Tag: Rand Paul

The Shutdown: Obama Stonewalls. Vichy Republicans Plot Their Surrender. Who Speaks for Average Americans?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics8 Comments

Cartoon-Cruz-Vs-Establishment-600I’m sitting here, facing the reality of an imminent GOP”strategic surrender” to President Barack Hussein Obama’s demands, regarding ending the 17% Shutdown of the Federal Government.

Evidently, House Speaker John Boehner and the rest of the Vichy Republicans actually believed the obviously rigged NBC/Washington Post poll showing that more of the country sided with the Democrats on the issue of the Shutdown.

It turns out that the poll included not only the usual oversampling of Democrats, it also included a 20% sample of Government Employees.

Heck yeah, they’re going to support the Democrats’ side. They, like the rest of us in the Obama Economy, need their jobs.

The Republicans, themselves, are another issue.

There is a schism in the Grand Old Party, which is about to blow wide open.

Ever since 2010, when a groundswell of average Americans, like you and me, bonded together in our disgust over our out-of-control Federal Government, and the Progressive Politicians on both sides of the aisle, responsible for the situation, and voted a lot of the bums out of office, replacing them with Conservative Public Servants, the Old Guard Establishment Republicans has been solidifying their power. At the same time, in conjunction with Obama and the Democrats, and their lap-dogs in the MSM, they have publicly ridiculed and isolated the Tea Party and the Conservative Representatives and Senators whom we elected.

The difference between these ‘Vichy Republicans” and “Tea Party” or Reagan Republicans, can be clarified if we focus on two Senators,:  John McCain of Arizona and Ted Cruz of Texas.

Politico.com reports that

Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that there was never a chance of defunding Obamacare, blaming politicians who said it was possible for the current government shutdown.

“We started this on a fool’s errand, convincing so many millions of Americans and our supporters that we could defund Obamacare,” McCain (R-Ariz.) told Wolf Blitzer on CNN. “[That] obviously wouldn’t happen until we had 67 Republican senators to override a presidential veto.”

McCain stopped short of naming any of his colleagues specifically when asked who was to blame for the shutdown, but he did say that he believes those who initially advocated for tying the president’s signature health care law to budget negotiations were responsible.

“[It was] the people that convinced so many millions of Americans, tea partiers specifically we’re talking about, that there was some way to defund Obamacare. We can’t,” McCain said.

Negotiations to end the government shutdown have become entangled with discussions over the debt ceiling in recent days. According to the Treasury, the debt ceiling must be lifted by Oct. 17 to avoid a default on the government’s debt.

That deadline has been questioned by conservatives who insist incoming daily revenues will allow the government to continue paying interest on its debt, thereby avoiding a default altogether.

McCain stressed that such an option could still be disastrous.

“Technically they may be correct, because there are tax revenues coming in,” McCain said. “But I know some people on Wall Street that are telling me that the markets would react in a very, very negative fashion.

Concerning Cruz, the Boston Globe reported that

Hours before he and other Senate Republicans were scheduled to meet with President Obama at the White House on Friday, Senator Ted Cruz, the Tea Party firebrand from Texas, called upon Republican House members to stand strong in their fight against “Obamacare.”

Federal power has exploded under the Obama administration, Cruz declared at the Value Voters Summit at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, a gathering of social conservatives.

“None of us knows what is going to happen on this Obamacare fight right now. In my view the House of Representatives needs to keep doing what it’s doing, which is standing strong!” Cruz exhorted to wild applause.

“That is the model for every other fight,” Cruz said. “We need no more Washington solutions. We need to go back to the American people.”

Cruz pumped up the crowd from the stage, telling them that they – not him or any other elected official – have the power to stop the health law. “It is because of you that the House of Representatives has been standing strong, because the House has been listening to the people,” he said.

“The nice thing is the left will always, always, always tell you who they fear, and they fear you,” Cruz said. “They fear the American people. The fundamental problem in Washington is Washington is not listening to America.”

Cruz blamed the White House for the impasse as the shutdown entered its 11th day and the government is less than a week from the Oct 17 deadline to raise its borrowing limit or face a government default and resulting economic calamity .

“The Democrats are feeling the heat,” Cruz said. Noting that he planned to head to the White House Friday with other Senate Republicans to meet with the president, he joked: “If I am never seen again, please send a search and rescue team.”

Others scheduled to speak to the faith-based activists include Senators Paul Ryan, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, as well as Representative Michele Bachmann. The summit is often seen as a platform for potential Republican presidential contenders.

Someone once wrote that power is an aphrodisiac…and total power corrupts totally.

I find the words and actions of McCain, Boehner, McConnell, Ryan, Graham, and the rest of the Vichy Republicans quite revealing. They are blindly determined to sell out their constituency, in order to preserve the status quo in Washington, and therefore, hang on to their Seats of Power.

They believe that by selling out, they will keep their “seats at the table”.

That is why Senator Ted Cruz and the rest of the Tea Party Conservatives scare the Hell out of Progressives on both sides of the aisle, and in the Main Stream Media, as well.

True Public Servants like Cruz, Mike Lee, and Rand Paul, are a threat to those who roam the Beltway Halls of Power with impunity. Their servants’ hearts and their forthrightness, are anathema to the Good Ol’ Boys and Girls. who have made a lucrative, self-serving career off of the American Citizenry whom they are supposed to be serving and protecting.

Just as turning on the light in the kitchen makes the cockroaches scatter for cover, the speaking of the truth by Tea Party Conservatives, makes the Old Guard Republicans close ranks, and then lash out, in a desperate attempt at self-preservation. While at the same time, continuing to “reach across the aisle”, in continuation of the Washingtonian Status Quo.

Leaving American Citizens to pick up the tab.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Drone Wars: The Adventures of Rand Skywalker

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

rand paulSitting at my command console yesterday, (actually, my office desk) I felt a disturbance in the force, as if thousands of Paulians screamed in unison for just one brief moment, and then, there was silence…stunned silence.

Young Skywalker (Senator Rand Paul) stated that these were the Drones he had been looking for:

I’ve never argued against any technology being used when you have an imminent threat, an active crime going on. If someone comes out of a liquor store with a weapon and fifty dollars in cash. I don’t care if a drone kills him or a policeman kills him.

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away (actually it was right here in America, but I’ve always wanted to write that)…

Young Skywalker stood on the Senate Floor and said,

I will speak as long as it takes, until the alarm is sounded from coast to coast that our Constitution is important, that your rights to trial by jury are precious, that no American should be killed by a drone on American soil without first being charged with a crime, without first being found to be guilty by a court.

His fellow citizens of the Republic (including me) cheered his courage in taking such a heroic stand.

But, now…The Empire (of Paulians) Strikes Back!

I am stunned by Rand’s statement,” reads a blog post on the Daily Paul, one of the largest Ron Paul fan sites. “Unmanned killers in our skys O.K.??? Really? Get away from the Neocons and war mongers Rand, their arrogant and self-righteous air is rotting your brain.”

“How cute. The Politician emerges,” wrote Paladin69, a user on RonPaulForums.com.

“I disagree with shooting first and asking questions later,” added forum administrator Josh Lowry.

“The hell with arresting him I guess,” wrote user The Gold Standard sarcastically. “Just fire a missile at him and move on to the next mundane.”

Reddit’s brand of libertarian politics also repelled Paul’s hypothetical. “A missile into the storefront seems like dramatically excessive force,” wrote Reddit user Ohyeahthatsright. “Rand then seems to be supporting the militarization of police in their use of ‘tools’. I thought he was against the ‘police state.'”

Other libertarian-leaning commentators, such as the American Conservative’s Jordan Bloom, gave Paul more credit. “Paul wasn’t as clear as he should have been,” he writes. “It seems like he’s trying to describe a firefight-type situation in which the cops are forced to neutralize a thief robbing a liquor store, but the way he actually describes it sounds far more innocuous.”

Today’s flap is not the first he’s had with his father’s powerful online fan base, and it surely won’t be the last. But by all accounts, his principled filibuster greatly rejuvenated his credibility with libertarians following his heretical endorsement of Mitt Romney during the presidential election. With today’s remarks, he appears to have chipped away at that newly gained goodwill.

This is not the first time Young Skywalker has irritated the Paulians, who so faithfully followed his father, Paulian Skywalker, even after he morphed into Darth Paulnut, after serving several terms in that wretched hive of villainy  known as Washington, DC.

On the historic stardate of 6/7/2012, young Rand Skywalker threw his support behind Obi Wan MittRomney, in his quest to be the leader of the Republic, becoming a traitor in the eyes of Darth Paulnut’s loyal phalanx of followers. They spoke out in protest to the leader of the Paulian Empire:

“Rand is dead to me,” wrote, Ruffusthedog at the Daily Paul, a heavily-visited pro-Paul website. “He should have never done this.” “Rand Paul is a sell out,” user Alxnz exclaimed. “He just lost my vote in 2016.” “All he had to do was not open his mouth,” wrote user Conalmc. Others even took their anger out on Ron Paul himself. “What will it be Old Man Ron? Will you be forever remembered as the leader in the greatest liberty movement since 1776, or will you go down as Benedict Arnold incarnate,” threatened lionsuar7788. “We will never vote for Romney or your flimsy son.

“”What the heck! If Ron Paul supports/endorses Romney next I will forever lose faith in change and the belief that there are still individuals out there that think for themselves and want to strive for true Liberty,” wrote Ran at RonPaul.com.

It is widely acknowledged that young Skywalker is souping up his Millenium Falcon, in preparation for a lengthy trip to the outer most reaches of the American Galaxy, in an epic quest to become the leader of the Republic.

Perhaps the young Jedi believes that by showing the conviction to stand up to evil, in both that most wretched hive of villainy, Washington, DC, and throughout the American Galaxy, as well, then the good citizens of the Republic, will view him as a promising leader.

However, if the young Jedi wishes to be the leader of Republic, he must, at all times, remember the element that powers the Force of the Republic: Freedom.

For, without Freedom, our Republic would be just another Evil Empire.

And, as Benjamin Franklin wrote,

Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.

May The Force, that is the love and protection of Jesus Christ, be with you.

Until He Comes,

KJ

KJ’s State of the Union. Easter Week 2013 Edition.

On By kingsjesterIn Christianity, Politics4 Comments

obamamyworkWould somebody tell me “What in the Wide, Wide, World of Sports is a’goin’ on here”?

This is Easter/Passover Week, the most holy week in the Judeo-Christian Calendar.

For Jews, Passover is observed as a remembrance of  when God  delivered them  from Pharoah and spared the captive Jewish people from the Angel of Death, by having them paint Lamb’s Blood on the frame of their doors.

For us Christians,Easter serves as a observance of the Love of our Savior, a special time to remember that the Lamb of God was nailed to a cross on the hill known as Golgotha, where he took our sins upon him and covered us with His Precious Blood.

While my faith in Christ offers me a peace beyond all understanding, my soul is stirred with anger, exasperation, and disgust with the current situation in this sacred land, given to us by God Almighty.

The Leader of our country, Barack Hussein Obama, spent the last week in the Holy Land, where he attempted to convince God’s Chosen People to give away half of their nation, which God has given them, to The Palestinians, a nomadic group of gypsies, who have never had a country of their own, and who, as judged by their leaders in Hamas, would rather kill the Israelis than live beside them.

As I have chronicled, Obama met with Hamas Leaders, even before he left on his trip. He then met with college kids over there, using the same strategy he’s always used, attempting to sway the malleable young minds of Israeli “yutes”, as he swayed ours.

Finally, last Friday, it was announced that Obama has “freed up” $500 million and will be giving it to the Palestinian Authority.

The Muslim Call to Prayer must be “one of the prettiest sounds on the face of the Earth” because it has enthralled Obama into betraying our friends and his own nation by supporting and giving beau coups of money to those who want to kill each and every one of us.

While Obama is aiding and abetting our enemies, back home, our country is still feeling the manufactured pinch of a presidentially-instigated Sequestration. The White House is still closed to the American People, for tours. Our Armed Forces are still suffering from limited benefits, and the fate of the annual White House Easter Egg Hunt has been in question.

But, hey. Don’t worry. Our money is being used for important stuff. As I write this, the Obama Girls, Sasha and Malia, are having a kick-butt vacation in Atlantis, a swanky resort down in the Bahamas.

Lucky girls. Most American kids are having a Spring Break Stay-cation this year, thanks to their Dad’s poor stewardship of America’s Economy.

Meanwhile, back in DC, the Supreme Court is set to hear two cases concerning the oxymoron known as “gay marriage”. According to what I’ve been reading, Chief Justice John Roberts ‘ (You remember him…they guy who betrayed Americans over Obamacare) gay cousin, will be attending the hearings with her whatever.

There is also a bunch of buzz circulating as to whether Justice Elena Kagan should recuse herself, since it is obvious that she bats from the other side of the plate.

I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen, y’all.

Gay marriage activists and their Liberal friends, on both sides of the aisle, have been telling everyone who will listen, that a ruling in favor of “gay marriage” will have no effect on us heterosexuals, whatsoever.

What they don’t tell you, is that it is just the first step down a slippery slope. Next, Preachers will not be able to preach against homosexuality from the pulpit. It’s already happening in Canada.

Also, adoption agencies will be forced to allow gay couples to adopt.  If you are an adoption agency funded by a church, you will either have to go against your belief system or shut down, just as Obama is attacking Catholic institutions over the government subsidized Birth Control/Abortion clauses in Obamacare.

Finally, as I sit here, I realize how grateful I am that God loved me so much that he gave his only-begotten son, to suffer and die for my sake.

I am also grateful to have been born in the Southern Region of the greatest country on the face of the Earth.

The freedom we enjoy as Americans is a gift from our Creator. However, as I’ve mentioned before, with that freedom comes responsibility.

Senator Rand Paul has made news the last couple of days, with the assertion that we should not be putting in jail, those young Americans who have been arrested on their first Drug Offense. Well, here’s the kicker: That doesn’t usually happen. On the first offense, violators are usually given a fine, community service, probation, or all three. Drug violators are usually sentenced to jail time when they are repeat offenders.

That being said, there are folks in America who want and love our freedom, but, seem to be allergic to the responsibilities that go with it. You know, the whole personal responsibility thingy. You have folks who believe that they are, in fact, an island, in the middle of society. Their actions hurt no one but themselves. And, whatever the situation is, if it’s illicit drugs or promiscuous sex, it harms no one, but themselves. Never mind their family, friends, and neighbors. They just don’t matter. No one is as important as they believe themselves to be.

Now, you could say that I’m a crazy old coot who doesn’t trust anybody under 40, as somebody said about me recently. In fact, I do trust several Americans under 40, including, but not limited to, 3 young men I raised as my own,  my darling daughter, friends at work, folks I attend church with, and my new neighbors, a wonderful young couple with a 9 month old baby (which I hope we’ll get to baby-sit).

It’s just that I have the benefit of those extra years, and the mistakes and life experiences that go with them. No man is an island. No man stands alone. Everything you do, directly or indirectly, eventually has an effect on someone else.

Accept the responsibility that comes with your freedom as an American, to yourself and others within your sphere of influence.

For, as Benjamin Franklin once said, what we have is a Republic. If, we can keep it.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The Second Civil War: The Beltway Vs. The Heartland

On By kingsjesterIn Politics6 Comments

pailinbiggulp2October before last, one of my bride’s favorite aunts, her namesake, passed away. So, we made the 21 hour drive up to Waterford Township, Michigan, from DeSoto County, Mississippi.  Waterford Township is located right outside of the vast wasteland known as Detroit. Anyway, what struck me while I was up there, was not so much the differences in Northern Culture and my beloved Southern Way of Life, but, rather,  the similarities.

We all spoke, basically, the same language. Although, they couldn’t figure out why I didn’t sound like Jeff Dunham’s redneck mannequin, Bubba Jay. Needless to say, it was an interesting week.

That being said, it struck me, while at lunch with friends, after church on Sunday, just how disconnected the professional politicians, pundits, and prevaricators (but, I repeat myself) up in the Beltway are from all of us average citizens out here in America’s Heartland.

I guess what really triggered this revelation was remembering Sarah Palin’s speech from CPAC’s Saturday Session, in which she spoke just like you or me, having a political discussion with our friends and family. She was bringing up some spot-on political points, when, all of the sudden, she got a mischievous smile on her face and began telling the audience how Todd gave her a wonderful gift the Christmas before last: a gun rack for her ATV. She talked about how cool it was, and then told the crowd that, for this Christmas, she gave Todd a new hunting rifle. She quipped,

Yep, Todd got the rifle and I got the rack.

As the stunned audience quickly broke out in thunderous laughter and applause, Sarah stood there, grinning like the Cheshire Cat, while, at the same time, reaching under the podium to retrieve a 44-ounce Super Big Gulp Diet Coke, which she slowly sipped from, still grinning, then holding it over her head , imitating Lady Liberty holding her torch. The picture of this seminal moment has since gone viral, much to the chagrin of Liberals, on both sides of the political aisle, whose heads have been exploding, like balloons which have blown up beyond their usefulness.

She also got a gig in on professional kingmaker, Karl Rove, he of the whiteboard fame, who was, unfortunately, not a very good prognosticator in the Presidential Election.

Rove made an appearance on yesterday’s Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace, where he basically called Governor Palin a quitter, attacking her like a petulant child , who had been criticized by his Mom, or a Liberal Democrat. Take your pick.

Getting back to the crux of the matter, there is a great divide between those who are supposed to be “the smartest people in the room”, those who are supposed to objectively report to us the news,  those who are supposed to be our civil servants, and us average American Citizens.

We, as Americans, out here in Realityville (as Rush Limbaugh calls it) tend to hold on to our Traditional American Values.  Of course, this Classic American System of Beliefs and Values, is what led Democratic President Candidate Barack Obama, to tell a bunch of donors on a campaign stop in Pennsylvania before the 2008 Election, that “us rednecks” were out here “bitterly clinging to guns or religion”.

That began an animosity between Barack Hussein Obama (mm mmm mmmm) and average Americans, that did not dissipate with time. If, anything, his actions since ascending to the Throne of The Regime, have seemingly been designed to intentionally torque off average Americans, living in “Flyover Country”.

With his minions, Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, firmly esconced in their seats of power in our nations legislature, our country continued a downhill spiral which rivals the Fall of the Roman Empire.

Americans rallied in 2010, to take back the House of Representatives, by forming a New American Tea Party, consisting of grassroots groups, which supported Conservative candidates, holding rallies to gin up support and get out the vote.

During all of this upheaval, where has the Republican Party been? I mean, the purpose of our two-party political system, is to have different points-of-view to choose from, right?

Well, evidently the Powers-That-Be of the Grand Old Party have forgotten the reason that they were sent up to Capitol Hill. For example,

House Speaker John Boehner says he ‘‘absolutely’’ trusts President Barack Obama, even though they have their differences.

Boehner told ABC’s ‘‘This Week’’ that the two have a good relationship and that they’re ‘‘open with each other … honest with each other.’’

How precious.

Recently, Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have stood up on their hinds legs, doing their jobs, speaking out for Americans., by holding forth on the Senate Floor, in a spectacular filibuster, protesting the Obama-suggested Sequester.

In response, older patriarchs of the Senate, John McCain, and his faithful dog, Lindsey Graham,  jumped on the Young Freedom Warriors, calling their behavior disrespectful, and these Fighters for Liberty, “Wacko Birds”.

After experiencing blowback from his constituency that made Hurricane Katrina look like one of those battery-operated handheld fans, McCain apologized.

But, the divide remains.

The Beltway continues its willing obliviance to the economic plight of average Americans, and disparaging of the Heartland of America’s System of Beliefs and Values, which have protected and sustained this country since its founding.

Thomas Jefferson, an American Founding Father, the principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States once said,

 When the people fear the government, there is tyranny. When the government fears the people, there is liberty.

If our servants on Capital Hill do not “straighten up” and remember that we are their bosses, and not the other way around, it could lead to civil disobedience, or worse.

I have an idea: Let’s just vote them out, before that happens.

Who’s with me?

Until He Comes,

KJ

CPAC 2013: The Start of the Second Reagan Revolution?

On By kingsjesterIn Politics1 Comment

reaganThanks to The Petulant President overplaying his hand in the first two months of his second term as the Leader of the Free World, America’s Political Pendulum, which began swinging to the right with the 2010 Mid-Term Elections, is now seemingly traveling at breakneck speed. And, it’s about cotton-pickin’ time!

The CPAC Convention provides us ample evidence of this. What is CPAC, you ask?

In 1973, a small group of conservative activists met in Washington to discuss the future of the conservative movement.

This meeting, convened by the American Conservative Union, resolved that an annual event was needed to rally conservatives, share strategies and promulgate and crystallize the best of the conservative thought in America. This meeting was thus the birth of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

In 1974, then-Governor Ronald Reagan was the featured speaker at the first CPAC Presidential Banquet. President Reagan’s 1974 speech set a strong, uncompromisingly pro-freedom agenda for the conservatives, building upon the foundation established by Senator Barry Goldwater’s presidential campaign a decade earlier.

This speech and this CPAC were to become the catalysts for building a grassroots movement which has now, after 40 years, culminated in conservatism emerging as the dominant American political philosophy.

Taking place in Washington, D.C. each year, and now in regions across the country, CPAC educates, brings together and energizes thousands of attendees and all of the leading conservative organizations and speakers who impact conservative thought in the nation. From Presidents of the United States to college students, CPACs have become the place to find our nation’s current and future leaders and sets the conservative agenda each year.

Here are excerpts from the three best moments of yesterday:

Sen. Marco Rubio’s patriotism excited the crowd.

NBCNews.com reports that:

“We don’t need a new idea. The idea’s America, and it still works,” said Rubio, to major applause, anticipating that liberals would criticize his remarks for offering no new ideas.

…”Just because I believe that states should have the right to define marriage in a traditional way does not make me a bigot,” he said.

“The people who are actually close-minded in American politics are the people that love to preach about the certainty of science in regards to our climate, but ignore the absolute fact that science has proven that life begins at conception,” Rubio added.

Providing his prescription for the GOP as it searches for a winning path forward, Rubio said: “Our challenge is to create an agenda applying our principles — our principles, they still work — applying our time-tested principles to the challenges of today.”

Then Gov. Rick Perry showed ’em how it’s done in Texas.

Realclearpolitics.com reports

“The popular media narrative is that this country has shifted away from conservative ideals, as evidenced by the last two presidential elections. That’s what they think. That’s what say. That might be true if Republicans had actually nominated conservative candidates in 2008 and 2012,” Gov. Rick Perry (R-Texas) said in his address at CPAC this afternoon.

Perry also slammed President Obama for undocumented illegal immigration being released from detention centers due to sequestration cuts.

“This president’s posture, it’d be laughable if he hadn’t taken it one step too far, dangerously releasing criminals onto our streets to make a political point,” Perry told the crowd at CPAC. “When you have a federally-sponsored jailbreak, and don’t get confused, that’s exactly what that is — when you’ve had a federally-sponsored jailbreak, you’ve crossed the line from politics of spin to politics as a craven form of cynicism.”

And, Sen. Rand Paul Hit the Vichy Republicans right between the eyes.

Realclearpolitics.com reports

The GOP of old has grown stale and moss-covered. I don’t think we need to name any names, do we? Our party is encumbered by an inconsistent approach to freedom. The new GOP will need to embrace liberty in both the economic and the personal sphere. If we’re going to have a Republican party that can win, liberty needs to be the backbone of the GOP. We must have a message that is broad, our vision must be broad, and that vision must be based on freedom.

There are millions of Americans, young and old, native and immigrant, black, white and brown, who simply seek to live free, to practice a religion, free to choose where their kids go to school, free to choose their own health care, free to keep the fruits of their labor, free to live without government constantly being on their back. I will stand for them. I will stand for you. I will stand for our prosperity and our freedom, and I ask everyone who values liberty to stand with me. Thank you. God bless America.

The greatest American President in my lifetime, Ronald Wilson Reagan, spoke at CPAC in 1975. His speech was so “on point”, if you close your eyes, you can imagine him speaking at this year’s convention. Here are the highlights:

  • Since our last meeting we have been through a disastrous election. It is easy for us to be discouraged, as pundits hail that election as the repudiation of our philosophy and even as a mandate of some kind or other. But the significance of the election was not registered by those who voted but by those who stayed home. If there was anything like a mandate it will be found among almost two-thirds of the citizens who refused to participate.

  • Bitter as it is to accept the results of the November election, we should have reason for some optimism. For many years now we have been preached “the gospel,” in opposition to the philosophy of so-called liberalism which was, in truth, a call to collectivism.
  • I don’t know about you, but I am impatient with those Republicans who after the last election rushed into print saying, “We must broaden the base of our party” – when what they meant was to fuzz up and blur even more the difference between ourselves and our opponents.
  • It was a feeling that there was not a sufficient difference now between the parties that kept a majority of the voters away from the polls. When have we ever advocated a closed-door policy? Who has ever been barred from participating?
  • Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party we need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?
  • Let us show that we stand for fiscal integrity and sound money and above all for an end to deficit spending, with ultimate retirement of the national debt.
  • Let us also include a permanent limit on the percentage of the people’s earnings government can take without their consent.
  • Let our banner proclaim a genuine tax reform that will begin by simplifying the income tax so that workers can compute their obligation without having to employ legal help.
  • Let us also call for an end to the nitpicking, the harassment and overregulation of business and industry which restricts expansion and our ability to compete in world markets.
  • Let us explore ways to ward off socialism, not by increasing government’s coercive power, but by increasing participation by the people in the ownership of our industrial machine.
  • A political party cannot be all things to all people. It must represent certain fundamental beliefs which must not be compromised to political expediency, or simply to swell its numbers.
  • I do not believe I have proposed anything that is contrary to what has been considered Republican principle. It is at the same time the very basis of conservatism. It is time to reassert that principle and raise it to full view.

  • And if there are those who cannot subscribe to these principles, then let them go their way.

For the Republicans to remain a viable party, they must return to their small government Conservative roots.

A Moderate Republican Candidate will not win the Presidency in 2016.  Dole, McCain, and Romney are living proof of it.

Americans are ready for a second Reagan Revolution.

We already have the set-up man: Carter on steroids.

Until He Comes,

KJ

The Vichy Republicans Vs. The New Conservatives

On By kingsjesterIn Politics5 Comments

grahamandmccainYesterday, I wrote about Sen. Rand Paul’s 13 hour filibuster he delivered on Wednesday to bring to light President Barack Hussein Obama’s refusal to answer the question of whether he would use unmanned drones to hunt down and kill American Citizens on our soil, and to block the vote on Obama’s nominee for CIA Director, dhimmi John O. Brennan.

Unmanned drones killing American Citizens…sounds like a bad science fiction movie, doesn’t it?

Well, the good news is: He finally received an answer from Attorney General Eric Holder, who wrote him a short message, stating, “No”.

The bad news is: Yesterday morning, Senators John McCain and Lindsey Graham, fresh from being treated to an outrageously expensive dinner by Obama on the very evening Sen. Paul was delivering his inspiring filibuster, verbally attacked Rand Paul for his efforts. They mocked him and ridiculed him, saying that he “violated the Rules of the Senate”.

The Washington Times reports that

Mr. McCain quoted from a Wall Street Journal editorial: “The country needs more senators who care about liberty, but if Mr. Paul wants to be taken seriously he needs to do more than pull political stunts that fire up impressionable libertarian kids in their college dorms. He needs to know what he’s talking about.”

The senator went on to say that he didn’t “think that what happened yesterday was helpful to the American people.”

And where Democrats praised Mr. Paul for using Senate rules properly to launch a filibuster, Mr. McCain said it was an abuse of rules that could hurt the GOP in the long run.”What we saw yesterday is going to give ammunition to those who say the rules of the Senate are being abused,” the Arizona Republican said.

Mr. Paul said he was filibustering to get the administration to affirm it won’t kill non-combatant Americans in the U.S. — and his effort was joined by more than a dozen other senators who said they, too, supported his effort to get answers.

Mr. Graham said asking whether the president has the power to kill Americans here at home is a ludicrous question.

“I do not believe that question deserves an answer,” Mr. Graham said.

Mr. Graham and Mr. McCain led a Republican delegation that held a private dinner with President Obama on Wednesday, as Mr. Paul was holding the floor with help from other GOP colleagues.

Mr. McCain even joked about Mr. Graham’s “behavior” at the dinner.

“He was on his best manners and everyone was impressed,” Mr. McCain said.

Speaking to reporters after he came off the floor Wednesday, Mr. Graham said he defends Mr. Paul’s right to ask questions and seek answers, but said the filibuster has actually pushed him to now support Mr. Brennan.

Mr. Graham said he had been inclined to oppose the nomination because he’d found Brennan to be qualified for the job but also “arrogant, kind of a bit shifty.” He said he wasn’t going to filibuster him but would have voted against him on final passage, but now he’ll vote for him.

“I am going to vote for Brennan now because it’s become a referendum on the drone program,” he said.

Later in the day, Sen. “Grahamesty” did just that, helping to  bring about the approval of Brennan’s nomination.

Why did “The Sunshine Boys” attack Sen. Paul like that?

Rush Limbaugh, as he always does, had the answer:

It’s just that there’s nobody that we see that has any courage to stand up to the people who are doing the damage. Even when we have the White House, there’s no standing up to the people assaulting the country. Even when we’re campaigning, the candidate doesn’t stand up. Now, I know the president’s race frightens a lot of people away from criticizing him. (No two ways about that. It’s just the way it is.) But Rand Paul did it last night, and nobody’s calling him a racist today. Nobody’s calling him an extremist, and nobody’s calling him names — and he doesn’t care anyway.

But he [Sen. Rand Paul] stood up for freedom. Last night people finally had somebody to rally around. Somebody finally spoke up and reflected what you all think and what you all fear. And somebody, in addition to speaking up, was actually trying to put the brakes on the direction this country’s being taken. So, yeah, it made perfect sense for people to rally behind it and rally to it. And then today after that we get the old guard, the ruling class, Republican establishment types belittling what happened last night. Casting it aside. It’s insignificant. Violated the rules of the Senate. Bad image. Silly to say that the president wants to launch drone strikes on America. Why do we even have to answer that question. That’s so absurd, it’s silly. Why, it was embarrassing last night.

…You cannot have this many millions of Americans continually ignored and unrepresented in a representative democracy without a price to pay for it.

So Rand Paul does his filibuster, and people flock to it. Even Democrats flocked to it, all over Twitter, which is normally owned, run, and operated by the Democrats. All over Twitter last night, Rand Paul had people saying, “Well, wait a minute, I understand this.” I mean, the left, this should be a natural for them. This is the kind of stuff, this is why Code Pink exists, for example, among other things.

The administration ought to be just taking it on the chin over this. And they may be. Time will tell. My whole point here is I understand why people are rallying to Rand Paul and Rubio and Ted Cruz. And that’s going to continue. And the Republican establishment, as long as they continue to pretend this is 1990, ’98, 2000, as long as the old rules which guarantee defeat continue to dominate, then at some point something’s gotta give.

Rush is right, as usual.

Sen. Graham actually made the arrangements for the swanky meal, enjoyed by 12 Republican Senators Wednesday Night, which was hosted and paid for by Obama (which means you and I actually footed the bill). For them to be snuggling with the Manchurian President, while Rand Paul and others held the Senate Floor in defense of our Constitution, is despicable. Their love for their Capital Hill way of life took precedence over their service to their constituents and their Constitutional Duty.

McCain and Graham attacking Rand Paul reminded me of “Blazing Saddles”:

We must protect our phony baloney jobs, gentlemen! Hrumph!

The greatest U.S. President of our Generation, Ronald Wilson Reagan, once said,

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and other “New Conservatives” seem to be willing to do just that.

If the old guard Vichy Republicans care more about their Capitol Hill way of life than their country and their constituents, then it is time for them to get out of the way, and allow Sen. Paul, and his allies to lead the battle against this corrupt anti-American Administration.

Because, as the old saying goes,

If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Senator Rand Paul: Taking a Stand for Freedom

On By kingsjesterIn Politics2 Comments

rand paulAs I woke up this morning, I learned that Senator Rand Paul (R, KY) had wrapped up, at the thirteenth hour, what had been nicknamed the Filiblizzard, brought about by the nomination of John O. Brennan to the post of CIA Director and the plans by President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder to use unmanned drones to hunt down and kill American Citizens on American soil.

The Washington Times has the story:

After years in the shadows, the administration’s secret drone program burst into very public view Wednesday with lawmakers grilling the attorney general over legal justification for targeted killings and Sen. Rand Paul launching an old-style one-man filibuster to demand answers from President Obama.

The Kentucky Republican held the floor for almost 13 hours, effectively blocking a vote on the nomination of John O. Brennan, whom Mr. Obama has tapped to be CIA director. He said he would relent only if the administration publicly vowed not to target Americans on U.S. soil.

“This is a long, drawn-out day, but it’s to try to get some answers,” Mr. Paul said after he crossed the eight-hour mark late Wednesday evening. “It’s to try to shame the president into doing the right thing.”

Democrats, who control the chamber, were forced to delay a vote on the Brennan nomination until at least Thursday, and it could go into the weekend, depending on what other blockades Republicans erect.

At issue is the administration’s argument that it can kill those it suspects have ties to terrorism, including U.S. citizens, without having to put them on trial.

The fulcrum of the debate is the drone program, started under President George W. Bush and expanded by Mr. Obama, which many lawmakers said gives too much power to the executive branch — and raises tricky questions about whether drones could be used to execute Americans in the United States.

The administration has only recently acknowledged the drone program and says it is seeking a public debate in order to find common ground on what Americans are ready to accept.

“I think there is going to be a greater effort at the transparency. A number of steps are going to be taken. I expect you will hear the president speaking about this,” Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. told the SenateJudiciary Committee on Wednesday morning.

But he faced bipartisan demands for more information and more clarity on what is and what isn’t allowed.

“You can hear almost unanimous concern about transparency and wrestling with how to move forward here in a way that protects both our constitutional liberties and our security as a nation,” Sen. Christopher A. Coons, Delaware Democrat, told Mr. Holder.

Under close questioning by Sen. Ted Cruz, Mr. Holder repeatedly said American citizens on U.S. soil were not “appropriate” targets for extrajudicial executions.

Mr. Cruz said that wasn’t good enough.

“You keep saying ‘appropriate.’ My question isn’t about propriety. My question is about whether something is constitutional or not,” the Texas Republican said.

“Let me be clear: Translate my ‘appropriate’ to ‘no.’ I thought I was saying no, all right? No,” Mr. Holder said.

Mr. Holder also said he is not sure Congress could ban the president from using drones to kill Americans on U.S. soil.

But, of course, as Obama said, “I am not a dictator”. Yeah, right.

The longest spoken filibuster in American history was by Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who went on for 24 hours and 18 minutes in filibustering the Civil Rights Act of 1957.

Thurmond began speaking at 8:54 p.m. on August 28, 1957 and did not stop until 9:12 p.m. on the 29th.

That rhetorical marathon took a lot of preparation, though. Here are some of the details, according to the Associated Press:

Thurmond took a steam bath earlier in the day to rid his body of excess liquid. This avoided the potential for any “accidents” in the chamber.

He went to the floor armed with cough drops and malted milk tablets.

He allowed others to make short remarks and ask questions during his time, allowing him to sneak off to the cloakroom to gobble a sandwich.

He had his aide wait in the cloakroom with a pail when he was about to step down from the dais in case of an emergency evacuation.

So far, Paul’s discussion has been much more lively than Thurmond’s speech, with heavy ad-libbing and contributions from seven different Senators, including Democrat Ron Wyden.

A major question, though, is what exactly did Thurmond talk about for 24 straight hours? Most of the content of the then-55-year-old’s speech was about the right to a trial by jury.

Via Michael McGraw-Herdeg on Quora, here’s what Thurmond talked about for one straight day:

Thurmond read, verbatim, the voting laws of each one of the 48 states.

He read the U.S. criminal code

He read a Supreme Court decision, followed by more laws. A friend brought him a glass of orange juice.

He allowed Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson to conduct some minor Senate business, such as preparing to swear-in the new Senator from Wisconsin, with a promise that Thurmond will be allowed to resume his filibuster.

At 1:40 a.m., Thurmond talked about jury trials.

By 6:45 a.m., Thurmond was having a back and forth with an arriving Senator about the bill. The Senator then left for breakfast with President Eisenhower.

Thurmond fielded questions from sympathetic Senators looking to give his voice a break.

Thurmond read the Declaration of Independence.

Thurmond allowed Johnson to swear in the new Senator from Wisconsin at roughly 1 p.m.

Thurmond welcomed Italian dignitaries to the chamber and then resumed discussing jury trials.

Thurmond took questions from sympathetic Senators again, as well as abuse from adversaries.

A letter from the President Dwight D. Eisenhower momentarily interrupted the discussion of jury trials.

The Senator finished up with a summary of his opposition to the bill. “Mr. President, I urge every Member of this body to consider this bill most carefully. I hope the Senate will see fit to kill it. I expect to vote against the bill. [Laughter.]”

The Senate later passed the bill. Thurmond’s oratorical marathon didn’t change a single vote.

Senator Paul’s filibuster may not , either. But, at least he did something.

Which is more than I can say for the RINOs up on Capitol Hill.

Until He Comes,

KJ

Ron Paul/Chris Kyle = Goofus/Gallant

On By kingsjesterIn Politics4 Comments

ronpaul1chriskyleOne of our Brightest and Best has tragically fallen. And, a retired United States Representative said that he had it coming.

Shocked?

For those of you who have been living under a rock, here is a summary from apnews.mynews.com:

A 25-year-old Iraq war veteran charged with murdering former Navy SEAL and “American Sniper” author Chris Kyle and his friend turned a gun onto the pair while they were at a Texas shooting range, authorities said Sunday.

Eddie Ray Routh of Lancaster was arraigned early Sunday in the deaths of Kyle, 38, and Chad Littlefield, 35, at a shooting range at Rough Creek Lodge, about 50 miles southwest of Fort Worth. He was being held on one charge of capital murder and two charges of murder.

Capt. Jason Upshaw with the Erath County Sheriff’s Office said Routh used a semi-automatic handgun, which authorities later found at his home. Upshaw said ballistics tests weren’t complete Sunday, but authorities believe it was the gun used in the shootings. Upshaw declined to give any more details about the gun.

Routh has not made any comments indicating what his motive may have been, Upshaw said. Sheriff Tommy Bryant said Routh was unemployed and “may have been suffering from some type of mental illness from being in the military himself.”

“I don’t know that we’ll ever know. He’s the only one that knows that,” Upshaw said.

Bryant didn’t know if Routh was on any medication or whether he had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The U.S. military confirmed Sunday that Routh was a corporal in the Marines, serving in active duty from 2006 to 2010. He was deployed to Iraq in 2007 and Haiti in 2010. His current duty status is listed as reserve.

Routh is being held on $3 million bond. Authorities did not know whether Routh had a lawyer yet.

Kyle, a decorated veteran, wrote the best-selling book “American Sniper: The Autobiography of the Most Lethal Sniper in U.S. Military History,” detailing his 150-plus kills of insurgents from 1999 to 2009. Kyle said in his book that Iraqi insurgents had put a bounty on his head. According to promotional information from book publisher William Morrow, Kyle deployed to Iraq four times.

Bryant said Kyle, Littlefield and Routh went to the shooting range around 3:15 p.m. Saturday. A hunting guide at Rough Creek Lodge came across the bodies of Kyle and Littlefield around 5 p.m. and called 911.

Upshaw said autopsies were still pending and he could not say how many times the men were shot or where on their bodies they were hit.

Former Congressman from Texas and nutjob for life Ron Paul tweeted the following unpatriotic heinous statement yesterday,

Chris Kyle’s death seems to confirm that “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword.” Treating PTSD at a firing range doesn’t make sense

Back on December 27, 2011, thehill.com reported on an article written by a Former Aide to Dr. Paul, Eric Dondero, that was making the round of Conservative Blogs. Here is an excerpt:

Ron Paul was opposed to the War in Afghanistan, and to any military reaction to the attacks of 9/11. He did not want to vote for the resolution. He immediately stated to us staffers, me in particular, that Bush/Cheney were going to use the attacks as a precursor for ‘invading’ Iraq. He engaged in conspiracy theories including perhaps the attacks were coordinated with the CIA, and that the Bush administration might have known about the attacks ahead of time. He expressed no sympathies whatsoever for those who died on 9/11, and pretty much forbade us staffers from engaging in any sort of memorial expressions, or openly asserting pro-military statements in support of the Bush administration.

Regarding 9/11, Dr. Paul actually said,

Think of what happened after 9/11, the minute before there was any assessment, there was glee in the administration because now we can invade Iraq, and so the war drums beat.

So, how does his son, “the rising star” among Conservatives, Rand Paul, feel about what dear ol’ Dad said?

Ben Shapiro reports for Breitbart.com,

In the aftermath of Ron Paul’s despicable tweet today slamming US Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, murdered on Saturday while helping a fellow soldier learn to cope with post traumatic stress syndrome, Paul’s son, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has told Breitbart News exclusively, “Chris Kyle was a hero like all Americans who don the uniform to defend our country. Our prayers are with his family during this tragic time.”

Dr. Paul, after a thunderous backlash, tried to walk his Twitter comments back late yesterday on his Facebook Page,

As a veteran, I certainly recognize that this weekend’s violence and killing of Chris Kyle were a tragic and sad event. My condolences and prayers go out to Mr. Kyle’s family. Unconstitutional and unnecessary wars have endless unintended consequences. A policy of non-violence, as Christ preached, would have prevented this and similar tragedies. -REP

Everyone has heard of a backhanded compliment, but backhanded sympathy?

Concerning our Brightest and Best, Dr. Paul once asserted,

I have never met anyone who did not support our troops. Sometimes, however, we hear accusations that someone or some group does not support the men and women serving in our Armed Forces. But this is pure demagoguery, and it is intellectually dishonest.

Dr. Paul, we were all born on a day ending in “y”…but it certainly was not yesterday.

Tell it to the Army, because the Navy ain’t buyin’ it. Oh, wait…the Army won’t either.

Until He comes,

KJ