Reagan Saw the Writing on the Wall in the 60s

If you’re a political wonk, you’ve seen this video. But for many many people who are just now getting their feet wet in politics, this is a must-view video (see below). Part of my goal with this blog is to speak to people like myself – those who have watched politics pass by, voted with half-hearted enthusiasm for “the lesser of two evils,” and may have felt that it really didn’t matter what happened.

But then, in 2008, it did matter. Republicans had lost their way. The GOP seemed to abandon true conservatism for political expediency. We’ve wound up with less-than-stellar candidates from the local level on up to the nominees for president. The likes of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid solidified their power, and we elected one of the most radical presidents in U.S. history.

As a relative newcomer to political involvement, I stumbled across this video of Ronald Reagan campaigning for Barry Goldwater. Like I said, those who have been in the political machine have seen this. But when I viewed this for the first time a few months back (just as the “Lost Republican” concept was bubbling up in my brain), I was awestruck by the conviction of Reagan’s words and the proof of his conviction in his actions.

So if you are just finding your way, watch this video. But I contend that even if you are a political junkie, “A Time for Choosing” is always a good reminder of what conservatism means and it’s a good reminder of the very challenges we face today – nearly 45 years after Reagan made this speech.

A Fool Amplifies the Moronic Comments of a Menace

Minnesota has a storied political past with individual names that evoke strong memories and strong sentiment -  names like Humphrey, Anderson, Jesse and even Franken.

But former Vice President (and Minnesota political mainstay) Walter Mondale has decided to chuck his remaining shreds of credibility and honor  by amplifying the moronic comments of former President Jimmy Carter. I hope that nobody on the left has the clear thinking to tell these guys to stop hitting the “self-destruct” button. I hope they keep digging this hole by insulting some of the very people who put them in office. Opposition is opposition. Racism is racism. Opposition is not racism. (I should also note that hypocrisy is hypocrisy – and many on the left – Carter included – sure seem to embody that term.)

Oh…if you didn’t catch the meaning of the headline, Mondale is the “fool,” while former President Carter is the “menace.” I hate to be disrespectful, but Carter elevated himself to “menace” status with his latest show of idiocy. See the article in this link:

Mondale sees racial ‘edge’ in some Obama foes | StarTribune.com

Posted using ShareThis

Curing Depression

I read an interesting article in a U.K. news outlet by a guy named Nile Gardiner. Gardiner is the director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at the Heritage Foundation. The point of this article was that our current president is being so well-received at the U.N. because he brings weakness to the White House. He comes to the United Nations on the heels of his well-documented “apology tours.” Gardiner concluded his article with this: “The Obama administration is now overseeing and implementing the biggest decline in American global power since Jimmy Carter. Unfortunately it may well take another generation for the United States to recover.”

Now, I must say that the actual text of the president’s speech to the U.N. was less bothersome to me than to many other conservative observers. I was mildly surprised to hear him say that the U.S. alone cannot fix all that ails the world. I was cautiously pleased to hear him take a more even tone about the Israeli-Palestinian stalemate (he took both sides to task – rather than simply piling blame on our ally Israel). I was actually much more appalled at his earlier commentary during the week on global warming – pushing us down a path of skyrocketing energy costs, less freedom and less liberty.

But still, reading Gardiner’s article gave me pause. The reality that the U.N. crowd loves seeing us projecting weakness was a bit depressing. So what’s the antidote? I grabbed my new iPod Touch and began surfing the YouTube app for videos of Ronald Reagan. I was a dopey teenager (and a nutty liberal) back in the late 70s and early 80s. I neither appreciated nor understood the leadership that Reagan brought to this country. I watched his old speeches stumping for Barry Goldwater around the time I was born. I watched portions of his debates with Carter and Mondale. I watched clips of him calling for the removal of the Berlin Wall. I watched that great “Morning in America” political ad from the ’84 election.

Watching these old videos, I was reminded for the second time in two weeks that we need to let our principles guide us (see my previous post about the Constitution Day event and Sue Jeffers’ speech to the crowd in St. Paul). We need not be shrill about every little step President Obama makes. Eye on the ball. Focus on the key issues. Don’t get our shorts in a collective bundle every time he takes his wife on Air Force One for “date night” in New York. Don’t get our shorts in a bundle every time he makes a speech. Focus on our principles – lower taxes, limited government, national security and an economic environment that fosters growth, prosperity and wealth creation (not wealth redistribution).

I felt better after watching some of the Reagan videos. Not because it was Reagan, but because it underscored our principles. Now I’m going to read some of Mark Levin’s Liberty and Tyranny before getting some sleep.

GOP Must Heed The Ghosts of ’94 – Interesting Take by NY Times

I found an interesting article (link below) via RealClearPolitics.com that gets close to the heart of why I call myself a “Lost Republican.” People are angry. We’re angry at out-of-control government. We’re angry at the “takers” on both ends of the financial spectrum. While middle America goes to work, plays by the rules and does our best to try to inch forward, we see people at the top and bottom of the financial spectrum reaping the benefits of our hard work. We’re sick of slick operators like Madoff, Petters and Hecker amassing apparent fortunes, which ultimately prove to be nothing more than Ponzi schemes or over-leveraged houses of cards. We know there are more of these jerks out there, scamming the system and making millions. We know countless villains will never be caught.

At the same time, we’re tired of those at the other end of the spectrum who just want to belly up to the government trough and take endless advantage of the system. Our compassion, though, allows us to let it continue, because we know there are thousands – even millions of people out there who truly need our help. But again, we know that there are those scamming the system and they’ll never get caught, just like their millionaire/billionaire counterparts.

We feel lost because the GOP often doesn’t seem to stand for anything anymore. We feel lost because we don’t have a leader who is picking up the ball from Reagan and moving us down the field. We had McCain. We have the likes of Romney and Palin and others. Can any of these emerge as the new standard-bearer for the GOP in 2010 and 2012? That remains to be seen.

It’s our responsibility to stand up and make our voices heard to President Obama, Speaker Pelosi and Harry Reid. We need to tell them that we don’t want more government intrusion into our lives.

But perhaps more importantly, we need to stand up to GOP leadership and demand better. We need a party that can lead. We need a party that can demonstrate and articulate its position. It’s pretty simple – limited government, more liberty, strong defense, and better control over spending and taxes. Those of us in the middle (and there are millions of us) are tired of getting screwed while others reap the benefits of our hard work – and we’re tired of getting let down by the Republican party. Until we see true GOP leadership, I fear we will have more Lost Republicans than we have today. Here’s the article:

Op-Ed Columnist – The Ghosts of 1994 – NYTimes.com

Posted using ShareThis