Stand Like a Rock

RINOs, sellouts, big tent republicans. All names for those who have been elected by conservatives because we thought they shared our values, only to have them cave when they get into office. Why does this happen time and time again?

Is it that the party politics, team spirit of it all has corrupted our election process? That would seem to bear a large portion of the blame, but there is another component which bears examination. That component is the word and process of compromise.

Compromise, on it's face, seems like a good thing. It is a useful tool when negotiating in areas of disagreement. Often, in bitter negotiations, a compromise where no one is entirely happy is viewed as a proper solution.

Politicians are often encouraged to compromise in order to get "something" done. An alarming idea at best, since our system was designed to prevent our politicians from doing certain things unless they compromised their principles. Our founders have said over and over again what sort of people we ought to prefer in our elections. People of good character and Christian values. Trustworthy and high minded statesmen. In other words, people who will not compromise on matters of principle. And yet, here we are.

Why was it important to our founders that we elect the best among us to serve in Congress? I submit that it was to be sure that those who served would be those who understood the difference between principle and preference. Thomas Jefferson wrote "It matters of style, swim with the current, in matters of principle, stand like a rock."

Here's why it matters. Compromise in an area of principle is not a negotiation, it is a loss. Let me say that again, compromise in an area of principle equals a LOSS.

We are to elect Congressmen and women who know that matters of principle should never even be in the same room as the bargaining table, much less on the table itself. In our current culture of moral relativity, we seem to have lost the knack for differentiating between principle and preference.

This is one area where being a Christian is of service to a legislator. If he or she has an absolute against which to measure his/her actions and decisions, it is easier to tell which items are items of principle (Like our God given and Constitutionally affirmed rights) and which are matters of preference (like whether to spend allocated monies for one form of defense or another).

We need to elect people based on character and values, not party. Because anyone who is willing to compromise on principle just to keep their party in power is someone who is willing to lose all that makes this nation what it was intended by our founders to be. The freest, most independent nation on Earth. A nation of principled individuals whose understanding of personal responsibility and self determination would set them a cut above those of any nation that allowed their government to do their thinking for them. For too long we have seen our legislators lose, step by incremental step, the principles upon which this nation was founded. This is the battle we are fighting and every individual in this nation of voting age has a duty to vote accordingly.

To those who protest that by abandoning the "two party system" we will give the election to "the other side", so what? If we do not elect people of good character who will not compromise on principles, we are lost anyway. Because those "good, party members" will compromise again and again, until we stop electing them. The choice you offer is between an immediate loss and an incremental one. Again, a vote for the lesser of two evils is still a vote for evil.

"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." ~ Psalm 97:10

Character Counts

Why do we have such problems finding good people to serve in positions of leadership in this country?

I've heard it said that "Character is what you do when no one is looking." The implication being that if your behavior in public is consistent with your behavior in private, then you have strength of character. In my opinion, character is only one half of the equation when we are considering to whom we should give our votes. Character may be what you do when nobody is looking, but leadership is what you do when they are. Character in private does nothing for those who would otherwise be strengthened by your actions. Leadership is crippled when it is not accompanied by good character.

That said, I ask again, why do we have such problems finding good people to serve in positions of leadership in this country?

I submit to you that it is because We the People have become lazy and lacking in discernment. We have before us, in these last months three wonderful examples of what happens when lack of character meets lack of discernment.
I shall start with Mr. Franken.

Mr. Franken gained the endorsement of his party(political parties are despicable things which tend to distract people from the real job of choosing a candidate by providing an "easy button", but I digress.), ran a campaign, and, when the result of the vote was close, asked for a recount. These are all reasonable actions for someone seeking political office.
The recount, however, has been fraught with bias and irregularities. This is where one expects a person of character to show their true colors. One would expect Mr. Franken to issue a statement saying that until he, himself along with the people of Minnesota are satisfied that the election results and recounts are true and without bias or irregularities, he would refuse to accept the seat. Has he done so?

Next up is Mr. Burris.

Mr. Burris was appointed to a senate seat by a man under investigation for corruption, specifically corruption regarding the sale of that particular seat. What man of character would accept any position of authority under such a cloud? Doing so can only serve to cast suspicion on one's entire life and career and bring shame to one's family. And yet, Mr. Burris has not only accepted the seat, but has engaged in legal wrangling to frustrate the well intentioned attempts of Congress to deny him the seat under these conditions.

One challenges the good people of IL (I know there are some good people in IL) to recall Mr. Burris as soon as can possibly be arranged and likewise a challenge to the good people of Minnesota in regard to Mr. Franken. If We the People want people of good character to be our representatives, then we must start doing what is necessary to make such a change. That starts with refusing to allow those of demonstrated poor character to continue serving past such demonstrations. It continues with making an active effort to find people of demonstrably good character to fill those seats.

I refer you to http://www.primarychallenge.org/ for a starting place. This is a site asking for folks to help them identify RINOs and find the names of good people to challenge them in your state's primary elections. (RINO = Republican In Name Only- I am not a republican, I am a conservative but I support the notion of replacing those who are not representing their constituency's wishes in this manner as a good start - you liberals will have to find your own site)

You are probably asking yourself who the third example is. I would ask you to examine the actions and words of Mr. Obama. He promised transparency and yet has spent significant amounts of money to avoid verifying that he is Constitutionally qualified to sit as president when a minimal fee would have sufficed to remove the challenges to his election. With this refusal, he plunges our country into a Constitutional crisis and jeopardizes the careers of every serviceman and woman in our military. This has been made to seem a small matter, something of no consequence, ridiculous even. But how arrogant and disrespectful of the American people is it to take the office of POTUS with such an easily addressed question unresolved?
I challenge the American people to really look at this man's actions and words over his lifetime. You tell me if this is a man of good character. Be prepared to defend your position.

For the next election cycle, I challenge the people of America to disregard the admittedly biased mouthings of the MSM and research the candidates yourselves. Vote, not by party, but by principle. Be guided not by the mouthings of talking heads and celebrities but by the dictates of your own conscience and common sense. Do not sympathize with those who have failed morally, or allow the lecherous, drunken or fiscally unsound private behaviors of someone requesting to serve as our leader to be glossed over but rather demand good character and adherence to high moral standards from those we put into positions of leadership. We are better than that. We need leaders who exemplify the standards we want our nation to adhere to who can demonstrate them to the world. We have the God given freedom to do so, but with freedom comes responsibility. This is not someone else's job-it is ours, individually.

"And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee." ~Numbers 11:16