The Day After Thoughts

Now that the election is over ...

• everyone will be happy that endless political ads and commercials will not be heard for another couple years.
• I'll wonder what to post on this blog.
• it's time to congratulate our new President-elect, and acknowledge this historic event.
• it's also time for Republicans to regroup and understand why we lost.

Here are some thoughts that have been going through my mind about why McCain and so many other Republicans were defeated.

1. I truly believe that McCain was the wrong candidate to go up against Obama. During the primaries, the media was very much behind McCain, and that helped him secure the win, but as soon as the primaries were over, the media switched allegiances. The debates were controlled too much by a few individuals, and the issues asked during the Republican Primary debates where seldom if ever touched on during the General Election. One of the big problems with McCain is that many conservatives did not really support him, but they simply opposed Obama ... that resulted in a less than enthusiastic campaign.
   
2. The other problem was perception. This has everything to do with appearance, and nothing to do with substance. Obama was young, McCain was old. Obama was charismatic and eloquent, McCain's speeches were rather dull and boring. Obama seemed to be in touch, McCain seemed a little out of date. I truly believe a younger, more articulate candidate would have faired better against Obama ... I don't know if that alone would have secured a victory, but it might have helped.
   
3. I believe McCain missed a golden opportunity that the $700 Billion pork bailout bill gave him to show that he truly was a maverick. He should have voted against that bill. He should have named names and made famous all the pork that was included in that bill, as he said he would do to any pork laden bill that would come across his desk if he were elected president. Many Americans thought the bailout was a bad idea, and McCain would have had the opportunity to show a huge contrast between himself and Obama, especially as the stock market continues to drop after the bailout has gone into effect.

By the next election cycle, I hope that the Republican Party will find a Newt Gingrich type person who can articulate conservative solutions to problems our nation faces. As Rush Limbaugh says, conservatism works every time it's tried.

Looking ahead to 2012 ... Go Huckabee!

Huckabee on Obama's Ever Lowering Tax Plan

Government Bailout

I'll admit that I don't understand everything about Wall Street and current economic crisis that large lending institutions are experiencing. However, I do know that I don't like what I am hearing from the President about multiple billions of dollars to bail them out. I have found a couple resources that make sense to me, and wanted to pass them on. The first is a video of Newt Gingrich (thanks to Larry), the second is a letter from Mike Huckabee.

"The Fleecing of the American Taxpayer"
by Mike Huckabee

Frankly, I’m disappointed and disgusted with my own Republican party as I watch them attempt to strong-arm a bailout of some of America’s biggest corporations by asking the taxpayers to suck up the staggering results of the hubris, greed, and arrogance of those who sought to make a quick buck by throwing the dice. They lost, but want the rest of us to cover their bets so they won’t be effected in their lavish lifestyles as they figure out how to spend their tens of millions and in some cases, hundreds of millions in bonuses and compensation which was their reward for not only sinking their companies, but basically doing the same to the entire American economy.

It’s especially disconcerting to see the very people who pilloried me during the Presidential campaign for being a “populist” and not “understanding Wall Street” to now line up like thirsty dogs at the Washington, D. C. water dish, otherwise known as Congress, and plead for help. I thought these guys were the smartest people in America! I thought that taxpayers like you and I were similar to the people at the U. N. who have no translator speaking into their headset - that we just needed to trust those that I called the power bunch in the “Wall Street to Washington axis of power.”

The idea of a government bailout in which we’d entrust $700 billion to one man without Congressional oversight or accountability is absurd. My party or not, that is insanity and I believe unconstitutional.

Will there be far-reaching consequences without some intervention? Probably, but we honestly don’t know since we’ve really never seen this level of greed and stupidity all rolled into one massive move. But may I suggest that letting “Uncle Sugar” step in and bail out the billionaires who made the mess will be far worse and will start a long line of companies and individuals who will demand the same of the government---which last time I checked means that they will be demanding it out of YOU and ME. This is not money that Congress is risking from THEIR pockets or future, but ours. Many if not most of us have already experienced lost value on our homes, retirement accounts, and pensions. Now they’d like for us to assume some further risks so they won’t have to.

What happened to the “free market” idea? Is that only our view when we WIN and when we LOSE, we ask the government to come in and take away the pain?

If you are a small business owner, is this the way it works at your place? When you have a bad month, a bad year, or face having to close, can you go up to Congress and get them to write YOU a fat check to take away your risk?

Some of what contributed to this disaster is too much government in the form of Sarbanes/Oxley. Some is due to the tax structure that created the hunger for companies to “game” the system. Some is the common sense that was ignored like loaning money to people who can’t pay it back.

Wall Street has become Las Vegas east, but at least in Vegas, people KNOW they are gambling and they don’t expect the government to cover their losses at the tables. In Wall Street, they do. And the American taxpayer burdens the responsibility.

If Congress wants to do something, here are some suggestions:

1. Eliminate ALL capital gains taxes and taxes on savings and dividends right now. Free up the capital and encourage investment. This is the kind of economic stimulus the Fair Tax would bring and if Congress is going to lose money, let them lose it with lower taxes, not with public dollar bailouts of private market mistakes.
   
   
2. Repeal Sarbanes/Oxley. It has failed. It was supposed to prevent this. It didn’t. Kill it.
   
   
3. Demand that the executives who steered their ships into the ground be forced to pay back the losses of their companies. Of course, they can’t, so let them work and give back to the government and they can live like the people they put on the streets or kept there. It makes no sense to put them in jail—that’s just more they will cost you and me. I’d rather them go out and earn money—just not get to keep so much of it this time. I’m not talking about limiting CEO salaries---just those of the people who now are up in Washington begging for help because they ruined their companies.
   

Attempts by Democrats and Republicans to blame each other is nonsense. They are both guilty and ought to own up and admit it. They all lived off big campaign contributions and the swill of the lobbyists who strong armed them into permission to steal. Enough of blame. Fix it!

GOP Convention

It was good to hear Gov. Huckabee speak tonight. He made two comments that received overwhelming applause. The first was about the sanctity of life. The other was when he said, "Sarah Palin received more votes running for mayor in Wasilla, AK than Joe Biden received running for President of the United States."

Mitt Romney made a good point in his speech about change. The Democrats are running on the idea of change, and Romney agree that alot of liberal policies in Washington, D.C. need change. From the liberal rulings on the Supreme Court regarding Guantanamo Bay, to the Congress not allowing us to drill for oil or build new refineries, etc., we do need change! McCain has a plan to bring productive change that we need.

Mayor Rudy went on the attack against Obama. He said there is good change and bad change. I liked his quote, "Change is not a destination, just as hope is not a strategy." He got the crowd really worked up and enthused.

VP Candidate Sarah Palin communicated very effectively in her speech, once she got started. She stood at the podium for several minutes saying "Thank You" over and over to a standing ovation. I have yet to research all of her beliefs, but what I have heard so far, I like. She took on the liberal media, and Obama's lack of experience. Very well done!

Huckabee Launches Politial Action Committee

Today, Gov. Mike Huckabee unveiled a new website. He has formed a PAC to help support and promote candidates who stand for conservative values. I encourage you to check out the new website. Here's a portion of Gov. Huckabee's statement:

Huck PAC is something I am very excited about. As I campaigned across this country over the last fourteen months I met families and individuals eager for change in Washington and the Republican Party.

Many felt that their Party needed to get back to its core principles: less government, a strong national defense and unwavering support for the family and the sanctity of life.

I campaigned to be the agent of that change and while we may have come up short, I remain and I hope you do as well, undeterred, because the campaign was never about me.

If it had been, I can assure you I would have gotten out of the race long before the Ames Straw Poll when generous pollsters had us trolling at 2-3% in national polls. I stayed in the race then because my campaign was always about the issues and the voters. The folks that felt invisible and overlooked and who believed that Washington wasn’t fighting for the same principles they believed in.

Enter Huck PAC.

Huck PAC is founded on the principles that make America great: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. And because we believe our Republican Party embodies these ideas and is best suited to lead America forward, we are committed to supporting Republican candidates who are passionate advocates for tax reform, a strong national defense, real border security, life, the family, less government and individual liberty.

We will identify candidates who hold firm to these principles, promote their campaigns and financially support their efforts.

I listened to a few minutes of Rush Limbaugh's radio program this afternoon. He was bemoaning the fact that the presidential candidates were poor choices because they did not support life (i.e. they support abortion), they did not support liberty (i.e. they support limitations on our liberty in light of global warming, etc.), and so on. I wonder if Rush got his talking points on this subject from Huckabee's letter?

Huckabee Conference Call

Tonight I enjoyed listening to a Conference Call with Gov. Huckabee hosted by Strang Communications. The host said there were 6,000 people who called in to listen to Huckabee talk about his presidential bid, the role of faith in politics, and a host of other subjects.

Kerry at OneMom has an excellent recap of the call, as well as a link to the audio replay of the call if you are interested.

By the way, the Huckabee website is undergoing some major changes to be unveiled on April 15th at noon.

More Support for Huckabee ... A Bit Late, Though

Paul Weyrich, a founder of the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the Council for National Policy, said recently, "Friends, before all of you and before almighty God, I want to say I was wrong."

In a quiet, brief, but passionate speech, Weyrich essentially confessed that he and the other leaders should have backed Huckabee, a candidate who shared their values more fully than any other candidate in a generation. He agreed with Farris that many conservative leaders had blown it. By chasing other candidates with greater visibility, they failed to see what many of their supporters in the trenches saw clearly: Huckabee was their guy.

Click here to read the entire article.