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With the Tea Partiers
The Real Choice
Let’s face it: We’re hanging by a thread on the very edge of a cliff.
WE’RE COMING DOWN to the wire now for the 2012 elections, but if you think that this choice is between Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, you haven’t been paying attention. Though this presidential campaign has been broadcast, written, Tweeted, and Facebooked about more than any other in history, it’s not about the personalities involved. Forget about whether you’d want to have beer and cigarettes with Barack or spend time with Mitt doing…whatever he does for fun.
The choice is between restoring America or watching our nation become, in perpetuity, a larger version of the beleaguered European Union. Let’s face it: We’re hanging by a thread on the very edge of a cliff. Below us are all the nations we, for so long, had risen above in terms of productivity, quality of life, personal liberty, and economic freedom.
Today we live in a country where outlays by the federal government double every 18 years despite the so-called conservative movement’s efforts; where thousands of local and municipal governments can’t pay their bills and teeter on the brink of bankruptcy; where the government colludes with business, labor, and small interest groups to pick winners and losers while forcing the many to pay for the few.
It’s a ticking time bomb, and our time is almost up. From the progressives who imported from Europe ideas that favored the common good over the rights of the individual, to the New Deal, Fair Deal, and Great Society, America has become dangerously collectivist. President after president—from both parties—has built walls around failing ideas, because they’ve been reduced to mere used car salesmen trying to make a deal. They’ve altogether lacked the stomach to simply tell people “no.” And Obama has taken it to new lows.
The social compact has changed: from a time when hardscrabble people worked to better themselves and expected little help from a government whose principal function was to protect them; to a time when people’s personal achievements are forcibly tempered by a government that has pledged to support huge segments of the population on the backs of everyone else.
Through pensions, public employee unions, Medicare, and the Social Security Ponzi scheme, too many have gamed the system for too long for it to survive. We’ve gone from limited government to an attitude of “never enough.”
This whole idea of something for nothing has brought America to its weakest point since the Civil War. Instead of expecting to work hard and keep their earnings as a reward for a job well done, many Americans expect the government to provide for virtually their every need, while others are unmotivated to do more because they know they are ultimately working for the benefit of someone else.
P.J. O’Rourke, in his book Parliament of Whores, makes the point that America is imperiled because millions of people who wake up every day and work hard to put food on the table are being skewered by their own government. The rich can’t pay for all the programs. It will be the hard-earned money of the middle class that the government will compel to help sustain our downward spiral.
This will ultimately lead to lower incomes in the middle third of wage earners and a greater dependency by the middle class on government programs. We’ve seen it already in the past four years, when incomes for middle-class Americans dropped by $4,000 a year. Check the math. Our spending, taxes, revenue, giveaways, and bastardization of the free market don’t add up to anything more than impending disaster.
We need a fundamental transformation led by that bloc of Americans who have been hurt the most: the middle class.
They must rise up and demand means testing and indexing for all social programs, an increase in the retirement age, an end to union contracts with low or no employee contributions for health care, the elimination of subsidies for favored industries, and deep payroll cuts in every federal department. They need to demand enforcement of fraud laws, division of too-big-to-fail banks, elimination of duplicate services, and an end to the crony capitalism that permits insider trading for congressmen.
The idea that you can’t have a safety net for those in need without bankrupting the country is simply un-American. The notion that Tea Partiers and fiscal conservatives are evil people who don’t care about the poor is equally repugnant.
Republicans and Democrats alike have brought us to this point. The fault does not rest with one party, one policy, or one person. It rests with both parties, and with the tired, calcified conservative movement that has failed to stop statists’ advances.
This election isn’t about Obama and Romney. It’s about the kind of nation we will be.
It’s not about which ticket is more conservative. It’s about urging Americans at long last to stand up for their values and hold (hopefully) President Romney, Speaker Boehner, Senator McConnell, and thousands of elected officials across the country accountable—every election day until the American taxpayer again runs this country. In the end, it’s about keeping America free.
Anything less and we might as well start humming “La Marseillaise.”
About the Author
Ned Ryun is the founder and president of American Majority, a political training institution. His “With the Tea Partiers” column run each month in the The American Spectator’s print edition. You can follow him on Twitter @nedryun.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (50) | Leave a comment
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aware| 11.2.12 @ 6:34AM
How can you have the correct input("Republicans and Democrats alike have brought us to this point.") and then come to the conclusion that voting for "(hopefully) President Romney, Speaker Boehner, Senator McConnell..." somehow fixes this?
"They are both responsible for the debacle so vote for the Red Team". Stupefying. Obama hatred has made fools of many here.
spike59| 11.2.12 @ 8:22AM
as compared to ObaMao worship, which merely took advantage of pre-positioned fools
Alan Third Party Voter Brooks | 11.2.12 @ 7:50PM
The author is correct America is more productive than Europe, but he doesn't get it that our quality of life is eroded by our treating students as commodities; art and entertainment as products-- and so on.
Zeppo| 11.2.12 @ 12:41PM
The Globetrotters can't score as long as the Generals control the ball. Unless they put it into the wrong basket again.
Alej| 11.2.12 @ 6:09PM
"Obama hatred has made fools of many here."
The fool missed the entire point of the article.
Romney can't undo what politicians have wrought in the last decades, but hopefully he and his staff can begin to put the brakes on the slide America is undergoing at the hands of socialists.
Had my druthers for "fixing" the situation, a military dictatorship and plenty of capital punishment would clean the Democrat/Socialist crap out of this country, leaving maybe 170,000,000 Americans left, with cheap real estate in abundance.
But Romney and conservatism are all we have right now.
Herald7| 11.2.12 @ 9:24PM
Step back from the racist kool-aide and stop commenting. You make a fool of yourself.
Alej| 11.2.12 @ 9:35PM
No, I'm only reminding fags like you that history is replete with reactions which correct imperfections in the directions of countries' erroneous ways.
"Life's tough. It's even tougher if you're stupid."
Rhoetus| 11.3.12 @ 11:30AM
As long as "the silent majority" voters view from the wrong focal point this is the best choice we have. Until government institutions loose all moral authority we will continue on this path. We need a "Velvet Revolution" like Czechoslovakia had that forced its communist government to collapse.
aware| 11.4.12 @ 6:31AM
It sure won't come from "conservatives". They love the Garrison State too much for that.
Appleby| 11.2.12 @ 6:49AM
What we are facing here is the dilemma of a parent who has never said NO to her baby, toddler, preschooler, or grade schooler, now standing in Juvenile Court and staring in disbelief at her teenager in an orange jump suit and handcuffs, and crying "I gave him everything! How can he do this to me?"
Just like Grandma told you, honey, it's no use starting to discipline Junior when he's fifteen. Countries work pretty much the same way. Our country is standing in Juvenile Court because generations of the family refused to say NO when it would have been easy to right the ship. Get ready for Greece. The tantrum is going to be bigger than anything you ever saw on Reality TeeVee.
Harry the Horrible| 11.2.12 @ 9:53AM
Well, some of us said "No" but the Courts and Congress overruled us.
SUBVET| 11.2.12 @ 10:24AM
Ah......excuse me it all started in the autumn of 1910, six men went out to shoot ducks.
Does Paul Warburg ring a bell....?
aware| 11.4.12 @ 6:32AM
And the Creature has never been more powerful than it is now.
Thom| 11.2.12 @ 2:51PM
"I gave him everything! How can he do this to me?"
Isn't this the exact same sentiments Hillary expressed when her Libyan "children" committed rape and murder recently? I've always said "liberalism" is born in the mind of a child that can't cope with being an adult and is never compelled to become one. When the music stops there are going to be tens upon tens of millions of adult-children that can't cope with reality. Look at the hordes of adult-children wondering around NYC and the Jersey Shore waiting for Mommy and Daddy government to come along and "rescue" them from their decisions. The POTUS and SOS are both temper-tantrum children trapped in adult bodies that give new meaning to the phrase, empty pant suit.
Dodd2| 11.2.12 @ 9:01AM
Universal suffrage is applauded by many.
But the fact is that it is poison to a democratic republic, especially in a society like ours where 1) public education is as dismal as it is and 2) there is a large class of parasites on the government dole.
Shadow| 11.2.12 @ 11:50AM
So true and there are men who gladly use it to do evil.
If Obama is elected to appease the gimmedat voters for a while longer America is lost. If Romney is elected we have a small hope to turn back the downfall but will have to fight like hell. To assure the future of the U.S. we must teach the truth about freedom's role in prosperity to every citizen.
The Avenger| 11.2.12 @ 1:51PM
Amen Shadow, well said indeed.
pogybait| 11.4.12 @ 9:54AM
What is constant is the destruction of the American intellectual, spiritual and moral substance. The government class and the press are united and adamant in their right to foster definitive judgments….So the question remains, are we going to be subjects or citizens this time?
Ralph Novy| 11.2.12 @ 4:07PM
Let me get this straight.
Universal suffrage is "poison to a democratic republic"?
Isn't that like saying "food is poison to a healthy person because they MIGHT overeat"? Or by "democratic republic" did you have in mind something like the DDR -- German Democratic Republic ("East Germany")?
Either way, I think you have a problem -- with either concept or palatability.
Butch| 11.2.12 @ 4:16PM
No, he has in mind something like the USA--1788-1860. A country in which slugs and fools are not allowed to vote.
Alej| 11.2.12 @ 6:16PM
Exactly. People like Ralph miss the fact that the dross of a society has no business determining the direction that society should go.
RCV| 11.3.12 @ 12:05AM
If there is any "dross" in society, Alej, it's you. The people of this country -- ALL the people -- will continue to determine its direction, and have no intention of ever letting little Southern racist secessionists like you control their lives ever again. So just stuff it.
Alej| 11.4.12 @ 11:30AM
HALF the people of this country live off my sweat, pissant. And vote for higher taxation of my income.
Got your obama phone yet, parasite?
RCV| 11.4.12 @ 12:08PM
Alej, I happen to be in the 1% category myself, having been a partner in a major international law firm for 35 years. If the red states in the country -- mostly in the noble South -- didn't suck the federal teat so much, drawing off the wealth of the people in the productive blue states, your taxes might not be so high. And if you don't like this country, move.
Alej| 11.4.12 @ 2:04PM
The "suck," lawyer jerk, comes from black people in red states. And you're well aware of that.
I "liked" this country enough to volunteer for Viet Nam. Did you ?
And the proper reaction is not for me to move out of Texas; it's for the red states to secede and starve the socialist blues, just before they freeze to death in the dark after the north-bound pipelines are shut down.
RCV| 11.4.12 @ 5:10PM
The figures on the Southern poverty don't show that, Alej. The majority of folks on relief are white. You Southern gentry have always tried to keep the poor whites on your side by making a racial divide to justify the utter squalor in which the poor of your states are resigned to. Bob Dylan's "Only a Pawn in Their Game" wonderfully exposed the game wealthy Southerners have always played to justify their misgovernment.
There's a lot you can do if you're unhappy with the UNITED States of America, but secession isn't one of them. That issue was settled with the blood of hundreds of thousands of Americans.
John Navratil| 11.2.12 @ 8:40PM
Ralph Novy,
You know, we really don't have universal suffrage. We don't let children or felons vote because we suspect the former cannot make informed decisions and the latter will vote against the civil law.
Is this a conceptual or palatability problem for you?
Ralph Novy| 11.3.12 @ 9:48PM
Well, John, you're right. We don't have true "universal" suffrage. Not every citizen can vote.
And I don't have a conceptual/policy problem with not allowing "children" to vote -- for the reason you gave. Extending the vote to them would be like a healthy person definitely overeating.
But I do have a conceptual/policy problem with what you said about "felons" not voting.
Conceptually, you're just factually wrong that "felons" can't vote. In some states, no convicted felon -- regardless of incarceration/parole status -- can vote for the rest of their lives, unless pardoned; in other states, however, convicted felons, once they've completed their sentence and any parole, can vote.
As far as policy is concerned, I do not think that felons -- incarcerated, paroled or otherwise -- should be deprived of their right to vote. And certainly not for the reason YOU gave -- that they will somehow "vote against the civil law," whatever that means. I think it just further alienates these people from civil society and actually encourages further criminal activity. In other words, I find prohibiting felons from voting both unpalatable and counterproductive.
Ralph Novy| 11.3.12 @ 10:05PM
Addendum:
With respect to how states handle felon voting, I was a bit crude in my analysis. There are already two states -- Maine and Vermont -- that have no restrictions on felons voting, and in some states "probation" is sometimes also factored in.
A good source of more detailed info is:
http://felonvoting.procon.org/.....urceID=286
Rhoetus| 11.3.12 @ 11:36AM
Dodd2: The income tax and expanding public debt is the cause, the rest are just details. Human nature is fixed and when the vast majority no longer hunger for freedom and individualism the politics of spoils drive politics of liberty out of favor.
gene| 11.2.12 @ 9:09AM
Many of us have parents, grandparents and great grandparents who FLED Europe to escape to America. Now President Obama and Co. want to "adopt" the European Model for the U.S? Is there anyplace left to emigrate to for liberty and freedom?
Ralph Novy| 11.3.12 @ 10:35PM
Sure. Northern Mexico -- where you're free to run for your life.
RCV| 11.4.12 @ 5:12PM
Singapore might work for you, Gene. No-nonsense law and order and plenty of free enterprise.
Frog in Uniform | 11.2.12 @ 9:32AM
Quote: "Anything less and we might as well start humming “La Marseillaise.”
Skip that silly anthem and proceed directly with "l'Internationale".
C Smith | 11.2.12 @ 11:01AM
"We’re hanging by a thread on the very edge of a cliff..."
The words and the acts of the righteous have a legacy:
At dawn on the first of March, responding to Travis' plea, Lt. George C. Kimble with his "Immortal 32" fought their way into the beleaguered mission, never to leave. Unbeknown to the besieged defenders, that night in Washington-on-the-Brazos, delegates were frantically preparing the final draft of The Texas Declaration of Independence. The following day declared, "Here a Nation was born." Four days later at dawn, the Alamo's defenders ratified it with their blood.
Within four fortnights, the Texan militia came to the aid of their "fallen" brethren charging Santa Anna's far superior forces, to the rallying cry "Remember the Alamo!" The slaughter that hardly lasted twenty minutes was "frightful to behold", an overwhelming defeat for the merciless Santa Anna who was later found cowering among the multitude of prisoners. That evening peace had come to the commonwealth of Texas.
What is the legacy of Benghazi? As coming days threaten the "Death" of America, will we "STAND DOWN" or shout the rallying cry "Remember Benghazi"? Taking no prisoners of those who make "lies" their refuge, and by their "silence" make a prisoner of Truth? There is but one choice that honor demands, Truth!
"Victory or Death."
http://in-the-name-of-truth.bl.....world.html
RCV| 11.4.12 @ 12:10PM
The tinfoil hat Walter Mitty rebels out in force again.
cicero| 11.2.12 @ 11:25AM
Good stuff, Ned, and CSmith, I can't think of a thing to addd. We simply must revitalize the "idea" of America. If we allow it to fade and die, it will not return. The first beach head must be the schools. Turn off the funding, and allow for choice. Everything will proceed from there.
Ralph Novy| 11.2.12 @ 3:44PM
"The choice is between restoring America or watching our nation become, in perpetuity, a larger version of the beleaguered European Union.
***
This election isn’t about Obama and Romney. It’s about the kind of nation we will be."
True. So long as by "restored," Mr. Ryun, you mean to the socio-economic conditions of, say, the 1880s.
But many folks don't want those conditions "restored."
They want to resume efforts to adjust the social contract toward greater fairness that have fitfully occurred during our nation's history. They want the goals of the Square Deal and New Deal honestly proclaimed and pursued. They want to reverse the trend the country has been on for the past 30+ years.
So I agree that "We need a fundamental transformation led by that bloc of Americans who have been hurt the most: the middle class."
But the policies you propose are not a "transformation"; they are a "continuation." True transformation of the current system and its trajectory would require "restoring" the strength of American progressive impulses and policies.
So many of Europe's states are currently "beleagured" precisely because they began to backtrack on their "socialist" trends. They too drank too much Rand/Hayek/Friedman/Greenspan Kool-Aid.
Change beverages, Mr. Ryun.
Alej| 11.2.12 @ 6:24PM
Your pseudointellectual internally contradictory drivel places you squarely in the category of "the dross of society" that should have no say in the running of the country.
"... restoring the strength of American progressive impulses and policies," indeed.
You describe the very weakness that America endures at present, hopefully to be cured in the near future.
Can you say "gimmedet" without an accent, Novy ?
Occam's Tool| 11.2.12 @ 7:11PM
Novy: check out the birth rates of the European countries. Socialism kills babies.
John Navratil| 11.2.12 @ 8:44PM
Ralph Novy,
And we hope the "many" aren't enough on Tuesday. My personal desire is that we transform the current system by putting the progressives in a box from which they cannot escape. The beleaguered European states are in such a state precisely because they have run out of other people's money. They were gob-smacked by Keynes. But, I suppose we'll just have to disagree on that, won't we?
Ralph Novy| 11.3.12 @ 10:24PM
Yup. We disagree.
Butch| 11.2.12 @ 4:10PM
" . . .until the American taxpayer again runs this country." Agreed: no income taxes paid, no vote. The 53 percent run the country. If that were true today, Romney would win by 90-10.
Steve D| 11.2.12 @ 7:36PM
'Parliament of Whores' ???
No. Whores usually don't lie, cheat and rob you. Parliament of Gangsters is more like it.
Rhoetus| 11.3.12 @ 11:40AM
The mafia isn't so hypocritical as to claim to be working for the public good. 80+ years of vote buying has taken its toll. Beware of Trolls under the bridge!
bison cookie| 11.3.12 @ 12:20PM
THE SERVICE MEN KNOW THE REAL CHOICE. 5 GENERALS & ADMIRALS SUPPORT OBAMA – HOW MANY FOR ROMNEY? ONLY ABOUT 300!. Barack Obama’s campaign released a new ad featuring General Colin Powell from the Bush administration declaring his support for Obama. It’s a 30 second ad talking mostly about economic issues but it’s clearly an attempt to show that Obama has support from the military. How much support does …READ MORE: http://bwcentral.org/2012/11/5.....about-300/
FiddlerBob| 11.3.12 @ 4:32PM
You forgot that the Democrats are allowed to vote even after they're dead. So, you need to add one more general to the Obama column, Gen. Benedict Arnold.
rocky01| 11.3.12 @ 2:58PM
Oh, if only every voting American could READ this before Teusday ...
bison cookie| 11.4.12 @ 8:02AM
PELOSI HOLDS SECRET FUNDRAISER WITH ISLAMISTS, HAMAS-LINKED GROUPS. Democratic leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi headlined a high-dollar fundraiser in May that was attended by U.S.-based Islamist groups and individuals linked by the U.S. government to the Hamas jihad group and to the Egypt-based Muslim Brotherhood movement. The donors at the undisclosed May 16 event … READ MORE: http://bwcentral.org/2012/11/p.....ed-groups/
e pearse| 11.4.12 @ 12:09PM
Nowhere have I seen a more precise and concise - in 5 lines and a picture - of what this election is "Really All About" than at www.AmericasChronicle.com
It is titled "A Clear Choice".
As short as it is, its full meaning to the question is better seen in its original.