Would the Founders Support Doug Lamborn in CD5?

It has been the conventional wisdom that incumbents have an advantage over challengers in political races. That may have been true in the past but does it still hold true?

Doug Lamborn is making the argument he is a “tested conservative” and that voters need to send him back to Washington based on his consistent conservative record. He adds that the voters in Colorado’s CD5 should be careful not to trust his opponent Robert Blaha, a lifetime businessman who has no voting track record for the voters to evaluate. Trust the incumbent and question the challenger’s motives seem to be the foundation of his campaign.

The Tea Party activists have an inherent distrust of incumbents and have made it one of their signature issues to throw everyone out that wonders from their principles, without consideration of party affiliation. The Tea Party is more concerned about principles over party, imagine that! So the question in CD5 is whether or not conservatives, Tea Party activists, and republicans agree that Lamborn has acted in a principled manner or not. If not, do they believe Robert Blaha is a good alternative to the incumbent?

All of my principles in elections revolve around the constitution and the intentions of our founders. Was it the founder’s intention to have career politicians? Would the founders have agreed that earmarks as a policy should be utilized to pass legislation? Would the founders have sanctioned travel by representatives paid for by people that have an interest in receiving money from the US treasury? I think not. I also don’t want to overstate my concerns about Lamborn but in my opinion he also has a very low “likability factor.” Likability is simply the way people perceive you when they interact with you. Lamborn is caustic and abrasive which does not serve him well and especially when his positions are challenged. He comes off as an angry man.

The founders were by no means perfect and I believe would have analyzed each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses in context to the time and needs of the central government. There is no doubt that our central government is woefully lacking in representatives that have experience working in the private economy. Too many representatives are lawyers, and too many representatives have little firsthand knowledge of what small businesses need to be successful. It is a time in history where we need representatives that know business. Not simply voting for pro-business legislation but targeting and eliminating the regulations and departments that stifle private business growth.

The criticism Lamborn has leveled on Blaha’s businesses are partially related to the complex maze and unclear rules that so many government departments put on businesses. Businesses today have to spend too much time managing regulations rather than managing business. So when Doug talks negatively about private companies that struggle keeping up with the mounting regulatory burdens I have to ask him: what are you doing to make it easier for businesses to operate? Blaha has created many jobs, how many has Doug created? Blaha has run many companies: how many companies has Doug Lamborn run?  

Is Doug Lamborn a “safe bet” for conservatives, Tea Party activists, and conservatives? Maybe, but if you’re looking for leadership and someone that understands the private sector he is not your choice. Term limits can be imposed this June and are supported by Blaha. I am voting against the incumbent because I believe in this election the founders would agree with me. Do you think the founders would support the incumbent in CD5?

What is Doug Lamborn’s Excuse?

You might expect democrats to travel on the dime of lobbyists but for conservatives there is no excuse. The fact that Doug Lamborn has now been exposed for taking trips with his wife, staying at top notch hotels is a telling tale of a man that has forgotten the conservative mission and values of the movement. He is the perfect example of how everyone gets sucked into the out of touch normality’s of DC politicians, lobbyists, and federal workers.

In DC it is normal to be wined and dined by people that have an interest in getting to know you for the sole purpose of getting legislation passed for their group. They do that by gaining influence with congressmen and women who vote on the legislation they are promoting. No matter how you slice it, “education” junkets, “fact finding” junkets, a junket is a junket and they come with perks. The firs perk is the fact that congressmen and their spouses travel and eat for free. Nice perk if you can get it! The hotels, food, and transportation are the finest and nothing is left for chance. Every opportunity is utilized by the lobbyists to get face time with the representative to remind them who is paying and what the cause needs to move forward.

The thing Lamborn has forgotten is that it doesn’t matter if the cause is one that conservatives support, it is the fact that our congressman should not be flying around the world on the dime of an influence peddler. If the cause is worth the support it should get our support. If the congressman feels he wants to learn more about the cause he can spend part of the $175,000 salary we pay them to do so. The bottom line is Lamborn has been in DC too long and we need a fresh change of congressman.

Conservatives can’t say it is OK to fly around on a lobbyist’s dime when it is in support of a conservative cause and then criticize big spending democrats. The bottom line is we need a new direction in DC which is cuts in every department of the federal government including waste and abuse in the defense contracting process. There are no sacred cows when you are spending the incredible amounts of hard earned taxpayer treasure we are currently spending. We don’t need this much spending at the federal level.

Doug Lamborn can use all the excuses he wants but they all ring hollow to people that believe in constitutional government and true conservatism. The voters of CD5 will decide in about a month whether we send Lamborn back into a culture he seems to be getting comfortable in or send someone that wants to change that culture, Robert Blaha. It is a choice we should consider very carefully as conservatives.

Prediction About Facebook IPO

There is a reason that IPO offerings rarely go through the financial retail markets. IPO’s can be complicated offerings that need the expertise of financial analysts to determine the worth of the offering.

Facebook is being offered through retail markets like TD Ameritrade allowing individuals to get in on the stock. I am predicting this as a very bad thing for those investors. My prediction is Facebook stock will be at its most valuable at the initial offering and will be downhill from there. The caveat is I am not a financial person and you should do what you think is best but beware.

Their business fundamentals are limited for the price they are offering the stock. As a user of Facebook I never look at ads and I suspect the biggest users of the software are fickle and will eventually find another site to hang out on.

My final prediction is the biggy. When millions of individual retail customers lose millions of dollars on this risky investment don’t go crying to the feds for regulation. You risk you win, you risk you lose. That is the market. But I expect when Facebook is trading at a $1.00 people will be screaming for their money back, a federal investigation, and financial reforms; again.

Time will tell…

Graduation Day!

Wow! All I can say is time flies. It was just yesterday I was holding my boy in my arms in a labor and delivery room in Weymouth MA. I had the honor of cutting the cord. It was the introduction of Taylor Hand into the world. I was a first time proud father!

I was blessed to have two beautiful children that have been a parent’s dream (not perfect but everything is relative). But today is Taylor’s day and Emily will soon have hers! Taylor has been a driven, determined, and a self-reliant person needing very little direction. I sometimes wonder if I had any role in his determination but I will humor myself and believe I did. The fortunate thing is Taylor is more like his Mom than me.  I often would find him studying and working on school projects with little direction. And when it came to math I thank God he was self-reliant because I was useless once he passed 5^th grade!

Even this week with his busy schedule of a dozen or so IB finals, a State swim meet championship where he is seeded in the top 8 for backstroke & butterfly, all kinds of school meetings (he is the boys Senate leader for the school), he diligently prepares and carves out time for every event. I can only stand by and be a proud dad. He needs no help from me.

Taylor wants to become a Doctor and I have no doubt if he remains interested he will succeed. He is also an excellent pianist, and videographer and it would not surprise me if at some point he finds a way to include them in his future plans. I only wish him to stay as in love with life and challenges as he is today. As we parents know, life can get bumpy and we need to stay determined and never give up especially in the tough times.

But for today as a Dad I can only say with a tear coming to my eye that I love my boy dearly and could not have asked God for a better son. He is quiet like his dad at times and I respect that. There are times I would like to have longer conversations with him but I get it. I know we share a bond that will not be broken and will only grow stronger as he grows more independent. I love you buddy!

To all of my family and friends that have or are watching their children head off into the world you know the feeling; sad because we will miss their presence but proud because we know they are prepared to face the world and make it a better place.

Today is graduation and we cut another cord. This cord seems a bit harder to cut because we have grown so close. But the world is getting a great addition and I can’t wait to see the results. Congratulations Taylor, all of his classmates, and all of the parents that have made it possible. It is a great day in a long road of many great days to come!!

What is Obama’s Business Record?

A new ad is about to be released of a failed steel mill in Kansas MO that Bain Capital took over in 1993. Bain tried to turn it around and after 8 years of effort the steel company went bankrupt. First of all, companies go bankrupt in a free market economy. Second, the fact that people lost jobs is something we need more of in the federal sector. If the department of energy has failed in its mission to make us energy independent then the federal bureaucrats need to lose their jobs just like the people in the steel mill did.

The circumstances around the steel mill need to be vetted to determine if the unions had anything to do with the failure. Was the factory outdated and being beaten in the market by new plants and technology? What were some of the financial legacy costs? These are a few of the business questions that need to be addressed. I would like to hear the President’s assessment of the failure?

That brings me to the main point: What is the president’s experience in the private/business sector? Based on his record so far he has shown no propensity for understanding basic business fundamentals. He is strictly a political animal. He has never held what most Americans would consider a real job. So when he criticizes Mitt Romney and his extensive business experience I think he needs to give us his recommendation for what he would have done beside go into debt and print more money.

This is an easy argument for Mitt if he plays offense. My answer to this would be simply; in the private sector sometimes businesses fail even with the best of efforts. I would like to hear the president’s ideas for helping businesses to succeed so we can start creating jobs again in this country. So far the president and his party have failed to even provide the most basic framework, a budget, to assess how to improve the climate for business to start thriving again. He has not even a basic understanding of how to assess and implement the most basic reforms for improvement.

This president is a failure with no hope of ever grasping the issues necessary to turn around our private economy…

Mitt - it’s Desperation, Stay on Message…

Mitt Romney needs to continue to bring the conversation back to the economy, jobs, and Obama’s dismal record and stay away from issues designed to distract like Gay Marriage and High School “bullying.”

I have to admit that if you went back and looked at my high school record I may have skipped a class or two, and been involved in a few pranks on other students (oh my I am such a bad person). I think the story about Romney’s HS pranks back in 1964 is indicative of a media in the tank for Obama. Do they really think the people are going to care about this issue? It will not resonate unless Romney allows it to.

The Gay marriage issue was handled perfectly by Romney. He simply stated his stand in complete contrast to Obama and ended it there. Perfect! Bringing the discussion back to the economy and leaving the media to find another distraction which they did with the supposed HS pranks. Again, I would say Mitt answered the “charge” and now let’s talk about the economy.

Our economy is tanking again and this president is a spectator. He is not in charge, never has been, and has never had the skill set to do so. People voted for this man on a wing and a prayer trying to rid themselves of some illusion of guilt they have harbored because of past issues of racism. He was given a chance and he blew it. Obama was never qualified and I would go on to say that 90% of the representatives in Congress are not qualified either. The Tea Party has identified that issue and is systematically removing the members that don’t understand the fundamentals of government and business.

It is going to be a long six months as the media digs up every issue and tries like Leslie Sawyer did to make it a “firestorm” which none will be. Mitt has lived a very conservative life and digging up “dirt” on this man will need special fabrication from the media but I suspect they will keep trying to manufacture “firestorms” of controversy. All the while ignoring the important issues that face the nation and the President’s dismal record in either creating them or ignoring them.

My advice to Mitt is to stay on the economy because like you said, “It’s the economy, and we ain’t stupid!”

A Passionate Conservative

If you are tired of conservatives that can’t seem to express the conservative message, I have a candidate for you. Here in Colorado Congressional District 5 we have the opportunity to send to congress not only a conservative but a VOICE for conservatism.

How many times have you been frustrated by conservatives that can’t seem to communicate our message? How many times have you been disappointed in the way conservatives frame the issues in Washington DC? How many times have you wished someone with the communication skills of a Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham, Michael Medved, Sean Hannity, or Mark Levin were representing you in congress? It is one of my greatest frustrations as a passionate conservative!

Last night I interviewed Robert Blaha, conservative candidate for the GOP seat in D5 Colorado. He is running against incumbent conservative Doug Lamborn. But just like what is likely to happen to incumbent Richard Lugar in the Indiana GOP primary, I suggest we have the same opportunity here in Colorado to oust Doug Lamborn. Too many conservatives have forgotten why they are in DC. We need to send fresh conservative blood willing to stand and fight for conservatism. As Robert says, “not just with a vote - but with a voice.”  With any luck we can send another businessman to help Mitt Romney repeal Obama Care and implement a business friendly federal policy.

Doug Lamborn is attacking Robert Blaha and his businesses and business record. I ask you; what conservative is anti-business? Why has Doug Lamborn decided to take to personal attacks like the current president is doing in his campaign? Attacking business is what democrats do, not conservative republicans. So I ask the voters of CD5, why would we send Doug Lamborn back to congress? Don’t we need a person who can articulate business principles but more importantly has lived in the private sector and has been extremely successful in business in congress?

I challenge you to listen to Robert in this interview and come to any other conclusion that it is time to send a well-spoken, passionate, conservative, successful business person to congress. Mitt Romney is going to be looking for help implementing a business friendly agenda when we elect him this November, and he will have to look no further for help and guidance than our own freshman congressman Robert Blaha - if we choose to send him.

It is not a time in our country’s history to be timid about doing what is right for this country. Sending back a congressman that has no private sector business experience, has little passion for engaging his constituency, and has no respect for the thriving businesses in this community for another term makes little sense. It is time for bold initiatives and action.

It is time to send someone that will be able to fight and communicate our message to the congress and the rest of America. It is time to send Robert Blaha to congress. I hope you will join me so we no longer have to hope a conservative can defend our message, we will have a spokesperson that can put us on the offensive and we can be proud to be part of the conservative movement in Washington DC and here in Colorado District 5…

What’s the Problem with Earmarks?

First let’s define what an “earmark” is. An earmark is “A provision in a piece of Congressional legislation that directs specified federal funds to specific projects, programs, organizations, or individuals.”

In 2010 according to EndingSpending .com, Representative Doug Lamborn inserted 4 (solo) earmarks for a total of $11,700,000, in combination with others (6) $16,020,000. With the current debt at $15,508,094,699,053 and growing every second (this figure is out of date the second you type it) earmarks are a big deal.

The bigger deal is that we have a congressman here in District 5 Colorado that touts his conservatism but then spends as if we have the money to do so. If this is conservatism it makes you wonder, what is the definition of conservative? The real problem is we no longer send people to congress that want to serve the constituency and the country; they are there to serve themselves. The founders of our nation would be appalled. “Bringing home the bacon” as was often the role of congress has never been a good idea or constitutional. It has been an accepted practice by inside Washington politicians that has simply been a way to pay for votes. It is a practice of taking one hard working individuals tax dollars and giving those dollars to a “preferred” constituent of the congressman. Think about that for a moment.

The practice of earmarks is appalling! The Tea Party is the result of concerned Americans gathering together to put an end to the federal government’s unconstitutional excesses. One of the goals is to rid the federal government of inside politicians and send citizen legislators to congress to end the insanity. And it is insanity. If you don’t realize that we are spending ourselves into oblivion, you are insane. If you continue to participate in these earmark practices as a sitting congressman you are supporting the fiscal insanity. That is not what conservatives do.

People do not want to hear about how their congressman has secured funds for pet projects in their district or state. The entire process has to stop. If a project impacts the country it deserves federal funds, if it impacts the state it should be funded at the state level. Most programs today would have been determined to be unconstitutional before the FDR administrations assault on the Supreme Court, and the willingness of the people to allow for the “redistribution of wealth” through social programs at a time of government induced crisis. The same atmosphere of government induced crisis is permeating the political climate today and is causing people to turn their heads away from the constitution. But not the Tea Party.

We must send a message to every representative regardless of party that the days of paying off your supporters are over. Abiding by the constitution is payment enough. If we can return to the original limited intent of the founders we will thrive again. We can only make that change if we change the people in congress. All of the people in congress that have shown a lack of commitment to our founding principles. Earmarks are not a founding principle of this great nation.


I will interview Robert Monday night at 6:00 PM Mountain

Hand’s On Politics Interviews Professor Walter E Williams

I had the pleasure and honor to interview Professor Walter E Williams on our Blog Talk Radio show yesterday and he shared his experience and knowledge about economics, the Constitution, and his thoughts on our current economic malaise. He was brilliant as always.

If you don’t know who Professor Williams is you can go here and find the wealth of knowledge he has bestowed upon this earth. Not just knowledge but a common sense delivery of complex economic, constitutional, and racial issues that he relates to every day examples of the simple lives we lead.

I have had the opportunity in my life to meet a lot of well-known celebrities and politicians, and all too often their on air personalities don’t match their interactions beyond the “stage.” It was so refreshing to meet Professor Williams and find a genuine man that matched my expectations. With the list of credentials he has amassed he could have acted differently. Every interaction from the moment he accepted our invitation to be on the show right through the interview he followed through on every commitment as if we had as many listeners as Rush! That is a virtue I admire in people because all too often we are disappointed by the people we follow.

I hope Rush Limbaugh has Professor Williams as his guest host soon because his perspective on the economy and this election are needed to get people motivated to make a good decision in 2012! It isn’t that Rush doesn’t motivate conservatives but Professor Williams connects in a different way. You feel like you have been treated to an academic lecture that arms you with the “ammunition” you need to support constitutional arguments. I encourage you to listen to his “living constitution” analogy to help you communicate to potential voters why the constitution is so important to the lives we lead as Americans!

My parents are huge fans of the Professor and they found it hard to believe their sons from the Bronx were interviewing such a distinguished member of our society; they almost couldn’t believe it! If they were to have had the opportunity to talk to the Professor they would have realized that part of the Professor’s allure is his humility and genuine character when dealing with “just a couple of brothers from the Bronx”. The Professor obviously did not get to where he is today by running others down, he has become such a dignitary because of the respect he shares when interacting with others. My brother Ken and I had the opportunity to share a moment with a wonderful man. It just so happens he is one of the most respected professors, economists, writers, and talk show hosts in the country. Thank you Professor.

You can listen to Professor Williams entire 30 minute interview here. It is well worth the listen!