The election and other thoughts - a time for action.

I have thought long and hard about this election. I have listened to different sides, different viewpoints - Republican, Democrat, Conservative, Liberal, Libertarian...you name it. I have held my tongue for a few weeks and tried to formulate my thoughts correctly - as to make sure that I did not rush to any snap judgement.

The time has come to let my voice be heard, my friends.

For starters, I will say that it is historic that a black man was elected President of the United States of America. I don't think anyone will deny that in all cases, it was and is an impressive victory. Let us not also forget that many African Americans have also paved the way for this - such as Colin Powell, Condolezza Rice, Clarence Thomas, and others.

However in regards to the Obama victory, that is where my praise will end.

This is a call for all Conservatives, Republicans, Libertarians, and anyone else out there with an open mind to listen to these words that I have to say: this fight has just begun.

While I am willing to give Barry O and his administration a chance, I am not for a second about to turn my back on the principles which I embrace, or the ideals which make up who I am. That being said, I will be critical of this administration, just as I am and will be critical of anyone in office - Republican or Democrat. While a portion of America was busy crying "hope" and "change" and any other clever slogan that was thrown at them - I shuddered, because all I could see was an overwhelming majority of idiots elected to congress, and a President that coupled with these people, is here to fringe on the liberty of the modern American. A president who has proposed policies that punish the private sector, and try and put everything closer to government control. I want you to mark my words: it is not the government's job to tell me, you, or any other hardworking American what to do with our money, where it should go, or who to "spread the wealth around" to. Ronald Reagan said it best in his farewell address - "As government expands, liberty contracts."

This is where the Republican party and conservatives failed in the general election. We ran a guy who would not speak up against Obama, and we were so silenced by a completely biased media (just think of Matthews saying he gets a "tingle up his leg" or later saying that it is his job to make sure this administration succeeds - whatever happened to a non biased media?), and we were so silenced by every crazed Obama voter shouting off their mindless crap. My advice to Conservatives, Republicans, Libertarians (yes, all of you who voted for Bob Barr or who understood some of the great things that Ron Paul had to say in the primaries), and everyone else out there - DO NOT BE SILENCED. They can try to silence you, but let your voice be heard loud and proud - now is your time to let your voice ring through - so that America can hear what you have to say.

This idea of unity as it is being phrased by so many people these days to me is bullshit. Excuse my language - but there is no eloquent way I can put it. The very idea that Barry O is here to say "hey America, I am here to save you of all your ills and unite everyone" and then it will magically happen is ludicrous to me. I do not honestly think that with a wave of his magic wand, Barack Obama is here to cure society of its ills. I am against National Healthcare. I do not agree with bastardizing any of the work our men and women in the armed forces have done. I do not agree with this idea of punishing those who succeed and basically stealing from hard working americans and redistributing that money to the bottom portion of those who already do not pay any income tax (can you say welfare? if we encourage this behavior, it gives individuals the impression that there is no reason to be motivated, no reason to try and succeed. Why try and go far if the the government will take it away from you as you succeed, or just let you skate by if you are lazy?) I do not agree with the idea of a higher capital gains tax. I think the fairness doctrine is anything but fair, and desecrates one of our basic rights - free political speech. I am against giving more federal aid to failing industry - such as this bailout (for the record, I am angry at Republican and Democrat for passing the bailout. Much like no child left behind, it is a bipartisan failure). I am against the idea that government should take care of everything - that common good for all man can only be achieved through government intervention. In my mind - this is one of the stark differences that I find between liberals and conservatives. Liberals will have a "pay at the voting booth" sort of mentality - as if voting for a government that may allocate your money to where they see fit is a way of "charity," but are typically less likely to give to any sort. The conservative philosophy revolves around helping the individual - not a "just giving at the voting booth" style of philosophy. To clarify - more government intervention means less freedom for the American people. This pseudo-socialist/marxist theory proposed is not what this country was founded upon.

I feel like this is turning into an angry rant, and I do not mean it to be. My point is that I am not going to sit here and act like everything is going to be fine. It's not. I understand that you cannot win all the time - and in this case, I was on the losing side of the battle. I feel like many people - McCain was not my first choice, but once Barry opened his mouth with such theories, or such associations came to light (Bill Ayers, Jeremiah Wright, etc) - then I had no choice but to support McCain and hope he would prevail over Barry.

Now, this isn't to say I don't think there should be some restructuring going on. The Republicans increased the size of government. That was bad. The war in Iraq was certainly mishandled in some respects. This is certainly unfortunate. The stock market has definitely seen better days. There needs to be certain things in the system fixed. But - I do not think turning our back on capitalism, free market, and the very basic principles awarded to us in this constitution are the answer. Taxing the corporations more and more and more is certainly not a good way to "jump start" the economy. It's biting the hand that feeds, and is only going to have a negative effect on the American public.

I do not want to see this country fail. I would much rather eat every one of these words, and say "well, I was wrong" and have this country turn the path in the right direction. I love America and wish her well every single moment of every single day. So - in some ways, I would like to see people come together. But there has to be a normal system of checks and balances, and I feel that is the job of any of those with an open mind to speak out when warranted. Do not let the marxists take over your country. Do not let more government intervention be seen as the way of the future (see my blog on the de-privitization of 401k plans for an example). Listen to what others on the other side have to say - you will not be right 100 percent of the time - but on that token, either will they.

The Republican party needs to restructure. They need to get some of the old blood out there, and get some new, exciting, young blood in. While we cannot do anything in a presidential fashion for four years, let's concentrate on getting the right people in office in 2010, and showing Reid and Pelosi that they do not run this country. This is a country for we the people, and it is our job to tell government what to do - not the other way around.

-The Rocker-