I'm back!!  After three months of full focus on a very stressful, time consuming job, I felt it was time to re-connect with my first love; expressing my views through the written word.
An idea came to me last night.  Why don't we inundate the halls of the Congressional Offices with Get Well flower deliveries to all of those Congressmen and women who are leaning "yes".  That list is being constantly updated on Sean Hannity's website at http://download.premiereradio.net/seanhannity/temp/whip6.jpg.  Pick a name and go to that Congressman's website to find the address of his or her office in DC.  Then send some ProFlowers with a card attached saying something to this affect (please forgive me, I'm not a poet):

If you're leaning yes on healthcare you must be quite ill,
So please GET WELL SOON, and vote NO FOR THIS BILL! 

Now I'm not advocating this in lieu of calls, faxes, visits, and any other methods to get their attention, but rather in addition.  I feel that this could cause a bit of chaos if it really caught on.  Chaos in DC can easily equate to slowdown, and slowdown is certainly what we need right now.

When you look at the state of politics today, it really is quite disgusting. Mr. Smith goes to Washington to see how long he can stay, and how much of our money he can spend.  It’s all about that “golden ticket into the Senate”, and then doing whatever it takes to get re-elected every six years; who cares if it’s good for the country (Can you say Mary Landrieu?).

I’m in the middle of reading Sarah Palin’s new book and the story about how she was urged into politics is truly inspiring and should be the reason every politician starts down the road of public service.  She saw that the wants of the people of Wasilla were being ignored by the political cronies and decided she wanted to be part of the group that would ultimately fix that small town in Alaska.  Once in office she went down her list of campaign promises and checked them off as she completed them (one being cutting her own salary).  Are you listening Mr. Obama??  What did that get her; a re-election with over 70% of the vote!  Where are the Sarah Palins of the world?  I can count on one hand the number of politicians that I respect enough to put in her company.  Jim “Term Limits” DeMint is one of them.

I don’t doubt that there are a few good people who get into politics for the right reasons.  However, something happens, even to the good ones.   Over time an almost inexplicable change takes place that is foreign to those of us who are just regular Americans.  Let’s take Mark Sanford as an example.  In 1993 I was living in Charleston, SC and an unknown Mark Sanford decided to run in the 1st Congressional District Republican primary against the well known Deputy General Counsel of the Navy, Van Hipp.  Sanford’s message was so refreshing after two years of the Clinton administration.  He would go to Washington and work hard for fiscal responsibility and would term limit himself to avoid the risk of corruption. During his first days in office he was such a “no-nonsense” guy, he actually slept in his office chambers so he could be at work all of the time.   He kept his promise to be a fiscal hawk, earning a 92% conservative rating, and voted to impeach Clinton calling his behavior reprehensible.  After three terms as representative he returned to South Carolina to mount two successful bids for governor.  Then the wheels fell off.  Anyone who has been near a TV since June knows the story.  The power of politics finally corrupted his soul.  Now, I’m not going to pretend that I know all of the personal details that lead to the fall of Mark Sanford, but I do know that he used the power of his office to commit his “reprehensible” acts. 

We need to get out there and encourage good, moral conservatives to run for office.  We need to fill the “bull pen” so we can term limit all that succumb to the inebriation of power.  Let’s find all of those “Former Mayors of Wasilla” and send them to Washington!

I know, I'm sounding like the ultimate conspiracy theorist, but think about it.. cap and tax is almost dead, healthcare is less likely to pass as the details of the Senate plan see the light of day.  So, could it be that the left is tossing one major item on their agenda to distract us?  That’s how little trust I have for the people running our government.  It is known that John Holdren, Obama’s Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, has close ties with the whole group of elite scientists who have preached these false findings for the better part of thirty years; and are the ones whose emails were hacked.  The timing of all of this is so curious.  Our representatives have just travelled home to millions of livid constituents over the healthcare votes.  This is the week that the grassroots movements need to come together and hammer them over healthcare, and suddenly we get confirmation of something we have all known for many years….that the likes of Al Gore and his cronies who have made millions of dollars advancing this rubbish have been lying to us.  I am outraged, as everyone should be, but I’m scared this outrage will dilute the outrage over healthcare.  This healthcare bill, if passed, will forever change the well being of our population.  As proof of planned rationing comes to light our arguments get stronger and stronger.  We can’t allow ourselves to be distracted.  Everyone knows that even with the hacked emails, the left will attempt to ignore the damage, but there is no question that any climate legislation is probably DOA.  Let’s stay focused and do the same to healthcare.  Then, it’s on to 2010 and the firing of Nancy Pelosi!

It’s been a little over a year since Sarah Palin burst onto the scene as John McCain’s virtually unknown running mate in the 2008 Presidential race.  What a wild ride it has been for her and her family!  As I watched her interview on Wednesday night with Sean Hannity I thought to myself, what an incredibly strong woman.  I try to put myself in her shoes and wonder how I would have reacted to the petty attacks that she has faced on a daily basis for over a year.  The people who hate her would not even let her return to the serenity of the “job she loved” (her words) in Alaska.  The constant attacks and ridicule became a costly distraction and she was forced to resign for the good of the Alaskan people and the good of her family.  What would I have done?  I must admit that it probably would have broken me.  I would have gone back to Alaska and tried to live my life in resentful obscurity, looking at the lower forty-eight with a distain that would have eaten me alive.  Like her or not, anyone who doesn’t think there is something very special about this woman has their head buried in sand.   She still exudes an amazing confidence in her convictions.   What it does for me as a conservative woman in 2009; it empowers me!  For so many years conservative women have been made to feel like we have somehow “left the reservation”; that we aren’t “real” women because we believe in traditional values and limited government.  I have loved watching the massive following she has accumulated as she has travelled the country promoting her new book.  At the same time, the left (and the elite right) have whipped themselves into quite a frenzy over all of it.  How could this idiot simpleton be so popular?  Well the answer to that is Sarah Palin is about as far from being an idiot simpleton as Nancy Pelosi is from being an honest, intelligent politician.  What really perplexes these people is the fact that she defines herself so clearly.  She has no need to look at polls or to see which way the political winds are blowing.  She has a set of principles that she stands by.  The attempts her opponents have made to somehow belittle or embarrass her are in some cases comical.  I think Chris Mathews of MSNBC has to take the “booby prize”.  This guy has an unhealthy obsession with Palin.  He actually sent a correspondent to one of her book signings to count how many African Americans showed up.  What’s up with that Chris – you “nut job”?  The one that really disappointed me though was an interview I saw last night with Geraldine Ferraro.  Apparently, the ever-gracious Palin sent Ferraro a copy of her book with an inscription that read “You inspired me”.  Ferraro was visibly touched by the gesture, but then she ruined it.  She went on to say that Palin’s book would alienate her base (the right) because she said in it that she benefited from Title IX when it came time to go to college…HUH???  Hey Geraldine…Buy a vowel!  Most women of our generation (conservative and liberal) who played any kind of sport benefitted from Title IX.  If that’s the best you can do, then I’d say Palin’s book passes the test.

Palin’s future is still unclear, and she has no reason to show her cards at this time.  If she does have future political aspirations my guess is that she will dive into policy as soon as she is finished promoting the book.  There is no question that she alone controls her destiny.  The next few years will be fun to watch, simply because she has this way of making her enemies act like total idiots.  What better way to keep them distracted.  Yep, I’d say Sarah is definitely getting the last laugh.

 

For many years I have been a good and faithful Republican.  Each year I have religiously voted in every election, and with few exceptions I have voted for the candidate with the (R) next to his or her name.  The 1994 election was an especially proud time for me because I believed that finally a majority the people in Washington espoused my same beliefs that limited government and lower taxes are what make our economy the best in the entire world.  However, for the past ten years something very bad has happened to the “Grand Ole Party”, and I like many others buried my head in the sand refusing to admit that the power corruption that infects almost everyone who works in Washington had seeped its way into my beloved GOP.  To all of you who are just starting to realize there is something wrong I offer you the “Good Republican’s Twelve Step Program”, because the problem cannot be fixed until there is full acceptance of it:

1.       Honesty – First and foremost, we must be honest with ourselves.  Our party has lost its way and in recent years has become nothing but a democrat party that happens to be a little stronger in national defense.  Republicans are just as much to blame for the massive spending, and endless earmarks that all of us have become so sick of hearing about.

2.       Faith – We now must have faith that we the people outside of the beltway can be the agents of change and can fix this thing.  It’s not the time to give up and say Washington will never change.  The tea-parties and marches on Washington should be evidence enough to know that many others are unhappy with the old ways of doing the peoples’ business.  Now is the time to push for real change; not the “Chicago-Way” change we got a year ago.

3.       Surrender – It is very difficult to adopt a new way of doing things when practically everyone in the “mainstream media” is telling you that what you are trying to do will destroy, rather than fix, your party.  Real change will probably involve “firing” some party giants.  Keeping them around just serves to provide cover to moderate democrats who are being forced to vote for unpopular legislation by an increasingly left-wing leadership.  A bad vote is much easier to explain to constituents when there are republicans on board.

4.       Soul Searching – Look within yourselves and make sure you haven’t been part of the problem.  Are you one of those who say everyone else’s guy is causing the problems?  My guy is OK.  Are you gratefully accepting the ”pork” he’s bringing home to you?

5.       Integrity – We must have the integrity to stick with the plan no matter what.   Our population has become “soft” in our reliance on government to fix everything.  If we personally fall on bad times, let’s stop asking for a handout from the government.  Once the government is out of the business of being the nation’s number one charitable organization I’m certain we will once again see a surge of private charitable giving because that’s what is great about our people.

6.       Acceptance – We must accept the good with the bad.  For many years there has been an attempt to sell to us the government Utopia.  The only person who can create a Utopia for you; is you.  The degree to which you want to pursue your personal Utopia is the degree to which you will attain it.

7.       Humility – We must do this with cool heads and full hearts.  The discourse in Washington has become increasingly nasty, which is another major turn-off to the average American.  Let’s be respectful, but strong in our resolve.

8.       Willingness to Make Amends – There are those in our party who may have lost their way, yet they may want to join our effort to turn things around.  Let’s forgive and give them the benefit of the doubt.  However “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..YOU’RE FIRED”.

9.       Forgiveness – Though there are those who have lost their way and must be removed from office.  In the spirit of our new way, let’s thank them for their service and let go of our anger toward them.  Life is too short to harbor resentment.

10.   Maintenance – Recent history will tell us that in order to maintain the system as we want it, we must stay engaged.  Never again become apathetic about what is happening in your government.  The minute we take our eyes off the ball, they will revert to old ways.  The power is just too intoxicating.

11.   Making contact – Write your representative often!  Remind them who they work for!

12.   Service – Get involved!  Go to your local or state office and find out how you can participate in this wonderful process.

There you have it.  If we all stick to the “Twelve Step Program” we just might have a chance to save our party.

When is the Obama administration going to learn that that this “war on terror” that they choose to call “a man caused disaster” is very real and the people in the middle east that want to kill all of us aren’t going to like us any better if we give our prisoners all the rights accorded by our judicial system.   If the five men who have already confessed to being part of the 9/11 plot are not enemy combatants, then I don’t know who would fit that bill.  These men should be brought before the military tribunal and hanged.  Instead, “let the circus begin”.  Doesn’t anyone remember The first World Trade Center trial in 1993?  The civilian lawyers who want to make a name for themselves, ala OJ's Dream Team”, will use every tactic available to them to get as much face time as possible.  Meanwhile, the spectacle will do nothing but antagonize the thousands of jihadists who are looking for the opportunity to take out as many western capitalists as possible.

Along the same lines is the President’s insistence on delaying his decision on the course for Afghanistan.  Our troops are risking their lives every day wondering whether what they are fighting for is even on Obama’s radar as a top priority.  I swear it’s hard to pinpoint where this President is being most negligent.  The economy is in the dumps and every action he has taken has done nothing but slow down the long term recovery.  Anyone who has taken Economics 101 can tell you that the stimulus and bail-outs were bad ideas from the very beginning.  Then to add insult to injury his two trademark initiatives, Cap and Trade and Healthcare, will do nothing but destroy this great economy as we know it.

And they say Sarah Palin wasn’t ready to be President??  Bring her on!  She would clean this guy’s clock!

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been able to force myself to sit down and put into words my thoughts about the many events that are happening to this great country of ours.  Some good, most not so good.  The only word that can come close to describing my reaction to this economy, and our government’s refusal to do the things that will improve it; the passage of the colossal healthcare bill in Congress; and finally the assault on this country’s finest last Thursday at Fort Hood; is despair.  How is it that in one short year the state of this union could be in such total disarray?  Well my friends, the saying holds true; elections have consequences.  In this case – Dire consequences. 

I have always considered myself to be an optimist; especially when it comes to the ability of the people of this great country to ultimately do the right thing.  Something or someone always seems to help us turn things around when all hope is lost.  It’s been in our most desperate times that our greatest leaders have emerged; Washington, Lincoln and my personal favorite, Reagan.  Due to world events when Roosevelt emerged, he could have easily been a part of that fraternity of greatness.  However, he chose, as so many after him, to put his faith in government solutions as opposed to “people” solutions. The result was the beginning of the end of a society of strong self-reliant individuals; the beginning of the “nanny state”.  This past year seems to be the culmination of the incremental encroachment of the federal government into every aspect of our lives.  If a healthcare bill anything near to the one that was passed in the house ends up becoming law, it will be the end of our country as we know it.  As the eternal optimist, I look at the mood of the people in this country.  Not the Washington elite, but everyday hardworking American people.  It’s almost as if a giant is awakening after decades of apathy and non-attention to the matters of government.  We sent our representatives to Washington and we went about the jobs of supporting our families and raising our kids.  What it got us was a government full of power hungry, money spending beasts who could care less about anything but their own interests; ie being able to stay in that cool town, with their cool jobs, spending other people’s money.  Friends, I was in Washington last Thursday for the rally against Obamacare.  I felt an energy in that crowd that was overwhelming.  It was a definite, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”!  This, along with Tuesday’s phenomenal election results, has given me real hope.  If we can fight hard to avoid any unfixable healthcare results, the new emerging leaders may be all of us.  I feel certain that the “Waking Giant” is going to clean up its house in November 2010.  Tom Perriello and Gerry Connolly are in my sights first and foremost for trading allegiance to their constituents for the allegiance to the Princess Pelosi.  I will be actively campaigning for their opponents in 2010 whoever they may be.  A warning to Senators Webb and Warner, “listen to Virginia, we have spoken”!

Let’s use the events of the past year as “our kick in the pants” and fight like hell to put an end to this insanity once and for all.

A few months ago I had no idea who Dede Scozzafava and Doug Hoffman were.  I still have no idea how to pronounce Scozzafava’s name.  However it’s hard not to pay attention when people like Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey are so vocal about their disagreement with one another.  Gingrich is a seasoned politician who led one of the most revolutionary movements in the history of our union.  That’s why it hurts me to have to say that he is DEAD WRONG in his support of Dede Scozzafava.  I’ve read quite a bit recently about Scozzafava and it is clear to me that she represents exactly what is wrong with the Republican Party.  Yes, there is nothing I want more than to see Princess Pelosi lose her job as Speaker, but at what cost.  We must ask ourselves; what kind of damage has been done recently to our party by liberal republicans.  How many times in the past few years have the likes of Snowe, Collins, Bono, and yes, “Benedict Arnold” himself Arlen Spector, given centrist democrats cover to vote for bad bills in the spirit of bi-partisanship.  With friends like this, who needs enemies?  It’s time to start putting a little more thought in the selection of candidates that the republicans are going to support.  I’m not saying they should be in lock step with the ultra conservative wing of the party.  Of course there is a large group of Americans who consider themselves moderate conservatives (more than likely the largest group).  The Republican Party should be attracting those people.  However, there should never be an endorsement of a LIBERAL candidate just because they have an “R” next to their name.   I have even heard a rumor that Scozzafava has plans to pull a “Spector” once in office (just a rumor).  Since her politics align more closely with the Democratic Party, it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise.  You know how persuasive those guys can be.

Doug Hoffman is a true conservative.  His election as an independent would have tremendous implications for November 2010.  It would wake up a part of America that has lost faith in both political parties because of their mismanagement of OUR (NOT THEIR) resources.  It would energize conservative candidates who previously thought they had no chance against the power of the two behemoth political parties.   A victory by Hoffman would be huge!  A victory by Scozzafava would only be slightly better than that of Bill Owens, the democratic contender.

 

Senators Jim Webb and John Warner were two of the 13 democrat senators who did not stand with Harry Reid on Wednesday on the vote to carve out $247 billion from the healthcare bill for a “doc fix”.  “Doc bribe” would be a much better description of this attempt to not only urge acceptance of Obamacare by medical professionals, but to help make the overall healthcare package deficit neutral.  This would give the president cover when he signs the bill that WILL literally break the banks of every American citizen.  This particular vote hit Reid pretty hard because he was assured by the AMA (who like the AARP has no regard for what is in the hearts of the people they claim to represent) that there were enough republican votes to gain cloture.   Sure on the surface this looks good for the docs, but I think most doctors realize that this would have been the first step down that single payer road to nowhere.  You can bet Reid is livid with the 12 dems plus the semi-dem, Lieberman.  These gimmicks will continue and the test will be to see what kind of intestinal fortitude the likes of Webb and Warner have.  Will they listen to their constituents who want nothing to do with the bills that are being one-sidedly negotiated?  My prediction is that Warner will be the first to bend under the pressure.  He has shown himself to be a follower, and the group he is following is leading him straight out of office.  Once McDonnell has a few years to get the Commonwealth back on track, and Obama has a few years to run the country further into the ground, the Democratic Party will not have quite the luster it did during the “Kool-Aid drunk” election of 2008.  The so-called “blue dogs” who fight the leftward shift in the party may survive.  History could quickly repeat itself.  Just look at the period between 1994 and 2006.  The re-discovered Republican Party of 1994 went from a fiscally responsible party for the people to a bunch of corrupt, power hungry, spending fools.  It set up last year’s election that was one of the single most damaging events to ever happen to this country.  Everywhere you look there is “buyer’s remorse”.  And YES, I blame the Republican Party for losing their way.

On Saturday Sarah Palin pulled together a comprehensive analysis of most of the arguments (which are many) against the senate finance committee’s healthcare reform bill.  http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/note.php?note_id=155230603434&id=24718773587&ref=mf

Her main points were:

1)       To pay for a comprehensive program that cannot deny coverage for pre-existing conditions, everyone is forced to buy insurance (which I may add is unconstitutional).  However the fines are much less than the cost of the policy.  People who don’t want coverage will simply wait until they get sick to buy, since they will not be denied coverage.

2)      The plan will impose heavy taxes on “Cadillac Plans”.  Those costs will be passed on to the consumer through higher premiums or lower wages.  Hardest hit:  Obama’s favorite group of constituents – those making less than $200k.  With friends like Obama; who needs enemies.

3)      Her counter to Obama’s pledge to not sign anything if “it adds one dime to the deficit over the next decade”, is so logical it’s almost laughable.  How many times have administration estimates on what something will cost, or its effects have been sorely off the mark?  Let me make my question a little easier.  How many times have they been right?  ZERO!

4)      Of course we’ve all seen the clips of “Campaign Obama” talking about transparency.  C-SPAN is still sitting by the phone waiting to be called into the negotiating room.  Don’t hold your breathe.  I heard that yesterday the Republicans were literally locked out of the room where negotiations were taking place.  Yes, they actually locked the doors.  We’ve sent a bunch of children to Capitol Hill to run our government.

5)      She posed the question that has all of us very concerned.  Will we actually know what’s in the bill before it is voted on?  And will our representatives vote on something they haven’t read.  That remains to be seen.

6)      Last, we all heard Obama mention tort reform in his speech given before the joint session of congress.  What happened to that?  Why should we believe anything that has been said when there have already been so many lies?

Sarah Palin got it right.  She has spent her time since leaving office finding her voice for the American people.  It’s amazing that there are still those who continue to belittle this woman of immense talent.  POLITICO called her piece “tough but wonky”.  Wonky?  (One-sided and weak)  Who uses that word?  Since the declaration of war on Fox News, I’ve noticed a more “controlled message” from almost all other media outlets.  It’s as though there is a concerted effort to marginalize any critics.  That’s dangerous and why the calm analysis that Palin gives is so important right now.