Can you handle opposition?

I actually really appreciate opposing opinion.....it's ludicrous that the people in this country refuse to accept others' opinions. We all have our biases and we all form opinions based on those biases....neither side of an argument is absolute. I've grown in some of my positions and I'll hold firm in others regardless of the argument. It's also ludicrous that the bases of either party expect their elected leaders to toe the line of a party doctrine and never use critical thought to form their own opinions. For example, I deviate from the far right of my party when it comes to *some* immigration issues. I don't think the children of illegal aliens should be punished for being brought here illegally--the kids didn't do anything wrong!? However, I don't think they should be given special treatment that citizens don't get! Should they get in-state tuition? No, but why do we think inside the box all the time? Why can't colleges create a tuition rate for them that's not as high as foreign student but not as low as in-state residents? My point is there are other ways to follow our laws and protect our  sovereignty without discounting human decency.

When it comes to guns.....pass a Constitutional amendment if it's such a great solution. Change the 2nd Amendment to read instead of "shall not be infringed" to something like "may be regulated but shall not be removed".....

Things like gay marriage.....I'm a Christian and I have my beliefs as to homosexuality and the Bible. However, I have no right to impose my beliefs on you. We lose site of that the freedom of religion is also the right to freedom from religion should one choose. If I share my personal beliefs on gay marriage and the people don't want to elect me as their representative because of them so be it....but if my beliefs are well known and you don't agree with me but I'm elected anyway well, sorry, the people have spoken. BUT, we have the rule of law protecting the people from me going nuts and imposing my will on the people. Is one man marrying another immoral? That's debatable but it's based on personal bias. Is it illegal? No, and it shouldn't be whether I personally agree with it or not.

Abortion....I will never budge on this issue because I believe it's murder and murder is illegal. Abortion, in my opinion, should be illegal under any circumstance.

I'm a Republican....what's that mean?!

We need people like Boehner who capitulate out of self-preservation to GO AWAY!

Calvin Coolidge said that legislation should not benefit the legislator! Whenever our legislators pass laws or vote for bills because it's good for them or helps a specific special interest they are WRONG. 

We have lost so many Republicans to the Independent movement because we beat them over the head with individual religious beliefs. I'm a born-again Christian but this is wrong! How many conservative Independents or even Democrats who don't believe in the Christian God or who aren't Christians don't vote with us simply because we make them feel unwelcome if they're not Christians?! We're not the Christian-Conservative party....we're the Republican Party and we have Christian Conservative members. 

We have lost sight of certain elements of our party beliefs.....limited government. This doesn't mean NO government. Low taxes. This doesn't mean NO taxes. Government closest to the people...and like the article says, the 10th Amendment. 

How can we expect people to join our party and trust our leaders if we don't follow what we say we believe?! We need to have the courage of our convictions!!

We also need to have the courage to stand up for our principles and hold accountable those who fail to uphold them. For example, I don't care if it was written by Ronald Reagan himself, the Patriot Act is WRONG and Republicans need to REPEAL IT. We say the ends don't justify the means (and I agree with that) yet we herald leaders like Abraham Lincoln who suspended habeas corpus as a means to help end slavery. We may *personally* disagree with gay civil unions but those are our personal beliefs--is there anything illegal about allowing two consenting adults to enter into a contractual relationship? NO....and for those who don't share the same beliefs as us we have no right to stop them from doing something legal because we disagree with it!! We also need to stop throwing the proverbial babies out with the bathwater......when a Christian Conservative Republican like myself makes a statement like that...I'm not a RINO; I just have an inner sense of freedom and liberty that comes FROM my faith and my Lord, it's not in spite of Him. The same goes for illegal aliens....are they not humans? Have they broken the law? Yes...but everyone in this country who breaks the law gets humane treatment--that's American. If a child is brought to this country by it's parents at a young age THEY DIDN'T BREAK THE LAW their parents did! Do we take away the civil rights of the children of felons? Of course we don't...that's wrong. This is the same as telling a child who's lived in the USA their entire life that they now have to leave and go back to a country they don't even remember or have any connection to! Giving them a permanent green card and a legal "status" in this country is not amnesty. If they want to apply for citizenship they do it the same way anyone else would do it. If they want in-state tuition THAT'S UP TO THE STATE where they go to school--unless they are granted citizenship!

We don't live in an all-or-nothing world....if a Republican votes for raising the debt limit (which I disagree with on face value but there are other issues at stake--pragmatism) it doesn't mean he or she isn't a Republican nor does it mean we should hang them from the rafters. An elected representative can compromise on a singular piece of a singular issue without compromising their principles or values.

I'm frustrated with my party as many Republicans are...but I'm still proud to be a Republican. Do we need to make some changes...YES!! But we don't need to throw away the party. We just need more pragmatic leaders who are in it for sacrifice and service...not power.

Assault Weapon?

The term "assault weapon" is typically given to any of the scary military-like rifles or weapons such as an AR-15 or M-4.

The argument from the left is: "why do civilians need the same weapons as the military and law enforcement? When the 2nd Amendment was written the founders had no consideration or idea about modern assault weapons."

Funny thing though.....when the 2nd Amendment was written, citizens DID have the same guns as the military. So did the founders know what they were doing?

Gun Control...leads to tyranny

Here's the argument on gun control in a nutshell. One side says "the Constitution says the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed and by passing ANY law we're contradicting the constitution." the other side says "we need smart comprehensive laws that will protect mentally ill people from owning a gun and we need to protect from children being killed"....

Here's the thing: Yes, our Constitution says there shall be no infringement on our right to keep and bear arms. The Supreme Court has affirmed that this is an individual right (although they are one branch of government and NOT the last word on anything). Here's the perfect compromise: IF restricting gun ownership and the purchase of ammunition is the answer then pass a Constitutional Amendment that amends the 2nd Amendment to define the rules for gun ownership. All we're saying is FOLLOW THE CONSTITUTION AND STOP MAKING THINGS UP AS WE GO JUST TO APPEASE SOME GROUP OF PEOPLE. We either have the rule of law or we don't.....and if we don't, the United States of America as it has existed for 200+ years is gone.

Recessions and depressions are NORMAL

It's a fact that the economy at the end of Clinton's term was getting bad the country was in a recession by January of 2001 (google it.) . Did the recession happen while Bush was President...yes. But economic forces don't shift in three months...Did Bush fix it the right way? NO. He was just as much a Keynesian as Obama is...remember when we all go checks from the government? Stimulus packages from the Fed are RUINING this country and no matter what the consequences, even if it means depression, it needs to happen to right this sinking ship!!!! We are borrowing money from ourselves!?!??!??!?!
The 90's under Clinton were great because he worked with the Republican Congress. The President gets too much credit when things go well and too much blame when they don't. Americans don't think critically enough to understand that most economic policy comes from Congress. The President has a hand in it but spending and taxation comes from Congress. Of the four years Obama has been in President his party controlled both houses of Congress and the Presidency for two years and they controlled the Presidency and Senate for the rest of the time. Democrats own our current economic state...they didn't start the fire but when they had a chance to grab an extinguisher, they chose gasoline.

Child's Play

I would bet anyone $100,000,000 (if I had it) that if President Romney were to sign an executive order opening ANWR for exploration, finishing Keystone Pipelines, and increasing exploration offshore in the gulf of Mexico....gas prices would drop a rock in a matter of weeks. Drilling wouldn't even be required....the law of Supply and Demand would take over...the middle east would immediately increase production and lower prices on the mere threat of competition from the USA. It would be good for the entire world...AND it could be the very catalyst to kick start our economy... No Keynesian spending, no QE3, just ONE executive order would get the economy moving again. Then follow that up with a Flat tax or THE FAIR TAX ACT and you'd see the U.S. (and subsequently global) economy JUMP into action!!!! It ain't rocket science and my prayer is that given Romney's business experience he understands these two very simple solutions.THEN repeal Obamacare. THEN strategically shrink the Federal Government by not hiring for attrition in key departments like the Dept of: Energy, Education, IRS, etc. THEN cut spending to any program federal program that has had no quantifiable result in the last 15 years. THEN defund things like the "Ad Council". THEN approve cap-n-trade (CAP Federal spending and TRADE it for State spending for programs that belong at the State level like education and transportation and HHS)...Romney is going to inherit a mess too....will he blame or FIX? Romney could have the economy running the RIGHT WAY in 100 days or less......

United Socialist States of America, a Communist Democracy?

I find it very interesting how the Communist Party USA seems to have all the same goals and values of many who claim to be part of the progressive movement or Democrat Party. The Communist movement is cloaked as the "progressive" movement and is an enemy of traditional American values. We're not a collectivist nation; we're a collection of individuals who reside in sovereign states united under a central government with enumerated powers. Our government was not instituted among men for the greater good; our government was instituted to protect the men and women of our country so they can individually support the common good. Our government wasn't created to give us rights; our rights come from something greater than man and our government was created to protect those rights. The United States of America is not a Communist country and Communist values are an anathema to our way of life.

I don't have a problem with Democrats who simply believe different things than me; that would be un-American. What I have a problem with is Democrats who call themselves "patriots" while proclaiming a new form of the same old values of Communism, Collectivism, Marxism, Socialism, Democratic Socialism, etc. The form of Communism that is polluting the country I volunteered my life to defend is cloaked in equality, diversity, fairness, civil rights, and racism and it's called PROGRESSIVE. There is nothing progressive about changing our government to be the same as everyone else in the world. There is no progress in moving to a form of government that has existed since man has existed.

Social dominance theory is more or less the theory that states that humans will naturally form groups. We live in groups, we work in groups, we entertain ourselves in groups, we enjoy watching groups of people compete, we enjoy watching groups of people interact in fictitious situations, and these things have been in our nature since the dawn of man! Even my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, didn't go about his ministry on this earth by himself--he gathered a group of 12 men to go with him on his journey. The unique experiment that is the United States of America doesn't say groups or collections are bad; it simply challenged the thinking that we must exist as groups. The group of people who wrote the founding instructions for our country recognized that the most basic group is the family and the building block of that group is the individual.

I don't hate Communists, I just disagree with the premises they operate under. I don't hate Progressives I disagree with their ideology and approach to our government. I definitely don't hate Democrats; I just disagree with them on issues.

What I don't understand is the progressive way of thinking. I don't understand how the progressives on the left are willing to trade their freedoms for security. I don't understand why they believe that society is better than the individual at solving individual issues. I don’t understand how they are working to fundamentally change what made our country great to begin with?! Finally, what I really don’t understand is how the left tosses around pejoratives like bigot or racist without looking in the mirror. That leads me to the segway to my next post….”Are you a BIGOT for calling me a BIGOT!?”