Author: kingsjester

64 year old Christian Conservative husband, father, and grandfather who has been writing since April 2010.

Campaign 2012: It was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

When Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) received the Presidential Candidacy from his party in 2008, they had to change the venue, to one befitting The Lightbringer…and, in order to fit his ego.

The London Daily Mail reported at the time:

Finally nominated as the first black candidate for the U.S. presidency, he moved the Democratic Party Convention from the conference hall to an 80,000-seater football stadium for his landmark address.

His challenge was to turn his trademark soaring rhetoric into simple ideas to improve the lives of hard-pressed American families. But the Greek pillars of his backdrop prompted ridicule before he stood up to speak early today.

Well…ol’ Scooter’s drawing a few thousand less than that nowadays…

“At Obama fundraiser in Chicago. Admission only $51, but room is half full,” New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor wrote on Twitter.

The Romney campaign seized on Kantor’s estimate, as spokesman Ryan Williams tweeted, “Thrill is gone.” The Drudge Report also piled on, linking to Kantor’s tweet, which has been reposted by a few hundred others. (Kantor quickly followed up with additional tweets noting that only some tickets to the event cost $51 and that the campaign said the event was sold out.)

But the crowd for the afternoon fundraiser at the Bridgeport Art Center totaled 1,000, an Obama campaign official said – more than the 850-person estimate the campaign offered earlier in the weekend. Tickets for the Gen44 fundraiser, targeted at younger supporters, started at $51, but many were more expensive.

And, to this reporter and several others in the White House press pool, the room seemed plenty full. There was empty space at the back of the large warehouse space during and immediately after the president’s remarks, but the crowd was densely packed to get close to the stage at the front of the room where Obama spoke.

Meanwhile, the new Republican ticket fared a lot better:

The largest crowd of the campaign so far for a Mitt Romney event welcomed home favorite son Rep. Paul Ryan at a massive rally here in the congressman’s district Sunday night, pushing the GOP’s vice presidential nominee to tears as he took the stage, setting off cheers with two simple words:

“Hi mom.”

With that, voice cracking, Ryan showed his Wisconsin credentials to a crowd the Romney campaign hopes will be emblematic of the charismatic congressman’s support in the Badger state, a reliably Democratic enclave the Republican candidate hopes to turn red this fall.

“My veins run with cheese, bratwurst, a little Spotted Cow, Leinie’s, and some Miller,” Ryan said, mentioning two well-known local beers. “I was raised on the Packers, Badgers, Bucks and Brewers. I like to hunt here, I like to fish here, I like to snowmobile here. I even think ice fishing is interesting.”

“I’m a Wisconsinite through and through,” Ryan said to cheers from a crowd which contained many members of Ryan’s extended family, and which the campaign estimated to be more than ten thousand strong, likely the largest turnout ever for a Romney event.

The energy generated by Ryan seemed to inspire the man at the top of ticket, who took on a heckler midway through his own remarks, then turned the moment into an indictment of President Obama’s campaign, who’s tactics have riled Romney in recent weeks.

Obama gives Ryan a double-edged welcome to the race

“You see young man, this group here is respectful of other people’s rights to be heard,” Romney said as the heckler was removed. “And you ought to find yourself a different place to be disruptive, because here we believe in listening to people with dignity and respect.”

“There’s no question but if you follow the campaign of Barack Obama, he’s going to do everything in his power to make this the lowest, meanest negative campaign in history. We’re not going to let that happen,” Romney continued. “This is going to be a campaign about ideas about the future of America. This is a campaign about greatness, about America’s future for your children, for the world. Mr. President take you campaign out of the gutter, let’s talk about the real issues that America faces.”

Romney and Ryan were introduced by two other leading figures in the Republican party nationally, both born and raised here in Wisconsin: RNC Chairman Reince Preibus and Governor Scott Walker, who recently survived a recall election and has become a rallying point for Republicans nationwide.

“Isn’t it great to have a cheesehead on the ballot?” Walker asked the crowd.

On Monday, Ryan will campaign solo for the GOP ticket for the first time, attending the state fair in Iowa, setting up something of a showdown in the Hawkeye state, with President Obama hitting the stump in Western Iowa then as well.

I echo the well-wishes of Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin who wrote on her Facebook Page:

Congratulations to Mitt Romney on his choice of Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. President Obama has declared that this election is about “two fundamentally different visions” for America. Goodness, he’s got that right. Our country cannot afford four more years of Barack Obama’s fundamentally flawed vision. We must now look to this new team, the Romney/Ryan ticket, to provide an alternate vision of an America that is fiscally responsible, strong, and prosperous – an America that understands and is proud of her exceptional place in the world and will respect those who fight to secure that exceptionalism, which includes keeping our promises to our veterans.

I really like what I’ve seen from this new team this past weekend.

Could we be approaching “Morning in America” again?

Paul Ryan…the Much-Needed Spark

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

I remember the first time I really paid attention to Paul Ryan, the Vice-Presidential pick of the presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee, Mitt Romney.

It was the 2010 Healthcare Summit, when he looked President Barack Hussein Obama in the eye and said this:

Look, we agree on the problem here. And the problem is health inflation is driving us off of a fiscal cliff.

Mr. President, you said health care reform is budget reform. You’re right. We agree with that. Medicare, right now, has a $38 trillion unfunded liability. That’s $38 trillion in empty promises to my parents’ generation, our generation, our kids’ generation. Medicaid’s growing at 21 percent each year. It’s suffocating states’ budgets. It’s adding trillions in obligations that we have no means to pay for it.

Now, you’re right to frame the debate on cost and health inflation. And in September, when you spoke to us in the well of the House, you basically said — and I totally agree with this — I will not sign a plan that adds one dime to our deficits either now or in the future.

Since the Congressional Budget Office can’t score your bill, because it doesn’t have sufficient detail, but it tracks very similar to the Senate bill, I want to unpack the Senate score a little bit.

And if you take a look at the CBO analysis, analysis from your chief actuary, I think it’s very revealing. This bill does not control costs. This bill does not reduce deficits. Instead, this bill adds a new health care entitlement at a time when we have no idea how to pay for the entitlements we already have.

Now, let me go through why I say that. The majority leader said the bill scores as reducing the deficit $131 billion over the next 10 years. First, a little bit about CBO. I work with them every single day — very good people, great professionals. They do their jobs well. But their job is to score what is placed in front of them. And what has been placed in front of them is a bill that is full of gimmicks and smoke-and-mirrors. Now, what do I mean when I say that?

Well, first off, the bill has 10 years of tax increases, about half a trillion dollars, with 10 years of Medicare cuts, about half a trillion dollars, to pay for six years of spending.

Now, what’s the true 10-year cost of this bill in 10 years? That’s $2.3 trillion.

It does couple of other things. It takes $52 billion in higher Social Security tax revenues and counts them as offsets. But that’s really reserved for Social Security. So either we’re double-counting them or we don’t intend on paying those Social Security benefits.

It takes $72 billion and claims money from the CLASS Act. That’s the long-term care insurance program. It takes the money from premiums that are designed for that benefit and instead counts them as offsets.

The Senate Budget Committee chairman said that this is a Ponzi scheme that would make Bernie Madoff proud.

Now, when you take a look at the Medicare cuts, what this bill essentially does — it treats Medicare like a piggy bank. It raids a half a trillion dollars out of Medicare, not to shore up Medicare solvency, but to spend on this new government program.

Now, when you take a look at what this does, is, according to the chief actuary of Medicare, he’s saying as much as 20 percent of Medicare’s providers will either go out of business or will have to stop seeing Medicare beneficiaries. Millions of seniors who are on — who have chosen Medicare Advantage will lose the coverage that they now enjoy.

You can’t say that you’re using this money to either extend Medicare solvency and also offset the cost of this new program. That’s double counting.

And so when you take a look at all of this; when you strip out the double-counting and what I would call these gimmicks, the full 10- year cost of the bill has a $460 billion deficit. The second 10-year cost of this bill has a $1.4 trillion deficit.

And I think, probably, the most cynical gimmick in this bill is something that we all probably agree on. We don’t think we should cut doctors 21 percent next year. We’ve stopped those cuts from occurring every year for the last seven years.

We all call this, here in Washington, the doc fix. Well, the doc fix, according to your numbers, costs $371 billion. It was in the first iteration of all of these bills, but because it was a big price tag and it made the score look bad, made it look like a deficit, that bill was — that provision was taken out, and it’s been going on in stand-alone legislation. But ignoring these costs does not remove them from the backs of taxpayers. Hiding spending does not reduce spending. And so when you take a look at all of this, it just doesn’t add up.

And so let’s just — I’ll finish with the cost curve. Are we bending the cost curve down or are we bending the cost curve up?

Well, if you look at your own chief actuary at Medicare, we’re bending it up. He’s claiming that we’re going up $222 billion, adding more to the unsustainable fiscal situation we have.

And so, when you take a look at this, it’s really deeper than the deficits or the budget gimmicks or the actuarial analysis. There really is a difference between us.

And we’ve been talking about how much we agree on different issues, but there really is a difference between us. And it’s basically this. We don’t think the government should be in control of all of this. We want people to be in control. And that, at the end of the day, is the big difference.

Now, we’ve offered lots of ideas all last year, all this year. Because we agree the status quo is unsustainable. It’s got to get fixed. It’s bankrupting families. It’s bankrupting our government. It’s hurting families with pre-existing conditions. We all want to fix this

But we don’t think that this is the answer to the solution. And all of the analysis we get proves that point.

Now, I’ll just simply say this. And I respectfully disagree with the vice president about what the American people are or are not saying or whether we’re qualified to speak on their behalf. So…

(LAUGHTER)

… we are all representatives of the American people. We all do town hall meetings. We all talk to our constituents. And I’ve got to tell you, the American people are engaged. And if you think they want a government takeover of health care, I would respectfully submit you’re not listening to them.

So what we simply want to do is start over, work on a clean- sheeted paper, move through these issues, step by step, and fix them, and bring down health care costs and not raise them. And that’s basically the point.

That bravura performance aside, why did Romney pick Ryan?

Robert Costa writes in nationalreview.com that:

“We’re very much inclined in the same direction,” Romney told NRO in March. “We [have spoken] together about my plans on Medicare, for instance, and ultimately the Wyden-Ryan bill is very similar, if not identical, to what I proposed some time ago. We all have ideas about what should be done with Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security — and we’re on the same page.”

According to Romney insiders, Romney deeply appreciated Ryan’s willingness to privately share his critique of the campaign during the heated Republican primary, where Romney often struggled to make his case. As he watched from afar, long before he endorsed, Ryan drafted a series of detailed strategy and policy advisories, and discussed them with Romney over the phone. For Romney, those corporate-style memos made a lasting impression — and catapulted Ryan into Romney’s circle, where he has remained since.

Okay. the team is set. Now, let’s see what they can do.

I hope that Ryan can stoke a fire under Romney, as Sarah Palin tried to do to John McCain.

The time for “go along to get along” is over. Mitt needs to get up on his hind legs and fight.

For America’s sake.

Michelle Obama’s Message to Black Americans: It Takes One

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

Michelle (ma belle) Obama appeared on the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Show yesterday morning to send a new message out to potential Black voters:

BlackAmericaWeb.com reports:

The “It Takes One” program encourages supporters to make a difference in this year’s election, and to “start by taking one action that will help grow our campaign,” Mrs. Obama says. In a three-minute video message to supporters, Mrs. Obama tells supporters that in light of a tighter election than 2008 likely this fall, “in the end, it could all come down to those last few thousand votes in a single state.”

The first lady spoke with the Tom Joyner Morning show today and urged supporters to fight voter suppression and get out and vote.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

Tom Joyner: We’re less than a hundred days away from the election.

Mrs. Obama: Yes, indeed.

Tom Joyner: And you have a project you call, “It Takes Ones,” right?

Mrs. Obama: Yes, yes. The idea — really it’s a simple one. This election is going to be closer than the last one. That’s the only guarantee we have. And really what’s going to make the difference are people talking to people. So what I tell folks when I’m out there doing grassroots events, I tell them, multiply yourselves. And really all it will take is just that one person that you register to vote, that one person that you get out to the polls, that one person that you talk to and help them understand what’s at stake.

I want people to be thinking that that one could be the one that puts us over the top. Especially when you think about how an election is broken down over precincts and counties and communities. We’ve seen close elections. It could come down to the last 500 people. So for anyone who doesn’t feel like — the thing I can do won’t make a difference, we’re just trying to change that, because all it will take is one.

And if each of us does our one, and all of us know that one person in our lives, that one knucklehead nephew that’s not registered to vote, that one neighbor that’s not really paying attention, or that one person in your office that’s confused about how Barack’s tax plan will benefit that individual — those are going to be the conversations that make a difference.

And in this election, we’re going to be making a choice about how we want our democracy run. Do we want our President selected by people rolling their sleeves up, knocking on doors, or are we going to hand it over to a couple of people who write big checks? And we’ve invested throughout not just this campaign but throughout Barack’s first term in building organizations on the ground — because it’s not just about choosing the next President, it’s about choosing what the next tax plan is going to be, or whether we actually tackle global warming, or whether or kids can go to school without a mountain of debt.

These are the issues that we’re really talking about. And it extends far beyond who’s in the White House, but who’s in the Congress, who’s in the statehouse, who are our mayors, how are these campaigns funded, do we support that? So we want people focusing on the one thing I can do. And everybody can do one thing, and it will be that one-on-one kind of contact that’s going to get us over the finish line in the end.

So “It Takes One.”

Tom Joyner: I’ve got the perfect mechanism to do this. We have partnered with the NAACP and the National Urban League and the National Action Network, and we have a number that you can simply call and register someone over the phone. It’s 1-866-MY-VOTE-1. You know that one person that’s not a registered voter —

Mrs. Obama: Absolutely.

Tom Joyner: — and they should be — you could dial them the number.

Mrs. Obama: Absolutely.

Tom Joyner: Put it in your contacts — 1-866-MY-VOTE-1. And all that’s done on the phone.

Mrs. Obama: Yes, it’s as easy as that. And that’s the one thing we’ve got to keep emphasizing to people — that voting, registering to vote is a simple thing to do. And we don’t want anybody to be intimidated by the political process. Because essentially — sometimes that’s what keeps people from engaging. They just feel like, I’m going to run into problems, it’s going to be a challenge. But we just have to keep reminding people this is as simple as a phone call. It’s as simple as going to the website. We also have a website called gottavote.org — where people can go online and do the same thing.

So the fact that you, the NAACP, so many organizations are focused on voter registration — again, it is critical because this is our power in the end. And again, it’s not just about this presidential election. It’s about the future of our communities and our families. And that’s the way you make change — in the voting booths.

Tom Joyner: That’s right.

Mrs. Obama: So thank you so much for that initiative.

Sybil Wilkes: Mrs. Obama, we have so much information here, and we have it on BlackAmericaWeb.com, we have it at barackobama.com/one. But there’s so much there — and on Black America Web, and on The Tom Joyner Morning Show — we get it every day. How is it that you keep people engaged or get people engaged? Because 2008 was just such an incredible year, and you saw the groundswell, obviously, of support and people standing in line for hours at a time. How are you keeping them engaged in this one?

Mrs. Obama: We have thousands of offices that — and many of them in the important swing states. And that’s something that we try to explain to people, because some people feel like, well, I don’t feel the campaign, I don’t feel that energy in my place. But the point is, is that swing states are going to play a crucial role strategically in this. So if you go to Ohio or Iowa, Florida, Pennsylvania, where I’m about to go, you will see an organization that has been on the ground for years, and that’s a huge advantage that this campaign has had in the past and will continue to have. Because our opponents haven’t invested anything — or not as much as we have — on that kind of grassroots support. And that’s been going on since Barack was elected.

But we have thousands of organizations. Whenever I’m going to a rally — now, there’s going to be a couple thousand people there. But people in that audience are team leaders who are working every day, making calls and pulling their neighbors in, and we organize a set of events around team leaders. And again, in places like Ohio and Iowa, this process has been on the ground for four years. So we’re not recreating the wheel.

So the swing state focus is really a critical focus because in a presidential election, where you’re counting electoral votes — and we all heard about that in the last election – the swing states strategically make a huge difference. And when you’re dealing with limited amounts of resources — like our campaign is, as compared to the other guy who’s got millions and millions pouring in — we have to be really strategic about where we put our resources.

So that’s why you’re going to feel the campaign in those swing states. Even more so in places like my hometown, like Illinois, or places like California or New York, where our view is we should have that sewed up — and we will, but we don’t take anything for granted. No one should take anything for granted, because we’ve seen how these elections, they can go any way. And if it’s close — we don’t want it to be close, right?

Harry J. Enten, writing for guardian.co.uk opines:

It has been the belief of many in the analyst class, including myself, that Obama would hold on to his African-American base. The great Washington Post polling unit points out that Obama is cruising among them in their polling. His average lead in their polls is 85 percentage points. Pew research gave Obama an 89 percentage point lead in their last poll. NBC/Wall Street Journal pegged the Obama lead at 86 percentage points, while Obama is ahead by 81 points among blacks in the latest Gallup survey. Clearly, Obama is leading by a long way among African Americans.

There is a tremendous difference, however, between leading by “a long way” and repeating his 2008 levels.

You are correct, ol’ chap. More Black Americans had jobs in 2008, than now.

In fact, as of June the Black Unemployment rate was sitting at 14.4%. For black youths aged 16 to 19, the unemployment rate was at an unbelievable 39.3%, up from 36.5% in May.

It’s been a long 4 years.

Like other Americans, their hope is greatly diminished…and they’ve run out of change.

Obama Wants to Spread the Wealth Around…Again

On By kingsjesterIn Politics6 Comments

If you ever had any doubts that the 44th President of the United States is a narcissistic socialist who believes his own mythology, his pronouncement yesterday should drive those doubts away:

Politico.com has the story:

President Obama, while villifying Mitt Romney for opposing the auto industry bailout, bragged about the success of his decision to provide government assistance and said he now wants to see every manufacturing industry come roaring back.

“I said, I believe in American workers, I believe in this American industry, and now the American auto industry has come roaring back,” he said. “Now I want to do the same thing with manufacturing jobs, not just in the auto industry, but in every industry.

“I don’t want those jobs taking root in places like China, I want those jobs taking root in places like Pueblo,” Obama told a crowd gathered for a campaign rally at the Palace of Agriculture at the Colorado State Fairgrounds here.

He made the remarks while pushing for the renewal of a tax credit for wind energy manufacturing – something Romney opposes – and for the creation of credits for companies who bring jobs home from overseas, as well as the elimination of loopholes for offshoring.

“Gov. Romney brags about his private sector experience, but it was mostly invested in companies, some of which were called ‘pioneers of outsourcing,’” Obama said. “I don’t want to be a pioneer of outsourcing. I want to insource.”

Back in February, nationalreview.com had an article debunking the myth of Obama’s economic genius concerning how wonderful the auto industry bailout was:

Unfortunately, assertions that “all loans have been repaid to the federal government,” that the bailout “saved more than one million American jobs,” that “U.S. automakers are hiring hundreds of thousands of new workers,” that GM is again the “number-one automaker” — all are based on creative accounting.

The money the government spent adds up quickly: $50 billion in TARP bailout funds, a special exemption waiving payment of $45.4 billion in taxes on future profits, an exemption for all product liability on cars sold before the bailout, $360 million in stimulus funds, and the $7,500 tax credit for those who buy the Chevy Volt. GM’s share of other programs is harder to quantify but includes, for example, some of the $15.2 billion that went to Cash for Clunkers. Those costs are in addition to the billions taken from GM’s bondholders by the Obama administration.

A look at the accounting shows the trouble with contentions that much of the TARP money is getting paid back. The Obama administration compares the $50 billion in direct bailout funds with the price it will eventually be able to get for selling the GM stock it owns. But that assumes that the stock price won’t reflect government subsidies, including GM’s exemption from paying $45 billion in taxes. By the Obama administration’s logic, if the stimulus grants to TARP recipients were simply large enough, all the TARP money could be paid.

Claims that GM paid back its TARP loan are true but misleading. President Obama clearly wants to create the impression that all the money given to the auto companies has been paid back. But the $6.7 billion loan to GM was just a tiny fraction of the money given to it. As TARP special inspector general Neil Barofsky explained, GM used “other TARP money” to pay off the loan.

So what about President Obama’s boast in a White House speech in late April that the bailout “saved probably a million jobs” and that “GM is now the number-one automaker again in the world”?

The “million jobs” contention is quite a stretch. Before filing for bankruptcy in July 2009, GM had 91,000 employees in the United States. You can reach a 400,000 total by assuming that all of GM’s jobs, as well as all the jobs of its parts suppliers and car dealers, would have been lost. Last year, employment in the entire automotive industry in the U.S. (counting Ford, Toyota, and other companies and their suppliers, in addition to GM and Chrysler) was only 717,000.

Obama’s economic advisers told him during an April 2009 meeting that job losses in the auto industry would be only a fraction — 10 to 20 percent — of these claimed numbers, even for the much weaker Chrysler. The advisers reported the obvious: Bankruptcy would not kill all jobs at GM and, even with cutbacks, suppliers would pick up other work. But Obama keeps using numbers that his own advisers told him were wrong.

Even saving 20 percent of 400,000 comes at quite a cost — at least $780,000 per job. How many workers would have been willing to quit working for GM for a $400,000 severance payment?

The “number-one automaker” assertion is no more accurate. Obama’s sales totals include 1.2 million mostly cheap commercial vehicles built by China’s Wuling, a company in which GM owns a small stake, and it excludes sales by vehicle makers in which Volkswagen owns a majority share. Fortune magazine lists GM’s revenue as smaller than Toyota’s and Volkswagen’s.

The only real winners from the GM bailout were unions, which were protected from pay cuts, from losing their right to overtime pay after less than 40 hours a week, and from cuts to their extremely generous benefits. They faced only minor tweaks in their inefficient union work rules.

As for “hundreds of thousands of new workers,” the truth is closer to a tenth of that.

And, he wants to extend this “helping hand” to every industry in America?

Marx would be so proud.

Evidently, Mitt Still Likes Mandates

On By kingsjesterIn Politics6 Comments

On Tuesday, Democratic Super PAC Priorities USA issued an ad featuring a steelworker, blaming Mitt Romney for his loss of health insurance after Bain Capital closed down the plant he was working at.

Later, his wife suffered and passed away from cancer.

Yesterday, the Romney campaign put both feet in its collective mouth.

Romney Press Secretary Andrea Saul told Fox News that the steelworker would have been fine, if that person had lived in Massachusetts. He would have been covered under the former governor’s health law.

Quoteth this genius:

If people had been in Massachusetts, under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care.There are a lot of people losing their jobs and losing their health care in President [Barack] Obama’s economy.

So, who is this young lady, who just inadvertently showed American Conservatives exactly what Mitt Romney thinks of them?

Per p2012.org:

Press Secretary Andrea Saul

(announced March 3, 2011 as communications advisor to Free and Strong America PAC) Press Secretary for Carly Fiorina’s U.S. Senate race in California. Communications director for Gov. Charlie Crist during his recent U.S. Senate run but resigned in April 2010 upon his decision to switch party affiliation. Press secretary to U.S Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) during much of 2009. Director of media affairs for McCain-Palin, responsible for organizing all television, radio and surrogate activity. Director of media affairs at the Republican National Committee, 2007-08. Associate account executive at DCI Group, 2005-07. Graduate of Vanderbilt University, 2004.

An establishment approved Press Secretary for the GOP Establishment Candidate.

Back on 5/10/11, USA Today published an opinion piece by former Massachusetts Governor, and favorite of the GOP Elite, Mitt Romney, Entitled Romney: As first act, out with ObamaCare, it contained the following statement:

If I am elected president, I will issue on my first day in office an executive order paving the way for waivers from ObamaCare for all 50 states. Subsequently, I will call on Congress to fully repeal ObamaCare.

The needle on my Irony Meter, at the time I wrote that post, pegged so hard it snapped in two.

Back in 2006, Romney was singing a different tune as he signed a massive health-insurance overhaul into law as Governor of Massachusetts. “Romneycare” was packed with subsidies, exchanges, and mandates to extend coverage to the uninsured. Four years later, it became the model for the national nightmare known as Obamacare, the very National Healthcare Law that he now promises to eliminate.

During a New Hampshire Presidential Campaign Debate on Jan. 6, 2008, the following revealing moment transpired:

Debate moderator Charles Gibson of ABC News: “But Gov. Romney’s system has mandates in Massachusetts, although you backed away from mandates on a national basis.”

Romney: “No, no, I like mandates. The mandates work.”

GOP contender Fred Thompson: “I beg your pardon? I didn’t know you were going to admit that. You like mandates.”

Romney: “Oh, absolutely. Let me tell you what kind of mandates I like, Fred, which is this. If it weren’t –“

Thompson: “The ones you come up with. Bingo”

Later, during an April 19, 2010 interview with Newsweek’s Andrew Romano, Governor Romney added the following:

I’d like to clear something up about that federalist argument. During one of the 2008 debates, Charles Gibson said, “You seem to have backed away from mandates on a national basis.” And your response was, “No, no, I like mandates. The mandates work.” Were you saying that you supported federal mandates then, even though you say you don’t now?

No. We created an incentive for people to get insurance at the state level. Our plan is a state plan. I oppose a federal plan for purposes of federalism. It would be like saying, a father has spanked his son. Do you think that the federal government should be allowed to spank children?

So people are misinterpreting that quote?

I do not favor the federal mandates that are part of Obamacare.

Back in February 2007, you said you hoped the Massachusetts plan would “become a model for the nation.” Would you agree that it has?

I don’t … You’re going to have to get that quote. That’s not exactly accurate, I don’t believe.

I can tell you exactly what it says: “I’m proud of what we’ve done. If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation.”

It is a model for the states to be able to learn from. During the campaign, I was asked if I was proposing that what I did in Massachusetts I would do for the nation. And the answer was absolutely not. Our plan is a state plan. It is a model for other states—if you will, the nation—it is a model for them to look at what we’ve accomplished and to better it or to create their own plans.

There are obvious similarities between Obamacare and what you did in Massachusetts. Do you acknowledge that what you did in Massachusetts has become a model for nation under Obama, whether you wanted it to or not?

I can’t speak for what the president has done. I don’t know what he looks at. He never gave me a call. Neither he nor any of his colleagues [gave me] a call to ask what worked and did not work, and how would they improve upon it and so forth. If what was done at the state level, they applied at the federal level, they made a mistake. It was not designed for the nation.

Well, Governor, evidently your Press Secretary doesn’t think so.

As a Vice-President of Marketing, I can tell you, a Marketing/PR Professional, like a Press Secretary’s, job is to communicate the information they have been given by their boss.

Perhaps “what we have heah is failure to communicate”.

Perhaps not.

Good luck, Mitt. (And God help us.) Pandora just opened the box.

Palin: Accentuating the Positive

On By kingsjesterIn Politics7 Comments

You’ve heard the age-old question,

Is the glass half-empty or half-full?

Well, I believe that saying applies to the difference between Liberals and Conservatives.

For example, let’s look at Former Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin’s appearance last Friday in Missouri for Sarah Steelman.

The Washington Post published an article about the event by Diana Reese, a freelance journalist from Kansas City. Here’s an excerpt:

When Palin took to the makeshift stage in the middle of a Missouri farm field, she was dressed more for the part of Hollywood celebrity than serious politician. I know someone’s going to remind me that just last week, I said it was sexist to focus on the wardrobes of women in politics.

But it was hard for me to take Palin seriously dressed as she was.

First, her shoes: Five-inch wedges. Her black capris weren’t quite skin-tight but tight enough, and her t-shirt with its Superman logo (a Steelman campaign shirt emblazoned with “Our freedom. Our fight.”) emphasized her figure. She never once removed her oversized sunglasses.

I’m sorry, but I’d like my minister, my doctor and yes, my politicians, to look and dress for their parts.

Once Palin spoke, I couldn’t help but think she sometimes sounds like a caricature of herself. Perhaps it’s her unique manner of speaking or her overuse of certain phrases.

There were moments during her 15-minute speech that I felt like applauding and there were certainly moments that I groaned.

Palin started her speech with a comment about the Missouri’s state flag, which does indeed feature three grizzly bears, representing the strength and bravery of the state’s citizens. Whether any of the grizzly bears is female, however, is open to debate.

But when Palin talked about Steelman, at age 18, working on Ronald Reagan’s campaign in 1976, the former Alaska governor turned to her and said, “You couldn’t have been 18, you must’ve been 2…what a hot mama grizzly you have!”

(Insert major groan here.)

Later, referring again to Reagan’s 1976 campaign, Palin said, “Back when Sarah and I were itty bitty babies.”

I would think a mama grizzly would be proud of her age.

Meriting applause were her references to Steelman’s experience as state treasurer and state senator and her attempts to rein in spending and perks for fellow politicians.

“She’s walkin’ the walk and not just talkin’ the talk,” Palin pointed out. Steelman has vowed to cut the deficit and get a balanced budget amendment passed.

And good advice for considering any candidate: Look at the record, not the rhetoric.

The tea party’s mantra of cutting spending and limiting the power of the federal government struck a chord with the audience, but never did the subject of jobs and job creation (my personal obsession) come up.

Instead, Palin reiterated Steelman’s slogan: “The status quo has got to go.”

Definitely half-empty. Heck…cavernous.

Now, let’s “accentuate the positive” with this report from Breitbart.com’s Big Government:

Palin, wearing a Steelman campaign t-shirt that had a “Superman” symbol on the front of it, told a crowd of over 1000 people who gathered at a blueberry farm on very short notice, that Steelman “has the backbone to stand up for what it is right and to stand up to the powers that be even” if in they in her own party and that is why the Washington establishment is scared of her.

Palin said Steelman represents “results over rhetoric, convictions over consultants, and Missouri over Washington.”

Palin said other candidates in the race were vague about their intentions while Steelman has laid out detailed plans about programs she wanted to cut and get rid of once she gets to the Senate and has a proven record of fiscal conservatism and supporting pro-life causes.

Palin said to look carefully at a candidate’s record and not just their rhetoric because the vote “is a sacred trust” and warned Missouri voters of candidates who have armies of D.C. consultants who “infiltrate Missouri” and “ply” them into something of their liking.

Steelman has campaigned on the theme of “the status quo has got to go,” and that is what seems to have attracted Palin — and her supporters — to her.

In concluding her remarks, Palin joked that she and Steelman would not be serving attendees Chick-fil-A, but she would stop by for a midnight snack and said Chick-fil-A should be a part of every campaign (Cruz’s campaign served Chick-fil-A at their victory party on Tuesday).

After the event, according to members of American Grizzlies United, a pro-Palin volunteer group, Palin and Steelman “jumped behind tables to serve folks BBQ,” and “Palin donned an apron and shook nearly every hand and served every plate that passed by her.”

Volunteers noted how Palin and her husband Todd stayed until the very end and thanked the security detail and volunteers who worked the event.

And, the lady, herself, posted on her Facebook Page that…

Last Friday, I had a wonderful time meeting more Missouri voters at a great event to get out the vote for Sarah Steelman in tomorrow’s election. Sarah has a solid track record as a reformer and can be relied upon to be a voice of integrity and strong conservative principles in the U.S. Senate. I encourage Show Me State patriots to get out and vote for Sarah Steelman tomorrow, and encourage your friends and family to join you.

Full to overflowing.

Accentuate the positive.

Eliminate the negative.

Latch on to the affirmative.

And don’t mess with Mr. In-between.

An old song, whose lyrics have never be more appropriate than right now.

We’ve had the negatives in charge since 2007, first in Congress, then in Congress and the Oval Office.

It’s time to accentuate the positive and stand up and be Conservatives. 

Last Wednesday’s Chick-Fil-A Appreciation Day was only the beginning.

C’mon, November 6th!

Obama: “Soul Searching” for Gun Control

On By kingsjesterIn Politics2 Comments

The horrible actions of one lone psychopath at a Sikh Temple in Minnesota, has American Liberals on the Gun Control Warpath…again.

Reuters.com has the story:

President Barack Obama said on Monday that mass killings like the shooting rampage at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin were occurring with “too much regularity” and should prompt soul searching by all Americans, but he stopped short of calling for new gun-control laws.

“All of us are heart-broken by what happened,” Obama told reporters at the White House a day after a gunman opened fire on Sikh worshippers preparing for religious services, killing six before he was shot dead by a police officer.

But when asked whether he would push for further gun-control measures in the wake of the shootings, Obama said only that he wanted to bring together leaders at all levels of American society to examine ways to curb gun violence.

That echoed his pledge last month in a speech in New Orleans to work broadly to “arrive at a consensus” on the contentious issue after a deadly Colorado shooting spree highlighted the problem in an election year.

But like his earlier comments, Obama offered no timetable or specifics for such discussions and did not call outright for tighter gun control laws.

Talk of reining in America’s gun culture is considered politically risky for Obama, who is locked in a tight race against Republican challenger Mitt Romney for November election.

“All of us recognize that these kinds of terrible, tragic events are happening with too much regularity for us not to do some soul searching to examine additional ways that we can reduce violence,” Obama said at an Oval Office ceremony to sign an unrelated bill.

But he added, “As I’ve already said, there are a lot of elements involved in it.” The Democratic president has made a point of emphasizing his support for the U.S. Constitution’s Second Amendment, which covers the right to bear arms.

White House spokesman Jay Carney reiterated, however, that Obama remained in favor of renewing an assault weapons ban but pointed out “there has been reluctance by Congress” to pass it.

Obama said the FBI was still investigating the temple shooting, but if it turned out it was ethnically motivated, the American people would “immediately recoil.”

“It would be very important for us to reaffirm once again that in this country, regardless of what we look like, where we come from, who we worship, we are all one people,” he said.

Uh huh.

Meanwhile, in my hometown of Memphis, Tennessee:

Lt. Joe Scott stands at the master board that tracks homicides for the Memphis Police Department.

91 homicides this year so far.

Scott says, “This year has been extremely busy. Its been the busiest year I can recall.”

Its not record pace. That was 213 in 1993. Memphis is on pace for 180.

But surprisingly… Memphis’ Homicide Rate is more than four times what New York City’s was last year.

Last year in New York… One in every 15,079 people were murdered.

In Memphis this year… Its one in every 3,734.

So what are people in Memphis killing each other over?

Scott continues, “This year there just seems to be a lot of neighborhood arguing.”

Argument is the number 1 motive this year… A third of homicides, 30… Started with an argument… One over five dollars… Another between two brothers arguing who was the better parent.

“And just people that for whatever reason cannot resolve conflicts in a civil manner.”

The second most common motive is robbery. 18 homicides this year began with a robbery. Up 25 percent from last year. Scott says more people are resisting.

Scott says, “And that seems to be a growing trend to resist the robber not give them what they demanded during the course of the robbery.”

That is proving deadly.

The average age of victims this year in Memphis is 30.5…. Older than some might think. Chances are you’ll know your killer… 71 percent this year have.

But the way Memphians are dying is no surprise…. by gunfire… 72 of 91 homicides so far were committed with a gun.

And that’s one of the reasons folks like me left Memphis for DeSoto County, Mississippi years ago…but, I digress.

Memphis, like Chicago, has a big problem with black-on-black homocide.  But, no one will talk about it.

Why is no one trying to come to grips with this epidemic of violence going on in America’s cities, including Obama’s adoptive hometown?

In April, theblaze.com reported

More than 500 people under the age of 21 were killed in Chicago in 2008. This figure fell only slightly in 2009 and 2010 and, of course, does not represent the many others who have been shot or injured as a result of these attacks. Records reveal that nearly 80 percent of youth homicides occurred in 22 black or Latino communities on Chicago’s South and West sides.

In just the first three months of 2012, 109 people have already been murdered in the city of Chicago.

…A 2007 special report released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics, reveals that approximately 8,000 — and, in certain years, as many as 9,000 African Americans are murdered annually in the United States. This chilling figure is accompanied by another equally sobering fact, that 93% of these murders are in fact perpetrated by other blacks. The analysis, supported by FBI records, finds that in 2005 alone, for example, African Americans accounted for 49% of all homicide victims in the US — again, almost exclusively at the hands of other African Americans.

To put these number in perspective, recall that over 6,400 U.S. service men and women have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan combined over the course of a decade-long war fought in those nations. During the Vietnam War, which lasted nearly 13 years, some 58,000 Americans were killed — nearly 13 percent of whom were African American.

Mr. President, before you come and try to get the guns from law abiding citizens, why don’t you deal with the problem in your own backyard, first?

Charlie Daniels Speaks the Truth and Shames the Devil

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

I remember when I was a kid, I heard a song called “Uneasy Rider” by a guy named Charlie Daniels. I didn’t even know what he was singing about, but, the tune was catchy, so I bought the 45.

Of course, Charlie went on to become an American Legend, performing songs such as his trademark hit, “The Devil Went down to Georgia”, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again” and, “The Legend of Wooly Swamp”, which I along with anyone listening that morning in the Mid-South, got to hear him perform live in studio on Rock 103 while visiting the Wake Up Crew: Tim Spencer, Bev Hart, and the late, great Bad Dog McCormack.

A master of both the fiddle and electric guitar, Charlie Daniels remains one of the most beloved American musicians in both the fields of Country and Rock.

There’s another side to this man, though. Charlie is a great Christian American Conservative, who is not afraid to speak his mind.

For example:

There’s a move afoot to change life in America into a totally European – I’ve heard that so much I’m getting sick of it: ‘European’ – socialist thing,” says country-music legend Charlie Daniels, “but it’s the dag-blamed truth [sic], and it don’t work, it never has worked, and if America goes that way, America will never be America again.”

Daniels told WND in an exclusive interview that he expects 2012, with the nation’s very identity on the line, will be “the biggest election we have ever had.”

“In my 75 years on Earth, it’s never been as clear-cut as it is now,” Daniels said. “We’re either going to go into socialism, where part of the people work and the rest of them don’t, and the ones that do will be taxed to death, or – I got the point where I don’t trust politicians anymore, but hopefully – the other side represents, ‘Let’s put America back to work; let’s re-instill the work ethic back in people.’”

Since the 1950s Daniels has been a country singer and famed fiddler, perhaps best known for his hit song “The Devil Went Down to Georgia.” He was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 2008.

But he also writes frequently on culture and politics, no stranger to bold statements in defense of God and country, and maintains a “soapbox” blog on his website, CharlieDaniels.com.

For Daniels, the word “socialism” – synonymous in his mind with the big-spending, tax-the-rich, government-welfare, spread-the-wealth policies of President Obama and his fellow “progressives” – is a system not only destined for failure, but also inherently tyrannical.

“You cannot enforce socialism without some force,” Daniels told WND. “It’s a very top-heavy society, and every society that’s ever tried it has fallen, because you finally get to where there’s so many people, you cut out the work ethic, you make people think they have to be dependent on government for everything. It’s a mindset.”

Daniels brought up the recent controversy about Chick-fil-A restaurants – in which the Democrat mayors of Chicago and Boston threatened to ban the chicken sandwich makers from their respective cities because the owner is an outspoken opponent of same-sex marriage – as an example.

“To me that tips off where these guys are coming from: ‘If you don’t agree with us, we don’t want you in our town, we don’t want you in our country, we don’t want you in our political system,’” Daniels said. “Is it not downright un-American for an elected official to stand up and try to destroy a business? As bad as we need jobs in this country?

“This is not about ‘gay’ marriage; this is about America being America, about people being able to stick by their deeply held religious beliefs and not to have these people trying to put them out of business,” Daniels said. “That’s what this boils down to: Are these people going to try to shut up everybody who doesn’t agree with them?”

In one word, sir: Yes.

Back in 2007, Jonah Goldberg wrote a book titled, “Liberal Fascism”. For two years after that, he wrote a “Liberal Fascism Blog for nationalreview.com, when he decided to end the blog in 2009, he wrote about how, if you wanted to see what he was talking about in his book, you just had to read the newspaper:

Let’s see. Off the top of my head, in the first six months of Obama’s presidency we’ve seen corporatism  and “state capitalism”   run amok, in the government takeover of two car companies and numerous banks. Labor unions have become increasingly indistinguishable from the government and the party that controls it. Herbert Croly  and the Progressives have once again been rehabilitated as founding fathers of the New Age. The entire liberal intellectual class is convinced that this the time for a new New Deal. Critics of statism are vilified by liberal elites as racists and fascists. (And those who refuse to get with the Gorian program are guilty of “treason against the planet“). When out of power, liberals lionized free speech and celebrated dissent as the highest form of patriotism. Now, they label dissent “un-American” and the president insists hedoesn’t want to hear a lot of talking from anyone who disagrees with him. While the stench of eugenics and euthanasia do not quite sting the nostrils yet, the odorisdetectableandthe  liberal impulse for controlling the lives of others has been re-exposed.

Indeed, our own messianic president, who insists that we can create a Kingdom of Heaven on Earth, also apparently believes that “we are God’s partners in matters of life and death” and that religious organizations that are true to their calling should rally behind a united front to expand the scope and role of government.  When the head of state says such things, it is hard not to be reminded of the Progressive concept of the God State, a major theme of Liberal Fascism. The “State is the actually existing,  realized moral life . . . The divine idea as it exists on earth,” Hegel declared in The Philosophy of History. The State, according to Hegel, was the “march of God on earth.” The progressives agreed.  Richard Ely, the founding father of progressive economics, proclaimed “God works through the State in carrying out His purposes more universally than through any other institution.”

These clowns don’t worship the God of Abraham, as 78% of Americans, including Charlie Daniels, and myself, do.

And, that is why they will fail. C’mon, November 6th.

Obama is suing OUR Armed Forces

On By kingsjesterIn Politics8 Comments

The President of the United States is also the Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces.  It is a position that automatically calls for our Brightest and Best to give the person holding the office the respect that the position is due.

Most of the time, the CIC shows his respect for those who fight and die for our country. In fact, at least one CIC went above and beyond the call of duty.

On November 7, 2009. militarygear.com reported the following:

Former President George W. Bush secretly visited Ft. Hood last night to meet with the victims of the troops affected by the recent massacre at the hands of a Muslim extremist within our ranks.

This is typical for President Bush who worked hard during his presidency not to use the military for political gain, especially when it came to wounded troops and their families. He made many unannounced and unpublicized visited to military bases in and out of the country. He invited military bloggers, myself included, to meet with him one on one without fanfare or media. That’s the way he was and I’m glad to see that he has continued this respect and admiration for our military.

This is from Fox News:

The Bushes entered and departed the sprawling military facility in secret, having told the base commander they did not want press coverage of their visit, a source told Fox News.

The couple was described as “deeply concerned” about military families on Fort Hood after Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan allegedly opened fire on soldiers and civilians, killing 13 and wounding 38.

The Bushes, who have a 1,600-acre property known as Prairie Chapel Ranch less than 30 miles from Fort Hood in central Texas, spent between one and two hours visiting the wounded and their families.

The day that the Islamic Terrorist, Major Hassan killed and wounded those members of our Best and Brightest, Obama was less than  what you would expect the CIC to be at the post-Tragedy Press Conference.

NBCChicago.com reported:

At the event, a Tribal Nations Conference hosted by the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian affairs, the president thanked various staffers and offered a “shout-out” to “Dr. Joe Medicine Crow — that Congressional Medal of Honor winner.” Three minutes in, the president spoke about the shooting, in measured and appropriate terms. Who is advising him?

Who , indeed. That was a glimpse into this CIC’s disdain for our Brightest and best.

Obama was just getting started.

On July 22, 2011, the New York Times told us that

President Obama formally certified on Friday that the American military is ready for the repeal of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as Pentagon officials said that nearly two million service members had been trained in preparation for gay men and women serving openly in their ranks.

“As of Sept. 20, service members will no longer be forced to hide who they are in order to serve our country,” Mr. Obama said in a statement. He signed the certification, along with Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta and Adm. Mike Mullen, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about 3:30 p.m. in the Oval Office.

And now, President Obama apparently is deathly afraid that his chickens are coming home to roost on November 6th, 2012, as our Military cast their ballots in our National Election.

Foxnews.com has the story:

The Obama campaign and the Democratic National Committee have filed a lawsuit to block a new state law allowing men and women in uniform to vote up until the Monday right before an election, while the cutoff on early voting for the rest of the public is three days earlier.

Top Obama campaign officials told Fox News in interviews that the lawsuit in no way tries to restrict the voting rights of military members. All they are trying to do is even the playing field for all voters in Ohio by allowing early voting up until Monday for everyone, including members of the military, because they believe a two-tiered, early-voting process is unfair.

“Along with the DNC and Ohio Democratic Party, this campaign filed a lawsuit to reinstate equal, early-voting rights for all Ohioans — rights the Republican-controlled legislature arbitrarily stripped away this past year,” Jim Messina, Obama’s campaign manager, told supporters in an email.

However, the National Guard Association and other military groups have fired back, saying it’s “offensive” for Democrats to suggest in the lawsuit it’s arbitrary for service members to get special consideration.

Men and women in uniform typically get more time than other voters to send in absentee ballots since they may be serving in an overseas or domestic location that is not close to their home polling station.

“I’m just outraged by this,” Mike DeWine, the Republican state attorney general in Ohio, told Fox News. “I can’t believe the Obama campaign and the state Democratic Party are actually saying there’s no rational basis for a distinction between someone who is in the military voting and someone who is not in the military.”

The stakes in this legal battle are huge because Obama is anxious to keep Ohio’s 18 electoral votes in the Democratic column this November. He has already visited the state nine times this year alone.

Since no Republican has won the White House without carrying the Buckeye State, GOP Presidential candidate Mitt Romney is fighting just as hard and on Friday lashed out at the Democrats’ lawsuit.

“President Obama’s lawsuit claiming it is unconstitutional for Ohio to allow servicemen and women extended early voting privileges during the state’s early voting period is an outrage,” he said Saturday. “I stand with the 15 military groups that are defending the rights of military voters, and if I’m entrusted to be the commander-in-chief, I’ll work to protect the voting rights of our military, not undermine them.”

The Obama campaign responded Saturday by saying, “Mitt Romney and his campaign have completely fabricated a claim that the Obama campaign is trying to restrict military voting in Ohio. In fact, the opposite is true. The Obama campaign filed a lawsuit to make sure every Ohioan, including military members and their families, has early voting rights over the last weekend prior to the election.”

Mr. President, these are the brave men and women who sacrifice life and limb in defense of our country, and YOU’RE SUING THEM?

I’ve been right all along. You truly are our country’s first ANTI-AMERICAN PRESIDENT!

Shameful.

Why I am So Hard on Romney

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics6 Comments

I was 17 years old in 1976. So, I mercifully missed having to vote in the election of Jimmy Carter. But, the Lord blessed me. With my first vote in a national election, I was able to vote for the greatest American President in our lifetimes, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

With that vote, the standard was set in my mind and heart, as to what an American President should be.

Watching Ronaldus Magnus as a young, impressionable 20-something, making his way in the world, I marveled at his grace, humor, and unflinching, steely reserve in the face of America’s enemies, foreign and domestic, whether princes and principalities, or those unseen forces that dwell in the dark recesses of our society.

I have been looking to elect an American President like that, ever since.

Needless to say, I have been sorely disappointed.

That’s not to say that I was and am, not supportive of George W. Bush.  He was the right man to be in that chair in the Oval Office on September 11, 2001.

Can you imagine what would have happened if Carter, Clinton, or, God forbid, Obama, was president during the worst Terrorist Attack on our soil in American History?

I refuse to even consider the possibilities.

That being said, Dubya remains a good Christian man, who loves his country. Although, his record of spending as president leaves something to be desired.

However, his record of spending OUR money pales in comparison to Barack Hussein Obama’s.

After taking office in 2009, with spending and debt already at record high levels and the deficit headed to $1 trillion, President Obama proceeded to pass his own $830 billion stimulus, auto bailouts, mortgage relief plans, the Dodd-Frank financial reforms and the $1.7 trillion ObamaCare entitlement (which isn’t even accounted for in the chart). While spending did come down in 2010, it wasn’t the result of spending cuts but rather because TARP loans began to be repaid, and that cash was counted against spending.

In 2011 and 2012, the pace of spending was slowed when a new emboldened breed of Republicans took back the House promising to end the binge. The House Budget Committee, headed by Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, has identified about $150 billion of new spending Mr. Obama wanted in 2011 and 2012 that Republicans would not approve.

If Obama’s failure as president was simply judged by his horrible economic policy, which has trashed our country like the aftermath of the Frat Party in National Lampoon’s Animal House (without the fun), that would be bad enough.

However, culturally speaking, he has taken our country in a Liberal, Marxist, and Godless direction.

From his declaration during his campaign,in a private meeting with donors, that we Americans living in the Heartland were bitterly clinging to our guns and Bibles, to his bowing to our enemies and embracing of the granddaddy of Islamic Terrorist Organizations,  the Muslim Brotherhood, to his  repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, and his crowning achievement: his destruction of the greatest Healthcare System in the World, Obama has consistently governed against the wishes of the majority of the American citizens he is supposed to be serving.

His darling wife hasn’t exactly been a peach, either.

While other First Ladies have embraced causes such as poverty, child hunger, and illiteracy, Michelle Obama decided that American parents were not caring for their children properly, and decided to be their surrogate parent, under the guise of fighting chldhood obesity. And, if that wasn’t enough, last year, she and her Food Police decided that the fittest among us, our Armed Forces, weren’t eating properly and, is now going to make them eat arugula, or something. Heck, even the Subway Sandwich Shops are putting avocado and raw spinach on their sandwiches, now.

Then, there’s her remark during the 2008 campaign that “For the first time in my life, I’m proud of my country”. And, as an Honor Guard passed by her and the president, during the solemn 10th anniversary remembrance of 9/11, she leaned over to him, and said, “All this for a flag.”…and, the President of the United States nodded in agreement.

So, why am I so hard on the presumptive Republican nominee for President?

America is in desperate need of a leader…a man in the mold of Ronald Wilson Reagan, possessing not only traditional American beliefs and values, but, also possessing the courage and conviction necessary to stick his neck out for those beliefs and values, and not put them on the back burner for the sake of poltical expediency.

In 1984, President Reagan said:

Society has always regarded marital love as a sacred expression of the bond between a man and a woman. It is the means by which families are created and society itself is extended into the future. In the Judeo-Christian tradition, it is the means by which husband and wife participate with God in the creation of a new human life. It is for these reasons, among others, that our society has always sought to protect this unique relationship. In part the erosion of these values has given way to a celebration of forms of expression most reject. We will resist the efforts of some to obtain government endorsement of homosexuality.

Yesterday, The Examiner reported the following:

Speaking with reporters in Nevada, Mitt Romney refused to enter the Chick-fil-A controversy that has occupied most of the nation’s attention this week.

During the press conference, Romney was asked whether the Chick-fil-A controversy – or the controversy about Huma Abedin’s ties to the Muslim Brotherhood – should be part of the national conversation.

“Those are not things that’s not part of my campaign.” he answered shortly, after explaining that he wasn’t in the business of telling people what to talk about.

Lacking the courage of his convictions?

And, that’s why I’m so hard on Romney.