A Boston Tea Party …(Lost Their Way)

I am not a member of a country club. I do not give money to any political party. I do vote Republican. I think for myself. I do not agree with ANYTHING Ted Kennedy says or supports. I do not pander. I do not spin. I believe conservative ideas cannot be compromised. I do not have conference calls with any staffers of the President. I do not follow anyone blindly even the President of my party. I do know this President supports the Senate’s bill on immigration reform. I do know conservatism will suffer because of it. I do way to many of you conservatives continue to go through denial when thinking about this President and many members of the Senate.

Last Friday, Hannity and Limbaugh began demanding that the Republican Party be overhauled, something I have expressed for the last two years. Conservatives must begin to set policy. They have much closer ties to the party than I do. They have personal relationships with those in office in Congress and the Presidency so hearing them demand an overhaul needs to be noted. All conservatives can see through the sham of a bill the Senate has passed. What also needs to be said is the President is perfectly happy with the Senate bill. He would not veto the Senate bill.

The lack of conservative leadership in Washington is stunning and it begins at the top. The two branches that have the longest terms happen to be the branches most removed from the lives of average American people. The members of the House of Representatives face the electorate every two years and therefore are much more responsive. It is those who do not have elections to answer too who turn a deaf ear to those who put them in office. They assume we will all forget.

Immigration reform will not be forgotten if anything resembling the Senate bill passes and is signed by President Bush. It will not be forgotten because it will still be needed. This bill does not reform anything. This bill is full of amendments that water down most of what you have heard from the mainstream media. The reason it is being called “comprehensive” is to disguise the politicians getting what they really want while they window dress the securing of the border. Comprehensive means buying the loyalty of the illegals with social security benefits. The Senate and the President are growing the size of government and making more people dependant upon it.

The House’s plan is the option that needs to be adopted. Members of the House know the pulse of the conservative base. They know securing the border needs to be done before all else. Real conservatives understand this. All those who talk in favor of this bill need to be remembered. If they are elected officials they must not be reelected. If they are pundits they must no longer be given credibility. They all must learn there is only one version of conservatism and it is much, much, much bigger than any one President or Senator. Hot Talk listeners were recently given the chance to voice their displeasure with the President’s version of immigration reform. Very few people emphatically did so. I guess in this area of the country we have more “Senator types” than “Representative types” or they are afraid to walk outside the shadow of the host or the President. They evidently believe as Fred Barnes does that there can be many versions of conservatism. It is those people who have lost their way out of loyalty to a single man. We should instead need to be loyal to principle. It would be nice to hear those types more frequent and more boistrous on Hot Talk.

A Boston Tea Party …(Reduced To This Cheer)

There is a saying that goes like this: “you can’t con a con man”. Well after the President’s speech last night I would like to amend that saying to this: “you can’t con a conservative”. Regardless of what Democrats want to believe the greatest attribute of this President is that he is honest. His honesty is something I respect. When he believes in something it is obvious by the way he speaks, the Iraq war for example. In contrast, when he doesn’t believe in something it is obvious as well. Last night was one of those times.

The President’s speech was immigration 101. It seemed to me he spoke to the people who aren’t paying much attention to this issue. There was no looking in the camera and guaranteeing the American people the border would be closed immediately. The speech was about a comprehensive plan full of governmental b.s. and short on conviction. This President had not been in favor of tight border security and telling me the National Guard is going to have a support role is not going convince me he has changed his mind. His speech was sensitive, shallow, and Senate like.

President Bush very much favors the Senate’s version of immigration reform, the one that is predicted to bring 100 million people into this country over then next 20 years, over the House’s version. He is much closer to Harry Reid’s version of immigration reform than J.D. Hayworth’s. Last night he pulled another Dhabi or Harriet Miers on us real conservatives. What he should have said was he will have the border locked down by August 1st. He should have said the National Guard will not act as “minutemen” but will stand side by side with border security. He should have said he will build walls and fences wherever needed. He should have said he will fine the piss out of any employer who hires an illegal. He should remind President Fox to mind his own business. He should have had a comprehensive plan to close the border and only when closed will we discuss what to do with those illegals already here.

The con in this game is all these proposals the President and Senate promise to pass to control our southern border will never happen. Oh, the bills will be drawn up and passed but when it comes time to fund them, the money will be gone. In December of ’05 the President proposed adding 10,000 border agents beginning in 2006 but in his ’06 budget he only funded 210 additional agents. Washington works this way. They get us to believe they are doing something then when the uproar dies down they quietly let the big ideas dye. If they, the President and the Senate, really meant it the border could be closed in one month. What they are doing now is just trying to stall us with these grand ideas without the conviction to ever really make them a reality.

The wonderful conservative revolution of 1994 continues to fade with each passing day. I can only hope the House can hold on. It is really one of true conservatives last stands, an Alamo so to speak. If the House fails to win this issue conservative Republicans will be reduced to this cheer in the 2006 campaign season: We suck but they suck more, we suck but they suck more, we suck but they suck more…louder WE SUCK BUT THEY SUCK MORE, ….LOUDER ….WE SUCK…..BUT……THEY…………

A Boston Tea Party …(Jam It!)

It was the afternoon of Good Friday when I called into the Sean Hannity radio program. The subject was the disgust of the registered Republican citizenry with the current Republican officials in Washington. While listening to the show that afternoon, something I don’t do regularly, I kept hearing over and over how people felt there was very little difference between how our elected Republicans were acting and the actions of Democrats. Hannity was trying to use his powers of persuasion to convince the disillusioned callers that indeed there are distinct differences between the two parties.

Since the day of my call the popularity of the President and members of Congress have continued to spiral downward. More and more Republicans are becoming frustrated and talk continues that turnout in the November elections will suffer. The point I made to Hannity on Good Friday gains more validation by the day. I told Hannity he and his callers were missing the point. The choice for those Republicans who are dissatisfied with how their elected officials are running the country is not voting for a Democrat but voting for the correct Republican.

As each day passes it should be obvious to all those who are not drunk on the kool-aid that from the current batch of Republicans in Washington only about twenty percent are the right type of Republican. The point I made to Hannity was there are thousands of real conservatives around the country who should be championed by those with the power of the talk show microphone. Grass root efforts must be established to remove the “establishment” Republican and replace them with people who place conservativsim above reelection. The public is made to believe our only choice is the current Republican incumbent and he/she remains our only choice until he/she decides to no longer run for office. Every incumbent should face serious challenges each campaign period. People like Hannity and Hennen should support challengers who will actually vote on conservative principles rather than talk as if the job is and always will be that of the incumbent.

Evidence of the failure in leadership of our current Republicans was again on display last night as Bill Frist was a guest on the “O’Reilly Factor”. O’Reilly was pressing him on immigration security, specifically securing the border with Mexico. The uncomfortable Frist nodded, stammered, and spun but it remained obvious the Senate leadership along with the current President will not be legitimately securing the border. Frist looked as weak as he did when recommending each American receive $100 to help offset the increase in gas prices. It would be embarrassing to have this man as our next President.

Watching Frist on O’Reilly last night made me think back to the 2000 Republican primary in Fargo where ironically Ed Schultz sat a few tables away from me. It was the first primary I had ever attended. After watching the festivities that night it does not surprise me the Republicans are in the predicament they are in now. All the “check pants” cheerleaders were in their glory at the Doublewood. Today, those same “check pants” types are salivating at a potential Jeb Bush Presidency. They can’t see the forest for the trees, rather than find all new blood and break the ties of incumbency they want more of the same which will lead to more of the same. The base is pissed but the base won’t do anything about it. The base needs to clean house rather than change brothers. The “lifers” in Congress need to be sent packing and new, vibrant leaders need to be brought in. The current batch of Republicans acted more conservative when there was a Democratic President than they do now.

Hannity and others are now reminding everyone that in November if you don’t turn out and vote you could end up with Pelosi as leader of the House and Reid as leader of the Senate. Well if we had Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, Levin, and Hennen supporting challengers rather than incumbents we could have as excited a base as we saw in 1994. Conservatism will always win if you put the right Republican in office. Bill Frist types…inspiring?….please! He can take his $100 refund idea and jam it!

What Are You Thinking …(Leave It Up To You)

We all have memories. People like my father can remember everything. They can recall the exact day something happened. People like myself remember very few exact moments. Some memories do, however, stick with us forever. For instance I remember exactly what I was doing on 9/11. I remember where I was when Kirby Puckett announced his retirement. Exact moments that affect us are locked in our memories yet some have an easier time recalling them.

I am having trouble recalling a certain day. I know this day took place because of all that has happened, but I cannot figure out the exact day it was. If I tell you what happened on that day maybe you can tell me the day it took place. On this day there became many versions of the truth. How you acted depended on your sense of right and wrong and not laws. Others were not allowed to parent your kids. On this day an “A” in school went from 94 percent to 90 percent and failing went from 75 percent to 60 percent. Child molesters could be rehabilitated. Military combatants were to have rights in America’s courts and it became ok to cheer for a player who cheats as long as he is on your team. On this certain day politicians bought many people off with subsidies and promises that they will take care of all their needs regardless of how much it cost. On this day fathers decided not to marry the woman who was going to have his child. Natural disasters were declared when ever bad weather happened and a criminal who allowed 3,000 citizens to be killed didn't deserve the death penatly. This amazing day was when journalism went down the toilet, homosexuals were allowed to marry, and it depended on what the word "is" is. Whatever day it was America became too wimpy to withstand a long war. On that day men became more like women. Children were given rights, cell phones, and we had to be concerned with guns in school. On this day we decided politicians should serve for life. On this particular day more kids played soccer than baseball and parents spent more time worrying about playing time then they did about what was happening to their country.

If you remember when that day was please let me know. It happened but I don’t remember when, like I said before my memory is not very good. If nothing else I suppose I can ask my father since he remembers pretty much everything. When ever it was what happened that day has had a direct effect on the current day. A day where illegal immigrants believe they have rights in our country. I will leave it up to you whether you think that day was a good day or a bad day.