The day after, with 1,537 to go

Yesterday, I received an email from my friend Dan Kirk who lives in Wisconsin, regarding election day. I appreciated what he wrote and liked how he wrote it so much, I asked for and got his permission to post it here.

I voted.

Remember the last time we had a presidential candidate with this kind of charisma? One who ran on charisma, rather than ideas? I do. He just stood there oozing charisma and spouting gibberish, and people practically bowed down and worshipped him. That distressed me greatly. Even people who didn't support him couldn't understand why that bothered me. "What's wrong with him?" they asked, and wouldn't accept the idea that that kind of charisma came with risks. If I pointed out any of his questionable dealings, they said, "That doesn't count because you can't prove it." In time, every accusation against him
proved not only true, but less outrageous than what he had actually done. But he continued to distract people with his charisma and acting ability, so that by the time the truth came out, nothing came of it. Even after his impeachment, instead of having the decency to resign, he got his cronies in the Senate to keep him in office for the remainder of his second term.

As soon as he was inaugurated, his wife began calling congressional hearings. The last time I checked, the First Lady was a member of the President's family, not his cabinet, much less a member of Congress, let alone a member of the standing required to call hearings. But anyone who questioned her authority to call these hearings was considered a chauvinist, an enemy of children and the poor, and a threat to progress. She almost railroaded her whole socialist program through Congress, and many pieces of it ended up in later legislation. Then she trotted off to China to congratulate them on the way they upheld the rights of women. Apparently, the best way to uphold women's rights is to force them to have abortions.

Her husband, meanwhile, was issuing Executive Orders like a Caesar. Can't convince the armed forces or the American people that bunking up with homosexuals is a good idea? Then end the debate by ordering them, "Don't ask, don't tell." After eight years under this regime, the American people had had enough. Their home state knew them too well to want them back; even his church didn't want him around. So she bought a house in a liberal-leaning state and convinced enough gullible people she lived there to elect her to the Senate.

When she later ran for President, even her own party didn't want her. They kept changing the rules. Even Time and Newsweek examined the evidence and decided that she routinely exaggerated her accomplishments, and hadn't achieved nearly what she claimed to. She was cheating and still losing. So they found someone with even more charisma and even fewer good ideas. Someone didn't care what happened to the country, as long as it hadn't happened before. (Apparently, he's not very familiar with the book that says there is nothing new under the sun. But I suppose if you usually have forest fires, a tsunami would be considered "change".)

I guess this all goes to show that you can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but it takes a village to fool all the people all of the time.

Then, earlier today I sent an email to another group site, and I listed my reasons for yesterday’s defeat of the USA as we know it:

There are probably many causes, but three things stand out this morning.

1. Members of the liberal teachers unions (NEA especially) years ago abandoned teaching civics to the most recent generations of students / now voters, in favor of a big steaming pile of "new age" socialist indoctrination.

2. BHO's campaign whipped up enough people into an emotional frenzy ("life's not fair, stick it to 'em"). Not that all of the blue staters actually trust Obama either; factor out the voters who still have reservations about him - but who hate George W. Bush more - and John McCain would likely be the president elect. Yes, Obama is a charismatic speaker (much like Slick Willie was), but make no mistake. This was "revenge of the Bush bashers". And it wasn't even President Bush who was running. Incredible.

3. And you've got to give the Obama campaign credit. They actively courted new voters and increased the voter registration greatly, and we Republicans did not.

I’ve since thought to amend point number 1 a bit. What I meant was to point out that the younger voters are by and large ignorant of the dangers of socialism, why it kills incentive, brings down economies, makes strong nations weak and has never worked anywhere – even in watered down form – nearly as well as free market capitalism.

Capitalism? You know, where government for the most part gets out of the way – and people are actually free (there’s a concept) to achieve all they can and choose* for themselves what to do with their own money they have earned. (Where to invest, where to support the local economy, which charities to donate to, etc.)

(*Choice: A concept applied selectively by liberals to apply only to abortion, perverse lifestyles, and the use of drugs in “small” quantities. In all other areas of life – achievement, ideology, philosophy, religious faith, speech, assembly, the right to own guns and defend ourselves and our families – we are to be controlled by a big government who “knows better” how we are to live, and who will “take care of us” by making our choices.)

No one has the right to tell you when you have earned too much. (Except Obama, apparently.) Thanks a whole h—l of a lot, libs. Let’s just see how well you like it when you notice your hard earned money is being confiscated too.

Then it occurred to me that some of the voters may have been aware of this danger, but didn’t believe the warnings that Obama’s tax proposal was actually socialist redistribution of wealth. Well, we will find out soon enough, eh? Regardless of your political affiliation, we will all have to cut back severely. And you thought your financial situation was bad now?

My initial reaction was fear. I’ve not feared my government this much, since B**l C*****n and Janet Reno killed the Branch Davidian cult by fire, near Waco, Texas. Not to defend that cult, but don’t forget at that time that Ms. Reno described dangerous religious people as (my paraphrase) “people who take the Bible seriously, attend church more than once a week, and distrust government”.

Well, many weeks I’m only in church once, but the other two apply.

Then again, I don’t know how much fear I should have; I tend to worry first. A lot. Sometimes things don’t turn out as bad as I first thought.

Options range anywhere from “he’s an empty suit who won’t be able to change much”, to “there will be fundamental change to our constitutional rights; you can kiss many of your individual freedoms goodbye”. Likely things will turn out in between, in other words, Bad Enough.

Since this afternoon though, my emotion has turned to anger. But I’m mostly mad because of how wimpy my Republican party has become.

The whole “reach across the aisle”, build consensus, and work together thing. It never works, and here’s why. Liberal democrats who propose reaching a compromise with conservative republicans never concede anything (unless they really have no choice), but wait until the right throws away its principles. I knew early on that President George W. Bush was going to have a long, hard time of it when he caved in to Ted Kennedy on an education bill. And all this talk of being able to work across the aisle with democrats ultimately doomed John McCain too. You really can’t appease and attract liberals and moderates. They will vote for the democrat anyway, no matter what you say or do.

Whatever you think of Rush Limbaugh, he’s right on this. When you have a clear conservative choice, it wins. (Most recent example: Proposition 8 in California.)

The dems grew their party this year by seeking people who weren’t yet voters but could be. They courted them and got them registered.
Apparently we republicans didn’t see the importance of this.
If we are to take our country back, we must register new republican voters.

One more thing I would say to my republican party. As much as I respect John McCain and his service to our country, never, Never again run an “old” guy. I don’t like to say that, but it Just. Will. No. Longer. Sell. Up to about 55 or so, sure. Older than that and unfortunately, we lose. It’s time for a new generation of conservatives to step up.

There are only two small, silver linings around today’s dark clouds.

One, this lurch to the left is not sustainable, and eventually the crap will hit the fan. Then I will get to say “We tried to warn you”. (That is, if the politically “correct” thought police don’t come for me and my family before then.)

And two, I’m so, So glad this political campaign season is finally over. I plan to ignore B.O. and his anti-capitalist, anti-American ilk as much as I can, and have as good a life as I can in spite of them.

Lots of luck to us all, and may God help us.