RINOS/Brain Dead & Loving IT

At one of our 'talk-about' (known as Tea Time at the Oxford Tea Party) we often spend a good deal of our time trying to define what the problems and issues are in our government. It is easy to say government is too big, trying to do too many things, taxes are ill spent, government intruding in our personal lives, etc.  These are always sticking points because of the way the president, congress, and the media frame things. You can never be sure if what they say are the real problems or if what they are telling us is simply to focus our attention away from the real problems. This ploy seems to work most of the time with most of the people.

One example: Obama says we have high unemployment because business won't hire…That is a frame in which business is seen as the cause of the unemployment problem. If he had said businesses have all the employees they need right now given the slower sales of their goods and services… That is a totally different frame to think in. From this frame of reference you could begin to ask questions such as, "Why are sales slower and is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

These kinds of political tricks deceive and keep the voter looking in the wrong direction for answers.

So in our discussions we try to figure out what the problem is that is being talked about in today's tsunami of media chatter. We do a lot of laughing, head scratching, drink lots of tea, and eat many desserts. However, the binding underlying threads that run through all  the chatter is the garnering and protecting the individual and group power of this political class.

So when we can start looking at issues while keeping in mind that each elected person in Washington is voting in ways that they imagine will protect their future then what is being done begins to make some sense. Not good sense or common sense but political sense… There is nothing altruistic about the voting they do because it is about individual political safety. (Note: Wednesday on the House vote to overturn Obamacare a number of Dems crossed over and voted with Republicans. Each of them believes this vote against Obamacare will help them get reelected.) Harry Reid will not let this bill to abolish Obamacare come to the floor of the senate for a vote because he fears enough Democratic senators would vote to overturn the bill. I think he is right. I think many would jump ship. A good number of these Dem senators are facing problems in this coming election.

As we muddle around with our third piece of pie staring up at us we begin to wonder outloud the following questions.

Question 1: Are Rinos as dangerous to the country as liberal Dems?

Question 2: If the Tea Parties start working to replace some of our tried and true RINOS would the national GOP begin to  see the Tea Party as a serious group of dedicated people they need to listen to?

Question 3: If we worked to replace liberal Republicans, how would  the average voter and the media interpret this? Would they begin to view the Tea Party differently? Rasmussen current polls show 35% of the folks now think well of the Tea Party and what we are trying to do. That is about as good as Obama's polling. Frankly, I had no idea it was that high.

Question 4: What is the Tea Party? Are we simply a noisy sub-group of Republicans? Is there any connection between us and the national GOP?

Question5: At what point are we going to organize and begin to look at the  country as a whole by supporting conservative candidates no matter what state they are in? That’s what the Dems and GOP does……Why not us? With a little organizing we could quickly get behind a candidate anywhere in the country.

Question 6: Josh Mandel is running against Brown (Ohio - Senate) who has been in congress half of my life time. No one can stay in any job that long and still be creative and forward looking. The broader issue is not in the Mandel - Brown race but everyone in congress needs to be looked at and re - vetted after so many terms regardless of the state they are from. Burnout and arrogance come with time in many professions.  

Question 7: Should we respond to our state politicians each time they vote to expand government? Should we not go into each of their districts and let the voters  know what their representative is doing? If we were to do such a thing it is likely the representative would begin to consider every vote and the consequences of their votes differently. (It takes organizing  and money to be active.)

Going back to the idea of supporting candidates no matter where they are running for office: Here is a short list on Redstate's site that Eric Erickson has put together.

Congresswoman Diane Black of Tennessee. Her opponent is Lou Ann Zelenik.

Congressman Charles Bostany of Louisiana. His opponent is Congressman Jeff Landry. They are pitted together due to redistricting.

Congressman Chuck Fleischman of Tennessee. His opponent is Scottie Mayfield.

Congressman John Mica of Florida. His opponent is Congresswoman Sandy Adams. They are pitted together due to redistricting.

Congressman Ben Quayle. His opponent is Congressman Dave Schweikert. They are pitted together due to redistricting.

Congressman Fred Upton of Michigan. His opponent is Jack Hoogendyk.

Here is Eric's reasoning:

Every federal election across the country impacts you. Whether it’s Utah’s Orrin Hatch, and his bid for a ridiculous seventh term in the Senate…or Indiana’s Dick Lugar, attempting to match Hatch’s insanity…we all suffer from the re-election of entrenched, big government politicians.

We can no longer ignore the elections outside of our home states. We must think ‘nationally’ because those elected in other states will certainly contribute to the laws that affect you. (see Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, etc.)

It is certainly more difficult to get involved in elections in other states…but there are ways. The best and easiest way is to contribute to the campaigns of candidates you support. Most of the time, incumbents have a huge advantage in campaign money. They often have lobbyists and special interest groups keeping  their re-election efforts well-funded. This means the challenger is almost always climbing an uphill battle…and can only be successful as grassroots Americans donate to their efforts.

Washington is broken. And the only way we’re going to get it fixed is to overwhelm Congress with good, strong, principled people who believe in accountability and limited government. We must all do our part to send them there…no matter where we live.

Absolutely and  Thanks, Eric

 I don't know how many of our readers know are read Ben Stein. I like to read his articles so I am passing this  one along.

Ben Stein’s New Article

WE'VE FIGURED HIM OUT!

By Ben Stein

Why was President Barack Obama in such a hurry to get his socialized medicine bill passed? Because he and his cunning circle realize some basic truths:

The American people in their unimaginable kindness and trust voted for a pig in a poke in 2008. (Pig in a poke means: an offering or deal that is foolishly accepted without being examined first. A poke means sack.)

They wanted so much to believe Barack Obama was somehow better and different from other ultra-leftists that they simply took him on faith.

They ignored his anti-white writings in his books.

They ignored his quiet acceptance of hysterical anti-American diatribes by his minister, Jeremiah Wright.

They ignored his refusal to explain years at a time of his life as a student.

They ignored his ultra-left record as a "community organizer," Illinois state legislator, and Senator.

The American people ignored his total zero of an academic record as a student and teacher, his complete lack of scholarship when he was being touted as a scholar.

Now, the American people are starting to wake up to the truth. Barack Obama is a super likeable super leftist, and not a fan of this country.

The American people have already awakened to the truth that the stimulus bill -- a great idea in theory -- was really an immense bribe to Democrat interest groups, and in no way helped all Americans.

The American people already know that Mr. Obama's plan to lower health costs while expanding coverage and bureaucracy is a myth, a promise of something that never was and never can be --

"a bureaucracy lowering costs in a free society." Either the costs go up or the free society goes away... an historical truth.

These are perilous times. Mrs. Hillary Clinton, our Secretary of State, has given Iran the go-ahead to have nuclear weapons, an unqualified betrayal of the nation. Now, we face a devastating loss of freedom at home in health care. It will be joined by controls on our lives to "protect us" from global warming, itself largely a fraud, if believed to be caused by man. She has also signed on to a Small Firearms Treaty at the U.N. 

This is a back door gun control move. If this is approved by the Senate and a 2nd Amendment majority doesn't exist in the Senate now. It will supersede all U.S. Law and the 2nd Amendment. All citizen possession will be eliminated through confiscation. Just Like Great Britain and Australia .

Mr. Obama knows Americans are getting wise and will stop him if he delays at all in taking away our freedoms. There is his urgency and our opportunity. Once freedom is lost, America is lost. Wake up, beloved America .

Ben Stein is a writer, economist, and lawyer. He writes "Ben Stein's Diary," for every issue of The American Spectator.

Thanks, Ben

Did you know that ObamaCare is dependent on the states to create these health insurance exchanges?  In fact a majority of states are not moving forward with implementing exchanges and several have openly announced they will not implement an exchange. 

Governor Bryant has stated that he will not accept ObamaCare funds to expand Medicaid.  Let’s tell Insurance Commissioner Mike Cheney and his advisory board that we should not accept any funds to create a health insurance exchange, or at least that Mississippi should slow the process down so that we can see what other red States are doing and coordinate with our conservative Governor.   

Why then is the Insurance Commissioner of Mississippi voluntarily implementing an Exchange here?  Even worse, his implementation is way ahead of ObamaCare’s 2014 targeted completion date.

The Mississippi Health Insurance Exchange Advisory Board will meet this Wednesday, July 11, 2012 from 9:30 a.m. to noon in Room 145 of the Woolfolk Office Building at 501 North West Street in Jackson.  We hope you will join us.  Attorney and Tea Party member Richard Wilbourn has asked for the opportunity to speak on behalf of the MSTP. 

Well, Cheney backed down. It seems the attention the Tea Party and other focused on his rush to install the first steps in the national health plan encouraged him to postpone until after the November elections. (Just one more good example of a political class member protecting himself.)

Thanks, Richard

There are so many new taxes scheduled to kick in next year. This political class group including our current president were clever in that they postponed the consequence (i.e. impact) of their tax schemes until they all got reelected.

Who remembers this tax hidden in another unrelated bill:

Under the new health care bill all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8% sales tax. If you sell your house after 2012 you will pay a 3.8% sales tax on it? That's $3,800 on a $100,000 home or if you sell a home worth $400,000 , there will be a $15,200 tax. Think of the retiring people who may want to downsize.. This political class group of elected officials thought this was the best way to create a new tax by hiding it in the health care bill, -- and it goes into effect in 2013. Why 2013? Could it be so that it doesn't come to light until after the 2012 elections? This tax will crush the already crushed housing market and impacts everyone who owns or buys a house. Think of how many times in the life of a house government can tax each property. (If this is done will each state not also jump on board?) So, this is 'change you can believe in'? Does this make your November, 2012 vote more important?

Dear God, this liberal political group and our current president have wounded this nation so deeply the question that is being asked by so many is can this wound be healed? Can the direction be changed and will we ever come back together as one people?

There is a story of a blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?" He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!" Obama's vision of America is not our vision of America.

The November election is about values, beliefs and vision.

Ron

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