Political Suicide?

Do our representatives in Washington read the polls? Do they pay attention to protests? One would think not. They are pushing everything aside in favor of forcing a certain set of legislation on American citizens we do not want, or need. They seem to be blissfully ignorant of reality and no amount of reason can dissuade them.

Don't they know they will, if the polls are correct, suffer massive losses this election and the next? Of course they do. Then why pursue this course of action? It will lead to disaster for them. The reason is simple. They believe that, even if they lose this and the next election, the Republicans will not be able to muster the political will to repeal Obambacare and the rest of their agenda. At some point in the future they will again have the upper hand and can continue their socialistic ways.

They may have a point.

Remember about a decade ago when Bush Jr. was elected? didn't he enjoy majorities in both the House and Senate? They were free to pass or remove just about anything they wanted from the Federal Budget. The world of Washington politics was their oyster. And what did they do with this grand opporunity? They basically squandered it. They wound up spending money like the other party normally does. In the process they forced some of their own unconstitutional spending programs down our throat, like No Child Left Behind.

Did they have the opportunity to reduce federal spending? Yes. Did they do it? No. Instead they increased spending about a Trillion dollars. That is chump change compared to today. Did they have a chance to 'fix' Social Security? Yes. Did they do it? No. How about Medicare? No. Instead they voted into place the largest entitlement progrem to date. Did they have the opportunity to change our unfair tax structure into something that would truly be beneficial and fair to us citizens? Yes. Did they do it? No. You can see why I have some problems with the Republicans. When they got the power instead of doing the right thing they became politicians and ultimately made things worse for all.

With all due respect I believe they did a couple of things well. The best of them was to cut taxes. The resulting economic windfall from that piece of legislation was amazing. To give an example, take health care, about 15% of our total GDP. That one section of our economy grew more than the entire Chinese economy during the same period. It's great what free people can do when given the opportunity! But it was not enough by itself to overcome the other mistakes and wrong headed politics that were made. Which set the stage for the present Powers That Be and the disasters they have railroaded on us.

This is why the Tea Party movement is not, and should not be a Republican movement. It is a Freedom Movement. Oh yes, many of the values supported by the Tea Partiers are also that of Republicans. But that does not mean that any Republican candidate should be given instant approval. They should get the nod only after they have demonstrated their support for the Constitution of the United States. Do they know and will they defend our own laws? Will they work to defund or remove programs which are not authorized by this document? Will they stand for these principles without compromise?

This does not mean I am not going to vote. In spite of the problems I have with the Republicans, they are a whole lot better than the alternative. The goal of all free American citizens should be massive change in Washington. The more soundly we can defeat Democratic Socialism, the better message it will send that this is a failed idea and needs to be eradicated as completely as possible. It will also remind the new crop of legislators of their responsibility. Cut government drastically! Change the tax system! Fix the problems we now face without adding a host of new ones. Let us be free and everybody wins, including the government.

Our nation was founded on laws. The federal government's most important responsibility is to ensure those laws are enforced equally for every citizen. But once the government oversteps those bounds it becomes a dictator. This is the situation we find ourselves in today. If we value the freedoms we once had, the most important thing we can do is elect people who understand this and are willing to defend it by every possible means. Oh, yes, I know that politics is about compromise and all that. Fine. Quibble about small matters of budget allocation. Do not quibble about taking away my freedom under the lie that somehow it is good for me.