Upsetting the Apple Cart - The #NEVERTRUMP Platform

As we approach yet another presidential election, the apple cart of normalcy has been upset. The campaign of Donald J. Trump eschews convention and forges ahead in a manner that is anathema to the establishment of Washington D.C. Mr. Trump is in the unique position of contesting not just the challengers from three different parties, but the challenge from the intellectual elitists in academia and political office. The similarities to the Jackson and Adams contests in 1824 and 1828 have been drawn by others and are not wholly inaccurate.

In 1824 Jackson won the popular and electoral votes but failed to secure the majority of the Electoral College. Thrown to the House by the twelfth amendment, the establishment instituted their desires over that of the people and put Adams into office. This splintered the Democratic - Republican Party and the Democrat party emerged on the Jacksonian side in the election of 1828. This Democrat Party bears little positional semblance to the party of today. Indeed, the establishment that supported Adams was lamented in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Gov. William Giles of Virginia. “take together the decisions of the federal court, the doctrines of the President [John Q. Adams], and the misconstructions of the constitutional compact acted on by the legislature of the federal bench, and it is but too evident, that the three ruling branches of that department are in combination to strip their colleagues, the State authorities, of the powers reserved by them, and to exercise themselves all functions foreign and domestic."

The platform of today’s Democrat Party seems to have been described verbatim in Jefferson’s letter. You would think that the Republicans are on the other end of the beam in opposition. Yes, for the last 24 years, the conservative elitists have proposed positions, ideas, and policy that courts the rational thought of the electorate but has little chance of implementation. In fact, the Republicans have been little more that the Washington Generals to the Democrat’s Globetrotters (I borrow this perfect metaphor from a fantastic article, The Flight 93 Election, at The Claremont Institute here) since 1992. When the Republicans won elections in 2000 and 2004, very little of the stated positions, ideas, and policy of the elitist intelligentsia was put into effect. One must go back to the presidency of Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s to see conservative principles put into action in any meaningful manner. And they succeeded famously. One can only assume that there is no desire today to actually implement the posits of conservative ideology but only to continue to feast at the teats of the cash cow of a conservative electorate desperate for change but unable to achieve it.

So how is a conservative electorate to effect meaningful change in the political process? In our country, that is through elections. For the last 188 years, the candidates for the major parties were determined by party manipulators who would throw their financial support behind the candidate of their choice in the primaries, crushing any sincere opposition. The electorate would be forced to vote for the lessor of two evils and inevitably the conservatives lost. Ronald Reagan was just about the lone exception. There was a challenge in 1992 by businessman Ross Perot but he was thwarted by the establishment big money machine. He then ran an independent campaign out of spite that subverted any hope for the reelection of George H.W. Bush as the Republican establishment candidate, giving us the Clinton’s dystopian nightmare we now find foisted upon us.

Today, another businessman has come forth with an insurgent campaign. A rebellious climate led to his victory in the primaries to the dismay of party manipulators. Those manipulators in the establishment of the party have now thrown a political hissy fit, swearing to never vote for Donald J. Trump. They make wild assertions attempting to bring him down in the hopes of their own selfish survival. They have started a movement self-labelled #NEVERTRUMP. Ignoring the consequences of the election of Hillary Clinton, who is the only other viable candidate, they only think of themselves retaining or returning to power. I have always developed my views based on my own inherent ideology, then found candidates that most clearly mirrored those views. My views in this election most closely mirror Donald Trump, as one of only two electable candidates remaining in the race. If that’s the case, the #NEVERTRUMP crowd must oppose everything that he stands for to so vehemently oppose his candidacy. So I listed my views on key issues that agree with Mr. Trump. Below them I list the converse position that the #NEVERTRUMPers must take in order to maintain their opposition.

Government: The quality of life for American citizens is at its highest when personal liberty is at its zenith. The role of government should be to protect that liberty and remove itself from the daily interventions with its citizens.

#NEVERTRUMP: The role of government is to restrict the liberty of its citizens and daily intervene in the lives of its citizens

Economy:    The economy works best in an environment that makes it easier to hire, invest, grow, and produce in America. That can be achieved through regulatory policy and tax reform.

#NEVERTRUMP: The economy works best for politicians in an environment that makes it more difficult to hire, invest, grow, and produce in America. That can be achieved through overbearing regulatory policy and confiscatory tax policy status quo.

Tax Reform: Americans are more capable of determining their own investments, charities, and social interaction than the government is at making that decision for them. Politicians inherently strive for self-preservation through reelection, therefore will always make decisions on what is best for their own interests and not their constituents. A tax code that is simple, enforceable, and that only appropriates that which is necessary to fulfill constitutionally defined obligations is necessary to the sustainability of the republic.

#NEVERTRUMP: The U.S. government is more capable of determining the investments, charities, and social interaction of its citizens than they themselves. A tax code that is complex, arbitrary, and confiscatory is necessary to the sustainability of the political class.

Constitution: The constitution is a clearly articulated set of finite definitions of the rights of our government, roles of our government, and rights of our citizens. All articles and amendments are applicable, direct, and must be defended by the citizens until changed by the defined process.

#NEVERTRUMP: The constitution is broadly defined set of ideals that are open to vague interpretation to implement liberal ideology. The articles and amendments are only applicable when politically expeditious.

Judiciary: The constitution is a clearly articulated set of finite definitions of the rights of our government, roles of our government, and rights of our citizens. The process for changing the U.S. Constitution is clearly defined in the document and has been employed since its adoption. The judiciary serves to enforce the constitution, not rewrite it in the manner of ideological views. The president should only appoint judges that view this process as sacrosanct and not view the judiciary as a second legislative branch.

The Death of the American Dream

Four years ago I posted on the dangers of an Obama presidency. I called it the "Semi-American Dream." You can read it below.

Now we know that our fears were not unfounded. Obama has nationalized our healthcare system. He has raised our corporate tax rate to the highest in the world. He is running a campaign based on more spending of other people's money. And America is in the worst shape since the great depression.

 The math just doesn't add up. If he were to tax the everyone who makes more than $250,000 a year at 100% it would only run the government for 3 days. THREE DAYS! We are in a perilous situation. If we don't stop the unconscionable act of redistributing our successes, our country will go the way of the Roman empire and will usher in a new dark ages.

 I'm not a doomsdayer. It is simple math. The destruction of our economy will lead to the destruction of our society. A nation cannot spend more than it takes in and that nation cannot tax itself enough to fund unlimited spending. Obama has said that he wants to level the playing field in the name of fairness. How is it fair to take the products and success of someone who invests their life, time, and resources to succeed and give that success to someone who never invested one minute in the effort.

Their was a perfect illustration of redistribution on one of the national news networks. The reporter dressed in a costume on Halloween and as the children came to him attempted to equalize the candy that they had collected. The children, who had never sat through one Keynesian economic lecture, immediately recognized the unfairness of the idea. Yet our brilliant politicians cannot grasp the same lesson. Unfortunately, too many people believe the lies that they've been told and believe the same pap. The mainstream media perpetuates the lies as the propaganda arm of the administration. The gullible choose to accept the lie because they see themselves as the beneficiaries of government largesse. America was built by risk taker and achievers.

Our greatness lies in the product of our ancestral ethic. That anyone who is willing to invest themselves toward a goal can, through hard work and perseverance, achieve success in that goal. We are faced with an electoral choice that will determine the fate of our country. We are faced with choosing between a man who believes in the Marxist philosophy of an equal outcome in Barack Obama or the man who believes and exemplifies the greatness of the American spirit in Mitt Romney. I believe that the future of my children and grandchildren only has hope of success in the repudiation of the socialist agenda of Barack Obama. I still believe that their success will be the product of the efforts they expend toward their dream. I will not rest until they can pursue their American dream unfettered by the poisoning of socialist redistribution.

We cannot afford another term of Barack Obama.

Ron Paul? Not For Me

I will not vote for Ron Paul, EVER

I realize that this stance may result in the reelection of a President that I believe is hell-bent on destroying the principles that this country was founded on. The policies of Barak Obama have done nothing but hurt the economy while driving more people to government dependence. When the government is the primary provider for the citizenry, you have a socialist country. This intentional restructuring of our free country should have been obvious to the electorate before the last presidential election. In a remarkably transparent moment, Obama revealed his intent to Joseph “Joe the Plumber” Wurzelbacher in response to a question while on a photo op in Holland, Ohio. Obama told Wurzelbacher that he intended to tax the prosperous to “…share [read: redistribute] the wealth” of the job producers in our country. The conservatives of this country then chose not to heed this omen and stayed home on election day as a protest against the Republican candidate. Now we have had three years of 17% REAL unemployment, near zero job growth, and the weakest dollar since the depression.

If this country continues on its current course, we will not survive as currently constituted. A vote for Ron Paul will ensure that this destruction happens. However, I will not vote for someone whose stated positions are to legalize harmful recreational drugs, sacrifice the security of the Republic with strict isolationism, gut the military which provides that security, and through pacifism empower enemies determined to destroy our country. As liberal as Barak Obama is, and he is the most liberal president since Johnson, Ron Paul is more liberal. That’s right. The above stated positions of the Paul campaign are to the LEFT of Barry Obama. His myopic plan will speed the destruction of our country and ensure no serious conservative could win the presidential election for the next 20 years.

Paul has bet everything on the Iowa caucuses. He is “all in.” His plan is to succeed in Iowa and then parlay that into additional fundraising allowing him to continue in the campaign as succeeding primaries occur. Yes, there are those in the establishment of the GOP that are nervous. I believe that the establishment of the GOP needs to go because they are more concerned about the power of their position and caving to the liberal cabal than the good of the country. However, the continued Paul campaign would drain resources that are going to be critical to the final battle against Barak Obama’s nearly 1 billion dollar war chest. The only way to ensure the defeat of Obama in November of 2012 is to choose a candidate that draws a stark contrast to the President’s liberal/socialist agenda. A contrast that does not camouflage a liberal perspective behind libertarianism. Ron Paul is not the candidate to beat Barak Obama.

Don't Drink the Kool-Aid

Within minutes of the Fort Hood tragedy, we had representatives of the government, in the military and out, avowing that the shooter simply was distressed about deploying. The response was too quick and too uniform. I am not a conspiracy theorist. George Bush and Dick Cheney did not blow up the WTC with satchel charges. I've had lunch with people who were in the Pentagon on 9/11/01 and were feet away from the impact of the aircraft. They weren't brainwashed, threatened, coerced or for that matter lying.

But when the government comes out and says "All is well!" I still see Kevin Bacon standing before the onrushing riot screaming for calm with the party lie (if you don't know what I mean, go rent Animal House).

Now, with the calm of a couple of days to conduct an investigation into the shooter's life and background, we begin to see hints that perhaps the public persona did not match the private truth of Maj. Hasan. I do not know that any of these rumors are true. They may very well prove to be fabrications of morons that are just as dangerous as the government patsies.

However, I have discovered that healthy skepticism is warranted when our government is so quickly publicly stating a position and they have no greater grasp on the facts than any supermarket tabloid. The rumors are:
1. That Hasan had been a frequent (at least recently) visitor to known Al Queda websites.
2. He had been under advisement of an iman in Falls Church, VA that also advised the hijackers of Sep 2001.
3. He had made several statements publicly, verbally and on the Internet, that showed him to be more loyal to the radical viewpoints of Islam than to this country.
4. It could be inferred that the act was premeditated for several months as his behavior took on traits that would be contrary to his religion. It has been reported that he drank and frequented strip bars. Not a big deal in itself but out of character for a devout Muslim. Unless perhaps he expected absolution through martyrdom.

Some or even all of these rumors may prove to be false. Perhaps the government was accurate in telling us that he "just snapped" and was not motivated by ideological desires. But I have to remember that this is the same government that told us not to worry, the shooter was dead. Perhaps I could believe that -- nope, that's not a flavor of kool-aid that I'm going to drink this time. I'm just saying. So that you can read these stories for yourself, and make your own determination, here are links:
Canada Free Press
FoxNews
Northeast Intelligence Network
CNN
ABCNews

Not By The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin

The audacity of a congress to try and "sell" me on any plan is preposterous. Why is it necessary for the elitist elected to present a stage managed forum, stacked with their bought and paid audiences, to try and convince me that they know what is best for me? Why do they feel it necessary to stifle free speech that vociferously disagrees with their premise? Why are leftists who protest a war aimed at stopping terrorists and their sponsors before they attack us concerned citizens but opponents to their socialist agenda crackpots?

As a person who experienced socialized medicine for 20 years, I know firsthand about the poor service, long waits and doctors who have no incentive to provide excellent care. There is no accountability and no recourse for redress for inept practice.
Regardless of the focus group named program, Obamacare is socialized medicine. This however, is not a surprise from the socialist candidate that ran on the Democrat ticket.

Shouldn't our elected leaders be talking with their constituency and getting a true measure of the people that they pretend to represent rather than forcing a liability on us that will take generations to pay for it? A representative democracy (that used to be called a republic when I was in school) derives its power from the electorate and expresses and acts upon the wishes of the same. If the plan is so bad that it requires a re-education of the masses, then it should never be considered in the first place. I have seen excerpts from the plan and it is a startling intrusion into the lives of Americans. It is an attempt to dispose of the constitution and re-institute a socialist based government by subversion. The true ideology of the president was expressed to the man known as Joe the Plumber, Joe Wurzelbacher, when he said that he wanted to redistribute the wealth of the American achievers. Obama is a socialist and the popular press is his state organ.

Make no mistake, Americans are intelligent enough to recognize socialism's wolves in sheep's clothing. No screaming is necessary. We are witnessing the same tactics that were employed by another dynamic speaker and his cronies in Berlin in 1932. The Democrat party has the unmitigated gall to accuse the citizens that elected them to office of brown shirt tactics. Who staged a planted and bought audience? Who brought in party (union) thugs to prevent opposing discourse? Who has initiated all of the violence to portray themselves as the victims? The Democrats let by the speaker ad nausim Nancy Pelosi.

The greatest generation vowed to never again remain silent to the atrocities of political ambition. That has been passed down to us and we will not be silent. Ever.

Not One Penny

How much of the stimulus, signed into law last week, is responsible for the stock market rebound? Zilch. Nada, Zero, Zip. The government has not sent one penny of the stimuls into the economy. Yet we are going to see them claim credit and say, "If a little worked so well, let's do it again and really get the economy going." Hold onto your wallets.

The Semi-American Dream

It is incredible to me that so many people are buying the class envy that is promulgated by the leftist elite. The aim seems to be to pit race against race, gender against gender, and brother against brother. This isn't a shocker but it is indicative of the lack of a quality education in the U.S.

Joe Wurlzelbacher was thrust into the national spotlight last week when he asked Barack Obama a question about his tax plan. Joe is a single father who is trying to live the American dream of having his own business and providing a better life for his son and himself. When Sen. Obama came to his neighborhood to campaign, Joe walked forward and asked the candidate a question. He asked the Senator if his taxes would go up under Obama's economic plan. He plans to buy the plumbing business where he works and it makes about $250,000 per year. After a sanctimonious verbal pat on the back, Obama said that while he supports Joe's ambition to succeed, he (Obama) wants to take the fruits of Joe's success and "...share the wealth."

Actually Joe, the tax on small businesses that you would see would be an increase is $200,000 because you are single. In later interviews, Joe accurately observed that Obama's plan is simply socialist philosophy. All that is missing the rhetoric decrying the bourgeois and red hammer and sickle flags behind the podium. Obama's campaign is a brazen attempt to change the government of America by stealth election. By running as a liberal Democrat, he hopes to get elected and then use that as a mandate to implement $1 trillion in new spending strengthening the iron fisted grip that government already has over the pocketbooks of the average American.

In case you are skeptical, let's look at some facts:

1. Obama wants to penalize the success of hard-working Americans making over $250,000 and re-distribute that money to people who did absolutely nothing to earn it.
2. Obama's campaign, by demonizing the "rich", is hoping to maximize class envy in a propaganda campaign that would make any true Marxist proud. Saul Alinsky would be so proud.
3. Obama wants to socialize the health care system in America. By mandating mandatory coverage for everyone, the government will be forced to pick up the slack when employers can't foot the bill.
4. Obama pledges to raise the corporate tax which is already the second highest in the world on the greedy corporations. These are the same corporations that employ the majority of Americans. Can guaranteed jobs be far behind?
5. Obama wants to curtail a citizen's ability to invest his earnings and better his life by increasing the capital gains tax.

Where does he get this Marxist philosophy?

1. Barack Obama embraced, applied, and taught the philosophies of Rules for Radicals avowed Marxist author, Saul Alinsky.
2. Barack Obama chose as close confidant and business partner unrepentant terrorist David Ayers. Ayers was the founder of the weather underground, a group that sought to bring about a socialist America by violence.
3. Barack Obama worked for an associate group for ACORN, was a trainer to ACORN in radical community organizing, and provided legal services for ACORN. ACORN's stated mission is to destroy capitalism by overloading the system with its own regulations and bureaucratic red tape. It is unclear if the goal is anarcist or socialist.
4. Barack Obama and his wife chose membership in a radical racially bigoted church that espoused hatred for white America regularly from the pulpit. Obama was a member and attender for 20 years before he disassociated himself from the church for political expediency.

The list could go on and on. The point is that the Democratic playbook has been supplanted by the Socialist Worker's Party playbook. What, or who, gives Obama the right to determine how successful you can be? That is exactly what he wants to do. He has decided that you are only allowed to be successful up to $250,000. After that he will make sure that your American dream goes to provide welfare for the derelict who would rather live off of your hard earned success. Should your dream include owning a business, mandatory health care, and astronomical minimum wage, and an oppressive tax system would limit your income, forcing you to hire less employees or go out of business altogether.

The American dream is not about amassing wealth. It is not about living in the largest house, driving the newest car, or wearing the most fashionable clothes. The American dream is about opportunity. It is about the chance to go as far and as high as you want if you work hard enough, are innovative enough, and are willing to risk failure for the prospect of great gain. An Obama presidency would suppress and water down that American dream. Under Obama you can't have the whole American dream, just a semi-dream. To me, that is a nightmare.