The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

The Bi-Polar Administration

One of the interesting aspects (well, interesting in an ebola virus-type of way) of the Obama administration is the dichotomy of its persona. One the one hand you have Domestic Obama: Epitomized by the tough guy, "Chicago way" approach to dealing with... well, every American, really. And on the other hand, you have International Obama who, operating with the premise that the United States is guilty of a garden variety of original sin (e.g., slavery, environmental destruction, imperialism, capitalism, racism...all the ism's actually), and in an effort to differentiate himself from every conceivable aspect of his predecessor's doctrine, has engaged in what Newsmax calls a "touchy-feely" foreign policy, where the end game appears to be empty dialog with the world's dictators and despots, as if they were sitting next to him on Dr. Phil's couch and not plotting our fiery demise.

George W. Bush also led a Bi-Polar administration, but only his was flip-flopped. On the international stage he demonstrated the stiffed-jawed resolution of a Reagan, standing up for liberty and America's interests wherever they were threatened, boldly speaking out against tyranny, willing to use America's military to confront the world's rogue regimes were he to deem it absolutely necessary. On the other hand, W. was a pussycat at home-- the self-titled "Compassionate Conservative," who came to the White House to do as he did in Texas: reach across the aisle to make friends with the Democrats who, in kind, spit in his face for eight years. In fact, the more Bush spent like a Liberal, the more vile and contemptuous their attacks were on his administration. Despite this, Bush had a confounding inability or unwillingness to defend himself against their false charges and manic obstructionism. On the international scene Bush was John Wayne; at home, he was Jimmy Stewart.

Ahh, the irony of it all. But back to our present...

You Talkin' To Me?

The Obama administration, enabled by its allies in the Democratic Congressional leadership, routinely and breezily thumb their noses at constitutional limitations through their pugnacious use of the power and purse of the federal government. For them, the end game is unquestionably a total societal restructuring: from our healthcare decisions, to our energy use, to how much we get paid and how our companies are run, to what our children are taught in school, to the media we consume. In fact, it's actually difficult to think of many areas of American life that they have not intruded upon or attempted to manipulate.

Those who present themselves as obstacles to their agenda are either paid off with pinched tax dollars and/or singled-out for retribution by Left Wing front groups, funded by shadowy figures like George Soros (or, in the case of ACORN, by We the People). At least they used to tell us why we needed our lives run by politicians in Washington D.C.-- they were merely looking out for the little guy who, without their help, would get trampled upon by the capitalist machine. Now that they have their firmest grip on power since LBJ, they typically don't bother with establishing an actual premise for their constitutional misconduct. Drunk on power and their almighty hubris, with inspiration from statesmen like Hugo Chávez, Fidel Castro and Mao Tse-Tung, they need not answer to the people anymore. If they cared about what we thought, this healthcare *reform* would never have passed either chamber of Congress. Essentially, we have a gangster government.

Irritating? A yes - one of your Earth emotions.

I won't pretend for a minute to grasp any deep understanding of Obama's thought processes or core motivations-- the man Maureen Dowd calls "Spock" is much more Hillary than Bill, a calculated, teleprompter-reading, over-programmed, ambitious, opportunistic cyborg, who keeps his emotional predilections ensconced behind a stone-faced demeanor. The fact is, very few people seem to really understand how this guy ticks, and in any event the mainstream media apparently could care less, so don't expect any incredible revelations here on the man behind the mask. Instead, I'll just reiterate the three most commonly referenced *key influencers* that, to a debatable degree, have yielded the Barack from the Barry:

• Chicago: The geographic backdrop of his young, professional life. Two years removed from a poly-sci degree at Columbia in 1985, and then again following his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1991, Obama established his roots in one of the nation's most sensationally mercenary cities, and the home of the Democratic political machine established by the legendary Daley's. According to a revealing piece in the American Thinker, it is his baptism in this hierarchal, power-obsessed, community kickback culture that contributes the most to Obama's modus operandi as President.

• Alinsky: Speaking of community kickbacks, 1985 was also the year that then 24-year-old Obama began his 3-year stint as a community organizer on the South side of Chicago, where he was schooled in Saul Alinsky's methods for community organizing and grassroots politics-- which he subsequently taught to others. If you think the modern Left is enamored with redistribution of wealth, you need to brush up on Alinsky-- a man who held unapologetic contempt of America's middle class, who saw democracy as merely a vehicle to propagate his dogma of Communism and social justice, compiled in his infamous Rules for Radicals. To be fair, a lot of '60's Leftists were intrigued with Alinsky's work, including Hillary Clinton, but not all actually taught it for a living like Obama.

• Wright: It was during this initial professional stint in 1987 where Obama met the ranting, bombastic Reverend Jeremiah Wright, when he joined his Trinity United Church of Christ. According to this piece in American Thinker, Trinity preaches a black nationalist perversion of the Christian Gospel, expelling hatred for what he perceives as America's foundation and present-day culture of white supremacy, interspersed with conspiratorial accusations of what could only be described as genocidal government plots against African-Americans. Wright, a veteran of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, a former member of Obama's presidential campaign, and a man who Obama often characterized as his spiritual mentor, awarded Louis Farrakhan his church's Trumpeter Award in 2007 for, in his words, "epitomizing greatness."

So... exactly where does that leave us? The precise contribution each of these factors had in shaping the world view of Barack Obama is anybody's guess, but it isn't difficult to begin connecting dots to his behavior as President. What a disconcerting cocktail of formative influences, indeed! The power-driven "Chicago Way," blended with his communist-inspired social justice indoctrination, alongside his spiritual mentorship from a raving, paranoid black nationalist. At the very least it sheds some light on the traits and tendencies we've witnessed with respect to his policies, ambitions, ambivalence (I'm being kind) for the constitution and aggressive exercise of power in advancing his domestic agenda and addressing his political adversaries. To whit:

• January 2009, Obama appoints career political operative, Shauna Daily, a woman lacking an actual law degree, to his Council's Office, giving her access to Bush administration documents protected under attorney-client privilege. Daily is subsequently returned to the Democratic National Committee only a month later to assume a research post.

• February 2009, the White House assumes control of the Census from the Commerce Department, to be overseen by Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel. Critics note the Democrats' longstanding advocation of using mathematical estimates, a practice known as "sampling," to account for urban residents and immigrants they feel are traditionally undercounted.

• March 2009, the Obama administration asks Congress to give the Treasury Department the unprecedented authority to seize non-bank financial firms, such as insurance companies, investment firms and hedge funds, whose collapse "would damage the broader economy." According to the plan, the Treasury secretary could act only after consulting with the President and getting a recommendation from two-thirds of the Federal Reserve Board.

• April 2009, Obama's Department of Homeland Security issues a document warning law enforcement officials against threats posed by "domestic rightwing terrorists" upset over the economic downturn. Included on the watch list are pro-life groups, gun-rights supporters, anti-illegal immigration advocates and, yes, military veterans.

• May 2009, creditors for Chrysler and GM report that Obama administration officials, including "Car Czar" Steven Rattner, engaged in hardball tactics and threats to their businesses in their respective bailout negotiations, while inflating the value of the United Auto Workers' similarly unsecured credit claims. The American Spectator also reports that political considerations, such as former campaign contributions, may have influenced the selection process for determining which Chrysler dealerships to close.

• June 2009, Obama's Department of Justice overrules career lawyers to kill a 6-month investigation into the frightening voter intimidation case involving uniform-clad, baton-wielding thugs affiliated with the New Black Panther Party at a Philadelphia polling location. According to the Washington Times, "a prominent 1960s civil rights activist who witnessed the confrontation described it as 'the most blatant form of voter intimidation'" he had seen in his lifetime.

• Also in June, the American Spectator reports that that the DOJ barred administrative procedures Georgia officials put in place, under federal court guidance, to verify voter registration-- under the auspices that it violated the rights of minority voters.

• August 2009, the White House issues a blog post asking supporters to forward any "fishy" rumors, chain emails or casual conversations pertaining to healthcare legislation to flag@WhiteHouse.gov. Said Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), "I am not aware of any precedent for a president asking American citizens to report their fellow citizens to the White House for pure political speech that is deemed 'fishy' or otherwise inimical to the White House's political interests."

• September 2009, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (a division of Kathleen Sebelius' Department of Health and Human Services) issues a gag order on insurance companies participating in Medicare Advantage, prohibiting communication with their own customers regarding the administrations plans for cuts to the program. The order is instigated by Senator Max Baucus (D-Mont.) after he discovers a Humana mailing warning of possible benefit reductions should the program’s funding be cut.

• October 2009, the Obama administration, in close coordination with its allies in the Congressional leadership and left-wing fringe groups like MoveOn.org, launches an offensive against the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for their advertising campaign promoting ((gasp!)) free enterprise solutions for economic growth, along with their opposition to climate change legislation. Their tactic of choice is harassment of member corporations to disavow or leave the Chamber entirely.

• October 2009, the Obama administration launches an offensive against Fox News. Communications Director Anita Dunn refers to the network as a "wing of the Republican Party" and an illegitimate news organization that would be treated as "part of the opposition." The White House informs Fox News that they would be granted no interviews until at least 2010, and privately pressures other Democrats to abide by their de facto boycott.

Folks, this is only the easily documentable stuff happening on the surface. From his 18 White House czars, to his slush fund politics played with our stimulus funds, the Obama administration wields power on the domestic stage like no president since FDR. Fed up with the modern day Napoleon, the sheepesh Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn) took to the senate floor last October to warn the White House against creating a "enemies list," citing his own first hand experiences with such behavior as a member of the Nixon administration. Sorry Lamar, but you're a day late and a dollar short with that one.

Channeling Barney Fife

To expect a modern day Democrat president to emulate JFK or Ronald Reagan on the international stage would be foolhardy. After all, Carter and Clinton were hardly staunch advocates for American interests or bold standard bearers for liberty and democracy. Furthermore, during the '08 presidential race then-Senator Obama campaigned at least thematically on markedly different foreign policy approach from that of President Bush. Obama grounded his entire foreign policy on the Liberal boilerplate that Bush's "saber rattling" and "arrogance" had so diminished America's standing internationally that it actually served as hindrance to our interests overseas.

Instead, Obama claimed that we needed to first listen without lecturing, showing other nations the proper respect. He argued for unconditional dialog and negotiation with both friends and foes alike, who ostensibly shared our reasoned commitment to peace and prosperity, coupled with re-engagement on such issues as global poverty, climate change, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. These things, he believed, would serve to usher in a sea change of support from all corners of the globe, repair the standing of America among the global community, and make us safer and stronger as a result.

While this may all seem unsurprising given his Left Wing stripes, this is still the aforementioned Tough Guy from Chicago, schooled in the politics of power and hard knocks, presiding in a post 9-11 world. Even if he believed that America was guilty until proven innocent, even if he actually agreed with many of the churlish, anti-American expressions lobbed at George W. Bush, surely he would demonstrate some semblance of a spine that his Democrat predecessors lacked, some willingness to dispense with the almost obligatory naiveté of the Left's word view, in the event the power of his words and magnitude of his personality failed to part the seas and inaugurate 1,000 years of peace as foretold by the Book of Revelations? After all, he operates as Conan the Conquerer at home, some of that has to rub off internationally... right?

After no further ado, I give you President Obama's secrets for success in international relations in just 3 easy steps:

Step 1: Apologize, then bow to your Sensai!

For Obama, our re-engagement with the world meant first apologizing, confessing America's sins, and abasing himself before the feet of foreign publics. Time and time again, both here and abroad, President Obama and other senior administration officials have established that they are, truly, very very sorry and embarrassed for their country:

• To Europe, for our arrogance and the global financial crisis.
• To the Middle East, for dictating our values and showing a lack of respect.
• To Russia, for allowing our relations to "drift."
• To India, for our carbon footprint.
• To Latin America, for inconsistent engagement.
• To the United Nations, for our unilateral foreign policy.

And just in case the apologizing tour didn't sufficiently convince the world of the sincerity of his shame, Obama added a dash of theatrics with two well-publicized bows to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia and Japanese Emperor Akihito. After all, who needs grit and mettle in a leader of the free world when you have America's first Gaisha President?

Step 2: Bend at the ankles and relax your buttocks, sir

Seizing on the momentum of his self-flagellation tour, Obama's next step was to prove the sincerity of his anti-Bush-ness by backing up his apologies with with more concrete acts of capitulation-- which meant unilateral disarmament of a variety of strategic negotiating positions, inspired acts of weakness, and general retreat from a variety of safeguards of American security. And the War on Terror was just the issue to prove his point.

Fresh off his inauguration in January 2009, Obama promised to return America to a "high moral ground" by way of his signature on three executive orders: The closing of the Guantanamo Bay military prison "within a year," a formal banning of torture, and the establishment of an inter-agency task force to review our detention policies and procedures. And on a side note, congratulations to the State of Illinois-- last we heard the feds were eying a prison site in Thomson with which to relocate the still-current residents of Guantanamo. Sleep well now.

Also on the scrap heap were all those pesky rhetorical traps of the Bush administration; Obama set out to destroy Bush's hardheaded war paradigm by changing the very language his administration would use when addressing the conflict with al Qaeda. The antiqued "War on Terror" was now "overseas contingency operations." Individual acts of terror were referred to as "man-caused disasters." Enemy combatants were simply called "persons" whom the president "has the authority to detain." Clearly, the art of nuance was back in a big way at the White House.

Next up was his much anticipated June speech to the Muslim world in Cairo. Among the highlights: On the American melting pot, Obama claimed that opportunity had not come true for all people in America (ah, but "the promise exists for all who come to our shores." Hooray!). On American perceptions of Islam, Obama remarked that he believed it was his responsibility as president to "fight against negative stereotypes of Islam wherever they exist" (well, at least he wants to fight something). And, most noteworthy, on the ghoulish dilemma of a nuclear-armed Iran, Obama maintained that "no single nation should pick and choose which nations hold nuclear weapons." On that last statement, many, particularly those in the Middle East, interpreted it as tacit acceptance of the legitimacy of Iran's nuclear program.

In November, Obama's Department of Justice announced their decision to try five 9-11 defendants, including mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, in a federal court in New York City. The defendants would naturally possess all the rights and protections guaranteed to any American citizen under the Constitution, including attempts to put the U.S., itself, on trial for human rights violations in its detention and interrogation procedures, including practices such as "waterboarding" that Obama has publicly denounced as torture, as well as the ability to subpoena sensitive intelligence and investigative materials.

Also in November, we learned that the three Navy SEALS who captured the highly-valued ringleader behind the grisly murder and mutilation of three Blackwater USA security guards in Fallujah in 2004 would face criminal charges for what the terrorist alleges was a punch in the lip during his detention. Yep... a fat lip. The three soldiers will face court martial before a military tribunal in Virginia later this month.

Step 3: Okay, Now Love Me

After acquiescing to European demands to set the agendas off the 2009 G-20 and NATO summits during his inaugural April trip, Soeren Kern of Pajamas Media characterized Obama's diplomatic philosophy, which seemed to put the interests of other countries ahead of those of the United States, as the "Obama Doctrine." But given that the policies of his predecessor were so sullied with "flawed ideology," surely the President's first year in office brought with it some green shoots of hope and promise among the many global quandaries he *uniquely* inherited upon taking office. After all, he has claimed many times that he was hired to "clean up the mess"... so, what of his 2009 accomplishments?

• Under his watch there have now been two terrorist attacks; one that killed 13 American soldiers (along with an unborn child) and wounded 30 others at Ft. Hood; another a failed attempt to blow up 300 passengers aboard a Northwest jetliner.

• Iran continues laboring unabated on its nuclear and missile programs, while simultaneously slaughtering its citizens on its streets not once, but twice, under Obama's watch... rebuked with vague, whimpering condemnations by his feckless State department.

• Obama dithered for nearly three months after the top U.S. and NATO Commander in Afghanistan, Gen. Stanley McCrystal, requested additional troops to fend off a revitalized Taliban insurgency that jeopardized the success of the entire 8-year war.

• North Korea operates in continued defiance of international sanctions for its rogue missile program, as well as for its shipments of arms to Myanmar. And for added measure, a Japanese news agency was fed a story last June in which North Korea was allegedly preparing to launch a missile aimed at Hawaii. Obama's response was to send Kim Jong-il a letter.
  
  
• And at the Copenhagen climatefraud talks, Obama received the diplomatic middle finger from the same countries that bedeviled his predecessor. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao refused to meet with him. Venezuelan troll-dictator Hugo Chávez accused Obama of smelling like sulfur. Cuba's Fidel Castro called his trip to Copenhagen a "show." Sudan compared his environmental plan to the Holocaust. Well, at least it went better than his prior trip to Copenhagen when he lost the Olympics.

The fact is, despite the hope Obama placed on the power of dialog without preconditions, listening without dictating, and leaving repressive regimes paths to an "open door," the problems that faced his predecessor remain firmly in place under his watch. And while much of the world indeed disliked George W. Bush's policies, at least the bad guys feared him. Not only have Obama's apologies, bows, and unilateral concessions failed to achieve a single foreign policy success after a year in office, the behavior by our adversaries suggest they regard him as a lightweight who can be rolled without consequences.

And really, why should anyone unclench their first to grasp at his outreached hand? The Obama Doctrine suggests that there is much more to be gained through defiance. At almost every turn, when faced with a decision to stand behind those striving for liberty and freedom against a totalitarian oppressor, Obama failed to seize the right side of history: Stand by Poland and the Czech Republic with missile defense, or appease Russia? Stand by Israel for their right to exist, or appease the Islamic Fundamentalism? Stand by democracy in Honduras, or prop up an ousted dictator reviled by their citizens but chummy with Hugo Chávez?

A Liberal Divided?

Dick Morris ruminated in this piece on what progress President Obama would achieve were he a third as tough on North Korea and Iran as he is on the Republican party. What a contrast of style indeed-- that a man could operate so tyrannically with his domestic political opponents, yet show such naive, reckless passivity when confronted with the world's emissaries of oppression.

Yet, digging deeper, the commonality between the Domestic and International Obama isn't all that illusive-- the link is arrogance, directed at the American people. He stepped into office believing that our problems were a self-created offspring, borne of a lack of sophistication, empathy, and nuance on the international stage. For Obama, the honor and principles of America are simply bargaining chips to be negotiated with other nations in exchange for cooperation that would allow him to focus on his societal restructuring of America. At times he appears to almost relish the opportunity of juxtaposing the power of the American Presidency with his cartoonish demonstrations of submissiveness and guilt, as if the gesture would be sufficient to win their love and cooperation, as if the American people didn't deserve more dignified representation.

Karl Rove argued in this Wall Street Journal op-ed that Obama, in his desire for world popularity, acts as if there is moral equivalence between America and her enemies, where our perceived historical shortcomings can be leveraged in the form of apologies, humility, retreat and retrenchment, to compel our adversaries to respond in kind. In fact, he's been forthcoming in his hope that his very election would help repair America's standing in the world, as he stated as much in this press conference during his inaugural April trip to Europe.

Liberalism is at home is as it is abroad, the subjugation of substance for style, of results for intentions. What an odd dilemma for the American people, to be under the thumb of a man so lacking in trust of his fellow citizens that he would seek to remake the country into a Liberal Utopian playground for unchecked Big Government, who would nonetheless place so much faith in the good intentions of world figures who openly plot our destruction.

Obamacare: The Bridge to Nowhere (or nowhere you want to be)

Purchasing and Consumption

First let me say, I desperately have been trying to find the article that inspired this post, but alas I cannot. So I apologize to that gentleman (or woman) for ripping off part of his (or her) intellectual property. I'll make amends if and when I can locate it.

But one of its important points pertained to the critical link between purchase and consumption-- this is the relationship that must be present for any market to control costs. In other words, individual consumers making decisions in their best interest, weighing the benefits of a good or service versus their associated expense, in a universe of choice, is the only force in existence than can contain inflation without triggering adverse consequences. If you are a lover of liberty and free markets, there simply is no other way to control costs-- anything else leads to rationing, diminished choice and quality, stifled innovation, and punitive taxation--all of this, and the trampling of one's civil liberties to boot. This is why conservatives and libertarians are so committed to free market principles-- they work every time, and everywhere, they're tried!

Belly Up to the Buffet

The ultimate folly in healthcare today is 3rd party payers-- be they government entities at the state or federal level, or even private insurance companies with their system of copays and coinsurance. Think about it-- those of us with insurance: We go to the doctor, we pay our copay, and then what? We stop acting like consumers and start imitating cruise ship tourists that want to get their money's worth on the 24/7 buffets. And we wonder why our premiums go up 15-20% every year?

Furthermore-- the fact that most of us aren't examining the charges in detail, the way we would were we reviewing a car repair invoice or a bank statement, means that the seller isn't being held accountable for holding down their costs. There is a lack of transparency about the entire transaction-- we don't know why an x-ray costs $250, we just handle the copay and move on. The involvement of the 3rd party payer adds the needless red tape and processing/handling charges to a transaction that should be taking place between a true buyer and seller. That isn't happening-- instead the negotiation is taking place between the insurance company or government bureaucracy and the seller, and that is a recipe for the disaster that is healthcare today.

A good rule of thumb: Anything that the government spends a lot of money on increases the cost of that item-- not just in the obvious way of driving up artificial demand, but due to the nature of government itself in that it always seeks to control the process and remove the role of the individual-- this despite the fact that only the individual can effectively control costs in a free market. The obvious irony is they end up making things more expensive and, thus, more people become dependent on them for assistance. The downward spiral is then triggered, something that is occurring in other sectors as well (e.g., college tuition).

Back to healthcare: Any program that neglects to fix the disconnect between purchasing and consumption will fail to contain costs. Not only does Obamacare ignore this, they are unconstitutionally forcing some 30 million Americans without insurance to enter the same doomed system, and their greater numbers will actually amplify the problem.

Conservatism: Results vs. Intentions

The thing about conservatism-- it looks past feelings and intentions and cares only about results. Here's what I mean: The fact is, as a society we would actually be better off swelling the ranks of the uninsured so that more and more Americans began paying their doctor bills à la carte. In the short run it would cause many good folks some pain, but in the long run the market would correct itself-- either with lower insurance premiums, or lower actual healthcare costs negating the necessity of insurance altogether, except for a household policy covering us in the event of medical catastrophe-- the kinds of policies our grandparents held. Why on earth should Americans need insurance for routine medical needs? The answer is... we shouldn't!!

If we insist on seizing the assets of some Americans to redistribute to other Americans to pay for their healthcare in a transitionary period, it makes much more economic sense to simply deposit the stolen money into individual Health Savings Accounts-- whatever the recipient doesn't spend in a year they get to bank for future medical needs. This, along with catastrophic medical coverage, is all they ought to get from the taxpayer-- the rest comes out of either their own pockets, or those of willing charitable organizations. At least in this instance, the consumer is ostensibly face to face with their consumption insofar is they have a finite medical allowance to manage (or mismanage).

The bottom line is simple-- if you give a human being access to an all-you-can-eat buffet, they're likely going to overeat once they pay their cover charge. And, of course, if government's picking up the cost of the cover charge to boot, well look the hell out-- your costs are headed for the stratosphere, and the taxpayer will be drained until he or she gives up and joins the rest of the crowd at the government trough. And then you'll have the end of America.

For those that missed it last August, Whole Foods CEO, John Mackey, wrote a great piece that I continue to reference on the issue of healthcare and what can be done within a free market framework to reduce costs. I'll reference it again here, it's a brilliant read that got him in a ton of trouble with the Maoists among his consumer base.

The Real Agenda

The idea that Barack Obama and his despicable accomplices in Congress are trying to sell to the American people is simple-- we can do it better than you. I literally want to spit up all over my computer screen as I type this, but I'll try to resist. Nevermind the fact that they're acting completely without constitutional authority in the first place, which should lead to his prompt impeachment if there were any justice in this world. Just contemplate the notion of a bunch of suits in Washington D.C., most of whom have never managed so much as a payroll in their entire lives, possessing the arrogance to think they can create efficiencies in ANYTHING at all, much less a healthcare system that accounts for a sixth of the American economy. But they go further than that-- by this legislation they are saying that they can create efficiencies superior to those of a free market, meaning us. Why? Well... only they can fight the eeeeevvvilll insurance companies conspiring to screw us, that's why.

Well here's what I say: I've met the enemy, and the enemy isn't a faceless insurance company, it is, in fact, the Left Wing radicals that control Washington D.C. at the moment. They see America and the freedoms and liberties her citizens enjoy and feel contempt. They look at history's experimentations with socialism and actually say to themselves-- "yep, let's recreate that here"... and they are in the process of doing just that-- instituting the soul-crushing, top-down government infrastructure to make it a reality. Every conservative and libertarian running for office in 2010 worth supporting must commit to repealing this monstrous legislation, and begin work at replacing it with reform predicated on free market principles.

Let me say one more thing-- they (the Left) know this legislation won't work, and that's the point. For the reasons I've identified (and more) it will not only fail to control costs, it will exasperate the problem. This will allow them to theatrically throw up their hands and institute the complete transformation to something that resembles the UK's National Health Service. This bill-- Obamacare-- is, in a sense, a patsy... a bridge not to nowhere, just nowhere that you or I want to be. This bridge must be blown to pieces by the next Congress, with the same urgency that they used to create it in the first place.

A Time for Offense

A Bitter Pill

The latest Washington sellout, Ben Nelson, should illuminate for us just how urgent the call of history has become. My fingers are almost quivering as I type this, when I think about Harry Reid using tax dollars that should, at a minimum, be applied toward our staggering debt service, if not outright returned to the hardworking people of America-- people that would lose EVERYTHING were they to operate their households the way their government manages their money-- to buy off Senators to get this disgusting piece of legislation through the that dishonorable body. I'm not sure how you feel, but I'm tired of this shakedown. I'm tired of the arrogance. I'm tired of politicians that want to remake the United States in the image of the worst of Western Europe and call it progress. The gall of these men and women, who have ballooned our national debt making us ever more beholden to foreign powers, who have only too gleefully pursued more entitlements to make the American people more dependent on they, the would-be puppet masters in Washington D.C., who use our hard-earned dollars to bribe and threaten and control like filthy mobsters, who flaunt their use of power in our faces just daring us to do something about it, is too much to swallow.

But most of all, I'm tired off reacting to these punks in the first place. They trot one disastrous piece of governance after another, we howl in protest, and they walk away with merely an arm of our liberty... or a leg, or a torso. Don't worry, they'll be back for the rest of the body, their thirst for absolute control over our lives only whetted for a brief moment in time. Unfortunately for us, these punks have acquired terrific power-- power that the founding fathers never intended a politician to have in the first place... EVER. And I'm ready to get proactive about returning that power to its rightful owners, starting in 2010.

What Now?

Our generation needs to put forth a game changer, something to turn back the dark, post-FDR tide in a fundamental way and set our country on a major course correction. History is calling us. And let me be clear, this is a bigger task than triumphing in an election or two. We all bought into the false hope of 1994-- that was a politician-engineered revolt that, although backed by the people, turned the Republican party into the feckless, wobbly-kneed institution of insiders and stiffs that it remains today. We are worse off in 2009 than we ever were in 1993. The revolution that begins in 2010 must not be merely supported by the people, it must be led by the people. To borrow a well-worn cliché, it is time to take our country back.

This effort must not be merely about obtaining political power, which is short-term thinking with a natural beginning and end (a craven goal worthy of our political opponents). I'm speaking of a long-term, wholesale reshaping of our governmental culture, powered by a massive educational endeavor. The American people are opposed to what is taking place in Washington DC and in state capitals across the country, but this opposition is instinctive-- meaning, they don't have the tools (understanding of history, our constitution, and the required vocabulary) to articulate exactly why they oppose it. This weakens their ability to take a firm stand and explain their opposition with conviction and clarity and persuasion to their friends and family, and thus their resolve, and our movement along with it, is hindered. We can't take heart in polls that show opposition to the Far Left's agenda, a sentiment that is an inch deep and directionless, which is why the ruling elites in Washington DC are willing to risk cramming through their gangster agenda in defiance of it. If we give people the knowledge to properly understand the depth of depravity taking place among our supposed representatives they will rise up with us in opposition, and at that point these scoundrels in DC will lose their power to harm America, not just for an election cycle or two, but for a generation or two. And only then will we begin to repair the damage to our formerly great Republic.

A Bold Alternative

The current grassroots movement of conservatives and libertarians-- be they Tea Party or otherwise-- need to coalesce in 2010 behind an alternative to the Far Left's agenda that can, at the very least, lay the groundwork for this grand political education. Tea Party Patriots has started this effort already (http://www.contractfromamerica.com/Idea.aspx), and efforts like this beg your thoughtful attention and participation. In my opinion this agenda needs to address the immoralities present in the following areas:

• Taxes: We can argue supply-side vs. demand-side economics until the cows come home, but nobody in Washington seems to care about deficits anyway. Therefore taxes should be immediately cut across the board. Return the people's money in the short-term to revive the economy and defund the Congressional thieves, and in the long-term investigate alternative taxation systems that do away with the IRS and the associated arcane annual filing exercise that consumes so many families.
• Spending: In the short run, place limitations on Congress' ability to raise the debt ceiling in relation to the size of our economy, except in periods of true national emergency. Consider also proposals like zero-base budgeting that require accountability in all taxpayer-funded programs, and an end to so-called Congressional earmarks that contribute so much of the pork that buy off whores like Senators Nelson and Landrieu.
• Federalism: We must bring about the end of the usurpation of power by all 3 branches of our federal government, returning it to state and local governments. In the short run consider the Enumerated Powers Act that forces Congress to establish constitutional authority before taking action. In the long run unreasonable and unconstitutional regulation needs to be gutted, along with several federal agencies. Also, on a related note, the so-called presidential czars need to be stripped of any and all regulatory ability, which make a mockery of separation of powers.
• The Washington D.C. Career Path: This is at the root of all the corruption, these troublemakers attaching their anchors to the taxpayer trough seemingly for life, completely detached from the way things work out here in the real world-- those of us with jobs and businesses that have to some how make ends meet and survive under the trash these elitists shove down our throats. No more! We need to blow up the taxpayer-funded career path and associated lifetime perks and salaries these people draw. They need to start living like we do-- immediately. In the long-run we need term limits, you aren't supposed to live in Washington D.C. forever, go back to your districts and try to make it under the laws you pass.
• Energy: No more games, drill for our national resources now, and wait for the green market to establish itself on its own merits, not on the backs of working men and women in the form of high prices and a reduced standard of living. No more roadblocks, no more wackos setting the agenda and sabotaging capitalism, so long as common sense safeguards are in place there should be no limits to obtaining as much of our own energy as their are entrepreneurs willing to risk their own skins to go get it.
• Environmental Policy: The re-establishment of fact-based environmental policy that isn't solely reliant on voodoo models that can substantiate just about anything the modeler wants to prove; and a suspension of all further global warming-related regulation until such time as "Climategate" is investigated to the satisfaction of the American taxpayer.
• Sovereignty: In the short term, a formal declaration by Congress that reasserts America's sovereignty and rejects forevermore intrusion into our internal affairs in the form of global taxation, regulation, or other hinderences on our ability to both prosper and defend our interests. In the long term, a re-evaluation of our commitment to the United Nations, which has evolved into a virtual country club for radical leftists, dictators and thugs that live off U.S. taxpayer support only to spit in our faces. Personally speaking, I've about had it with this crowd.
• English as the Official Language. We welcome all legal immigration, but learn our language as the generations who preceded you did. Our language is part of our identity and critical to your prospects for success here. Political correctness will no longer dictate national interest.
• Repeal of any Healthcare Legislation Enacted by this Congress. Replace it with a genuine, free-market down payment on healthcare reform, such as that exquisitely articulated by Whole Foods CEO Jeff Mackey in his Wall Street Journal op-ed from last August (http://www2.wholefoodsmarket.com/blogs/jmackey/).

Road Trip

I say, don't ask for the whole enchilada on this first pass. Stick with an easily digestible breadbasket of reforms that lay the foundation for the long-term education of America, then take the liberty baton on the road. I recommend a national tour, city by city, that puts forth a common sense alternative vision to the madness and tryanny of the Left. Assemble a core group of charismatic fresh faces that rotate on the tour, mixed in with local leaders with traction in their particular regions of the country. The tour would be part political rally, part revival, part rock concert-- get people confident, pumped up, connected and committed. Recruit, energize, galvanize and set them loose in their communities to rally their friends and neighbors behind the call of history. Give every candidate running for office the opportunity to endorse this new vision, regardless of political persuasion. As far as I'm concerned, they're all fired-- but they have the right to re-apply for their jobs under a new accountability.

To accomplish this we need top notch promotional tools-- polished mediums of communication, crisp merchandising materials, branded apparel, you name it. This isn't merely a political movement, it's the call of history to this generation of Americans. It needs to move with confidence and principled boldness in the face the inevitable taunts and threats and demonization by the Left Wing and their allies in media, entertainment and academia. And more than anything, it needs courageous LEADERS ready to direct a nation of patriots and write a new chapter in future history books. Is there a Jefferson out there today? A Madison? A Franklin? Perhaps yes-- let's get this revival started and hope they bubble to the surface.

A Long Term Campaign

These tyrants in our government have forgotten for whom they work. They don't love America, they want to remake it into a socialist nightmare. This isn't just about election cycles or temporary victories anymore, this time we need to play for keeps as we begin to drive these people to the fringes of society where they belong. But it won't happen by prayers and wishes alone, it will take bold action by all of us, reaching beyond our comfort zones, digging deep, and laying it all on the line for our country. My idea for a road trip is only meant to be the kickoff of a long-term endeavor, perhaps spanning 40, 50, even 75 or more years. It will take generations of commitment to right the course, but ours must ignite the flame. How do we get this started?

Gross Miscalculation

The Left seems to have soothed themselves by few notions:

• They will pay the price at the ballot box only if they fail to pass their revolting agenda.
• Opposition to their agenda is largely unauthentic... a ruse orchestrated by a small handful of unseen, capitalist powerbrokers rather than a genuine, grassroots swell.
• Opposition to their agenda is solely a means for their opponents to regain power, not a legitimate disagreement on the merits of their ideas.
• Demographics are working in their favor regardless by way of illegal immigration. Thus, their cause will only strengthen with time.

They have grossly miscalculated. Their opponents are middle class America-- real families, with jobs, bills, front yards, a dog, soccer practice... you get the idea-- people that are not typically political, yet have been drawn into activism in a desperate bid to get the attention of their elected leadership in state capitals and in Washington D.C.. You may ask, so why did they allow these officials to be elected in the first place, only to rise up in opposition less than a year later? There isn't one answer... fear of the financial crisis, preoccupation with their own problems, gullibility, the persuasive power of a media-hyped Obama campaign, a desire to prove they aren't the racists the Left makes them out to be. But one thing is clear, the middle class-- the people that make this country work-- are waking up to the discovery that they are losing their country.

As for the illegal immigration calculation, anyone with designs on joining the middle class, on improving their lot in life through hard work and perseverance, on the defense of religious freedom and the sanctity of life, will find themselves, sooner or later, in opposition to the agenda of the Left Wing. It is not an agenda of compassion or enlightenment, it is an agenda of cruelty and tyranny and misery. And it doesn't matter what color your skin is, if you have a brain and are paying attention the truth will reveal itself. In other words, if you come to this country looking for prosperity and liberty, you will eventually find yourself in our majority camp of patriots.

The ironic thing is they, the Statists currently in control of our government, could likely defuse the opposition by merely abandoning the more radical elements of their agenda, and probably survive intact-- as most folks would gladly go back to life before the Obama era. But the 'powers that be' won't do this, for reasons related to the gross miscalculations I have outlined above. Thus it is time for real America to rise up-- not just in opposition to their agenda, but in their support of leaders committed to our constitutional principles. COMMITTED. Leaders that love their country more than they do acceptance by Left Wing pop/academic/media culture. Leaders that don't mind laying their jobs on the line for principles that they know to be just and truthful and transparent. Leaders that are loyal for the long haul, that reject the lure of power and control over the lives of Americans, that recognize that the money they appropriate belongs to the taxpayer, and that they are meant to be good stewards of those resources-- taking only enough to fund the legitimate functions of our government, and sending the rest back to we the people! Real America, rise up. Don't be afraid to be criticized for defending the principles that made this country great, for which so many of our forefathers fought and died. History is calling-- pick up the damned phone.

The Left Wing is going to reap the whirlwind in 2010 and 2012. But it can't stop there-- they must beaten back, again and again, to the fringes of society from which they came, as it will take a generation to undo the damage they have caused to this country, to piece back the elements of a republic that will stand for constitutional principles. Until then, this is the time for organizing and communicating and planning. Get off the sidelines and onto the playing field. Apply whatever God-given resources you have at your disposal to this majority movement. The time is now.