Conservatism 101

A blog that Scott Edwards and I had created back in September. One of my posts. I am ready to write again..

Posted – 04.18.09 at 12:03pm

Written: FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2008 - Conservatism 101

I was talking to one of my dear friends the other night who is attending Columbia for his second Masters. He is an Obama supporter and a life-long Democrat. He understands that I am a Conservative and a McCain/Palin supporter. We are friends and we have had long debates over what is "right" and what is "left."

At the end of our friendly phone call, he made a point to tell me, "You know, liberals are the smartest and most educated in our country." To which I replied, "Well, I consider myself smart and educated, and I am not a liberal." And this is the impetus for my writing this blog.

It is a wonder to me that someone, who believes to know--because they have had the luxury of an Ivy league education--what is best for the average American. It is a wonder to me that one thinks that he has a better understanding of "Joe the Plumber's" needs, because he hires a guy like Joe to fix his plumbing. (Hey, I hire a plumber too. They are what makes things "run"). And, it is a wonder to me that this person thinks that he or his colleagues are "smarter" because of their Ivy league education.

Elitism? At its' finest. Please do not tell me that I am not the "most" smart or educated because I am not a Ivy League Intellectual. Ivy league education is a privilege. Hard knocks are not, but they can be an advantage.

As an American, I hope to have the freedom and the choices to know what is best for me, my family, my community and my country.

Look, most of us, in our own way, contribute to this country--whether it be through time, work, taxes or charity. We all have a common interest in doing what is best for ourselves and for our community. But, we all have a different opinion on how our contributions are allocated and recognized. The difference, the sheer difference, between a liberal and a conservative is this: A liberal will tell you how they will spend your money. A conservative will let you spend it how you see fit. If you don't have any money? Well, FDR put in place the first of many programs that have been abused by the federal government and welfare opportunists. I am not saying that these programs are not needed, but these programs were developed on assistance, NOT on dependence.

Now come the Taxes! Social Security. AMT. Local Taxes. Federal Taxes. State Taxes. Gas Taxes. Food Taxes. Retail Taxes. Property Taxes. Death taxes. Marriage Taxes. Capital Gains Taxes. Property Taxes. Liquor/Tobacco Taxes. User Taxes. And the list goes on and on and on and on.

Now, imagine my surprise when I hear that Obama/Biden want to just tax more. Instead of creating opportunity, they choose to inhibit it by giving handouts. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had forced banks to lend to anyone and everyone. No docs? No problem! The list of government programs and opportunities for the "needy" go on and on and on. WHERE DOES ALL THE MONEY GO? HOW HAVE THESE PROGRAMS, IN THE LAST 30 YEARS, LIFTED THE POOR OUT OF POVERTY? Oh, and by the way, if you ever want to pay more taxes because you feel like you haven't paid enough, there is a form for that. Talk to your accountant.

You see, most of use working, middle class, Americans DO NOT have an Ivy League education. Most of us working Americans do pay taxes. Most of us working American's have never wanted kids to go without education, elderly to go without healthcare, and the environment to go without consideration and conservation. Yet, as a conservative, I am constantly accused of wanting destruction of these very issues. This is simply not the case.

Us conservatives are constantly being accused as a party of the "wealthy." What is most ironic about this statement? Many conservatives do not have an Ivy league education. Many conservatives are not wealthy. We are hard working and educated and eager to lessen government intervention. We are eager to spur entrepreneurship, job creation, smart funding for those who truly, truly need it, with hopes of creating opportunity for those that are able to achieve and want a piece of the American dream.

All of these aforementioned programs have not solved the poverty crisis. Democrats, for the past 30 plus years, have expanded these programs, through excessive taxation, in order to make their constituents reliant on their party. Entrepreneurs and small business take on huge amounts of risk. Liberals do not reward risk--they tax it.

Conservatives have a fundamental belief that government has gotten too large and too complicated. We recognize need and are, therefore, the most charitable of the parties. It is a fact.

So I close in asking this: If liberals are so smart and the most educated, why am I even writing this blog? They have had numerous opportunities and years to right the wrongs. They say they are the champions of the middle class--I guess Joe the Plumber doesn't fit their middle class profile.

The next four years will prove whether entrepreneurship and risk thrive, or if we have created a larger dependency on government. If conservatism has a chance, we will not forget where we came from and what led us to losing our direction in this election.

I am Miss Tory, and I approve of this message.

By Megan Barth – Megan’s Note

Posted:  Daily Thought Pad

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Joe the Plumber Angered: 'I'm Just a Private Citizen'

Joe Wurzelbacher — better known as Joe the plumber — tells Newsmax that he was “angered” by the background checks Ohio officials ran on him after he was mentioned by John McCain at a presidential debate.

Asked by Newsmax’s Ashley Martella for his thoughts on the Barak Obama election victory, Joe said on Wednesday:

“I’m disappointed, but the American people have spoken. They’ve gotten what they wanted. Now it’s time to make sure that he goes to work for us. He’s got a lot of work to do.”

VIDEO: Joe the Plumber Interview: 'Angered Me, I'm Just a Private Citizen

He said the multiple background checks by officials in Ohio “angered me. I’m just a private citizen … That scares me just for the simple fact that other people might hesitate on questioning our elected officials and that worries me greatly for America.

“I’m not real happy about that at all.”

Asked if he felt the Democratic Party was behind the checks, he responded: “I’m not going to say they’re completely behind it. Maybe people who were connected to them.

“They wanted to find out something so they could try to discredit me.

“But to sit there and say that Barack Obama was directly responsible for such a thing — no, I’m not going to say something like that.”

Joe declared that for the Republicans to “get back into the game” following their election defeat, “they’ve got to remember that they’re conservatives.

“As soon as people say the Republican Party, all they think about is big business and corporations and guys that make $30 million a year. That’s not the case. I’ve voted Republican a lot in my lifetime because of conservative core values that built America. That’s what I think they need to get back to.”

Asked if he still plans to buy a plumbing business, as he originally stated, or to run for elected office, Joe said he could “better serve my fellow man by working with a new watchdog group I’m coming up with,” called Secure Our Dream.com, “that essentially will hold politicians accountable and make them remember that they actually got into this business to serve their fellow man, and not themselves.”

© 2008 Newsmax

Witch Hunt Launched Against Joe the Plumber

Officials in Ohio swiftly launched a witch hunt against Joe the plumber in an apparent effort to dig up dirt on the John McCain supporter. Joe Wurzelbacher became a household name when McCain referred to “Joe the plumber” frequently during the Oct. 15 presidential debate with Barack Obama. Officials reportedly began to dig into Joe’s records the very next day. Helen Jones-Kelley, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), admitted that she approved a check on Wurzelbacher’s child support papers. Joe maintains he is not involved in a child support case. The agency “also checked Wurzelbacher in its computer systems to determine whether he was receiving welfare assistance or owed unemployment compensation taxes,” the Columbus Dispatch reported. Jones-Kelley is an Obama supporter and contributed the maximum amount to his presidential campaign. She made the admissions in a letter to Ohio Senate President Bill Harris, a Republican, who demanded an explanation of the record checks. Jones-Kelley wrote: “Given our understanding that Mr. Wurzelbacher had publicly indicated that he had the means to purchase a substantial business enterprise, ODJFS, consistent with past departmental practice, checked confidential databases.” The reference was to a plumbing business Wurzelbacher said he was considering purchasing. “Not surprisingly,” Jones-Kelley also wrote, “when a person behind in child support payments or receiving public assistance is receiving media attention which suggests that the person appears to have available financial resources, the Department risks justifiable criticism if it fails to take note and respond.” Harris called the checks “questionable.” And columnist Michelle Malkin termed them “outrageous invasions of his privacy.” In addition to Jones-Kelley, investigators have found other suspicious uses of state computer resources to access information on Wurzelbacher. Toledo police records clerk Julie McConnell has been charged with gross misconduct for accessing the Law Enforcement Automated Date System to retrieve Wurzelbacher’s address as a favor to a reporter, according to Malkin. Officials in Ohio also say the Cuyahoga County social service office was compromised and an outside contractor with access to data belonging to the state attorney general “similarly searched Wurzelbacher’s data,” Malkin noted. “Moreover, his driver’ license and vehicle registration information were obtained from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles.” Harris said of the checks on Wurzelbacher: “It’s kind of like Big Brother is looking in your pocket.” The Dispatch reports that Ohio Inspector General Thomas Charles is investigating whether the child support check on Wurzelbacher was legal. (This is an example Obama and company's "thugocracy" and what is in the future for all of us if Obama is elected!!) By: Jim Meyers  2008 Newsmax

Joe The Plumber to Campaign for John McCain

October 27, 2008 11:10 PM

ABC News' Bret Hovell reports: Joe Wurzelbacher, aka “Joe the Plumber,” will campaign tomorrow in Ohio for Senator John McCain.

Wurzelbacher, the Toledo-area native, will go on a bus tour with former Rep. Rob Portman, a close McCain supporter, and a number of small business people.

It will be the first time Wurzelbacher has been out to campaign for the McCain ticket since he approached Barack Obama some weeks back to ask about Obama’s tax policy, and became a part of McCain’s stump speech.

McCain, and his running mate Sarah Palin, have made “Joe the Plumber” a central part of their campaign, mentioning him at nearly every stop as a way of illustrating how, they argue, Barack Obama’s tax plans will affect average Americans.

And for those of you who have questions about Joe because of the liberal media coverage:

Actually, the guy is a plumber. He works for his boss under his ticket like THOUSANDS of others in Ohio. He is also getting his own ticket and has almost finished.

Fact is, he was talking about buying his bosses plumbing business. And Obama gave a dumb answer so lets rip the guys life apart to find any dirt they can right?

There is no doubt that Joe the Plumber is a republican. There is no doubt McCain has used him. But there is no doubt Joe the Plumber is going to campaign for the guy he wants to win.

However, they VETTED the guy long before all this. They VETTED him when he was just a guy asking Obama a question in his own driveway.

Like good little FASCISTS, the Obama camp ripped the guy apart. This is just an example of Obama Thugocracy and what is to come if Obama is elected... Now we know and see an example of the ugly truth.

NEVER disagree with Obama. He will send his SS after you.

Heil Obama !!!!

Join Joe the Plumber, an Average American, Vote McCain-Palin... For Lower Taxes & Patriotism!!

Mr. Obama, Who Are You??? - Some Videos You Must See

Check Out:  Mr Obama, Who Are You???   -   http://infidelsarecool.com/2008/09/14/dear-mr-obama-who-are -you/

Libertybob - I’m Scared For This Country

"I was *Almost* ready to vote for McCain. Then the "crisis" hit. How many times has McCain tried to say that he will kill any pork spending, he will make the names of those who purport it famous, it is a symptom of greater spending, etc? Yet, just days after the debate where he made these claims central to his position, he voted for the bailout bill loaded with pork. But I try to remember that he might know things that I don't...so might have felt he didn't have a choice. But for awhile it was a deal breaker."

I was disappointed that McCain made a big deal of going back and signing on to that bailout bonanza. And even after it was originally defeated, it was reworked to include a couple hundred million of additional pork. And he voted for it! (But both major candidates supported its passing. He was gaining momentum at the time but he insisted on demonstrating what a 'bipartisan' insider he really was. Then he lost his momentum and may very well lose this election because of it). I even considered voting for an independent or alternate presidential candidate choice, but unfortunately, in reality that is throwing away your vote, and in this election every vote will count.

He was gaining momentum at the time but he insisted on demonstrating what a 'bipartisan' insider he really was. Then he lost his momentum and may very well lose this election because of it.

Admittedly, McCain is not perfect, but he is a patriot, and I have come back to realize that his opponent is exponentially worse.

We keep looking at Obama like we'd be electing a Carter - someone who would be bad but we could survive. But suppose something happened that would, with diminished majorities in both houses, allow him to declare a state of emergency and allow him to assume dictatorial powers.

According to an FBI informant, members of Ayers' organization has already coldly declared that opponents need not be dealt with but simply killed - by the millions.

They do not intend to preserve free institutions - they mean to do away with them - and gun confiscation will be the first item on their list.

I hope my fears are unfounded but I'm with the plumber - I'm scared for this country.

Subject: William - Your Research

Your research is quite comprehensive. It's too bad more people don't take the time to look into the issues and character of a candidate before they cast a vote.

I found the faith freedom profile of That One especially intriguing and quite credible as well. It tends to fill out picture of B. Hussein that is indeed frightening. See http://www.faithfreedom.org/obama.html

In my mind, there's no question that B. Hussein is a stealth Muslim, which means in the orthodox case that he's a fascist.

Before he even emerged from the primaries, he should have been thoroughly vetted by the republicans, except they were too worried about being tagged as 'racist'. What we have now, nearly as president, is quite a monster with regard to the republican freedoms of a representative democracy.

I'm also repeating your research page since it doesn't stand out in your post and the links provided are very informative.  http://countryfirst.bravehost.com/vetview.html

Thanks for your service and welcome back to the real fight.

A Vet Looks at Barack Obama

I'm a Vietnam veteran who after watching the DVD 'Obsession' about Islamic terrorism and reading Brigitte Gabriel's book 'Because They Hate' decided to find out what I could about Barack Obama. It has me truly concerned for this nation that I love. You can see the results of my research at http://countryfirst.bravehost.com/vetview.html 

For me the most important link I found was an article on understanding Barack Obama at http://www.faithfreedom.org/obama.html

John McCain's Weekly Radio Address - Lower Taxes

Good morning, this is John McCain, speaking to you just days away from the time for choosing.

In a time of economic hardship and uncertainty, for many Americans the choice will turn on whether we raise federal taxes or reduce them. My opponent is committed to a massive new tax burden on our economy, even at the risk of bankrupting small businesses and destroying jobs. I am committed to tax relief for working families and tax incentives for businesses to create jobs.

Senator Obama has been very guarded about his tax plans, and it took a working man to finally pull the truth out of him. As he told Joe the Plumber back in Ohio, he wants to quote "spread the wealth around." To pay for nearly a trillion dollars in new government spending, Senator Obama's tax increase would impact 50 percent of small business income in this country, and the jobs of 16 million middle class Americans who work for those small businesses.

Senator Obama assures us that he has a very clear target of just the top five percent of income earners. And anytime you hear talk of a targeted tax increase, you might want to double-check the skill of the marksman -- the U.S. Congress has been known to fire wildly. Remember the Alternative Minimum Tax? You probably do if you're one of the more than 30 million Americans currently threatened by it. That "targeted tax" was originally aimed at just 155 specific people. Once enacted, taxes have a way of spreading and rising. And that is why, as president, I am going to put a stop to the out of control spending, so we can keep taxes low.

The McCain-Palin tax cut is the real thing. We're going to double the child deduction for every family. We will cut the capital gains tax. And we will cut business taxes to help create jobs, and keep American businesses in America.

What's more, I'm not going to spend $750 billion dollars of your money just bailing out the Wall Street bankers and brokers who got us into this mess. I'm going to make sure we take care of the working people who were devastated by the excesses of Wall Street and Washington.

Two weeks ago, I announced a plan to protect the value of your home and get it rising again by buying up bad mortgages and refinancing them so if your neighbor defaults he doesn't bring down the value of your house with him. This will help stem the tide of foreclosures that are hurting families, and it will put a floor under the broken housing market that was at the root of the financial crisis.

While Washington has been bailing out banks, I have been arguing that we need to focus on fixing the underlying problem: foreclosures on bad mortgages and the collapse of our housing market. Without fixing this fundamental problem, our economy will not get back on track. This week, we learned that the number of foreclosures spiked by 71 percent last quarter, and finally Congress and the Administration are putting together a plan to address this problem. Let me say: It's about time.

I have been focusing my priorities on helping those people who have been impacted by this crisis. I have a plan to let retirees and people nearing retirement keep their money in their retirement accounts longer so they can rebuild their savings.

I have a plan to hold the line on taxes and cut them to make America more competitive and create jobs here at home. Raising taxes makes a bad economy much worse. Keeping taxes low creates jobs, keeps money in your hands and strengthens our economy.

The explosion of government spending over the last eight years has put us deeper in debt to foreign countries that don't have our best interests at heart. It weakened the dollar and made everything you buy more expensive.

I will freeze government spending on all but the most important programs like defense, veterans care, Social Security and health care until we scrub every single government program and get rid of the ones that aren't working for the American people. And I will veto every single pork barrel bill Congresses passes.

As Joe the Plumber and small business owners across the country have now reminded us all, America didn't become the greatest nation on earth by giving our money to the government to "spread the wealth around." In this country, we believe in spreading opportunity, for those who need jobs and those who create them. And that is exactly what I intend to do as President of the United States.

Thanks for listening.

John McCain

Bar Stool Economics 

The Brits Say McCain Wins Debate #3 & Thought For The Day 10.16.08

John McCain edges debate win, grabbing a White House lifeline

This was John McCain's strongest debate so far. He was aggressive, he got his points in and he explicitly and convincingly distanced himself from President George W. Bush. It was also the most substantive and illuminating debate of the four - Bob Schieffer did better than all the other moderators put together. The side-by-side format helped. It was good to see direct engagement. 

McCain made Joe the Plumber - actually Joe Wurzelbacher - the most famous voter in America. That's good for the Arizona - it will mean there will be lots of talk about Obama wanting to "spread" - or redistribute - wealth. To a lot of Americans, that's socialism. McCain was particularly strong at the beginning - Obama closed well.

I'm not sure how well the Ayers and Acorn stuff worked though - McCain seemed to get angry and emotional while Obama kept his cool. The split screen may have worked against Obama (I watched the debate on CNN, which used split screen more often than other cable channels and networks).

On the other hand, Obama - who was often long-winded and professorial - looked a tad condescending and mocking at times. A big caveat: this may be one of those debates where the initial feeling was that McCain had done well but that could fade.

So what are the major points to take away from this?

1. If you read a transcript, McCain was the clear winner. But there were no hugely dramatic moments, no major slips by Obama (though he did promise to enforce "unfair trade" at one point), nothing to change the dynamic of this race. NAd debates are about more than transcripts - they're also visual events.

2. Best line of the night: ""Senator Obama I am not President Bush. If you wanted to run against President Bush you should have run four years ago." But was it a couple of months too late?

3. Was McCain too angry? On the substance of Ayers and Acorn, he was good. But he may have alienated people with his open displays of emotion and his continued inability to hide his disdain for Obama. Perhaps 30 per cent of voters share that disdain and it will have cheered their hearts. Swing voters, however, could be a different matter. Check McCain's facial expressions out here:

4. Obama had already passed the threshold in previous debates of seeming capable and reassuring enough to be commander-in-chief. That trend continued tonight. Unfortunately for McCain, he simply doesn't seem scary enough.

5. Assuming Obama wins this election - which still looks probable after tonight - historians will record that it was the economy wot done it. But Obama's three strong debate performances - IMHO he edged the first debate, was a clear winner in the second, and very narrowly lost the third - will also be a very significant factor.

6. This is a safety first strategy by Obama at this stage and who can blame him? I'm not sure he even went out to "win" this debate - he just wanted to avoid any big mistakes.

7. Some of the focus groups and snap polls indicate voters were turned off by McCain's attacks. But while people usually bemoan attack politics, they are affected and they often worked. Some of McCain's points will have hit home. More generally, I don't really trust the snap polls or debte focus groups.

8. Many may well disagree but it seems to me that Obama said NOTHING about his real connections to Bill Ayers. I find it surprising he's managed to get away for so long with being so vague about this character. I'm not suggesting it would have been an election winner but if McCain had raised it weeks or months ago by this time he would have been pressing home the final attack rather than firing the opening shots.

9. There were clear contrasts between the two candidates on economic policy, offering voters a real choice. McCain had a degree of coherence we haven't seen before. But again - too late? It's incredible how dominant the economy has become. Remember what this election looked like it might turn on? Iraq and immigration.

10. Obama is smooth and unruffled. He never loses his cool. McCain seems constantly teetering on the edge of really losing it. Some people - including McCain - are infuriated by Obama's mien and view it as arrogant, elitist etc. But I sense voters want calm, reasoned and methodical this time. Eight years of Bush deciding from the gut and shooting from the hip have ensured that.

11. McCain missed a big chance to raise what I think will be a major worry for some voters - the chance that Democrats will win the White House and both houses of Congress, possibly with a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate. Americans prefer divided government. 

So, a wafer-thin win on the night for McCain. But will it make a difference to the result or is it too little too late? It feels like the latter... but never count John McCain out!  And perhaps the American people might actually start checking their voting records and taking a true look at Obama, in which case McCain would absolutely win!!

Posted By: Toby Harnden at Oct 16, 2008

“So, a wafer-thin win on the night for McCain, on debate number 3. But will it make a difference to the result or is it too little too late? It feels like the latter; but never count John McCain out!  And perhaps the American people might actually start checking their voting records and taking a true look at Obama, in which case McCain would absolutely win!!”  …Toby Harnden, US Editor for British Paper, The Telegraph

Every Senator’s Voting Record is Open to the Public  -  You Just Have To Do A Little Research

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