It's Just A Website

Recently, Pat Corso of Partners on Progress floated the idea to our County Commissioners of a website. This website would be used to attract industry to our county. 

It sounds great. Of course the next step was money. Corso wanted close to $100,000 to get the website up and running. According to a report from 990 WEEB, two of the commissioners, Larry Caddell and Randy Saunders, voiced financial support for the project. 

Let's start on the obvious. Government is not very good at running websites. The next concern is practicality. We have a Chamber of Commerce and a Partners in Progress. They have their own budgets and websites. Why spend more taxpayer dollars on something that is unnecessary? Lastly, I doubt that a website is going to be our economic Field of Dreams. I don't think that the folks at IBM are going to move here because of a web page. 

The request was pulled before the meeting this past Tuesday night. Thankfully some of our commissioners used their common sense and good judgement. Government can attract industries with low taxes, good infrastructure, good schools, and public safety. We don't need gravy train subsidies or websites. Like I said the last thing we need is a government built website. 

Can't Fix Stupid.

Conservatives' predictions of disaster about Obamacare have come true. I would love nothing better than to gloat, but that is not what America needs. America needs salvation from this travesty of a law. 

The law is so unpopular that it's chief architect, President Obama, is trying to take his name off of the law. The Democrats are panicking and with good reason. 

The GOP needs to make 2014 about Obamacare. They need to hang this albatross around the necks of Congressional Democrats. I believe that as more Americans see their insurance plans canceled they will turn to the GOP in 2014. 

If the GOP will stop fighting each other and start focusing on the real enemy, Obama and his liberal agenda, then they can win in 2014. However the GOP needs one clear message. Repeal Obamacare and institute real reform. 

There are some that say we can fix it. To those I say, you can't fix stupid. This law is fundamentally flawed. The rollout is just another example of big government incompetence. This is one pig that you can't put lipstick on. 

GOP candidates need to run on a clear common sense agenda of repealing Obamacare, reducing spending, reforming entitlements, and restoring our greatness at home and abroad. The GOP needs to stop thinking like Washington and start thinking like common sense Americans. If they do they will win in 2014. If not,blike I said you can't fix stupid. 

Government is not supposed to create jobs

It seems that all you hear about at all levels of government is that government needs to create jobs. I can't tell you how many times I have heard members of both parties talk about how the government needs to create jobs. The last time I checked the only jobs government should have any role in is hiring government employees. I would also argue we have too many government employees.
The goal of government should be to make sure that the climate is good for business. Taxes and regulations should be low, so that businesses have more capital to expand and invest in creating jobs. Again the private sector or the free market creates jobs. Many times when you hear of government creating jobs is where there are tax breaks or subsidies or grants.
These types of things create a false market. Just look at our agriculture system. If the government eliminated all the subsidies it would cause the agriculture market to plummet because the market or a great majority of it would have been removed. When the free market is allowed to work then jobs and industries thrive based on what the people or the market wants. The government at this point is propping many industries that would fail in the market place but are propped up by tax breaks and subsidies.
A perfect example of this would be "green" energy companies. Many of them are sustained only by the tax payer's dime. We have seen the scandals of Solyndra, and Green Tech. Our government, under the guise of creating jobs, is spending tax payer dollars on things that in many cases would fail otherwise.
Another example would be the film making industry. For years in NC, there have been "incentives" to bring Hollywood here to film projects. Now that these incentives are going away, there is a possibility that those jobs are not coming here again. That is fine. Government in NC should focus on reducing the heavy tax burden on NC businesses and reduce regulation and let the market work it's will. Throwing money at businesses and basically bribing them to do business with you is not good for our economy or for our wallets.
Another example is when we give tax breaks to companies or subsidies to do things they normally wouldn't do. I don't think we should be giving billions in "incentives" to oil companies or any company for that matter. If they want to expand let them use their private capital and pay for it. This is why we need to reduce taxes and regulations so businesses will have more capital. Now we tax them almost to failure and then prop them up with tax payer dollars. That is wrong, stupid, and insane.
We even see it here locally. Recently, our Moore County Commissioners gave $15,500 in a matching amount for a state grant for improvements so that a company can add more jobs. The name of the company is International Tray Pads and Packaging. This is a very successful company who could afford, if it was worth it, to put up the money themselves. Instead our state and three of our county commissioners agreed to spend tax payer dollars on something that government should have no business doing. I will link to the story so you can read how three commissioners on our local county board wasted our tax dollars under the guise of "creating jobs".
I wrote a while back that the gravy train had to stop. This is another perfect example of how our government at all levels has lost it's constitutional priorities. They are interested in spending money on pet projects, political favors, and "jobs" because it translates into votes. This is greed. They want to stay in power. So they spend tax payer dollars to stay in power. It is pay to play politics and it is on both sides of the aisle. It needs to stop. We need to get government out of the market and get government out of the gravy train and pork barrel spending business.


http://www.thepilot.com/news/article_3e794962-003a-11e3-9bcb-001a4bcf6878.html

Delay or defund

The GOP is locked in a battle of tactics. You have the conservative wing, led by Mike Lee, who believe that defunding Obamacare could be done through the CR to fund the government. There are some issues with this tactic. First the GOP needs all Republican Senators to vote to defund Obamacare. Right now there are just over a dozen who have committed to vote this way. There are several including Richard Burr who have said they will not sign onto such an effort.  So at this point it looks like we won't get all GOP senators. Then the next problem is that we would need a few democrats to vote against the President and vote to defund Obamacare. There is no democrat who will do this. So conceivably this tactic may be great, but in reality it is tough to enact. 

The next tactic is to delay. Grover Norquist and other conservative groups have sent a letter, encouraging our leaders to delay the laws implementation. Karl Rove and many other GOP leaders are advocating this delay tactic. They feel that if we delay and avoid a government shutdown that the Senate will be in GOP hands after the 2014 elections. There are some holes in this tactic as well. There is no guarantee of victory in 2014. Even if the GOP did gain a majority it would fall short of the sixty vote threshold to pass legislation. Even if the defund Obamacare  movement was successful after the 2014 elections, the President would veto it and the GOP doesn't have enough votes to override his veto. 

Conservatives are pushing the defund Obamacare option for several reasons. First they feel that this is the best opportunity to stop the law. They also are tired of past GOP promises that have never come to fruition. Much of the anger we see in this debate, and rightfully so, is from past betrayals. 

The GOP leadership wants to delay. They feel that a government shutdown will spell disaster for republicans in the 2014 elections. 

In the end it is a gamble. Either we can try and in Paul Ryan's words, "swing for the fences", or we can take the safe route. 

There is no guaranteed outcome. My personal opinion is to try to defund. We have got to try and do all we can. Playing it safe has gotten us nowhere. Romney was the safe choice. Picking the safe route here will dispirit the base and will send everyone a message that the GOP is weak. I don't mind swinging for the fences. I may strike out but at least I took my cuts and tried. I hope our GOP leadership will do the same. 

Tillis needs to copy Moore County

Recently on his Twitter and Facebook accounts, NC House speaker Thom Tillis has been touting the new budget. He highlights that we are spending more money on education than when the liberal democrats were in the majority. The speaker is clearly trying to appear moderate. He is running for US Senate, and he wants voters to think that he is for the children. 

I think that the legislature did some good things, but the budget still increased spending. You would think that with a GOP led legislature, that spending might actually have gone down. Tillis is sounding like the liberal democrats when he proclaims that we are spending more like it is a good thing. Speaker Tillis and the rest of the NCGA need to study what our Moore County board of commissioners have been doing. 

Moore County has made investments in education, water infrastructure, and public safety. They did this while reducing property taxes and reducing spending through various methods. Instead of simply moving the money around to different places, the GOP led legislature needs to start looking at ways to actually reduce spending. 

Thom Tillis is running for Senate. NC does not need to elect another establishment politician. We see how that has turned out for our nation. There is another candidate running named Greg Brannon who sound like the kind of conservative we haven't had in Washington since Jesse Helms. We need to take a serious look at alternatives in this race. In Washington, Raleigh, and Moore County we need to have leaders who are committed to fiscal responsibility which means less taxes, less spending and more prosperity. At the local level we are on the right track. We still have a lot of work to do at the state  and federal levels. I do know that voting for Thom Tillis is a vote for six years of more of the same. This is a primary, we don't have to settle. 

True Bipartisanship

There is a myth, perpetuated by the liberal left and the media, that Conservatives and the TEA party are obstructionists. That they are mean spirited and are uncouth. I would first argue that the same individuals who say this are those who do not condemn individuals like Charlie Rangel who called TEA partiers "same old white crackers" who wanted segregration. The liberals will say not word of condemnation for these hateful comments. Conservatives should be used to the double standard but I think we need to address a term that keeps getting brought up, bipartisanship.
The Liberals definition of bipartisanship is the GOP forsaking it's conservative base and allowing the liberal agenda to go on unchecked. The liberals liked the GOP when it was run by moderates like Gerald Ford and Nelson Rockefeller. The liberal agenda went through unchecked and republicans lived off the crumbs the liberals threw them. When the conservative revolutions of 1964, 1980, 1994, and 2010 happened the liberals started using this tactic. Saying that the conservatives were being obstructionists and were being too partisan. That is liberal speak for we are not laying down and they don't like opposition. 

I hope that the Republicans will unite behind Ted Cruz and Mike Lee in defunding Obamacare. It's time for a united conservative movement that brings in all the elements of the movement. Libertarians, defense hawks, social conservatives, and all the other factions need to stand together against the liberal agenda. 

Ronald Reagan stood for conservative principles yet he could get along with Tip O' Neill. Jesse Helms fought vigorously for his conservative principles yet his two closest friends in the senate were liberals Hubert Humphrey and Paul Wellstone. There is nothing wrong with disagreement. There is nothing wrong with using every legislative tool at your disposal to enact, improve, or hold up legislation. We can be conservatives and fight against liberalism without being disagreeable or mean. 

I hope we as conservatives will never shrink from our principles. I hope we will never shrink from a fight or a challenge. We need bold conservative solutions to our nation, state, and local problems. If we fear what the liberal media says and buy into their version of bipartisanship we will never know the prosperity we once did or achieve an even greater future for the next generation. No apologies, no compromise when it comes to standing up for our conservative principles and our Constitution. 

Tail Wagging the Dog

It seems like the Moore County Board of Education has gone from bad to worse. When superintendent Susan Purser was here the stories of scarce budgets and teary pleas from overhyped PTA moms abounded. Of course our local rag never reported the fact that the county commissioners fully funded their requests. They never reported that instead of investing in the class room Dr. Purser hired more bureaucrats who got close to six figure salaries and vehicles and other waste and inefficiency. 

The arrival of new superintendent Aaron Spence could have been a promising reset to the Board. That is all gone now. Aaron Spence and Mike Griffin are on a spending spree the likes of which are unparalleled in our county. They are spending millions of dollars on lap tops and electronic smart boards. They botched the Academy Heights School closing and they also have continued to beat the drums of higher taxes and higher spending. They are spending money on training the associate superintendents to become superintendents. Translation, we the taxpayers are subsidizing the training of people who will leave and work somewhere else. Many of the bureaucrats and other employees get excessive benefits like vehicle pay. 

They have safety and emergency plans drawn up by their technology office who has no public safety experience and yet they will be coming to the board of commissioners for more money for their school police force. The leadership of our schools are in the hands of people who want to raise our taxes and spend more and more with no accountability or oversight. Now the rumors are floating around that they want yet another bond issue and potentially more taxes to pay for it. 

We need our school board to start asking some questions. What kind of long term plan do we have? Where is there waste and inefficiency? What bureaucratic positions can be cut? Don't our plans for emergencies need to be in consultation with the sheriff's office and public safety professionals? We need the board to stop being "yes" people and actually be in charge. Aaron Spence and Mike Griffin work for the board not the other way around. 

I hope the board will wake up and realize that if they keep being passive, Aaron Spence will lead our local education system into more debt, more waste, and inferior results. You and your children deserve better. Come on School Board. Wake up and do your job. Talk about the tail wagging the dog. In 2014 there are four seats up for election. Sounds like there is a need for new management. 

Don't just move the money around

With the GOP in control of the Governor's mansion, and the legislative chambers you would have thought that the budget would have, oh I don't know, shrunk. It was a good budget in that it reduces taxes, and reduces regulation, and all the other talking points, but it still was more than the budget last year. In a time when families and individuals are tightening their belts it is hard to rejoice when the Republicans pass a budget that spends more when we should be spending less. 

I was looking over 2012-2013 appropriations projections for NC DOT. I was just thinking how much money we could potentially save if we privatized the state DOT. The total funding for the state DOT was tabbed at $5.2 billion. The actual expenditure for the previous year was $4.7 billion. The majority of those expenditures were external payments to the tune of $3,389,560,193.00. So basically we at the state level are already sending the majority of our tax dollars to state so they can outsource to private companies who do the majority of the work. The house and the Senate should seriously hold hearings and studies to show how much could we save the taxpayer if we privatized the state DOT. We could save, again based off of older figures, $739,457,867.00 in internal DOT labor and employee costs. We could also save on the need for more bureaucrats and administrative costs. In the appropriation projection for 2012-2013, $314,000,000.00 was spent on administration. If we privatized the DOT, I am sure we could cut a significant chunk of spending from that appropriation. My point is that the state needs to take a serious look at what we are spending and see if we can cut areas of waste and inefficiency. The recent scandal with the NC Rural Board is a prime example of how public money is being wasted.

North Carolina has the highest gas tax in the southeast, let alone the nation. I appreciate the state's effort to cap it again, but quite frankly the cap keeps going up it seems. We need to be looking into ways to reduce the state's gas tax to give NC families some relief and also make us more competitive with our neighbors in South Carolina and Virginia. I am not saying that the privatization process will work but it is worth some hearings and some research. 

The republicans control the purse strings and we must take advantage of this rare opportunity to actually reduce expenditures and reduce the burden of government on the taxpayers of NC. It is not enough to cut taxes, do some ribbon cuttings, and talk tough. We still need to reduce state spending in areas where we can. I hope that next year the House, Senate, and the Governor will make it a priority to reduce the size and the spending of government. Looking into privatizing services, reductions in personnel, and cutting waste should be made a top priority. Cutting taxes was a great start, but now it is time to start cutting spending. 

Related links:

http://www.ncdot.gov/download/about/finance/NCDOTProjectedUsesofAppropriationsSFY2013.pdf

http://www.ncdot.gov/download/about/finance/NCDOTFundingSourcesSFY2013.pdf

http://www.ncdot.gov/download/about/finance/NCDOTTotalExpendituresSFY2012.pdf

http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/31/3073272/lee-resigns-as-chair-of-rural.html

Cowpens or Waterloo

The fight that is going in Washington within the Republican Party over whether to defund Obamacare through the continuing resolution to fund the government is heating up. The Conservatives led by Senators Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul are trying to strike a real blow to this disastrous law. While the moderates led by Senators John McCain, Tom Coburn, Richard Burr, and Lindsey Graham are scared to shut down the government and risk political defeat. In other words they would like to keep talking the talk, but when it comes time to do something substantive they save their political rear ends.
The outcome of this battle could not only determine the fate of our nation's future, it will also decide the direction of the Republican Party. The choice is simple. Will the Republicans Party, and it's establishment join the conservatives and fight for our freedoms, or will they be democrat lite style party? That question will decide if the Republican Party will either be a viable party or whether a third party option is the only way for conservatives to advance the agenda of freedom and liberty.
I have always been a republican, but lately I am beginning to feel that conservative ideals and principles are not a priority of the leadership. The establishment wants to talk the language of the Tea Party and conservatives, but when it gets down to brass tacks they run for the hills. The truth is conservatives have had to fight the GOP establishment from the beginning. Whether it was fighting to get Barry Goldwater to be the GOP nominee in 1964 over the liberal Nelson Rockefeller, or the 1976 primary battle between the conservative Ronald Reagan and the liberal Gerald Ford, conservatism has always had to fight the establishment. Supposedly we are on the same side. I no longer believe that. The line has been drawn.
On one side you have the Liberals, and moderate republicans who all crave one thing, power. On the other side you have conservatives, Tea Partiers, libertarians, and many others who want to reduce the role of government and live under our Constitution in freedom. There is no in between. Either you want to defend freedom and advance the cause of liberty or you want to advance the power of the state. Those who are moderate or who are in between are by their complacency advancing the agenda of the liberals and statists.
This battle can be the turning point for the  Republican Party in one of two ways. If the GOP will unite behind these conservative senator's efforts to defund Obamacare and not waver, then it could be our version of the Battle of Cowpens. The Battle of Cowpens was a Revolutionary War battle that was won by the Continental Army. The battle is considered to be a crucial turnaround in the battle against Britain. If Republicans hold and decide to stand up for freedom no matter what, than I believe it will turn the tide and lead to future victories in the battle for freedom.
If the GOP establishment wins and the party continues down the path of surrender and compromise, then it will be our Battle of Waterloo. I don't have to explain what that means. It will be the end of the GOP as a viable option for conservatives. If we lose this fight, then I believe the discussion of a third party should be considered seriously. Many say that this kind of talk is crazy or extreme. I think that actually doing something different and trying to save our country is more reasonable and sane than those that advocate the same activities while expecting a different result. The last time I checked that was the definition of insanity. Let's hope that the GOP leadership will finally stop the insanity of compromise and surrender and actually fight for our conservative values for a change.

Why being pro-life is still important

Many people across the United States for the last thirty years or more have been hearing the debate of abortion. Many republicans and even many Americans are wondering is it time to ease up and maybe stop talking about abortion. The reality is that unless a complete miracle happens, the Supreme Court will never overturn Roe vs Wade. The options going forward are these. We can try to pass a constitutional amendment at the Federal level and try to have it ratified by the states. The next option would be to fight abortion on the state level, like the legislation recently passed out of the Texas and North Carolina Legislatures. These state laws are not taking away the "right" to an abortion but rather regulating it and making it harder to do. I favor the latter approach because it is easier to accomplish and can be accomplished in a quicker manner than the former method. Regardless of the tactics we choose, there will always be an increasing drumbeat, of liberals and moderates alike, to drop the pro-life agenda from the Republican Party. Some say that in this day in time with issues going on in the world and in our nation with the economy and our national debt, that abortion is a side show and a losing issue to run on. I could not disagree more. 

"We hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness" These words were written by Thomas Jefferson in our Declaration of Independence. This document was a statement that laid the foundation for the kind of government that our Constitution would form. It would be a government that realized that man has certain rights that no man or government shall infringe on. The first of these "unalienable" rights was Life. Government's job is to protect life. Government's job is not to condone or allow the whims or desires of some to trump the God given rights that everyone who has ever lived deserves and is entitled. 

The purpose of our government should be to protect life. Whether that life is in it's first moments, at conception, to the moment that the individual takes it's last breath. The only time that a life should be ended prematurely is when an individual decides to murder an innocent human being. Then the state should execute swift justice upon the person who is convicted by a jury of their peers, and only after the convicted has been given equal justice under the law. 

The Supreme Court in 1973, in the Roe v Wade decision, held that a human being had the protection under the 14th amendment, to terminate another human being legally. This was one of the most egregious and disgusting blows dealt to the rights of human beings in the annals of history. Millions upon millions of babies, since that awful decision, have perished. If you have ever read the 14th amendment, you will see that there is no "right" to an abortion in the amendment. The seven liberal justices on the court proceeded to, under the due process clause, write in our government charter the "right" to kill another human life. It is a blot on our nation's conscience and character that can never be purged. 

If the same government that has condoned and allowed the murder of millions of babies is allowed to go unchallenged, then what is to stop them from instituting "death panels" in the new health care law. Where does it end. The sanctity of life should be protected by government. End of story. If we do not have a government that can do this, than that government is well on it's way to a totalitarian state if it isn't there already.  

Liberty, our founding documents and principles should never be forsaken, The fight to protect the "unalienable" right to life should never be surrendered. With all our might and all our strength we should fight for our rights. Those rights are not given by government, but by Almighty God. The same energy that we conservatives and libertarians devote to the second amendment should be devoted to the fight to save the unborn. If there ever was a fight worth fighting it is fight to preserve and protect the right to life. If that right is not worth fighting for than all other rights are worthless. If we give up on this, than we have lost, not only our party, but our nation.  

Stop the gravy train!

     I don't know how many times I have heard a politicians of both parties talk about how grants are "free money". It not only shows the naivete of many of those who hold positions of authority, it also shows the avarice and greed that permeates our government. Everyone seems to be conservative until you try to deny them a piece of the pie. Many in our party are fiscally conservative, unless it's a library with their name on it or a grant to their cronies back home. Then many of the "conservatives" turn into liberals in a skinny minute.
     Government has no money of it's own. Any money that government gets is from you the people. So if you ever hear someone say that it is "free money" or government money, you just cut them off and tell them that it is your money not theirs. Whenever you hear about these grants, many times it is your tax dollars that has been passed up the chain to Washington or Raleigh. Then that money is distributed back down again, many times acting as political favors and voter payoffs. It would astound us to know the amount of money from North Carolina tax payers that has been sent to buy votes in California or elsewhere. It would be hilarious if it wasn't so unethical.
     I have no problem with paying taxes to receive services, like a military, infrastructure, education, and so forth. I do have a problem with government being involved in so many facets of my life that they take yours and my hard earned dollars and then redistribute it to whomever they wish like it's a game of monopoly. We need to keep as much of our money from government as possible. When we do give it up, that money needs to be primarily at the local and state levels.
     Why not have a government, limited in scope, that only needed enough money to do what our constitution says it should do, and then leave the rest to the states and to the local governments. Sounds too simple I guess. The sad thing is that it seems like no one wants to be the first to say no. Many politicians say that they agree with the above statements and are against ear marks and redistribution, but as long as the system keeps going they are going to use it.
     What we need is some patriots to stand up and say that the redistribution of tax dollars from the bureaucrats in Washington needs to stop. We need to pay only what was is necessary to our federal government, what it takes to fulfill their Constitutional role and nothing else. In keeping with the 10th amendment, we need to keep all powers at the state level not spelled out to the federal government. That means not only can we shrink the scope of our federal government, we could also shrink the financial burden as well.
     I think it is so sad that our Constitution is the only charter our government has for existing, yet if you mention it you are looked at like you are speaking gibberish. Regardless of the perceptions of liberals and elites, we must never forsake those great principles and laws. We must, as conservatives, explain these precepts, and defend them at all costs. We can start by ending the gravy train. America is buried, if you'll allow me to coin the phrase, in grants tomb. We are buried under a mountain of debt and we don't need to be. I think it's time for a revival or a resurrection if you will. It starts today with working at the local level to get local candidates in office who share these values. It continues at the state and federal levels with electing officials who want to limit their power instead of increase it. Let's get going!

Education- The Forgotten Battlefield

     Over the last election cycles, conservatives have realized the fact that the we are losing our once solid majority. I would argue that John McCain and Mitt Romney are hardly our strongest voices. Regardless, America seems to be turning more to the left or at least liberal ideas are becoming more accepted. The question of why, cannot be answered by a poll or a study. The answer can be answered in one word, education.
     For years education has been a issue dominated by the liberal left. They claim they are on the side of teachers and students. They claim that they want to build up our public schools, in contrast to those mean Republicans who want to turn everything to private schools. Sadly, we have just let the stereotyping proceed without objection. The liberals have established a stronghold on academia in most of our universities and schools. They have taken over the curriculum's and centralized control in Washington. The end result of these actions is that our children for generations have been taught liberal theories and ideology. These children have grown up and are now voting. We see the fruit of our liberal education system. For too long the education system has been ignored. That needs to change.
     Conservatives have a real vision for our education system. It starts with giving the control of our education system back to the states and local school boards. I think it's funny that liberals abhor what they call "trickle down economics", yet their education policies are "trickle down education". It makes no sense to send our tax dollars to Washington when we can keep those dollars here locally. Government works best when it is closest to the people.
This decentralization approach will not only give the power back to the people, it will also save millions of your hard earned dollars. Imagine the money we could save by eliminating the Department of Education. Imagine all the savings we could gain by eliminating the overhead of the Washington bureaucracy. That sounds good doesn't it? Not only does localization give more freedom to you the parents and students, it will save millions of dollars. In these times of deficits and debt, this is not only a moral solution, but a economical one as well.
     Then the states need to let the majority of the education decisions be made by local schools boards.I would much rather have the parents making the decisions at the local level then a bureaucrat in Washington or Raleigh. That leads to the next thing that needs to change. Parents need to be more involved in their children's education. We as parents should not hand our children off to the state and expect them to do our job. We should not only be able to choose where we send our child to school, but we should also make sure we have a say in what they are taught. One of the great problems is that parents have been sidelined. The state has replaced the parents and sadly the parents have let it happen. We as citizens need to demand more of ourselves. If we abdicate our parental and social responsibilities, the government will fill the void, and we know what the end of that is.
     The strategy has to be broad. We need conservatives in Washington who will not be swayed by the powerful education lobby. The Department of Education needs to be abolished. Once that is done then we will need Governors and State legislators who will give the necessary power to the school boards. Then we will need conservatives elected to our local school board. Local school boards can then let the parents have a say in the curriculum. Local school boards can eliminate the waste of too much bureaucracy and make sure the money gets to the teachers, their assistants, and the classrooms. This process will take time, which is why today this strategy needs to be enacted now. Our future as a nation depends on it. It is not too late. Conservatives must get back in the fight on our own terms on education. The strategy is simple.
1. Localization.
2. Less money to bureaucrats, more money to teachers and classrooms.
3. More parental involvement in curriculum and standards.
4. Accountability through school choice.
5. Schools should teach, not indoctrinate.
     The platform is simple and effective. The task is great, but anything worth doing always is. If we want to turn the tide, we need to get back to the forgotten battlefield.

Time to Choose.

Many conservatives are leery of Speaker Thom Tillis and his run for the Senate. There a host of reasons, ranging from his connections to Richard Morgan, his strong arm tactics in the legislature, and his willingness to let conservative principles get watered down. Tillis is a middle of the road Republican who will probably be another Richard Burr. What that means is that we will have a Senator that we agree with most of the time, but every now and again he'll vote in a way that will make us pull our hair out. Is that what we need? I don't think so. Like Richard Burr and his vote on the Don't ask, don't tell legislation. 

I do not argue the fact that Tillis would be a better deal than Kay Hagan. I do argue that if we are going to replace a liberal, than why not replace them with someone who is conservative. Why replace Hagan, if all we are going to get in her place is an establishment republican who will defend the status quo. What we need in Washington is not moderation or lukewarmness. What we need in this dark hour is a bold choice. Someone who will fight the special interests, cut spending, reduce taxes, and fight for our constitutional rights. Now more than ever, we do not need to settle. At the end of the day we should support the winner of this US Senate Primary, but until that day comes we should look at all of the options. 

One of those options for consideration is a man by the name of Greg Bannon. I will not waste your time with details. You can go to his website at the bottom of this page and read for yourself what kind of man he is. All I am saying is that we should not close our minds to the possibility of considering someone who is outside the establishment. 

Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, and Jim DeMint are examples of great senators who are outside the political establishment. They turned out good. They were able to win even when the establishment in the GOP and the media had declared they did not stand a chance. Now is the time to research and study. I know it seems like there is a lot of time between now and May 2014, but time flies. We need to find the best conservative candidate and fight as hard as we can. I believe that Greg Bannon could be that person. According to the latest PPP poll, Bannon actually polls better than Tillis against Kay Hagan. Now it is only by one point and Hagan leads by a wide margin, but there is a lot of time. This poll shows that regardless of the choice it will be a uphill battle and we need to be ready. I believe that a conservative like Greg Bannon would fare better than Tillis. I do know that Tillis is not the conservative choice. If you want the status quo and more of the same frustration we have seen out of the establishment GOP than go ahead and support Tillis. If you want a true conservative, than at least research Greg Bannon. Now more than ever we need true conservatives. Now is not the time to settle. Either we can choose a conservative or vote for another RINO like Lindsey Graham, John McCain, and the list goes on. It's up to you. 

Related links:

http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/kay-hagan-senate-race-2014-94333.html?hp=f2

http://gregbrannon.com/

http://dailyhaymaker.com/?p=3812

Amnesty is not Reform

     Immigration reform continues to dominate the headlines. You can hardly turn on your radio, TV, or web browser without seeing something about immigration. On the one side you have the left. The lefties want open borders and flat out amnesty. This position will not only satisfy the aim of many on the left to see the number of people on social programs skyrocket, but also will benefit the left politically. It is just common sense. Many of the individuals who are here illegally would benefit from the programs that liberals hold and promote so dear. The Democratic party is basically buying votes and this is another chapter in the Liberal playbook. It has been used by the Democratic party since President Franklin Roosevelt cemented the different factions of the democratic party, paid for by the tax payer, with his New Deal. Democrats, led by President Obama, are now reliving the glory days of the New Deal, with their own version. This began with the healthcare takeover. I refuse to use reform, since reform conjures up images of improvement. The democratic agenda is an unashamed and unabashed acceptance of communist and totalitarian principles. The great sadness is that many people will vote for these principles under the guise of compassion, fairness, and moderation. Nothing could be further than the truth. If the liberal democrats get there way we will have no borders, and any chance of national relevance for the opposition, aka conservatives, will be gone. 

     Sadly, many Republicans are buying into the myth that we can have immigration reform without enforcement. Senator Marco Rubio has become the spokesman for the liberals and moderate republicans. Senator Rubio insists that this is not amnesty. Don't you believe a word of it. We can't trust this government and we can not trust this administration. We have seen the promises of the 1986 Simpson-Rizzoli Act only to see our laws ignored and millions of illegal aliens coming into our country. Republicans in the US House must send a clear message. Enforcement of our laws and border. Once that is done we can talk about the reform of our actual immigration process. 

     Republicans foolishly believe that if they put their stamp on amnesty then they will benefit from the voting power of the largest minority group. Studies show that after a Republican president, Reagan, and a Republican senator, Simpson, passed amnesty in 1986, Republicans share of the Latino vote has decreased not increased. I am not saying that Republicans should pass legislation based on political motivations. I believe that this bill is wrong and immoral and complete waste of time. However, I know how politicians think. Getting elected is always on there minds regardless of party. This is why the republicans are thinking about this. What I am saying is that even putting this bill in the political context, it still doesn't make sense. 

     In these times we need to not lay down our values and principles. Rather, we need to embrace the values of our Constitution and our conservative principles. If we do not we will not achieve political victory. If we compromise with the liberals on this issue, we will be a minority party for the duration. You can count on it. Call your congressional representative and let them know that we do not want amnesty. 

Related Links for this post:

http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2012/11/07/gop-outreach-to-hispanics-wont-work/

http://dailycaller.com/2013/06/12/if-the-gop-is-this-stupid-it-deserves-to-die/

http://blog.heritage.org/2013/06/24/morning-bell-10-problems-with-the-gang-of-eight-immigration-bill/