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.