Communication Is The Key

On Tuesday night, history was made as President Barack Obama addressed the joint houses of Congress for the first time. I, however, didn’t watch the President’s speech at all. People tend to not enjoy my company whenever Obama speaks, because I always seem to feel an inexplicable urge to respond to every statement that he makes.

Truthfully, I was much more interested in watching Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana deliver the Republican response to President Obama. Gov. Jindal is an amazing conservative who has completely turned around the state of Louisiana. Considering that many consider Gov. Jindal to be a “rising star’ in the GOP, I was very interested to see how he would fare in his first prime time speech.

I was pretty disappointed. Although the substance in his speech was good, Gov. Jindal appeared to be uncomfortable reading from a teleprompter. I also think that his delivery didn’t encourage anyone to actually take seriously what he was saying. In short, he came across as too nice. In Gov. Jindal’s case, for him to be taken seriously as a speaker, he needs to come across as more determined and aggressive than he was on Tuesday night.

The most influential figures in politics are always able to communicate a message effectively. Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, and now Barack Obama have all proven this. For Republicans to take back the White House in 2012, we need someone who is capable of communicating the conservative message strongly and effectively. In my view, the only person who can currently do that is Mike Huckabee.

It is way too early to endorse a candidate for 2012, however, if all the “potential” Republican candidates were to announce today, I would have to again endorse Mike Huckabee. I’m not writing off anyone, but if Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin intend to elevate their political careers any further, they need to specialize their messages, so that voters in primary states will take them seriously. I think that Govs. Jindal and palin are both great public servants, but if they are the best and brightest that we can offer, then they better improve on their communication skills.

Rediscovering Lincoln

This month marks the bicentennial of the birth of our 16th President, Abraham Lincoln. It is generally taught and understood that Lincoln was one of our greatest Presidents. Certainly, this garners some merit, considering that the continental United States consists of one country, instead of two, and considering that we currently have an African American in the Oval Office. We can thank Lincoln for both of these things.

However, on the 200th anniversary of his birth, many Americans on the left side of the political spectrum are trying to claim him as one of their own. Liberals will claim that Lincoln’s presidency was a forerunner to the administrative presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, and Franklin Roosevelt. They will claim that Lincoln subsided over an administration of social progress, therefore, how could Honest Abe be anything but a liberal?

I don’t think that President Lincoln can be tied to any modern political ideology. Lincoln presided over the Union in an imperfect time. There is no way that Lincoln could have been either perfectly conservative or perfectly progressive. For example, no modern day conservative would have insisted upon the centralization of power in the federal government. However, I believe that Lincoln only violated states rights because he truly believed that the Union of the United States was worth preserving. He consciously chose to preserve the Union, and in doing so furthered the Founding Fathers vision of a more perfect union.

In studying Lincoln’s writings, one can see that Lincoln considered himself to be a conservative, while both his political adversaries and allies considered him to be a liberal. In a speech at New Haven, Connecticut in 1860, Lincoln said;

“But you say you are conservative-eminently conservative-while we are revolutionary, destructive, or something of the sort. What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried against the new and untried? We stick to, contend for, the identical old policy on the point in controversy which was adopted by our fathers who framed the government under which we live; while you with that one accord reject, and scout, and spit upon that old policy, and insist upon substituting for something new.”

One can clearly see that while Lincoln considered himself a conservative, he also considered his beliefs to be deeply misunderstood.  Lincoln was indeed a conservative in the sense that he governed with the intent to preserve the ideals of freedom and democracy on which this country was founded on.  In an age of serious problems, Lincoln governed with serious convictions.  He intended on preserving the union and respecting human life above all else.  For that, he should not be judged.

Above all else, I think that Lincoln’s memory and tradition should belong to all Americans.  Great leaders transcend politics.  Our greatest leaders were those who cared about America above all else.  Lincoln was one of those leaders.

Geert Wilder’s “FITNA” Movie

The following film was produced by Geert Wilders, a member of the Dutch Parliament. Mr. Wilders has caused a great deal of controversy lately due to his fervent opposition to the spread of Islamofascism throughout Europe, and the world.

Mr. Wilders was recently banned from entering Great Britain due to threats on his life by British Muslim extremists.

Mr. Wilders understands that Islamofacism is the greatest threat that faces the free people of the world today. Islamic extremists seek to destroy western civilization as we know it. We, as American conservatives, have a responsibility to recognize this and to act upon this threat.

Mr. Wilders’ film is especially relevant today during the early days of the Obama Administration. The Administration has appeared thus far to act naively in dealing with nations that promote Islamofacism. President Obama conducted his first public interview as president with an arabic speaking news network, and he has also repeatedly said that his administration will be willing to meet with Iran with no preconditions.

The Obama Administration appears to be on the road towards a policy of complete appeasement. We all know what the consequences of a weak foreign policy are; anyone remember Jimmy Carter?

Mr. Wilders was completely correct in comparing Islamic Extremism to Nazism, and Communism. In this day and age, we must defeat this ideology of terror and indoctrination in order to make our world a safe place for democracy and freedom.

Socialist Stimulus

It is getting easier and easier for me to believe that the United States is on the path to being a socialist state. Earlier this week, the Senate passed the Obama Administration’s trillion dollar so called “stimulus” package with a vote of 61 to 37. In all seriousness, I can’t see how any serious person could believe that this bill does anything to stimulate the economy. In fact, its primary purpose seems to be to drastically increase government spending thus adding to our already colossal national debt.

Taking a look at the Senate’s bill, it specifically seeks to increase the size of Medicaid, (which is broken, and needs to be scraped) and it intentionally pours money into failing bureaucratic schools in urban areas. As with most things, Democrats seem to think that they can fix our economy and education system by simply throwing money at them.

Particularly frustrating to me is the incredible amount of pork spending in this bill. Among other things, the Senate’s final bill featured:

- $300 million for new cars for government bureaucrats;

- $4.8 million for a polar bear exhibit in Rhode Island;

- $3 million in tax benefits for golf carts, motorcycles and ATVS;

- $150 million for honeybee insurance;

- $1.5 million for a water park ride in Miami, Florida;

- $400 million to prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Really? I thought that the intention was to create jobs for the American people, how naive of me.

The bad logic that exudes from the existence of this bill is astounding. Last spring the Bush Administration issued a 180 billion dollar stimulus plan that didn’t work. Last summer, taxpayers were also forced into paying 345 billion dollars to bail out Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but the housing market is still in shambles. And surely everyone remembers the 700 billion dollar Wall Street bailout from the fall. Not only does the bailout not appear to be working, but over 350 billion dollars from the “rescue” plan hasn’t even been spent yet.

To be clear, this new stimulus package is a travesty, and a product of extremely bad logic.

Even more troubling is the elements of socialism that have been displayed in the manner in which the Obama Administration and Senate democrats have promoted this bill. Their language is clearly intended to stir emotions of panic. Last week, President Obama announced that “A failure to act, and act now, will turn crisis into a catastrophe.” Congressman David Robey of Wisconsin announced that “This economy is in mortal danger of absolute collapse.”, and Sen. Claire McKaskill of Missouri declared that “If we don’t pass this thing, it’s Armageddon.”

If there is one thing that I hate in this world, it is fear, and those who spread it. What national emergency will President Obama come up with next in order to promote his liberal agenda?

This isn’t change. This is a bureaucratic nightmare in which the leadership in Washington is offering no way out.

There Is Hope In Washington..

I’m encouraged by the quality of the debate against the economic “stimulus” bill in the Senate during the last week. Here’s some video of two of the leading dissenters against the bill. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Sen. John Thune (R-SD).

Sen. Coburn’s Speech

Sen. Thune’s Speech

A New New Deal?

Recently, Liberal politicians in Washington have been using two streams of thought to justify their legislative priorities.  One, that we as a nation are in the midst of a depression, and two, that we need a government driven solution, (a’ la a new New Deal) to stimulate our economy out of this depression.

 

As a conservative, I reject these notions.  I will admit that our economy has seen better days, however, I think that it is important to remember what President Reagan often told us; that America’s best days aren’t behind us, but ahead of us.  Liberalism’s success feeds on the fear and depression of the American public.  I am not willing to contribute to their successes.

 

Secondly, I am fervently against the 885 billion “economic stimulus” bill that is being forced into action by the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats.  The key to any government driven “stimulus” package is federally employed public works programs.  It may sound good when they say that we will save our economy by building roads, bridges, and schools..  However, don’t be mislead.

The problem with public works programs are that they don’t last.  It is all good and dandy to provide workers with temporary jobs, but what happens when the projects are finished?  Will we be in the same mess then that we are in now?  The sad answer is yes.  Our congressional leadership would do well to consider this before they fashion any sort of stimulus bill.

The bottom line is that we don’t need more government to solve our problems for us, we need less government.  For an administration that is supposed to represent something new and fresh, this so called “new New Deal” looks awfully familiar.  Do we really expect these 20th century ideas to help us with our 21st century problems?  I sure don’t.

The New Chairman

About a week ago, I was extremely excited to learn that Maryland’s own Michael Steele was elected as the new chairman of the Republican National Committee. I am excited because I believe that Mr. Steele has all of the qualities that the present circumstances require of the new RNC Chairman.

A couple of months ago, I endorsed Newt Gingrich as my first choice to be the next RNC Chairman; In doing so, I outlined a few qualities that I believed that the RNC’s new chairman should have. I said that our next chairman should be able to go toe to toe with President Obama, and be able to offer a clear ideological alternative to his policies.

Michael Steele can do that and more. In choosing Michael Steele as their new leader, the Republican Party has chosen an excellent communicator of conservative principles, and someone who is personally invested in winning the war of ideas against liberalism.

I believe that the time is ripe for a conservative resurgence in the Republican Party. After 8 years of abandoning our principles, we as a party have finally been humbled to the point where we can accomplish some real lesson learning.  Under Chairman Steele, we can expect a resurgence of conservative ideas that will help us win a middle class majority of American Voters.

Congratulations and thanks to Chairman Steele, for finally bringing real change to the Republican Party.