Obama Care, Ryan Care and don’t even think about it Romney Care!

I guess I am just a burden to society in the realm of health care. Others will most likely, but maybe not, have to cover the costs of my health care through higher prices to cover our medical expenses if any major health incident occurs in my life or that of my wife as currently we have no insurance. So the government is mandating via Obama care that others cover the costs of our health care, should misfortune befall either of us, though we will be contributing a comparatively small fine. Either approach suggests higher prices to cover losses. But who covers the costs of all the new hires, tens of thousands of employees (if not more), on every level public and private, to facilitate the functions of Obama care? We all do through our taxes or fines.

Even if Obama care survives the Supreme Court my wife and I will not be able to purchase an insurance policy and the fines, even cumulative over many years, will not come close to covering any major medical procedure a misfortune would bring, though Obama care declares otherwise. Maybe they will have more fines and penalties for us if we cannot pay. Will it be a crime to become ill? Most likely they will simply deny us treatment, costs being the issue, the driving force behind their logic.

We nickel and dime our way through life, hoping for future prosperity with part time jobs and running two businesses, only one currently bringing a profit. For not purchasing government mandated insurance under Obama care we will each be personally fined at 2.5% of our household income or $695 each, which ever is greater. They claim by violating the mandate to buy insurance that we are not actually breaking the law, at least until they say otherwise. At a now $30+K a year that would mean we will be forced to pay maybe $1,390 a year in fines, though I am not sure anyone could tell us what we will really be paying yet. This is less than what health insurance would cost us for one month at current rates. With self pay rates an annual trip to the doctor with no tests at all costs one of us nearly $400 already, and less than half of that goes to the doctor and his operating expenses.

We were carrying significant debt, with monthly payments on interest alone running just above and below $500. I was told some four years ago we were eligible to declare bankruptcy but we tried to fight it out. But we couldn’t make any significant headway on the debt, as every time we chopped it down some large expense such as a furnace or car repair would hit us. We filed for chapter 7, though 13 would definitely have been an option.

This debt was not overwhelming under my past salary when I worked as an architectural designer. A good portion of our past debt was run up pursuing alternative healing methods for which I was out of the country for over a month which resulted in my employment being unexpectedly terminated. That was seven years ago. We don’t take food stamps or other assistance and though some believe I could and should file for disability I would not even if I believed I was disabled. Rather than take unemployment I started a business. (and have I mentioned I wrote two books, available on Amazon)

We don’t live an expensive lifestyle. We don’t drink or smoke. We get to a few movies a year, often at a discount cinema. I attend and sometimes participating in a few mountain bike race events a season. We have skipped some major family events because of travel costs. I occasionally play in poker tournaments because I break even over any extended period of time. We go to the local casino on our birthdays for a $25 club credit we use for dining and drop ten or twenty dollars in the slot machine. We often walk away with five to fifty dollars in winnings because we stop if we get ahead. The city values our home at nearly $61,000 after the housing crisis. The realtor said it was worth $45,000 and in this current market we could maybe get $10,000 for it. My parents helped us pay for a new roof about five years overdue.

(yes I must be detailed. If by some small chance this post received any significant traffic…)

Now, after bankruptcy, we are currently taking care of obligations that we had deferred for many years, but hope to start building wealth next year. We can do this because we are not buying health insurance. We are taking the risk because we see no other way to get a head; to pursue the American Dream.

It is not that we will not try our best to pay our medical expenses should tragedy befall us. Hospitals are willing to take any payments, even $20 month, without charging interest. At one point in the past I received charity medical assistance. Over two years ago, with a bill of over $2,000, I filed for charity assistance again, hoping for some reduction in costs. But, the criteria for charity assistance for ‘small business owners’ had changed and we were not eligible. This, when Obama care was being debated in Congress.

We feel obliged to cover our debts. We always tried the best we could. What would allow us to cover our healthcare to a far greater degree than Obama care is something I suggested long ago on this blog and more than once. Let us form a tax deductible H.S.A. (health savings account) without an associated insurance policy.

Yes, there are MSA’s, Medical Savings Accounts for the uninsured, where you lose any excess funds in the account at the end of the year. Because there is never enough from the liberal perspective. There is Badger Care here in Wisconsin but when I inquired years ago we were not eligible or couldn’t afford it and now our insurance agent for home and auto no longer deals in health insurance; a growing trend.

People like my wife and I will feel obliged to put aside money, even deferring other needs and obligations, to make sure we have some medical coverage. We recently started another savings account. But we certainly are not going to be starting an MSA and lose an average of $75 a year. We have IRA’s designed to meet a variety of situations and to serve a variety of goals. But no H.S.A.’s unless you buy insurance?

When our forefathers came to pursue the American Dream they had no financial safety net for healthcare outside of becoming prosperous or depending on the goodness of others. Healthcare facilities were made up of those interested in meeting the medical needs of their patients. Now a healthcare facility is made up not predominantly of doctors and nurses, but of bean counters (insurance company staff and the corresponding staff at medical facilities to handle all the filing not to mention staff to meet government imposed regulations) and possibly soon control freaks (the government and the IRS agents and others that will be employed to enforce Obama care). All this contributes to the cost of healthcare and shifts the focus away from care and towards profit margins. What kind of healthcare can one expect from such a system whether you describe it as private or public sector? Great! If you’re rich.

Am I wrong in saying that I would want to put my care into the hands of doctors and nurses, and charity organizations formed from the sincere desire of the well off to help those who are not, than into the hands of bean counters and control freaks?

The reality is even those such as Paul Ryan are not immune from special interest influence. Why are all solutions to healthcare, insurance based? Why cannot our government seriously cut our healthcare costs and give us tools to pay for it ourselves? Tort reform and allowing the sale of insurance across state lines are two reforms that everyone knows will lower healthcare costs almost immediately, yet Congress cannot get it passed. I am sure there are layers of needless regulations that add to costs that also could be repealed.

Mr. Ryan I know you are focused on the entitlement aspect of healthcare but there is no affordable insurance for many families like my own. The insurance system itself is part of the problem as far as healthcare costs are concerned. An immoral Congress that cannot act for the immediate benefit of the people, a government that piles on more and more regulation, cost, is the other side of the coin. And if health insurance were a good investment the rich wouldn’t do without it. Think of the tens of thousands a family puts into insurance each year and what that could do if invested.

But the government says we the uninsured are the problem. A problem the government will solve by making healthcare even more expensive, …so they can send the problem to government death panels.

Obama care tempts the public with the promise of removing financial risk. This is wrong in two aspects. First, nothing progresses without risk: society will stagnate. Second, it deprives the public of choice. Not only will they dictate what care you will or will not receive, the sky rocketing costs that anyone with half a brain and a conscience know will occur will drain away all disposable income one can currently invest in their future; in our case $500 a month.

I have several choices to cover any medical tragedy we may incur. I can buy life insurance that we could sell if I should become terminally ill and know approximately what my final expenses will be. It is far cheaper than health insurance. If I die suddenly it will cover funeral expenses.There are activity specific insurance policies that are very inexpensive that often come with membership in organization such as USA Cycling, where you are covered for any cycling related accidents. I can simply put money into a savings account. I could look to charities or family and friends. I can choose to do nothing and simply die naturally in the way mankind has passed on for thousands of years, leaving any assets for my family. Somehow in this tiny moment of time when medical science has advanced to a high degree the government suddenly wants to control the science and hand it out as it sees fit, declaring it a civil right. A civil right that only the government can bestow that trumps one’s religious liberties in the case of Catholic hospitals. Our forefathers believed our rights originated from God; the capital G.

Mitt Romney, if government sticks its nose into healthcare and requires everyone to buy a policy people like my wife and I will have no more choices and no more opportunity. Like that interest we paid on our debt for year upon year that kept us from paying off the balance, kept us in poverty, government mandated purchases (a tax but not a tax depending on the audience) will relieve us of all choice in determining our future as all our earnings will be spoken for via government mandate. But the risk will still exist as nothing will really have changed. The rich and well connected will be able to get the medical services they need and those without excess funds will be rationed to death. Many will decide to not even try to get ahead.

Risk and choice. Any parent understands that they cannot keep their children from risky behavior or from making poor choices. Any parent of merit understands they cannot control their child. The process is what makes one who they are. I know you understand this Mitt Romney. I heard that you gave away your inheritance and decided to make it on your own. Did you buy health insurance when money was tight? Why do you believe in mandating health insurance? Why do you think government can do what I parent would want to do but has the wisdom to realize that they can’t? Will this government hold the same compassion for the ill as a parent would for their child or simply deem them an unproductive member of society, an unviable mass? This delusion of the ability to control is the great arrogance of government that our forefathers tried to protect us from by giving us the freedom to take risks, to fail or succeed, to make our own unregulated choices.

The Election Wars

Wisconsin has become ground zero for the struggle between the silent moral majority of this country (AKA the tea party) and the socialist left that President Obama has exemplified as a Marxist struggle against individual freedom and capitalism. The democrats have declared Wisconsin a dry run for the upcoming Presidential election.

The primary elections for governor in the recall elections here in Wisconsin could not have been more ideal. The mass mobilization of the good people in this state was inspiring. Governor Walker received more votes than the leading democrat opponent yet fewer votes than all four of the democrat candidates together. This gave all conservatives great hope, yet at the same time kept the urgency and the drive to take back our state and country alive with the potential for a democrat win still clearly looming.

There is a strong drive to mobilize the base on both sides in Wisconsin. The union’s radical political arms are mobilizing, focusing their national forces here in Wisconsin. Early voting, absentee voting is being done on a massive scale in Milwaukee and Madison; liberal strongholds. People fear mass fraud will occur. Out of state vehicles are bringing in people by the van loads to vote. Some wonder why many a middle aged black citizen is just registering to vote for the first time now. Didn’t they voter for Obama in 2008?

This is the only viable scenario in which the democrat’s Tom Barrett could defeat Governor Walker; the success of massive attempts at voter fraud. A figure as high as 40,000 votes has been put forward as the possible extent of fraud by Reince Priebus. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was higher. Voter fraud has been documented, and evaluations of the election process here in Wisconsin, even by the Milwaukee Police department, have suggested the incidents of fraud are high. Democrat politicians here and elsewhere continually claim we have no significant fraud despite the statistics. The democrats cannot tolerate picture ID requirements for voting and timed their legal actions against the voter ID law in Wisconsin so it would not be enforced for this election. But whatever the outcome may be in the Wisconsin election for governor the democrats lose.

A Walker win will ignite hope in the hearts of all true Americans. It will provide a vision for the future that will snowball across the country creating an avalanche that will sweep over Congress.

A Walker loss would only infuriate the tea party. We, the now not so silent majority, will be more determined than ever to stand against what we have all come to recognize as un-American; a threat to freedom itself. When the national elections arrive the democrat forces of fraud will be far too dispersed to make a difference.

So what is my greatest fear? Many, including myself, have looked upon the welfare system in the United States as a tactic to create a permanent underclass that would always vote for the democrats to protect their portion of the public dole. I am beginning to perceive something deeper and more sinister in the works. As Obama and others stir up revolutionary rhetoric in the southwest, as we have witnessed the disgusting and violent tendencies of the occupy movement, as the Attorney General has long refused to investigate the New Black Panthers for voter intimidation I have to ask a question; Was this underclass created so their votes could be easily bought or is it an integral part of an ideological plot to overthrow this country. Violent revolution is a staple on the communist menu. It is central to the ideology. Struggle makes the world go round and they don’t me debating over what movie you are going to see this weekend. Communist governments were never necessary to promote violent revolution around the world, only the ideology; a world view presented as the truth.

Big government forces do not need to keep people poor and ignorant to buy their votes. Look at the green energy companies dependent solely on the government. Then there are companies like GE or GM. Wall Street has met with so much regulation and the manipulation of financial instruments that few can separate them from the government policy and few can recognize fraud even if they are the ones perpetrating it. The criminal becomes anyone the government decides is the criminal.

The construction industry has become dependent on the government, even if only in the bestowing of tax incentives to private sector companies to build, expand or relocate. Even if a project of any kind were completely privately funded, highly uncommon these days outside of single family housing (and the Obama government seems to promote renting over buying), with ever increasing regulations and work rules the construction firms are dependent on the graces of government bodies and officials, or so they’ve been trained. The government’s near mandate of highly subsidized rail construction are to be followed by subsidizes to relocate existing housing and businesses to locations along the rail lines.

If this isn’t buying votes…

In the 80’s when I was doing volunteer work for a Victory Over Communism program our church was running I had the chance to meet figures such as Sir John Noble. I had heard testimonies that there were communist training camps just south of the border in Mexico preparing to instigate revolution in the southwest. Now we have murderous drug cartels with military training causing terror and chaos along the border. One caller to a local talk show host had an interesting perspective that was missed by the host; If these cartels have ties to the Mexican military why are they acquiring weapons from gun stores (We’re talking Fast and Furious people) when they could acquire military grade equipment from their ties in Mexico?

Yes, Fast and Furious was a plot by our own government to take away our Second Amendment rights and the drug lords appeared willing to play along.

Ever since the end of the Second World War until the fall of the Berlin Wall we were raised to fear the Red Threat. Eventually, after the early days of the Cold War there was a backlash against the blacklisting of people that may or may not have had communist sympathies. Some even tried to portray these sympathizers as traitors. But this is the United States and people are free to believe what they want as long as they are law abiding citizens. But are those of communist persuasion now embedded in our government and media all law abiding citizens?

Here in Wisconsin there is a continual attempt by democrats to have those who may have used public computers, equipment, office space or time for campaigning prosecuted. It is a crime. The problem is, just like with voter fraud, no matter how much evidence there may be against a democrat in regards to these laws there is never any investigation, let alone prosecution. Mayor Barrett’s wife has been documented to have violated these laws regarding the use of public resources for campaigning yet no investigation or charges are in the works. Mayor Barrett is Scott Walker’s opponent this Tuesday.

Attorney General Holder has lied to Congress and the attempt to find out how high this Fast and Furious scandal goes has been blocked. The mainstream media has tried to ignore the issue. Should Holder be impeached? Yes. Has he committed crimes, crimes that could even border on treason? Treason is a serious charge that needs to be resolved through serious investigation. Unfortunately we have few with the moral fortitude and insight that could possibly conduct such an investigation and this is the heart of the dilemma this nation finds itself in. Where the tea party has a clear vision of what America is or should be, we have lost the moral compass that has guided this nation in the past. Secularism and moral relevance has destroyed the conscience of our institutions. A conscience that was often typified in the media in days gone by. Now what’s cool, in the words of Victor Davis Hanson, what appears popular in any fleeting moment is what rules the day in media of every type and most tragically in our government.

Besides the Attorney General on the national level we can find troubling tendencies at the local level. Here in Milwaukee violent crime is high. Every week is filled with multiple murders whereas just one county over in Waukesha they just had their first murder in two years. Again Scott Walker’s opponent Mayor Barrett has touted lowering violent crime rates but an investigation by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reveal a large number of violent crimes that were categorized otherwise, many crimes against women and children. The violent crime rate is higher not lower according to the FBI.

Wilding has been an issue every summer for a while now. Minority youth invade the streets and businesses causing injury and mayhem. Many victim’s reports were not take by the responding police officers. They refused to take the reports.

I often wonder why so many police chiefs across this nation, including here in Milwaukee, oppose the rights of law abiding citizens to arm themselves. We have a good police chief here in Milwaukee. I would not call him particularly politically inclined in any specific direction. The problem is he will not question those above him. He claims the violent crime statistics were human and computer error. Many think he was directed to alter the statistics. When he claims cities of similar size across the nation have similar error rates he does not convince me they were errors, and that worries me deeply.

I do not think the democrats were ready to consider possibly playing the violent revolution card for another four years. As I have stated before, I believe Obama was ordained by the left to be the great leader for this nation. Soon after he was elected some questioned why we have term limits for the office of president. Just as Chavez took power over Venezuela despite term limits Obama was to become the permanent figurehead for the glory and honor of the disenfranchised, the miss-fortuned and down trodden of this nation. In other words the true citizens, or how they view you, me and everyone else whether we are smart enough to recognize it ourselves or not. Maybe I need some re-education. Maybe I should be more complacent, like Julia in the democrats “Life of Julia” presentation where Obama is there throughout the length of her life to oversee the fulfillment of her every need.

If the leftists could not accomplish complete domination by 2016 that ace in their pocket, violent revolution by an underclass they created, was to be played, after creating a military that caters to every sexual deviant possible. (yes, there is a norm in nature and everything else is a deviation) After ending “don’t ask don’t tell” there were immediate plans to open the military to the needs of the transgender population. With a military consumed with political correctness who would question martial law, the discontinuation of elections or the outlawing of all but a single party?

I hope that Obama, Pelosi and other leading democrats of communist persuasion can admit that there cause is lost and not turn their forces to violence. They seem blind to the fact that the hopes of an Obama second term look bleak. Maybe it is better that way. But I fear this election in Wisconsin will be a wake up call for the true communists of the democrat party. If they should determine that this is the time to go for it all they will instigate violence on a massive scale centering on the 2012 elections. It is who they are. They will fail because they do not understand how small a minority of this country they truly are, but they will cause much suffering in the process.

If I wrote this even two years ago I would be laughed at. The media even now is blind to Obama’s true ideological background. They are either ignorant and incompetent, or liars. But we all hear over and over that the left cannot run on their true agenda. So what agenda is that? I don’t believe it is an Islamist agenda. It is an agenda that refuses to reach across the isle (though they demand it from others when they are not in power) and vilifies all and any who disagree. It is an agenda we now all recognize as anti-American; anti-freedom. There is only one ideology, system of thought and politics in this world it could be.

This world has but two mainstream ideologies; godless communism that glorifies violent struggle or freedom God loving democracy. It is time we all recognize that we are dealing with this godless communist force that has been eating away at the United States for over fifty years and stop closing our eyes to its dangers.

American Idol

My pick from the beginning for the American Idol was Hollie Cavanagh. Her voice is beautiful, her form and posture elegant rather than suggestive, and she sang far more wholesome songs than the potential winner Jessica Sanchez. When Hollie sang she made people happy, something the judges didn’t catch on to very quickly. She hit the zone at the right time but lost out.

Jessica on the other hand is more of so much of the same; another sex object. Some of her performances have bordered on sleaze and she sings songs far too mature for a sixteen year old. A fact that most recognized, yet she continued to sing such songs including the song written for her to be her first hit if she should win. That may cost her. Jessica is a fantastic singer but she has been faltering a bit near the end.

In these last few weeks I thought Joshua would take it all, but he is gone also. Again he has a retro style not only in the style of the music but the content. All the massive changes we are seeing in politics is not restricted to politics. The public is sick of how immoral and vapid our society has become. Yes an indulgent life is empty and spiritless. People are desiring the good and virtuous if they know it or not. They are sick of corrupt politicians, have a growing interest in philosophy and systems of thought, and are looking for what’s true in life.

In this sense Phillip Phillips may become the first Idol, if he should win or not, that approaches legend status. He comes across sincerely humble and unassuming, sings his own flavor of music that sounds like no other (usually these niche singers don’t make the final three) and most importantly sings meaningful songs with conviction and passion. These are songs about life, stories all can relate to, and if they aren’t he makes them that.

The entertainment industry does not reflect the values of the United States; a nation built on Christian values. And Christian values are not about succumbing to the inevitability of sin and just simply living with it, but about striving for excellence; being perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Even conservative talk radio show hosts seem content with homosexuality as a fixed reality in society. The churches that allow homosexual ministers have given up on this striving for excellence so clearly expressed as qualifications for ministry in the Bible.

And why is it such an oddity that an Olympic athlete is a virgin? Statistics suggest there are significant numbers that remain chaste until marriage. Far from a majority when you get past the college years but I have heard numbers over the years above and below the fifty percent range for high school students. Why do we tolerate the ever younger sexualization of our children and treat virtue as the oddity rather than sin? Yes! It’s called sin in God’s eyes and no system that has denied God has met with success, to get back to politics.

What we endure in our leadership and tolerate in our entertainment, especially our entertainment idols, is leading to the depravation of not only our society but ourselves as well. This nation is in dire need of a wide sweeping revival.

The 2012 Tax Day Rally; Madison: or, It’s All About Mitt Romney Now

Another year, another rally. Madison Wisconsin was a focal point for Americans for Prosperity and other tea party affiliated organizations for what has become a political institution; The Tax Day Rally.

I would say over a thousand people showed up in support of the conservative tea party movement. A couple dozen left wing protestors gathered in back to try to disrupt the process of the practice of free speech. When that lightning rod Vicki McKenna, local conservative talk show host, spoke the lefties marched up to the front to heckle her in a more personal fashion.

This giant paper crane was supposedly covered with messages from students against the Walker reforms that have saved our schools millions of dollars. No one paid much attention to it and the man who brought it folded it up and left, looking a bit dejected, before the rally ended.

My wife and I came by car and had no problem finding parking. The group was organized and polite. As the rally progressed we took a seat on the grass in the shade under a tree. Shortly afterward we seemed to become the object of conversation for some nearby. Why were we there? To infiltrate? It became obvious as I caught good parts of their comments that, just as in everything I do whether it is competitive mountain biking, competing in poker leagues, visiting our family origins in the north woods or simply searching for a job, that all involved in these processes of human interaction are somehow informed that I am a member of the Unification Church, and not in a good way. I am relegated to a mind numbed robot programed to do nothing other than the will of Reverend Moon in his quest for world dominion. Or in short I am completely dehumanized and become simply material that has been deemed valueless, outright dangerous, toxic, fit to be thrown away. The same way conservatives are defined by the left.

Yes, after many years now of attending the tax day rallies, receiving e-mails from numerous conservative organizations, but never contacting anyone or volunteering, I am well positioned to take complete control of the entire tea party movement, at least here in Wisconsin. I am not sure how that will come about, but that’s the story and I’m sticking to it.

This blog and attending the occasional rally are the full extent of my political plotting. The Unification Church has built plenty of political influence in typical open fashion with both parties. Because neither party wants to broadcast every issue on which they are involved with the Unification Church, or any number of other churches, does not make the associated political process secret. The Unification Church has ties far beyond what most people can imagine. They don’t need any secret plots or hidden agendas. Many may know, or not, that Reverend Moon has financed the Washington Times.

Obviously they don’t need or wouldn’t suggest to me to infiltrate anything. But of course I would want my blog, this blog, to be recognized to the greatest extent. God Bless America that I have the freedom to pursue my dreams.

If this were any typical campaign of the past Mitt Romney would lose in the face of such bigotry. Fortunately for him the Obama record is so dismal and un-American that anyone should be able to beat the President.

I do not believe people are taking serious enough the attacks Mitt Romney will be receiving over his faith. Anyone who thinks the Obama campaign will not take it there is a fool. Anyone who thinks such attacks will not influence the public has seen far too little of life.

Attacks on conservatism and Romney as a businessman can be seen through by the silent majority, despite the media. Attacks on his faith will take many people back, at least initially. Scrutiny of the history of the church, talks of secret teachings, bigamy, hidden agendas and the goal to infiltrate our government to establish a Mormon theocracy will all be put forth in some fashion over the next many months.

A friend of mine in California joined the Mormon Church and then left, as she and her family became more deeply aware of their unusual teachings. They heard all the negative attacks from anti-Mormon groups, took it in and the went back to the Mormon Church, sort of. They still do not want to join the Mormons because of the teachings, but they see the people there as truly good, even describing them as saints. And this is Romney’s strongest trump card in regard to his faith, that Mormons are truly good and patriotic citizens. It is being played well in the recent controversy over his wife. Behind every great man is a great woman. Their life story is beautiful.

President Obama’s life story might be described by some as a hidden agenda.

Of course Obama has the media in his pocket, but he has one more trump card greater than that; he doesn’t telegraph weakness. Our nation is on the ropes. We would be flat on the mat in these troubling circumstances if Obama were truly like President Carter. Carter gave a solemn bleak outlook to the people of this nation. It was the point where I became a conservative, or rather saw the democrats as complete losers. But because Obama keeps a strong positive appearance, our nation is handling these difficulties better; difficulties he is responsible for. One could easily make an argument that the strength and enthusiasm of former Soviet dictators kept the communist system viable for far longer than it would have been otherwise. Image is everything, as the saying goes. So let’s give Obama credit where credit is due. We all want our leaders to be strong no matter who they are. Obama’s ability not to be drawn into the despair he is bringing down upon this nation makes things look better than they are, gives the economy a slight boost, gives us all confidence, even fueling the hope that we can overthrow the Obama policies and take back our nation, …if we can win the election.

Mitt Romney has not faced challenges to his faith in the republican primaries, but they are coming. Perhaps he is a bit wary of being accused of being part of a Mormon conspiracy if he takes any strong stand on social conservative issues. I am sure he has faced persecution at times in his life; that dehumanizing rhetoric meant to isolate one from the rest of the world. Could that be one of the reasons we just can’t seem to figure out if Romney is a conservative or not? Why can’t we get a clear definition of exactly where he stands on almost anything? Is it the smell of fear, weakness in the air?

The key problem with Romney’s perceived lack of commitment to the conservative cause, his acceptance of the media and left wing presumptions, such as we need to get more money out of the rich, his parroting of media talking points in his statements, is that it gives the appearance of weakness.

Where do you stand Mitt Romney? If you don’t define your goals and vision clearly, but let the media define the playing field you will come across weak. Don’t let Obama or the media define the issues. Claim the issues. Stand in clear contradiction to what Obama, the left, claims this world, this nation to be and pound an alternative vision day in and day out.

In addition, if after going negative on your republican adversaries in the primaries you don’t go negative in your campaigning against Obama, you definitely will appear weak, giving Obama the a greater semblance of strength. Yes, you can go negative too long and suffer a backlash. Perhaps now is not the time, but if you don’t do it…you are playing into Obama’s strongest trump card.

Fear and Loathing in Wisconsin

I read “Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail” in my youth. The only thing I recall from the story is a convertible and the abuse of various forms of alcohol and drugs. Though that vision certainly doesn’t reflect the activities of my youth, it is something what we call “liberals” today were extremely familiar with. I am not really sure why I read the book. It must have been for a class I was taking, or simply an expression of my growing political curiosity. Fear and Loathing has nothing specific to do with my topic today, but for some it may be a fitting title.

After the Wisconsin primary it looks as if Rick Santorum will need to win most every remaining primary in April to be viable as a Presidential candidate. Support has been coalescing around Mitt Romney in an almost unnatural fashion.

Chances are great, because of the Wisconsin primary results, that Mitt Romney will be the republican candidate for President. This means, according to those eager to get things over with, that we can all focus on attacking Obama for seven rather than five months…, though the problem with the primary campaign is that it has run… too long? People are getting tired… but they wont tire of endless attacks on Obama? Just a question. Why are October surprises so powerful?

Sorry. I’m just taking some time to think.

If Romney is the candidate we will have to go through the attacks on his Mormonism. I believe Romney can survive these attacks in light of Obama’s record. It will actually be traditional Christianity that will come out more damaged than Romney or Mormonism. Many a group, and the individuals that comprise those groups, have been severely harmed by hateful Christian propaganda, from which the media will draw, and this dark side of what some call their Christian faith will be on display for the whole world to see. As someone who is a member of an unjustly maligned faith I believe Romney is a great candidate for how he would make appointments to the Department of Justice.

But because of these attacks on Romney’s faith, and its unusual teachings, he cannot speak in detail on conservative social issues without drawing too much attention to his faith; those negative attacks. Rick Santorum on the other hand can effectively stand for conservative social issues,and no matter what others claim they are winning issues. The United states cannot lead the world without re-establishing its moral standards. Judeo-Christian standards that have been under attack from the left since we ended the Second World War, if not longer. In regards to the Muslim world, the Arab spring, we are offering no alternative to sharia law for those desiring a moral society. Santorum might be a fitting candidate for vice president in this regard but I understand the Romney camp would not consider it.

Then Romney will be attacked as a capitalist. Easy to overcome some may say. The problem is we are facing radical Marxists who are looking to, according to their system of thought, simply criminalize capitalism and any thought contrary to their own. Don’t be surprise if he will be accused of outright criminal activity. They will be accusing Romney the businessman. It would be much more difficult for accusations of criminal activity to stick if politicians were simply accusing another politician, such as accusing Santorum. People’s response to that would be “They are all crooks.”

But a Romney victory in the nomination process should in a sane world give him the Presidency. And in that case we will have one of the greatest conservative administrations since Reagan. From what I have gleaned from snippets of comments on the airwaves he will be extremely well advised on conservative Judicial appointments. No, I don’t think Romney is a true or natural conservative, but in his sincere heartfelt desire to get this country he loves back to economic prosperity, the people best qualified in his eyes to accomplish his goals are also some of the best conservatives in politics.

Yes, “in politics.” The question for me with a Romney victory, and a question I hope all tea party types are asking, is; Has the establishment won? Has the professional political culture that has grown apart from its people won?

Let me be so presumptuous as to put forth a tea party platform by which to judge …if the establishment has won. Perhaps someone like me is the best one to put forth such a platform for an unorganized grassroots group sharing common goals, as I am pretty much a nobody by political standards and represent only myself. I will not address the obvious issue of Obama Care for now, but as I put forth the platform keep asking yourself; Has the establishment won?

Zero Baseline Budgeting: This is basically the idea that built in annual increases to federal programs will be increases to the budget. That is, that the government cannot make the increase smaller and claim they cut the budget, though the budget would still increase; be higher than the previous year. Thus is basic honesty in representation. Paul Ryan has claimed he has been fighting for this. (Not to get side tracked, but Paul Ryan was a dream candidate for many of us but he declined to run for personal reasons and he thought himself best positioned where he was to make a difference. If he should now accept the vice presidency I would personally feel a sense of betrayal.)

If we have a republican House and Senate with Romney as President and don’t get zero baseline budgeting the establishment has won.

Tax Reform: Thank you Herman Cain for putting the topic front and center, at least in the early days of the race for the nomination. I think it curious that all the issues that really excited the conservative populous, and the people representing them, have become insignificant as we reach brass tax. “We have to attack Obama!” has overridden all else. As we approach a tax code of 100,000 pages can we get a candidate who could make even a weak attempt to simplify the tax code. Say; make a promise that by the end of his first term he will reduce the tax code to 10,000 pages. Even 25,000 pages would be a significant accomplishment. When you talk about the government picking winners and losers, a good part of that is in the tax code. The massive tax code also points to poor tax policy in that loopholes specific to an industry or company must be created for them to survive.

If the tax code continues to grow the establishment has won.

Ethanol: Yes we are mandated to use ethanol though the purpose for its mandate has been disproven. It extends our fuel, but then we need to burn more to get the same results. It destroys small and marine engines. More than that, it has been shown that the whole system contributes to what have been called greenhouse gases; what ethanol was supposed to reduce. This is a no brainer yet little has happened to bring it to and end. In fact they are now talking about E15. And don’t get me started on corn syrup (the bees know). Talk about government being in the pocket of corporations, …look at big corn. If Santorum had been declared the winner of the Iowa primary that same night we could possibly be ready to declare him the republican candidate now. But Romney was declared the winner though everyone knew some votes were not yet counted and that Santorum may have won, and the true results were not declared publicly for weeks. Santorum won Iowa.

If E15 goes forward under a republican administration the establishment has won. I came just a hair short of saying; If ethanol production in the United States is not brought to a complete end the establishment has won.

E.P.A.: The Environmental Protection Agency has piled regulations on all of us. Regulations that suffocate prosperity. Absolutely a republican administration will put an end to many EPA regulations that unreasonably restrict the economy. But the EPA is the problem, as well as other government bureaucracies that can dictate regulations with the power of law without Congressional approval. Without drastic changes or the disbandment of the EPA nothing has really changed.

If the powers of the EPA are not curtailed the establishment has won.

Deregulation: We have far too many regulations for every aspect of our lives (Obama Care), not to mention laws. Remember the Green Police commercial of Super Bowl past. Massive staffs need to be hired by corporations in some cases just to address the laws and regulations; costs passed onto the consumer. Anal levels of regulation and oversight in the financial markets has only made them more complex and fragile. Mandates from government created the housing crisis. Many rightly claim that we have so many laws we cannot help but break the law without knowing in any quest for the American Dream. There is however no single benchmark one could point to to say that if such and such doesn’t happen… the establishment has won. We all need to be vigilant of every level of government and demand a simplification of our laws regulations, and the repeal of oppressive and obsolete laws, taxes and regulations.

The Professional Politician: Thank you Rick Perry for claiming you would make service in Congress a part time job. How something is designed influences how someone acts. We have a pay scale for our politicians that suggests they are highly valued professionals committed day and night to their work. Is this why we have so many laws and regulations: they feel they have to do something when really they should just end their session and go home? They are professionals at shmoozing: stoking each others egos. On every level of government people are expressing the desire that elected representatives to legislature be a part time position. There just isn’t, shouldn’t be that much for them to do. Let us put an end to the profession politician so we can get more people like Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson in office; an accomplished manufacturer who has hit the ground running as a freshmen and is in position to put forth real world solutions to the problems our nation is facing.

Some have said we need term limits. I have suggested that raising the age requirements for office is more in line with the intent of our founding fathers. Both would require a Constitutional amendment. The tea party needs to define and coalesce behind a clear strategy to reshape politics. A strategy that creates a political establishment that is one and the same with the people and the lives they must live every day.

Ron Paul’s reform of United States monetary policy is also an important issue. But the general public finds it difficult to comprehend the mechanics of the whole system and the corresponding results his changes would produce. His policies are far too specialized for the tea party to embrace; to be part of a platform.

If Ron Paul is appointed the head of the Federal Reserve the establishment will reel in protest.

The tea party will be taking to the streets again in their annual tax day rallies across the country next week. I hope they do more than hope and pray for, and demand an end to Obama Care. I hope the tea party can keep the pressure on important issues and policies that, if not changed, will continue to draw this nation away from its founding principles. Issues that have been sidelined more and more as a single candidate appears ready to claim the prize. (Has the establishment won?) I hope people like Herman Cain, Sarah Palin and others, including conservative talk radio, will continue to keep these important issues front and center.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter experience.