4 years than McCain has been in his entire career in the Senate. But this is bend it like Beckham Johnny Mac, whose victory with the Hillpubs will signal a move further left and a complete abandonment of the conservative base. Conservatives are the ones that need to be shown the door, and the ascension of the moderates will win. Voters yes, but leaders never. It is time for us to fight back and win this thing. I would rather lose an election than a war. This is a war for the soul of the party, and one that if we lose, we may never get back again. Allow the Hillpubs, but do not let them lead the party, for they not us, will have the seat at the table for McCain, mark my words. We will fight them for the party just like we fight Chafee, for the Clintons have not changed. They just figured out how to lie even better than before. And this time it's about more than "that woman". It's about our country.

Standing Athwart Hope and Change yelling Stop-Stomping the Liberals, Goldwater style with a brand spanking new, shiny, Contract with America

2008-06-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

Allow me to preface this diary by saying that moderates are welcome to comment as long as you are not snotty and snarky. This is meant as a diary to further the discussion of conservatism, and moving the conservative movement forward. If you are going to shill for McCain or tell me why he's a conservative, please just move on. I've heard the arguments, I don't buy them, and I'm voting for him anyway. Thanks. (ps-absentee, this does not pertain to you as you are not a shill and I heart you in a Brad Paisley I'm still a guy kind of way)

The last time I wrote this diary I got mostly comments about my decision to withhold support from John McCain out of his many, many breaks from conservative principles. I do not want this diary to focus on John McCain, rather I would like to take this diary to focus on conservative principles and the New Contract with America that I have drawn up in order to move the Conservative Movement forward. There is no sense in arguing about our nominee any longer ladies and gentlemen. We will go in, vote against Obama, take a good clean shower afterwards, and continue to move forward with our lives. However, there is something that we can have some effect on-which is to borrow from Howie Dean, the Republican wing of the Republican party. As we know, Gingrich was able to resurrect the conservative wing by coming up with non-controversial topics that were nonetheless conservative where we had the backing of the majority of the American people. While some of the topics I list do not have the full support of the American people, I believe that they are sellable and winnable items to an extent. As a Goldwater Conservative, some of my priorities are different than some of the other members of the conservative wing, as I put much of my emphasis on spending and national defense, while also embracing some of my own socially conservative positions (yes, shockingly to all of you, I'm sure in my seemingly constant war with the SoCon wing, I do hold some of their positions :-p). I believe that we must fight as conservatives as a solid bloc for these priorities, and in addition we must start going on offense against these so called Blue Dogs who ought to change their names to Lap Dogs as all they've done seen getting into Congress is shill for the Pelosi-Reid San Fransisco agenda. As you know, I'm a streetfighter, and without further ado, here's our brass knuckles for 2008, 2010 and beyond.

Drill-With gas prices going up, this is a winning issue for us as a Party. If the GOP can take control of this issue, we can win this election and seats in Congress. The Party that is seen as unsympathetic and unwilling to do everything in their power to lower gas prices is going to pay a very heavy price in the election. We can turn this into a winning issue, especially since even Al Gore worshipers Gingrich and McCain are on board with this in their first major break with the environazis. Nice to see Gingrich remembering he's a Republican once in a while, and seeing how drilling, rather than killing all the pretty aminals is going to help boost the US economy and work on crippling the Middle East and Venezuela, especially based on the fact that the less imports from American hating dictators, the better.
Go Nuclear-this is the second part of the first point, which is concentrating mostly on energy. America should not be stuck in the 20th century, where we stand back in fear as countries in Europe move into using 21st century technology. Nuclear energy is the new way to go, and it can be done and has been done in a safe manner. The known nuclear tragedy is Chernobyl, where not surprisingly the Soviets screwed it up. Using alternative energy is not just a matter of economics, but a matter of national security.
Win the Iraq War, and expand General Patraeus success to the greater War on Terror in Afghanistan and in other parts of the Middle East-There is no greater difference in the two nominees than on their position on the Iraq War. This is a war where there must be no unnecessary withdrawals, no retreat, no surrender. It is clear that the Democrats other than Lieberman do not understand the threat and willpower of radical Islam. The willpower of America and the Bush administration to insist on victory in Iraq has led to the slow eradication of Al Qaeda in Iraq, and the diminishing of Al Qaeda and radical Islam as a dominant ideology in Iraq. We must continue this push; as the shining city on a Hill, America has an obligation to continue to provide freedom and liberation against the presence of evil and tyranny in the world. American exceptionalism must not be defeated in exchange for a seat at Europe's table; as the providers of freedom, justice and liberty to the world, Europe and the world should be looking for a seat at our table, and we must never apologize for the United States of America, which I am always proud to proclaim is the greatest country in the world.
End corruption, through pork, earmarks, and other ethical reform-One of the best examples of this is what Bobby Jindal is attempting to do in Louisiana. On the national level, we need to end the politics of pork and earmarks, as they show a desire to kowtow to special interests rather than the will of the people. Each incoming Republican Congressman and Senator should take a pledge that he will not take earmarks for the duration that he is in Congress. However, earmarks are a drop in the bucket in terms of spending, and a more radical conservative agenda must be adopted in terms of fiscal policy.
End Entitlement programs-in order to actually push these items through Congress, we must have Congressman and Senators who are elected on the basis of pushing thee sorts of reforms through. Ending both Medicare Part D as well as privatizing Social Security are not immediate winners, especially based on the fact that many old people fear these very sorts of reforms. But this is something that McCain would be great to sell, as he himself is 72 years old and could uniquely speak to the older population, selling them on privatizing Social Security as a necessary plan for their children and grandchildren, while not effecting anyone who is currently receiving benefits up to 2020. Anyone who would be eligible after that would have the option to privatize their Social Security fund into a private account.
Educational policy-Ending No Child Left Behind is only the beginning of where the GOP needs to begin in terms of comprehensive educational reform. The federal government cannot possibly come up with an educational plan to fit each state from the top down. The federal Department of Education should be abolished, and the Party pushing vouchers through at a state level. Another NewTone bill where we got all of the Kennedy and none of the Bush.
Secure the border-this is what we need to run on. Not immigration reform, not legalization or Z visas. Plain and simple, we will build the G-D fence. They won't-this is without a doubt one of the biggest election winners we have in our pockets if we push it correctly.
SCOTUS-we will push for strict constructionist judges, another issue where the American people are strongly on our side. McCain's reputation as a reasonable moderate would let him push someone like Miguel Estrada through the Court, if McCain had the cajones for it, which is doubtful. Either way, the conservatives must reject any Miers, Kennedy, O'Conner clones that McCain will inevitably try to push through the Court to preserve his precious McCain-Feingold, which brings me to my next point.
End McCain-Feingold and the Fairness Doctrine, over the objection of the President if necessary. We all agree that both are gross violations of the 1st amendment, and seek to outlaw free speech. Not to mention a solid constructionist Supreme Court would reject both of these documents as unconstitutional. As conservatives, we seek to preserve all documents of the Constitution, seeking to preserve the 1st amendment with the zeal that we seek to protect the 2nd.
Finally, we will fight tooth and nail to defeat the Pelosi-Reid San Fransisco item. We will not NewTone, we will not accept urine from the liberals when we bring orange juice to the table. We will call out the so called Blue Dogs to defend their country by calling them to bills that protect the sanctity of life, and let them vote with us or suffer in their district. We must make them vote against burning the Flag, or let their district see who their allegiances are really for. We must fight their agenda until we have victory and returned a conservative agenda to Washington.

I believe that we do not lose the movement until we give up on it. I think that we must continue to craft a conservative agenda even without a conservative president. While we may not get a seat at the table of the administration, we must carve out a voice in Congress and in the Senate. We must fight for conservative in governors mansions across the stage and run ruby red candidates in ruby red states, while running pink candidates in blue states. We must always move the state or district to the right of when we arrive, and remember that conservatism sells when we bother to sell it. It's time to revive the movement, and fight for what we believe in as conservatives; even as the Party tries to move to the Left, we must continue to pull it back towards the Right. As we move into this year's election, we remember the words of Reagan as he spoke for conservatism at Goldwater's nomination.

"You and I are told we must choose between a left or right, but I suggest there is no such thing as a left or right. There is only an up or down. Up to man's age-old dream--the maximum of individual freedom consistent with order -- or down to the ant heap of totalitarianism. Regardless of their sincerity, their humanitarian motives, those who would sacrifice freedom for security have embarked on this downward path. Plutarch warned, "The real destroyer of the liberties of the people is he who spreads among them bounties, donations and benefits.""

Amen, and we know that Reagan, Goldwater, and Buckley would want us to stand athwart Obamania yelling stop. And we will not stop until we have defeated Obama and all of the minions of liberalism as we continue to fight for the city on a hill, shining our light to the rest of the world, rather than a country swirled in darkness.

Where have you gone Mr. Goldwater, our nation turns it's lonely eyes to you? The rise of conservatism with President McCain

2008-06-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

Allow me to preface this by saying that this is a conversation with conservatives, and if you have nothing to add but McCain is a conservative! Get over it! Get in line! , this diary is not for you. The purpose of this is not McCain, but how to properly move the Conservative movement forward in American politics. I mean conservatives of the Thompson, Reagan, Goldwater variety. If you are not interested in having this discussion but fighting about conservatism than please move on. Thank you.

We are facing what has been called the most important election of our times, and there have been arguments back and forth between moderates and conservatives on how the Republican Party should go about this election. I myself have gone back and forth on how to best support the conservative cause, and had been with the idea that it is better to let the Party die in 2008 to come strong with Jindal in 2012. We all love Bobby, and he very well could be the next Reagan/Goldwater to articulate three legged stool conservatism to the next generation. Some of my conservative brethren suggest that it would be better for the country to be reminded of Carter in order for Jindal, a true conservative to ascend, reviving the movement.

I disagree my brothers and sisters, the Republican Party absolutely must not die. I believe that conservatism does in fact work every time that it is tried, and we do not need to die in order to rise again. Has it not been acknowledged that the Democrats are trying to run to the right of us? Conservatism is not dying at all; the Democrats are trying to co opt it, and because we have not been fit to carry the mantle, we are falling victim to our own doctrine. How many of you suddenly felt sympathy to Hillary Clinton, believing that she was the victim to a radical left wing conspiracy that propelled Obama to the candidacy? If political junkies fell victim to it, why would the country not? I never bought her Annie Oakley act, knowing her antigun, pro war, pro abortion, pro tax, pro socialist platform and that at her core, she was Obama with lighter skin, a female anatomy and the ability to crank out the tearfest whenever she wanted. The Clintons were outmuscled for once by the Daley machine, a machine that could rival anyones and was able to create a vision and a movement by saying nothing better than anyone's ever said it, to quote Rush.

What we need right now is an answer to the liberalism that is being forced on us by both parties under the guise of conservatism. Today in politics we see many of the false prophets that we were warned about, those who claim to be conservative but act anything but. This is no longer about McCain, nor about the Party, but the movement in and of itself. It is time to go on offense with conservatism. It is time to let the RINOS and CINOS die, and go after them with everything that we've got. We must unite as conservatives and fight for the control of our party. While President McCain will try to ignore us, we will not, and must not let him. We must fight with a new generation of conservatives and conservative ideals to rebuild our movement. So what is it that we are looking for? I have thought of a new Contract with America, but we need something simpler than that to start. We need a platform that our conservatives brethren in office and in other phases of the movement should adhere to.

One of our biggest assets in actuality is President John McCain, if he could be used properly. McCain has an advantage that no other Republican in many ears has had-the respect of the media and the reputation as a clear headed "moderate". This would allow us, if we got conservative influence to completely change the goalposts in politics. McCain could easily push through the reforms we have long wanted, such as two Clarence Thomas's (oh, my weak knees) on the Court. His reputation as a strong fiscally responsible member of Congress should push us past the drop in the bucket that is earmarks and look at cutting entitlements; his age should allow him to connect with the elderly on the need for reforming Social Security. And his legacy as a military leader will allow him to finish the War on Terror, as General Patraeus will finish building his legacy as the greatest military leader of all time turning around the mismanaged War in Iraq and Afghanistan and rebuilding it into the greatest success story of Bush's legacy.

We must look at three stooled conservatives in office such as Mark Sanford, Jim Demint, Dr. Coburn, Congressman Pence, and Congressman Blackburn. Not to mention the great ones in the media such as Rush, Laura, and Sean. (Yes Ann, campaigning for Hillary disqualifies you from being my favorite conservative. Sorry sweetie.) While some in the GOP will point to a McCain victory, (make no bones about it, McCain will win in November) as proof that the GOP needs to move further to the Left so we can get the Hillary Democrats, conservatives must not and cannot shut up. It's time to street fight for our cause. It is not about running Dr. Coburn in New York, it is about moving the GOP to the Right in every single race. Conservatism and Republicanism is not a voting record, it is a mindset. It is the Romney's, the Rudy's, and myself, the people who despite socially liberal viewpoints, are fighters for the R behind our name and turn blue states purple and eventually red. Then we run true blue conservatives in the reddest of red states, like South Carolina, where Mr you're all racist bigot's needs someone to come and primary his a**.We must run the people who are willing to fight against the Democrats tooth and nail, rather than call attention to where they agree with Democrats. We must wear being tarred by the liberals in the New York Times and in office as a badge of honor and pride and keep hitting until the little limp wristed liberals leave with a bloody nose. It's time to get out the gloves and street fight, and send the liberals back to San Fransisco with a bloody nose. Let's cling to our God, our guns and our conservative pride. Let the war begin: hoo-ra.

The Married Man Cometh-American exceptionalism, political power and a pizza party

2008-05-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

This week, I experienced the second best moment in my life, after the first birth of my son. On Friday May 23, the lovely Caitlin Whitehead became the even lovelier Caitlin Donnella, and two souls became one. We have become so much closer in this first week of marriage, and the feeling of love and beauty is irreplaceable. I enjoy my youthful idealism right now more than anything in my life. My wife gives me the extra strength that I already have to continue to push and to persevere through anything. It is her and my unshakable belief in each other that drives us, motivates us, and causes unselfish love and sacrifice that will allow us to take our marriage and our relationship to previously immeasurable heights.

It is that unshakable belief that brings me to the political part of my blog. I am proud to call myself a Goldwater conservative, and a proud member of the leave us alone wing of the Republican party. However, I do not wish to focus on libertarianism in this post, rather I wish to focus on my socially conservative beliefs here. What I mean in terms of socially conservative is my unwavering, unshakable belief in American exceptionalism. What I mean by this is the idea that America itself is fundamentally exceptional to the rest of the world because of our values and ideals. I believe without a doubt that this is the best country in the world, and simply because of some willingness to cheer for the home team, so to speak. America stands for freedom, and that means freedom from slavery, whether it is the slavery of Blacks in this country in the 19th century or the slavery from cruel dictators and tyrants in the Iraq, Afghanistan and Iran. America stands for justice, which means that we will not allow ourselves and our allied be bullied by cowards and the weak who seek to undermine us because they hate the liberty that we bestow upon the world. And America more than anything is exceptional because we are the Shining City on a Hill, casting our light into the darkness in all parts of the world. We are the example of democracy in its finest hour, the embodiment of freedom and liberty, and our commitment to those ideals that have existed since this countries founding, when our Founding Fathers wrote, We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men were created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. It is these beliefs that make us as Republicans not just in an election battle, but a battle for the very soul of our nation.

The battle we fight right now is twofold-we have an election to win yes, but at the core of this battle is what our nation means to the American people. This is not just about Iraq, rather Iraq is simply a part of the larger battle that we must fight to preserve our nation. Both of the Presidential candidates have expressed a willingness to surrender the leadership mantle of the United States and capitulate the doctrine of American exceptionalism under the guise of reaching out to the rest of the world. Obama believes that he will get Europe to cooperate with him in eliminating terrorism, and he sacrifices the American mantle of leadership on matters of national security, and does not have the personal experience to lead as commander in chief; his performance against the hard hitting [w]itch in Hillary Clinton shows he does not have it in him to streetfight with politicians even more thuggish than the Clintons, the Kim Jong ILs, and Ahmadinejads. Then there is "our" candidate, John Sidney McCain, who vows at first glance to fight for America and her interests. He talks tough and promises to follow Bin Laden to the depths of hell, making him at first glance a great candidate to defend and lead America. However, he too falls short to carry the mantle of American exceptionalism. McCain's determination to worship in Al Gore's church of global warming with his cap and trade plan and his insistence on signing Kyoto shows that he is willing to compromise America's economic future for a seat at the table with Europe. He is willing not to leas, but to be led by alarmists and extremists on the Left, as usual in the name of him continuing to sharpen his Maverick NewTone image, and in turn will be just as detrimental in destroying what America stands for as Obama. Remember, those famous words of Goldwater that extremism in defense of liberty is no vice, and moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue still have meaning today. The defense of liberty is about more than simply our military operations. A president that is will to surrender economically is just as dangerous as a president that is willing to surrender on a battlefield.

We are at the point where our politicians in both parties know so much that isn't so, and we have again hit that point where the most dangerous words in the English language are, I'm form the government, and I'm here to help. We need an economic plan that we can win elections on, and we need to remind the American people why they voted for Republicans in the first place. It is not morning in America, my Republican brothers and sisters, it is midnight, the coach has turned into a pumpkin, and we have left the American people with the glass slipper of Ronald Reagan for twenty years. It is time once again, for us to return to the American exceptionalism that made us great. The tough love Bush approach has not won us hatred as the Left loves to make us all believe-recent elections have elected people who are for the Bush agenda in the War on Terror, the Italians, the Germans, and even the wine drinking, croissant eaters in the country that's never won a war without America saving their ungrateful a***s gave us Sarkosy. We must not follow but lead in all aspects-we must not allow the rest of the world to dictate America's economy, lest we will continue to lose investment opportunities as we watch companies turn away from America with continuous frivolous regulations, costing billions of dollars for a theory that scientist after scientists concludes is a crock. We must think, do we want to be BiPartisan, NewTone followers? Or do we want to be leaders? Our conservative President, Ronald Reagan believed in being a leader; our conservative candidate, Barry Goldwater, was a leader of the movement that gave us Reagan. Give us liberty or give us death we must cry, and call out both parties as they continue to stray from the conservative reservation. While I too, will probably give Mr. McCain my vote, we are obligated to hold no punches for him and the Party that has become the Scoop Jackson Southern Democratic party. The agenda must be be formed, and this battle must be waged, not just for the party, but for our families. America must not go the way of Rome, and so we will vote for the liberal to finish off the Marxist, but the fight for conservatism must continue, we must b e the shining on the hill, else we leave the world, and ourselves, forever clouded in darkness.

This is my stop Johnny Mac, y'all go on without me...Rebuilding the Movement and the New Contract for America

2008-05-12T21:42:00.000-07:00

So today, we learned that John McCain does not intend to pander to full blooded conservatives; rather he intends to continue to harness his Maverick, BiPartisan, NewTone image to convince his friends in the media that he's really not one of "those" Republicans. The effect of this of course may be that he does indeed get elected to the White House, but by distancing himself from mainstream Republicans as he intends to do, he is going to kill the GOP's prospects downticket. Where has he strayed off of the reservation this time, you ask? What has he done to warrant an entire blog? What he has done today is saw off another leg of the already shaky stool he was one. Today McCain's violations were threefold. The first two go hand in hand: McCain decided to bury his credentials as a conservative, by supporting signing the Kyoto treaty as well as supporting a carbon cap and trade deal. Now here's the problem with this, other than the fact that it is taking money out of American's pockets and allowing Europe to police the American economy. We know McCain is not a full blooded conservative, but unlike Rudy Giuliani, who sought to downplay his differences with full spectrum conservatives, McCain seems anxious to run to his friends in the New York Times and give them more evidence of how he's not such a bad guy, after all, he worships at Al Gore's church of Global Warming, which has about as much credibility as Ron L Hubbard's Church of Scientology. This decision by the McCain campaign to once again run to the media to beef up his Maverick credentials is another move by McCain to show off his great BiPartisan power, because this of course is legislation that he sponsored with the only sensible Democrat, Joe Lieberman, the last of the Scoop Jackson Democrats who is right on the GWOT and wrong on everything else. Unfortunately, Joe isn't running for President, McCain is, and this was another middle finger to the base and to the American people who in a time of economic distress, don't need politicians making up more regulations and taxes to hit them in the pocketbook. However, it did bolster McCain's earlier statement that he doesn't really know anything about the economy. Further boosting that claim was McCain's third faux pas in today's NewTone trio, that sources have leaked America's Snake Oil Pastor, Mike Huckabee is in line to hitch his trailer onto the back of the Straight Talk Express. I don't need to go into every single reason why Mike Huckabee is bad for this job, I think I've been pretty clear in the past. Suffice it to say that McCain achieved the one two knockout punch for flushing his economic credentials down the toilet as well as his pledge to pick someone who knows national security. Huckabee wouldn't know national security if it appeared personified, sat down in his double wide and ate a plate of fried squirrel with him. The vice President is poised to be the future leader of the party, a heartbeat away from the Presidency. McCain was supposed to assure his party and the American people that they can trust that America will survive if something happens-with his Huckalove, the only thing that we can be assured of is that there will be plenty of class warfare and Kool-Aid to go around. And this is only the beginning-if you liked McCain-Feingold, McCain-Lieberman, and McCain-Kennedy, wait until you see what he gets going when he has an even weaker GOP minority in the fall. Thusly, I have decided to get off the Straight Talk Express, and I am no longer voting for John McCain, nor will I treat him with the kid gloves I had been as a good little Republican, getting in line no matter how I had to grit me teeth through the knives he put in the heart of every conservative.

But fear not, Dear Reader, for this is not a goodbye cruel world diary. This is the opposite of that in fact. This is my do not go gentle into that good night diary. Rage, rage at the dying of the light. Brothers and sisters, at RedState there has been one series of diaries giving us a history of conservatism, and what conservatism means and stands for. In my series I have attempted to show where conservatism must go to survive the 21st century. I will not stand by without a plan while the Party destroys itself by accepting the urine the Democrats bring to our cup of orange juice in the name of NewTone Bipartisanship. In 1994, conservatives took action, and regained the majority with a plan called the Contract with America. Today my brothers and sisters, I give you the New Contract with America.

1. End all earmarks-we were thrown out not because of the Iraq War, but because the party had become as corrupt as the party that we threw out during the Clinton years. Every single Republican Congressman and Senator should sign a pledge to no longer accept earmarks. The Congressmen and Senators who won't sign it, should be primaried by strong Club for Growth supported candidates.

2. Term Limits-remember these? Comfort bring corruption. The hallowed halls of Congress have been dominated by the Kerry's, Kennedy's, Byrd's, and Rangel's. Force them to answer to the people. House members should serve 3 terms at the maximum, and Senator's should serve 2. If you can't accomplish it in 8-12 years, you are wasting taxpayer money most likely, and if you have greater visions, run for something else or choose a good successor. President's can't be President forever, why should the Congress be treated differently.

3. A commitment to solving the Social Security crisis-This is a huge issue, and the Democrats won't touch it with a ten foot pole. This is going to be the next big issue in 20 years, when the system goes bankrupt, and the GOP needs to commit to coming up with solutions before it becomes an issue that the Democrats can use against us by saying Republicans won't pay for higher payroll taxes and they want Grandma to starve. The younger generation hates payroll taxes that are paying for a system we will never gain from-show us that the free market really does work.

4. Free market healthcare solutions-Again, the Republican party needs an answer other than, we don't want socialist healthcare. Romneycare is much better than a socialized system, because it is an insurance program, not a single payer healthcare. It allows you to pick your plan, untied healthcare from a job, most importantly, and allows the free market to drive down the cost with different companies offering a better plan. We must step up to show that we know what we are talking about in relation to the economy.

5. End No Child Left Behind, and remove the federal government from regulating education-This is a bold step because it involved The Children, and most politicians are scared to touch anything that might hurt The Children, but the federal government has no business regulating or controlling how a state educates it's children. While a President can advocate for vouchers and charter schools, it cannot be up to the federal government to intrude on state authority and set the agenda for each state's educational system.

6.Commit to fighting the Kyoto Treaty-this is something where the GOP needs to show overwhelming solidarity. The rest of the world cannot be allowed to set the economic agenda for America, and regulate our economy. We must be allowed to regulate as we see fit, not as the world does.

7. Across the Board tax cuts-the money that we will have made through cutting spending, earmarks and entitlement programs will pay for across the board tax cuts. Show the American people we know what to do with a surplus-we give it back to the people. We can afford to send people an economic stimulus and cut the gas tax entirely if we can offset the cost. We must also commit to cutting the corporate tax, providing incentives for businesses to stay here rather than moving to cheaper labor overseas.

8. Securing the border-the American people have spoken that they want a fence, and they want the border secured. Every GOP member needs to sign a commitment that we will not stop pushing this issue until we have a fully functional and operational security fence across the entire border.

9. Winning the War on Terror-again another necessary commitment for the GOP to make. We have enemies of the United States and her allied. We must swear that we will hunt them down in all parts of the globe and bring them to justice. There will be no retreat, no surrender until good prevails over evil.

10. Ethics-anyone indicted of a crime while in office will be asked to resign without questions. We are going to nip any signs of corruption completely in the bud. Every GOP member needs to be on board with this, and it will likely lead to less questionable dealings that could be described as walking the fine line.

I believe that this Contract, while mostly economic, very much like the original contract, lays out conservative principles in a winning formula. We need to fight back hard, and we need to remake the case for conservatism in American politics. The old saying goes, every time conservatism is tried, it works. Well, it's time to try try again. This is no time for moderation, this is a time for extremism-an extremism in defense of liberty.

Where is my party going and why are we all in this handbasket? Towards a modern conservatism pt 2.

2008-05-11T00:03:00.000-07:00

Someone posed the question on RedState today, what is it that we want from the Republican Party? Enough with the complaining about McCain, we need to work on giving people something to vote for rather than the liberal bogeyman to vote against. Frankly, I'd rather have the Left take the rap for gross insufferable spending, corruption and unethical politicians, and a growing cynicism by the majority of Americans towards their politicians. As we move towards an election featuring two guys that most people are shocked made it this far, I have elected to no longer discuss John McCain. His crush on Hillary Clinton I find disgusting, and I fear he will be nothing more than an extension of the NewToning we have seen from the past 8 years. In light of that, my objective is to move the Party towards the right, by rolling out a new modern conservatism that will refuel the rise and excitement of conservatism in the 21st century. So what is the solution than?

We need something to excite conservative, someone to revive a movement that is increasingly dominant by older voters in the GOP. My solution is Ron Thompson. We need the domestic conservatism of Ron Paul, the willingness to stand up for our constitution and for conservatism. Ron Paul for me is a lot like Fred is for other conservatives-it is not so much what he has accomplished in the House, it is the ideals that he stands for. He opposes the Patriot Act as I do under the grounds that it is a gross intrusion of the federal government and civil liberties of American citizens. He is against Roe vs Wade and believes that abortion law and gay marriage are things that should be up to the citizens of the states, not the federal government, and he is against the drunken sailor spending that Congress has been doing throughout the Bush-Clinton-Bush years. And most of all, he was able to generate an excitement among voters that no other candidate in the GOP was able to duplicate. While he did not win any primaries, it was the excitement factor of taking back the GOP that I think should be seized upon, in terms of his domestic policy. Where he failed with most GOPers, and where he failed me is foreign policy. To this I turn to the other great man who could save our party, Fred Thompson.

"I'm never going to apologize for the United States of America."-Fred Dalton Thompson

This is the key point in conservative foreign policy that many people, including our current Presidential nominee have failed to extrapolate on, where our current President George W. Bush has-the doctrine of American exceptionalism, the key in any conservative foreign policy discussion. Bush, like Reagan, like Thompson understood the value in America as the shining city on a hill giving out light towards the rest of the world. It was never about Iraq, or Afghanistan, my fellow GOPers. (Here comes the neo-con in me) It has always been about America being a leader for freedom and democracy and standing up against tyranny and oppression. America must not ever stand down in representing freedom for all of those who seek it. It is why we must remain on the forefront against the Chinese, it is why we must continue to speak out about Sudan, and it is why we must always continue to stand strong in the Middle East against Iran and to defend our allies of Afghanistan, Iraq and Israel, while supporting true democracy in Pakistan and India. There is a an American interest in a free and democratic society, as we are a global economy that profits in peacetime, rather than having to deal with coward terrorists who seek to use America as a scapegoat for their unjust administrations like the Taliban and Mahmoud Ahmadinejād, a cruel and evil dictator in the mold of Hitler, who would outdo the Holocaust if given the capacity. We as conservatives must continue to stand for injustice in the world, protecting our interests at home and abroad. We must never forget these words "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

As we look towards a new conservatism, we must not hesitate to look towards the past for the future. We must not look at the principles of Barry Goldwater as ones to be set aside for a creeping federal and executive power grab that is necessary out of a need to protect citizens from foreign and domestic threats. We must look to smack down encroachments of the liberties of American citizen from the left and right wing, and reject them as perversions of conservatism. People who sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither, to quote Benjamin Franklin, and we must not let conservatism die while we wonder aimlessly in the desert for forty years, wondering where our party has gone. We must avoid the massive domestic gaffes in spending, corruption and violation of our constitution that has taken place on our watch. We must end the NewTone pandering that allows the Republican candidate for President to speak to racist hate groups like La Raza and pandering to Black citizens in New Orleans, calling out ineptitude of the federal government as if a state disaster should not be handled by the state, feeding liberal Democrats with more ammunition against our own party. We must continue to support American exceptionalism, and America's interest abroad, preserving our image as a the shining city on a hill, and the superpower that is on the side of the people, not the dictators. It's time to take this party back-its time to fight. As the last great Senator from Arizona, Barry Goldwater said, if we're going to take this party back, and I think we can, let's get to work. Let's stop the complaining, the moaning and NewToning an rebuild the conservative wing of our party. Conservatism doesn't die unless we let it and I refuse to sit back and watch our movement die because of the top of our ticket. I hope y'all are with me-let's go get to work.

The Beauty of Unconditional Love

2008-05-05T21:30:00.000-07:00

I hadn't realized that I haven't blogged in an insanely long time until people that I know started to publicly wonder whether I had taken a leave of absence from politics until after November. Well the truth is, I have been busy lately with something much much bigger than the political scene, as bleak as it looks. In just 3 weeks now, I'm going to be going from the role of boyfriend to husband, and officially being one with my lovely wife, and hopefully having ourselves a baby girl soon to go along with our son. I have been exhausted with marriage and planning, and moving up to our new apartment in Ann Arbor, Michigan that I haven' really had time to look into presidential politics. But what I have been able to do that is actually related to politics is to ponder this idea of unconditional love.

One of the things that I've really been exploring is this idea of unconditional love, forgiveness, and really the ultimate bonding that takes place between two people when they are married. This whole process and being married has brought us together even closer than we were when we began dating nearly six years ago. I always was slightly cynical when I was younger (and yes I know I'm just a baby to many of you) about the idea that I would one day meet that perfect person. To quote one of my favorite movies, the way I feel right now when I look at my bride, I know there is a God. And that He loves me so much that He took the time to create her just for me. To that, I have not been blessed-I have been divinely favored.

This amazing feeling that I have is something that I feel for my family, this unconditional love that I can feel every time I look at her picture, or talk to her on the phone, planning another aspect of our lives. There is an unbreakable bond, until death do us part, that I feel all the way down to my soul. What I have learned from this experience is twofold as it relates to politics. There are many more important things than an election, and of course, she is always, always right. ::smile::

Politics is not life-it cannot and should not be all consuming. We are political junkies because we love the breath of politics. We relish it and cheer for our team like I cheer for the Bears, Cowboys, and my beloved White Sox. But every now and then, we have to acknowledge that the team isn't going in the right direction. In the GOP's case, I'd fire the coach, draft a Quarterback in the first round and give some of the rookies a more prominent role. We have to take the Party in a new direction if we want to start winning again. No one wins in 2008 by playing the same way that we played in 1988. The game has changed-there's new technology, new rules, and if we don't adapt, we are going to die. I don't enjoy saying these things-no one loves to acknowledge how badly their favorite team is doing. Right now, I look at my party, and all I see s us asking where are we going, why is it so hot in here, and why are we all in this handbasket?

We need to be able to examine ourselves through good times and bad, sickness and in health. Right now our party is sick, and we are tearing each other apart looking for a cure. We are fighting over immigration, economic policy, environmental policy, the War on Terror, social issues, and no one is willing to give. Perhaps this is like the Godfather, where these things need to happen, as Clemenza says, as it helps to get all the bad blood out. Perhaps we need a President Obama to get our heads on straight. But let us never become so consumed as I think we have been that we have lose sight of our humanity. Behind every single bloggername, there is a person with feelings and concerns, and beliefs that we all hold dearly. We have become so vicious since we were given McCain as the standard bearer of the GOP and I don't think we've really gotten past this as much as we've heard suck it up, move on, he's the guy. But what I've found is that at the end of the day, there are more important things than McCain and La Raza, Obama and Reverend Wright, Slick Hilly and Bosnia and the countless other lies she tells. At the end of the day, if we don't have the House, the Senate, or the White House, we have each other, our families. And that's a love that no political victory or loss can ever ever replace.

P.S. Don't think I've gone completely soft with love-I'm still the hardened streetfighter I've always been-and I won't be taking down my Rudy sticker. It's no McCain slight-I just admire my hippie punching streetfighters-kind of like a favorite player on the team thing. My love for Jordan was no slight against Scottie Pippen-you get the drift. Now let's win this d*mn thing for God sakes.

It's all identity politics now-fighting back and rolling out a new conservatism

2008-04-16T07:52:00.000-07:00

I quietly had taken a couple weeks off of blogging to recharge, and sort of fade into being part of the MTV generation which has all in all, been quite enjoyable, though I know the mention of MTV makes some of you old folks around these parts cringe a little bit. I watched my first place White Sox smack around the Tigers, watched the Cubs in their infinite tragicomedy lose Alfonso Soriano, and listened to my Britney Spears cds several times while watching a really inappropriate amount of trashy reality television. I've been lurking on my favorite blog, but not commenting, because, well, I haven't really wanted much to do with politics because now that the primaries over, I felt like I had time to take my much needed hiatus and look at my party and the direction we are going. And I have to say, I have been gravely disappointed with the party.

One of the things that I've noticed on both sides was the how both sides have really played up identity politics this election, and really taken off of hitting the Democrats on the issues. A lot has been said about Obama's now infamous "bitter remarks', how he was just playing and pandering to his yuppie liberal elitist crowd when he talked about how rural folks are bitter, and cling to guns, religion and people that aren't like them because neither political party has delivered on their promises. Now here's where I'll surprise many of you-I think that Obama was exactly right. I think that this is true especially in the case of the sort of rural Democratic voters that Clinton has in her pocket in Pennsylvania and Ohio. Look, I love Dixie, and I love the Midwest, but if you go to someplace like rural Michigan for instance, where I spend a lot of time, there are a lot of people, who generally vote Democrat, who don't like immigration because they genuinely fear that immigrants are coming to take their jobs. Many people use religion to make themselves feel better-not calling this a bad thing, but I would say that many people turn towards their religion even moreso in difficult times-which would make fundamentalist Christianity extremely appealing especially in the sense of the ability to be saved in another life living your life to as a complete moral person.

What we have done as a party is reject Obama's identity politics and brand him as a multicultural Ivy league elitist while embracing our own identity politics. I like to think that we aren't a bunch of stupid uneducated hicks. I was able to get myself into a good and then much better college and end up graduating from Wesleyan in Connecticut. There's nothing wrong with getting an education from the Ivy League, and the reason why people in those schools think they are better than everyone is because that is the culture America has created-if you get into Harvard you are one of the best people in the country-and if you think that kids aren't going to think they are better than people because of the school they go to you are flat out crazy. But what's crazier is this desire of saying yeah, we are those people who Obama was talking about-we are going to turn this into a race of our identity vs his. This makes us simply as empty as he is, because we are fighting hopeandchange against the good Ol Boys club.

It is time for a new conservatism, my friends, not a kinder, gentler one, but one that is fresh. One that recaptures my generation and gives us a new modern, conservatism. Allow me to elaborate on what we could do as a party to resurrect ourselves.

First we must, must, do something about social security. At this point I'm only 23, but I would vote for Obama, Ron Paul or anyone else if he made the suggestion that people under 30 don't have to pay for Social Security anymore. Sorry old folks, but you are taxing the hell out of me for a program that I will never collect from. Dismantle it and allow people to start investing their retirement money themselves, into private accounts. This is America-we don't need the federal government watching over us, telling us how to save our money. Some people are going to screw up and not save at all-those people will be working longer and wishing they hadn't blown their retirement money at 40. I guarantee their children however, will not be that stupid after seeing that. Sometimes we need to fall before we can get back up, and people will never be able to stand up for themselves with the social net of the nanny state behind them.

Second, is diversity. It's a new day everyone, and while you might get riled up about being "typical" white people, the best way to counter that is to show how the proof is in the pudding. George W. Bush had the most diverse cabinet in White House history. You can whine and scream about affirmative action picks all you want, but everyone's an affirmative action pick. Condi Rice would be a great VP. Is she more affirmative action than Pawlenty-what in the world has he done to be such an amazing VP-he would possibly bring in Minnesota. And she would possibly bring in more Blacks and more women. Everything is about demographics whether they are racial or regional, and many people need to simply get over their qualms about affirmative action=reverse racism. It would broaden our appeal and broaden the tent, as well as making it easier to sell conservatism in the Black and Hispanic communities coming from someone Black or Hispanic. It would be nice if it didn't matter, but since we continue to bang our head against the wall in selling Republicanism and conservatism to minorities, perhaps we should go a different route, which is having elected minority Rs to statewide and national positions. This is going to lead to better things for the party in the long run. Imagine if we didn't have to keep trying to bring JC Watts back to politics because we had someone in the House and in the Senate to replace him.

Which brings me to my next point, which is regional politics. We have to play smart-while everyone laughed at Howie Deans 50 state strategy, he has smacked the GOP around with it. We now are looking at 2 Democratic Senators in Virginia and Arkansas, a Democratic female governor in Kansas, possibly two Democratic Senators in Colorado, and another additional Democratic Senator in New Mexico. Not even getting into the shelling we are getting in the House. We need to run our social conservative candidates in social conservative areas, but we need reliable moderates Rs to win. We should be able to beat an 84 year old man in NJ, we should be able to take advantage of corruption in NY and in IL and there's no way that Kansas should have a Democratic dog catcher.

So what do we do here? I look to the campaign this year on our side that got the most people excited-yes him. Now I've trashed him a lot, don't get me wrong, but Ron Paul excited people. He sold conservatism and got people my age interested in the GOP again. I think we need to borrow from him-I've always advocated for Ron Paul without the crazy in order to appeal to people. The Constitution is still appealing-reclaiming America is still appealing, the idea of American exceptionalism is still appealing. Although I wholeheartedly support this war and the next one, I don't support the Patriot Act and I don't support any expansion of governmental powers. I believe we have to roll out a limited government. This means not only cutting Social Security, but cutting taxes, cutting spending on wasteless bureaucracies like the Department of Ed, the EPA, farm subsidies, cutting the corporate tax to keep jobs here. It means the welcoming of immigrants to America, and looking at how ugly a fence makes a country look that prides itself on being a nation of immigrants. It means going back to the principles of limited government and American exceptionalism; more "morning in America", less ticking bombs and reminders of Al Qaeda. We don't want to relive 9/11, we want Reagan's sunny optimism. The GOP must deliver, or continue to fade into irrelevance and a definition as the "typical" party of the Religious Right, rather than a party leading the charge in the 21st century. It's morning in America-question is, is the party awake?

My conservative argument for gay marriage

2008-03-10T11:27:00.000-07:00

Some people like to do crack all night, some people drink, when I get into a mode, I tend to want to blog...continuously. This has been in the works for a couple of weeks now, to the point where I am able to stop writing on all sorts of campaign stuff, though I just did my vote McCain blog for the week, and talk about an issue. Allow me to play maverick on this one and go out on a limb that not too many of the social conservatives whose company I keep will agree with me on.

First, I must be honest with you, I am going to use my credibility as a conservative, to be able to make this argument to my fellow conservatives better than someone who is just drops by the Republican Party for a little bit, drinks punch and has cookies, makes a few jokes and leaves, saying how uncool we are. I am often at odds with the socially conservative wing of my Party, but never is the divide as clear as when the argument of gay marriage comes up.

Let me first say that I do not support a tyranny of the judicial system. I understand that many social conservatives are worried about the tyranny of a judicial minority forcing their worldview on a minority. These conservatives can point to the California home schooling debacle that we are witnessing, the judge who refused to allow a young man to go to Iraq because she disagreed with the war, as well as a host of other decisions handed down by the courts that rendered the will of the American people irrelevant. However, we must remember that the Founding Fathers also warned us of the tyranny of factions; their greatest fear was that factions of groups might gain too much power and thus be able to lord their will over the American people. For this reason, we have a strong judicial system as has been put forward today. Many people point towards a need for a constitutional amendment to limit marriage to one man and one woman. Not only do I see that as wrong, but I see it as something that is deeply misguided to our conservative principles of limited government.

One of the bedrocks of conservatism is our commitment to federalism. Many conservatives like to play homage and kneel at the altar of federalism and states rights, until it comes to something that we don't like, where we then need an amendment to outlaw it everywhere. One of the biggest examples is gay marriage, where we suddenly need a constitutional amendment to protect marriage, rather than risking that some of the states might make a decision that social conservatives disagree with. I believe that if gay couples want to get married in California, and the people of California vote to allow that, how does someone in Alabama or New York have the right to negate that decision. To me, the will of the people should out trump the will of the Senate and the Congress. I believe that gays have the right to marry, but like the pro-life movement, gay marriage should be enacted by votes rather than the courts, and the hearts and minds of people must be changed, rather than imposing laws by judicial fiat.

My other view combined with this is that while I do not believe the state should order the church to marry anyone, I believe that the state has no right to determine who can or cannot get married within the state and be given the full rights of a married couple. I believe that the state should grant gays the full benefits of marriage as well as have those marriages recognized in other states if they choose to move, because I believe that it is not up to the state to make moral judgements about individuals, rather the job of the state is serve its citizens.

Many people make the argument that the sole purpose of marriage is pro-creation, rather than to celebrate an everlasting love. Here I disagree, and I will continue to disagree until these same people come out against marriages for heterosexual couples that cannot have children, as well as marriages for handicapped children. On top of that I have yet to see an unbiased source that can show me that gays cannot raise healthy children, because I have seen it in my own eyes from more than one couple that has done a great job raising sons and daughters. I believe that as long as we have children who are unloved, abused, and in homes that don't want them, everyone who wants to adopt children and giving them loving homes should be allowed to adopt. I would rather have a warm, loving gay couple adopt children than them to be left alone unwanted.

In conclusion, one of the other arguments that many people bring up is the fact that gay couples are not in long term monogamous relationships. What better way to fully assimilate gay society with the rest of our country than to bring in the doctrine of marriage, which teaches a relentless, unforgiving love until death do us part? I believe that gay marriage is not only a good idea, but a conservative balance to bring gay families into the American mainstream, and it would be a good idea. If nothing else, I hope I presented a clean attack free view from the other side of the party.

Why I'm voting McCain-because I never want to see this again

2008-03-10T10:24:00.001-07:00

I once again had hit a writers block with almost nothing to write about for the last couple of days. Lately I have heard a lot of my fellow Republicans saying how they will never ever ever vote for McCain because of the times he has backstabbed us. I understood why many of you are angry, and why many people feel that there is nothing that Mac can say or do to re earn your trust. If Bush, my favorite President of all time, (yes even over Reagan) were running again, many of you I suspect would be saying the same thing about him. Again I understand, the big spending has been out of control under the Bush years, and in the Senate, many people consider comprehensive immigration reform to be an abomination although I disagree, and most of us find McCain-Feingold at the worst, one of the new sins that should have been rolled out today when Pope Benedict was talking about mortal sins, and best, unconstitutional. But I was going through my journal today from high school, and I remembered why I will proudly vote for John McCain for President, and give him as much of my money as I am physically able to. Because I never want to see this again in my life.

I never want to explain these images to my son in his lifetime, and have him come home with the same anger and sense of frustration that I felt on September 11, 2001. Seeing this image still brings back such pain and anger that I felt, watching the towers collapse. Seeing our President and the Attorney General later that day swear that we will seek justice for those who have wronged us. The first thing that I said when I saw the towers collapse that day, is that we're going to war for this, we better be going to war for this. But of course, I remember that there was more than these images on 9/11. There of course was this image, America's hero, the street fighter, saying to us all that we are all New Yorkers. As well as this, an image this still gives me goosebumps whenever I look at it and remember the great courage of our brave men and women who died rescuing others from the towers. My high school religion teacher told us at the time, that terrorism is the worst form of cowardice, and the people that did this will surely burn in hell. Then we prayed (thank God for Catholic schools) for our country, and the people that were killed in the towers.

That was the day that I became a national security, defense-con, or neo-con, whichever term you prefer. That was the day when above all things, the war on terror became the number one priority for me. Five years later, God chose to bless me with a son, who is now the ripe and running age of two years old. One thing I never want his eyes to see is what I have seen at 16. I wish for all of those children that lost parents in those buildings, that somehow we could take it back, but we cannot. September 11 has happened, but the question of whether the country is healed is up for debate. When I see the images of people jumping, when I remember the kids on their way to receive awards, when I remember Let's Roll, I know that the scars have not healed because the anger, hurt and feeling of near tears has not gone away with seven years of time.

There is a clear choice this November my friends. We can vote for John McCain, our hero, an unabashed patriot and defender of this country. If another attack happens, I will proudly tell my son that I voted for the man who is best suited to protect us, and who is going to give our enemies hell for trying. Or we can vote for surrender, which is what the Defeatocrat traitors on the other side of the aisle are offering us. We can vote for this, or we can vote for this, the option if they win. There is no country to defend if we do not win the war. We can fight about immigration, we can fight about abortion, we can fight about gay marriage and federalism, and we can even fight about campaign finance reform, but we cannot fight about our country. There are some things that cannot afford four years in the wilderness. Just this week, we thwarted another terrorist plot to hit the Olympics. They are relentless, something that only John McCain understands. The stakes are high this winter, too high to play politics with the future of our children and our country. The stakes are too high for our soldiers, who have sacrificed everything as the other side prepares to tell them that their sacrifice isn't good enough, that they aren't moving fast enough for the politicians who want a war that ends in 3 weeks to keep the fast food American public happy. If the Civil War had taken place in 2006, the South would be a slave owning separate country. We live in difficult and dangerous times. This is not a time for empty promises of "hope and change", code words for surrender and defeat. This is a time for strong leadership, time for unflinching courage, a time for heroes. This is a time for that great patriot, American hero John McCain. Let's roll, for our countries sake.

Building the Right Bridges-A Conservative Way to Bridge the Racial Divide

2008-03-04T09:49:00.000-08:00

I must say that the last couple times I have blogged, they have mainly been focused on stopping Obamania. However, this subject is one that is partially my passion as a Black Conservative, and all that encompasses, as I have written in the past extensively on how Conservatives and the Republican Party must retake the mantle that we have always held as the Party of Civil Rights and equality. Many people in both political parties would like to simply forget about race; the Right says we cannot get past race as long as we look at race, while the Left points to Obama as proof that race is over in America. Allow me to address both of these points before I move on with my analysis.

First, while the idea of a colorblind society is ideal, it is not where we are as a society right now. While I am not advocating additional identity politics, I think that we do need to stand up for conservative principles and acknowledge that there are unhealthy patterns that directly correlate to ethnicity. This is not to say that Blacks are in their situation completely because of racism, but there has been a long pattern of unchecked racism from the Democratic Party that has allowed Blacks to flounder in American society. Because of Republican aversion to playing ball against Democrats on race, we have allowed the party of the KKK, DixieCrats, and White Citizens Council to seize the ground on racial issues with the same slaveowner mentality that the Democrats have always held towards African Americans, that now they are trying to shake off by pointing to Obama as their racial savior for 245 years of mistreatment by Democrats.

Obama is not the answer that Blacks need, because he is more of the same failed racial liberal policies packaged with a biracial smile. However, with McCain, and indeed with the party since 2006 when the best RNC chairman we have had in terms of outreach, Ken Mehlman, the Republican Party has failed to do the most important thing. In the words of GOPAC chairman Michael Steele, Just. Show. Up. Melhman understood, as Steele did when he won a solid 40 percent of the Black vote, that you cannot win the Black vote by showing up at the Urban League once every 4 years. There is a reason that Bush deployed Mehlman to more than 2000 African American sponsored events in the 2 years he was RNC chair-you have to show up consistently to show that you are authentically concerned about the issues that affect all Americans. The GOP needs to show up, and get some credibility, because we have the upper hand on the issues that matter to Blacks, but because we have ceded Blacks to the Democratic Party, it comes off as pandering at best, and completely disingenuous at worst.

Consider the fact that there is an educational gap between Blacks and every other racial group in this country. We are no longer talking about a Black/White racial divide on the issues; now we are talking about Blacks being beaten out by every single racial group in America. Now, how much of this is cultural, and how much of this is the educational system one might ask? Excellent question-it is an equal combination of both. However, one should look at the fact that this is not something based on income as many people often wrongly assume-indeed poor whites outscore middle class Blacks in educational scores. The problem is that we need less federal influence on education first of all, and more state and local control to target demographics locally. The Department of Education is a wasteful, useless bureaucracy, and when parents are given control over their children's education as was seen through Milwaukee's voucher program, Blacks in all incomes are able to succeed. Vouchers, as we all know, are a Republican issue, but no one wants to talk about vouchers any more. We have to realize that we must be able to talk about domestic issues as well as foreign policy, and I am a defense hawk first and foremost. We can cut spending, and offer tax rebates and credits for private and charter schools, showing fiscal responsibility, and cutting the Department of Education which has consistently proven itself to be a bloated useless bureaucracy. And we have seen the progress that vouchers and private schools have done in terms of closing the educational achievement gap, but we have not pushed these gains, and we have not built up the credibility to push something like this, the other problem.

So where does that leave us as a party, because it does not simply apply to finding conservative solutions to something like education, although that is one of the main issues. We need to have solutions to a health care crisis-as long as health care is directly tied to a job, and with Blacks having a higher rate of unemployment, perhaps a free market health care solution might be appealing not just to Blacks but to all people. We are not touting our ideas, and perhaps because we are not coming up with ideas and ways to succeed on the Right, which is equally disappointing to me. I expect more from the Party of Ideas than to simply hammer home on the War. Remember, 2004 was a lesson that you must have something to vote for, rather than just something to vote against. We are voting for winning the war, I understand that, but we also must be able to compete with socialized medicine not just by saying its wrong, but by having an alternative solution. We can not just say giving schools even more federal money is wrong, but be able to point to other smart solutions that can save the government money and be successful in the poorest communities. We need to step up and play ball, and understand that it takes more than two years to break a choke hold of 90 percent of a bamboozled population.

The Democrats have always believed that they know better for Blacks than Blacks know for themselves. We must remember, it is Democratic big city mayors that have let Blacks down in the educational system. It is Democratic welfare policies that replaced the African-American father with Uncle Sam. It is Democratic policy that supports affirmative action that gives Blacks like Clarence Thomas less credibility with his Yale Degree because he was believed to get it based on race, not based on merit. It is Democratic race pimps Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton that seek out racism in every idea and foster an inferiority complex that Blacks cannot achieve without government assistance in every step of the way for 40 years, yet Iraqis can govern themselves in 4 years. And it is Democratic policy that forces Blacks into racial voting districts, under the guise that it is not separate but equal, but that Blacks cannot win elected office if they are not in all Black (and consequently) all Democratic spider districts. But these things will continue until we stand up for the equality that the GOP has always stood for. Every American deserves a choice, but until we go there, we are not offering anything. We must devote time and resources to beating back the Democratic machine. Most importantly, we must just show up.

The Audacity of Liberalism (Thank you William Buckley for reminding me)

2008-02-27T09:23:00.000-08:00

Today we lost a pioneer of conservatism, William F. Buckley, who brought the conservative movement to national prominence. Many of us have fought in this primary over which leg of the stool is more important, and who has the right to the chair. I myself have engaged in some heated exchanges with members of the other wings of the Party. But now that the primary is over, it is time to re examine our values, and why we all have spent so much time fighting over who will carry the torch in our Party. I think that the value of conservatism is something that Mr. Buckley would appreciate in light of his passing.

Allow me to share why I am proud to call myself a conservative in light of this. I am first a foremost a national security, or defense conservative. I believe in our country, and I believe in the doctrine of American exceptionalism. I believe that not only are we the shining city on the hill, but to quote Nelson Mandela, as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same. America is the greatest country in the world, and part of the reason for that is because we set an example to the rest of the world of what it means to be a great country. It means that we stand tall and fight against tyranny, terror, and oppression of all people in the world. That's why I am proud to continue to support our efforts for a free Afghanistan and Iraq, and if I had my way we'd be fighting in Sudan and Somalia as well, where terror and oppression grows stronger by the day. I believe that if the most powerful and most capable country will not stand up for the little guys, then those people have nothing.We do not become stronger by depleting and thinning our military in a world where attacks on us and our allies have international implications. The policy of American isolationism is dead, and conservatism recognizes that peace through strength was is the only way to secure the future of our great nation.

I also believe that aid for others should not be taken from someone with policies such as "taxing the rich" and forcing universal health care payments on people who already have medical coverage. I believe in the free market, in giving money back to the American people who know far better than the government how to spend their money. To quote Ronald Reagan, government does not solve problems, government is the problem. I believe the answer to our problems is less government not more of it. We must come up with free market solutions that allow our economy to operate, not stifling it with high corporate and business taxes that drive more of our jobs overseas where labor is cheaper and operation costs are as well. We must make it profitable for jobs and businesses to stay in America.

Like Milton Friedman stated, the free market must extend to other eras of life, most importantly education. It is not without coincidence that the one area where the free market is not allowed to operate has the lowest and poorest results of any industry that we have in the United States. The school system is run like a small Soviet Union, with an overarching bureaucracy, and dictators as the top, mandating false equality all throughout the system. Like the Soviet System, it has crumbled and is failing badly in comparison with private and charter schools, that do well because they are in competition with each other on who can provide the best overall education experience. The school system must be opened up to the free market and be forced into competition through the use of school vouchers, and charter school availability for all. It will raise the quality of education for all children, and not just the ones who can afford wealthy private schools. If we are rejecting race base admissions, which I endorsed, we must also reject financially based admissions, as it is profoundly unconservative to educate the best and brightest on anything but merit and potential within the classroom.

All of this stands in direct contrast with the left wing radical liberalism we are being sold by Mr. Obama. Senator Obama, first and foremost does not believe that America is an exceptional and special nation. He does not believe that, his wife does not believe that, and as a result, I am sure their children will be taught not to believe it as well. Senator Obama believes that America is essentially an unjust nation, and he believes that the Iraq War had nothing to do with protecting American interests and preserving the Middle East from a dictator in Iraq. He believes that the war in Afghanistan is the only one that we should be fighting, and he believes we should have military in Pakistan, which permits no US boots on its soil. Senator Obama does not believe that this is America's war, only George Bush's and the Republican's war. Thus it would not surprise Mr Obama that should he have to lead the United States in any conflict, that it would be called Obama's war. But the difference in the Democrats and Republicans is that Republicans don't believe wars are partisan, but we believe was is something an entire country should support, because we in fact, are Americans first, and Republicans second.

Senator Obama and I also disagree with free market on everything other than the fact that we both say it a lot. Senator Obama's idea of the free market is socialized healthcare. He believes in depleting the military budget to pay for health care, rather than allowing you to have your own. He believes in raising payroll taxes to bankroll the failing and dying program of Social Security. This is only going to lead to more and more tax increases and populations get larger and age at the same time. A true free market approach would be to allow people to use private accounts to save and create their own social security account fund, a plan which both Democrats have snarkily dismissed under the guise that it would never pass. It would never pass mostly because the Senator and their Democratic friends would never vote for real hope and change for my generation that will never see the benefits of a system that we will have put millions of dollars into by the time we all retire. Senator Obama also beleives we need more government beauracracy in education not less. He is proud to accept the teachers union endorsement, although they are personally leading to the downfall in the Black, Latino, and poor white communities that Obama claims he loves so much. While Blacks, Latinos and poor whites support vouchers in numbers that are above 60 percent, Obama laps up the endorsement of the do nothing, give us more money teachers union. This is no big surprise as many of the delegates to the Democratic National Convention are from the teacher's union.

If there is anything to remember, it is that we have a common enemy. While we are fighting over who the most conservative it, liberals are building a playground in the Left Wing of their Party. We must work together, because while I understand although I don't agree with conservatives qualms about John McCain, I offer you a look at Obama. This guys no moderate-he's a far left biracial liberal McGovernite that can give a fancy speech. Rush said it best when he said Obama's saying nothing better than anyone's ever said it, and because of that we have to start hitting him on his positions. We have to point out McCain is the moderate, and Obama is the extremist on every single issue. We have to take our party and our country back from the Left who see an opportunity to destroy America and American exceptionalism once and for all. For Mr. Buckley's memory, let's not give the satisfaction. Let's go to war for our God, our country, our troops, and our Party. Let's roll.

The Obamas, The Cos, and the Politics of Personal Responsibility

2008-02-26T08:30:00.000-08:00

One of the things that has been all the rage on the Internet lately is that Michelle Obama said that only recently was she proud of her country, since her husband began to run for President. Many Americans found it hard to believe that someone like Michelle Obama, who has had nothing but opportunity in her life and for her children would find something objectionable about her country. Indeed the Obama campaign's number one celebrity backer Oprah, has declared herself that only in America is her success possible. Now if Oprah who is also Black, came from a much much poorer and rural background than Michelle Obama, and not to mention was sexually abused as a child can still find pride in her country, than why not Michelle Obama?

The answer to that, boils down to personal responsibility for our lives. As an African-American, I say that this is probably one of the greatest plagues in Black communities of all classes, which is the lack of emphasis on the individual. This to me is the saddest thing of all, because Blacks for so long, more than any other race had to rely on themselves as individuals in order to get ahead. In the days of segregation, Blacks did not have the best materials, yet we had more Blacks who wanted to read and write. There was a time when African-Americans were beating down the doors to get an education, and now Blacks don't stay in school, which liberals blame on material not making a connection with Blacks.

In reality the problem is not necessarily that the material in schools is bad, but a two pronged problem with the state of our education system and within the way Blacks view themselves. Our education system is one that preys on the students at the expense of the teachers, and sees the teachers unions as the ones that are constantly persecuted by an evil entity in the Board of Education. Everywhere we look in American society we have been successful because of our use and applications of the free market, yet in the most vital industry to our future, our education system, we remain plunged in anarchy and totalitarianism that dictates where our children must go to school. By not allowing competition in the school system through a voucher system and charter schools, parents are forced to accommodate the teachers who see their constant problem is a lack of funding, even though No Child Left Behind federal funds gives more money to poor schools than ever before. Rather than choice and competition, because teachers could teach with one book and chalk if their feet were held to the fire and parents could simply move their children if they didn't like the product, Black parents who are the ones that most often cannot afford to simply send their children to private schools are left behind in broken schools with broken teachers. So the problem here is a lack of opportunity for personal responsibility, because liberals like Obama don't think Black children deserve the same quality private education that he gives his children.

But even more than being able to get a responsible education is living a responsible life, which is what Bill Cosby has been talking about within the Black community. Here is where the real problem within the Black community is, and why Michelle Obama's comments made so much sense to me, because she has been fed the lies of victomology her entire life. African-Americans have been waiting for a savior, a new Martin Luther King to pull them up rather than pulling themselves up. Obama has been crowned as the new Black Messiah, and I worry about what that is going to do to the psyche of Blacks as they look for a hero to fix all of the problems in the Black community. Obama cannot fix single parent homes, he cannot fix drug and gang violence, he cannot fix the number of parents that don't read to their children, tell them that they are loved, and allow them to grow up as children. Parents have to be parents, and more important than anything, fathers have to be fathers. Fathers you need to hug your kids, kiss them, tell them that you love them and your proud of them every single day that they are alive. Play with them, read to them, teach them every single thing you know. Children are to be cherished, not resented, and every single child deserves to be loved, cared for and told they are precious irreplaceable human beings. There are far too many Black kids growing up without a father, and far too many Black babies being aborted and abandoned because the mother is incapable of raising a child themselves. We have gone from a people who were strong in the 1960s, to today where Blacks have an inferiority complex that they cannot shake. It has been fed by the race pimps Jesse and Al, and spreads like a cancer through the Black community, touching people like Michelle Obama who should be nothing but proud of her country. But she hears her country is racist from the time she is born, and a place like Harvard only confirms it, which was shown in her thesis where she talks about classic liberal identity politics of never being accepted in a white world as she gets ready to trot off to Harvard Law school. She is educated in the Blame America First Doctrine, just like I was, and I was indeed punished for it gradewise for not adhering to the liberal doctrine. Many people get caught up in the fact that its easier to give the tenured radicals what they want rather than take the time to build an effective counter argument, and Blacks that have been fed the victim line their whole life are eager to be validated by someone like a professor with perceived credibility. In fact, what it comes down to is mental masturbation for the professor who loves hearing his own views fed back to him and never challenged, so that he feels relevant though the rest of the country has long since passed him by. So without opening our eyes, how can we see that this is a wonderful great country, with more opportunity for people of all races, both genders, religion and everything else you can think of?

And now of course Obama is going to be set up for the crushing fall by those evil mean nasty racists on the Republican side. How can America vote against hope? How can America be against change? America is against far left wing extremism, and that's what Obama is selling. If Obama was white with his message, he'd be Dennis Kucinich-instead he is the one the country has been waiting for. America is going to reject him because we don't like extremists in politics-and that makes me just as proud to be American as I have always been all of my life.

Yes we can! Actually no I can't Barack

2008-02-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I was in an ominous mood, and wondering what I would do if John McCain did the unthinkable and picked the one person I have sworn up and down I will not a cast a vote for-Mike Huckabee. Huckabee has proven himself to be so crooked that his election would be like sneaking a pro-life, anti gay Slick Willie into the White House. So then I thought, what should I do if it would be Obama/Jim Webb (or someone with military experience) vs the McCain/Huckabee ticket? As someone living in Illinois, the GOP has done itself irreparable harm to the point where it is not worth it to just simply cast a vote for the Republican candidates downticket, as I am in a heavily Democratic district that the GOP has almost no hope of ever recapturing. So I asked myself, could I pull the lever for Obama?

The answer, was at first, a maybe. But after doing some serious thinking-it was in fact a reason No I can't! You see, in fact I am the sort of voter the Democrats should be aching to come back to the party. I have huge disagreements with the social and immigration wing of my party. I am for gay marriage, so the oh my God gay people are going to get married doesn't really affect my politics all that much. I also don't really care for the idea that evolution should not be taught in schools. I am however pro-life, but more so because I think reality is that abortion is murder. As a father, once I saw an unltrasound and felt my son kicking in his mother's stomach, there is no doubt that he was alive from the moment of conception. But you do of course, have pro-life Democrats like Bob Casey Sr and Jr. I think McCain-Kennedy was actually a fine proposal, and I think that my party does itself a disservice to spout such hardline immigration rhetoric towards the largest growing population in the country. So socially, I'm at best a moderate, and at worst squishy. So why not Obama then?

The answer is in fact quite simple-where I am far to the left of my party on the social issues, I make up for it on defense and taxes. The treatment of Joe Lieberman by the Democratic Party is example number one of why I cannot ever go back to them. Anyone who does not accept the down the line Blame America First rhetoric is cast out from the Democrats, where they have no place at all. I believe that we must win in Iraq, Afghanistan, and we should be getting ready for Iran. I think that we are in times of grave danger, where we are at war with the West against Islamic fascists who want nothing more than to see our way of life destroyed and us brought under sharia law in a strong Islamic state. Personally, I don't want to live in Iran, and I know that are at war with a true enemy, an enemy that hates the fact that we are a free nation that allows women to be educated, Jewish people to hold positions of power, and that we unconditionally support Israel in there fight to remain a sovereign nation. John McCain gets this-does Obama?

The answer to this is a resounding no. Obama does not understand the threat, and the idea that we should bomb a soverign ally Pakistan to get Bin Laden simply comes across as a novice trying to talk tough on terror. Now if I believed that Obama would actually bomb Pakistan, I might be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, but the fact is he is softer than John Kerry minus the flip flops and the military experience when it comes to the War in Iraq and the greater War on Terror. The Democrats have one plan for Iraq-surrender, retreat and defeat; if you think that Obama is actually going to pull the troops out of Iraq to put them in Afghanistan, than I've got some great oceanfront property here in Chicago to sell you. The fact of the matter is, every single President in the last decade has been tested by the enemy, and some have failed to respond, and some have stepped up and risen to the challenge. Bill Clinton failed to understand the depth of the threat of Al Qaeda, and managed to undermine our military when we failed to show strength and resolve in Somalia led by the same cut and run Democrats like Jack Murtha that are advising us to cut and run in Iraq. Clinton's policy of appeasement there, combined with his poor response to the first WTC bombings and his unwillingness to take Bin Laden when the Sudanese government offered him to us in 1998 led to the events of 9/11. George W Bush on the other hand, recognized this for what it was-an act of war. We proceeded to unleash holy hell on our enemies, who at this moment are stomping and screaming as Iraq is slowly but sure turning into a success story. Note how Iraq is off the front page of the New York Times, as they are now too busy creating fake affairs for McCain to have, which makes me glad to see that Jason Blair has gotten his old job back. We are winning in Iraq, no matter how little of that fact the mainstream media is reporting, and we need a President that will continue to lead the charge in a time of war.

That's the first and main reason why I cannot vote for Obama-the second is fiscal issues. My God, Obama has never met a tax or government program that he doesn't like. He doesn't trust the American people to manage their education , so instead of vouchers he wants to expand the public school bureaucracy. I work in this bureaucracy sir, it's large enough, thank you. Funny that just like every other white Democrat, Obama supports private school for himself but not the rest of the poor Americans. Hey where do your kids go Barack-right, Chicago's wealthy and private Lab school, which is fine in itself, but why deny your Black base the same thing. For someone who talks about the free market, Obama has the most misguided concept of it that I've ever seen. And it's not just education where Obama thinks that he's smarter than you-his solution to the coming Social Security crisis which my generation will never reap the benefits of is not to raise the retirement age, oh no. It's not to allow us to manage our own savings through the creation of personal private accounts. Obama's solution is to raise payroll taxes! But of course, it's not dying, it just needs a little more of the American people's money! He thinks the same thing with health care; instead of adopting a free market plan that allows for competition a la Mitt Romney in Massachusetts, Obama wants to force socialist health care like the UK and Western Europe where you have to wait for two months to see a bad doctor. This is someone who is going to lead our conuntry on the path to Western Europe, all while he smiles and bamboozles the American electorate with hope and change. He's the same McGovern fat left liberal the Democrats always run, only this time packaged with a nice biracial ribbon and eloquent speaking style. But the message hasn't changed-lose the war, raise your taxes, socialist European style welfare. That's not the America I want-and it won't be the America that most Americans want either.

That's why I'm proud to endorse a McCain/Guiliani ticket. Two men ready to lead the American people on matters of national security from day one. Two American heroes-two men that get it on taxes, education reform, and national security. This is not the time for McCain to grow soft and pick Huckabee, America's Pastor to be in a position of leadership. Rudy is the one who can expand McCain's independents even further-while Hillary spent time running to the center, Obam has been sprinting so far to the left the middle isn't even near him anymore. Let's win the war and punch the hippies. Yes We Can!