Reflection - A Call To Action...

Looking through my blog archive, I thought I would share what I wrote exactly 8 years ago about the outcomes of THAT election. In the past days, I have been called a sexist, a misogynist, white privileged, and there was the indirect implication that I am a racist.

I get that people are raw from the outcome of the election. I get that they think the world is going to end. I get that they believe that Trump is a personal attack on everything they believe. 

I really do get it. 

This is how I felt when we elected a socialist TWICE from the Chicago south-side. This is how I felt when the Democrats unilaterally passed Obamacare. This is how I felt when he declared that we are no longer a great nation or a super power.

So yes - I really do get it...

No doubt that the last seven days have been difficult for you: a failed election, Democrat gains in the House and Senate, the virtual cartwheels of the left leaning media celebrating the election of their hand selected candidate and his perceived elevation to god like status, the joyous news articles about the first 100 days of Camelot 2 (the sequel), the disappointment among the cast at Saturday Night Live who now have nobody to make fun of, and the media coverage of Sarah Palin forced to return her campaign wardrobe. Recounts in Minnesota, the landscape littered with failed ballot initiatives and the announcement of trials for our enemies locked away in the soon to be closed Guantanamo Bay Naval Base.

The fact is: you should be angry. You should be upset. You should be confused and distraught and fearful.

And the fear comes, in part, when you see those that we would probably classify as our enemies, dancing in the street. Not because Obama or the Democrats are going to usher a new era of peace and prosperity for the world, but because they now know that America will be far less likely to take direct action against them while they move unabated across the globe. Osama bin Laden endorsed Obama, not because he expects peace with our country but because he believes it will be easier to destroy the Great Satan with the Democrats in control.

The Republican Party took a punch in the gut, and you probably hand the wind knocked out of you.

And worse: the change is coming. The change you fought against. The change that will march forward unchallenged through the House and through the Senate and through the media. The change that represents the greatest threat to conservative values in the past thirty years. Greater than Carter. Even greater than the Clintons. The people have spoken, and the change is coming. Like a tidal wave.

Is moving to Canada the answer? Hardly. Though it certainly will be easier to go back and forth between our northern and southern neighbors. Congressional liberals will blow bazooka-sized holes in an already struggling immigration policy, inviting them to join their party of “inclusion”, as the various labor unions wait with open arms to add them to their rosters. This will be easy, as they will be able to unionize businesses through the card check method, discarding the secret ballot for a more “democratic” process. And these newly energized and cash laden unions will be sponsoring election day "vote-as-many-times-as-you-can" bus tours for their left leaning members now that we will have same day voter registration in all 50 states. Your vote will now have to directly compete with the voting dead of Cook County political machine, or the ACORN registered Dallas Cowboys offensive line (they only get to vote 47 times, so no big deal there).

We currently live in a constitutional republic with some democratic leanings, but that is changing as well. Those democratic leanings are inching their way to become the standard, a standard of mob rule with little concern of the checks and balances that our Founders created to save us from ourselves. Our liberties are more at risk as we move towards democracy. The progression has been slow to this point, but high speed communications have changed the average person’s view of democratic processes, and most believe republican processes are slow and ineffective. That darn Electoral College has stood in the way for far too long, and our more liberal friends are not going to allow something like one of the foundations of our republic type of government and most brilliant compromises of the Constitutional Convention stand in the way of the new Democrat, “you don’t need to see my identification” super voter base.

Not that it matters, as you will probably not have to hear about it. If Nancy Pelosi has her way, the "fairness doctrine" will wipe out the minute media opposition to liberal policies, putting conservative talk radio and any other conservative media outlet out of business, possibly including my blog (sorry folks!).

But all is not lost.

There is a twinkle of starlight on the blanket of darkness that has enveloped the conservative universe. We may have taken the punch in the gut, but we can recover.

While this election saw a general rout of elected officials with conservative ideals, the election was not a complete loss. There was pre-election speculation that the Democrats might pick up enough seats to hold a filibuster proof majority in the Senate, and this did not happen. Several conservative ballot initiatives passed in Colorado, proving that the voting public has not completely migrated to the left. Several states, including California, affirmed conservative values and confirmed the widely held belief that marriage is an institution that should be between a man and a woman. This, despite the millions of dollars spent by Hollywood and gay organizations that tried to use their influence (not only in monetary resources, but in star power and in the scripts of the very television shows that they honor year after year) to defeat the measure.

For certain, this election hurts really more than any other election in recent history, as we now have a left leaning unified government with a very left leaning President. We have discussed the kinds of policies this kind of government will enact, now that they have their chance to govern.

These kinds of polices scare me. But more than anything else, it motivates me. It motivates me to get involved. It motivates me to embrace my values. It motivates me to make certain that it doesn’t happen again.

We have two years of a unified Congress to deal with. That’s 730 days. We have four years of a leftist President. That's 1460 days.

The GOP will have to get serious now about the Congressional mid-terms and in about 1000 days for the next Presidential election. Now is the time to really start identifying what the platform is going to be, who we want as our next party leaders, and who we want to be the next President.

Very soon, we will know the impacts of a Democrat unified Congress. We will know the impacts of a rubber stamp executive. We will know the damage to the court system, to the small businesses that have been taxed out of existence, to our wallets and checking accounts. We will know first hand of the failures of Obama/Pelosi/Reid’s social policies, and we will have to develop plans to minimize the damage as quickly as possible.

Keep your chin up. Remember your values. Stay true to your beliefs. I sincerely believe that the country made a mistake a week ago, and we will have 4 years to learn from than mistake. Pay attention, and get involved at the local level. We lost this election, in part, because people in the 40 and under crowd voted for Obama. We need to even the playing field the next time around.

And remember that conservatism is not dead - we are just taking a breather to rebuild!

Guest Post - What Can I Do...

Philip Marshall, a friend and co-worker, shared his thoughts on the election outcomes yesterday. I am honored to share them with you here.

I’ve been trying to think what it’s like today to be a Muslim, disabled, Hispanic, woman or other person with a nationality, religious beliefs, origin or background to whom Donald Trump has been disingenuous. I can hardly imagine.

What I can imagine is making sure that I make eye contact, smile, acknowledge and engage every person who may undoubtedly feel uncomfortable in their own skin. I can and should do this anyway. I want them to feel, with every interaction, that they are welcome and just as much a part of my America as I am. They might be a surgeon, attorney, coffee barrister or someone I meet at an event, in a store or at work.

What I believe is that most people want to do good, want to contribute and want to make me feel connected to them in at least some small way. We’re all in this together and my belief is that it’s a very small world. Someone I hold a door for today may very well save my life down the road. Wouldn’t it be great if when they’re helping me that they remember that I was the nice guy who smiled, took a minute to connect and left them feeling a part of my world as opposed to feeling shunned by it.

Unless you’re of Native American descent, it’s likely that your parents, grandparents, or some distant relative journeyed here. Perhaps their reason for coming was that they were persecuted in a foreign land. They likely braved a long trip by ship or endured horrendous conditions on barely passable roads. And when they arrived, they may not have been treated well. It wasn’t easy. Don’t you think they’d be pleased to see you reach out to strangers, many of whom are petrified of this new land and its diverse people?

Now more than ever it’s time to embrace people who seem unlike ourselves rather than be predetermined to hate. This world can become a better place, not by building walls, but by tearing them down. As Isaac Newton said, “We build too many walls and not enough bridges.” So I’m going to smile, hold out my hand, look a stranger in the eye, and envision a world in which with each persons’ contributions, we all thrive. In the words of the great American poet Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” I want them to feel like they’re home.

What Do I Tell My Kids? A Suggestion...

Stop.

Just. Stop.

Stop emoting and let your right brain take a breather for a moment.

Better? Now read on…

Yes, the election is a shocker. You were misled by ALL of the polls. No one (apart from the Simpsons 16 years ago) could have predicted this to happen. Yet it did.

No, the world is not going to come to an end, though it may feel that way for some of you. There were even reports of the Canadian immigration site crashing as the election results were coming in.

Every four year, we have a new election for the President of the United States. Sometimes, it goes your way. Sometimes it doesn’t. And yet – every time the country has survived. You may not like the person, or the system, or the results. But the country survived (and if you are the anarchist type that was hoping to overthrow the government or something, maybe you *SHOULD* consider Canada. Or Libya. Or Iran. Or North Korea – I hear they have a great golf tournament there).

I saw that #WhatDoITellMyKids is trending on Twitter at the moment, and I thought I would share some things that you can share with your kids about this election and the American political system, without delving too deeply into more political rants and discourse:

• There will be a woman President someday. She will be a person with honor, integrity, character and values. She will love our country, and do everything in her power to make it better. Hillary Clinton may not have won this election cycle, but she has proven that major parties can nominate and compete with a woman on the top of the ticket. Trailblazers such as Clinton (and Condoleezza Rice and others) have craved a path through a male dominated world for our daughters to follow and excel.

• The powers of the Presidency are limited. Simply, there are limits to what the President can do, and those limits are a good thing. Many think that they get in the way of positive action, but just as often, they prevent totalitarianism. Yes, the President will be able to select his Cabinet, and he will oversee the bureaucracy. But those positions will still be held by those that know how to make the government run, and many will be those that were hired by the former President.

• Congress acts a check and balance. One of the more bizarre consequences of this election is that few (if any) of those elected or reelected to Congress achieved this by riding the President-elect’s coat tails. Trump may have a unified Congress for the first couple of years, but none of these congressional leaders are beholden to him. Quite the contrary – there is probably more animosity between a President and the congressional leaders of his party than at any time in history. Point being – don’t think that Trump has a rubber stamp for any of his programs or ideas. Far from it.

• Trump the TV personality vs. Trump the businessman. I don’t know how else to explain this other than like this: I believe (as do MANY others) that the Donald Trump that we have seen on the campaign trail is Donald Trump the TV celebrity, and that Donald Trump the businessman is a VERY different person. I can’t speak to whether this is true, and maybe the businessman is not really any better than the celebrity. Time will tell. But if you think that this campaign felt like one long reality TV show, maybe it is because it was. And Trump played a part specifically designed and molded for him by the public and the media. He played it so well that he won. Sure, it isn’t the Emmy that he wanted so badly for his TV show, but the perks for winning this contest are not too bad…

• Trump was elected for a reason. Certainly, it was not because he was a stalwart Republican. Certainly it was not because of his great hair. I have read by many that it wasn’t that Trump won, but that Hillary did everything she could to lose. That may be true as well. But there is a current of dis-satisfaction with the “business as usual” approach to government and politics. Trump tapped in to this wellspring and the current carried him to victory. Republicans and Democrats need to stop and take notice – despite their best efforts to stop the stream and run business as usual campaigns, the message that Trump promoted (in between insults and horrible statements) was still the one that was the most important to voters. The people tried 8 years of “Hope and Change” under Obama, and have very little to show for it. They wanted an outsider to have a crack at it – someone that was against the business as usual, Washington establishment types. And that is who they elected – bad hair and all.

The right brain side of you is probably violently reacting again at this point, coming up with all of the counterpoints to things listed above. At the end of it all, the kind of person you are will undoubtedly shape what you tell your kids, and the tone in which you tell them. You can focus on the negative – which there was ample from both candidates – or you can focus on the smooth transition and the desire to affect change in a positive way in the future.

So my simple message for your kids is this:

I am proud to be an American, 

and will continue to work to shape the future elections 

for the benefit of all.

The Day After...

I was hoping this day would come. I know it is still early, but - like I said - I'm hopeful!