A New Time For Choosing

In October of 1964, a 53 year old “over the hill” actor named Ronald Reagan appeared on national television to give a speech on behalf of the Republican Presidential nominee, Sen. Barry Goldwater. The speech, however, transcended it’s purpose. In the speech, the future President articulated the basic economic and political essentials of conservatism, and he also communicated that Americans had a right to choose something other than wasteful government spending and a defeatist foreign policy. The speech was extraordinarily well received. In fact, although the speech was originally titled, “A Time For Choosing”, historians now refer to it as simply, “The Speech”. The later title makes more sense to me, because I consider it as the defining speech of conservatism in general.

Well, it’s 2008 now, but Americans still have a choice. I believe that Reagan/Goldwater’s message is just as relevant now as it was then, but unlike in 1964, we can make the right choice. Conservatives now are dealing with Goldwater’s successor, John McCain, as their presidential nominee. I am not suggesting that John McCain is anywhere near as conservative as Goldwater, but our choice is just as strong.

We can choose conservative principles in 2008. We can choose a more effective method of government, we can choose life for the unborn, we can choose a strong national defense, and we can choose the values of our founding fathers. I reject the notion that this election is a choice between a “lesser of two evils”. I choose a conservative future, therefore, I now officially declare my support for Sen. John McCain in the 2008 Presidential Election.

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"The Man In The Arena"

My dad and I both agree that this is the best political ad that either of us have ever seen. I will post later about my now obvious backing of Sen. McCain, but for now; here’s an awesome ad.

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Barack Obama: Without The Shining Armor

The recent media interrogation of Barack Obama has proven one thing; that we, as American voters, know next to nothing about the man who could possibly be our next commander-in chief. To be fair, however, who could expect us to? Sen. Obama has only been in the national spotlight for about a year now, and on a smaller scale, he has only been known in the public sector for less than three years. Don’t voters deserve to know who Barack Obama is, and why and how does he intend to be our next President?

To answer these questions, one would need to know what Sen. Obama’s candidacy is really about. Being void of all sarcasm, Sen. Obama would have us believe that his candidacy is about hoping for a better America, and changing the course of U.S public policy. That’s great, but how does he intend to bring change and hope to Americans today?

When Sen. Obama is questioned directly, he makes it quite clear that to bring hope to America, we must implement about 800 million dollars worth of new, taxpayer funded federal services. While all is of his proposed services might sound good at the surface, Sen.Obama makes it quite clear that he believes Americans need new services because we, are in fact, incapable of surviving in the 21st Century on our own. When stripped down, Sen. Obama’s views align themselves with Lyndon Johnson’s disastrous “Great Society” policies.

Senator Obama needs to realize what true hope is. Does Sen. Obama hope that his two young daughters will grow up to be independent, self sufficient, and successful women? Or, does he hope that they will grow up dependent on federal services, so the government can send them to a mediocre college, that will prepare them to take on a job that isn’t much better than anyone else’s? My guess is, like any other loving parent, that he would prefer the former. This makes Sen. Obama one of two things, either a hypocrite or an idiot. I would like to think that he is simply a hypocrite, but my gut feeling tells me that he is not. Indeed, it seems like Sen. Obama is a sincere hope spouting idiot.

The whole Jeremiah Wright incident has pretty much cemented my opinion of Barack Obama. The idiocy is evident in Trinity United Church Of Christ’s mission statement; where it calls for members to “join forces” in order to fix “the economic misdistribution” that has apparently plagued this country for years. So that pretty much sums it up, Sen. Obama is a liberal that goes to a church where teaching communist doctrine is just, ( if not more), important than preaching the Gospel. Hmm, interesting.

So, what is your opinion of Obama? Is he the savior of this nation? Or, is he a “Clintonesque” hypocritical liberal? Or, as I believe, is he just a genuinely misguided idiot who can speak well? Tell me what you think.

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Excuses, Excuses………….

I am very sorry for not posting in such a painfully long time. If it helps, I have a few excuses for not having done so.

Firstly, For the first time in over a year, I have started working on a regular basis. This has taken away alot of my time.

Secondly, March Madness. Like most American males, this is a sacred month. Watching the NCAA Tournament has taken a huge chunk of time and energy out of my schedule for the past two weeks. However, now we are in the sweet 16 stage, so games will become less frequent.

So, there are my excuses. Sorry for the inconvience.

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Pulling The Plug On The "Genocide" Olympics

What’s unique about every fourth year? Let’s see, leap years, presidential elections, the Olympics. Ah, the Olympics. I like a lot about the Olympics. I am old enough to remember the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, I was 7 years old, and I lived approximately 90 miles from Olympic Park. At the time, it seemed to be very exciting. I am pretty sure that the Olympics were the biggest thing to hit Georgia since the Civil War. I’m not sure if that’s overstating it or not.

Anyway, this summer, however, I will not be watching the Olympics. This is due to the fact that the events are going to be held in Beijing, China this year, and that I don’t approve of the way that the Chinese Government denies basic human rights to it’s citizens and other people around the world. I f we really want China to change it’s ways, then we as a freedom loving people should refuse to participate in these events. The Chinese would probably take this as an insult, but that’s kind of the point.

To be specific, I am not supporting these Olympics for three reasons. One, The People’s Republic Of China is the number one customer of Sudanese oil in the world. In doing this, they are essentially financing the genocide in Darfur. The Chinese should refuse to contribute to an economy that is run by any leader, (Lt. Gen. Omar Bashir) that orders the mass raping and killing of any people. However, China continues to support the current Sudanese regime. Are these the actions of a country with conscience? This appears to me to be not.

Two, I have continued to grow weary of the oppression that the Chinese Government forces upon it’s political and religious dissenters. I’m pretty sure that all who are reading are aware of this, and that I don’t need to go into specific details.

Three, the Chinese Government is, to be candid, quite obnoxious. They have sold military secrets to our enemies in the past, and will probably continue to do so. Otherwise, in nearly every matter of both foreign and domestic policy, they conduct themselves in both an arrogant and obnoxious manner. They just get on my nerves, as silly as that may sound.

Unfortunately, however, our government has taken the easy way out and decided to participate in these events. Indeed, even Mr. “Compassionate” conservative himself, George W. Bush, has made plans to attend. I realize that it will probably ultimately prove futile to try to stop the United States from participating, but I began to wonder, is there anyone in Washington who cares about this?

Fortunately, the answer is yes. Republican Congressman Frank Wolf has vocally denounced this summer’s events, and is currently trying to block any federal funding for official trips to the games. In a congressional hearing on March 4, Congressman Wolf cited concerns about China’s terrible record on human rights, and he also compared President Bush’s presence there as “akin to President Franklin D. Roosevelt sitting in the same stands with Adolf Hitler in 1936.” (Washington Times, “Inside Politics” 3/7/08) Representative Wolf also said that any American who attends the games “will go down in history as cooperating with the Genocide Olympics of 2008, and history will never, ever forgive them.” He couldn’t be more right.

The bottom line is that the Chinese Government desperately wants to use these games to show the rest of the world that they are a “modern” superpower. Someone needs to tell them that any nation that shamelessly supports genocide will never be accepted in the mainstream of the global economy. Hopefully it’s not to late for the U.S and other nations to take such a stand.

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The Future For Governor Huckabee & The Search For Freedom

This site was established by and large as a way to support the Presidential campaign of Gov. Mike Huckabee. Gov. Huckabee dropped out of the race for the GOP Nomination last night, albeit very gracefully. I am proud of Gov. Huckabee for staying true to his supporters and finishing the race. Mike ran long and hard, and we all should be grateful to him for what he’s done. He has given “compassionate” conservatives a real voice, and in my opinion, he has started a movement. The candidacy of Gov. Huckabee may be over, but his message is not.

The Reuters press report that reflected on Gov. Huckabee’s concession described his supporters as, “Conservative Christians”, who “could be easily spotted at campaign events: mothers with long hair and homemade dresses, and fathers with crew cuts surrounded by mobs of children with Huckabee signs,”. While this is a very stereotypical portrayal of evangelicals, it symbolized a huge problem that Gov. Huckabee had in the race. He really struggled to extend his appeal beyond an evangelical base. For me, the Huckabee campaign stood for a lot more than, “Guns, Gays, and God”, but Gov. Huckabee had the political misfortune of having been a former Baptist minister. For many people, this was a huge turn-off.

So what does the future hold for Gov. Huckabee? Many people think that he should run for Senate against Arkansas Democrat, Mark Pryor. I wouldn’t like that. I want a President Huckabee, not a Senator Huckabee. I think that Mike should spend the next three to four years familiarizing himself with conservatives on a national level. Much like Newt Gingrich has done since he left politics in 1999. He should start a PAC/organization that will get his name out as a conservative leader, in short, he can’t let the American public forget about him. Ultimately, I would hope that he would run for President again in 2012, although I can’t guarantee my support for him. (Especially if Newt, Sen. John Thune, or Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal might decide to run.)

Although this blog has been closely connected to Gov. Huckabee’s campaign throughout these last few months, I never intended it to be solely associated as a “Huckabee” blog. I meant for this site to transcend campaigns and politics, in general. This site is about how freedom is the central idea of conservatism, and more importantly the central idea of America. As long as I can talk about freedom, I will continue to post as often as I can.

However, I would like to thank Gov. Huckabee and his family for all their hard work. You have given me, and many other people a voice in this election. Thank you, Governor, thank you very very much.

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The Future Of Russia?

For starters, I am not a big fan of Vladimir Putin. So naturally, I am not 100 percent happy with the way that Sunday’s presidential election turned out. Dimitry Medvedev, Putin’s hand picked successor, won the election with an overwhelming 70.2 percent. I don’t think that the Kremlin would be so bold as to outright rig the election, but Putin certainly manages to retain power in a very undemocratic way. From my observations, it seems as if the Russian government has instituted a “resistance is futile” sort of propaganda campaign in this election.

How did Russia get this way? What happened to the Russian democracy that Boris Yeltsin once led? I’ve been thinking these questions through for a while now, and I think that I have a better understanding of the will of the Russian people, and the way they think about government.

Russians seem to hold strength as a very high ideal. The way that Americans think of the idea of freedom, I think that Russians feel the same way about strength. In that way, I’m sure that Vladimir Putin is a sort of hero to many Russians. My problem is, that while Putin may have increased the strength of the Russian nation, he has also undermined many basic democratic rights to the people of Russia. Why can’t a people be governed with both strength and freedom?

This election doesn’t answer many questions. Will Putin or Medvedev be the Russian head of state? I’m sure that Putin’s policies will continue for now, but I can only hope that Medvedev will put his own mark on the policies of the Kremlin. He is only 42 years old, and unlike Putin, he firmly has both of his feet planted in the 21st century. Perhaps Medvedev will carve out his own image as Russia’ president.

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