What happened to the Republican Party that I knew and loved?

Perhaps I have told this story before. I am going to repeat it; if you've read it before, simply dismiss it.

I was sworn in as a US Citizen on the September 12^th, 1980. When my brother and I found this out, we were elated. We could register to vote and vote for the next President of the United States. We had only dreamed of this privilege thus far. I remember walking through the strip mall, about three blocks from my home, and discovering a Republican Party Office on the second level of one of the buildings. There was Red, White and Blue bunting in the windows and above the door. I remember waling in and being greeted by a little old lady, who was the essence of gentility. She had me pull up a chair and she asked if I wanted to register to vote. I told her that I did want to do that, but I was totally unsure about what party I belonged to. The lady told me that she would tell me what the Conservatives were all about and then I could decide if I wanted to register as a Republican. I gathered that beign Republican meant being Conservative. She closed her eyes and appeared to be sailing through this utopian place where the government left you alone to take care of yourself. Where you were taxed, but only enough to support the military and law enforcement and to fill potholes in the streets. Where you could educate your children the way you wanted to, with whatever values you held as important. Where you could support whatever charities you thought were important. A place where your home was your castle and you could work as hard as you wanted to make as much money as you wanted, without any fear that more would be taken out of your paycheck, the more you made. Where everyone subscribed to the unshakeable fact that America's greatness came from nature of her people who were God Fearing and God Loving and who were unarguably blessed by their Creator. She ended by saying that America was, albeit her flaws and problems, was the finest country on the planet and that the American people were the most generous, caring and noble people to walk the earth.

I remember watching her and thinking, "Wow! I've been a Conservative all along and I didn't know it!"

I filled in a voter registration ad a Republican, almost ran down the stairs and told my bother (he had an office on the lower level of the same building) about this wonderful thing I had discovered. Within the hour he had registered Republican, too.

But, things are different now.

The country is in this leftward slide and the Republican Party has the mistaken notion that if it starts nudging leftward, more people will becoming Republican. The possibility, that what attracts people to the GOP are the very ideals that it is abandoning, is not even being considered. If you cannot really tell a difference between Democrat and Republican, why change at all? Black and white has disappeared in favor of this dull gray. It was the stark differences that pulled people one way or the other. The contrast is disappearing and so is the choice. The American people identify more strongly with conservative principals by a large 62% MAJORITY. These are the people who are scratching their heads and wondering what happened here.

We are choosing RINO candidates who are abandoning the economy and the free market concept in favor of going "green". Who might actually be willing to consider new taxes on the ants among us to help the grasshoppers enjoy their bone idleness.

In California, we voted for Arnold Swartzenegger because of his label. But he turned out to be a RINO. Now we will be forced to vote for McCain and once again we will be saddled with a RINO.

I am prepared to let either of the Democrats into the White House this time around. Let them have it for four years. When the four bleak years are over, let us hope that the country will realize the mistake and choose a real Conservative Republican in 2012. Hopefully, the GOP will also realize, by then, that the wishy-washy gray tint that they have taken on, is not working and we will return to the GOP of the past.

I am willing to make the sacrifice.

I am willing to pay more taxes.

I am willing to be dictated to on every aspect of my life.

I am willing to legalize all the illegals aliens in the country.

I am willing to let anyone marry anyone; their boy friends, girl friends, their cats, their dogs or the Andrew Sisters....all of them at once.

I am willing to let the "open borders" people have their way.

I am willing to pull out of Iraq and to reduce our military power.

Let them tax me to give illegals health benefits and make more anchor babies to insure they can stay in America in violation of all our immigration laws.

I will take all that for a return to the GOP of Ronald Reagan.

Just give me back the party I fell in love with 28 years ago.

What say you?

Reaganite.

While filling my tank with gas this morning, I was treated to a news bite on the little TV screen above the pump. Personally, I think it is the intention of the gas companies to distract us while we watch our life savings disappearing into the bowels of our automobiles.

But, I stray from the point of this article. The news clip I was watching and continued watching after the pump had stopped pumping, was about the area of China devastated by the earthquake. A news reporter was interviewing parents of children killed by the disaster. Every one of the couples being interviewed had, between seven and ten years ago, followed the government mandate to limit their families to a single child. They had obeyed, silently. In the intervening years, it looked like a triumph for Planned Parenthood. But now, these couples are without children; their only offspring destroyed by the earthquake. I couldn't help wonder about the best laid plans of mice and men.

Here is a prime example of human beings thwarting the natural course of nature. I find it amazing that the same people who do not want to hurt the caribou in AWAR, and the same people who want to preserve the rain forests and the same people who want to preserve the pristine nature of our coastlines, are the every people who, against every law of nature, will argue that it is a good thing to limit procreation. Now China is hurting. It has been estimated that an entire generation of Chinese have been destroyed, and there are no people to replace them. I wish this were just a statistical dilemma instead of being a personal tragedy for so many devastated parents. Now, please, make no mistake; I am no evangelical, bible thumping, right wing proselytizer. I do not believe that God had anything to do with the earthquake. I do not believe that God intended to punish the Chinese for not wanting large families. My God does not do things like that. Let's leave God out of this. While I do believe that God is sitting back and smiling about the effect of giving a much loved, albeit stupid creature, freewill, he does not deliberately send tragedy into our lives. Tragedy is a direct result of our human condition.

What I think, is that there are human beings on our planet who think they know what is best for us. They think that they know how we should live and where. They think they know when and if we should procreate. They know best. If we want to survive, we must follow their rules. We could be too stupid to think for ourselves.

I wonder what Planned Parenthood has to say to the Chinese couples who buried their only child, a few weeks ago.

Over beer and pizza, last night, I heard a good friend talk about a speaking engagement she had earlier in the day. She had addressed teenage girls as a part of a program called, "Great Women in History". My friend is a Veteran Navy Nurse. She served one year, in country, in Vietnam around 1968. This lady and her buddies underwent everything from mortar fire, grenade attacks and sniper fire (the real kind - not the concocted kind) and yet I was amazed at how casually she was talking about her experiences.

It was then that I decided what the definition of a hero really is. It is someone who serves the country at great personal risk because it is a job that must be done for the country. The job itself and the risks involved are minor compared to the calling and the duty to serve the country. That duty is paramount. Nothing else matters. It is what every one of our veterans has done. It is what our troops are doing right now, in Iraq and Afghanistan.

I have several vets in my life, and to all of them this post offers a heart-felt "thank-you".

Thank you, Casey, Judy, Jack, Fred, Phil.....you're all American heroes!

During a speech being given by John McCain, over the weekend, four different sets of protesters interrupted and had to be escorted from the room. All this happened in the first ten minutes of the speech. McCain promptly reinforced everyone's right to free speech, but insisted that everyone have time to speak without interruption. Then he said something that is refreshing for McCain. He said, "And by the way, I will never surrender in Iraq. Our American troops will come home with victory and with honor." Well, it's about time. At last something that isn't wish-washy and left-leaning. Now, can we hear something as deffinitive and right-wing about immigration and English as our national language and about America being "One Nation Under God".
Visit the CNN Blog Site and see what the left-wing loons are saying about the speech. I believe I actually heard the "lying about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction theme again...".

Someone really needs to polish up the talking points before handing them over to the cool-aide drinkers.

Reaganite....

Senator Harry Reid held a press conference during which he said, with great enthusiasm, that his party was going to pick up many seats as a result of the war. While young American men and women are fighting and sacrificing their lives for our safety, this cretin is excited that his party is becoming stronger because the popular tide is against the war. This, he sees, as a chance to gain political power. This must make our troops really excited about their mission. It must really make them feel appreciated. This is the second time Reid has done something like this. Remember when he said that the war was lost. Now, suddenly, after the surge and the advantage our forces have gained, one doesn't hear him say that any more. One doesn't hear the term civil war applied anymore either. Well, I am going to say something that no one else will say. Regardless of what you feel about the reason why we are in Iraq, it is unpatriotic to criticize the war while it is in progress. It is unpatriotic to vote to cut funds or to limit the time the forces have to win this war. It is unpatriotic to foresee anything else but unconditional victory in Iraq.

Let me be the first to say that, with hind sight, I too, question the reason for invading Iraq. I don't think that liberating any Muslim nation from anything is worth one solitary American life. So, I would not have gone into Iraq, either. But now that we are there, the entire nation should be whole heartedly behind our troops and we should all be cheering, loudly, for their complete success. Naturally, this will never happen. The Democrats are so bitter over the past two Presidential Elections that, coupled with their consequential unreasoning hatred for our President, their irrationality will cloud their vision, every time, and our valiant fighting men and women will be the losers.

Conservatives like me are hoping to hold on to the White House in November. But you won’t hear us admitting that it will take a moderate sell-out like John McCain to do the trick. Many experts are predicting that John McCain will win by an astonishing 40 to 50 electoral votes. He will be ahead of Obama by a very slim popular majority but will win big by electoral votes. President Bush won by a skinny 5 electoral votes in 2000. Remember how we didn’t know who had won until December 5^th or something like that? In 20054 , it was a little better, but Bush won by35 electoral votes.

The question is, will a 50 electoral vote margin really be something to crow about for Republicans like me. We will have won by abandoning all our core principals. We will have won with a candidate who is proposing massive governmental involvement in environmental issues. A candidate who, against popular conservative feelings, is in favor of granting some form of amnesty to the 20 million illegals in the country today. A candidate who actually championed a bill to limit free speech when he worked with Ted Kennedy to get Campaign Finance reform passed into law. I am moved to quote from the good book… “how are the mighty fallen, in the midst of their battle.” Would Ronald Reagan recognize this party if he were around today?

Reagnaite

WWW.HANGRIGHT.ORG

Are you ready for a change? Real change? Obama's type of change?

Well, how's this for a change.

Remember how Barack Obama said that it was a hollow gesture to wear the flag on one's lapel. Check out his lapel right now. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Superman?

Heck no. It's a flag pin.

He was asked why it had reappeared on his lapel. He gave some unbelieveable yarn about it having been handed to him by a veteran who told him it was important. Nice try Barack. Veterans are good for one's look when the cameras are rolling.

More likely that the presumptive Democratic nominee is trying to persuade the flag-loving blue-collar folk of the Appalachians that he can be their candidate too. It simply is no coincidence that the pin has reappeared on his lapel in recent days. Those hard working ( do I dare say "white" Americans....and by this I do not mean to say that non-white Americans don't work hard....I'm brown and I work three jobs) Americans love the flag. They love the National Anthem( which Barack Obama wants to change to....are you ready for this... "I'd Like to Teach The World To Sing in Perfect Harmony..." ...Gag) which Obama says he cannot salute because it is too bellicose (Google it....you only know this if you are a Harvard elite).

This is an appeal to any mid-westerner who loves the Flag and the Anthem and who works hard....please don't vote for this flake!!!!!We can all do better.

Reaganite

In America, today, bigotry is permitted if you are a Democrat and you are the bigot and your bigotry is aimed at a Republican. Notice how right-wing commentators cannot, under any circumstances, say that Hillary cannot be president because she is a woman. Can you imagine John McCain or Mitt Romney or even the Democrat Darling Obama, saying that Hillary just doesn't have what it takes to be Chief Executive because she is female? They would be run out of town in a heart beat by every liberal rag in the country. Can you imagine anyone saying that Obama cannot be President because he is Black? Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton would have uncontrollable paroxysms. Rev. Wright would have a new sermon series and he would probably seize while delivering the first one. Los Angeles, Chicago and Harlem would erupt in flames.

So, to clarify matters, let us confirm that it is fundamentally unacceptable to cluster any group of people together, people with one common characteristic, and label them for the sole purpose of saying that they are incapable of doing something or handling some job. Doing this is morally wrong, it is factually wrong, and it is indicative of a type of bigotry usually relegated to unsophisticated, under-evolved and under-educated people.

Now, here's the rub.

It is perfectly acceptable for Democrats and the crazies on the Daily Kos and Media Matters and Move-On dot Org to not just say that John McCain is old but to actually make cruel jokes about his age. This too, is morally wrong, factually wrong and just as indicative of the lack of sophistication and evolution as social human beings of the crowd who speak that way. What is even worse is the fact that this would be labeled the worst kind of bigotry if Republicans were saying this about a Democrat. Reverse the tables. Suppose Barack Obama were 72 and John McCain were 46? Could McCain dare level the age charge at the Black Minority Democrat? Not in a million years.

So you see, bigotry is permitted. Just be sure that it is leveled against all white people, all Right-Wing traditionalist conservative thinkers, all Republicans, and anyone who believes in Jesus Christ. If you do this you will never be called a bigot. You might actually become a celebrity....

In 2006 the country decided that it was a time to change things on Capital Hill. We voted in a whole bunch of Democrat Law Makers. Nancy Pelosi became the Speaker and she promised changes in 100 days. Remember? The country was delirious with hope. Now everything would be different. Remember how the Democrats promised to end the war quickly too. It was the most reckless promise ever made and broken by any congress ever.

Well, they are doing it to us again. One economist has calculated that raising the price of oil by as little as $20 a barrel is the equivalent to a $120 billion tax increase. This effects us common Joes. You and I. Every time we fill our tanks. Every time we buy steaks or carrots or a head of lettuce. Every time we turn on the air-conditioning at home. Every time we bathe our kids or wash the dishes. Every time a business man has to buy an air ticket to go across the country to sell something, cutting into the profit he makes, and consequently the taxes he will pay on his income.

Well, guess what. Our wonderful lawmakers did this to us last week. They imposed this tax of $120 billion on us. How did they do this without our noticing it? The liberals on the Senate Appropriations committee voted to block environmentally sound development of oil shale in Colorado. This is a depository of 1 trillion barrels of oil trapped in shale. I can never fully comprehend what a trillion is. So here is one way to relate. If we got one tenth of this oil it would multiply, by four times, our current oil reserves. Four times.....do you realize what that would do to the cost of gas at the pumps?

How does it feel to know that the Saudi Arabians, after President Bush's visit, agreed to increase their oil production by 300, 000 barrels a day, did more for us than our own congress did? It isn't a fix but it is still more than the morons on Capital Hill did for us.

The liberal solution for everything is deprivation. Barack Obama wants us to cut down on...are you ready for this...hamburgers, air-conditioning, SUVs, and trips to the soccer field. Remember Jimmy Carter? God spare us another one of those. Since when is it the American way to use less rather than produce more? What's wrong with these people?

Am I the only American who is mad? What is wrong with everyone? Are we all doped up and walking around in some kind of stupor? I, for one, want Barack Obama and his liberal friends, who want me to cut down on my enjoyment of life, for which I work three jobs, to GO TO HELL! Thomas Jefferson said that a revolution, every now and then, was a good thing. My friends, it time, right now.

Join me! Write to your Senator or Senators and demand a change. We want more drilling in our country. It can be done in an environmentally sound way without harming the damned caribou or damned pristine Colorado hillsides or the damned fairy shrimp. Let us start drilling, now. We want to build some refineries. We want to build more nuclear power plants. We want to buy less oil from Hugo Chavez and Price Faud and Mexico.

AND WE WANT IT NOW........click on this link and voice your opinion.....

Reaganite....

At the end of April Barack Obama had raised almost double what John McCain had raised.

Has anyone looked into the amounts of the individual donations to his campaign? John McCain has raised his $21 million by getting donations from Americans who probably do not drop $5 a day on Lattes, who do not drive BMWs and who do not live in million dollar lofts. It is the bread and butter Americans, black, white and brown, who have donated to keep John McCain alive. This is a good sign. This means that McCain's support doesn't come from Downtown in Chicago, Los Angeles Seattle, Dallas or Manhattan. His support comes from less urban areas in the country.

Areas where religion, guns and traditional values (like the ones the founders had, in case you’re confused) are more important than whether the Latte of the day is fat or non-fat.

Reaganite....

What is happening to Americans?

Why have we turned so helpless?

Why is the National Pastime become whining?

Surely this wasn’t the way things were in the 30s, 40s and 50s?

In the 30s they survived a depression.

In the 40s they won a world wide war.

In the 50s America became a super power and became truly prosperous.

So, was it the 60s that changed us irreparably? Was it that decade that changed us into whining wimps who are almost incapable of taking care of ourselves?

Are we Americans as dumb as we appear --- or --- is it that we just do not think anymore? I believe that this is a direct result of the Great Society. The gigantic and damaging promise that the Government would take care of us from the cradle to the grave. Suddenly, in the 60s, it dawned on us that we didn’t have to worry anymore because big brother was going to take care of everything.

But what has that changed attitude done for us today?

We love to whine about our situations. Situations like the price of gas, the price of beef, the Chinese Free trade and illegal immigration. We want to know why the government isn’t doing what it needs to do to fix these problems. All of these are reasons to hate President Bush and his administration. The President’s approval rating is adversely proportional to the price of gas, the price of beef, the low quality of Chinese goods and a whole string of other areas of discontent.

Since when is it Government’s job to control everything? Wasn’t federalism conceived to empower “US” the people? If you can’t stand the heat, you don’t necessarily have to get out of the kitchen. You can turn down the heat, for heavens sake. You do have control, until you surrender it completely.

We know that the Chinese, in their greed to make as much money as they can on us, are blatantly exporting inferior stuff that is poisoning our kids, killing our pets and we can add to this list of transgressions, what they are doing to the poor harmless Tibetans. A recent poll said that 70% of all Americans want the suspension of the free trade agreement with the Chinese. Yet we buy tons of Chinese rubbish and will continue to do this.

The same goes for oil. How many times haven’t we seen e-mails encouraging us to stop buying gas on Fridays? There are 62 million registered vehicles in the US. If only half of those vehicles boycotted the gas pump just once a week, it would definitely have an effect on the price of gas. But we don’t and won’t do that.

There are millions of American Parents who do not agree with the curriculum being offered in schools, but nothing is done. It is far, far easier to sit at home and whine about the situation, condemn “No Child Left Behind” and wonder why the government isn’t fixing the problem.

Well, here’s a fix, albeit not an easy one.

The next time you are tempted to buy something, pick it up and look for the manufacturing label. If it says “Made in China”, leave it on the shelf.

Next Friday, don’t buy gas even if it means you cannot go out on Saturday.

If your child brings home a book about something that you find offensive; take a day off from work and go visit the principal of the school. Better yet, have a wine tasting party at your place and invite other parents. Talk about it. There have got to be more parents who feel as you do. Then all of you go down to the principal’s office.

Want to stop illegal immigration; do some research. Find out which produce suppliers have a reputation for hiring illegals. Boycott the supermarkets that use them. And let the management know why.

STOP whining and start DOING, America…..the government isn’t smart enough to pick it’s nose. Don’t rely on it for anything.

Driving into work today I couldn't help notice the bumper stickers.

There were many different stickers.

Americans have not yet peeled off the Joe Biden, Dennis Kucinich, Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney and the Fred Thompson stickers. Old favorites never die; the stickers will just have to fade away under the hot California sun.

Naturally, the newest, brightest stickers were McCain 08 and Obama 08 stickers (I'm not going to talk about the lady who won't quit). These are Americans who have sent in money to their favorite candidate and received a sticker in the mail that promptly went on their bumpers. It is heart warming to see so many hard working Americans, on their way to work, sporting a sticker, indicative of involvement in a democratic process that many of us take for granted.

Here, however, was the amazing part.

The Obama stickers were on the Audis, the BMWs, the Volvos, the Accuras and the Porsches. I even saw an Aston Martin with an Obama 08 sticker.

The McCain stickers were on American cars. On Explorers, Impalas, Tauruses, and other American SUVs and sedans. This is quite a dichotomy. Does this mean that all the Foreign Car drivers want change? Are they all chanting "Yes, We Can?" into their Bluetooth earpieces? And if so, what change do they want? They are already driving top- of-the-line cars. Can one be earning less than $60,000 a year and afford a Porsche? One guy had a sticker that said, "If you are not outraged, you haven't been paying attention." The same guy had a "Doctors for Obama" sticker. This guy had on a crisp dress shirt with French cuffs and gold cuff-links and a coordinated tie. He was driving a BMW 328i. What the heck is he outraged about?

I, on the other hand, drive a beat up old Ford Explorer 1994, which my friends say looks like it has spent some hard time in Fallujah. I am not outraged. I have three jobs. I leave the house at 7:30 AM and return, as limp as two-day-old lettuce that's been left in the sun, at 7:30 PM. That's a twelve hour day - 72 hour week because, I work weekends as well. But, I live in one of the most beautiful parts of the American homeland. I am grateful I can have three jobs. I am grateful that I am an American. I wasn't born to it, I was granted it. I have a church community where I know I am loved and where I feel I belong. I sport McCain, Romney( I can hope can't I?), and "Support Our Cops" stickers.

I am a Reagan Republican. I know we can. I don't have to keep repeating it, over and over again.

We have done it before and we can do it again.

And we don't need the most progressive liberal Senator in Congress running the country to do it again.

Reaganite

www.hangright.org