Vote Conservative This Time Around

There are several reasons NOT to vote for Barack Obama, here are a few reasons to vote for conservative candidates:

It's OK to Vote for a Mormon POTUS

As a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons), I am free to vote my conscience. The Church goes to extreme lengths not to dictate to its members what their political choices should be. It might stem back to our early days as settlers in the slave state of Missouri.

Governor Lilburn W. Boggs

As abolitionists, the Mormons voting in a bloc represented a threat to the political status quo and our ancestors were driven from that state under an extermination signed by Governor Lilburn W. Boggs, essentially giving his citizens the green light to shoot Mormons on sight. Mormons have a special kinship with minority populations wherever we find them, which might help explain our affinity for the Jews and their plight in modern Israel today. The Jewish people will not find a more committed and devoted friend than President Mitt Romney.

In more practical modern terms, I suppose the reason the Church doesn't tell its members how to vote is that it just doesn't want to put their tax-exempt status in jeopardy.

I overheard a conversation yesterday that continues to gnaw away at me this morning, hence this post.

The two were discussing whether or not they would even vote in this election, because in their minds the choice between "the Muslim" and "the Mormon" was not one they even cared to make. There were a few comments about "the lesser of two evils." Each had discussed it with their respective pastors and each seemed to still be conflicted.

So in the spirit of trying to help my two Christian friends who don't know me from a jar of Vicks, I offer the following insights.

It is my considered judgment that America needs a Mormon president now more than ever before. I have debunked the White Horse Prophecy before on these pages. I have no illusions about a Mormon elder riding into the fray on his White Horse to rescue the U.S. Constitution. The very thought is repugnant to me, as if somehow the Mormons would even want to assert such a claim. The leadership of the Church constantly renounces those who promote the idea. And by the way, the quote often attributed to Joseph Smith that "the Constitution would someday hang by a thread" and need rescuing by a Mormon POTUS, is nothing more than a faith promoting rumor and simply isn't true.

Mitt Romney

So why would Americans act now and why would a majority of Americans now be poised to vote for a Mormon POTUS for the very first time in American history?

This may seem at first combative and somewhat repulsive, but I'll offer it anyway. In recent years, America has been failed by its population of Christians, whether they be Catholic, Protestant, evangelical or otherwise. Failed? How? As an "American Christian Church" - the national body of believers - our society has failed to do what the Mormon Church has succeeded in doing - standing up for marriage between a man and woman, encouraging their members to solidify their families through selfless service to others, requiring a commitment to support and sustain one another, especially for those less fortunate regardless of their circumstances whether here in America or abroad. Mormons oppose abortion. Mormon philanthropic outreach activity is second to none. There is a deep-seeded demonstration of commitment among Mormons to values and practices that might even be called old-fashioned or out-of-date. Sexual purity, abstinence from alcohol, coffee, tea, tobacco and illegal drugs, a reach higher for that which is "lovely, praiseworthy and of good report" are other indicators. For the most part Mormons are decent, law-abiding, Constitution-loving people. The Mormons routinely excommunicate members who do not contribute to the society of believers. We hold people accountable.

Think how few churches, by contrast, require accountability from their members. Nominal membership is acceptable. Studying and applying the scriptural truths Christ taught are sometimes viewed as arcane and passe efforts, but among Mormons gospel scholarship and subsequent action taking are prized qualities. We're a church of good works, not just lip-confessing Christians. Occasional attendance on holidays is about all that is required by most churches, in contrast. Mormons of all ages routinely leave home at their own expense for extended periods to give service and spread the gospel throughout the world. That's commitment.

America is about to step over the thresh hold into a new era of re-awakening, revival or restoration - call it what you will, it's coming in about a week. We have flirted with the embodiment of progressive socialism, and we have witnessed its devastating effects on our national psyche. We have been laden with debt and very little to show for it, except perhaps the most expensive entitlement program, Obamacare, in the history of our Republic. Our national economic engine has all but been on life support for four years because of the damaging policies of this administration.

Let me pose this question to you: If you knew nothing about churches, religious practice or anything akin to it - if Muslims or Mormons or Catholics or Protestants meant absolutely nothing to you and there were no distinctions in your mind, what could you observe in the fruits - just the fruits - of those you knew nothing about? What would you look for to give you evidence of the sincerity of their beliefs? What would it be? What fruits would you look for professionally, politically and civilly? What have you observed globally in the Mormon community? Anything leap out at you worthy of emulation?

I submit to you that deeply stamped into the DNA of Mitt Romney is the decency and caring his Mormon roots would suggest he possesses. He is a trustworthy vessel who can lead America through this new awakening that is about to spread from sea to shining sea on election night.

This year, as perhaps never before in our history, it's okay to vote for a Mormon POTUS! And for reasons totally unrelated to religion, Ann Coulter agrees.

She concludes, in part:

Romney is the Red Adair of his profession. He's like a doctor who specializes in multiple gunshot wounds or an oncologist who takes only Stage 4 cancer patients. Yes, there were layoffs, but also lots and lots of jobs, profit, success, efficiency, saved businesses and saved lives.
Romney will be the most accomplished incoming president since Dwight Eisenhower.
Not only has Romney promised to issue a 50-state waiver from Obamacare on his first day in office and then seek a formal repeal and replacement, but he'll know how to do it. The savior of dying companies will fix health care in this country so that no Democrat will be able to wreck it again.
The only way to rid ourselves of this national poison pill, set to destroy both health care and the nation at large, is to elect Mitt Romney our next president.

America Awakens - A Week Left Before the Regime Dies

I love the Constitution. I awoke with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for it this morning. Imagine the foresight of our forefathers who made provision in our founding document for self-correcting our mistakes when we failed to elect the right leaders. The provision for self-improvement as a nation is something we prize - ELECTIONS!

Now with just over a week to go until our next national election, the outcome seems all but certain. The key to winning national elections in recent years has been winning in the key swing states, and this morning Obama is in deep trouble.

It now appears Obama's campaign is abandoning significant ad buys in Florida, Virginia and North Carolina, all but conceding those states to Romney. Remember when his supporters were telling us those states were solid blue on his side of the slate?

Romney vs. Obama, First Debate, October 3, 2012, Denver, CO

Now, they've decided to move their diminishing "small ball" message to a handful of swing states, the states where Romney is showing strong momentum toward what I believe will be a decisive win. I've been  predicting a Romney landslide for weeks now. After that first debate where voters were finally able to make a judgment call comparing and contrasting the two side-by-side, the election was all but over.

Obama is poised to lose nearly every key swing state, and he's on the run. Even among women, a key metric the pundits keep pointing to as evidence of Obama's strengths, the latest polls indicate the "gender gap" has closed and Romney now leads among women voters. Obama can't win re-election without holding a majority of women! He is in deep trouble and everyone now knows it.

Mitt Romney, Barack Obama, Second Debate

Here's what Mitt Romney said in the second debate about Obama's last four years:

"I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a repeat of the last four years. . .
"He said that by now we’d have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work.
"I wasn’t the one that said 5.4 percent. This was the president’s plan — didn’t get there.
"He said he would have by now put forward a plan to reform Medicare and Social Security because he pointed out they’re on the road to bankruptcy. He would reform them. He’d get that done.
"He hasn’t even made a proposal on either one.
"He said in his first year he’d put out an immigration plan that would deal with our immigration challenges — didn’t even file it.
"This is a president who has not been able to do what he said he’d do. He said that he’d cut in half the deficit. He hasn’t done that either. In fact, he doubled it.
"He said that by now middle-income families would have a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It’s gone up by $2,500 a year. And if 'Obamacare' is passed — or implemented, it’s already been passed — if it’s implemented fully, it’ll be another $2,500 on top.
"The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, look, I’ve created 5 million jobs.
"That’s after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country.
"The unemployment, the number of people who are still looking for work, is still 23 million Americans.
"There are more people in poverty — one out of six people in poverty.
"How about food stamps? When he took office, 32 million people were on food stamps; today 47 million people are on food stamps.
"How about the growth of the economy? It’s growing more slowly this year than last year and more slowly last year than the year before.
"The president wants to do well; I understand. But the policies he’s put in place, from 'Obamacare' to Dodd-Frank to his tax policies to his regulatory policies — these policies combined have not let this economy take off and grow like it could have."

That's a devastating indictment of what we have witnessed under Obama's lack of leadership, and it doesn't include what he's doing to cover up the debacle in Benghazi. Under any other administration in American history if one of our foreign ambassadors were gunned down mercilessly by our enemies abroad, would we expect the kind of neglect and diffidence we've seen since 9/11/2012? The motivations are not yet clear, but Glenn Beck is accusing this POTUS of running guns from Libya through Turkey to the Syrian branch of al Qaeda. That's a serious charge tantamount to treason if it proves to be true. He asserts Obama stood aside and let Americans die to cover up the botched operation.

I just watched All the President's Men last night on TCM. America survived what could only be described as a Constitutional crisis in the early seventies, ending in Richard Nixon's unprecedented resignation as POTUS. If we have failed to learn anything from our past scandals as a nation, this latest Benghazi example could yet prove to be devastating to our current Commander-in-Chief. When Obama called up the SEALS to take out Osama bin Laden, they did. When the SEALS called upon Obama for help that night in Benghazi, he didn't.

I have every expectation he will be deposed at the ballot box, along with all his minions in high positions of authority. America will clean out the viper's nest. That kind of treachery and dereliction to duty will not and cannot stand in America. As we learned so convincingly with Watergate and its aftermath, the truth ALWAYS rises.

In America we self-correct whenever necessary, and it keeps the Republic strong and independent. Keep faith with America's founding principles. Do your part on November 6th (or earlier if you can).

VOTE TO RESTORE AMERICA'S HERITAGE.

The Inevitability of Romney's Election

This is the video from a recent campaign night for Mitt Romney in Red Rocks, Colorado. The inevitability of his election as our next President is growing from state to state. It's palpable here, and gives one the sense that his forthcoming election will finally give America the relief it sought with Obama's misguided hope and change four years ago.



Here's the rest of the story, and here's the link to what follows:

Got this feedback earlier today and thought you’d like to hear it.  You know, I’ve gone from just trying to defeat Obama to really trying to help Governor Romney be this country’s next president.  I’m really starting to believe there might be something very special about this man.  This took place out in Colorado.  Just a couple days ago.  Probably my favorite campaign trail story that’s come back my way so far this election.  Wish I had been there.  I’m going to try and get a little poetic on you here.  Hope I pull it off OK and do this story justice.  Feel free to help me out a bit in the telling.  I would be embarrassed for people to know just how bad my spelling really is.  And sadly, that’s not a joke.  -INSIDER

As the governor was en route to the amphitheatre they were told the crowd was showing “strong numbers”.  What greeted him was a lot more than just “strong numbers” though.  It was a massive wave of thousands and thousands of supporters.  Before going on the governor apparently peeked out a few times and was shaking his head in disbelief at just how many people were there to see him.  He was told by organizers up to a thousand more were turned away because there simply wasn’t any room left.  People said you could feel the size of the crowd under your feet backstage.  Somebody had passed out a ton of “thundersticks” and the people were banging them together and making this amazing rumbling noise.  There were some real veteran campaigners backstage and I’m told they were all blown away by this crowd in Colorado.  It really was like some big time rock show.  Just a huge response for the governor.

So Governor Romney goes onstage and gives his speech.  The crowd just totally embraces him.  From beginning to end.  Every word.  They are fired up. Loud.  Positive.  Cheering.  Just an amazing moment for the campaign.  Everybody backstage were all smiles and peeking out at all those people and shaking their heads.  This is the kind of moment in a campaign you never forget.  Ever.   Nobody who hasn’t experienced it can really understand this feeling.  You’re looking at a candidate being transformed right in front of your eyes into the next Leader of the Free World.  They go from being human into something just a bit more. It’s all those people.  That energy.  It kind of fills the candidate up and makes them bigger than life.  And you are watching it happen in real time.  Right then.

The governor returns backstage and he is smiling and shaking hands, taking congratulations from everybody around him.  He’s saying how great it was.  Somebody yells out he’s going to win Colorado and the governor laughs and says he thinks so too.  And then something very interesting happens.  He moves away from the group of people just a bit.  Maybe ten or fifteen feet or so.  Just enough to have a little space to himself.  And enough people notice that the area gets a lot more quiet, and they are trying to watch the governor without looking like they are watching the governor.  They can all kind of tell something is happening right then.  It was described as something very peaceful and powerful that came over that backstage area for a moment.  And the governor, he lowers his head and his eyes shut tight and you could see him take a slow deep breath and then he lets it out and says quietly, but just loud enough for some to hear, “Lord, if this is your will, please help to make me worthy.  Please give me the strength Lord.”  And then his eyes open up, and he’s back to smiling and laughing and shaking hands and being the candidate once again.

I’m 100% convinced Mitt Romney was shaken to his soul right then and there.  I think at that moment it was sinking in he might really be the next American president, and it humbled him right to his core, in every nerve of his body.  And as he was saying that little prayer, you could hear the sound of thunder from all those thundersticks outside. Like this huge low rumble that just surrounded all of them at once.  A quiet little prayer, and the sound of thunder.

The sound of God.

The Way to Destroy America

This caught my eye this morning, "If I Wanted America To Fail." It reminded me of the statement Abraham Lincoln once made: "America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves."

The final victory is closer than it seems. Four more years of Barack Obama's policies will just about seal that deal.



We have been on the wrong track since the day Obama took office. We all hoped the changes he offered would be helpful to restoring America's economy, our standing in the world (though that has always seemed elusive to me), a reduction in world hostility, halting the rise of the oceans and converting all energy sources into green jobs. It was all such a lofty and inspiring vision. Even I voiced support for him in the beginning, asking those who opposed him to chill out and give him a chance. We wanted to believe, we needed to believe. Four years later it's all in ashes.

The Obama record is not one I find much comfort in reviewing. Here's a portion of the transcript of the 2nd presidential debate. The question is worth considering carefully:


QUESTION: Mr. President, I voted for you in 2008. What have you done or accomplished to earn my vote in 2012? I'm not that optimistic as I was in 2012. Most things I need for everyday living are very expensive.

OBAMA: Well, we've gone through a tough four years. There's no doubt about it. But four years ago, I told the American people and I told you I would cut taxes for middle class families. And I did. I told you I'd cut taxes for small businesses, and I have.

I said that I'd end the war in Iraq, and I did. I said we'd refocus attention on those who actually attacked us on 9/11, and we have gone after Al Qaeda's leadership like never before and Osama bin Laden is dead.

OBAMA: I said that we would put in place health care reform to make sure that insurance companies can't jerk you around and if you don't have health insurance, that you'd have a chance to get affordable insurance, and I have.

I committed that I would rein in the excesses of Wall Street, and we passed the toughest Wall Street reforms since the 1930s. We've created five million jobs, and gone from 800 jobs a month being lost, and we are making progress. We saved an auto industry that was on the brink of collapse.

Now, does that mean you're not struggling? Absolutely not. A lot of us are. And that's why the plan that I've put forward for manufacturing and education, and reducing our deficit in a sensible way, using the savings from ending wars, to rebuild America and putting people back to work. Making sure that we are controlling our own energy, but not only the energy of today, but also the energy of the future. All of those things will make a difference, so the point is the commitments I've made, I've kept.

And those that I haven't been able to keep, it's not for lack of trying and we're going to get it done in a second term. But, you should pay attention to this campaign, because Governor Romney has made some commitments as well. And I suspect he'll keep those too. You know when members of the Republican Congress say, "We're going to sign a no tax pledge, so that we don't ask a dime for millionaires and billionaires to reduce our deficit so we can still invest in education, and helping kids go to college. He said, "Me too."

When they said, "We're going to cut Planned Parenthood funding." He said, "Me too." When he said, "We're going to repeal Obamacare. First thing I'm going to do," despite the fact that it's the same health care plan that he passed in Massachusetts and is working well. He said, "Me too." That is not the kind of leadership that you need, but you should expect that those are promises he's going to keep.

(CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: Mr. President, let me let...

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: ...the choice in this election is going to be whose promises are going to be more likely to help you in your life? Make sure your kids can go to college. Make sure that you are getting a good paying job, making sure that Medicare and Social Security... (CROSSTALK)

CROWLEY: Mr. President. Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

OBAMA: ...will be there for you.

CROWLEY: Thank you. Governor?

ROMNEY: I think you know better. I think you know that these last four years haven't been so good as the president just described and that you don't feel like your confident that the next four years are going to be much better either.

I can tell you that if you were to elect President Obama, you know what you're going to get. You're going to get a repeat of the last four years. We just can't afford four more years like the last four years.

He said that by now we'd have unemployment at 5.4 percent. The difference between where it is and 5.4 percent is 9 million Americans without work.

I wasn't the one that said 5.4 percent. This was the president's plan. Didn't get there.

He said he would have by now put forward a plan to reform Medicare and Social Security, because he pointed out they're on the road to bankruptcy. He would reform them. He'd get that done. He hasn't even made a proposal on either one.

He said in his first year he'd put out an immigration plan that would deal with our immigration challenges. Didn't even file it.

This is a president who has not been able to do what he said he'd do. He said that he'd cut in half the deficit. He hasn't done that either. In fact, he doubled it. He said that by now middle-income families would have a reduction in their health insurance premiums by $2,500 a year. It's gone up by $2,500 a year. And if Obamacare is passed, or implemented -- it's already been passed -- if it's implemented fully, it'll be another $2,500 on top.

ROMNEY: The middle class is getting crushed under the policies of a president who has not understood what it takes to get the economy working again. He keeps saying, "Look, I've created 5 million jobs." That's after losing 5 million jobs. The entire record is such that the unemployment has not been reduced in this country. The unemployment, the number of people who are still looking for work, is still 23 million Americans.

There are more people in poverty, one out of six people in poverty.

How about food stamps? When he took office, 32 million people were on food stamps. Today, 47 million people are on food stamps. How about the growth of the economy? It's growing more slowly this year than last year, and more slowly last year than the year before.

The president wants to do well. I understand. But the policies he's put in place from Obamacare to Dodd-Frank to his tax policies to his regulatory policies, these policies combined have not let this economy take off and grow like it could have.

You might say, "Well, you got an example of one that worked better?" Yeah, in the Reagan recession where unemployment hit 10.8 percent, between that period -- the end of that recession and the equivalent of time to today, Ronald Reagan's recovery created twice as many jobs as this president's recovery. Five million jobs doesn't even keep up with our population growth. And the only reason the unemployment rate seems a little lower today is because of all the people that have dropped out of the workforce.

The president has tried, but his policies haven't worked. He's great as a -- as a -- as a speaker and describing his plans and his vision. That's wonderful, except we have a record to look at. And that record shows he just hasn't been able to cut the deficit, to put in place reforms for Medicare and Social Security to preserve them, to get us the rising incomes we need. Median income is down $4,300 a family and 23 million Americans out of work. That's what this election is about. It's about who can get the middle class in this country a bright and prosperous future and assure our kids the kind of hope and optimism they deserve.

* * *

The choice draws closer as the days dwindle down to November 6th. The self-inflicted wounds have put us as a nation on life support financially. Congress has been in gridlock after Obama's first two years. Thankfully, we have seen little new spending approved since 2010, but the automatic payments built into the funding of our social programs have continued to escalate. Just this week we learned $1.02 Trillion was spent on welfare payments in the last year! With no approved budget in four years, it is little wonder we are bleeding red ink from the balance sheet. Obama has not been able to attract ONE SINGLE VOTE from either house in Congress for a budget. The lack of leadership is stunning! Blaming Bush isn't a plan. 

There seems to be only one serious candidate in this race. Obama's agenda has come from a life of ideological beliefs, and he has funded his agenda with massive public borrowing while simultaneously stifling the American economic growth engine. An estimated $2.4 Trillion dollars is sitting out this Obama administration, hesitant to move ahead because of the uncertainty and doubt Obama has infused into the business community. The imposition of Obamacare, heralded as absolutely essential to getting healthcare costs under control, has had exactly the opposite effect on businesses. 

This ideologue we have sitting in the White House has got to be removed at the ballot box. In this election we have a clear cut choice between a proven failure and a proven winner. In Obama's own answer to the question, "What have you done?" falls short of being impressive. The timeline for ending the Iraq war was already in place under George W. Bush. The intelligence community was already in place that finally secured the take down of Osama bin Laden. 

And then this lame summary: "And those [campaign promises] that I haven't been able to keep, it's not for lack of trying and we're going to get it done in a second term." Oh really.

The American people are a forgiving and patient lot in my experience. But when you put two candidates on stage at the same time with clearly contrasting agendas and personas, it's not hard to distinguish which direction the country needs to take at this crossroad. I believe the worst mistake and miscalculation the Obama campaign has made to date was the inevitability of putting Obama side-by-side with Romney and letting the American people make the comparison. You'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to be able to make the correct choice.

I am continually inspired by the depth of faith I see in this great country. Here's but one example. I'm humbled by the hundreds of followers who have joined me on Twitter in recent weeks and months. It is indicative of the goodness of Americans nationwide, I believe. By the way, there are many, many good people among the Democrats. Many will join with the rest of us in electing Mitt Romney.

I believe pragmatic, common sense Americans will get this one right on November 6th. 

Once we have dispatched the pretender, then we can all line up behind a true leader in America again. The tsunami will start in Florida on election night, and it will sweep over America in a conclusive final judgment against the policies of the last four years under the current administration. 

The only question remaining in my mind is the margin of victory.

The Unbuttoned Mitt Romney at Al Smith Dinner

Tonight at the Al Smith Dinner in New York, Mitt Romney was brutally funny and yet classy as usual. Here are his remarks:



After watching that, don't you wonder what we'll discuss after November 6th?

Impact of Obamacare on Small Business

Jonathan L. Goates

This is one man's story about the impact of Obamacare on his small business:

Dear Family:

On the afternoon prior to the second presidential debate I am sending you this quick note to urge you to vote against the full implementation of Obamacare.  I have studied carefully the impact that the current and future requirements of Obamacare would have upon our independent medical practice of over 60 years.

CONCLUSION: If/when fully implemented this business may no longer be able to survive the additional regulation and mandated decrease in revenue that would result.  That means that I would most likely be unemployed along with 28 people who work at this clinic.

I really don’t care if Obama or Romney is more or less ‘likable’; nor do I care about any other promise or commitment either candidate uses to beguile us.  For me (and to your personal care physician) it all boils down to this:

A.      IF Obama is re-elected and Obamacare is fully enacted – 30 people will inevitably be unemployed, including me; that is my doomsday projection to the owners of this business.  Obamacare means that I will immediately have to figure out how to run this business with 30% less revenue and no off-setting tax relief beginning 1/1/13; less cash flow for this business means fewer employees because I can lay-off more people faster for an immediate financial impact than I can sell equipment assets.  Obama threatens to take away jobs so I won’t vote for him.
B.      IF Romney is elected many of the items in the Act will be repealed – yes, unknown changes would lie ahead.  I would rather accept an unknown future than to be forced into something that I know will bring about the ultimate end of my employment in a small business.  Romney is right when he says that with a brighter economic future for small business that we will invest more, hire more and thrive better than we are today.

1.       We are putting off a decision to purchase a $50,000 scanner until we know whether or not Obamacare will be repealed; if repealed we will buy it on November 10^th, if enacted we will not make the purchase.

2.       When I know that the threat of Obamacare is lifted I will immediately hire 2 more physicians and 3-4 more staff.

Please, make your vote count; use this example with your friends and your families.  I hope that this little exercise will help you make up your minds, too.  I’m sorry that I have to be bold here; I believe that my job is on the line.

Thanks,

Jon Goates

Chief Executive,

Davis Family Physicians, PC

Barack Obama - The Illegitimate Incompetent President

There is a video advertisement that is making its rounds on the Internet this week. It caught my eye this morning, and I think this one man, an immigrant entrepreneur, sums up the differences in the two paths we have before us as a country. He states the case brilliantly:



I've done a lot of research, reading and observing since that November day in Grant Park in Chicago, when Barack Hussein Obama II ascended to the presidency. Like most Americans, I was caught up in the emotion of the moment - America's first black president. What a great day for freedom-loving people. It said a lot that we could set aside our differences and come together after a national election and peacefully agree to take a new path toward Hope and Change.

America was tired of war. The economy had tanked. Fear was everywhere. Would the $700 Billion TARP legislation just passed by both houses of Congress be enough to save the world from financial oblivion? We looked to our new national leadership. We believed, we wanted to believe, we needed to believe.

However, the last four years have proven to be a sham, a fraud, and an illegitimate seizure of Constitutional protections that have been the bulwark of the Republic since our founding.

With control of both houses of Congress in an epic election with political reversals of fortunes, the pendulum swung in favor of Democrats. The Republicans had proven in the end to be reckless big-government spenders just like their counterparts. They put up a weak ticket in McCain and Palin. Sarah Palin has parlayed her fifteen minutes of fame into a celebrity career that continues to insult our intelligence. She was interesting for the full fifteen minutes we were first introduced to her, but her interests were never to get into the arena where she was ill-suited as a national candidate. Any thinking person would not have intentionally picked her to be one heartbeat away from the presidency, especially as the Number Two to an aging Senator. So, the 2008 election was doomed from the outset and opened the way for Obama.

BHO managed to crush the Clintonistas in the long, drawn-out primary (no small feat, I might add, and we forget how long that took to declare the winner for the Democrat nomination). The Internet is alive with conspiracy theories about how Obama got there in the first place. Here's another summation. Some have even said Barack Obama is gay and murders happened to cover it up. Just do a Google search for "first unconstitutional president" and see what you find. I'll reserve comment on all of that.

What interests me most is the aftermath of the election of 2010. It also was historic. It was a complete and utter "shellacking" as President Obama characterized it. His policies were resoundingly rejected by the American electorate. With two years to do anything he chose to do, to tackle any of the more urgent agenda items - the debt, the deficit spending, the need for entitlement reform, repairing the economy - instead he shoved the biggest costliest entitlement program in the history of the world, Obamacare, through both houses of Congress, adding one lie upon another to his narrative about its benefits for the American people.

The culmination of the lies was in the Affordable Healthcare Law being UPHELD by the SCOTUS. They found in the majority opinion, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, that Obamacare did in fact impose taxes upon the American public. Hardest hit, according to the CBO, would be the "middle class." Their estimate as they continue to count the costs, now approaches $2.2 Trillion when fully implemented. And we continue to hear, "I did not raise taxes on the middle class." Remember when President Obama in his SOTU address promised, "I will not sign the healthcare bill if it adds one dime to the deficit?"

The American people can often be fooled, it seems, but they will not forever remain stupid. They know a phony when they see one. Speaker Nancy Pelosi was de-throned as the Speaker of the House, but Harry Reid remained as the majority leader in the Senate by a slimmer margin than before. I documented the results and drew some conclusions at the time.

Since that epic turnaround, things have ground to a halt. The legislative branch of government has been rendered completely ineffective. The balance of power has left them emasculated and historically unpopular with Americans nationwide. The House has proposed a boat load of legislation to reverse the effects of the first two years of the Obama presidency. Each measure has died in the Reid-controlled Senate. Stalemate. Round One. Mission accomplished to stop the reckless spending. However, the job is still incomplete. In order to repeal Obamacare it will take enough votes in the Senate.

What is needed next is another gamble, another leap of faith. This time around, the nation imperiled as never before by the reality of our fiscal crisis, stagnant economic growth, the resurgence of al-Qaeda and the Muslim Brotherhood in the Middle East, and mounting debt and deficits, can we as a people reverse course again and have any hope to turn things over to the Republicans? Will they banish their tax and spend tendencies once and for all? Will they have the will power to exercise power wisely? Can they be trusted?

Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan

Enter Mitt Romney. He survived a brutal primary season, vanquished all the pretenders, and now is poised to capture the presidency in less than thirty days. The momentum shift has been discernible, even by the liberal pundits who have begrudgingly admitted their man's defeat to Romney in the first debate. Most who are honest brokers have even admitted their disappointment at Joe Biden's debate performance last week against Paul Ryan. It seems, as it always does in close elections, that Americans are willing to take the risk. The preponderance of polling in the last few days suggests a sea change is coming to complete the take-back of the reins that began in 2010.

What remains ahead is first securing the victory on November 6th. It's really the only "poll" that counts. I predict a landslide for Romney. Why? It has little to do with Barack Obama's ethnicity, his country of origin, or his birth certificate. No, instead, it has everything to do with his illegitimacy as a leader of the free world. Further, the one thing a poll can never measure is the collective common sense of the American voter. Obama has had four years to make his case, and all he does is run from his record. Anyone with a legitimate case to make for his achievements would make it, wouldn't he? Instead, his incompetency, most recently illustrated by the terrorist attack against our embassy in Benghazi and the assassination of our ambassador to Libya, Chris Stevens, can be framed most accurately by observing that his trip to Vegas to raise funds for his re-election campaign was more important.

The deliberate attempt by this administration to cover up the facts of that attack and mislead the American public, even the families of those who were slain, is shameful and deceitful. If they continue to assert they didn't know the facts at the time, they only add to the narrative of their complete ineptitude and reckless disregard for the truth. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have now engaged in finger-pointing. Determined not to destroy her chances for another possible run in 2016 with the taint of failure at Benghazi being laid at her doorstep, the Clintonistas are unsheathing the knives against the president. Once again, they have put on a full display of shameful and deceitful incompetence.

So the only logical conclusion a rational citizen of America could draw from all this seems to be the one that is now inescapable: Rather than vote for another four years of failed policies, this time around let's all gather together and vote for competency. Isn't it interesting how everyone seems to have set aside their religious differences, and are now united in defeating Barack Obama? The Republicans have a Mormon and a Catholic at the top of their ticket. Would you have predicted that a year ago? I certainly did not.

Mitt Romney may be rightly criticized for being a lame politician, as he has been many times in the last several years, but you may not have the luxury of criticizing him for his lack of willingness to offer himself and Paul Ryan as the only competent solution to all the big tasks ahead. They seem to be the only adults in the room. You can hammer them all you want politically, but they are the big boys here.

They're poised to take on the mother of all turnarounds. They need all our faith and prayers after they collect our votes.

Joe Biden - The Laughing "Jackass"

I am grieved this morning at all the characterizations of Joe Biden, the Vice-President of the United States of America, as a "jackass." His debate performance last night was disgraceful to the high office he holds. At a time when America, filled with ADULT voters and perhaps ready now more than ever before for an ADULT conversation about the serious issues of the day, we get this instead:




If you want four more years of THAT, and you're still undecided about who to vote for, I appeal to the adult within each of you.

Here's the abysmal truth about the Obama administration:

23 million either un- or under-employed, 49 million on food stamps, 15% living at poverty level, $6 Trillion in additional debt, complete denial of the national security threats we face as a nation, no attention to detail on threat assessments from the intelligence community, no urgency to stand beside Israel in the face of their existential threat from Iran, the grandest and most costly lie in American history in Obamacare, nearly 1,000 executive orders to bypass Congress, no history of working across the aisles in Congress. . .

the list is much longer than this. . . did I mention this administration has failed to submit a budget to Congress in four years that was competent enough to garner even ONE vote in both houses? FOUR YEARS, NO BUDGET. There's a connection here that shouldn't be hard to make.

and all of this draws guffaws and demagoguery through political debate tricks from our Vice-President? REALLY? We can do better than this.

On November 6th this shall all be overthrown in a silent, bloodless coup d'etat in the quiet sanctuary of the voting booth one vote at a time.

Church Lowers Age for Missionaries

Today's blockbuster announcement from the first session of the 182nd semi-annual General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, will give the option to young men to begin serving as full-time missionaries at age 18 (down from 19) and to young women to begin serving at 19 (down from 21).

In the half-hour press conference that followed the morning session, Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Executive Missionary Committee, described himself as "giddy" over the news that was guarded by the Quorum of the Twelve and the First Presidency until today's announcement by Church President Thomas S. Monson. I had exactly the same reaction as Elder Holland.

Will the Real Obama Stand Up and Be Accountable?

Spend some time with this (it's long), and ask yourselves, "Is this the leader of the America I used to know and love?"

Bam! Slam! Pow! Crash! BOOM!

The look on Michelle Obama's face after the debate ended last night spoke volumes. That's the face of a loser. It was her 20th wedding anniversary, and it was clear she would have preferred a different way to celebrate than being an eye witness to the shellacking her husband took at the hands of Mitt Romney.

My initial reaction when it was over was this: People from every religious tradition in America had their prayers answered. Mitt Romney proved to be an articulate and persuasive spokesman for what's in the hearts of everyone who values the American tradition. His references to the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were the highlights for me. He injected hope that we can restore the principles that made America great. We're in big trouble. He has the skills and the will to begin attacking the big problems. One thing you can bet on is he will not look back blaming Obama as he moves forward. America can be restored to what we have lost in the last four years due to Barack Obama's stunning lack of leadership.

There was only one adult on that stage last night. Romney looked him square in the eyes and hammered him with just the right tone and respectful opposition to Obama's four-year debacle of a record. In contrast Obama often looked down, did not make eye contact and seemed inept and unprepared for the criticism. No one has challenged him until last night.

I couldn't find any words to better describe last night's debate than Erick Erickson's:

There was a surreal moment after the debate last night. On CNN, the polling went overwhelmingly for Mitt Romney among debate watchers. Basically two-thirds of the American public who watched the debate claimed Romney won. A majority claimed Romney was with them on taxes, the economy, healthcare, their views of government, etc. He dominated.

A CBS poll of undecided voters who watched the debate mirrored the CNN poll.

Suddenly the Democrats took to the airwaves and twitter to rail against the polls oversampling Republicans and being too heavily skewed, too instant to be meaningful, and clearly not an accurate statistical sample of anything.

About the same time Barack Obama’s campaign team was melting down on television, the campaign sent out an email that did not even mention the Presidential debate. It just wanted more money.

The debate was so bad for Barack Obama I expect Eric Holder to send Jim Lehrer to GTMO. Barack Obama suddenly agrees with Republicans on defunding PBS. Without his precious TelePrompTer to feed his Gollumesque addiction to its illuminated, precious words, the President fell flat. Instead of John Kerry for a debate partner, the President should have just gone through airport security a few times or embraced BOHICA as a debate preparation strategy.

Put it to you this way, within ten minutes of the debate ending, Jessica Yellin of CNN spoke with Stephanie Cutter of the Obama campaign. Ms. Cutter conceded up front that Mitt Romney won on both debate preparation and debate style. It went downhill from there. She began parroting talking points about the debate she herself released to Obama surrogate at sun up yesterday morning. She had nothing new to add.

Mitt Romney had substance, counterarguments for Barack Obama’s points, rebuttals, and a friendly manner. Barack Obama kept his head down at the podium and refused to make eye contact with Mitt Romney. This too is what Barack Obama did with the economy and Libya.

Barack Obama, at one point, interrupted Jim Lehrer and asked Lehrer to move on to a new topic. It was a brilliant metaphor for what Barack Obama did coming into office. He looked at the economy and decided to move on to Obamacare. His whole career has been one of passing the buck, shifting blame, and failing to take responsibility for tough challenges. He did the same last night.

For four years, Barack Obama has rarely been challenged and he handled it poorly last night. He was ill prepared, flustered easily, and came off as petulant. At some point we should expect the empty chair to ask Barack Obama to take a vacation day and let it debate instead.

I think the explanation for Obama’s performance is pretty simple. Gods in the cult of personality do not like to come off Olympus to be challenged by mere mortals.

There is an important point, however, for Republicans. This was one debate. This was not the election. Mitt Romney showed he can do it. But the campaign needs your help now more than ever. Every penny helps. I guarantee you we are about to see the media resurrect the “Obama is the underdog” theme and, in the meantime, look for most media polls to suddenly have a D+20 sample.

Mitt Romney did fantastic last night.

Why Black Christians Will Leave the Democrat Party

I have no idea who this man is, but his message to black Christians is undeniable and leaves little doubt where he stands.