Ponderstorm My Brainstorm on Life & Politics

In Federalist No. 10 James Madison warned that “Enlightened statesmen will not always be at the helm.” This leadership status has been true throughout much of our history. Sadly, it will be true in our future as well since our nation did not elect an enlightened statesman yesterday. Instead, as a nation, we chose a politician committed to expanding a radical agenda that includes abortion, socialism, immorality and national weakness.

Now that I’ve had a few more hours to analyze this dramatic leadership shift, I offer the following five thoughts on the state of our nation in general and the conservative movement in particular.

1. Things are worse than they appear.

Public policy will be incredibly more dangerous for unborn babies, the military, businesses, the institution of marriage, our courts, law-abiding gun owners, the size of the national debt and even our very individual freedoms. The Left will have little restraint in pushing through a liberal agenda.

2. Things are not as bad as they appear.

In the future, there will be no question which Party is to blame and what policies to oppose. There will be unity on the Right which will provide a chance for real conservative leaders to emerge. The Left promised much more than they can ever deliver. Swing voters will become disenchanted and look for reasonable alternatives.

3. Republicans got a reboot and will soon be forgiven for their past transgressions.

Voters punished the Republican Party (which deserved it) but will soon grow to distrust the even more expansive Democratic Party and their near lock on power. In such an unrestrained environment, I predict the Democratic Party’s spending excesses and scandals will dwarf those perpetrated by Republicans over the past eight years. During this time the Republican Party will be forced to rebuild and retool but is likely to come back stronger and (hopefully) smarter as was the case in 1980 with Ronald Reagan and 1994 with the Contract with America.

4. Conservatives need to focus on changing hearts and not merely getting votes.

Conservatives cannot look at just winning elections but must focus on converting hearts and minds. That is harder to do and means more work up front by building trust and convincing people on the merits of conservative principles. However, the rewards are far greater and produce potentially life-long supporters.

5. There is no substitute for the values of morality and basic decency.

We’re at a crossroads as a nation. Moral issues like the right to life, the very definition of marriage, the rule of law and private property ownership are under attack. If enough voters don’t believe in these values then there will be no attempt to protect them in our government of the people. In our nation leaders are only as strong as their base of support. If moral and decent people do not make up a voting majority then our nation’s politics will reflect that shift.

So, take courage, Americans, and enlist for the journey ahead. It’s a wearisome road and one that includes setbacks and defeats along the way. I’m convinced, however, that we will finish the journey if we set our hearts firmly on this important task and take things one step at a time. The result will be worth it, and will be not just one, but a series of enlightened statesmen and women at the helm.

Posted under Politics, Quotes

As I write this I’m distressed to say it looks like there is no path to victory for John McCain. But since I prefer to see the glass as half full, I’m searching for something positive to write about tonight’s election. Is there anything positive to consider right now?

After careful thought I think so. I think there is still reason for conservatives to hope.

This 2008 election cycle has a remarkable number of parallels to 1976 when Democrat Jimmy Carter beat Republican Gerald Ford. As you may recall, Ford became President following the resignation of scandal-plagued President Richard Nixon. With the Republican brand tarnished by Watergate and the messy war in Vietnam fresh on voters’ minds, Carter eked out a 50.1% popular vote and a 297 to 240 electoral win.

As things now stand, Obama appears to be headed for a similarly narrow victory over McCain. As in 1976, the 2008 Republican brand is deeply tarnished by six years of squandered opportunities, wasteful spending, an unpopular Republican President and war that seems to drag on and on. Add in a candidate who had difficulties mobilizing his base and energizing people with a clear vision and you have a recipe for Republican electoral disaster. For Democrats, though, these factors created the perfect storm to sweep into power.

Rewind to 1976. Carter, like Obama was very inexperienced. Little was known about Carter just as little is known about Obama. Contrasting these Democrats were Republicans Ford and McCain who were both tested and experienced leaders. They were, however, dragged down by sweeping calls for change and widespread desire to put a new face and political party in Washington.

That was the setting in 1976 and again in 2008. As history shows us, though, the four years after 1976 were not pretty. Carter was tested with an international crisis by Iran and he failed miserably. Instead of acting decisively, he focused on talks and cut the military. Furthermore, the economy grew worse as inflation, unemployment and interest rates rapidly climbed.

Ironically, in 2008, Iran is again at the forefront of the international agenda and the economy is extremely weak. Like Carter, Obama puts a huge amount of trust in the power of talks to resolve aggressive conflicts with unreasonable people like Islamic extremists and dictators. Honestly, I fear for our future as a nation.

As Joe Biden warned, the next President will be tested with an international crisis within a short period of time. The response of that unavoidable test remains to be seen. Will Obama continue to look and sound like Carter or will he prove my analogy wrong and lead wisely?

That’s the dark side of my analogy. Is there a silver lining you might ask? Is there anything to give conservatives reason to hope? I think so and here’s why.

After four years of failure under Carter, the nation was fed up with international weakness, unemployment, inflation and failed Democratic leadership. In 1980 the nation was ready to elect a new leader who was proud of America and willing to tackle the problems instead of just talk about the symptoms. In short, the nation was ready to embrace conservatism and his name was Ronald Reagan.

So my question tonight is who will be our Ronald Reagan in 2012? Who will step forward and lead this nation out of the mess that liberalism and socialism inevitably bring? Who will be or next Ronald Reagan? Will it be you?

Posted under Barack Obama, Campaign

I just read something powerful from a pamphlet by William J. H. Boetcker (1873-1962) and entitled The Ten Cannots. It was originally published in 1916 but I feel its message is very fitting to us today and especially now during the 2008 Presidential election cycle. Here are the “10 cannots”:

1. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
2. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
3. You cannot help little men by tearing down big men.
4. You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.
5. You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.
6. You cannot establish sound security on borrowed money.
7. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
8. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than you earn.
9. You cannot build character and courage by destroying men’s initiative and independence.
10. And you cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they can and should do for themselves.

I wish all in government and those aspiring to positions in government would take these simple yet powerful concepts to heart. Voters would be wise to do the same.

Please note: The above quote is often wrongly attributed to Abraham Lincoln.

Posted under 60 Seconds, Government, Quotes

I regularly read Obama 2.0 and just learned of some very interesting commentary by the talented founder of Macho Sauce Productions Alfonzo (Zo) Rachel. In his own words, Zo is a “musician, martial artist, amateure movie makin’, Christian conservative republican.”

His latest video is entitled 1 More B4 11 04 and builds a strong case for electing a conservative as President. He also describes very well the differences between liberals and conservatives, Democrats and Republicans, and Obama and McCain in ways that are very compelling. His logic is tight (I would dispute his dinosaur comment given some historic and scientific evidence that may suggest otherwise) and his reasons for supporting conservatives and John McCain in particular are some of the best I’ve heard. He is passionate about freedom and excessive government involvement in our lives. It’s well worth watching.

Posted under Barack Obama, Campaign, John McCain, Politics, Video

Recently somebody suggested that Presidential preferences are like this: “The ‘right’ wants a President they can have a beer with. The ‘left’ just wants someone really smarter than them.” My reply was something like the following:

I think its deeper than the “beer and smarts” analogy suggested above. The right wants to know confidently that their key principles (the “3 pillars” of free markets, national security and social conservatism) are held at a core level by the President and they (the President) won’t waver on them. They don’t care much about physical appearance, TV image, speaking ability, etc. as long as these core principles are not abandoned. Delegation as a leadership style is fine and a “hands off” approach by government preferred for most issues. In a nutshell, government is not to do much more than safeguard these principles and protect us from evil nations.

The left, on the other hand, wants somebody who feels their pain and is smart enough to fix everything that is wrong. That means somebody with an Ivy League education is preferred since only they are smart enough to hold such power. They must look good on TV and be respected by other players on the world stage so they don’t embarrass us. They also have to speak well to soothe us and make us feel comfortable after convincing us that they feel our pain and want to help us enjoy life.  Image and perception are everything as long as the economy is good and we are safe from all harms including natural disasters like hurricanes and dirty water. Risks are to be eliminated and the federal government is the ultimate safety net for everybody. Everybody should be equally happy.

I know that’s a light-hearted, broad-brushed view of things; however, I feel it does point out many core differences between liberals and conservatives. What do you think?

Posted under 60 Seconds, Politics