Posted on 08/18/2010 5:52:58 AM PDT by Kaslin
Democrat control of the White House, House of Representatives and the Senate has produced an unprecedented level of political brazenness and contempt for the limitations placed on the federal government by the U.S. Constitution. As such, it has raised a level of constitutional interest and anger against Washington's interference in our lives that has been dormant for far too long.
Part of this heightened interest and anger is seen in the strength of the tea party movement around the nation. Another is the angry reception that many congressmen receive when they return to their districts and at town hall meetings. According to the most recent Gallup poll, only 20 percent of Americans approve of the job Congress is doing, but that's up from a March 2010 low of 16 percent.
The smart money suggests that there will be a Republican takeover of the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. The question is what can liberty-minded Americans expect from a Republican majority? Maybe a good starting point for an answer might be to examine how Republicans have handled their majority in the past.
Democrat President Lyndon Johnson's term of office saw massive increases in federal spending. When Johnson was elected into office in 1964, federal spending was $118 billion. When he left office in 1968, federal spending was $178 billion, a 66 percent increase. Worse than the massive increase in federal spending, his administration and Democratically controlled Congress saddled us with two programs that have helped fuel today's fiscal disaster -- Medicare and Medicaid.
The 1994 elections gave Republican control of both the House and Senate. They held a majority for a decade. The 2000 election of George W. Bush as president gave Republicans what the Democrats have now, total control of the legislative and executive branches of government. When Bush came to office, federal spending was $1.788 trillion. When he left office, federal spending was $2.982 trillion. That's a 60 percent increase in federal spending, closely matching the profligacy of Lyndon Johnson's presidency.
During the Republican control, the nation was saddled with massive federal interference in education through No Child Left Behind. Prescription drug handouts became a part of the Republican-controlled Congress' legacy. And it was during this interval that Congress accelerated its interference, assisted by the Federal Reserve Bank, in the housing market in the name of homeownership that produced much of the financial meltdown that the nation suffered in 2008.
During the last two years, Democrats have amassed unprecedented growth of federal government power in the forms of bailouts, corporate takeovers, favors to their political allies and nationalization of our health care system. My question is how likely is it for Republicans to behave differently if they gain control? Their past behavior doesn't make one confident that they will behave much differently, but I could be wrong.
If Republicans win the House of Representatives, there are measures they should take in their first month of office, and that is to undo most of what the Democratically controlled Congress has done. If they don't win a veto-proof Senate, they can't undo Obamacare but the House alone can refuse to fund any part of it. There are numerous blocking tactics that a Republican-controlled House can take against those hell-bent on trampling on our Constitution. The question is whether they will have guts and principle to do it. After all, many Americans, including those who are Republicans, have a stake in big government control, special privileges and handouts.
Ultimately, we Americans must act to ensure that our liberty does not depend on personalities in Washington. Our founders tried to do that with our Constitution. Thomas Jefferson offered us a solution when he said, "The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then."
When I read the headline I laughed out loud.
No question——nice deconstruction.
We better get out our copies of The Screwtape Letters to review how “The Father of Lies” operates here on earth.
” Ah..., no! People wanting a Conservative point of view to vote for have been cast adrift. They don’t bother registering as a Republican, because the party no more represents them than the Democrat party does.”
“
I say, starve the beast. Course that ignores the fact you’ve got simply brilliant political figures who are trying to convince you they are on your side, raising as much money for the party as they can. “
and now Palin is fundraising for the RNC, after we conservatives have been trying to starve them for years!
C.S.Lewis is one of my favories.
I keep paperback copies of Screwtape Letters (4 bucks at B&N) to hand out. The book explains so much....life’s events become more predictable.
Surely you jest. Republicans shar part of the blame for the mess we are in. It was a Republican that said that the Country had nothing to fear from an obama presidency.
But in the end, the total blame of the democrts and Republicans combined is less than one per cent.
It is the prople who are to blame. It is the people who demand that the government assume more contro; over their lives and money. How do they do it? Two ways. It begins with.”there oughta be a law”, or “the government should....” And they elect the people who say that they will make the law or provide the service.
They trade their God given freedom for governmental slavery.
Surely you jest. Republicans shar part of the blame for the mess we are in. It was a Republican that said that the Country had nothing to fear from an obama presidency.
But in the end, the total blame of the democrts and Republicans combined is less than one per cent.
It is the prople who are to blame. It is the people who demand that the government assume more contro; over their lives and money. How do they do it? Two ways. It begins with.”there oughta be a law”, or “the government should....” And they elect the people who say that they will make the law or provide the service.
They trade their God given freedom for governmental slavery.
I’ll bet SL is selling real well these days.
Is it too late to get my name on that byline?
Exactly correct IMO. I wouldn’t change a word of it.
I agree. And in accordance with the anti-Christ topic, I do believe this is indicative of end times. When a man this evil can pass for acceptable to enough people that he can actually gain the presidency, we’re exactly where you intimated we are.
Thanks Gilbo_3.
Diabolically funny and tragically true.
Oh man, I didn’t know that... har.
Good one.
No kidding. Good call...
Yep, that’s the brilliance I touched on.
Palin is so behind the curve. She’s too busy twittering to realize she’s today’s leading twit.
She wants so desperately to lead, she has stunted her own growth IMO. She needs to put her nose to the ground and pay attention to what real Conservatives have to say about her endorsement of McCain, and the Republican party at large.
It would be a real eye opener.
We’re not talking about malcontents here. We’re talking about people who have been Republicans their whole lives, just sick of what the party has become.
She hasn’t a clue concerning this.
I thought that was a great line too.
” Socialism is socialism whether you get there fast or a bit slower.
We all know the democrat party has been highjacked by the socialist progressives, but few will admit the republican party has been highjacked by the globalist.
Government of the lobbyist, by the lobbyist.
Socialist grow government to the point that all citizens rely on Uncle Sugar from cradle to grave.....right?
Globalist have succeeded in shipping millions of good paying manufacturing positions overseas to enrich themselves at the expense of our nation and her security.
No jobs or significantly lower paying position in the service sector shrinks the middle class, thus causing citizens to become more dependent on government....right?
The middle class, personal wealth, individual freedoms and our standard of living has been slowly evaporating under republican AND democrat leadership.
Socialism is socialism is socialism.
Vote Conservative all the time. Enough with the rino. “
Worthy of a repost, for those who missed it.
unfortunately, i believe the ex-Gov is only an establishment type politician as well...the repetitive actions speak much louder than her words...
” She’s also sleeping with the judge.”
LOL!!
10 points!
Of course the ballot box can no longer save us.
But since we are unwilling to even speak of the alternative, then all we are left with is threads like these...
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