143 Reasons to Vote for Romney / Ryan

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101. 102.  103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143.

Obamacare America is NOT in need of fundamental transformation Elena Kagan Obama is a perpetual liar even to his own voters Drilling moratorium in the Gulf The deficit is up almost 200% since Obama took office The national debt is up almost 50% since Obama took office Solyndra "I believe in American Exceptionalism, just as I suspect that the Brits believe in British exceptionalism and the Greeks believe in Greek exceptionalism." “I’ll have more flexibility” in a second term “You didn’t build that!” Cap and Trade Obama is an amateur Janet Napolatono Eric Holder Record number of Americans on disability Obama constantly blames his predecessor for the problems the country faces David Axelrod Apparently Valerie Jarrett makes most of Obama’s major decisions for him Record underemployment (U6) “I’d rather be a really good one-term President than a mediocre two-term President” Kathleen Sebelius “I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby. “Fat cats on Wall Street” Joe Biden Obama likes to rule via Executive Order “It's not surprising then that they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations" Sonia Sotomayor First ever credit downgrade of the United States “The private sector is doing fine” Robert Gibbs “The Cambridge police acted stupidly” Summer of Recovery Obama would rather promote oil drilling in Brazil than in the U.S. “If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” Inflating your tires and getting your car tuned up will save as much energy as new drilling would provide. Repeal of ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ The Constitution is full of negative rights. Beacon Energy Quantitative Easing 1 (QE1) Quantitative Easing 2 (QE2) Operation Twist According to Obama, our individual salvation is based on collective salvation. Jay Carney Three years and three, $1 trillion deficits “I want to spread the wealth around” Perpetual class warfare In 1997, Obama voted in the Illinois Senate against a bill designed to prevent partial-birth abortions Labor union bosses had better access to Obama than some of his cabinet members Thousands of new business-killing regulations “Under my plan of cap and trade, electricity prices will necessarily skyrocket” Crony capitalism Van Jones Obama promised no lobbyists would be hired in his administration According to Obama, his election, “was the moment when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal” We were promised that if the Stimulus Bill was passed, unemployment would never climb above 8%. "We can't -- drive our SUVs and you know, eat as much as we want and keep our homes on you know, 72 degrees at all times . . .” Obama's failure to stand up for Israel 49% of taxpayers pay no federal income tax Record number of people on food stamps Narcissism is very dangerous Obama's position on gay marriage “evolved” 200,000 small businesses are no longer in business since he took office African-American unemployment 14% Obama compared his bowling to "like Special Olympics, or something." Amonix Obama is forcing religious organizations to provide contraception coverage in their health insurance plans Jeremiah Wright "Maybe you're better off not having the surgery, but taking the painkiller." NASA is now a Muslim outreach department Obamacare is not a tax! Bill Ayers Obama advocated raising the debt ceiling after calling President Bush’s spending “unpatriotic” and “irresponsible”. The Beer Summit Obama's removal of work requirements for welfare recipients Worst economic recovery since the Great Depression Longest period of long-term unemployment in history Debbie Wasserman-Schultz Freedom of religion “I do think at a certain point you’ve made enough money” Kill lists Real median income has dropped 5% Backdoor amnesty for illegal immigrants The rich don’t pay their “fair share” During the 2008 campaign, Obama claimed to have visited 57 states George Soros 100% increase in price of gas since Obama took office Obama lied that the Obamacare debate would be televised on CSPAN “We have to pass the bill to see what is in it” – Nancy Pelosi on Obamacare Media Matters “Saved jobs” Tony Rezco ACORN Obama's opposition to the Keystone XL Pipeline The closings of GM dealerships owned by donors to Republican Party “We tried our plan and it worked” Obama thought it was a good idea to try Guantanamo prisoners in civilian courts GM bondholders screwed in bailout Debt-to-Revenue is 262%. Occupy Wall Street: “we are on their side” “Read the bill. What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what is means after you read the bill?” Rep. John Conyers Obama's international apology tour Obama's constant drumbeat to raise taxes Dodd-Frank National Labor Relations Board - Boeing Gibson Guitar raid Saul Alinsky Abound Solar Obamacare will "lower the deficit" Navy "corpseman" Voter intimidation case against New Black Panthers European headwinds Lowest labor participation rate in decades 12 million unemployed Fast and Furious The Audacity of Hope Tim Geithner ‘The Life of Julia’ Collective salavation Dreams from My Father Harry Reid "So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted.” Frank Marshall Davis Oil drilling moratorium in Gulf of Mexico “Shovel ready wasn’t as shovel ready as we thought” Nancy Pelosi 100+ rounds of golf Obama's college transcripts Teen unemployment  over 70% General Motors fiasco White House intelligence leaks Obama's cutting of Medicare to fund Obamacare Stimulus bill had ZERO impact on job growth “Fat cats on Wall Street” 44 states report higher unemployment (July 2012) Pathetic GDP growth Obama gives speeches advocating that we should “be our brother’s keeper” while his brother lives in a hut in Africa. Obama bowing to other world leaders and dictators Beacon Power Cass Sustein Staycations

Obama's Hard-Hitting Interview with Entertainment Tonight

In another hard-hitting interview, President Obama sat down with Entertainment Tonight earlier this week.

Obama had this glorious quote:

"We're going around the country, talking about, ‘How do we put people back to work? How do we improve our schools? How do we make sure that we're producing American energy? How do we lower our debt in a responsible way?' And I don't think you or anybody who's been watching the campaign would say that in any way we have tried to divide the country. We've always tried to bring the country together" 

ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS: 

How do we put people back to work?

• By continuing to extend unemployment benefits so those on the program are less likely to look for work and develop their skills.
• By increasing the number of people on food stamps.
• By making it easier for long-term unemployed to file for disability. 
• By removing the Clinton-era welfare work requirement.

How do we improve our schools?

• By spending more per pupil than any country in the world (except Switzerland) and getting no results.
• By bowing to the teachers’ unions rather than holding them accountable for educating our children.
• By opposing school choice and competition - home school and charter schools. 

How do we make sure that we're producing American energy?

• By opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline.
• By instituting a drilling moratorium in the Gulf of Mexico.
• By residing over a 100% increase in gas prices.
• By disallowing drilling for oil on federal lands. 

How do we lower our debt in a responsible way?

• By increasing the national debt by almost 50% since he took office.
• By passing a failed stimulus bill.
• By increasing our deficit by almost 200% since he took office.
• By increasing entitlement spending.
• Remember this beauty? “if I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” 

And I don't think you or anybody who's been watching the campaign would say that in any way we have tried to divide the country. We've always tried to bring the country together

• Rich vs. Poor: "Fat cats on Wall Street", the rich don't pay their "fair share", and endorsing Occupy Wall Street as a mainstream movement.  
• Black vs. White: By not ordering attorney general Eric Holder to prosecute the New Black Panthers in the voter intimidation case.
• Free market capitalism vs. Socialism: “The private sector is doing fine” and “You didn’t build that”
• Senior citizens vs. Younger generations: By lying to the voters about Paul Ryan’s plan to cut medicare (while his plan actually does it).
• Gays vs. Straights: Repealing 'Don't Ask Don't Tell and conveniently evolving his position on gay marriage just in time to fund-raise for reelection.
• Citizens vs. Illegal immigrants: By allowing the backdoor amnesty of illegal aliens.
• Christians vs. Non-Christians: By forcing faith-based organizations to provide contraception coverage in the health insurance plans.
• Obama supporters vs. Obama detractors: Green energy company subsidies and crony capitalism (i.e. General Electric) versus GM dealerships put out of business during the bailout (only those owned by Republican donors).
• Those who believe in the rule of law vs. Those who believe to the winner goes the spoils: Bondholders in GM bailout

What's Wrong With This Picture

1. Healthcare Reform

• Do you have any concerns with the way the bill was drafted - with no input from Republicans? 
• Do you have any concern with the way the bill was passed - bribing Senators, using budget reconciliation to get it passed in the House, not a single congressman whom voted for the bill actually read or understood it? As the esteemed Nancy Pelosi said, "We will have to pass the bill to see what is in it". 
• Do you have any concerns over the consequences of the law - rationing of care, fewer doctors, longer wait times, death panels, bureaucrats making medical decisions? Look at any country with socialized medicine and study their level of care, wait times, rationing, etc. Is that what you want?
• Do you really want your doctor's office to run like a post office or your local DMV? Can you name one government-run endeavor that is run efficiently with the customers' best interest served? Are you willing to turn your families healthcare decisions over to a bureaucrat?

Are there no alternatives?

• Why don't we just allow people to buy health insurance across state lines like we do for homeowners and car insurance? 
• Why don't we remove all of the government-imposed mandates on heath insurance companies and let people buy a la carte policies? 
• Why can't we implement portability rules so the insurance stays with the person not with their employer? 
• Why don't we pass tort reform so malpractice insurance costs come down? 
• Why don't we promote and encourage the use of HSA's (healthcare savings accounts)? 
• Why don't we allow citizens with pre-existing conditions to join large pools and spread the cost? Why don't we tell people with pre-existing conditions that they should expect to pay a little more for their health care? Why shouldn't they since they will inevitably use more of it than a healthy person?

2. Iraq and Afghanistan

Yes he is drawing down in both theatres but he is far from a dove when it comes to military engagements - Guantanamo, drone attacks, kill lists, Syria, Libya . . . .


3. Women's Health


#1 - Women (and men and children) already have access to preventative healthcare via thousands of clinics throughout the country.

#2 - There is no such thing as "free"! Someone has to pay for it! Eventually all the free stuff takes all of the money away from those who produce and then there is no more "free" stuff. As Margaret Thatcher once said, "the problem with socialism is you eventually run out of other people's money".

If you were genuine in your argument, you would simply say, "I believe the American taxpayer should pay for abortions on-demand". That's what you mean by "women's health" or "free preventative healthcare for woman". Planned Parenthood performed over 300,000 abortions in 2010 and only made 800 adoption referrals. That ratio tells me all I need to know about liberal's mentality toward women's health.

4. Lily Ledbetter / Equality

Everyone is pro-equal rights, even dastardly Republicans. Women are fully equipped to fight for their pay in the workplace without the involvement of the omnipotent federal government's. Have you looked at the work force lately? Have you looked at the CEOs of major corporations? Woman make up the majority of the workforce and sit in the corner office of thousands of companies.

If you believe that it is a good idea for openly gay soldiers to reside with and serve next to heterosexual soldiers, you clearly have no compassion for nor care for the safety of the American soldier. All you are doing is putting a grain of doubt in the minds of people who need to have each others' backs at a moment's notice. The repeal of NADT was a political decision by the president to rally his base despite the recommendations of his military leaders.

5. Clean Energy

Anytime someone uses the word "investment" in describing government spending, it simply means "wasting taxpayers' money on things that will buy votes". Both parties do it. Regarding clean energy specifically, can you point to one success story? Solyndra? Abound Solar? Amonix? Beacon Power? A123?

6. Education

Really?

• George W. Bush's increase in education-related spending wasn't enough? 
• The lackluster results of No Child Left Behind isn't enough? 
• The $2 trillion dollars spent on education since 1965 isn't enough? 
• The tripling of federal education dollars since 1970 isn't enough? 
• The United States spends more per pupil than any country other than Switzerland yet the results we get from our students continues to dwindle. In 1961 we spent $2,800 per year - - today $10,000 (inflation adjusted dollars). Good to know that all the administrators tucked away in school systems all over the country are pulling in fat salaries.

Currently there is over $1 trillion dollars in outstanding student loan debt. There is nothing quite like allowing tuition rates to rise 7%-8% per year for years on end while making more federal dollars available to the students via loans and grants. I can't think of a better way for a 22 year old to start off her career than with $100,000 in student loan debt for a watered down four-year degree!

7. Class Warfare

Please have the courage to define "fair share" rather than throwing the slogan around. Currently the top 10% of income earners pay 70% of all federal income taxes. How much would you consider to be their "fair share"? 72%? 80%? 95%?

• Have you ever stopped to consider that millionaires and billionaires do not consumed the amount of government services commiserate with their contribution in taxes? Why should they pay more?
• Have you ever stopped to consider that millionaires and billionaires tend to be employers of non-millionaires and non-billionaires? What would happen if you taxed them less? They could possibly hire more people to run their businesses, clean their houses, wash their cars, add a room on to their residence, build a new house, sell them another car / boat / piece of jewelry or clothing, cut their hair, fly their plane, etc.
• Don't you think every single American should pay some income taxes? Shouldn't everyone have some skin in the game? Or do you believe that having nearly 50% of Americans paying zero federal income taxes and, therefore, indifferent to conversations around raising taxes on the "rich" the path to overall prosperity?

8. He Inherited the Worst Economy Since the Great Depression

Are you not embarrassed by a president who constantly blames his predecessor? I cannot find a single instance where, after the 1980 election, Reagan blamed Carter.

We were all led to believe that Obama was the smartest guy in the world. If that is so why hasn't he improved the economy? Instead he is residing over the worst economic recovery from a recession in the nation's history including but not limited to:

• Anemic GDP growth
• 8%+ unemployment for over 40 weeks
• 15%-20% underemployment
• The lowest labor force participation rate since the 1981-1982 recession
• Record number of Americans receive food stamps
• Record number of Americans are on disability
• The deficit is up 183% under his watch
• The national debt is up 48% under his watch
• Gas prices are up 90%+
• African-American unemployment is 14%
• Over 200,000 small businesses are no longer in business since he took office
• 46 million Americans living in poverty
• Teen unemployment over 70%

The "turn the Titanic" argument just does not work in this case. Obama is a socialist at best and a communist at worst. Neither philosophy has led to economic prosperity, therefore, why should he be given four more years? 

What's the Big Deal About Obamacare?

Updated: March 25, 2013
There are four things wrong with Obamacare:

#1 - The way the law was drafted
#2 - The way the law was passed
#3 - The way the law was upheld by Supreme Court 
#4 - The effect 

#1 - The way the law was drafted and sold to the American people:

• Obama and the Democrats lied about virtually every component of the bill - the cost (to the nation as a whole and to individuals), the coverage, its impact on the deficit, its impact on level of care, its impact on the private insurance industry, and its impact on the most innovative healthcare system in the world. 
• The entire bill was drafted without Republican input and behind closed doors despite Obama’s repeated promise to broadcast the debate on CSPAN.

#2 - The way the law was passed:

• Bribes and kickbacks of senators in return for their vote.
• “We have to pass the bill to see what’s in it” Nancy Pelosi.
• Not a single Congressman read the bill before they voted on it (and I would venture a bet that few have read it since).

"I love these members that get up and say 'READ THE BILL.' What good is reading the bill if it's a thousand pages, and you don't have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you've read the bill?" -- Rep. John Conyers (D-MI)

“It will be of little avail to the people, that the laws are made by men of their own choice, if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood. . . ” - James Madison, The Federalist #62

• Obama emphatically denied it was a tax. He knew it would never pass if it was represented as a tax.

“How is that not a tax?" George Stephanopoulos 

"A responsibility to get health insurance is not a tax increase," Obama 

• The bill was ultimately passed using a budget reconciliation method rather than a full vote on the House floor.

#3 - The way the law was upheld by Supreme Court:

• Despite repeated promises that this bill was not a tax, one of the administration’s arguments before the Supreme Court was just that, “it IS a tax”, therefore it is constitutional under Congress’ right to levy taxes.
• Instead of sending the bill back to Congress, Chief Justice John Roberts essentially re-wrote the law circumventing Article I, section 7 of the Constitution - "All bills for raising revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives". The Obamacare bill was originated in the Senate! Judicial activism at its worse.

#4 - The effect:

• Over 1,000 Obamacare waivers were granted within several months of the bill's passage, mostly to Democrat constituents (at one point 20% of the waivers were provided to Nancy Pelosi’s district). If this is the greatest piece of legislation in history why are waivers necessary? Why are senatorial bribes necessary?
• It is estimated that 20 million people will lose their current health insurance because it will become too expensive given all of the mandates.
• The private insurance industry will die leaving only the government (single-payer). Think of your doctor’s office as a national DMV.
• It gives the federal government essentially unlimited taxation power and amounts to the largest tax increase in world history.
• Obama promised insurance rates would decline by $2,500 a year. As of the last update of this post, studies show rates are up an average of $2,500 a year.
• Obama promised the bill would lower the deficit and cost no more than $1 trillion. Both claims have been proven false. 
• Ultimately, the quality of healthcare will decline as thousands of doctors retire because they can no longer make a living serving more patients for less money, Medicaid will get dropped by doctor’s offices due to low and delayed reimbursements, rationing of care will occur just like it does in every country that has socialized medicine, bureaucrats will make healthcare decisions for us, death panels will be established for end-of-life decisioning (yes it’s in the bill) and a massive bureaucracy will reign over us (you thought the TSA was big).

Narcissism Personified

See if you can discern for yourself who is a narcissist.

George W. Bush speech after capture of Saddam Hussein:

The success of yesterday's mission is a tribute to our men and women now serving in Iraq. The operation was based on the superb work of intelligence analysts who found the Dictators footprints in a vast country. The operation was carried out with skill and precision by a brave fighting force. Our servicemen and women and our coalition allies have faced many dangers in the hunt for members of the fallen regime, and in their effort to bring hope and freedom to the Iraqi people. Their work continues, and so do the risks. Today, on behalf of the nation, I thank the members of our Armed Forces and I congratulate them.

Barack Hussein Obama speech, Sunday, May 1, 2011:

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network. Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice. Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

What's Your Solution?

'What's Your Solution?" is a favorite chant of Obama supporters to deflect criticism of his dreadful record.


Below I share an email I sent to a family member in response to their incessant chant.
---------------------------
I find it hypocritical for you to throw the “give me your solutions” line at me when you are the one who has, on several occasions, backed out of these types of conversations with me saying, “I don’t follow this stuff as closely as you”. Yet, you have the gall to say, “don’t give me the political bullshit”? I am both amazed at and disappointed by the lack of intellectual curiosity to pursue this discussion beyond the repetitive call for “where is your solution”? Why didn't you read any of the half dozen "solution"-rich sources I provided you previously? Instead, all I get is a repetitive, sarcastic chant.  

2006

I remember back in 2006 when you told me that you were happy with the mainstream media’s unrelenting crucifixion of George Bush because, as you said, “they are on my side”. I said something like, “well at least I can respect that”. Ever since then that exchange has bothered me. I have come to realize that the reason this country is falling apart is because of people who think like you (Party over Country or “they’re on my side”). There are no sides! 

There is the country as it was founded then there is the country we have today and then there is worse-than-that. Yet, you approved of the media’s continual drumbeat of “Bush Lied People Died”, “Bush is a war monger”, “Bush is a fill-in-the-blank” without the slightest bit of interest into the truthfulness of the charges. At least you are in good company. Consider Dan Rather’s willingness to throw away a forty-year career over falsified documents in order to hurt Bush’s reelection campaign. That is nothing short of psychosis. But, Dan was on your side so I suppose that was ok. 

Message Received Loud and Clear:

The message I received was loud and clear whether you meant it or not. The Democrat Party is more important than the country. I don’t get too upset when I see assholes like Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Chuck Schumer, Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, and Barack Obama doing that but you? That’s where the disappointment resides.

Just for the record, the Democrat Party died when they threw Senator Liebermann under the bus back in 2004. There simply was not enough room under the tent for dissension so the former Vice Presidential candidate was cast aside like a used rag. Not much different in the Republican Party, which died decades ago with the exception of eight years under Reagan. That’s why both parties get lame-ass Presidential candidates like Bob Dole, John McCain, Barack Obama, Al Gore, John Kerry, Michael Dukakis, and Walter Mondale. Now that’s the cream of the crop!

To Summarize What I Hear You Saying:

Dozens of personally authored blog posts with innumerable solutions offered, thousands of Twitter posts, The Heritage Foundation, an Obama-appointed panel (Bowles-Simpson), four presidential candidates’ platforms and a courageous Congressman’s plan to reform entitlement programs (Paul Ryan) are NOT enough SOLUTIONS for you. I guess those types of solutions are not presented on NBC Nightly News or on NPR (both of which we know are politically neutral news sources).

Final Thoughts:

I now realize that I am in the minority. I, and others like me, know that both major political parties are full of shit. They are power hungry and self-serving. They are more interested in lining their own pockets than looking out for their constituents’. People like me actually believe in The Constitution, unlike many of our elected officials and the majority of voters who are apathetic or ignorant. People like you are more concerned with the “D” or “R” initial in front of a politicians name rather than listening to what they have to say (their solutions!).

Parting Shots:

Since I will refrain from future political conversations with you, I want to prognosticate about Barack Obama’s reelection campaign:

1. He will woo the ignorant, the apathetic, the straight-party voters, the  dependent (those who rely on the government for money/food stamps/health care) and the unions.
2. He will say “fair share” 8,000 times between now and November.
3. He will divide Americans into as many segments as possible and pit us against each other – black vs. white, rich vs. poor, young vs. elderly, The 1% vs. The 99%, illegal immigrants vs. citizens, pro-life vs. pro-abortion, atheists vs. the religious, those who are pro-dirty air and water vs. the Democrats, the “drill baby, drill!” crowd vs. the more sophisticated environmental movement, those for limited government (pro-Constitution) vs. big government (nanny state), etc, etc.
4. His campaign will crucify the Republican nominee with personal attacks, lies, falsified documents and attacks on their religion.
5. The complicit news media will ignore Obama’s pitiful record of unsustainable deficits, pending inflation, the  longest period of high unemployment since The Great Depression, high gas prices, the worst economic recovery since The Great Depression, shitty GDP growth, crippling regulations,  the unconstitutional disaster known as Obamacare, his associations with the likes of Saul Alinsky, Jeremiah Wright, Bill Ayers and George Soros, crony capitalism, “skyrocketing electricity prices” and the “fundamental transformation of America”. Instead they will focus on invented controversies like contraception and Sandra Fluke.
6. He will say things like, “it was much worse than we thought” and “we need more time to implement our plan” and “we’ve come to far to change horses in the middle of the race”.
7. He will constantly explain how he actually has very little control over things like gas prices, the economy, government spending, war, etc.
8. He will blame Congress for not working with him (pay no attention to the 50-60 bills sent to the Senate from the House that Harry Reid refused to bring to a vote).
9. When all else fails, Obama and his supporters will blame George W. Bush.

·    Through it all, you will notice that he  never accepts responsibility for anything. Instead of “the buck stops here”, we have “the buck starts here”.

The reason he is forced to go through such machinations is because HE CANNOT RUN ON HIS RECORD!

Rather than recognize the miserable failure the two political parties have been over the last dozen years, you seem to hold blindly to the Democrat machine and throw “what’s your solution” at me over and over again despite the fact that I gave you at least a dozen.

On Twitter, I regularly engage self-proclaimed socialists, atheists, pro-abortion-is-a-religionists, global warming purveyors, and Democrat hook-line-and-sinker voters. They have no problem with the Democrat’s divide-America-while-claiming-to-bring-it-together strategy but they all have one thing in common, they never point to any evidence that anything has improved under Obama. All I get are shallow generalities, superficial platitudes, propaganda and the “what is your solution” chant.  

The Case Against Obama in Pictures

National Debt Clock

Average Annual Deficit Spending as Percent of GDP

U.S. Unemployment Rate

50% of Americans Pay No Federal Income Tax

Constitutionality of Obamacare's Individual Mandate

Budget Deficit by President

Obama's Budget Increases Overall Tax Burdens

Obama's Budget Sends Federal Debt to World War II Levels

The Obama Recovery

In every prior post-war recession, employment has fully recovered within four years. As of December 2011, four years after the recession’s onset, payroll employment remains 4% below the number of workers employed when the recession started in December 2007.

The Obama Recovery 

How Dangerous are Liberals and Progressives?

Consider the following and answer the question yourself:

• The Constitution is a “charter of negative liberties” , it does not tell what the government should do for the people. Barack Obama
  
   NO SHIT MR. PRESIDENT! THE CONSTITUTION WAS WRITTEN TO PROTECT THE PEOPLE FROM THE GOVERNMENT.
  
• “Whenever Congress refuses to act, Joe and I, we’re going to act” Barack Obama

• Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-NY), admits that she and other Obamacare supporters are "not looking at the Constitution" when it comes to the law's individual mandate for healthcare. http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb-staff/2012/02/28/open-thread-we-dont-look-constitution#ixzz1nhncXR9r. 

• Democrat Governor of North Carolina, Beverly Perdue – "I think we ought to suspend, perhaps, elections for Congress for two years and just tell them we won't hold it against them, whatever decisions they make, to just let them help this country recover. I really hope that someone can agree with me on that," Perdue said. "You want people who don't worry about the next election."
  
  Post Script: Since uttering this nonsense, she has decided not to run for reelection. 

• Obama’s makes "recess appointments" while Congress is NOT IN RECESS. 

• Attorney General Eric Holder refuses to prosecute slam dunk voter intimidation case against Philadelphia Black Panthers because . . . could it have something to do with the color of the offenders' skin? 

• Nancy Pelosi regarding the passage of Obamacare against the will of the people: “We’ll go through the gate. If the gate’s closed, we’ll go over the fence. If the fence is too high, we’ll pole vault in,” she said. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll parachute in. But we’re going to get health care reform passed for the American people.” As you may recall, they did just that bribing Senators with exemptions for their states and using Reconciliation to secure final passage.

Obama the Brilliant

I am just trying to get my arms around Obama's plan to lower gas prices. Let's see if I've got this straight:

Step #1 - Limit domestic oil production via Gulf of Mexico drilling moratorium.

Step #2 - Severely limit oil drilling on federal lands.

Step #3 – Kill the Keystone XL pipeline.

Step #4 - Increase the average time it takes for a drilling permit to be approved to 91 days.

Step #5 - Decrease the approval rate of drilling permits by 50%. Under Bush the approval rate was 73%. Under Obama, it's 23%.

Step #6 - Steal from Social Security and give wage earners $40 dollar per paycheck to pay for higher gas prices.

Step #7 – Smile and wait for adulation.

http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/e2-wire/211765-obama-payroll-tax-cut-extension-will-help-with-higher-gas-prices

The Truth About Unemployment

The unemployment rate in the United States is NOT 8.3% as the Obama Administration is touting. The government reports "seasonally adjusted" numbers each month, which is code for "manipulated".

The numbers are manipulated because the shrinking workforce is not properly factored into the unemployment rate. The workforce has shrunk by some six million jobs since 2007!

Below is some simple math to explain how the numbers are manipulated:

• If there are 100 jobs and 80 are filled, you have a 20% unemployment rate. 
• If there are only 90 jobs and the same 80 are filled, you have an 11% unemployment rate. 

Sadistically, a shrinking workforce benefits whoever is in the White House.

Here are some more facts about unemployment that you should be aware of:

• The United States is experiencing the longest stretch of high unemployment since The Great Depression  
• The official unemployment rate excludes people who want to work but have not searched for a job in the past four weeks. It also excludes those who are working part-time but would prefer full-time work. If both of these populations were counted, the unemployment rate in January would have been about 15%.  
• U6 versus U3 employment numbers: When you see the unemployment number reported, dig deeper and understand the difference between the U3 number widely reported by the media and the U6 number (explained in the previous bullet point).
• The share of unemployed people looking for work for more than six months — the long-term unemployed—topped 40% in December 2009 for the first time since 1948.
• Don't let anyone tell you that the jobs environment is improving while, at the same time, we have perpetual weekly initial claims for unemployment benefits at 380,000+.

Teachable Moment - College Tuition Hikes

I just read an article about the college tuition rate increases at North Carolina state schools; an average of 8.8% across all the schools in the system. I found this story to be a teachable moment.

#1 Teachable Moment:
Many of the student protesters were angry because they have to pay anything toward their education as there is a provision in the North Carolina constitution calling for free higher education "as far as practicable".

• Attention naive college students! NOTHING IS FREE! North Carolina tax payers PAY for your FREE higher education, which is already heavily subsidized by the state. 
• If market forces were able to play out in the arena of higher education, I guarantee you that tuition rates would not have risen well over 40% since 2000.
• The result is more borrowing by students. Student loan debt has increased by 511% since 1999. Do you really think a four-year degree is worth $80,000 - $120,000? $60,000? $50,000? At what point does it seem like a good investment of time, effort and money. You could buy into hundreds of franchise businesses for that kind of investment. You could travel the world (in luxury) for that kind of money. You could start your own non-profit or for-profit business for that kind of money.

#2 Teachable Moment
The problem is the intervention of the federal government into the education sector by way of Pell grants, student loans and subsidies. There is no incentive on the part of the institutions to manage their expenses when their customer (the federal government) continues to pump more and more money into the system. The result is the average student who receives a four-year degree leaves college after five years with tens of thousands of dollars of student loan debt. Payments begin six months after graduation. 

The only lesson learned by our college educated students is how to incur debt in massive amounts.

Even Vice President Joe Biden, no stranger to big government, admits that government intervention via subsidies and loans contributed to the incessant increases in college tuition rates by preventing free market mechanisms to go to work. 

Government subsidies have impacted upon rising tuition costs. It’s a conundrum here. But if we went the rate your view of the free market route what we would have done is we would have not of done that. We would not have increased Pell grants, for example. And there would be 9 million fewer students in college today. 

And there would be hundreds of thousands and millions of students who would not be in college who don’t get Pell grants because there was no ability for them to borrow money through Perkins loans and/or have the tax deduction.”

He went on to admit that, in a pure free market, college tuition would have to be lower because there would be fewer people going to school. 

First of all, what is wrong with fewer people going to four year colleges? Why can't more people go to a trade school, community college or go out and get a job? 

Secondly, in typical liberal economic logic, Biden assume fewer people would attend because the government is NOT involved. My observation has been that everything the government touches turns to crap (see two previous blog posts 100% Failure Rate - Part I and Part II). I would argue that, if the institutions became more responsive to their customers - THE STUDENTS, instead of their current customer - THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, prices would decrease making college more accessible, less expensive and, therefore, MORE (not less) students would attend.


#3 Teachable Moment
UNC Board of Governor's chairwoman Hannah Gage said, "we must show the taxpayers of North Carolina, and the legislature, that every penny that's invested the University of North Carolina is wisely spent". To do that she recommends: 1) Achieving operational and academic efficiencies, 2) Using technology more effectively and 3) Devising a strategy for financial aid.

NO MENTION OF DEALING WITH THE FAT PENSIONS OF THE PROFESSORS AND STATE WORKERS. NO MENTION OF GETTING RID OF UNPRODUCTIVE TENURED PROFESSORS SUCKING ON THE PUBLIC TEAT FOR DECADES. Like all good bureaucrats, Ms. Gage wants to devise financial aid strategies so students can continue to pay exorbitant prices for an inferior product. 

Class dismissed!

American Downfall

What happened to America? Two words: affluence and apathy.

Affluence

• As the most prosperous country in the world, we have countless millions of people in this country who, by world standards, are affluent. With affluence there tends to come a keep-to-yourself mentality when it comes to politics and elections.
• Result: DISENGAGED

Apathy

• Let's face it, Americans are apathetic when it comes to politics until their checkbook is impacted. We are busy raising our families and working to make ends meet. Who has time to pay attention to what's going on in Washington D.C. or Raleigh or Trenton or Austin or Sacramento.
• Result: DISENGAGED.

The bottom line is the affluent and apathetic outnumber the engaged and conscientious.

That's how you get a President Obama despite the fact that his stated goal was to "fundamentally transform" the greatest country in the history of the world and "spread the wealth around".

That's how you get approval ratings for President Obama in the mid-40% despite the fact that we have the worst recovery since The Great Depression, record unemployment, record deficits, crony capitalism of biblical proportions, an out of control Justice Department, Obamacare shoved down our throats, a war on success and an all-out assault on capitalism.

Sad!

Reaganomics versus Obamanomics

• Reagan’s Recovery ushered in a 25-year economic boom. Obama's Economy ushered in "The New Normal" - perpetual 10% real unemployment, millions of underemployed, higher energy costs, lower incomes, record food stamp recipients, etc. 

• The poverty level fell from 15% to 11% under Reagan despite budget cuts to the programs. Under Obama, we are back to 15% in 2010 up from 14% in 2009.

• Reagan’s Recovery cut top tax rates. Obama plans to raise them by not renewing the Bush tax cuts.

• During the 12 years prior to Reagan, America created 1.3 million jobs per year. During Reagan years – 2 million per year. Under Obama, the workforce has shrunk by some 6 million jobs.

For those of you who want to bash Republican Presidents for their favorable treatment of "the rich", consider these facts spanning the presidencies of Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton and most of Bush 43:

• In 1979, the top 1% of income earners paid 18% of all federal taxes. By 2006, they were paying 39%.

• In 1979, the top 10% of income earners paid 48% of all federal taxes. By 2006, they were paying 73%. 

• In 1979, the top 40% of income earners paid 85% of all federal taxes. By 2006, they were paying 98%. 

• In 1979, the bottom 40% of income earners paid 4% of all federal taxes. By 2006, they were RECEIVING 3% in direct payments. 

Ron Paul and Conservative Talk Radio

I am not surprised that the arrogant, Washington-centered establishment (Republicans and Democrats) dismiss or ignore Ron Paul but what’s up with conservative talk radio?

When it comes to giving Paul’s message a fair hearing, the best and brightest on the radio airwaves are no better than partisan hacks like Rove, Morris, Wasserman-Schultz and Axelrod. From Rush to Hannity; Ingraham to Levin; Beck to Jason Lewis, all of them have either dismissed Ron Paul as a kook (Beck and Levine), ignored him completely (Rush) or given him lip-service, “he has some great ideas about the economy and spending but HIS FOREIGN POLICY IS OFF THE CHARTS! (Hannity, Ingraham and Lewis).

In all fairness, last week Laura Ingraham actually acknowledged Paul’s viability in a short blog post that she made the cornerstone of her broadcast week. In the blog post, she suggested that Republicans (i.e. Romney) take note of Paul and figure out a way to appease his supporters.

I am not one to disavow a talk show host because he or she does not preach to my beliefs. I like having my viewpoint challenged. The problem I have with this crew is the fact that they have all preached to their audiences that, “There is no perfect candidate!”, “Don’t let one issue (i.e. social issues) skew your support for a candidate”.

                  

I believe it is time for my friends on the radio to practice what they preach. All of these hosts disagree with Paul’s stance against our activist foreign policy and, therefore, they discount his candidacy. I guess that makes Limbaugh-Levine-Beck-Ingraham-Lewis single-issue voters? 

My question to these warriors of the air waves is: 

What don’t you like about his stance on restoring our constitutional government, balancing the budget, only going to war after it is officially declared, discontinuing foreign aid, auditing The Fed, cutting taxes, restoring a sane fiscal and monetary policy, true entitlement reform and closing government agencies? What about the fact that you can’t find a single flip-flop in his record like every other candidate?   

If you want to elect another “establishment candidate”, continue down the road of bashing-and-ignoring. If you want to restore America to a modicum of what the founders envisioned, then listen to and engage Paul.

No other candidate for President has ever garnered support from such a wide assortment of constituents - disenchanted establishment voters from both Parties, Libertarians and Independents. His most ardent support comes from the young voters? You don’t see anything remarkable in the fact that the 20-something voters are enthralled with a 76-year old candidate?

There is something here folks! Pay attention and stop being hypocritical.

I Don't Have Enough Faith to be Pro-Choice

I write this as an aid to Pro-Life advocates who are afraid to voice their opinion when face-to-face with proponents of abortion.

The easiest way to show even the staunchest pro-abortion advocate the errors of their way is to ask lots of questions.

Below are a few examples:

#1 - Do you agree with the following phrase from The Declaration of Independence: "we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness"?  

• Key points: When does life begin? Who protects the baby? If you can get them to define that, then we should protect the baby's right to liberty, freedom and pursuit of happiness from that point forward. The reason we have laws against murder is because, as a society, we believe life has innate (intrinsic) value and, therefore, must be protected. How does the mere consent of the mother change the innate (intrinsic) value of the little human being inside her?  .     

#2 - Do you believe a mother should be granted "the choice" to kill their 3-year old child? 2-year old? 1-year old? Six-month-old? One-day old? One-minute old? 

• Key point: Of course they will answer "No" to all choices. After all that would be murder! 

#3 - At what point does the mother have "the choice" to kill a fetus?

1. Any time before live birth?
2. Up until the heart beat is present?
3. The 1st trimester?
4. 2nd trimester?
5. Up until it can survive outside the womb? 

• Key point: Wherever they draw the line, ask them to explain how they arrived at that response. Keep in mind that it is arbitrary. 

#4 - Ask them if they support partial birth abortion, a procedure where the fetus is pulled feet first by the abortionist until the back of the head is visible at which point the abortionists jams a pair of scissors into the baby's skull, the scissors are then opened to enlarge the hole while a suction catheter is inserted into the hole and the child's brains are sucked out causing the skull to collapse. The dead baby is then removed. 

• Key point: Anyone who supports this procedure is sick. If that isn't murder, nothing is.

#5 - Ask them to explain why they responded the way they did to that question to #4.

• Key point: It is important for pro-abortionists to articulate their stances. Most have never been challenged. The intellectual exercise of defending their position is often enough to get them to think twice. 

#6 – Ask them if they believe water-boarding should be banned as an interrogation technique for terrorist suspects. Ask them to explain their answer.

• Key point: For those who answer "Yes" to the question, if they are intellectually honest, they will begin to see the arbitrary lines they have been drawing to support their political and ethical positions. 

#7 – Ask them if they are opposed to a state or federal law that requires all women seeking an abortion to receive a sonogram examination or a mandatory waiting period prior to the abortion procedure. Ask them to explain why or why not.

• Key point: Here we get to the heart of the issue. If they answer "No", you are dealing with someone unwilling to even consider protecting life. All you can hope for is that they realize how zealous their support for abortion is given that they will not even give the mother a chance to reconsider. 

#8 - Ask them if your tax dollars should be used to perform abortions? If they answer "Yes", ask them if we can use half of those dollars or get matching funds to educate the woman about their options (adoption or keep the baby).

• Key point: See #7. 

In the end, you will find that the intellectual gymnastics required to be a proponent of abortion are quite extraordinary. The arbitrary lines in the sand, the numerous definitions of when life begins, the emotional "rights-of-the-mother" and "the-government-has-no-right-to-tell-a-woman-what-to-do-with-their-body" arguments all serve to muck up the argument. They conveniently forget the rights of the baby. 

Finally, if given the opportunity to express why you are Pro-Life, I would like to offer a couple of simple responses. 

#1 - I believe life begins at conception and, therefore, it should be protected like any other life. The reason I believe life begins at conception is because, at the moment of conception, something was created where nothing was before. That something is a human life. Human life should be valued above all else and we should do everything we can to protect it. 

#2 -  “If it is acceptable to take the life of an innocent human being on one side of the birth canal, why forbid it on the other? A 7-inch journey cannot miraculously transform a ‘nonhuman tissue mass’ into a valuable human being.” Gregory Koukl 

Do not get sucked into an argument about government involvement or the woman's right to their own body. This is not of legislative argument but one of the heart. Your goal is to simply make them explain their positions and, hopefully, stir something in their heart to reconsider their position.

Good luck.