No one is arguing that when the federal government confiscates money from one sector of the economy and gives it  to another, re: stimulus, there may be a temporary result. Cash for Clunkers was herald as an immense success by the liberal media, yet they did not mention that during the following fiscal quarter car sales dipped considerably.

In other words, people who were planning on buying cars, bought them a little sooner, because the government was giving away money. It did not create jobs, engender businesses to hire more employees or do anything of a  sustaining economic nature that would assist in leading our country out of a formidable economic morass. It was less effective economic policy than it was  pop magic.

A similar situation occurred with the first time home buyer incentive. Once again, the government confiscated, taxed and then gave monies from one group to another, in an effort to spur home buying. A blip on the housing screen does not translate into a trend; it only reflects the temporary effects of redistributing money. There is also the poorly managed and ultimately impotent Obama Mortgage Assistance Plan.

What the Obama administration does not understand is that business owners do not like uncertainty. They especially do not like massive new legislative initiatives that create fear of new taxes, such as the Obama Heathcare bill. As an act of self-preservation, small and large businesses alike would rather remain in a holding pattern and hoard their cash, rather than even remotely consider growing their business in a climate which they feel, more and more each day, is anti-business.

One of the ironies of the Obama administration, and one of the reasons for the perennial appeal of Ayn Rand’s books, is that Liberals never seem to take stock in “Where the money and jobs come from”. It’s almost as if  these  educated, beard-stroking intellectuals that Obama has surrounded himself with have truly no clue regarding the amount of risk and effort that  is involved in starting, maintaining or growing a business. The money just magically  ”appears” and, as such, must be brutally taxed and redistributed to people who do not create jobs, risk their own money or start new businesses. (All of the latter being the stuff jobs come from, in case you were unsure).

Do you see where this is all going? Apparently much of the electorate does, too, as evidenced by virtually any poll one has looked at in the past several months.

When you take from the Haves and give to the Have Nots, you have a fairy tale and a very unhealthy economic model.

 Be advised, it is often said that Robin Hood took from the rich and gave to the poor. That is not entirely true. In the actual story, Robin Hood took from the daunting and confiscatory British tax collectors  and gave back to those who,  frankly, were just trying to make a living.

Apparently, even fairy tales are not safe from Liberal rewrites. Vote in November and pay attention to your representatives.

(Thank you and God Bless. If you liked this article, please follow us on The Persistent Conservative podcast. Free at iTunes).

The blind fervor and national maelstrom that was the lead-up to Obama’s historic inauguration promised not just Hope and Change, but there also existed a profound, vitriolic, in-your-face righteousness from the rabid left that, finally!, a smart man would be in charge of governing this great country; an educated intellectual would finally put us on track to great things, right prior wrongs, and present us with a thoughtful, post-racial, post-partisan path that would maximize the full scope of what a people can do if governed well.

Not so fast.

During the past 18 months we have witnessed an unequivocal failure of leadership in matters both great and small. Whether it’s campaign promises that have proven to be without depth or substance, (Gitmo, transparent governance, Paygo, etc…), or the simple matter of being in sync with at least some of what the vast majority of Americans want, this administration is an instructive display of what you get when a collection of socialist-leaning academics and partisan theoreticians, with zero real-world experience running anything, are put into positions of power and find that stroking their beards in thoughtful retrospection will not stop the oil spill, that Hoping the best for our international adversaries does not show strength, that foisting enormous deficits upon a population that has not yet been born is immoral, et al.

Take as one example the worst environmental distaster in American history: The BP oil spill. Obama did not cause the oil spill of course, but his administration DID provide BP with a waiver to drill, even though BP holds by far the worst record for oil drilling violations. Where in the media has anyone considered the Obama Administration’s culpability as it relates to allowing a company with such a horrendous safety record the right to drill and threaten an entire ecosystem? Where is THAT news story? Oh wait, the Minerals Management Services (MMS)  was busy watching porn on their computers. Sorry, my bad.

When Obama finally became aware of the BP oil spill, it was too little too late. He did what he always does: He gave a speech. And, in keeping with the mindset of the academics and theoreticians who surround him, he dispatched lawyers to the Gulf, rather than summon the best and brightest minds who could oversee BP’s clean-up efforts. Indeed, to this day the much abhorred BP remains in charge of “fixing” the problem, with no genuine oversight.

Worse still, while many nations offered help as early as three days after the pipe exploded, the Obama administration refused such assitence, and the result is what he now owns: pristine beaches being destroyed by oil. 

All of this could have been prevented had someone welcomed the offers of our international friends, was willing to cut through absurd bureaucratic red tape and get the job done. “Get’r done” is not part of Obama’s vernacular. It’s not written on the teleprompter and no where near his belief system. He simply has no experience solving problems. Period.

Whether you choose to discuss trying terrorists in New York City, the health care bill which succeeded by subverting the will of the voting public, the moratorium on oil drilling, or our current position and treatment of Israel, it is clear that Obama is governing against the will of the people and making choices that will only exacerbate existing problems while creating new ones.

Regarding Obamanomics specifically, the notion of Keynesian economics in our current situation has proven a disaster, and Obama was made a fool at a recent G20 meeting where much of the European nations beraded him for even suggesting they consider more spending. How far must we have come that we are now being lectured by our European friends about the need to be prudent and thoughtful in matters of government spending.

Whether you consider domestic issues or foreign policy, national crises or the rights of U.S. citizens, Obama has proven that talk and good looks, as any college kid entering the job force will tell you, only gets you so far. At some point you need to demonstrate competency.

Obama cannot demonstrate competency and friends, the Emperor clearly has no clothes……..or gonads.

All of our current political issues boil down to one question: What is the role of government?

It is the persistent and instructive Locke vs. Rousseau question: Do our rights come from God and celebrate the individual, or do they come from the State and celebrate the group? Locke argued the former, formidably. Rousseau argued the latter, with brilliant intellect.

However, speaking as one who does not have a Mensa-level IQ and cannot safely navigate a simple calculus problem, I nonetheless am smart enough to know that government should  play a limited role,  that solutions should be sought from family and  all corners of the community prior to government ordinance.

 In short, government should always be a last resort and  never a reflexive first response.

Think of how stark this current administration stands in relation to such a concept. In every attempt to solve a problem, the Obama administration has offered only Big Government solutions, without so much as a nod to the pioneering spirit that launched this nation and allowed it to prevail  and prosper. This administration never considers how the landscape of free markets or the nature of communities has, repeatedly, satisfied the problems they endeavor to leave to Bi9 Government.

Indeed, they oddly hold suspect the attributes and underpinnings that have made the United States a beacon of freedom in a world of dictatorships and subjection.

One might assume that the argument against big government would be obvious and not require such  intellectual effort in a day when individual states are going bankrupt and where our  government must now humbly request funding from countries who, at best, are a ‘distraction’ to human rights.

It is challenging to remind people of history and how we arrived at  our current situation. In matters of governance it is instructive to remember that all powers granted to the federal government originally came from the states.  Yet today is seems that states are punished if they do not follow the mandates laid down by the ‘thoughtful’ leaders in D.C.

 Is that what The Founders intended?

Today we are witnessing a massive expansion of the federal government, often conducted through the execution of  arcane laws which have been broadly misinterpreted and in spite of an overwhelmingly disapproving electorate.

When have you seen the current administration encourage,  or even acknowledge,  the brilliant role small business plays in our economy?

If one presupposes that “the bigger the government the smaller the citizen” (Dennis Prager) is true, then our collective voices ring more silent with the passage of each new and massive federal mandate.

So again I ask,  what should the role of government be? Should the individual concede to the group? If so what does that mean for personal liberty and freedom?

Democracy and free markets are an  American hallmark. With a nod to the professorial class, we are a “Representative Republic”, with an active electorate, yes, yes.  Describe it however you wish.  But consider that today, those nations which have a positive GDP are those which have embraced capitalism, even as we shrink from the mere mention of it. Throughout the world, leaders of countries whose economies are growing  have more in common with Reagan than Stalin. Socialism is so very 20th century.

But here in the United States, where it all started, we are regressing. At the helm is a President, a novice to governing,  who believes we are what is wrong in the world.

Expect taxes to increase, liberties to decrease and the further diminution of the individual.

If you believe that the role of government is to provide for a subsistent and safe life for all citizens, so be it. But be warned that such “cradle to grave” thinking renders tepid the dreams of inventors, obviates the entrepreneurs and provides roadblocks to all who dare pursue their dreams.

If you choose government as a solution, be warned that a brave new world is neither.

Until 2012.

What many pundits miss when considering the 2012 election cycle  is the 800-pound elephant in the room: Obama now has a resume.

What made Obama so special, his aura of invincibility and the great message of Hope and Change that he repeated at every whistle stop on his two-year campaign for the presidency, has been pierced by the needle of reality. There will be no Styrofoam Greek Columns in 2012. His will not be a new face on the scene in 2012.  His promises of post-partisanship will ring fraudulent following four years of hyper-partisan governing.

In 2012, Obama will be what Conservatives have known all along: a misguided liberal full of promises but lacking the skill sets necessary to deliver. America will see Obama as a charismatic anomaly whose shelf life was exceeded and who will no doubt still be blaming his predecessor for his current problems. America will know that Obama is an ideologue who appears to have more in common with our enemies than he does with the American people.

Obama will run as a vunerable, out-of-step candidate in 2012. This is a critical point because his Conservative opposition, whomever it may be, will be campaigning on proven formulas for economic growth, not glossy, air-brushed visions of how things ‘could be’. His opposition will drive home over and over the record of Obama, and in doing so Obama will be forced to wage two simultaneous campaigns: One with his opponent and one with his poor record.

In short, the Obama “mystique” will be gone, the electorate will have woken from its long slumber in the poppy field, and hard questions will be asked. Obama will be forced into numerous and frequent question and answer sessions where he will not be able to hide behind his teleprompter. He will look human and, at times, unable to sufficiently answer questions posed to him.

The job of the  GOP candidate will be to effectively illuminate Obama’s poor record, portray Obama as wistful and ideological and, ultimately, put forth the argument that America has spent way too much time in the shallow end of the pool and that it’s now time to get back to the business of putting America back on track.

Obama’s Achilles heel will be his own resume.

Clear, decisive ideological lines have been drawn across the American political landscape since the election of President Obama. Something about our current President has caused more public dissent and agitation than any election I can recall.

At first these lines in the sand knit themselves together with the organic yarn of concerned neighbors holding small rallies. Those modest but critical early efforts were the precursor to the now famous and very influential Tea Party movement.Numbers grew. There were town hall meetings repeated across the country which pitted concerned voters against their elected officials who lost their way in a manner reminiscent of an earlier, simpler time, and with just as much passion.

Still, against overwhelming opposition by the American people, health care reform was forced through, as was the government’s full and complete takeover of student loans, with much more damage on the way.These events follow the takeover of automotive companies, the banking industry and now, while government employees suffer from a 4% unemployment rate, the country is suffering a 17% unemployment rate.

The polls consistently and without exception show a level of anger among the electorate I have not previously witnessed. With respect to health care reform, even Bill and Hillary Clinton dropped the matter entirely and moved toward the political center when public opinion unequivocally showed that the American people did not want such legislation. During that time, the publics distaste for national health care was but a shadow of what it is today.

But that was over a decade ago. This current administration, operating on the simple and completely incorrect notion that well-educated acadmics know better than the average, unwashed citizen and, moreover, that this group of elite liberals must drag the unwashed masses kicking and screaming into the 21st century where government goes from being large to omnipotent, where the sheer force of a liberal agenda, finding itself in a brief pocket of time where they control the House, Senate and administration, can muscle through laws and mandates that, even on a cellular level, are antithetical to what has made this nation so great.

So what’s next for Conservatives? I am so impressed and full of pride at the work my fellow Patriots have done over the past year, and I want to suggest a few bullet points regarding where we need to go next.

1. Conservatives need to make the effort to read, listen to and support their fellow Patriots who are producing quality blog posts, internet radio broadcasts, etc. If you have a website or blog, you need to link to like-minded blogs and weave the stitch tighter. In short, support those among us who are trying to make a difference. Avail yourself of modern technology. Do your part and support those who are doing theirs.

2. Use Twitter to share important news of the day. Use Twitter to share links to the colums  written by your fellow Tweeps and Patriots. We must knit ourselves together, get to know one another better, and put the larger purpose above any single, personal goal.

3. We must win over, as much as possible, the opposing side. I was once a liberal, and thanks to people like you I was converted and have become a player in this fight to keep America’s core values in tact. So it can and must be done. Reach out to those who offer diametrically opposed viewpoints. Use a little humor and finesse. Preaching to the converted means you end up with the same number of intellectual soiders as when you began. 

4. Every Patriot should be emailing and calling their local representatives weekly. Make it routine. Place it high on your priority list. A constant onslaught of feedback from Conservatives to their representatives can go a long way.

5. Read the Bill of Rights, The Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Federalist Papers, Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense”. Know your argument better than your opposition knows theirs. Fight with facts, not insults. We all know that their prescription for change ends in bankruptcy and a failed nation. But if you do your reading you’ll be that much more convincing.

The current administration is on a spurious and anti-free-market End-Run, gearing up to pass as much partisan, socialistic legislation possible before the mid-term elections shift the political balance once again, preventing the further arrogant use of arcane legislative loop-holes. By knitting ourselves together tightly, interacting with each other beyond what we have done, supporting our fellow Patriots and their media efforts (blogs, websites, Internet radio programming),  we will have a tremendous impact.

What can You do? Subscribe, listen, write to those websites that are doing the heavy lifting. Keep in mind we are still a center-right country, and know that by building friendships, reaching out to the unconverted and staying on message will go a very long way to positioning ourselves for November.

Keep the faith.
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