As the Nevada GOP Senate primary approaches its unpredictable conclusion, there is a potential disaster brewing for Silver State Republicans come fall. Sue Lowden, once the clear leader in the race has imploded thanks to politically asinine comments about bartering with chickens for health care. Never mind that bartering does continue to take place, when it comes to politics, such an unforced error is devastating. Moreover, Lowden’s questionable partial ownership and nondisclosure of her campaign bus has given her campaign an air of underhandedness. Add to Lowden’s woes her insider’s-insider status as the former Nevada GOP Party Chair and her past support and endorsement for Harry Reid and her veneer of formidability evaporates. As the latest polls indicate, Nevadans are walking away from Sue Lowden in droves, and Fox News reports she’s now third behind Angle and Tarkanian. Despite the backing of heavyweight GOP establishment figures, in the final analysis, Lowden is a falling star.

The bigger problem for Nevada Republicans is the possibility that many are leaving Sue’s campaign for Sharron Angle. Sure, Angle’s conservative, and she’s got the backing of both grassroots groups and political machines like the Tea Party Express, but Angle remains for many a fringe candidate with tenuous ties to Scientology and some questionable votes on spending. Her opponents, most notably Lowden, have pointed out her authorship of a bill which included the hair-brained scheme of providing massages to prison inmates. Can anyone see a Reid campaign commercial there? While Angle’s record does include some bright spots as well, the mere fact that Angle has a record at all is cause for concern in this anti-incumbency year. A four-term record in the Nevada State Assembly is sure to provide ample fodder for Reid and Democratic operatives, and Angle’s fringy style will likely prove an easy target for Reid’s well-oiled machine; a machine that’s managed to keep the sullen, liberal Majority Leader – by any measure an unappealing candidate – in office for more than 20 years. As the final vote draws near it’s clear that going with Angle is huge gamble.

The sleeper candidate in the race remains Danny Tarkanian. While Tarkanian hasn’t exactly caught fire, his quiet, consistent message and famous Nevada name have kept him in the running and amidst the unpredictability of Lowden and the quirkiness of Angle, Tarkanian looks more and more like the safe conservative choice. Tarkanian is just as conservative as Angle, he’s pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, opposed the Wall Street bailouts and focused on bringing the federal government to heel. He’s endorsed by Chuck Heath – Sarah Palin’s father and the grassroots Minuteman Project – but as an attorney and small businessman who’s never held public office before, Tarkanian comes without the baggage of a legislative record. He’s the outsider in an outsider’s year – something he grasped early as the first candidate to jump in against Reid last August when the Democrats were riding high. Going with Tarkanian has its disadvantages – Danny’s run for statewide office before, unsuccessfully – but on the other hand in doing so he’s boosted his statewide name recognition to a degree that Angle never has; most Nevada Republicans have a memory of casting their ballot for Danny Tarkanian. It helps also that every living room in the state has fond memories of watching his father, the legendary UNLV basketball coach, take the NCAA title.

Can Danny Tarkanian beat Harry Reid? If polls are any indication, yes. Tarkanian’s campaign boasts an impressive list of some 16 polls in which Tarkanian beats Reid – every poll, save one, since August 2009. While most Republicans are confident that a ham sandwich could beat Harry Reid in November, their overconfidence is just that – overconfident. Reid’s machine should not be underestimated – nor the millions upon millions of dollars in negative advertising and get out the vote efforts that will pour into Nevada to prop up the ailing Majority Leader. Reid will not go quietly, and while Angle’s upstart campaign seems to have the energy now to take on Reid, like Kentucky’s Rand Paul, personality along with her record, will likely prove far too easy to marginalize come June 9th; in the words of one respected Republican strategist, “Harry Reid will eat Sharron Angle for breakfast.”

Tarkanian may not be a dream candidate, but his quiet demeanor, constitutional focus, and stubborn determination are a good match for Reid’s own workmanlike approach to politics and the anti-government mood of the electorate. Over the course of nine months, Tarkanian has proven to be the only reliable candidate in Nevada’s GOP field, and he’s done so without the big dollars or the machine backing that has propelled his rivals. Ultimately Tarkanian is the safest option and the best candidate to take on Harry Reid this November, and should be the choice of Nevada Republicans.

These are facts, published by Fox News, buried by fearmongering lefties and redistributed by Canadians. It is a fair story that points out shortcomings of GOPers and dems. Amazing that we have to say that.

Will the people of Massachusetts vote out the bumbling fool Barney Frank already? Seriously. We do not care if you elected another Democrat (actually we do, but this is just to make a point). Franks is an idiot and makes Massachusettsians looks foolish as well.

The Bush Admin and Senator McCain warned repeatedly about Fanny Mae and Freddy Mac and what thus became the 2008 financial crisis — starting in 2002 (and actually even earlier — in the Clinton and Carter White Houses. Democrats resisted and kept to their party line, extending loans to people who couldn’t afford them — just like you would expect of socialists.

Just when it seemed the Republican Party had breathed its last breath, an amazing thing happened: the one-time fiscally conservative, small-government party of yesterday briefly re-ignited. In a vote every conservative can be proud of, the House Republicans, thanks to the efforts of new Minority Whip Eric Cantor, unanimously voted against the crippling spending bill pushed by President Obama and his big-government allies.  Of course it took the mother of all pork-barrel bills, with a crippling cost of more than $1.1 trillion that is sure to wreck the economy and drive up inflation to do it, but at least they ‘got religion’ eventually.

Now the real fight begins. If the Republican Party is to find its true voice, there needs to be a unanimous rejection of this socialist monster of a bill when it arrives in the Senate. Can we accomplish it? Will we stand united on principle? It’s up to you. Our representatives in the Senate need to hear from you, especially those most likely to abandon our core principles. You can reach them by calling the Senate Switchboard and asking to be connected (202) 224-3121 or toll free (866) 220-0044.

 If you can only make one or two calls, please start with these Senators:

• Collins, Susan
• Graham, Lindsey
• McCain, John
• Snowe, Olympia
• Voinovich, George

 The following are newly elected Republican Senators, so their predisposition toward fiscal responsibility and small government is not known.  We are certain they would benefit from hearing from you:

• Johanns, Mike
• Risch, Jim

The following are regarded as being, ‘at risk’ because of their previous support of the original bailout package (HR 1424):

• Alexander, Lamar
• Bennett, Robert
• Bond, Kit
• Burr, Richard
• Chambliss, Saxby
• Coburn, Tom
• Corker, Bob
• Cornyn, John
• Ensign, John
• Grassley, Chuck
• Gregg, Judd
• Hatch, Orrin
• Hutchison, Kay Bailey
• Isakson, Johnny
• Kyl, Jon
• Lugar, Richard
• Martinez, Mel
• McConnell, Mitch
• Murkowski, Lisa
• Specter, Arlen
• Thune, John

The following Senators are the ones we believe are least likely to vote for this irresponsible bill. We are counting on their principled opposition to fiscal irresponsibility:

• Barrasso, John
• Brownback, Sam
• Bunning, Jim
• Cochran, Thad
• Crapo, Mike
• DeMint, Jim
• Enzi, Mike
• Inhofe, Jim
• Johanns, Mike
• Roberts, Pat
• Sessions, Jeff
• Shelby, Richard
• Vitter, David
• Wicker, Roger

It is hard not to envy people like entrepreneurs or those of faith who are eternally optimistic, who always find the bright side, for whom the glass is more than just half full even in darkest times but filled to overflowing during the best of them. Those people make things work in spite of obstacles, which they see as opportunities. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
For me, this feeling of dread won’t go away, as if told we had two to four years before an asteroid obliterates all life on Earth. While no official bureaucracy will confirm or deny the world is ending, the world we know is on its way out, barring a miracle. Indeed, we have been told by the President–Elect that change is coming. He said we can believe in it, which his supporters interpret to mean it will be a good thing. Familiarity with the concepts of good and evil suggest otherwise.
How to recover our optimism? Just go along to get along? Sacrifice liberty in the name of unity? That is what’s in store, and the common word for it is socialism. Words from the immortal (for now) Gettysburg Address come to mind:
“Four score and seven years ago, our fathers brought forth on this continent a new nation: conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war. . .testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated. . . can long endure.” (more…)

In a morning interview with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, New York Senator and Chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Comittee, Chuck Schumer discussed the need for government censorship over America’s radio airwaves. Comparing political speech, the Nation’s most protected form of First Amendment speech to pornography, Schumer argued that it was unfair for advocates of free political expression on the radio to oppose government regulation, while supporting decency standards, calling it “not consistent.”  Schumer predicted that high Democratic turnout would give he and his colleagues close to 60 seats in the U.S. Senate – margins that would allow for the reimplementation of the Fairness Doctrine, and the curbing of free speech.

The Fairness Doctrine was repealed in 1987, and the result was a flourishing of political discourse on the radio. The success of conservative talk shows such as the Rush Limbaugh Show, and the lack of success by liberal leaning radio programming such as Air America, has led many Democratic lawmakers to seek to limit free expression on the radio in order to eliminate what has become an effective communications tool for conservatives. The Fairness Doctrine does not apply to television and many other forms of media, so “news” organizations like MSNBC can broadcast from a biased (liberal) perspective with impunity.

Schumer did not elaborate on why he felt pornography and political speech were equivalent basis for comparison, or exactly how pornography would work on the radio.

Abraham Lincoln once warned his fellow Americans that, “as a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide.” It is an axiom that still holds true. So it is on the eve of a great election that will have profound consequences for our national character that we implore our fellow citizens to remember the brave men and women who have gone before you, who have built this country from a frontier nation of 13 colonies to the great republic you see before you. We implore you to remember the vision of our founding fathers, to build a new society of strictly limited government but nearly unlimited freedom; a nation that prized natural and individual liberty over artificial, collective equality; a nation whose mission has been to foster life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

To our fellow conservatives, we entreat you in these final hours to fight as hard as you have ever fought, to mobilize and focus all your efforts toward victory, while ignoring those who would cause you to lose faith. We remind you of the stirring words of President Reagan, who believed that the success of our America – an America of limited government, personal freedom and responsibility, and one rooted firmly in the fertile soil of our God-fearing, visionary forefathers was inextricably linked to the future of all humanity: “You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we will sentence them to take the first step into a thousand years of darkness. If we fail, at least let our children and our children’s children say of us we justified our brief moment here. We did all that could be done.” Remember the charge of our greatest leader, the father of our nation, George Washington: “It should be the highest ambition of every American to extend his views beyond himself, and to bear in mind that his conduct will not only affect himself, his country, and his immediate posterity; but that its influence may be co-extensive with the world, and stamp political happiness or misery on ages yet unborn.”

To John McCain, a man of inestimable integrity and uncommon valor, we thank you for tireless service to this nation. You are unquestionably the better man, the greater patriot and the right leader for America at this trying moment. With you we cast our highest hopes and offer you this parting interpretation on words that have often brought encourgement to our nation :

 Sail on, Oh man of State!

Sail on, Oh warrior strong and great.

America with all Her fears

With all the hope of future years

Is hanging breathless on thy fate.

Finally, we offer our prayers to the Almighty, that He will guide our nation in this moment of historic significance. As a nation we have not always lived up to our highest ideals, but we remain a good and free people, and from our shores the light of liberty still beams out across a weary and dangerous world. May God continue to bless America and light our path forward.

Barack Obama is the Democratic nominee in a year that every political scientist agrees is as favorable to Democrats as any in living memory. George W. Bush, the incumbent Republican has approval ratings consistently below 30%. The economy is sliding into recession and just weathered the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s. Obama has the unconditional support of every mainstream news outlet in the country with one or two notable exceptions. His campaign is being actively aided by his former organization ACORN and others, which are engaged in what may be the largest voter fraud scheme ever. He has raised more money than any candidate in U.S. history – more than $600,000,000.00. By all accounts he is an unstoppable political force.

But he’s losing.

Oh, we’ve seen the polls, more than 150 of them that say that Obama is winning this contest or that, but the reality is, as Election Day draws near, more and more people are moving toward John McCain. You can see it in those same worthless polls, you can hear it in Obama’s impassioned pleas to supporters to keep up the pressure, to skip work to vote, to give even more money, in his overzealous advertising blitz, in the media’s dire warnings about the violence that will follow in the wake of an Obama loss, etc., etc.. With every possible advantage at his back, Obama is still unable to keep his head above 50% in key national polls, and driven by well-founded fears about his lack of experience, his radical associations, and his economy-killing redistributive economic policies, undecided voters are increasingly casting their lot with the battle tested McCain. Viewed in perspective, Obama’s failure to be in a commanding lead is utterly astounding.

Ironically, it is Obama’s own supporters that he has to thank. The fervor of the Left and the constant media pronouncements about Obama’s inevitability as well as the most openly biased press coverage in history has outraged and galvanized America’s conservatives. Coupled with the presence of Sarah Palin on the ticket, the Obama machine has stimulated GOP voter turnout by creating the perception of a competitive disadvantage that has in turn motivated conservatives to work harder and harder to make up a perceived deficit.  In a twist of poetic justice, Obama has demonstrated the superiority of the competitive spirit that drives the individualistic free market system that he and his socialist cohorts wish to alter.  Competition once again proves its worth.

Republicans will need every last vote, but if the current trends hold, the result will be higher than expected Republican turnout and a critical number of moderate undecided voters that will cast its lot with McCain knowing that America will get the new leadership she craves with the stability of common sense approaches to economic and military policy that he provides. 

Thanks to Obama’s media-driven inevitability, November 4^th may bring us the most stunning political upset in modern American history. This of course is our fervent hope.

It was June 1940. An undefeated and many thought unstoppable Adolf Hitler rolled across the European continent. From the air, the Luftwaffe dominated the skies of Europe, and would soon lay waste the venerable and ancient English capitol. Fear gripped a British citizenry low on food, ammunition, fighting men, and spirit.  The full fury of the Bilitz was only months away, and Britain was all alone in its struggle against NAZI tyranny. In this climate of seemingly overwhelming odds, the dogged and pugnacious British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, rose before the House of Commons to deliver one of his most stirring speeches. Knowing full well the awful price of defeat, and deploying all his considerable rhetorical skill, Churchill challenged and inspired his fellow countrymen and women to fight on to the bitter end:

“We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender…”

Churchill’s speech rallied the British people who fought on alone. But Churchill’s words inspired many hearts. Less than two years later and thousands of miles from the British capitol, men like Admiral John McCain were answering Churchill’s eloquent call in defense of freedom.  Rarely since those days has liberty faced such peril, but Churchill’s words have inspired many, no matter the contest or field of endeavor, to fight on. More than simply an echo of trying times, Churchill’s speech reminds us that when an important battle must be fought, it is incumbent upon each of us, individually and in unison, to go above and beyond the call of duty in pursuit of victory.

And so it is, that we find ourselves on the eve of a historic election for America. No elections are without profound consequences, but not since 1980 has America been faced with such a stark political and ideological dichotomy. John McCain is not the perfect conservative, but whatever his faults, John McCain is now all that stands between Reagan’s America and a disastrous turn toward socialism.  With Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi in charge of our Congress, and a President Obama ensconced in the Oval Office, leftist redistributionist policy will flow like water. Taxes hikes, profligate spending, and government expansion will unfold like storm clouds. The unionization of our private sector will begin in earnest and the end of the hitherto sacred secret ballot will come to pass. Our most cherished rights will be assaulted: from our freedom to express our religion, to our right to have and bear arms, to the very heart of the American spirit, the freedom of speech – which will wither under government imposed “fairness” guidelines. Our troops who have fought valiantly to secure a new future and a lasting peace in the Middle East will be undermined from home. The fight against Islamic extremism will end. The next justices on the Supreme Court will consider judicial activism their calling and judge-made law their right. Internationalism, foreign law, and sovereignty-undermining treaties will be the order of the day. Extreme environmentalism will trump all economic and business needs, and the promise of energy independence in the form of nuclear power, increased domestic oil production and natural gas will shrivel under draconian green legislation and government mandates. Like Gulliver amidst his captors, the great American juggernaut, already reeling from an economic blow of largely Democratic making, will succumb; death by 1,000 cuts. Not since the days of Carter will America have known such a malaise. The death of liberty by the hand of equality.

 But it is not a future that has to be. Hope remains.

John McCain is first to acknowledge that he is the underdog in this present contest, and many have proclaimed a McCain victory nearly impossible. Yet, with a strong final debate performance, a new sense that the American people are at last considering the true consequences of their choice in leader, and climbing poll numbers, a McCain victory remains possible. The odds are still unfavorable, and the task considerable, but in these final days, now is the time that every man and woman who cares about the hard won conservative gains of the Reagan Revolution must stand and fight. It will take more than merely voting, more than a yard sign or a bumper sticker, or a casual comment to a neighbor. It will take a sure and determined effort to mobilize every last Republican and independent vote.

In the end, it is not the media who decides our future, it is We, the People. So let us decide. Let us take our future into our own hands. In the spirit of Churchill, let us call forth every last remaining fighter. Family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues, parishioners, teammates, fellow students, and more. Even complete strangers and sometimes adversaries must be called upon and mobilized in this effort.  Ask yourself not merely what you will do come Election Day, but what you can and must do between now and then. The Left is mobilized and organized. They will be bringing to the polls thousands of voters who have never cast a ballot before.  On their side stands all the media with its long and duplicitous tentacles gripping the fountainheads of public opinion. Indeed, all the World whose interests lie in a weakened and demoralized America are willing your defeat.

So up with the rally cry! Dig in, mobilize and fight. We can win this election, and save America from a dreadful future, but only if we commit ourselves to delivering, with one resounding voice, the timeless battle cry of the victors: never surrender!

Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson accepts his winnings

As everyone knows the Wall Street crash of 1929 ushered in a period of profound and unprecedented hardship for the American people. Then President of the United States, Hoover was castigated as a do-nothing president, a failed leader, a man who allowed his nation to wither for the sake of laissez-faire purity and a lack of compassion. Unemployment soared, commerce ground to a halt, and thousands of Americans found themselves waiting in soup lines and living in shantytowns known as “Hoovervilles.”

Thus, the remedy was Franklin D. Roosevelt, who ushered into being a new era of massive government spending that forever and fundamentally altered the nature of American government. Roosevelt found work for people through public spending on public works projects and a host of financial reforms that gave rise to the modern welfare state. Roosevelt is beloved by many for being the man who saved the day, but some have argued that the true engine of prosperity that pushed America out of economic hardship was World War II, and that for all his good intentions, Roosevelt may have actually prolonged the Depression. In any event, he left us with a nanny state mindset accompanied by an unwieldy and monstrous federal apparatus that has grown like a hydra and threatens in time to devour America’s prosperity. As it turns out Hoover wasn’t all bad, and Roosevelt wasn’t all good.

For nearly the last century, the bedrock of American conservatism has been the notion of containing the size and scope of the federal government, and fostering a society of individual responsibility – rolling back the worst provisions and precepts of the New Deal. Now, on the eve of a federal intervention into the American economy of massive scale, there is a deafening silence from the Right, and a sinking feeling that we have reached another New Deal moment that will have profound consequences for America’s future.

To be certain, the issues involved in this current intervention are very complex, and their complexity leaves many (perhaps most) Americans without a clear understanding of what is happening, and what is at stake. At the root of the problem of course are the so-called subprime lenders. Essentially lending institutions that gives loans to individuals who are adjudged a higher risk. In other words, these are people with bad credit, questionable incomes, etc.  The name “subprime” has nothing to do with interest rates, but rather the quality of the loan/borrower – like with meat, there’s prime rib…and not. These are risky loans given to high-risk borrowers, with a higher default expectation rate, and as such they come with higher interest rates. So, why would anyone lend to these people? The simple truth is greed…greed made easy by government meddling.  A soaring housing market, low interest rates, and mortgages backed by Fannie & Freddie all contributed to a go-go lending atmosphere in which everyone was making money, and no one was asking questions. And why would they? Lenders simply made loans to risky borrowers then packaged and sold that debt to other institutions including, most notably, government-chartered mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which gobbled-up these mortgage-backed securities and fed a false perception of government guarantees and low risk. Eventually, the party ended.  As the housing supply exceed the demand, interest rates began to rise and payments on variable interest rate mortgages began to dramatically increase, these risky borrowers began to default and the declining value of their real estate made it impossible to refinance.  Lenders were left holding the bag – billions of dollars in illiquid securities that created a credit crunch and practically frozen capital markets. 

So, who’s to blame? In short: borrowers, mortgage underwriters and lending institutions, ratings companies, and of course, Congress.  Continuing the trend of government interference into the marketplace and the ever-popular attempt by those on the Left to socially engineer a better world, Congress chartered the establishment of mortgage guarantors Fannie & Freddie – the so-called GSEs or Government Sponsored Enterprises. Their aim of course was to encourage lending and make the dream of home ownership possible for more people, but in reality, these GSEs were encouraged by Congress to lend to high-risk individuals who couldn’t find a lender under normal creditworthiness guidelines. In short, Congress attempted to elevate whole classes of people into homeownership who couldn’t afford it.

The problems with this were apparent however to anyone who cared to look. As early as 2005, then Fed Chief Alan Greenspan warned the Senate Housing, Banking and Urban Affairs Committee, “Without restrictions on the size of GSE balance sheets, we put at risk our ability to preserve safe and sound financial markets in the United States, a key ingredient of support for homeownership.” Greenspan went on to explain, “Without changes in legislation, Fannie and Freddie will, at some point, again feel free to multiply profitability through the issuance of subsidized debt…The strong belief of investors in the implicit government backing of the GSEs does not by itself create safety and soundness problems for the GSEs, but it does create systemic risks for the U.S. financial system as the GSEs become very large.”  In May of 2006, U.S. Senator John McCain warned about the crisis from the well of the Senate and urged Congress to act, “For years I have been concerned about the regulatory structure that governs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac–known as Government-sponsored entities or GSEs–and the sheer magnitude of these companies and the role they play in the housing market. OFHEO’s report this week does nothing to ease these concerns. In fact, the report does quite the contrary. OFHEO’s report solidifies my view that the GSEs need to be reformed without delay.”

Neither Greenspan nor McCain’s warnings were heeded, and GOP-backed legislation that would have helped regulate these out of control mortgage giants were blocked by Democratic lawmakers including Senators Chris Dodd and Representative Barney Frank who foresaw no problems and encouraged the lending practices to continue unabated. Indeed Frank now famouly denied that there were any signs of problems with Fannie and Freddie. This of course brings us back to the proposed current remedy for this crisis, a remedy being engineered in part by Messrs. Dodd and Frank. (Dodd meanwhile has been under close scrutiny for receiving a sweetheart mortgage deal from Countrywide Financial – one of the lending institutions who sold the most securities to Fannie & Freddie.)

The options presented to us by the Olympians on the Hill, at Teasury and the Fed is essentially this: give us seven hundred billion or else the economy will collapse.

That’s right. Having encouraged lenders to make lousy loans to high-risk borrowers in an misguided attempt at social justice, Congress wants to appropriate more money from taxpayers to give to companies so they can offload the mortgage-backed securities that are causing their implosion. They’ve used the power of the federal government to encourage poor lending practices, allowing Wall Street to reap huge profits while the market was booming, only to have to admit that their scheme failed when the market went bust and forcing U.S. taxpayers to bail everybody out. It is worse than merely privatizing gains and socializing losses – it is a degree of incompetent central economic planning not seen since the Hammer and Sickle flew over the Kremlin.

Congress of course promises that these securities are not valueless, that they are backed by valuable real estate assets, and that in the fullness of time, taxpayers will recoup their investment, perhaps even turn a profit. Forgive us if we seem skeptical. We’re certain if there was money to be made, a private-sector solution would be found.  Yet, there is no discussion of forcing (since we’re into that now) a private sector solution, at least in part. Congress could do more than simply write a check. SEC accounting rules could be changed immediately to help revalue some of these assets. Congress could temporarily mandate the cancellation of dividends to help improve the financial soundness of these institutions without generating the fear that normal dividend cancellations would engender, it could order these institutions to issue new preferred stock which would immediately increase their capitalization, etc. But for obvious reasons (greed) no one in these institutions wants to dilute their existing shares, to take dividend decreases, or to lose managerial control by partnering with a deposit bank that could provide the capitalization and liquidity they need (as Merrill Lynch did). It’s easier to dump the illiquid assets on the taxpayer and let the party continue.

So, it’s to be a multibillion-dollar bailout that will be something on the order of double the cost of the Iraq war – a war long held by Democrats to be ruinous in cost. Keep in mind that there’s been no discussion of the constitutionality of any of these actions; the Constitution now viewed by so many as merely quaint and irrelevant. In a month where the Federal Government of the United States has become the major player in the insurance business, and become the world’s largest mortgage lender, what’s to stop it from bailing out the investment banks? And that’s the whole point isn’t it? Where does this merry-go-round stop? What happens when the airlines fail? What happens when GM or Ford go belly-up? What happens if the credit card companies – now saddled with America’s largest ever debt ratio fail? Is the federal government going to enter these industries as well? Are we to bail out every failing industry, lender or borrower, socializing every loss, and paying it all with printed paper money backed by nothing but illusory guarantees with liquidity provided to us by foreign lenders like China?  Of course, if one looks at the government’s own balance sheets the figure of seven hundred billion pales in comparison to the massive debt load that looms over the nation. A national debt of almost $10 trillion and rising fast thanks to what will necessarily be a debt ceiling increase included in this bailout, and then the really big money – massive unfunded mandates such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid totaling an utterly unfathomable $53 trillion.  All the product of further government attempts to create a better world…all stemming from the ruinous expansion of the federal government under the New Deal, and gross mismanagement and dereliction of duty on the part of the U.S. Congress who refuses to regulate, to dramatically cut spending, or to be honest with the American people about the true magnitude of this house of cards.

It’s New New Deal Time! Money all around! To add to the insanity of course, America can’t seem to make up its mind between two candidates – one who wants to cut spending and lower taxes (McCain), and one who promises higher taxes and MORE spending (Obama). Of course, Obama doesn’t promise that, he claims he can deliver a tax cut to 95% of Americans…even though 40% of Americans don’t pay taxes at all.  But, who cares where the money comes from as long as it’s flowing, right?  Free money!

That this election should even be close in light of the current crisis defies belief.

Of course now that we have an economic gun to our head, loaded with bullets provided by Congress, we seem to have little choice but to open our collective wallets and hope for the best.  The unpopular Bush doesn’t wish to add the title of the “Second Herbert Hoover” to his resume, those running for the presidency don’t want to be seen as lacking in leadership, Congress has been bitten by its usual “do something” bug, and those voices on the Right who harbor genuine concern about where this is heading remain silent, lest they be adjudged responsible for the crash that would follow.

The truth of the matter is, this bailout sets a terrible precedent, and rather than exposing the ghastly arithmetic that undergirds our economy, it will likely prove to be a mere band-aid that will fail to address the underlying fundamental (and necessarily painful) reform that is urgently needed as well as the natural market correction that should be allowed to happen. Instead we will allow the problem to fester, likely giving rise to additional unintended consequences, pushing an ever greater burden and an ever more calamitous collapse upon the heads of Americans yet to be born.

Like Davey Crocket and company at the Alamo, there are a number of steadfast conservatives who are holding out against John McCain, even in the face of what amounts to unvarnished socialism in the person of Barack Obama. Most of these individuals are committed, principled, conservatives, which means their allegiance to the Republican Party depends on the frequency and degree with which the Republican Party faithfully, fully, resolutely and competently fosters conservative ideals of governance.

 Quite simply, John McCain isn’t their man. Far more the maverick, compromising, bipartisan, sometimes-conservative, McCain has repeatedly raised the ire of conservatives not for his lack of principle, but for positions that stand in opposition to their principles. It is an honest, straightforward disagreement about policy and governance, the true nature of conservatism, and what is best for America.

There can be no doubt that these conservatives love their country, perhaps more than many. Oddly enough however, some of these conservatives have adopted a scorched-America, Phoenix policy. That is to say, they would rather sit home on Election Day, write in a non-competitive candidate, or even vote for Barack Obama, over John McCain. Their strategy, or so they hope, is to so damage America through four years of unchecked liberalism under an Obama Administration and Democratic congress, that like the mythical Phoenix, true conservatism will spring from the ashes such as in 1980.

 It’s not an incoherent position, but it’s not a wise one either.

First off, there are a number of logical inconsistencies with this concept, and one large assumption. The first is the notion that an Obama presidency will necessarily be a disaster. What if its not?  What if, like Bill Clinton’s presidency, Obama’s first two shaky years in office are met with a GOP midterm victory, that returns divided government to America, force Obama to the center, and results in Barack Obama being reelected in 2012? What if America, swollen by legions of poor immigrants from socialist countries becomes even more comfortable with big government? Obama’s popular vice president may take the reigns after him. Twelve years of liberal governance? Sixteen? More?

Moreover, a 2012 duplication of Reagan’s 1980 strategy is of course missing its central element – Reagan.  What illuminating, positive, articulate, appealing, intelligent, principled, electable conservative is currently out there in the field that could fill such shoes in 2012? Quite simply there isn’t one.  Reagan didn’t appear on the scene overnight. He was a voice for conservatism for years before his election in 1980. Reagan developed his philosophy, built his foundation of support, and honed his leadership skills. Reagan was the obvious choice for conservatism in 1980, but if our latest primary was the equivalent to reviewing the conservative litter, and John McCain still triumphed, it strongly suggests that no Reaganesque conservative has yet emerged. It is utter nonsense to employ a conservative great man strategy when no such conservative great men are evidently available.

Assuming however, for the sake of argument, that voting for John McCain would be a disaster for conservatives, and his presidency a failure for conservatism, then how would voting for Obama or not voting at all be helpful? If disaster is inevitable either way, one can employ the Phoenix strategy while still voting for McCain. You will have your GOP meltdown either way, and will have the comfort of knowing that you didn’t aid Obama and his leftists.

Lastly, there is the principle of America’s best interest. It’s a curious position to love one’s country so much, yet be willing to do what is not in the Nation’s best interest, (even in the short term) for the sake of political calculation. It is a curious position to place the virtue of one’s personal voting history over the virtue of always doing what is best for America, and all true, honest, conservatives must recognize that employing this strategy – helping Obama – is in fact willingly doing what they know to be bad for America over the next four years.

Some will argue that it is “tough love,” or that they are taking a longer view of the future – doing what is wrong now, in hopes of bringing about a brighter future. Naturally of course, the idea of trying to predict, much less influence politics four or eight years distant is utter folly. We live in an ever-changing, rapidly developing, world. Who on September 10, 2001, could have predicted how different America would look on September 11, 2001? There is no one alive who can have a clear concept of how America will look in 2012, and to suggest that America’s future is so important that she can go without proper leadership for four years or more in the hopes of one day returning true conservative leadership is mystifying.

Conservatives love their country, and all true conservatives should make a commitment to doing what is right for America at every instance. Each vote is a choice made in time: a selection between two imperfect options for America’s immediate future. A vote is not a scheme for future political advantage, but a decision about who, given the options before us, here and now, is best equipped to handle the many challenges, hurdles and unforeseen obstacles that America will surely face over the next four years. For the true conservative, such reflection can only lead to one conclusion. At this moment, in this election, for America’s sake, the conservative choice is John McCain.