Wit or Wisdom

Well, he’s just the current poster child of this particular clever word framing by the liberals. They’ve been doing it for a long time now, and I’m tired of it. It’s a load of words I cannot utter.

I was listening to Rush Limbaugh speak to this yesterday, and he was saying that “unification” is essentially nothing more than liberal code-speak for “you forsake your convictions and let us do what we want.” He talked about the Founding Fathers and how they managed to hammer out agreement on a Constitution and other such things despite rampant disagreement… well, it was through determination and compromise, not “unification.” Reagan, the great hero of the Right, did not accomplish what he accomplished by “unifying” with any liberals.

Yesterday, I was debating on a blog with some people about Barack Obama’s speech, and one person trotted out this “unification” line. Here’s what I say to that. Fine. Let’s unify behind Barack Obama. No one’s allowed to disagree with him, and then we can call it civilized dialogue. NOT! The very instant that we do such a thing is the instant we have finally signed over our freedom as Americans. It is important that we disagree, and that we express those disagreements.

Which brings me to Obama’s speech a couple days ago. I read the transcript, and I hate to admit it, but it struck me as pretty well done at first. He addressed a lot of issues that a lot of liberals won’t touch. He paid at least token acknowledgment to the fact that white people’s concerns about race aren’t based in fiction. But when it came down to it and you erase away all the nice shiny rhetoric, it was the same. In the end, it’s still the white people’s fault. In the end, we still don’t get it. And in the end, he wants to solve all of these problems, whether real or perceived, with the same liberal policies. And, he could find it in him to offer as much or more condemnation for his white grandmother who was “afraid of black men on the street” and “uttered racial stereotypes” (go ahead and count the stereotypes that Obama made in that speech. I dare ya. There’s quite a few.) as he offered for his “Pastor” who rants and raves and calls for God to “damn America” (which is something that no Pastor, preaching God’s Word, would ever pray for). Among other things, Barack Obama was one of the loudest in the call for Don Imus to be fired. What does that say about him?

Obama has a lot of nice words, but even a cursory examination of his record, and the facts of his policies, reveal that he is just another liberal, just one who talks nicer. Don’t think for a second that he’s going to disown affirmative action (even though he paid lip service to white people’s concerns about that) as a policy, despite the fact that it is a racist policy. I mean, after all, his church preaches racism.

Against everything the media tells us, against all the appearances, against Obama’s rhetoric of “change” and Hillary’s devious ways of stealing elections, the truth is, John McCain may pull off the win after all. While it’s obviously premature to say that anything like a prediction can be made, an interesting trend is showing up. The Democrats continue to strike blows at one another, and every indication is that they will continue to do so until the convention this fall. Hillary Clinton does not give up a chance at power unless you drag her away under threat of the law, so she will likely fight this all the way until the end. (I believe it will be political suicide if she does, but that’s a good thing.) Whatever her chances, her presence in the race demands that Obama will have to deal with her. He seemed to be trying the tactic of ignoring her, and that clearly isn’t working.

If you buy into polling data, which does fluctuate, yes, but so long as it isn’t an exit poll, I believe, tends to provide at least a somewhat hazy picture of the facts, then this new poll by Reuters and Zogby will look very interesting to you. It shows Barack Obama’s national lead over Clinton down to just three percent, which is, of course, inside the margin of error of any poll. However, the more interesting trend is that McCain has now opened up a wide lead over Obama in a national election, and while his lead over Clinton has diminished somewhat, it still holds fairly strong.

A scenario seems to be emerging in which the Democrats fight it out until their convention in late August, while McCain can build his national support. His recent move of taking a trip to the Middle East almost as soon as he locked up the nomination is a stroke of genius, as it cements the image of McCain as a presidential figure in the minds of many, since that is the sort of thing that Presidents do. While the prospect of Hillary Clinton beating McCain in a head-to-head battle seems unlikely give how polarizing she is and how few right-leaning moderates would vote for her, a matchup against Obama means that McCain must start gathering support from that group now, which having the nomination locked up will allow him to do. IF McCain can capitalize on this built in advantage, then we may be looking at a President we can live with after all.

what we already knew. Liberals are hypocrites. We didn’t hear liberals rushing to the nearest conglomeration of microphones to denounce Spitzer and demand that he immediately resign.

Yet, they see no problem with calling out conservatives who stumble.

(Today, I’m reading a book on liberal hypocrisy that I will review at my book review blog [which had a bit of a hiccuppy start, but hopefully I'll be able to stick to soon!])

I ran today… for the first time in quite a while. I’m pretty out of shape… made it completely around two blocks. Not big blocks, either. But hey, it’s a start. It was just warm enough for a jacket, just cold enough to make my lungs feel like they were about to explode. The thought recently occurred to me that if I play basketball at college, it’ll be the first time in my life I won’t be the tallest man on the court when playing organized ball. I played for a few years early on in junior high and high school and have dabbled in some 3-on-3 stuff since then. I’m 6′2″, but I was 6′ when I was fourteen, so I’ve pretty much always been taller than or as tall as everyone else. The truth is, I make a horrible big man. I don’t have enough upper body strength, and I enjoy running too much. That and I can never anticipate which way the ball is bouncing on a rebound.

Speaking of running, I learned a long time ago that your mind says you are done before you are really done. Words to live by. You can always go twice as far as you think you can. (Reminders of Brock in “Facing the Giants”) However, after I was done today, things have burned every time I stand up.

Mike Huckabee is figuring on being Reagan number two, and I hope he pulls it off. His grassroots forum (not started by himself, but very in support of him) Huck’s Army is buzzing with things that can be done. I have an exciting opportunity there, but I’ll tell you what it is IF it pans out.

Some friends and I were discussing yesterday what McCain will have to do to win. It seems that he must do two things. 1) Get the farthest reaches of the right to vote for him and recognize that the numbskull idea of voting for a 3rd party candidate or writing in a man who wouldn’t accept it aren’t really conducive to the survival of America. (On that note, we were discussing parties and party history, and came to the conclusion that America’s government is simply ideal for a two-party system and anyone thinks so is off their rocker a little bit). 2) He must make the “moderates” (people who don’t recognize the importance of being involved in the political process and taking positions on things, aka do not care) care. If he can’t, Obama’s “hope” and “change” rhetoric that deals with nothing to do with anything resembling actual issues will trump.

Mike dropped out of the race officially last night, now that John McCain gained the necessary number of delegates to ensure the nomination. Over the last year, I have followed Mike and supported him ardently. When it became obvious that he could not win, I simply quit blogging for him, not wanting to admit the inevitable, yet knowing that there was little point in putting more effort into it. Mike Huckabee was the very first person I had the privilege to vote for in any sort of election, and I must say it was a privilege. While I’ve only just now become old enough to vote, I’ve followed politics for the last eight years, and Mike is the only politician who has ever excited me and his campaign infused me with a renewed trust in the American way of doing government. While he has ultimately fallen short, the movement that he, together with his dedicated supporters, seems to have started among social conservatism is hardly dead. When you read his letter, you will realize that this incredible man has no intentions of quitting the American political arena after just one defeat, but intends to carry on, and hopefully, run again in 2012. While it won’t happen now, my guess is that someday Mike Huckabee will become President of our nation.

All this said, I would like to address some of the ridiculous reactions I have seen from some supporters of the now former Presidential candidate. This is no time to be writing in a man who has publicly stated he will not run as a third-party candidate. The truth is, John McCain, while often frustrating as a legislator to conservatives, has a largely conservative voting record, including issues such as life and taxes. It is absurd to suggest that we would be better off with Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama in power, working with a Democrat-controlled Congress to advance their agenda of “progessivism” that is progressive ONLY in that it enables time travel back to the dark economic policies of Franklin Roosevelt and the cultural agenda of the Supreme Court that passed such infamous rulings as Roe v. Wade. It is imperative that either of these two do not reach office. I am convinced that if one of them does, it will be the end of America and her freedom as we know it, and it would be one of the the greatest errors in our nation’s history if conservatives, fueled by comparatively minor disagreements with Senator McCain, refrain from voting for the man. If you buy into the argument that to vote for McCain is the lesser of two evils, realize that all you merely do by not voting for him is, at best, vote for the lesser of three evils. A more realistic view is that voting for a third-party candidate, or to write in a candidate who is not even running, is to enable the total destruction of the American Republic. I will spend the next several months in the political posts on this blog doing everything in my power (meager as it is) to ensure that this does not happen.

Finally, let me state a reminder to all of you. God is still on the throne. While electing a candidate who promises “change” from the freedom we now have may be the end of our country as we know it, God will not end. We are blessed to live in the greatest nation in the history of the world, the ONLY superpower in the history of the world where people are free to exercise almost ALL of their basic rights as humans. If God chooses to withhold that blessing in his wisdom and judgement for our waywardness, then so be it. But He is still omnipotent, and He still raises up rulers and still takes them down.

Now, the parting words from Governor Huckabee (or at least the parting words from his campaigning):

Dear Faithful Friends,

Last night was a tough one for all of us. While Janet and I stood on the stage, we felt as if we were surrounded by a much larger family than our immediate family. We have been surrounded throughout the process by a large and growing family of faithful friends whose efforts in the campaign have humbled and amazed us day after day. I regularly wept or choked back tears just reading comments on the blog when I realized the sacrifices that so many have made for the campaign.

We had held out hope that we would win enough delegates to keep the contest going, but had vowed that if Senator McCain actually got the 1191 delegates, we would accept the will of the voters. In the end, the relentless hammering of the media that we “couldn’t win” influenced enough voters and while we campaigned long and hard in the final states, it simply wasn’t enough. I congratulate Senator McCain and will do what I can to assist him and influence him to take strong stands for issues that we conservatives cherish.

I don’t see the long journey having reached its destination, but merely taking a detour. As my Marine friend Clebe McLary says, “I didn’t lose–it’s just that the game ended before I got finished playing.”

In the immediate days ahead, we will be transitioning from campaign mode. For 14 months, there have been a lot of things put on hold in our lives. We have to join the many incredible people on our staff to figure out “what’s next?” But this much I can tell you—we want to stay in touch and start now building a platform to continue addressing issues that brought us together in the first place.

Throughout my life, I’ve found that there are sometimes three possible answers to our prayers–”Yes,” “No,” or “Not Now.” I would like to think our prayers were answered with a “Not Now.”

We will keep our website up and as we transition, will want to create a way to keep in touch and continue the battle for our families, our freedom, and our future. We will also focus on assisting conservative Senate and House candidates, in places where we know our investment of time and energy can make a real difference. You can expect us to be active online as we do this and to regularly solicit your opinions and support. Too many big issues are at stake for us to sit on the sidelines.

In the immediate time, we have to make sure that we pay all the bills of the campaign and end in the black, help our staff find ways to earn a living, and make sure that we don’t lose the momentum of the past 14 months, but instead follow the plan:

REFLECT, REST, RENEW, and RE-BOOT!

I really welcome your input and thoughts during these coming days. Pray for us as we seek wisdom as to what steps we take now. Despite what some have thought, we really didn’t have a “Plan B’ in the wings–we always thought we’d be in this until the inauguration in January of 2009!

God has been so good to us! We can never fully express our gratitude for all you have done and how you have touched and blessed our lives. I truly hope I didn’t let you down. I promise to you that I gave it all I had to the last minute and left it “all on the field.” What is more amazing is how you were willing to be “poured out” to the point of empty in order to be with us all the way. I stand amazed by it all and overwhelmed with gratitude.

We will dust off, pick ourselves up off the canvas, and answer the bell for the next round, whatever that may be. We love you all, and trust that the journey has just begun!

With tired bodies and grateful hearts,

Mike and Janet Huckabee

Neil has a piece here, (mainly a transcript, but you need to see it and click on the links in it) entitled Planned Parenthood (not) in the news again.

Can you really, honestly tell me that those institutions are interested in the good of anybody (other than themselves) after reading that? On top of being defenders of and perpetrators of murder, taking advantage of women AND men, deliberately distorting all kinds of facts, and hiding statutory rape, they also support racism? Ask yourself, folks, if you support abortion… do you really want to be associated with these kinds of people? If the people who actually perform and fund the institution you defend are guilty of all this, do you really think it’s worth fighting for?

Tonight, we had a birthday party for my friend Randy Hemingway, and one of my other friends, Jason Wall, was talking about how much fun skydiving would be. I, as I am prone to do, played the mocking cynic to his ambitious, fun-loving adventure optimist. It was quite fun. The conversation went something along the lines of “It’s like flying.” “No, because when you are flying, you can control where you go.” “But you can.” “No, you’re flopping like a rag doll.” “No, seriously, you can control where you’re going!” “Yeah, you step out of the plane. That’s where the control ends.” “But you can!” “Mmhmm. And my controls keep my two feet firmly on the ground.”

Anyways, that’s my amusing tale for the evening since I can’t think of anything else to write about. Oh, yes. Random thought… I hang out with a lot of people older than me. Way older than me. When you look around the table and everybody sitting next to you is at least six years older, it’s a very interesting sensation.