The American Spectator : Obama Is the Obstacle

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Obama Is the Obstacle

By Quin Hillyer on 8.11.11 @ 6:08AM

The President's standards make us poor.

If anybody but Barack Obama were President of the United States, I would say that the S&P downgrade this week, and the huge market drops in the past two weeks, were both over-reactions to admittedly bad economic data. After all, lawmakers did show a willingness to address the debt problem, did show some bipartisan seriousness about finding savings, and do still represent the most stable nation, with the most wealth, in the world.

But this is a willfully obstinate president, ideologically committed to intrusive regulations, higher taxes, and bigger government no matter how much evidence shows that his policies don't work. When he continues with the same stale talking points, the same arrogant disdain for all who disagree with him, and the same dyspeptic disposition, markets have no reason for confidence – and neither do consumers, ratings agencies, or foreign bondholders. They know that this man is cold, hyper-egotistical (if not worse), and supremely immune to even the slightest bit of self-doubt. They know this is a man who has no experience in the real world of the private sector, boundless hostility to the profit motive, and no understanding of what makes economies grow. They therefore have no reason to expect the sorts of openness to change that they want to see from the Obama administration.

Obama has never really succeeded at anything in his life other than political self-advancement. By his own admission he didn't achieve much of lasting value as a community organizer. As an Illinois legislator he sucked up to leadership and got his name listed as sponsor of lots of bills, but he wasn't known for actually crafting the legislation or for major achievements, and he infamously voted "present" as often as a baseball player spits in the dugout. In Washington, he spent so little time in the U.S. Senate that he might as well have been a ghost.

So why would anybody believe he has the knowledge or skill to lead a nation out of a debt crisis when all of his inclinations run to fiscal extravagance and probably incontinence?

The reality is that this is Obama's economic collapse, caused by Obama's policies and Obama's attitudes. And as long as Obama remains in office, people have every reason to doubt that any significant improvements will be made.

The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Labor Relations Board, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Energy Department, the Interior Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other federal entities are spinning a tangle of job-killing regulations faster than businesses can possibly keep up. Debt has increased by about 50 percent in less than three years. Corporate tax rates remain among the two highest in the developed world. And this president still insists we must raise taxes on job-creating entrepreneurs and small businesses, right in the midst of a recession.

This is not a man who is serious about either limiting government or spurring private-sector economic growth. This is only a man who wants the world to abide by his edicts, as he tries to remake the entire world in a hard-left image.

But if Obama weren't in charge, there would be reasons to believe the economy, and the debt, could be turned around. Nearly $2 trillion sits on the sidelines, at least half of which could easily be invested. Interest rates are ridiculously low. Business profits are solid. The recent stock sell-off has created lots of bargain-basement buying opportunities. The incredibly long recession/stagnation has weeded out significant fat in the private sector, which leaves it lean and ready to expand.

The House of Representatives, led by a brilliant Budget Committee Chairman in Paul Ryan, features lawmakers with a real determination to reform government and remove its excesses. And there is widespread agreement, within a broad spectrum of the policy community, on at least a fair number of reforms that would actually work if the politicians -- meaning the moderate left, because the right is already on board -- would only agree to implement them.

In short, this crisis is not anything that couldn't be solved by Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp, Paul Ryan and some of the House Republican committee chairmen from 1995 through 1997. The elements exist for a recovery. Only Barack Obama and some left-wing Senators stand in the way.

About the Author

Quin Hillyer is a senior editor of The American Spectator and a senior fellow at the Center for Individual Freedom.

Letter to the Editor View all comments (54) | Leave a comment

chuck| 8.11.11 @ 7:01AM

If the current state of the nation does not prove once and for all that liberalism does not work, then we truly are a nation of idiots, and we deserve to go the way of the Roman Empire. Liberalism crushes the human spirit. it has failed everywhere it has been tried. Russia, Europe, and now America. It is the most destructive idea of government ever conceived, because it destroys from within, pitting one section of the population against another. It is just plain evil.

Have you considered| 8.11.11 @ 10:10AM

Chuck, totally agree with you, especially when referring to the human spirit. Humans typically bristle when being turned into slaves.

Quin, you make some good points, but I'm curious as to the facts underlying your rhetoric.

You list ""The Environmental Protection Agency, the National Labor Relations Board, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, the Energy Department, the Interior Department, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and other federal entities are spinning a tangle of job-killing regulations""

I honestly thought after the 2010 elections, and based upon the Pledge for America, that the GOP House would jump to, and actually use their power to curb these agencies.

Have I just missed it? Is there actual, actionable, legislation percolating through committees that actually address these? Or are all the efforts purely rhetorical at this point? You say there is "broad agreement" and I will point out there has been broad agreement for years, but nothing ever seems to actually get accomplished.

The one exception is the repeal of Obamacare. This actually got a vote, and although it sits in the senate, at least it is a fact that it was accomplished in the House.

Get the legislation done, cast votes in the House, and let it sit in the senate as we know it will.

This would at least give us some facts to work with.

Gladius| 8.11.11 @ 10:39AM

The House can pass legislation but the Dems control the Senate and then there is the veto from the President. The only thing to do is win the Senate and WH next yr. BTW most of the agencies mentioned are staffed by envinormental liberals.

Lesser Weevil| 8.11.11 @ 12:10PM

Well, that's the "realist" argument for doing nothing: don't "waste time" until the GOP has full control (that worked out well last time, didn't it?). But it is tremendously important to start making the case, to educate the people about what the issues are and why they matter. That will put the bad guys on defense and actually help the Republicans to make gains.

buckeyeman| 8.11.11 @ 12:16PM

Spending bills originate in the House and the Republicans control the house. As we just saw, the old guard will NOT use that power to save our country because they are either too worried about their own plush public servant careers or perhaps they are ideologically aligned with the dems. The "Tea Partiers" mostly held the line. Electing more of the same might help. Waiting for the "right time" is idiotic.

TrueBlue| 8.11.11 @ 2:17PM

Except that they HAVE passed several budgets and piece sof legislature to reduce the size and spending of government, and they've all been tabled by the Senate. They can pass all the bills they want, the Libs in the Senate, and the President, will not sign them.

Cosmo| 8.12.11 @ 3:09AM

Paul Ryan voted for this "Grand Bargain" which gave Obama $2.4 Trillion to spend. He also voted for Tarp, Stimulus, and bailouts.
If you want leadership, look at the 59 GOP House members who voted against the CR and the 66 who voted against this Obama bailout.

Lawrence Boccardi| 8.11.11 @ 7:06AM

His destruction of our free market economy is deliberate. Impossible to be pro-jobs and anti-business.

Deborah D| 8.11.11 @ 5:37PM

Lawrence, I just stole your excellent observation about being pro-jobs and anti-business!! I put it as my Facebook status!! So right and sooooo succinct! Thanks!

Gary B| 8.11.11 @ 7:07AM

Why would electing a foaming-at-the-mouth Marxist yield anything other than Marxism? As a famous person once said, "Duh..."

Mike D.| 8.11.11 @ 7:36AM

This great intellect adheres to the most destructive and failed political and governmental philosophy in the history of man. Marxism and Socialism have brought more death and destruction to human life than the bubonic plagues many times over. That should be all anybody needs to know about the great "intellect".

Conservative View| 8.11.11 @ 7:38AM

NO OBAMA IS NOT THE OBSTACLE
WE ARE.

It is so easy to blame Obama for the collapse of the American economy. It has happened on his watch. He has, as the article points out, put in place regulations that cripple any advance in job growth. But dispite the fact that he is the captain of a rapidly sinking ship, he alone is not at fault. We are.

A culture has arisen in America, a culture expressed by the slogan "What's in it for me." We see examples of this culture everywhere we turn. The public Unions go into a hissy fit if they have to pay a dime more for their medical insurance. Voters quickly exclaim that Congressmen are a bunch of crooks, and then go right on voteing back into office their very own crook. And so it goes. "What's in it or me."

Obama did not bring economic crises alone. He sits behind his desk in the oval office (sometimes) because we put him there, we the voters. We voted him into the office. We, the voters voted into office every member of Congress. We created this mess.

The days of "What's in it for me" have to end. We have to look at ourselves and realize that we are in the hurt locker, and only with some pain can we pull our selves out. Kennedy said it best, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." Our culture needs to return to that idea. Our leaders must be leaders who embrace that idea.

This is why the Tea Party is so necessary, and so frightening. If we set about making those necessary cuts to governmental spending it is going to hurt. It is going to hurt some people more than others, mostly those who have done the least for themselves. This scares not only elected officals that wish to be returned to Congress, but the voters that put them there in the first place. Yet, unless we change the culture the pain to come will be worse than the pain we have.

Dan Hirsch| 8.11.11 @ 9:46AM

No, no, no, NO! His behavior is no one's fault but his own! Yes, he fooled the electorate, that's his fault, and those who failed to vet him's fault, too. Those who voted for him share in the fault, as they failed to learn about him what was readily available in the summer of 2008.

Our problem is a failure of leadership! You are correct in assessing that there is a moral failure in our government and in our society. The 'what's in it for me?' the 'where's mine?' attitude pervades every aspect of our culture. That's because that's become acceptable.

A strong leader, Reagan comes to mind, would stand up and remind the us that we are a nation of self-government, that we each have responsibilities for ourselves, our families, and each other. Our country did not become great, winning world war after world war, because our citizens focused on getting 'ours!'

Why are you afraid of government cuts? When the government does go into shut down, what happens other than traffic jams disappearing?

Have you lived your life in such a way that you have no other source of sustenance than the dole? Have half of our fellow citizens done this? Should we sink the other half, trying to keep those who have not been responsible for themselves in air conditioning, hybrid cars, HDTV's, fast food, and lattes?

Be not afraid - take care of you and yours. Self sufficiency generates true, lasting, worthy self-esteem. There is no substitute, and it can only be got from freedom, another thing for which there is no substitute.

Don't tread on me.

PS It really began to slide downhill when the meaning of "is" went up for grabs....

Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:01PM

We need to take responsibility for the fact that we could not convince our neighbors to vote against Vermin T Maggot, Esq. This December I'm going to try to convince my Dad and Mom to vote (R) for the first time in their lives. The Mega-Mosque which recently opened just down the block from their apartment---causing RE values to PLUNGE! ---might help.

BD57| 8.11.11 @ 7:19PM

When voters are polled, the results are consistent - majorities say the debt & deficit are problems that must be addressed .... and they don't want Social Security or Medicare touched. Instead, taxes on "the rich" should be increased.

Sorry - we're a big part of the problem.

Louis Jenkins| 8.11.11 @ 10:49AM

Dear Mr. Conservative View:

No, I did not vote for Obama, and about choked voting for the other guy. I cannot take blame for Obama's election. Yes we're going to be hurt somewhat trying to return the government to its Constitutional intention, but the pill is bitter to the mouth, and sweet to the stomach.

buckeyeman| 8.11.11 @ 12:20PM

"He sits behind his desk in the oval office (sometimes) because we put him there"

What do you mean "we", white man.

(Its from an old joke about the Lone Ranger and Tonto getting surrounded by Indians and the Ranger saying "it looks like we are in a real jam" Get it?)

TrueBlue| 8.11.11 @ 2:22PM

I know I sure as heck didn't vote for him, or any of the other crooks in Washington. I voted against Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell here in Washington for the Senate, I voted against Christine Gregoire for government. I will sure as hell not take responsibility for being elected when people refuse to listen to the truth and go ballistic any time I point out something that doesn't conform to their liberal views. Heck, here in Washington we have screaming liberals that consider themselves centrists because they aren't quite as hard left as people like Pelosi and Reid.

TrueBlue| 8.11.11 @ 2:24PM

Government should be Governor.

Jeanette| 8.12.11 @ 6:18AM

There it is, the collective "we" did this together -- put this jerk into office, etc.

I refuse to accept any responsibility for this, recognizing early in the campaign his marxist dogma -- despite the photos with a halo about his head and the media's blather about his "historic" and -- sigh -- oh-so-divine charisma. Yeah, I was called a racist, but quick to point out he's half white, too, and his communist tendencies are much more apparent and objectionable than his skin color.

And just damn sick of the "blame game" all together. We need solutions -- like get rid of this clown and change the Senate majority. After all, Harry Reid is just as big a jerk, and in this last debt ceiling debacle, even more destructive than The Comrade in the White House.

By the way, I'm near to qualifying for Social Security, lost about everything in the stock market over the last few years, and simply expect to work for the rest of my life. If I were 55 or younger, I'd embrace Paul Ryan's Blueprint -- and even lobbied for privatization 20 years ago before anyone was paying attention. Nothin' from nothin' leaves nothin' -- giving up the SS/Medicare Ponzi scheme doesn't qualify as a sacrifice.

Here's hoping the Obama regime is the swan song of hard-left, media-promoted, politically correct dictatorship in the USA. Can anyone argue it's been anything less than catastrophic?

Ken (Old Texican)| 8.11.11 @ 8:24AM

Hey Quin,
My new political thriller was released on amazon.com yesterday...Ta Da!
Just go to the kindle store and type in
America Alone Said No.
Some of you guys who have already gotten the book, I hope you will go to the book listing there and post a review.
Thanks

Dai Alanye| 8.11.11 @ 4:04PM

I truly hope KenTex stops the undignified flogging of his fourth-rate novel, because then I will no longer have to offer my third-rate novels. I wonder, has the man no sense of shame?

But since he's still doing it...
http://alanye.com/

Read the excerpts, ask for more. If I'm in a good mood, all will go smoothly.

Ken (Old Texican)| 8.11.11 @ 5:02PM

Dai,
have you read my book? Rush and Mark Steyn think it is pretty important.
Several hundred contributors here think it is pretty important, (and bought it).
OH!
There is a standing money-back guarantee on my book...no takers yet.
Call me at 713-569-3896 if you want a refund, stupid.

Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:39PM

Dear Ken---I think his tongue is firmly deep in cheek, sir. By the way, I DID buy it for my KINDLE.

Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:02PM

It's a good book. After you read it, get another book---Caliphate, by Tom Kratman.

Deborah D| 8.11.11 @ 5:49PM

Congrats, Ken!! So proud of you. I plan to order it when I order the two books I need for my book club. After I read it, I might suggest it as a book club possibility -- although I think most in my club don't want to think about reality or the possibility of a different reality than they're currently living!

Conserdude| 8.11.11 @ 8:38AM

This dead-on description of Barack Hussein Obama was completely known in 2007 -08 when he had the "audacity" to run for president, yet was ignored. The failure of Bush in his final year led to this most unqualified, dangerously ideological and inexperienced man to become the biggest accident in U.S. history. The nation is paying dearly and, I suspect, this accident is better understood by more of the electorate such that it will correct its blunder of 2008.

Elgordo| 8.11.11 @ 9:22AM

OBAMA is the PYROMANIAC & the TEAPARTY is the FIRE DEPT.

It is ridiculous to blame and demonize the TEAPARTY as terrorists when it's OBAMA who caused the economic mess we're in.

It's like blaming the FIRE DEPT. for trying to put out a fire caused by a PYROMANIAC.

Dai Alanye| 8.11.11 @ 4:06PM

True, but you have to admit that many Tea Partiers should have their caps keys disabled.

Petronius| 8.11.11 @ 9:28AM

one more time
The people do not care how heavily their wallets are taxed, so long as their minds are not. And add to it the fact that the emotional investments of Obama's voters yield satisfaction by preventing economic advancement of the white middle class they loathe most. Much as I hate to agree with George Will about anything, he's right on saying, "this cultural vandalism will not cease until these people are gone." The Demoncrats want to force us to vote for them or starve. The more markets decline and commerce contracts, the happier they are. Control through bail outs empowers them and makes serfs out of us. Welcome to Zimbabwe.

Clinton Lovell| 8.11.11 @ 10:31AM

We don't need any brilliant Republican or Libertarian to solve our economic problems; any high school graduate with a brain cell count above 1 knows exactly what is needed.

$14.5 trillion in debt, really? WTF is wrong with you people? If I don't balance my checkbook I get fined by my bank and I get a nasty letter in the mail, so it isn't like it suddenly snuck up on you from behind. You knew exactly what was going on and your ignored it.

Balance your checkbook and pay your frickin' bills like the rest of us and stop borrowing money from our enemies.

You don't need a fancy education to know this is exactly what must happen and that getting rid of all of these so-called experts is the first thing we need to do for our own sakes. The hell with theirs.

russel| 8.11.11 @ 10:33AM

And a friend pointed out that many of the " rich " are liberals , whose losses are as bad as ours . Methinks Zero is wearing out their patience as well , so with luck , maybe the Annointed Won can be contained for his last year on his throne . We'll also see how many of the career pols jump ship , at least those who see dismal re-election prospects .

Louis Jenkins| 8.11.11 @ 10:53AM

Well, here's a link that will throw some of you into seizures. Although not quite on topic it shows how far the great state of Michigan has gone. Another language to contend with. Yep, the state of Michigan has done gone and added Arabic to the options for food assistance. I guess the signs at Lowe's are next.

http://www.michigan.gov/dhs/0,.....--,00.html

Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:35PM

Schlussel refers to Dearborn as "Dearbornistan." We are in far a rough ride, folks. May I recommend Mark Steyn's book, "After Armageddon," Tom Kratman's masterpieces "Caliphate," and "The Carnifex Series," and my good friend and superb blogger Old Texican's "America Alone Said No!" Also, "The Rings of Allah" series by Lee Boyland.

All of these men are Gentlemen; two of which I've come to know well and my life is MUCH richer for the experience. I am very fortunate in my friends.

Conservative View| 8.11.11 @ 6:45PM

Science Fiction author Robert Heinland wrote a book called "The cat that walked through walls" in which his hero goes ahead in time to discover that the Muslems have taken over the country, and all infidels are slaves. He wrote that book in the 1960's I believe. I wonder what he knew.

Rob| 8.11.11 @ 11:01AM

If Obama's the main obstacle to turning around the nation's economy and debt crisis, then everyone who has suffered as a result of his policies has a vested interest in his removal from office. Discovery by Congress of all birth-related documents concerning Obama in the possession of Hawaii, as well as any documents possessed by the Social Security Administration concerning his apparently irregular SS number, might very well expedite his removal. So what is the obstacle to Congress asking for some papers?

VBMax| 8.11.11 @ 12:17PM

Even many conservatives sneer at taking this avenue to remove the fraudster even though there is a wealth of evidence of fraud. Not me. This guy is a criminal to the core and should be removed but the mainstream media and their allies have hijacked the conversation.

Dai Alanye| 8.11.11 @ 4:11PM

Not sure where I stole this:
1. Occidental College records and transcripts — Not released
2. Columbia University records and transcripts — Not released
3. Columbia Thesis paper — ‘not available’
4. Harvard University records and transcripts — Not released
5. Selective Service Registration — Not released
6. Medical records — Not released
7. Illinois State Senate schedule — ‘not available’
8. Law practice client list — Not released
9. Written correspondence with B. Ayers, R. Khalidi, E. Said, J. Wright, etc. — Not released
10. Embossed, signed paper Birth Certificate — Not released
11. Harvard Law Review articles published — None
12. University of Chicago scholarly articles — None
13. Record of Baptism — Not released or ‘not available’
14. Illinois State Senate records — ‘not available’

Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:03PM

Could this be referring to our current POTUS, Vermin T Maggot, Esq., Dai?

QA_NJ| 8.11.11 @ 11:48AM

An earlier comment says, "If the current state of the nation does not prove once and for all that liberalism does not work, then we truly are a nation of idiots, and we deserve to go the way of the Roman Empire." Unless and until conservatives take back control of education, this is a lesson that will have to be relearned every few generations because children will be left ignorant of the evidence that liberalism is a failure and will need to relearn that lesson themselves as adults by experiencing their own Jimmy Carter or Barack Obama firsthand. Children need to be taught how and why socialism fails and left-wing revolutions end in tyranny and mass murder, from the French Revolution's Reign of Terror through Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot to today's North Korea and Cuba.

They won't be taught those things so long as they are educated by people who voted for Carter and Obama (and still don't think it was a mistake), make excuses for Stalin and Mao, paint the French Revolution in a positive light similar to the American Revolution, and admire Fidel Castro and wear shirts adorned with a picture of Che Guevara. By letting liberals control eduction, the news media, entertainment, and so on, we ensure that they get to control the narrative that children grow up hearing and that narrative is never going to admit that liberalism is a failure.

buckeyeman| 8.11.11 @ 12:23PM

Just a guess....... I reckon that more that half the "conservative" posters here would have a cow at the thought of the gubmint pulling back on the programs that THEY receive benefits from. But even if I'm wrong, way more than half of the non posters here don't give a fig about anything but getting their public handouts. That's the real problem and I don't see an exit sign.

OldJoe| 8.11.11 @ 2:46PM

Buckeyeman,
If you are speaking of Social Security or Medicare, then you are riling my feathers. In 1963 the federal government pointed a gun at me and said “you will pay into FDR’s retirement plan as long as you work”. And I have been paying the max amount into that plan for most of my working career. In 1966 that federal gun was again pointed at my head and I was told I must contribute to the LBJ old age healthcare insurance policy for as long as I work. I had no choice but to pay or go to jail so I paid. Well I am 66 now, on Medicare and just beginning to draw Social Security. I don’t call my benefits entitlements; instead I call this my asset recovery operation.
No doubt these plans need to be fixed before they break the nation. Citizens need choices on healthcare and retirement, not government run mandates. Fix them for our kids and grandkids but don’t ask me to bear the burden, I have already carried that load for nearly 50 years.

BD57| 8.11.11 @ 7:22PM

Unless you die early, you're going to get far more back than you put in.

TexasMom2012| 8.11.11 @ 12:33PM

Some of us lived through Carter. I remember saying BEFORE Obama was elected that he would be like Carter Squared. And he is like Carter Squared but also on steroids... And worse he does not seem capable of changing course. He is like an autotron that can only repeat the same actions and speeches NEVER a new action or different speech. Gag.

Conservative View| 8.11.11 @ 6:48PM

How would Obama do the helicoptor rescue attempt that Jimmy ran?

Exactly the same way.

case proven in recent news.

Jeanette| 8.12.11 @ 6:30AM

Guess he can blame that on unflexible teleprompters. (Lame joke....)

I've been paying particular attention to Obama's bandying about the name "Ronald Reagan" lately, and the day after the debt ceiling, all the president's lackeys were chanting about "lifting the clouds of uncertainty" like inmates of the Tourette's Syndrome ward.

They all seem to think that if you repeat something over and over again, it will come true.

Oldefarte| 8.11.11 @ 3:52PM

Quin, Pure GOLD [possibly your best to date!]. Today has been truly inspirational from both your editorial and that of Pam Geller as follows:

'....The Next American President Must Redeem Our Exceptionalism
by Pamela Geller
Posted 08/11/2011 ET....The focus for 2012 so far has been exclusively on which Republican candidate is most electable. This is hardly the issue. The next time Americans vote for President will be far more historically significant than as a mere presidential election. The next presidential election is not only an election of a person, it is also, and more importantly, a referendum on American independence and statehood.

The next American President must vow to return to the founding principle of the American idea: individual rights. The next American President must advocate and cheerlead for the most benevolent and productive human system in the world: capitalism.

Barack Obama’s socialism is wrecking the American economy and relinquishing American sovereignty. Obama’s disastrous policies cannot be reversed overnight. This presidential putsch is the crowning achievement of a 50-year campaign of sedition and infiltration of uber-Left, anti-American statism. In many ways it is even older than 50 years, going back to Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. And imagine: Lyndon Baines Johnson, the Great Society socialist, wasn’t leftist enough, and was forced not to run for reelection despite designing the “Great Society” legislation that included Public Broadcasting, Medicare, Medicaid, environmental protection, aid to education, and his “War on Poverty.” The far Left has been working toward the Obama administration for years, and his election was its finest hour.

No, the tragic election of Barack Hussein Obama was no accident, and the consequences of it will be catastrophic and painful. But we as a people, a free people, hold our destiny in our hands. The next President must campaign, and govern, on austerity, and on American power and exceptionalism. He or she must campaign on the promise to dismantle Big Government, roll back this monster, and deregulate the chains on our economic engine. We must unshackle the small businessman and destroy the crippling system of serfdom by way of entitlements. These are harsh but unavoidable realities.

We must be free and we must vote for freedom first, for this was the very idea of America encompassed in individual rights. This was our founding principle. Small government in defense of individual rights, property rights and the national defense.

The next President must have integrity, political will and spine (something in very short supply in Washington, and so we will have to go out of the box). We must fight for accurate information and ignore a media with an activist, propagandist agenda. It has gotten down to that: the media vs. the people. So we must do our homework and we must advocate the candidacy of the American who has the intellectual muscle and testicular fortitude for the coming storm. We need straight answers and not rhetoric. What are his or her mission objectives? Where does the candidate stand on Iran? The Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt? The Muslim Brotherhood groups in America? And the powerful malevolent influence of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation?

Where does he or she stand on our participation in the United Nations? The next President must promise to tie funds to the UN to results and reform. The next President must stop sending foreign aid to despots and their murdering regimes. The next President must export political freedom based on individual rights, and reward countries that work toward that goal.

We must demand and elect freedom-loving officials on all levels, who will work with the next President of the United States to return to our founding principles and essential value system.

We can battle over how we got here, but the fundamental point is that such an undertaking must be initiated: a renewal of the vows we made in 1776. For no matter what the causes were, the outcome is clear. We are here, in America and the world of 2011, a new and terrible place, a precipice with disastrous implications for the United States (and consequently, the world).

It’s a battle, I know. The brains of our young have been marinating in a toxic ooze. They have been indoctrinated by a leftist public school system, a morally corrupt and value-bankrupt culture, and a university system designed to destroy critical thinking and instead produce generations of lemmings, foot soldiers who bark and march on command.

Those of us who remember freedom and know what it is must therefore fight all the harder...'

Bob Grant| 8.11.11 @ 5:12PM

When you have extreme left nut jobs controlling houses of congress the past and their associated committees coupled with a sympathetic president, you can only expect a disaster.

Who would have imagined 10 years ago proverbial back benchers like Barney Frank (who should be in jail), Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, James Clyburne, Maxine Waters, and Debbie Wasserman Schultz would lead houses and preside over committees? Or a Barack Obama as president for that matter?

Occam's Tool| 8.11.11 @ 5:37PM

By the way, Beautiful Work, Quin. From my experience, the heat tends to break somewhere between September 15 and October 1. If you get up to Bessemer, you MUST go to the Bright Star restaurant and try their Greek Steak. (No financial interest)

Ken (Old Texican)| 8.11.11 @ 7:19PM

Oldefarte
thank you for that quote. Splendid.

Oldefarte| 8.12.11 @ 10:38AM

Ken, I know that you're aware of this already, but if by chance not, Pam Geller's website is Atlas Shrug.com and I think that she's affiliated with The American Thinker.com also. Regards, OF!

Jack J. Morris| 8.11.11 @ 7:53PM

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AN ANTI-AMERICAN PRESIDENT
President Obama�s socialist and communist mentality has brought us 14 Million Americans out of work and $14 Trillion in debt to be hung around the necks of our children. He claims to want to create jobs, but this is yet another lie. Calling a halt to our space program and giving the work to Russia is another action that kills jobs as he has done with the entire energy sector, and his forcing down our throats through tricks and bribery his ObamaCare simply discourages entrepreneurs from hiring more workers because of uncertain cost factors. Obama�s scuttling of our space program is yet another indication that he has utter contempt for our country. His goals are to belittle or tear down the U.S.A. and he is succeeding because no one has had the guts to take him to court on charges of treason, refusal to abide by decisions of federal judges and numerous violations of the Constitution. He has orchestrated the downgrading of our debt and brought us to the brink of financial ruin. Obama�s HOPE AND CHANGE have brought us a 3000 point drop in the DOW in one year. This is a part of his plan to impoverish the middle class. He, along with Eric Holder, have succeeded in turning white Americans into second class citizens by clearly stating that cases of intimidation by blacks against white voters can be ignored. This means that white people may be afraid to even go to the polls. This is setting the stage for a one party system as in the Soviet Union and for an Obama win in 2012. We are living under an anti-white racist and fascist regime and our leaders are silent. Call and write to your Congressmen with this statement: IMPEACH OBAMA OR YOU WILL BE VOTED OUT! Clog up their mail boxes and phone lines.
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By Jack J. Morris aka Dr. J. Knowname, author of UNTROUBLING A TROUBLED WORLD � PEACE 4 EVER. The book contains solutions to most national and world problems. Dr. J. Knowname knows better than the Shadow knows! See end-irs.org or tea4lowertax.org
Please copy and SEND TO: CONGRESSMEN, WEALTHY INDIVIDUALS WHO MAY WANT TO PAY TO HAVE THIS PLACED IN NEWSPAPERS AND MAGAZINES and ALL ON YOUR E-MAIL LIST. Turn this into a GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT TO SAFEGUARD OUR FREEDOM AND LIBERTIES.
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Join OUR IMPEACH OBAMA CAMPAIGN. Visit web-sites end-irs.org or tea4lowertax.org
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SEVEN PROPOSALS TO BRING US GOVERNMENT OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE and FOR THE PEOPLE. Visit : end-irs.org or tea4lowertax.org
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