Can the GOP Survive?

Are we witnessing the disintegration of the GOP or just a healthy primary process that is preparing the GOP nominee-to-be for the real firestorm they will have to endure from the left?
Punditry is all over the place on this one.  Majority seem to believe that this is a healthy process for the GOP candidates to be going through.  Me, not so much as I indicated before.

In observing and sometimes volunteering in 32 years of local, state, and national political races, I must say that I have never witnessed as corrosive a primary season among GOP candidates as this one.  The attacks have been not only sharper and nastier this time around, but they have been on sacred cows of the party ideology - namely private enterprise and the free markets. 

Our leading candidates have launched vile attacks on each other that makes it hard to separate theirs from the class warfare rhetoric of Democrats.  Consequently, I cannot help but wonder if either of the two have the character and the judgement to be a worthy commander-in-chief, or are we about to have a mediocre candidate who will be trying to unseat a downright destructive President?  Some choice!
Messrs. Gingrich and Romney must stop this madness.  The circular firing squad analogy aside, their words will come back to bite our chances of capturing the White House come November.  Do not, for a second, think that their attacks - in their own words - will not be used in a campaign ad blitz by the Democrats.  Attacking legitimate business activities or perceived ethical lapses that have never been proven are net losers as far as campaign strategy goes.  But, therein lies the problem.

The Republican establishment wants to nominate a candidate that they feel can defeat Obama.  That candidate is Mitt Romney.  He, along with Newt Gingrich, happen to be big government supporting, crony capitalist establishmentarians.  Can the GOP survive this bloodbath, or will all the Republican back stabbing and name calling hand the election over to a media protected Obama as unthinkable as that may be?

Perhaps more importantly, can the GOP survive with a substantial portion of conservatives having had enough with the establishment types who gave us likes of Nixon, both Bushes, and several failures in Dole and McCain just to cite a few?  As unthinkable as a third party was until recently, is it getting to be time to think about a truly conservative party?  Last time a similar thing happened, the Whigs simply disappeared and it was not a bad thing for the political landscape.  Maybe it is time that the GOP went the way of the Whig Party as what is in the balance is no less than the survival of our constitutional republic.

Burning Down the House

Those on the conservative end of the political spectrum have come to expect the progressives to cannibalize them, especially in an election year.  That is the dog eat dog world of politics.  Devouring one’s own kind (figuratively, of course) is normally unthinkable, yet the Republican presidential candidates are putting Democrats to shame by going a step further and cannibalizing those of their own political persuasion.

Last weekend’s spectacle of Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich feasting on Mitt Romney was political cannibalism at its worse.  What followed later this week has only compounded the problems for the Republican field.  It almost seems as if the carnage will not end until the candidates annihilate each other to the point of allowing Obama to make the election of 2012 a winnable race for his failed presidency.

This ugly spectacle risks alienating the anti-Obama vote from the Republican candidates.  Political cannibalism aside, it has become so that it is next to impossible to tell if any of these candidates is a free market proponent anymore (with the possible exception of Rick Santorum who is staying above the fray).  It is normal for candidates to point each others’ weaknesses out, but what is all this uncharacteristic class warfare rhetoric doing in a supposedly conservative field?  Although I am not particularly a Romney fan, his tenure at Bain Capital was nothing to be ashamed of for any small, constitutional government supporting free market capitalist. 

Just what kind of an evil organization is Bain?  Let’s see…it is foremost a venture/private equity capital firm.  This 400-employee bastion of evildom with $66 billion in assets under management provides life’s blood for start ups as well as established giants that have capital needs for various reasons including, among others, business failure, which seems to be the main point of contention as far as anti-Romney forces go.

Whether it is due to under capitalization, faulty business plan, or whatever the reason, in our capitalistic system, companies fail all the time.  It is a fact of life in a competitive free market.  When sizeable businesses fail, one of several outcomes occur.  The first two possibilities are total liquidation as a result of bankruptcy proceedings or a government bailout.  Neither of these two outcomes is desirable because the first leads to job losses as well as other less visible costs to society, and the latter amounts to government picking winners and losers – something they have repeatedly proven to be quite inept with for the obvious reason that the word profit is not in its DNA (see Solyndra, Evergreen, etc.).  The last possible outcome is for companies like Bain Capital to step in and try to rescue the business.  The risks that these types of companies take are immense and so are the profits when they are successful.  After all, this is private money in search of underperforming or undervalued assets that can be turned around given a new business plan/strategy.

Companies get in to business for one reason and one reason only: to make money (and preferably lots of it).  No company gets in to any venture for the stated purpose of creating jobs.  Jobs are simply a desirable byproduct of successful businesses that are profitable.  We expect progressives not to see the vital role of private equity firms, or the importance of creative destruction in a dynamic economy, but what is the excuse for those who are trying hard to pass themselves as conservatives?  Why engage in class warfare rhetoric that should only be at home at the Democrat party? 

Messrs. Gingrich and Perry need to realize that a scorched earth policy of class warfare to secure the nomination amounts to burning down their own house.  The only party that can benefit from that is the current resident of the White House who happens to be promoting the same strategy.  If the GOP does not wake up from this nightmare, the eventual losers won’t only be them but the American public to whom they owe a viable alternative.

The Week That Was: More Outrageous News Capsules

The highlight of the week was, of course, Obama displaying another power-grab by ignoring the U.S. Constitution, his Administration’s own words to the SCOTUS last year, the Senate rules, and a century of precedent set by previous Administrations.

But, a lawless Administration that has set precedence by headlining at least a few outrages per week since their inauguration would be amiss if they had not made the headlines elsewhere.  They did, and here are those news capsules in case you missed them:

Rubber Stamping Immigrant Visas:

An IG report disclosed that officials at the USCIS are pressuring visa officers to rubber stamping immigrant visa requests quickly even if the case is suspected to involve fraud.  The pressure has been stepped up ever since Obama administration appointed Alejandro Mayorkas as director in August 2009 during an effort to pass comprehensive immigration reform, bringing with him a mantra of “get to yes.”

They need to make sure that there are enough illegals to push Obama over the finish line come November, you know….

DOJ's Misleading Voter Statistics:

In interfering with state voter identification legislation in South Carolina, the DOJ has not-so-cleverly twisted statistics to make it look like the minorities disproportionately would be disenfranchised since a significantly higher percentage of them have no picture identification.  Never mind the fact that the real disparity is 1.6% of the electorate (not the 20% they claim), or the fact that South Carolina's legislation provides for free ID cards to be given to anyone who needs it and cannot afford it.

Of course, the Administration is once again thumbing their nose at the SCOTUS since the Court ruled in the 2008 Crawford v. Marion County Election Board decision that an Indiana law mandating photo identification at the voting booth was indeed constitutional.

The real motive, of course, is twofold: to protect voter fraud Democrats routinely engage in through third parties like ACORN, and to whip up a frenzy among minorities who are less than fired up about the upcoming election.  With the willing complicity of the left wing media, they seem to be succeeding for now.

Elementary School Indoctrination in Virginia:

Cultural Marxism is alive and well.  A couple of school districts in Virginia (one of them mine) have allowed Kid Pan Alley to introduce our children to the evils of the 1% as well as singing the wonders of having elected our savior: Barack Mmm Mmm Obama.

I blame the parents here for not being outraged by the brain washing of their children.  More of us must simply become involved with our local PTAs and School Boards.

Republican Candidates Apparently Threaten the Fabric of Our Society:

The Obama campaign staff is busy telling their supporters that the Republicans candidates will have "to run even further to the extreme right, and make even more dangerous promises that threaten not only the progress we’ve made but the fundamental fabric of American society".

Since when is the fabric of our society dependent on crony capitalism and outright socialism?  Just wondering!  I must have been asleep for the past half a century.

News flash: Requiring a High School Diploma Can Now Be Considered Discrimination:

The Obama EEOC has sent out a letter informing employers that requiring a H.S. diploma could be discriminating to those who may not have been able to graduate due to a disability (as specified by ADA).  So, now a pin headed bureaucrat in Washington will be dictating who you need to hire regardless of whether they are capable of doing the job or not.

Oh the lunacy...

Administration Gets Ready to Deal the Decisive Blow on Coal:

The EPA has announced that it will "issue its Utility NSPS (New Source Performance Standards) sometime in January". Any new utility plants will have to meet a new set of environmental standards – standards that conveniently work out great for natural gas but are prohibitively expensive for coal plants, even new ones, to meet.

After all, Obama did vow to kill the coal industry (as well as other fossil fuels in due course), didn't he?  Oh yes, he did!

While the EPA Distributes "Environmental Justice Grants"

...to all sorts of off-the-wall groups.

Cordray Appointment - Par for Course for Obama Administration:

Mr. Cordray, who will be heading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (or better labeled as Affirmative Action in Lending Bureau, or Increasing the Cost of Your Financial Transactions Bureau) thanks to the unconstitutional actions of the President once said lawsuits against Obamacare are "frivolous" because courts have held, and Cordray seems to agree that, any legislation which has even "incidental effects on the economy" is a "valid exercise of congressional authority" because of the commerce clause.  In other words, commerce clause basically negates the rest of the constitution.

What is one more radical bent on fundamentally transforming this country in this Administration?  It is full of them!

Note to Harry Reed - Isn't What is Good For the Goose Good for the Gander?:

Progressives cannot help themselves but be hypocrites.  The same hypocrite who held pro forma Senate sessions to block GWB recess appointments is now all for Obama's illegal appointments during the current pro forma session. 

I know, it is not really news anymore.  Just don't wait for it to be pointed out in the traditional media.

Obama Intends to Cut the U.S. Military by Half a Million Soldiers While Sharing Sensitive Missile Technology With the....RUSSIANS!

The Administration has telegraphed its intention to cut the military man power by about half a million soldiers.  The U.S. will thereby not be able to fight a war on two theaters at once - the mainstay defense objective of our country for decades. 

All this while sharing missile technology with the Russians, Iran acquiring nuclear weapons and possibly locating their longer range missiles in Venezuela, and the Chinese eyeing Taiwan for possible invasion among many other trouble spots around the globe.

At least I am sure Carter is proud.  After all, there is no strategy like leading from behind for the only free super power in the world as the Administration made clear in the past.

DOJ Steers Countrywide Settlement Cash to Leftist Organizations:

As you will recall, Countrywide Financial had settled with the DOJ for $335 million in a discrimination suit.  The money is supposed to benefit those minorities who were allegedly discriminated against by being pushed in to sub-prime loans that featured higher interest rates than whites were being charged.

Now we find out that a significant portion of the money has been diverted to community organizations like ACORN.

What is a billion here and a billion there?  Whether it is under the name Pigford or something else, with friends in high places, there shall be reparations paid to African Americans one way or another (and whether you like it or not)! 

Obama Summer Youth Jobs Program Via Executive Fiat to Feature Mostly Unpaid Jobs:

The total expected cost of the summer jobs program initiated by another one of Obama's executive orders is pegged at $1.5 billion.  Of the nearly two hundred thousand summer jobs it will create, only 70,000 will be paid positions (that is about $25K per summer job created).

Unemployment Rate Falls (or Does It?):

The Labor Department reported that the U3 unemployment rate fell to 8.5% in December.  Or did it?  After the seasonal help is let go, we shall find out in about a month.
Nevertheless, U3 would be at 10.9% if we adjusted it for the size of the work force (as Obama worshipping Ezra Klein of WaPo admitted).  In real life, ever shrinking work force does not make an improving employment picture.

More deceptive statistics being peddled for dissemination via the media for consumption by the gullible.

Of Virtue and Tyrants

One of my favorite philosophers happens to be the 18th century French philosopher Charles de Montesquieu, who also happened to influence many of our founding fathers.  As quoted in Thomas Jefferson's "Common Place", Montesquieu said "when virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it..."

Edmund Burke, the father of classical conservatism, also spoke eloquently about virtue.  Two of his famous quotes are: "It is better to cherish virtue and humanity, by leaving much to free will, even with some loss of the object , than to attempt to make men mere machines and instruments of political benevolence. The world on the whole will gain by a liberty, without which virtue cannot exist" and "Among a people generally corrupt liberty cannot long exist."

John Adams said: "Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics."

Whether it is Montesquieu, Burke, Adams, or any one of our founding fathers; they all understood one simple thing: In a constitutional system, virtue is essential for its survival.  In other words, when virtue is lost, the system is dead.  Theirs was a philosophy based on the principle of virtue and dedicated to fighting against arbitrary power.

Political virtue, or moral excellence in the public arena, has been gradually strangled since the early part of the 20th century.  The election of Barack Obama dealt the final blow as the past three years have clearly shown us. 

Obama believes in power - not virtue.  His latest display came on Tuesday with his unconstitutional recess appointments.  Appointments require the triggering of the Advice and Consent provision under the U.S. Constitution.  Although the U.S. Senate is in a pro forma session, the President decided on his own that they were on recess.  By doing so, he not only violated Article 1 of the U.S. Constitution, but also the rules of the U.S. Senate - an independent and co-equal branch of the government - and over a century of precedent.

Earlier displays of Obama's use of power over virtue are too numerous to cite.  Let it suffice to mention the drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico, disregarding a federal judge's order to stop implementing provisions of ObamaCare, and overturning state laws to enforce existing and common sense immigration and election laws.  More examples can be found here and here.

The question remains: Can our Constitutional republic survive this slaughtering of whatever remained of virtue in our political landscape, or are we reliving the final days of the great Roman Empire all over again?  Only time will tell.  Spirits of Montesquieu, Burke, and all of our founding fathers must be shedding tears over the tragedy of the on going destruction of the one and only constitutional republic ever established which cherished individual liberty and virtue as its foundational raison d'etre.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Wow...

I have been very busy over the past two weeks and been unable to post.  So, first of all, I'd like to wish all patriots out there the best of everything in the new year.  And now comes the wow part...

The impostor who is playing the part of the President of the U.S.A. has always displayed his gross disregard for the will of the majority of American people as well as our Constitution.  What he did yesterday in making "recess" appointments to the NLRB and the Consumer Protection Bureau goes well across the boundaries of acceptable thuggishness.

The founding fathers had the wisdom to provide for the separation of powers because they realized that in a healthy representative republic, no one branch of the government can be allowed to dictate its will over the other two.  It is as if they foresaw the coming of this Chicago gangsta in to power over two centuries later.

Several progressives I know told me yesterday that GWB, Clinton, and Reagan all made more recess appointments than Obama.  HOWEVER, none made any recess appointments when the Senate was in pro forma session as it is now!  This is unprecedented and a clear affront to the Separation of Powers Act as well as the congress as a supposedly coequal branch of the government.  As extension, it is an affront to the American electorate.

Do not expect the media to raise a peep over this incident (as they raised hell over Alberto Gonzales' firings of attorneys at the Bush Justice Department, of which he was completely exonerated later in 2010 as I knew he would be).  I do not expect Articles of Impeachment being drawn by Republicans either because they do not have the cajones to deal with this charlatan the way he should be dealt with. 

It will be up to the American people to throw this bunch out come next November.  The alternative is unthinkable since, without the possibility of re-election, Obama would truly complete what he started: the fundamental transformation of America.