If You Break It…

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Former Senator and 1996 Republican Presidential candidate Bob Dole recently endorsed Marco Rubio, saying Rubio “wants to grow the party unlike [Ted] Cruz.” Dole went on to say in National Review:

We have to have a nominee, Republicans, who can bring the party together and reach out to moderates and independents and not just the far right-wing.

Although this is an admirable goal on paper, it hasn’t really worked out so well. Since Ronald Reagan, moderate Republicans won 3 out of the past 7 Presidential elections (which Dole should know considering he was one of the moderates who lost the Presidency). And the moderates who won? They both had the last name “Bush.”

Republican leadership loves to talk about attracting moderates and independents, but it tries to do it by acting more like Democrats. In a battle between real Democrats and Democrat Lite, the real Democrats will always win because they are the genuine article. Or at least as genuine as current Democrats can be.

So, this begs the question of why Republicans keep trying to be Democrat Lite when they keep losing Presidential elections using that approach. Say what you will about Ted Cruz, but he stands for something. Whether you agree with that something is immaterial to the point I’m trying to make. In fact, the rise of Donald Trump can be linked to the growing disappointment with how quickly Republican leadership rolls over for Democrats.

That’s right, kids. Trump is a monster created by…the squishiness of Republicans like Bob Dole. Of course, they won’t admit it, but they don’t need to.

But here’s the other thing Dole and his cohorts are missing. How many people would be willing to vote Republican if the GOP started acting like Republicans again? I have been greatly disappointed in Republicans in recent years because it seems most of the leadership seems to be ashamed to stand for the conservative/libertarian position. Perhaps it’s because they have spines of Jello, or maybe they’re afraid of what the media would say about them if they dared to challenge the Leftist narrative.

Guess what, kids. The media don’t care. They will continue to say whatever they want, regardless of whether it resembles the truth. Why try to curry favor with that nest of vipers? On the off chance they’ll say something nice about you (which usually only happens when these Republicans attack the ones taking a stand)?

It’s moderate Republicans like Bob Dole who broke the GOP, and unless grassroots Republicans stop settling, the party will be broken for elections to come.

There’s Something About Bernie (and Donny)

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This post may get me in a bit of hot water with frequent readers, but here goes.

Here’s a hypothetical situation for you. Let’s say there was a candidate named John Smith who decided to run for President. At first, he’s seen as a lightweight because of a decided lack of experience in the public arena. Yet, Mr. Smith overcomes this by promising the moon and the stars without actually providing specifics. The electorate, not being as informed as they should be, started listening to Mr. Smith and even agreeing. As a result, Mr. Smith gains enormous popularity with segments of the electorate and eventually wins office.

Of course, this isn’t really a hypothetical situation. It happened in 2008 with Barack Obama, and it’s happening again with Democrats and Republicans. In the blue corner, we have Bernie Sanders, an avowed socialist promising free college educations, free health care, Free Willie, and anything else that comes to mind. In the red corner, we have Donald Trump, a businessman with a penchant for controversy and promises of building a wall and having Mexico pay for it. In both cases, their followers are as fired up as they can be and believe whatever the candidate tells them. When pressed for specifics…well, let’s say neither one has solid footing.

This is a problem, kids. Although this is still the prelims, it’s getting close to the time when candidates actually have to show their work. Repeating “red meat” phrases doesn’t do that and, if anything, shows there isn’t much meat there.

And when you consider those “red meat” phrases have already come under scrutiny (progressive economists say there’s no way for Sanders’ plan to work, and Mexico has already laughed off paying for the wall), it’s time we start looking for specifics, lest we get caught up in a cult of personality.

When you consider how the last one ended up, we should be very careful right now.

The Supreme Court

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The Supreme Court has had very left leaning judges of late appointed to its ranks. Many of the recent opinions have been 5 to 4. Sometimes 5 on the Conservative side of issues and sometimes 5 on the Liberal side of issues. The very balance of the Court hangs at the edge of Liberty.

Justice Antonin Scalia, nominated by President Reagan has died. This gives President Obama an opportunity to nominate a new Justice to the Supreme Court. Many past presidents, in their last year of office, have not nominated a Justice and left this task up to the incoming president.

I firmly believe that Obama, wanting to fundamentally rebuild Amerika, will break from this tradition. He will nominate a new Justice to the Court tipping the balance from Liberty to tyranny.

And if he is blocked by the Senate he will appoint a Justice by recess appointment or some other means. This is Obama’s legacy.

Caucus Afterthoughts

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After watching the top three speeches from last night I have no doubts that I voted for the best candidate at my caucus.

Marco Rubio took advantage of his 3rd place win in Iowa. And he congratulated Ted Cruz on his victory. Rubio did talk more on the issues and still looked forward to future wins and the White House.

Donald Trump didn’t speak on the issues but did thank the people of Iowa on taking 2nd place in the caucus. Donald also thanked his good friend and fellow candidate Mike Huckabee, who dropped out of the race. Donald also congratulated Ted Cruz on his victory and was looking forward to future wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina.

By stark contrast, Ted Cruz talked endlessly about himself. Never mentioning his opponents who came in just 4 and 5 points behind him. And he took the win in Iowa as if it was a definitive landslide victory. He repeatedly called again for a coalescing of the Republican Party behind him. Again this is too early in the game for such a play by Ted or anyone. The party is not ready yet to move in that direction after just one contest. So if Ted wins in New Hampshire and South Carolina, then that talk is warranted. Otherwise waiting until the SuperTuesday results is the best time to determine who should coalesce and with whom.

Ted did thank the people of Iowa for his win. He also thank Congressman Steve King, Bob Vander Plaats of The Family Leader, who happens to be his National Co-Chair. And Steve Deace.

It’s ironic on how Ted Cruz calls for a coalescing of the Republican Party so early in the 2016 election cycle. When, in the Senate, he can’t get his own party to side with him on many issues. And none of his fellow Senators have endorsed him either … that should be a sign of how he will lead this country.

The media is just being stupid at the results of the Iowa caucus. They seem surprised. They seem confused by the results vs the polls. But they are very similar. Trump and Cruz have both polled well in Iowa. Both have held the lead in those polls. And Rubio surged ahead after the last debate before the caucus. So it comes as no surprise to me that Cruz, Trump, and Rubio took the top three spots. And they only have 5 percentage points spread between them. Hardly a clear victory for anyone.

But let’s look at some fun facts. Since 1972 three Democrats who won in Iowa moved on to become the nominee and win the White House. And two of those were Barack Obama.

On the Republican side it’s also been three who have won Iowa and became the nominee to win the White House. And in two of these, the Republican ran unopposed.

So congratulations on Ted Cruz’s win here in Iowa. If history is any lesson for us, he will not become the nominee or win the White House. But his camp can gloat in their victory and have their false sense of security while another candidate takes the nomination and the White House for the Republican Party.

Caucus Report

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I attended my caucus this evening. I am a registered Republican and of course went to my local precinct location. I arrived around a quarter after 6pm. Within the lobby area Marco Rubio had several people with signs. Inside the meeting room, Donald Trump had a good showing with buttons being handed out to anyone who wanted one. I didn’t take one for any candidate.

My precinct mostly consists of the older generation, with an average age of the caucus attendee around 55 years old. But there were a few younger couples that filtered in before the official 7pm start time.

Our caucus was held in a local church. The sanctuary was almost totally filled by 7pm. A very good showing. The highest I’ve ever seen at a caucus.

We did have a late start around 10 after the hour. The precinct chair indicated that we had people still in line who were registering as Republican before the cut off.

Our caucus proceedings opened with the Pledge of Allegiance. From there we appointed the temporary Chair and Secretary to permanent positions. And began the business of the caucus.

We had 7 speakers for the Presidential candidates. Bush, Christie, Fiorina, Gilmore, and Kasich did not have any representative at my local caucus. Not even someone from out of the area or state.

The speaker for Carson was not from our precinct. He spoke from the heart and made eye contact with everyone.

The speaker for Cruz read from a written speech. Probably one written for all the precinct speakers. He was from the area but never made eye contact with the audience.

The speaker for Huckabee got an applause before speaking. Was from the local area and made eye contact with us. She also stated good things about Trump.

The speaker for Paul got a “whoo hoo” from the crowd as he came on stage. He made eye contact and was from the area.

Rubio’s speaker had a mix of eye contact and reading from notes. A bit of bad mouthing against Trump, but not by name.

Santorum’s speaker was late due to traveling from another precinct. She is from PA, not IA and has been a long time friend of the family. Spoke without notes and made eye contact with the audience.

Lastly for the speakers was for Trump. He also had an applause before speaking. And he was making periodic eye contact while reading from notes for his speech. But he did open with a joke.

We cast our vote around 7:40pm. And then continued with other business while the vote was tallied. Electing our county central committee members, platform committee members, and delegates to the county convention in March. I am one of the delegates.

Two planks were sent on to the county convention and platform committee for consideration submitted by the precinct.

We had a record of attendance of 258 Republicans. 60 of those were newly registered either from independents or former Democrats. It’s a great showing at a presidential caucus.

The results of the voting for my precinct is as follows:

Marco Rubio (75)
Ted Cruz (68)
Donald Trump (59)
Dr Ben Carson (21)
Dr Rand Paul (10)
Jeb Bush, Chris Christie, Rick Santorum (6 each)
Carly Fiorina, John Kasich (3)
1 vote was undecided
Jim Gilmore, Mike Huckabee did not get any votes at all.

As I finish writing this report up, the results are in for the state for the Republican side. The top 5 are:

Ted Cruz (28%)
Donald Trump (24%)
Marco Rubio (23%)
Dr Ben Carson (9%)
Rand Paul (5%)

And on the Democrats are still neck and neck between Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders. Time will tell but Bernie Sanders could take it easily.

And now we have two candidates who have dropped out of the race. Martin O’Malley on the Democrat side and Mike Huckabee on the Republican side. Now its on to New Hampshire.

Grading the Candidates

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The Des Moines Register had an online scorecard to find out who one should support in the upcoming caucus. Even though I am fairly decided already, I thought I would take the quiz to see where my candidates stand.

This is of course just using the information provided in the Des Moines Register. Well known for not being kind to the conservative movement or the Republican party.

There are 9 issues and several parts to each. And you must agree or disagree with the candidates position listed. In some cased the candidate has no position listed. I will admit on these I generally gave the candidate the benefit of the doubt, but not always.

Here are my results (out of a possible score of 900)

Cruz: 830
Huckabee: 836
Carson: 786
Trump: 746
Fiorina: 696
Paul: 690
Santorum: 608
Rubio: 561
Christie: 546
Kasich: 363
Bush: 307
Sanders: 114
Clinton: 14
O’Malley: 0

Using a standard % grading scale. Cruz and Huckabee have A’s. Carson and Trump have B’s. Fiorina and Paul have C’s. Santorum, Rubio, and Christie have D’s. And the rest all have F’s.

Now these points/grades are just based alone on the Des Moines Register’s questions and information. Nothing of my own from speaking with, hearing the candidates during the debate, prayer about the candidates and gut instinct. That does change the grade.

Days before the caucus

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In the few days leading up to the first-in-the-nation Iowa Caucus. There are 5 candidates that have loyal supporters. And this is to be commended.

Of those 5 candidates, 2 will go on to become nominees for President of the United States in the 2016 election. The other 3 will not make the cut.

The problem arises on how these loyal supporters of Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Hillary Clinton, and Bernie Sanders treat the supporters of their party’s opponents.

I have seen the supporters of Cruz and Paul verbally attack the supporters of Trump. This is not a way to win friends or influence people to join your cause and switch sides to support another candidate.

I have witnessed the majority of Trump supporters ignore the taunts from Cruz/Paul supporters and instead focus on the character, record, and policies of the other candidates.

The same is true with the democrats. The supporters of Hillary do not attack the supporters of Bernie or vice versa, they attack the records and policies presented by the candidates. And this is why they usually end up winning elections. Their party isn’t attacking itself.

The worst offenders of these attacks on supporters come from the so-called Cruz evangelical camp. Their character is anything but Christian. They are the type of people that give Christianity a bad name among unbelievers and provide a poor witness to the glory of Christ.

No matter which candidate of the liberal left wins the nomination, the Democratic party will unite behind that candidate. Be it Hillary or Bernie. No Democrat will stay home because their candidate wasn’t nominated.

But on the Republican side, because the party is so blinded by internal hatred. The evangelicals will stay home and not vote if their idolized candidate is not nominated. And the Rand Paul supporters are already calling for Rand to run as a 3rd party candidate.

The loss of all these voters will give the liberals the White House once again in the general election of 2016. Four more years of failed socialist agenda and progressive polices that are anti-Christian and anti-American.

When I go to my caucus on Monday the 1st of February. I will cast my first vote in the POTUS election cycle. My vote may not be for the candidate who eventually gets the nomination. But it will be for the person I think will do the best job of bringing our country back from the brink in this darkest of hours.

And when the Republican party does finally name the nominee for President, I will put my full support behind that nominee. And it doesn’t matter which one of the candidates is named. Until that point however, I keep an open mind. Convince me by facts and truth with prayer. Not by name calling and insulting me.

Shooting the Laughter

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Humor seems to be a lost art when it comes to politics and American society these days. This is the very thing that both Dr Carson and Mr Trump have stated time and time again. We must get out of the culture of being Politically Correct.

In the past people could say things that was a joke. Sometimes in bad taste but still recognized as a joke and not something at all to be taken seriously. President Reagan’s mic test comes to mind. The one where he stated he had outlawed Russia forever and the bombing would begin in 5 minutes time.

That wasn’t politically correct at all. And possibly in bad taste. And all but the Russians understood it as a joke.

Jump ahead to the present day and we have Donald Trump giving his speech at Dort College on Saturday the 23rd where he talks about the loyalty of his supporters. There he states he could shoot someone on 5th Avenue and not loose a single vote. This again is a politically incorrect attempt at humor. A joke. Possibibly in bad taste for some. And not anything to be taken seriously by any sane and reasoning individual.

Yet the liberal media and a wide spectrum of our politically correct society is taking it very seriously. Even distorting it stating incorrectly that he said he could commit murder, which of course he did not.

This just proves the point presented by both Dr Carson and Mr Trump that our society has become too politically correct. We need to stop the madness of political correctnes new speak. And they are the only 2 candidates that aren’t afraid to be politically incorrect. It is part of their appeal.

Taking something out of context will allow anyone to prove their point and misrepresent what someone has said. Our media is well known for this as are politicians. It is used to discredit and demonize one’s opponents.

Don’t take everything seriously. Don’t get offended by everything someone says. Yes, voting and vetting the candidates is a serious mater, but have some fun along the way. Laughter is important. Know a joke when you hear one. Even if it is in bad taste.

Birther Craze

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Rafael Edward Cruz is a natural born US citizen and is eligible to become President of the United States.

Even in pre-Revolutionary times, a child born to a citizen who was living abroad was a “natural born citizen.”

That is the only way to be a natural born citizen of the United States. One or both parents must be citizens. If they are not, then the child is not a citizen either. The child inherits the citizenship of the parents.

And to clarify this position, “natural born” includes but is not limited to: breech born, cesarean section, induced and any other method that may be used. The child can also be born at home, a hospital, or anywhere else for that matter, even Canada.

As long as one or both parents are citizens of the United States at the time of birth, then the child will also be a citizen of the United States. It’s very simple to understand.

However, if a child is born to illegal alien immigrants, legal residents on a visa, foreign tourists, or recent legal immigrants. Then the child is not a citizen of the United States. There are no anchor babies. The 14th Amendment to the Constitution was not and does not apply to children who’s parents are not citizens.

For those children who are born in the United States from recent legal immigrants who have applied for citizenship and have not yet been granted it. A court order can give those children natural born citizenship status after the parents become citizens.

So Senator Cruz, like Obama, is a natural born citizen of the United States. And he is eligible to be President.

Coalescing Nonsense

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Some leaders in the conservative movement are calling for a coalescing around one particular candidate, and the Iowa Caucus is still two weeks away.

Those in favor of coalescing right now like to talk about poll numbers of the other candidates. I think these so-called leaders need a bit of a history lesson. The Gallup Poll showed Jimmy Carter winning the 1980 election by 8 points just two days before the vote. But that wasn’t the outcome two days later. It was a landslide victory for Ronald Reagan. Polls and statistics can prove any conclusion you want them to prove, just manipulate the data.

This kind of “slappy” support is madness and a sign of desperation from that particular campaign. The Republican field is still full of exceptional candidates that we can all get behind. Let’s save the coalescing until after the big three caucus/primary states cast their first votes in Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina.

Once the first set of votes are in, that is when we will see some of the candidates drop from the race. They will give their support to another candidate and urge their supporters to do the same.

That is when we need to start coalescing. And we must continue to do so until a nominee is named. Once we have a nominee, then we must give that candidate 100% of our support and votes. Staying home is not an option in this election. And staying home is a vote for Hillary and the Liberal American death machine.