Why only the GOP?

"Keep the pressure on the GOP" "Fractures in the GOP" "We need you to call the GOP members of the House Rules Committee..."

Why am I only receiving alerts to call the GOP and hold their feet to the fire? Aren't all of our Congressmen and women supposed to be doing what is right for this nation? Do we think that those supported by the Democratic party or the independents are so far lost to reason that communication is not even possible?

Or have we just given up?

I ask that because, the last time I checked, there is still a democratic majority in the Senate. So, unless some of those democrats are brought to reason, this is all a losing battle. There's no reason to exclude democrats from those calls, they need to hear from us too. What they do affects us all, so don't be discouraged by the fact that you may not be a member of this one or that one's constituency. If you have valid points to make for why they should vote a certain way for the good of the nation, they need to hear from you.

Beyond that, this goes directly to the heart of why Mr. Washington warned us against adopting a party system of politics. The people we elect to these offices are to be doing what is right for the nation, not voting according to party lines.

It's shameful that we have a situation where pundits can predict the success or failure of a piece of legislation by counting up votes along party lines. This is NOT how our system is supposed to work. Call your congressman or woman, by all means, but don't refuse to call them or committee members simply because of their party affiliation.

"And he said, Oh let not the LORD be angry, and I will speak yet but this once: Peradventure ten shall be found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for ten's sake. " ~ Gen 18:32

Or Else What?

In last week's BlogTalkRadio show (Oh Ye Of Little Faith) I spoke about how voting for the lesser of two evils is voting for evil. That the idea that we must vote for a major party candidate is a lie and, until we stop believing that lie, we will continue to vote for evil.

Don't believe it? The TEA Parties, independents, republicans,and libertarians and etc. have all weighed in on how We the People are going to "Take America back!" Really? By doing what? All I hear is that democrats are going to lose their seats in November. So What?

Let's say the democrats do lose. To whom will they be losing? That's right - by and large to republicans who may or may not have decided to behave and vote according to the values they are commonly perceived as having. I say again-so what? What's the threat if republicans don't behave themselves and vote according to those values-as they didn't in the Bush administration?

That's right, we vote the democrats in, in the next election. Beginning to see a problem here? If neither party represents our values as Americans any longer, then voting for the candidates of either party will not address our current challenges. In fact, voting for the candidates put forth by either party will very likely result in more of the same and worse.

Our republic rests on the exercise of self discipline and personal responsibility by the electorate. We need candidates who believe in us, as a people. Candidates who are willing to allow us to take risks and fail without regulating every last detail of our lives until we can no longer move or breathe for the regulations stifling us.

We need candidates who are willing to allow communities to take care of their own. Sure some folks will fall through the cracks. Does anyone think no one is falling through the huge cracks in government charity now? America is the most charitable and giving nation on the face of this Earth. I think we can be trusted to care for our own without government entitlements.

Pressing the easy button of party politics when you go into the voting booth or insisting on term limits(another form of that easy button) will not restore our republic. Not only do we need new people to run, we need the electorate to stop believing the lie that only a major party candidate can win, because by believing it, we give it power. The major parties spend a lot of money to be sure that we will believe it. They also spend a fair amount of time convincing us that one vote doesn't matter - no matter how much money they spend trying to convince us to cast that vote for their "team".

We have been granted the freedom to rule ourselves, but the responsibility that runs concurrently with that freedom is the responsibility to choose men and women of good character and sound judgement, who share our values to those posts of service. That requires making an effort beyond just accepting what the major parties and the mainstream media tell us.

It will be a shame to us, as a nation and as Christians, if we stand by and watch our nation go down the path to destruction because we believed a lie and kept voting for the lesser of two evils. Shame on us if we are unwilling to do the work to find out who is the best candidate, regardless of party. We can do better than that. We must. November is coming.

" For the leaders of this people cause them to err; and they that are led of them are destroyed.
Therefore the LORD shall have no joy in their young men, neither shall have mercy on their fatherless and widows: for every one is an hypocrite and an evildoer, and every mouth speaketh folly. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. " ~Isaiah 9:16-17

Quick Update

The Constitution Rally was well attended with ~1,000 or so people (by my own count ). I wasn't particularly pleased to see Sen. Leibham(R-Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Calumet Counties) as a speaker, as I think we need to keep the presentations party neutral. He was encouraging folks to support the Health Care Freedom Amendment, a piece of legislation that might preserve our right to make our own healthcare choices.
Would it also prevent us from having to have a national ID in the form of a healthcare card linked to our health records and bank accounts? Would it prevent us from being burdened with the regulatory and fiscal concerns related to the national bill? I'm not so sure it would.

I wouldn't have minded hearing about the bill that was to come up for consideration before the Senate this week to disenfranchise the voters of this state by giving all of WI's electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote in a presidential election, but I don't recall that being mentioned. Such things make me wonder if any of our legislators understand the difference between a republic and a democracy.

I was also disappointed to see the table reserved for a representative of the democratic party still vacant. Personally I would like to see that fiscal sanity and support for our Constitution is a goal of both of the largest political parties. If we must have them(which I dispute) the parties should agree that fiscal sanity and respect for our Constitution is good for America as a whole. But then, if that were the case, why would we need a TEA Party movement?

The Sheboygan Press, in true MSM fashion declared: "TEA Party riding on Republican momentum". I suppose the MSM is just itching for a way to categorize the TEA Party movement as something, anything other than what it is: We the People declaring our authority over our legislators and our government.

The Sheboygan Youth Symphony was wonderful. Kudos to all the young musicians and Dr. Rich as well.

"Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil;
Learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow. "~Isaiah 1:16-17

Republic or Oligarchy?

Our legislators are to represent "We the People" not The Republican party or the Democratic party or the Green party or the Libertarian party or any other party. That is why we have a republic and not an oligarchy.

Or so we think. If a candidate takes money from a political party, are they obligated to vote as that party would have them vote? The technically correct answer is, of course, no. But the real life answer is all too often yes.

When the parties are able to withhold financial and other resources from candidates in order to influence their vote, then there is a conflict of interests involved in a candidate's acceptance of party support.

• When those who are running the parties have no problem with using the resources at their disposal to influence a legislator's vote, we have a problem.
• When getting re-elected is more important than representing one's constituents faithfully, we have a problem.
• When "We the People" allow these things to become accepted practice and question neither the ethics of the parties nor the ethics of the candidates/legislators, we have a problem.

The problem we have, when these things are true, is that we no longer have a republic. We do not have a republic, at that point, because the legislators have effectively sold their votes to the political party or group from whom they wish support. If they have sold their vote to a political party, then they are not representing us. If they are not representing us, but rather the party or group who assures them of re-election resources, then what we have, has become an oligarchy, ruled by those groups(the media, the political parties, etc.) who can command the most legislative votes.

When there is any question that a legislator's vote is dependent upon how that vote will affect that legislator's ability to get re-election resources from a political party, there is something dreadfully wrong with the republic. This is why we now have terms like RINO and DINO to describe candidates who do not share the values of the parties from whom they accept financial and other resources in their campaigns to be elected and re-elected.

It is a shame to us as a people that we have allowed our election process to be usurped in this manner. This is why so many call for term limits, because they think this will solve the problem by limiting the damage that can be done by any given candidate. The problem is, that since the root of that problem is not that the candidates and parties are behaving badly, but rather that "We the People" have been lazy in allowing the political parties and the media to choose our candidates for us, giving us an easy button in the form of term limits will no more solve that problem than putting bumpers along the sides of the road will keep people from driving recklessly.

We can do better. The people of this country have morals and standards. We must no longer stand by while political parties or other groups usurp our authority by purchasing the votes of legislative candidates. It is a lie that a candidate cannot win without the support of a major party and it has always been a lie. When We the People bestir ourselves to determine the best candidate on an objective basis, we will have a republic and not before. That is the true message of the TEA Parties, that We the People are done with allowing others to steal our authority over the political process in this nation. The parties would do well to pay attention and become honest brokers of the values and principles they purport to hold.

"He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. " ~Matt 13:22