[volunbeer]

You’re wanting to go off the cliff at 70 instead of 100. You aren’t even wanting to slam on the brakes which is what’s needed.

---

With all due respect you just described the GOP I know and hate. They have been heading 70mph instead of 100 and that won’t change no matter who we elect. I have said that for years and I have always been an optimist. Truthfully, we are screwed. If Newt were elected and he cut entitlement spending even 10% he would be voted out in 4 years. The mid-term election would see the GOP massacred just like the rats took it on the chin in 2010. That is the country we live in.

I don’t trust Mitt Romney and doubt that he is a conservative. I also believe that we have only seen glimpses of what Obama would become with a second term and it is an indisputable fact that he will probably nominate at least one SCOTUS Justice if not three. This President has been a complete disaster in every area of executive responsibility.

I have 3 young children and despite my pessimistic attitude about the direction of our nation it is my obligation as their father to try and exert the only realistic influence I have to make things better for them. I can do this by pragmatically choosing the lesser of two evils with the sincere hope that we may preserve the slim 5-4 majority in SCOTUS that we now rely on to thwart the progressives (including many in the GOP-e).

Let me lay out three examples for you -

DC vs Heller - 2nd Amendment 2008 - we won 5-4 - our right to own firearms for purposes of defense was decided by one vote

Casey vs Planned Parenthood 1992 - we lost the issue of abortion 5-4 - a blight on our nation

Gonzalez vs Carhart - Partial Birth Abortion 2007 - we won 5-4 to uphold a law against this sickness

Assuming that Romney even appointed moderate Judges like Kennedy - that would be light years beyond another Kagan type Judge

Obamacare - the largest power grab attempt by the Federal government since the New Deal is possibly going to be decided 5-4

Here are some examples of issues that will probably be in court if Obama gets another 4 years and all of us could probably add additional issues and these are not trivial -

The Fairness Doctrine - the biggest attack on the 1st Amendment in our nations history.... lose that and say goodbye to this website. The left really wants this.

The EPA and Environmental Fascism - Obama has already shown he will use government agencies to promote fascism in the name of climate change - the major obstacle? It’s not the voters and it’s not the GOP... it’s the courts. Think it’s bad that the government can tell us what lightbulbs to use? Just wait until they get the 5th vote!

Private 401k’s, IRA’s, and retirement funds - the left is already talking about the government taking over these funds “to manage them”. We will all work for government if they do this and right now it is probably a 5-4 vote. I believe this administration would consider nationalizing the banks far beyond what they already have... why not? Government motors anyone?

Obamacare - if he loses it (I think he will) they will go to work on another version and the court will be more favorable the next time.

These are some of the reasons I will vote against Obama for the sake of my children. SCOTUS provides the ultimate veto for unconstitutional behavior by government and it is one heartbeat away from being changed forever.

Our founders were pragmatic men who understood how fragile our republic would be. I have studied them quite a bit recently and have an even larger appreciation of their vision when they wrote the constitution. The only thing that is currently saving us is not the GOP... it’s the courts.

Furthermore, I believe our economy is not bulletproof and it could collapse if we do not get control of our progressive spending. If this happens, it is the courts that might determine the limits of executive branch authority. Our freedom may come down to one vote.

It’s nice to say you are an “all or nothing conservative” but that does not reflect reality. Like it or not.... there are two choices. Reasoned debate is the cornerstone of conservatism because our ideas are correct and that is what this community should reflect. All of these unkind comments against other FReepers for facing reality with reason and concern for our nation do not promote the kind of healthy debate I came to this site for many years ago.

I would love to have the perfect Conservative candidate who could convince half our nation that wealth redistribution is evil and leads to fascism. I would love to run my car on unicorn farts and pixie dust too. Our hopes and dreams are often shattered by reality. Face it, half our nation are already wards of the state. When the boomers all retire that number will climb even further.

All this belief that a conservative on a white horse will save us is not going to happen FRiend. Sorry, that is just my opinion, but I believe it is a reasoned and logical observation given our current circumstances. I don’t believe Washington, Adams, Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Reagan rolled into one could convince our fellow citizens of the need to sacrifice for the sake of future generations.

I don’t like it. I don’t feel good about it. I don’t want it to be that way. I am so convinced that our difficulties will get much worse that I sold a beautiful home in the city and moved out to the country to start a hobby farm for my family. I wanted to be prepared to care for them if our illusion of America shatters. I want my young children to learn how to garden, tend livestock, and survive without the things we take for granted. I pray we won’t have to, but I felt like it was my duty as their father. I bust my butt working long hours and make the longer drive home to bust my butt building a hobby farm. It has not been easy, but I am glad we did it. That is the choice my wife and I made examining the reality of our national situation.

You are free to choose but don’t call me names for doing the same. I believe that freedom hangs by one Supreme Court vote right now. Not many Americans before me could say that. We are in deep trouble and it will take generations to fix. I fear that too many of our fellow citizens don’t have the guts to make the hard choices so our politicians in both parties will just keep smiling and telling us that everything is alright. Romney will probably do the same, but I know Obama will definitely do that and make it worse.

Vote for whomever you choose. I should be free to share my reasoning with this community to uphold the principles of conservatism as I see it. Me and Jim Robinson will be dead and gone when my children have to live with the consequences of the decisions we make today.

Don’t even bother to call me a romneybott. Don’t bother to try and convince me that Romney is just as bad as Obama. I won’t be bullied because I care more about my kids than a bunch of groupthink on a web forum. I shared a reasoned opinion with you and it deserves more than name calling. If I get banned for voting anyone but Obama... so be it. I wish all of you luck and God bless. Choose wisely, my children are counting on you!

[MacMattico]

Excellent post, agree 100%!

[pops88]

“I can do this by pragmatically choosing the lesser of two evils”

So, to rephrase this, you choose to vote for evil. The road is wide....

[navydad]

Best post of the whole thread! Bravo!

[Cincinna]

SCOTUS! You have possibly given the only possible rationale for voting for Romney the RINO with this major caveat:

The seats of Ginsberg and Breyer, the most likely to go are liberal anyway. What guarantee do we have that Romney would nominate a true Constitutional conservative to the court? What kind of judges did he appoint in Mass? Do we have any idea what Romney’s judicial philosophy is?

[papertyger]

May your chains rest lightly....

I’d rather fight the tyrants, than reward professional Republicans for maneuvering me into a corner.

[yoe]

You make lots of clear points here...thanks for taking the time.

Bet you never knew chickens could be such fun*~*

[caww]

I would prefer to see this nation take a hit the next four years, then we can pick up the mess and start over because it's our mess not our kids and grandchildren to clean up.

Voting Romney simply will stretch that hit out to their generation and they will take the fall and have to clean up the mess....I'm not going to let that happen on my watch. I'll accept the hit and with like Patriots pick this nation back up so that we can leave it to our children and grandchildren reasonably in tact.

However, we may not fall.... I continue to support Newt and perhaps in Gods Mercy He will rise him all the way up again.....He's done it before and we still have a chance. Nothing is impossible with one man and God...and God is known to come into the affairs of men at the last moment....often when man has exhausted all that he has left. The Primary isn't over yet....wonders can still happen.

[sam_paine]

The Fairness Doctrine...EPA and Environmental Fascism ...Private 401k’s, IRA’s, and retirement funds ...nationalizing the banks far beyond what they already have... why not? Government motors anyone? ...Obamacare - if he loses...they will go to work on another version and the court will be more favorable the next time.

These are some of the reasons I will vote against Obama for the sake of my children. SCOTUS provides the ultimate veto for unconstitutional behavior by government and it is one heartbeat away from being changed forever.

As Finny said to me earlier, "Do you know [any of] that for a fact? No. It's pure, blind fear talking."

AFAICT, the "warriors" in this "rebellion" have the most efficient plan. After the convention, either Gingrich or a dark horse pulls out a shock victory, or Romney will be so destroyed by Obama's team and the anti-GOP conservatives that, well, there's no reason to worry about a Romney Administration in any case.

Romney is a flawed candidate and you would have to go against the Word of God in I Timothy, Titus and Romans 13 to vote for him, the GOP (presidential level down to precinct) is corrupt beyond repair and must be destroyed immediately, but enabling or indirectly assisting the marxist pro-partial birth abortion baby-killer in chief, Holder, Geithner, Ayers, Malik Shabazz, Sebelius, Kagan, Sotamayor, Big Sis Napolitano, Hillary, Raspberry Beret Shinseki...all of these people in perpetual power are just the nasty medicine the country deserves.

The blood of volunbeer's children will be on the hands of Karl Rove (and those who actually voted for Romney in the primaries.)

So we will have a Gingrich Presidency or Obama Reelection and/or bust. And this situation will come about with or without campaign contributions, with or without participating in local elections and GOP precincts, volunteering at polling places, etc. Thus it is the must efficient. 100% correct either way with zero input necessary.

[darrellmaurina]

563 posted on Thu Apr 12 2012 03:01:36 GMT-0500 (Central Daylight Time) by volunbeer: “The Fairness Doctrine - the biggest attack on the 1st Amendment in our nations history.... lose that and say goodbye to this website. The left really wants this.”

Don't take this as endorsing Romney — I've already made clear I am not — but everybody on Free Republic needs to understand that this is a real concern.

Newt Gingrich is a techie. He does understand what is at stake with internet regulation, transferring the rules of broadcast media via frequency licensing (probably a legitimate necessity) over to the internet, rather than following a print journalism model of no regulation of the content of the public press apart from a libel lawsuit for actual falsehood being printed.

That's a big deal and those who don't follow the developing issues of internet law need to pay close attention to it.

[mojitojoe]

Best post in the entire thread. You took the time to spell it all out and I concur with all of it. It seems FR is becoming more anti-Romney than anti-o bam a. There are more threads bashing Romney than o bam a. I just don’t know what to think anymore so I mostly lurk once in a while.

[philman_36]

I can do this by pragmatically choosing the lesser of two evils...
Choosing the lesser of two evils is still choosing evil.
What will it take for you to stop selling your soul?

[Jeff Head]

Very well said, Volunteer. I will be taking the same route for the same reasons. I have five kids and now eight grandkids and more coming.

We must elect a strong majority in the Hosue and a majority in the Senate no matter who is elected President if we have any hope of slowing or turning this horrible slide away from our Constitutional Republic and its fundamental moral values.

If we do...and we must, and I believe we can...I do not believe Romney will be nearly the disaster that many on these boards envision. But that is my opinion and here is why.

He is a pol, and he has made very forthright and clearly understood commitments. This office will be the pinnacle of his career and he will want all eight years. To turn on these promises would be political suicide and I do not believe he will do it.

The legislature I mentioned will give him the proper acts and legisaltion to sign and he will sign it.

As such there is a very good chance in those circumstances that we will halt the slide and turn things around...our economy, the debt, foreign policy, facing up to China, the borders, supreme court justices, and with the right justices...abortion, etc., etc.

I know people who know the ROmney's and Mitt Romney is not Pro-abortion or Pro-homsexuality. He took very carefully worded positions when he ran of personally being against those things though promising to "support the law." I would not have even tried and played such games with such fundamental issues, but he did and they have resulted in this very understandable problem he has...and deserves.

HAving said all of that, we know we will get absolutely NONE OF THE POTENTIAL GOOD from the marxist ideolog, Obama. To the contrary, he will double down on every bit of his clearly leftist/marxists plans and continue to bankrupt and kill this Republic and its moral values so he can institute his command economy in place of the free market as he has planned all along.

Most people forget that Romney was elected governor in an overwhelmingly liberal state. RomneyCare is really MassCare because it was wht the people there wanted. It is quite possible, IMHO, that without Romney their plan would have even been even far worse...even though it is not acceptable as it is.

Romney said the things he did and took the positions he did to get elected. Otherwise he would not have been elected. To help understand him, look at the vetoes he made while Governor, particularly those that were immediately over-ridden by an 85% DNC legislature.

As to Justices, again, in Mass the executive has less control of the process there than the President of the United States. Anything hinting at conservative was simply rejected by that liberal legislature so he had to appoint the best he could in that environment. Is that good? No. But it is a pragmatic and realistic look at the situation he faced? Yes.

If we deliver a majority Senate, I expect we will see a completely different outcome and will get consevative, original constitutionalist justices. Again, we know there is NO CHANCE of that with Obama.

So, though it is clear Romney took liberal positions to get elected governor, and then to govern there, he did change and flip-flop on most of them when running for the GOP nomination. As he would have to. He is saying and supporting most of the right things now, and apparently he is very likely now to win the nomination. I do not like it...but there it is.

I will not do anything to help Obama in any way win this election. I will exert all of my energies to his defeat at the ballot box...and I believe we can. I am constrained to do this for my kids and grandkids so they can carry on the fight in the future. They may not have that chance with Obama in another four years. Plain and simple.

So I will support Romney if he is the nominee and I will do so like the survival of the Republic depends on it...because I believe it does...even though Romney is not anything close to my ideal candidate and i coming in fifth behind Palin, Cain, Santorum and Newt for me.

Each person has to decide for themselves, and it is a very personal and gut wrenching decision given the circumstances.

But that is my decision and the reasons for it.

AMERICA AT THE CROSSROADS OF HISTORY

[onyx]

You remind me of my husband, DrO. We engage in likeminded discussions because we have 7 grandchildren whose futures we're both deeply concerned about. Unlike me he's not voting in this election, so his pro-Romney side is meant to either enforce or break my position.

Critical thinking is always extremely important, but obedience to God is imperative.

I cannot support Romney for several reasons, namely a liar can never be trusted; but also including the manner which he has "sniked" his way to his almost inevitible way to the GOP-E nomination, by trashing, bashing, and lying about his rivals, --- literally spending all but $2 Million out of $45 Million in vicious attack ads against Gingrich to first stop him in Iowa when he was running away with the election in Iowa and nationally according to every poll, and then more reccently against Santorum. He was much more effective against Gingrich, likely because voters caught onto his trash, and Santorum was a very lucky surprise who caught Romney off guard and caused him to spend the extra $20 Million.

I put most of the blame on the stupid, short-sighted electorate for falling for the attack ads they claim to hate and on the media with its lust for the horse race and never ending polls, which are meant to influence voters, not to inform voters of anything relevant. Open primaries are another sore spot altogether.

So just who is this Romney? Strange that he used all that money attacking his Conservative rivals but only spent less than $2 Million promoting himself or his visions and solutions for a better America.

Also strange, that he could not bring himself to call The Marxist Obama, a socialist but we're supposed to believe that if he's the nominee, he's really going to take it to Obama...LOL.

The GOP-E including the TV pundits are arrogantly counting on conservatives to do the right thing again: vote against Obama.

SCOTUS is at stake. Our Republic is at stake. We get it!

Now is not the time to crumble, but the time to stand strong on principle, virtue, integrity and by God, a whole lot of *ARE*!

The primaries aren't over yet! Newt Gingrich remains in the race, just like he said he would from the beginning. A brokered convention is not yet out of the realm of possibility. Vote for Newt and keep praying!

God bless you all, God Bless our Founder and Leader and Long Live Free Republic.

WE ARE IN REBELLION!

[Norm Lenhart]

“Don’t even bother to call me a romneybott. Don’t bother to try and convince me that Romney is just as bad as Obama. I won’t be bullied because I care more about my kids than a bunch of groupthink on a web forum. I shared a reasoned opinion with you and it deserves more than name calling. If I get banned for voting anyone but Obama... so be it. I wish all of you luck and God bless. Choose wisely, my children are counting on you!”

Someone has to choose wisely for them since their dad is using the lib ‘bully’ mantra and advocating voting for a man who would abort them.

Sorry Dad, but you need to grow a pair. For your kids and your country.

[TigersEye]

“Groupthink” is a weasel word full of assumptions and intentions to bully people through their emotions. It’s not the tactic of a thinking person but rather of a sheeple who wants to pretend to be a sheep dog.