Posted on 10/25/2012 2:45:29 PM PDT by Taxman
No, the title of this piece is not intended merely to be an attention-grabber. I really, really mean it. I have written a lot of things over the years, and I have felt (and continue to feel) very strongly about a lot of things. But as we enter the very final stretch of the 2012 Presidential election, I have to make one last stab at articulating the crucial nature of voting Barack Obama out of office. The reality of our two-party system means that if my last sentence is correct (and it is), then so is this sentence: It is of dire significance that we vote FOR Gov. Mitt Romney.
I am not writing this piece for those on the far left. I hope many of you will stay home and sit this election out, as you surely must be very disappointed with your President, who has not closed Gitmo, who has ordered 10x the drone attacks that President Bush ever ordered, who orchestrated the assassination of a man (Osama bin Laden) without a trial, who extended all of the Bush tax cuts for two years when he had the majority in both chambers, who passed health care legislation that was stripped of the public option, who never even proposed immigration reform to the Congress, who spent 275 days of his Presidency opposed to gay marriage, who has still not ended the war in Afghanistan, who has never passed a budget (or received a vote for one) … That’s right – as contemptible as I find the President to be, I can only imagine what you far leftists must think. Yikes. What a disappointment. And if it isn’t, what a bunch of hypocrites and posers you are.
I am also not writing this piece for folks like me on the right. We know that class warfare is a recipe for failure. We know that Obama loathes the principles that have made America great. We know that his Supreme Court appointments have been an utter embarrassment. We are well aware of the path to fiscal ruin this President has our country on. There is no need to convince you of his disdain for an American footprint in the world. We know the failures of his stated energy policies. We know that he views the tax code as a means of forcing his version of social justice upon society. We have seen the laughingstock appointments he has made in Steven Chu, Eric Holder, Van Jones, and countless others. And most importantly, we know the doom for America that his signature legislation represents – the atrocity that is ObamaCare. We conservatives do not need to be talked into fearing an Obama re-election. In fact, I have been very restrained in keeping this paragraph short.
This article is, instead, for those who are just simply not enthused about voting for Mitt Romney. You may not be thrilled with the idea of voting for Barack Obama, and in fact, you may be repulsed by it. However, for any number of reasons, you feel uncomfortable with a vote for Romney, and are considering sitting this one out or voting for a third-party candidate. It could be the Mormonism of Gov. Romney you do not like, or it could be his various position changes over the years (most notably on abortion). Particularly in states like Nevada, Ohio, Colorado, and Wisconsin, your non-vote for Romney could very well put Obama back in the White House for an additional four years. You are the target audience of this article.
I am not going to defend every single piece of Mitt Romney’s record. I have spent a little time with the Governor over the last few years, and I have found him to be an extremely bright and knowledgeable man, but I would not say that ideological conservatism runs through his veins. I doubt he grew up reading Hayek, Kirk, and Buckley. For those of you who are devout evangelicals or Roman Catholics, you are well aware of the differences in his religious viewpoint from yours. He has some stinker votes out there, and he has changed his position on a couple key issues over the years. It is not possible for me to claim he is a perfect man, or a perfect candidate. But I will suggest to you that the negativity some feel towards him is perhaps misguided …
The most common objection lodged against him is his reputation as a “moderate” when he governed the state of Massachusetts. When a Republican Governor is elected head of Ted Kennedy’s state, and asked to serve over an 82% Democratic legislature, I would suggest to you that a little grace and understanding are in order. If you evaluate each and every action he took as the Governor of that state, you will find (as I did) that he was constantly moving his state to the right, even if it never went as far right as you and I may prefer. He is a true incrementalist, and he moved the ball in the right direction, which I believe is what we elect leaders to do.
I would spend more time on the abortion flip-flop except for the fact that I have no doubt that his “pretend position” was when he was pro-choice, not when he became pro-life again. It is inconceivable that he and his devout Roman Catholic pro-life Vice-Presidential selection, Paul Ryan, would select judges who set the pro-life cause back. I have been wrong on issues in the past, and so have you. I encourage you not to hold it against a candidate that before he was right on an issue, he once was wrong. That is backwards thinking, is it not?
I have written in the past of the very limited things a President can actually do. He cannot restore the size of government to the “right size” many of us wish it to be. He can, though, work diligently and intelligently to get the right things done. I would suggest that some of those crying needs of the hour are exactly what Romney will do, and do phenomenally well. He will work with Congress to reform (but not perfect) the tax code. He will reverse the direction of the budget deficit, even if he will not solve it entirely.
The direction he will take the fiscal state of our country vs. Obama is the most important issue in this election. He will flatten the tax rates, which undeniably spurs economic growth, all the while cleaning up many of the silly and price-distorting deductions that have to be reformed (I learned this from Obama’s former economic czar, Christina Romer, by the way). He will assemble a team of competent cabinet members, as he has done his entire career (do any of Romney’s critics want to criticize his eye for talent at Bain Capital, or in Salt Lake City, or in the Governor’s mansion?). Obama has filled his cabinet with cronies, fools, and extremists. This distinction alone is enough to show up and vote.
I do not believe we will run a budget surplus in four years, and I do not believe abortion will be criminalized at the end of Romney’s first term. What I do believe is this: At this time, at this point in history, in this present set of circumstances, God has seen fit to give us a clear and simple choice between a radical, unqualified, dishonest wretch of a President named Barack Obama, and a competent, managerial, efficient, intelligent, decent man named Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney will be a tool God uses to move the ball down the field.
Romney did not have to choose the extraordinary Paul Ryan as his running mate, and in fact took great political risk in doing so. Gov. Romney is a problem-solver in a country filled with problems. He is not a quintessential conservative Libertarian kind of guy, but he is the antidote we have to the Ivy League radicalism of Barack Obama. He is the alternative to four more years of $1 trillion+ deficits and an utter blindness to the train wreck our entitlement system represents. He has the proven ability to work with other people to accomplish something, as opposed to the community organizer we have in office now who has never so much as led a school sports team, let alone a business, a state, or an organization.
I am not writing because Mitt Romney is perfect. I am writing because he is good enough. And I am writing because Barack Obama is the biggest disaster our country has faced as a mature country. If you worry about the direction of the Supreme Court, and you worry about the size of our government relative to GDP, and you worry about confidence in the business community coming back so as to spur economic growth, then you have a man to vote for who will advance your cause(s) – Mitt Romney. You also have a man to vote against who represents the worst of all possible worlds – Barack Obama.
Please, do not sit this one out. Our country – the last, best hope on earth – needs your vote. I have every confidence in the world that we will be pleased we voted for Mitt Romney – every confidence in the world. Share as you wish. And I will see you at the polls.
David L. Bahnsen, CFP®, works as a Senior Vice President in the private client group of one of the premier Wall Street firms in the country where he provides financial planning and investment management services to individuals and families. To receive his Viewpoint Updates via email, go to DavidBahnsen.com
And them I'm going to keep after my Rep and Senators to see that no bad legislation reaches Romney's desk.
Romney was far from my first choice as well.
I am strongly against the “lesser of two evils” voting, and I feel this Republic needs a true conservative choice to vote for to survive long term.
That being said, after this Benghazi mess on top of the NBP voter crime of 2008, The failed stimulus, the Obamacare disaster, and Fast and Furious, I’m feeling less regret about pulling the lever for Romney.
Romney is not going to bust Obama for his crimes any more than W did for Clinton.
The fraudulent, traitor-failure POS must be voted out of the White House next month.
I feel it’s the last chance for rule of law to peacefully begin to correct the evils that are ruining this once great country.
I used to think that, but McCain has soiled himself on so many occasions that I am beginning the see Romney in a better light. Talk about being wishy-washy. Romney is a moderate, but McCain leaves one scratching their heads, wondering, “Did he just say that?” Maybe he is getting dementia.
But, I totally agree that Romney is the clear choice, not staying home, not voting 3rd party. 4 more years of Obama will destroy America and most of us will be dead or in jail.
On the other side of this process of correction, you’ll buy from the likes of me (technically inclined redneck). Just look for the smokestacks. Oh, and don’t mind the rendering plants that we’ll put in your once-upscale developments.
I have no idea what you are talking about!
That is the spirit!
Governor Romney was not my first choice, either, but he is the nominee, and is head and shoulders more qualified and capable than Obongo Bozo.
So, let us elect him, and let us elect a conservative House and Senate and then hold their feet to the fire!
WE CAN DO THIS, FREEPERS!
WE CAN DO THIS!
Actually, he is not.
Right now, you are part of the problem.
Vote for Romney, and then you can work to become part of the solution!
The author echos precisely MY feelings! Obozo MUST GO!!
I can’t believe intelligent Freepers would even THINK about sitting out the most important election in my lifetime!
Mitt wasn’t first choice either but Obozo isn’t even on the list!!
Thanks for sharing. I’ve sent the link everywhere and to all my lists.
God help us all if Obozo wins!!
Thanks, Dick.
What is surprising to me is that this thread has so few replies and comments.
What is the matter FReepers? Obongo Bozo got your tongue, too?
Use the Left's language, lose the debate! Check out Thomas Sowell's definition of "social justice" (paraphrased from memory: it is whatever the speaker wants it to mean at the moment)
Obama must be defeated? Obama must be deported to Kenya or Indonesia, or North Korea, or wherever he’s from!
Personally, I’d much prefer to see him go FRom the White House to the Big House!
With ALL of his LIEberal minions, too!
Why, we could re-open Alcatraz!
Best you re-read the article, perhaps a bit more carefully — Mr. Bahnsen was speaking about Obongo Bozo, not Governor Romney, when he referred to viewing “. . . the tax code as a means of forcing his version of social justice upon society.”
I read it and saw it and thought he should have put it in quotes or say something like ‘so-called social justice’, thus dismissing this phony concept.
Romney would have to shut down this fake economy to give it a chance to be put on the right path: deposition of the political/regulator class to make way for real private sector production. But he’ll try to have more teachers hired, as he promised.
All in contemporary politics are socialists.
Obongo Bozo believes in social justice — for his homies, of course.
AFAIK, Romney has never used the term.
Well, study the FairTax proposal — http://www.fairtax.org.
Eliminating the corporate income tax will cause many companies to relocate to the USA.
I’d also urge President Romney to forgive the US income tax on repatriated earnings of US companies abroad.
Some $13 Trillion in corporate profits are parked offshore, and by declaring a tax holiday on those profits, the US economy will get a huge shot in the arm.
I think we are back to the FairTax. Check it out.
We have to vote for a liberal to stop a communist.
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