Ryan Leads Timid Republicans in Repudiation of 2016 Vote

Before we all give up and run screaming, just remember that you knew that the Republicans were a bunch of lily-livered cowards and that our leadership talks the talk but rarely walks the walk.  We KNEW that Paul Ryan was not going to repeal Obamacare, we KNEW it, but some of us still can't believe it.  Even my local representative in my state legislature has been a huge disappointment because he is easily swayed by those who band together and convince themselves to ignore principled positions and do what is more "popular."  What is more popular is to spend money.  What in God's name our representatives would do if they actually had to cut spending, I guess we will never know.

So, what to do?  Why vote when none of the items on the agenda ever change?  I don't know about voting, I will probably continue to vote, but I will support Convention of States.  I don't really care that the John Birch Society and Eagle Forum are up in arms about it and that they think we will have a run-away convention if we manage to finally approve the Convention of States; I mean, who cares?  They are already running away from our Constitution as fast as they can and there is too much money in lobbying to every change the way that bills are created and passed.  It is time for Term Limits and our representatives will NEVER vote in Term Limits for themselves.  There are other things that must be addressed, but Term Limits are my sticking point.

I used to believe that Term Limits limited someone from serving effectively because of the learning curve.  No longer.  By the time these guys get to be representatives or senators, they are well aware of how to make money from politics.  Paul Ryan used to be a constitutional conservative, and he has fallen from grace.  He is no longer a Conservative and the stridency of his voice will tell you about his level of desperation to convince his audience that he still believes in Conservative principles when that is the furthest possible thing from the truth.  "These are Conservative Policies!" says Ryan in his highest tonal whine.  That's when you know that we're doomed. 

I hope Trump figures out how to navigate these dangerous waters.  It's tough when your leaders are bought and paid for and have convinced all who are willing to listen that Conservatism is alive and well.  Well, it probably is, but not in Washington D.C.!

With the downfall of Fox News, and the cowardice of the Republican leadership, our future seems even more bleak than it did before Obama destroyed the health insurance system in this country.  There are so many demands on a shrinking upper class whose tax dollars will never be able to stretch to fund all the social goodies that the politicians have promised.  No wall, no decrease in spending, none of the promises from the campaign are coming to pass and before you wonder too long about why this is happening, go read about Convention of States.  It may be our only hope.

Bark On

Written in response to a letter to the editor in the Independent just after the election of Donald Trump.

I read with building disgust the letter from an angry Liberal and the usual Conservative-bashing Mr. Brooks.  Millions of small business owners, Conservative teachers, construction-workers, administrators, etc. have spent the last 8 years suffering through Liberal economic policies and Social engineering schemes that DID NOT WORK.  Oh sure, you'll get your occasional Obamacare write-in saying how well it worked for them, but the fact of the matter is it worked for no one else.  It should alarm even the most totalitarian and obtuse that the program touted as a God-send by the political elite did not end up ruining THEIR lives...no, no.  They did not have to figure out how to pay a mortgage payment-sized premium for a policy with a $6,000 deductible.  They continued to see their Doctors and pay reasonable prices for their policies while the rest of middle-class America (what's left of it) reeled between $5,000 fines and $12,000-$15,000 premiums.  

The next item on this list of utopian Liberal ideas was an economic floor in the guise of a $15, or $14, or maybe $16 minimum wage that would, if every economic study ever done is an indicator, crush the already low employment numbers in minority and youth groups and further challenge already low-margin service businesses to survive.  

Liberals have been proven wrong in the economic arena for years, having to dream up scare tactics and utopian ideals to support economic models that don't work.  Economics professors in Liberal Elite Economics departments nationwide came up with study after study demonstrating how low tax policies kill growth and, in their most egregious act, developed the phrase "trickle-down economics" which Reagan never used and then proceeded to bash it over the heads of Conservatives, uniquely branding it as a Conservative policy that didn't work when, once and for all, this was NOT a Conservative ideal.  Instead, Reagan used the Milton Freidman reference that a, "rising tide lifts all boats."  

So successful was their branding and marketing of utopian ideals that the American people, after 8 years of Bush's middle-left economic policies and war after war, we're willing to dip their toes in the Keynsian swamp.  Never having been fans of Keynsian big-government ideas, Conservatives braced for the onslaught of taxes, government "infrastructure" spending, and the attendant low-growth policies of a Liberal administration.  And we got it, in spades. 

It started with the collapse of the biggest Liberal policy of them all that made Clinton's buddies who ran the Freddie/Fanny empire very rich ($90 million...look it up), the Clinton-sponsored Community Reinvestment Act.  Republicans, sometime stalwarts against government spending, we're guilted into voting for this monstrosity using the race card.  With very little evidence to support the need for broad-based loan relief in minority communities, just the hint that Congressional representatives could be racist if they didn't support this legislation resulted in its passage and the bank loan bubble of 2008.  That bubble and the actions earlier that year by the Federal Reserve raising interest rates 2.5 points put pressure on the variable-rate loans and those who had financed their homes with interest only variable rate loans saw their payments sky-rocket.  By the time the Fed realized that "inflationary pressures," the excuse given for increasing rates in the first place, we're non-existent, the damage was done.  Bankruptcies skyrocketed and even as interest rates started to sink, the giant bubble burst leaving all of America gasping as home after home went up for sale in a market where prices were crashing.  Life savings disappeared with a crash in the stock market and lives were ruined as family after family moved into homes with relatives or smaller, more affordable apartments.  This crash, this "crisis" was not wasted by the Frank Marshall Davis accolyte, Barrack Obama, and the rest was history.

What the Left, especially the young Left does not understand about this election is that Conservatives saw this election as the last chance before utter ruin.  Obama had consolidated the student loan market and created an economy that crawled along at 1% or less making it impossible for middle class families to send children to college.  Tack on the ruinous medical premiums and increasing medical costs despite all promises to the contrary, and little hope for more than snails-pace growth and more people than just Conservatives came out to vote on Tuesday. 

In case you missed it, this election was not about bashing gay people or force-feeding Liberals to the Lions which is what the angry Left is morosely shouting to those who might listen.  Instead, this was about small business owners fighting for survival, the middle class voting for change and the undeniable fact that Hillary Clinton did not close the case for higher taxes, a minimum wage hike, and the continuation of Obamacare. 

I'm not saying that Conservatives don't have opinions that differ with the Left about human rights, yes, human, you know, gay, straight, black, red, white and blue.  We do.  But Conservative positions are almost never as extreme as our fellow Montanan from Bozeman believes they are.  Conservatives are not filled with hatred any more than those on the Left.  We support Legal immigration, hardly an extreme position, and as for human rights, we support freedom and our Constitution.  We don't believe that minorities are due special rights under the Constitution, instead, we believe our Constitution conveys on all of us the same rights.  

I remember fighting against the Equal Rights Amendment in the 80's and my contention was that, as a woman, I believed that my Constitution protected me "as a person" in every way that mattered.  For that I was name-called and told that I was a woman-hater, so get in line with the long, long list of name-callers, Mr. Angry Guy in Bozeman.  We've just lived through 8 years of hell and your yippy little voice added to the vicious outcry from the Left will not make a dent in the armor that Conservatives have developed in the last 8 years.  Bark on, my good man, but keep it non-violent because you teetered on threats and though we're pretty sure you are harmless, Conservatives are pretty big on the 2nd Amendment and we don't take well to veiled threats or violent behavior. 

It's time to grow up and realize that you rarely get everything you want, in life, or in politics, and spare the rest of us your gasps and the, "I just can't believe you THINK that way," statements that assume everyone around you agrees with you.  In fact, instead of reading nothing but the Independent, branch out!  Listen every once in awhile to those who disagree with you.  I know it's tough, but it builds character, makes your understanding of the world more complete and lends credence to the arguments you make because when you read more than material in your comfort zone, you can build stronger arguments.  And who knows, maybe the person in power that you need to convince might not immediately shut you down as a num-nutt partisan hack.

What DO Women Want?

The Liberal media for so long had a monopoly on political reporting.  No more.  The rise of PJMedia, CRTV, Breitbart, Fox News (to some extent) has changed the media landscape for those who are willing to explore the internet.  However, a huge number of people still absorb political news from the alphabet stations and traditional newspaper outlets.  These people see nothing but coverage that supports an ideology that, I believe, exists only in the minds of the Liberal Elite and its followers. 

Traditional Liberal proving grounds still churn out individuals who are convinced, often against their better judgement, upbringing, and common sense that the American people should put their faith, dollars, and energy into government-centric programs controlled by bureaucrats.  These centers of power then churn out "regulations" meant to prop up ideologies; regulations
that carry the power to force action.  Again and again, our society dreams up leviathan agencies to "control" the people.  George Orwell had nothing on the contemporary Left, nothing at all.

When I saw the coverage yesterday on the Million Woman march, with so many little pink hats, my immediate reaction, was, "You go girls!"  But as the day wore on, I realized that this march wasn't about women's issues, it was about Liberal women who hate Trump.  What a huge disappointment.  In a world where women face descrimination, mutilation, exploitation and struggles that far surpass any challenges these protesters will see in their lives, these women chose to protest a duly elected President in a country where women are more free and enjoy more rights than anywhere on this earth. 

After EIGHT years of Cart Blanche Liberal policies supported in large part by Republican leadership, these gals think the world is ending?  Hell, Ladies, it's just beginning!  And as tempted as I am to laugh at the spectacle,  it is also depressing to realize the extent to which the women's movement consists primarily of women who have bought into the big-government, anti-Constitutional Conservative agenda.  I have zero in common with these ladies, yet my philanthropic activities focus primarily on women.  And after watching the Liberal-leaning coverage from yesterday's big march, I realize that we're still so far away from getting our message across.

In a discussion about the media coverage on Fox news' Media Buzz this morning, it struck me that though Conservative media has changed the media landscape, it has not yet penetrated the psyche of the Elite New York media anchors and reporters.  When the anchor of Media Buzz refered to Trump's "war" with the media, he means ABC, CBS, NBC, the NY Times, and the Washington Post, but he does not make that distinction, and with only one guest to to support the Conservative point of view, there was no mention of it. 

I'm tired of the news outlets that I trust getting no recognition.  Real unbiased reporting happens, but it's rare, and it's time for Wally (anchor Media Buzz) to recognize that there is an entire country of Conservative women out here in fly-over country and we don't trust the Alphabet channels anymore.  We trust the reporting at PJ Media, The Washington Times, and CRTV.  We want the same recognition that the million Liberal Woman march got yesterday, and we want it now.  We've waited 8 Looong years, we care about women's issues, too, and we have nothing in common with the Leftist, Totalitarian, uncivilized, destructive, polluting behavior from yesterday.  We want to hear about the real Media in this country and we want to hear about Liberty...for all, not the closed-minded attitudes of the women from yesterday's March who would not allow conservative or pro-life women a voice.  And may I also take off my hat to Sean Spicer for laying down the gauntlet and defending us all against the Liberal lies of the last few days.

Booker's Ballyhoo

Cory Booker is making a fool out of himself today. His audition for President is a sad, pathetic, attempt at market analysis. 

How will he test in the white middle-class market? Will he be able to engender the same support that Obama did when he lied to the American people claiming that he was a friend of the Jewish state, a middle-of-the-road, blue-dog, business-supporting, entrepreneurial, candidate? Give it up, Cory. You are a failed mayor. You don't have the same sharp crease in your khaki's and the adoration of Chris Matthews. And the fact that you would break Senate protocol to testify against a fellow Senator on the eve of his confirmation to a cabinet position with no facts to substantiate your accusation that he is a racist homophobe is all we need to know about your character. 

Fortunately, your ridiculous testimony was quickly annihilated by the testimony from a group of lawyers and lay people who have known Sen. Sessions for 20 or more years (parenthetically, they were black).  Did Cory Booker present an example of Sen. Sessions lying to the American people, disobeying the law, or discriminating against a gay, black, lesbian, or other person?  Nope.  Nothing.  There is not a single example of Sen. Sessions discriminating against anyone, and Cory Booker, listening to the siren song of the Black Caucus, made the piss-poor judgement to testify against the soon-to-be Attorney General.  Had he thought carefully, not something he is known for, he might have envisioned how his testimony would play out.  Who else would be testifying against Sen. Sessions?  Who would be testifying for him and when?  

But, he did get his headline testimony and with the collaboration of the US press corps (pronounced CORE), he will begin his attempt to fill the space left by our Whiner-in-Chief.  He'll need to spiff it up a little, though.  Those are some very sharp creases and shiny shoes to fill.