Saturday, October 31, 2009

Conservatives are the “Progressives”…

There seems to be this unchallenged premise in the media and society in general, that conservative people are unwilling to change, or embrace new movements. This couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s strange to me how some perceptions are so wrong and rarely challenged like Hitler was a “right wing conservative” nut job. He was definitely a nut job but he was a socialist big government authoritarian which is completely counter to a conservative philosophy. He utilized a hatred for Jews because the Jewish people were extremely capable capitalists. It was easy for Hitler to demonize Jews because it is easy to demonize capitalism. But why?

Why is capitalism easy to demonize? Because capitalism rewards individual success and is completely devoid of emotional considerations. Emotional arguments take less thought and are easily understood. Capitalism doesn’t care if someone is white, black, red, green, male, female, minority, majority, capitalism is blind. Capitalism decides based on performance that someone wins and someone loses, it rewards excellence, ingenuity, hard work, sound principles and judgment. These incentives are seen as cold and uncaring but it is exactly that principle that makes it so effective. Capitalism doesn’t change the rules to accommodate emotional feelings or personal attributes. So how does this all tie into conservatives being more “progressive”?

If you think of the things that enable a society to be progressive, they are built on conservative principles and capitalism. By enabling individuals to succeed and create great wealth for themselves and others, benevolence increases due to this accumulated wealth, and a society thrives and has the ability to provide for the poor, educate the masses, and support the many “progressive” programs that people of liberal persuasion are always claiming to support. It is conservative not liberal principles that allow for a country to be “progressive”.

If we were to abandon capitalism and conservatism for a liberal socialist agenda, the incentive to create wealth will be destroyed because the rewards are distributed based on emotion and the authority of government. People will labor for themselves but they will only labor for others if forced to by an authoritarian government. So the question now is; is authoritarian government “progressive”? I would argue authoritarian governments destroy the ability to provide for the people and history backs me up here. So people that want all kinds of programs from government are not progressive they are authoritarians.

As a society we must stand on principles and that is what conservatives believe is best for a progressive society. Principles are universal and can be found in the Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, Natural law, etc… Conservatives are principled in nature and understand that prosperity is found through strong principled societies. It is why the Founders believed we would only survive as long as we were a moral nation believing in a divine power. It is conservatives who are trying to maintain these principles, therefore maintaining our ability as a nation to be progressive.

The people trying to undermine our principles are the people that will destroy our abilities as a nation to continue to be the hope of the world. If we allow the people who today call themselves “progressives” to continue down this current path of expanded government and limited capitalism and faith, they will become the authoritarians; just like Hitler…

Friday, October 30, 2009

Fuzzy Math…

1900 pages at $2.2 million a word cost to the taxpayer, for a total cost of $1.005 TRILLION dollars, that is supposed to cover 5, 10, 20, 40??? Million Americans that don’t have health insurance, which covers 10 or 20 million illegal immigrants, paying for 200,000 or 2 million abortions, and will be paid for by $70 or $80 billion in Medicare and Medicaid fraud along with $700 or $750 billion in reduced payments to doctors and hospitals, and forcing “competition” with private health insurance companies that make ?$ billions in “obscene” profits (3% or 300% profit margins), which will stimulate the $700 or $750 billion dollar “stimulus” package, helping to increase our current 3.5% or -3.5% increase in GDP “growth”, creating 30,000 or 650,000 new or saved jobs, with the cash for clunkers program that paid people $3000 in rebates that cost $24,000 per vehicle, along with the $8000 mortgage credit that will reduce unemployment from 9.9% to 10.2% which will all help elect incumbents in the 2010 election.

If any of these numbers make sense; you have a great future in the current political system… Are we done with this crew yet?

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Babies Without Parents

Call me what you will but creating babies with skin cells, without the involvement of a mom and dad, scares me and makes me extremely uncomfortable. It has a Frankenstein component in my mind. I am not a scientist, and I don’t look at this as a scientific “breakthrough”, I see it as man getting involved in areas we have little business being.

I understand the drive of some infertile couples to have a baby of their own. I don’t think this is about that. This is man playing God, and I think we are asking for trouble. I am having a hard time putting my finger on the exact argument so maybe the people reading this blog can help me out…

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Back to the Real Issues…

The president needs to support our troops in Afghanistan now. The president is ignoring the most defined responsibility of the federal government, while troops are dying. He says he is thinking about it and I understand he may be busy but is playing golf and basketball more important than the lives of our troops? I know even if he makes a decision on Afghanistan troops could die, but at least look like you care Mr. President!

I don’t know how he sleeps at night with our soldiers dying while the commanders in Afghanistan are waiting on additional troops or at least an indication of where the commander in chief stands on their request. He says he is waiting for elections in Afghanistan but is he? Could it be he is concerned about the elections here in the US? If he continues to be this indecisive he will not only lose the two governor races in 2009, he will lose his house and senate in 2010. Our troops are too important to put off until any election. This is outrageous!

Our congress needs to escalate this issue to get the attention it deserves. Our troop’s lives are depending on it…

Monday, October 26, 2009

The Economics of Cow Farts…

Eating meat must be stopped or we are all going to burn up and die from global warming according to Professor of Economics at the London School of Economics, I.G. Patel. It is imperative to stop the gassy pigs and cows, and the only way to do it is stop eating meat. I am just not sure how that is going to work? I.G. Patel’s theory is that by creating awareness about cow farts and the link to eating meat, we will stop eating meat to save the planet. I’m not so sure being a hamburger eating ugly American.

The other issue is when PETA finds out about this they will surely put an end to the killing of these farting cows. The result will be more cows due to less need for hamburgers and steaks, and before too long we will be shooing them away from our front lawns, due to the overpopulation bound to happen. Then what will we do? Think of the stink this will cause.

I think we have a true crisis on our hands, and I’m just not sure where I should stand on this issue as a candidate for Governor? Well that’s not exactly true; I am not standing behind the cows for sure…

This stuff is real folks!

Find the Fraud…

We are told by the current administration that there is billions of dollars in fraudulent activity in Medicare and Medicaid that will help fund healthcare “reform”. My question is; if we know the fraud is there why does the government not stop it now? Which then brings me to another question; if there are billions of dollars of fraudulent activity going on in these programs, why would we allow the government to take over the entire healthcare system?

I could expand on this thought but I find these two questions say it all…

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Make my “pay”!

I know when many hear this news; “government reduces pay of corporate executives” they silently say hoorah. If you are one of these people you need to have an intervention with yourself. If you believe someone is overpaid and the government should reduce that pay the next question is; if the government thinks you make too much (even if you are making $50,000 a year) and cuts your pay to 35K, how will you feel? If you believe this can’t happen to you, you’re not only wrong; you’re next.

As the federal government continues to inject itself into the private sector (unconstitutionally I might add), they will set pay grades; guaranteed. They have already set pay grades for Doctors that accept government insurance, car executives, finance executives, and you are next. If it is good for some, why not for all? And while the government is at it, they will also try to apply price controls. If you are too young to remember, it was a disaster under President Nixon. You see the government is in the business of “fairness”, and the lowest common denominator. They don’t raise the bar, they lower it. And in turn we end up with a misery index and if you remember the Carter years, there was exactly that; a Misery Index. Is that where we want to go again?

So as you think about these executives and the pay decreases being mandated by the government, you need to think hard and beyond the emotional feeling of “they make so much anyway, they deserve a pay cut.” Because there will always be someone that makes more than you. The great thing about America is that everyone has the same opportunity to make a million bucks a year (for now). You should be working harder on how you can make a million than supporting government bureaucrats that create only misery. Those people that make millions also have created millions of jobs and opportunities and what is that worth?

We can all be miserable together or we can all strive to be the best with the incentive of a better pay day. I say instead of cutting other people’s pay we should focus on how we make our own pay!

Working for a Living…

There is nothing more satisfying than working for a living. The ability to work enables us to take care of our families, invest in our family’s future, take a vacation, and enjoy the opportunities in life. I suggest that every politician in office today should try it. I think too many in political life have forgotten what it feels like to earn an honest paycheck. They claim they are working for the people but what they are actually doing is making it difficult for people to work.

Government regulations, confiscatory tax policy, and a movement to “re-distribute the wealth” of hard working Americans under the guise of “fairness”, is suppressing America’s ability to work. The politicians creating current policy, including the president, have forgotten what work is. Work is created by a need in the market. For example, people need to eat; therefore we need farmers, truckers to get food to market, and grocery stores. People need transportation so car companies manufacture vehicles for people to buy. These are simple examples but it seems this lesson has been lost in today’s political class that think they can create jobs by borrowing boat loads of money and handing it out to who they believe deserve it.

The argument the politicians used to add $700 billion in debt to our children’s tab was to “stimulate shovel ready projects.” If the shovel ready projects were truly needed they would have already been in progress. The government believes that they can create need better than the free market. That is ignorance. The best example happens to be in the state of Michigan. The government spent billions in a “bailout” of GM and jobs and dealerships continue to vanish. In contrast, the state put a tax cut incentive (they reduced taxes to work in Michigan) in place to attract the Hollywood movie industry. The result was an increase of Hollywood “work” in Michigan that went from $2 million in 2007 to $125 million in “work” in 2008. So instead of government making “work”, they got out of the way and reduced the cost of creating work by lowering taxes and regulation and the result? Lots of jobs and lots of work in the film industry and the car companies that are being targeted by politicians; job losses and dealership closings.
Which policy do you think is working better?

Anyone that works for a living understands this concept. If our politicians actually worked for a living they would know this instinctually. Instead they continue to try to create work by borrowing and printing more money to give to “shovel ready projects” and industries they think will generate jobs. They need to leave that to the people that actually work for a living.

That means reducing government intervention and giving more incentives to me and you…

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Party Embarrassment…

This article on the “Hill” website is exactly why I am running unaffiliated in my upcoming election. This is the type of behavior we expect of our children, not our supposed congressional representatives. Changing locks on committee room doors? Come on who’s running this country? This type of party bickering is the norm in government practice not just the campaign cycle.

What has happened which is clearly outlined in this article are two parties that have lost sight of the true goal; to manage government effectively. Not all ideas democratic are bad, and not all republican ideas are bad, and once elected, are our representatives not Americans anymore? I understand how forming groups to accomplish a goal is effective, I run a very large community myself, but the result of the two party system has poisoned the political process of governing.

We no longer govern, we endlessly campaign. Once elected, representatives should be part of the same team. There are principles that should never be compromised like our constitution, but there are many ways to get to good policy. This is especially true at the state and local level and is exactly why the constitution provides the most power to the state government. You would never know that because our constitution is being trampled by both parties but it doesn’t mean we can’t get back to our core principles.

Do we really want to reward the party candidates by voting them continually back in power? The republicans are arguing that they believe in limited government but what did they do when they were in power? Did they reduce government and apply the constitution? No, they are just going in the big government direction a little bit slower. The democrats have completely trampled the constitution at the same time they campaign on personal accountability? Personal accountability; are they kidding? Just look at what they’re doing.

We need to elect candidates outside of the two parties because with the party candidates we will get the same old same; promises not kept. Is it really that risky to elect some candidates that actually care about this state and country and could care less about the party platform? If you are a political party member I have to ask; are you embarrassed by your party’s performance?

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Punishing Achievement…

We teach our children to work hard, manners, always respect our elders, save for a rainy day, get a good education, don’t use credit cards unless you can pay the bill at the end of the month, be honest and trustworthy, and take care of those less fortunate than ourselves. We try to instill the American values that have been the foundation of our success. But lately it seems that the people that never learned these lessons are the ones getting all the “goodies” of government. It seems that we have a greater interest in taking care of people that are not citizens than those that are.

People that have chosen to accumulate debt, drop out of school, forget to pay their taxes, make really bad decisions in life are the people getting the attention of our politicians. Not in the way they should like a good scolding, but through a transfer of tax dollars from the people living by the rules to the people and companies that don’t, through bailouts and programs designed to save people behaving badly! We are rewarding bad behavior. And if there is one thing we know about human nature is you get more of what you reward people to do. But what does that mean to our future?

It means people that have played by the rules are going to stop playing by the rules. You would be a fool to keep paying for the bad behavior of others through hard work, savings, and investment. The time is coming when we producers are going to take a stand and kick back like all the rest of the entitled masses and wait at home for our check to come from the government. We can play that game too if we have to.

When will government intervention and intrusion get the scrutiny it deserves? The people in charge of our government right now are radical incompetents; know nothing about how our economy works, and what has made this nation great. Incentivizing individual opportunity has been the engine of this nation’s success. No government bureaucrat has ever been more than a drain on the American economy or dream.

We have a choice; run these bums out of town or get on the gravy train of government entitlement. If you are already on the gravy train; how is it going to work when we all get on the train? As a producer, I am getting involved by running for office. I encourage you to get involved before we are forced to pay more for the train of entitlement. Entitlement is such an ugly trait and is a last resort for most producers. It is not in our constitution. As a matter of fact, it isn’t in the U.S. Constitution either…

Our Kid’s Future Will Be Determined in the 2010 Election…

What if the government:

· Took away your ability to parent your children the way you choose?
· Mandated state “volunteerism” for your children?
· Took away 85 - 95% of your income in taxes?
· Decided who you can watch and listen to on TV and Radio?
· Imposed no religious references in any forum, public or private?
· Decided when you would die based on your medical history?
· Confiscated your home, savings, and any material wealth at your death?
· Mandated all of your 401K investments be turned over to the government?

Which one of these would you agree to allow government to do for you?

· Raise your children?
· Guarantee a livable income?
· Provide your healthcare?
· Limit your political opinion?
· Authorize your religious beliefs?
· Provide public housing for your family?

In 2010 most of these questions that may seem a bit extreme to many of you, is the direction the country is being taken. Your kids are about to lose the future guaranteed in the U.S. Constitution. What is it going to take to get you involved? What rights are you willing to give up for all of this government largesse? What is our freedom worth?

I can hardly keep myself from screaming some days as I watch Americans go on with their day ignoring the trampling of our rights and freedom that is taking place right under our nose. There is no excuse to stand on the sidelines anymore. We are at a critical juncture in the 2010 election that will determine if we are willing to accept policies that end the American Dream for us and our kids, or we elect candidates that support the policies that have made this country the envy of the world; our constitutional republic.

It is your choice. You can continue to ignore the world and let it happen or you can fight for your kid’s future. I am fighting for my kid’s future. Will you please join me?

Monday, October 19, 2009

$250 to Social Security Recipients…

The congress is about to approve $250 for 50,000,000 ($1.25 Billion) for seniors because inflation is flat and does not justify any increase in benefits this year. Why the increase then? The honest answer is politics and politicians fishing for votes. Any congressional representative voting against this will have a very angry constituency. The reason benefits were tied to cost of living figures is to keep up with inflation. Makes sense. So when prices are flat and come down some things get cheaper. That is where we are at now, prices are dropping and the cost to live is cheaper. This is the problem with every program that has a politician at the helm; they never control or reduce costs, they always increase them no matter what the circumstances are. They are in the business of buying votes.

In the market buying a house is cheaper, gas prices are down, sales are everywhere in the retail sector, but with out of control federal and state spending the value of the dollar, increases in Medicare and Medicaid, along with the addition of government taking over everyone’s healthcare, taxes are going to have to go up. How do you think seniors are going to feel when social security remains flat and taxes go up?

There are people that will need the $250 but many seniors use social security as a supplement to their retirement. People that are in the workforce have seen wage freezes, reductions in pay, mandatory unpaid furloughs, and layoffs. Why would the people currently under wage freezes be forced to pay for social security increases? Things are flat for them too.

The fundamental problem with all government social programs is the divisive nature that pit one generation or group against each other. Being dependent on government for retirement is a really risky place to be. The next generation needs to find better ways that rely on their own wealth creation.

Healthcare will be the same problem. The risk seniors need to consider is a $250 increase in social security is one thing, life and death situations another. Government will want to provide the care that seniors demand but eventually the money will run out and the younger generations are going to resent having to pay because their families will not have the same standard of living we have grown up with.

We can’t allow for the takeover of healthcare because it is so clear to see that it will be another divisive program pitting generations against each other. We don’t need programs; we need real solutions without government completely taking over…

Governor Ritter; same old politics…

The Denver Post has an article featuring insurance company executives that believe if the current federal healthcare bill passes, the system will collapse. And they are right since insurance companies will be forced to accept patients that have chosen not to pay for insurance but still cover their illnesses. So for example, I can refuse to buy health insurance, pay the penalty which is much cheaper than the insurance premium, and if I happen to get sick, the insurance company will have to sell me a policy to cover my illness. A recipe for disaster. For the record, I believe it is not only dangerous to have a federal mandated healthcare policy; it is unconstitutional and would not recognize it as Governor.

But our current Governor Bill Ritter is chastising the Insurance executives which is like shooting fish in a barrel, issuing this statement in the Post; “It is self-serving, untrue, desperate effort by the insurance industry to protect its excessive profits- and one that cannot be taken seriously.” Let’s unpack this with an eye toward the government’s role in this fiasco. First, my standard question is, do you trust the government to handle your health since their results are abysmal in every attempt they make at any program they create? Is it “self-serving” of big government advocates to take away freedom, choice, and individual opportunity when it comes to healthcare? I have to ask, when is the last time a politician was true to their word? Protecting “excessive” profits needs a definition of the word excessive so I ask, Governor Ritter, how do you define “excessive profits?” And finally, who is taking anything the government is saying seriously about the cost of this program?

It is easy to malign corporate executives but it is just as easy to turn the mirror in the face of politicians like Governor Ritter who believe in big government solutions over people driven solutions. He needs to understand that profits are not evil and are the reason this country can afford to be so benevolent. Insurance companies are not the entire problem but I agree the healthcare insurance business must change. Corporate executives and government bureaucrats both need to get out of the relationships between doctors and patients. This governor should be protecting our state from the out of control federal spending. But that would be a lot to ask for from a governor that finds solutions only in big government programs. After all he must stay lock step with the Democratic Party machine that cares about one thing and it’s not your health; it’s having power over you…

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Who do you trust?

If we ask ourselves this simple question, who do we trust, many things become clear in the political world, and why our founders believed in limited government intervention in individual’s lives. The founder’s trust of government was limited in the best case, and many considered it a necessary evil. They saw it in a context of necessity at a time when the young American experiment was under attack from many foreign enemies. They chose to protect the nation by having a centralized authority to make it easier to defend the nation. They found the separate states were less willing to support the other states unless they were under imminent threat. The founders also knew that in order to keep the union together, a fair trade policy would need to be administered at the federal level to make sure all interests were represented. They did everything they thought they could in the constitution to keep us from the current situation we are in today because they didn’t trust people in government.

If you read the arguments in the founding documents you realize how prophetic and correct their presumptions were. They did not trust centralized government so why would we? Has something changed from their time in history to today? The fact is, the founders were students of history and knew through study the propensity of humans toward tyranny and power. Human nature has not changed no matter how much people want to deny the reality. We still have a propensity toward tyranny.

The evidence is everywhere. Big government supporters want to tell you what you can eat, where you can drive, how warm you keep your house, when you can get healthcare, where you can build a house and what you need to equip that house with, and the list never ends. The tyranny is upon us and we don’t even realize it. We have people that are dictating the simple things in life that should be our decisions to make. Can you see it?

So who do you trust to decide what you eat? Who do you trust to decide what healthcare you can provide to your family? Who decides what car you drive? Who decides how warm you keep your house? Who decides how much money you can make?

Listen to what our government politicians are saying and ask; do I trust them to make that decision for me or should I be making that decision? Ask yourself who do you trust? Ask yourself; what is the price you are willing to pay for your freedom? People telling you what to do may be easier but it comes at the price of your freedom.

If you believe freedom is worth the price, find the candidates that trust you to make the decisions. Those are the politicians that are trying to limit the scope of what government does. Those are the people you can trust…

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Our Kids Know Better…

I have to say that when you explain certain things to your kids they often react with: “that doesn’t make sense!” A good example is the effort of some adult’s years ago to stop keeping score at sporting events. The effort was spearheaded by parents that just hated the idea that sometimes our kids lose.

Losing builds character just like winning does. When kids lose they understand very quickly that winning feels better. That’s how the world works, and to try to change that is a fruitless effort. This effort defies human nature. Kids were keeping score even if some parents were trying to act politically correct and thinking they were supporting an effort to build “self esteem.”

It’s all bunk! Kids are smart, and when adults do stupid things like trying to eliminate a kid’s experience of losing they know this is not in sync with real life. The same effort is going on today in politics. Adults dressed up as politicians are selling a bag of poop as a bag of gold, and the kids see right through it. They know that spending trillions to make things “fair” doesn’t work because the world isn’t “fair.” You just have to look around to see it. Some kids are more talented than others and have a drive that will help them achieve more in life. That is the reality.

Kids know if you work harder and are more talented the results will be different than kids that don’t have a specific talent or choose to work less to achieve their goals. Kids that excel in math have a better chance at being an engineer than kids that excel in English. The kids that excel in English have a better shot at being a writer, and so on. Having talent and equal opportunity is the American way. Trying to have an equal outcome is a really bad parental experiment.

Politics today is permeated with the parents that want equal outcomes. The rest of us know better. That is why I am running for Governor, and hope to attract the future generations to join this movement. I will support policies that give all kids equal opportunity and celebrate the winners. When we celebrate winning we create a culture of competition and engagement. Everyone that enters that arena ends up better for their efforts.

Sometimes we lose and it feels crappy. That is the power of losing; it builds character and helps us understand what we need to focus on to win. I wish more politicians focused on celebrating the wins and not so much on the ways we can make everyone a “winner.” We can give everyone the opportunity to be a winner but we can’t make everyone a winner. That is up to each of us. Kids know that so why don’t our politicians…

BTW: It is my 19th Anniversary and I have been blessed to have such a great companion on this crazy journey of life! Justine is a great caregiver in the nursing profession that I am so proud to have spent the majority of my life with. Thanks sweetie!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Our Children Need Us…

We are watching our government at every level justify increased spending, borrowing, and expansion for programs that our kids will end up paying for but have no say in approving. We had a 1.4 trillion dollar deficit for fiscal 2009, and we have an 11.9 trillion dollar federal debt (we will be leaving for our kids to pay), and the states are crying more, more, more funding to “balance” local budgets.

When does it end? When is enough, enough? It is totally irresponsible to take our children’s future from them. We are reducing not only their economic future but their freedom as well. Every dollar we borrow, print, and send to a government program is undermining the foundational principles this country has grown on; constitutional government, individual opportunity, small business opportunity, free markets, and individual freedom. When are we going to stand up and fight for their future?

I know many of you feel helpless because the problem seems so big but like “eating an elephant” we take one small bite at a time. We start by supporting candidates that want to end the fiscal gluttony at the federal level of government. The federal largesse is making it difficult for state and municipalities to provide the services people truly need. People lump all taxes into the wasteful bucket because we see the gargantuan waste going on at the federal level.

Do we need to send $90 billion dollars to the Department of Education to tell us how to run our schools? Or could we use that $90 billion to buy books and support great teacher initiatives? Do we need to send $76 billion dollars to keep the GM car company afloat? Or should we keep that $76 billion dollars at the state and local level supporting Colorado business initiatives? The list of federal spending and waste is endless.

The federal government is over stepping all constitutional barriers with little resistance until now. We are going to stop this out of control government not just because it is unconstitutional, not just because it is crushing our freedom, not just because we need to pay for local services like education, fire, and police, not just because it is the right thing to do, but because we are parents and we care about our kids.

I am asking you and your kids to get involved, and join me to take back the future for our kids. It’s not just political, it’s personal…

Saturday, October 10, 2009

2010 and the big ten(th)…

I believe, (and I am basing my entire campaign on the tenth amendment), that we will confirm the tenth in the 2010 election. The tenth amendment movement is growing and is the foundation to reset the boundaries between the federal government, state government, and individual rights.

There is no longer a boundary that anyone has respect for. Most politicians have given up on the constitution, and are playing with the rules currently in place; no rules. Our founders would be appalled by the current state of our relationship with the document that changed the world; for the better. The current crop of politicians feel the trampling of the constitution has been so profound, and accepted, that they rarely reference it as a way to limit big government advocates or unconstitutional programs. They fight on ground that has no rules of engagement, and we can never win the argument without knowing, respecting, and referencing, the rules of the land; the U.S. Constitution.

American history is no longer taught in our schools, and makes referencing the constitution difficult by politicians in an age that sound bites and emotion rules the day. But as defenders of this great document we not only need to reference it, we must teach it, honor it, and implement the law.

The tenth amendment is clearly defined and is the only way to insure the future of the American dream for our children. If candidates are not referencing the constitution in their campaign they must be challenged.

I have taken the pledge from the Tenthamendmentcenter.com and have committed to applying it if elected Governor. If you believe in this approach, I encourage you to get involved here and support this campaign that has our constitution at the center of the debate.

Let’s make 2010 the year of the 10. The Tenth Amendment that is…

The “Real” America…

I just finished the book “The Real George Washington” and it gave me much to think about. The least of which was how we as Americans have changed, and remained the same. Our revolutionary spirit is alive and well on both the left and right sides of the political spectrum. But what are we revolting against?

On the left spectrum there seems to be a revolution against individual freedom and personal accountability. We see this in their efforts to continually expand federal power over our lives through regulations on the environment, our economy, and healthcare. There is a belief that the government is somehow fairer and more equipped to handle issues that have traditionally been performed in the private sector. The left is revolting against the free markets that have been pretty successful creating the wealth that is America. The left wants to disregard our law of the land; the U.S. Constitution.

On the right spectrum there seems to be a revolution to get back to a smaller role for the government, especially the federal government. There is the recognition that individuals and free markets are best equipped to handle the most pressing issues facing America today. They are revolting against bankrupt federal programs, financial takeovers, the creation of debt including the most recent fiscal 2009 1.4 trillion deficit by the feds, and the movement toward a “world” government. The right is moving back to the founding principles included in the law of our land; the U.S. Constitution.

Both sides believe they are on the right direction and are mostly represented in the Republican and Democratic parties, the left being represented by democrats, and the right being represented by republicans. But is this true? What is the real America getting from these parties?

The real America knows that the return to our Constitution, individual responsibility, free markets, reduced spending, and a smaller government is the right direction for America. The problem is that neither party is representing the real American because they are not truly committed to the cause; they are committed to electoral power, representing small subsets of America who finance their campaigns, big business, and an unhealthy quest for power for powers sake. The principle of the right is no longer represented by republicans. There are some but only in the election cycle when the public is paying attention. Once the attention subsides the old habits are back in place and the real America is just a campaign slogan.

I have to ask; is it time to try something new for the real American? The American that pays the bills, raises the future generations, create the wealth that makes us great, and believes in the constitution; deserves a real American to support their vision. The definition of insanity is doing something the same way time and time again, but expecting different results.

Let’s support candidates that are not insane but live the real American Dream. That may mean voting for candidates that are outside the party system. I ask you to get involved with my campaign to send a message that you support the real America.

The party faithful discount every candidate outside the two party system with the argument they can’t win. Oh really? That seems to me to be a voter decision, not a party decision. A bit arrogant but that is what defines many in the two party leadership. Is it time to put the parties in their place?

Monday, October 5, 2009

What do we expect government to do?

The insatiable appetite of our government, continually asking the tax payers to pay more and more for “increased” services, seems to have no end in sight. I have to ask, who is asking our government to provide these services? It is a very basic question but I think it goes to the heart of the out of control spending we seem to have at all levels of government.

Do the citizens of Colorado need another billion dollars of government spending, and does the federal government need another trillion dollars of spending to provide for the services we “need”? If so please define “need”? If so, who is getting these additional services? If so, who is asking for them? If so, do we really expect government to provide them for us? Are we no longer a capable people? Have we given up on self sufficiency?

I believe there are services government must provide. The military comes to mind, and infrastructure like roads and bridges, registry services, election services, social services that provide a short term safety net for people that fall on hard times, as well as some elderly services. There are services the government is expected to supply and then there are services that organized groups of individuals (special interests) convince the government they should provide, at everyone else’s expense.

We need to have a public discussion again about what the role of government is at every level of government. The U.S. Constitution comes to mind as a starting point. The troth of government has a diminishing amount of grain with an increasing supply of a feeding public.

There is a fundamental problem; the goose that lays the golden egg (productive individuals and businesses) is about to give in and take its place at the troth. When it no longer makes sense to work because of confiscatory policies that take the incentive away to be productive, everyone starves.

There is no free lunch. When are we going to have a real conversation on the role of government?