Thursday, November 10, 2016

Commentary - OK Kids – That’s Enough Ice Cream


In 2012 I tried to wrap my head around President Obama’s win.  It resulted in a post entitled “Commentary - They chose the ice cream cone . . . .  My theory?  The President promised “his” people all the ice cream they could eat . . . and they bought it.  The result?  4 years to increase our national debt, pretty much give nukes to Iran, continue the destruction of our military . . . to name but a few things.

 At the same time the conservative base gave the Republicans a chance to act against Obama’s policies . . . to provide some level of obstruction as our ship of state sailed towards the edge of the world.  They did nothing.

 It was time for “Mom” to step in . . .

 As Iowa was spinning up for the 2012 election and friend – Tim – and I met at the local Subway for a sandwich and to chat.  We were part of the Republican county platform committee.  We had agreed that one of the things that allowed platforms to get profoundly out of hand was a lack of foundation.  Something to anchor the party.  We came up with five fundamental parts of the foundation of the platform for our county.  They have passed the test to time remaining pretty much unaltered through the 2016 election.

 And . . . I believe they answer the question . . . “Why did Trump win???”

 Honestly, I wasn’t surprised by the win . . . in fact I expected Trump to shred Hillary.  I was somewhat disappointed, I expected higher numbers on his part . . . but I wasn’t surprised.  So here’s my take – point by point.

Here was our first foundational point . . .

1: Our nation is a Constitutional Republic.   We are a nation governed by people elected to public office that are sent to represent us, the citizen. Our Constitution provides limits to their power, explicitly details our fundamental rights and insures that only the enumerated powers contained within the Constitution are executed by the federal government. All other functions of government are left to the state and local governments.



While we were told many times that every President uses executive orders . . . President Obama took it to a level well beyond our solar system.  From ordering government officials to ignore immigration law to implementing changes to the way the ACA worked he continually reminded Congress that he had a “pen and a phone” . . . which he relished using.  Republicans gave Congress to their representatives expecting them to bring the President to heal . . . and they failed to act.  With the prospect of yet another “President Clinton” in the offing . . . and with the disastrous path President Obama and our existing congress has placed our country . . . it was not surprising that folks decided to “take the ice cream away” and put the alternative in place . . . President-Elect Trump.



One other little gem . . . it appears that Hillary may well have won the popular vote.  I’m sure the caterwaul cries will begin to eliminate the Electoral College and just use the “voice of the people”.  Just remember that one of the functions of the Electoral College was to place a check on disparate accumulations of people in a single place.  It insures that a very small region within California and the Northeast do not become the primary voice of the direction of the country with those in “fly over country” loosing theirs entirely.  This is a handy reminder that the system our founders developed works just fine.



2: We are a Sovereign Nation.   We are a Sovereign Nation with defined borders, governed by a set of laws determined by our representatives, guided by our Constitution and protected by a military strong enough to defend our borders and interests.


This . . . THIS RIGHT HERE . . . is the primary reason that today we have a President-Elect Trump.  I have friends that wonder why Cruz, Rubio and others we passed over in favor of Trump.  Three simple words account for it . . . “Comprehensive Immigration Reform”.  As for Hillary, her promise to legalize the 11-million-ish (her number) within the first 100 days of a Clinton administration was a “uuhge” contributor to her loss as well.


One of the characteristics of Trump that the left hammered on since his promise to “build the wall” and his claims that countries south of the border are flooding us with criminals that sell drugs, murder our citizens and ignore our laws – is that he was “anti-Hispanic, anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant”.  Honestly, I’ve never heard him utter a single word against immigrants . . . legal immigrants that respect the laws of our nation, follow the rules, go through the process and become citizens of the United States.  THESE people are immigrants.  Folks that cross a border, cross a river, overstay a visa . . . are criminals.  There is a difference . . . and the difference matters.  If borders no longer matter, we no longer have a country.


I also heard the cry on how he hates Muslims . . . again I didn’t hear a single word spoken by Trump against Muslims.  What he did say was that he expected the US to fully vet anyone applying for refugee status in our country and that we should simply stop all immigration from countries that were on fire until we could figure out “what the hell is going on”.  I see this as common sense.  Presidents Obama, both Bushes, Regan and Carter had all done exactly that . . . stopped immigration from specific Mideast countries until the figured out “what the hell was going on”.


The third component of this also explains why more Hispanics voted for Trump than had voted for Romney . . . legal Hispanics, who played by the rules, applied for entry and citizenship and are now American citizens and see no reason those who committed a criminal act should be granted citizenship simply because they broke the law.  They see it as detrimental to the Hispanic community, not beneficial.


We are either a sovereign nation, and a nation of law . . . or we aren’t.  Borders matter. 


3: The Oath of Office of all civil servants - elected and employed – should guide their actions.   As citizens, we expect that our elected officials take their office and its duties and responsibilities to us, our country and our Constitution seriously and act in accordance with their individual Oaths of Office.


I took an oath to “protect and defend the Constitution from all enemies both foreign and domestic” six times.  As many vets say rather dramatically . . . “I wrote the check with my life”.  With Veteran’s Day very near, let us all remember that many have done exactly that.  We, as citizens, have the right to expect that our elected and appointed officials “protect and defend the Constitution” just a vigorously. Perhaps not with their very life, but at the very least with their entire soul.


President Obama has given little consideration to our founding document.  He continually used his “pen and phone” to go around the inconveniences its restriction placed on his particular branch of government.  While he freely passed out “ice cream” for the past 8 years, “MOM” has decided enough is enough and placed someone in control that she expects to bring us, as a nation, back into line.  Let’s hope that can be done.


The Republican Congress has certainly contributed in large measure to what many see as the most lawless administration of their lifetime.  The House simply chose to pass on using its “power of the purse” to clamp down on the Executive branch.  The Senate did little to restrict the appointment of far-left Judges – with the notable exception of SCOTUS nominee Merrick Garland, a rare showing of backbone.


Bottom line, Oaths of Office matter, the Constitution matters.  They are the foundation of our country.  When our elected officials ignore both, eventually MOM will take us behind the woodshed and have a chat.


4: Fiscal Responsibility is a fundamental function of any local, state or federal entity.   All monies expended by all governments – local, state and federal – come from the labor of the citizens of the country. It is a fundamental expectation that these government entities should act in a financially responsible manner.


This is perhaps second in line to “building the wall” in reasons that we have a President-Elect Trump.


Contrary to Obama’s stump speeches on how we are well on the road to financial recovery in this country, those in the trenches are aware that those words are simply a self-serving lie, period.


During the past 8 years President Obama has collected record taxes . . . and spent every single dime.  As he quickly told Representative Paul Ryan . . . “I won!”  And he spent our money like a “winner”.  In fact, spending every single penny wasn’t enough, he borrowed another 10 TRILLION DOLLARS on top of it, and spent that as well.  10 TRILLION DOLLARS . . .


Next was the “Affordable” Care Act . . . which is proving to be neither affordable of anything that comes close to caring for the people.  “Your rates will go down by $2,500 per family” – LIE.  “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan.” – LIE.  “If you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor.” – LIE.  “We will make sure every American has insurance.” – LIE.  (One of the arguments to ram through the ACA was the “30 million” uninsured people in America.  Today Obama proudly claims that the uninsured number has dropped to 11% of our population. . . which is 30 million-ish.)


More people are on food stamps than at any other time in recent history. (yes, I get it, it was probably worse during the Great Depression – do we really want to go there?)  While the claim of “un-employment” is said to be 5-ish%, the actual number is that there are 94 MILLION working age people out of work.  We are a nation of 334 million souls, with 200-ish million “working age” (16-64).  Do. The. Math.  Our citizens want a pay check, not a deposit on the EBT card.


Finally, I believe a “balanced budget” came into play.  Folks understand that when their checkbook goes into the red, they can’t just print money.  When the interest rates climb, they can’t say “no, no – better keep it low to keep things easier”.  They’re tired of filling the coffers of the treasury with their hard-earned money only to have government piss it away.  Hillary’s solution . . . a $1.5 TRILLION “stimulus” program out of the chute to “get things goin’”.  That’s $15,000 per family . . . fiscal responsibility matters . . . just sayin’.


5: Personal Responsibility is the primary duty of all citizens.   We are a nation of individuals held together by a common vision. We are not servants of the government; we are not dependent on the largess of society for our survival. Our possibilities are limitless; they not should be limited by our local, state and federal government. We are individuals, we are citizens of our country and we – and we alone – are responsible for our successes and failures.


(I’m going to ask for “language forgiveness” at the beginning of this particular paragraph.  I do my best to leave the “salty” language aside . . . don’t think I can do that here . . . I apologize)


For all you little “special snowflakes” out there who need your hands held, your diapers changed, your “safe space” so you don’t feel “threatened” . . . PISS OFF!!!  GROW THE HELL UP OR GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY.  YOU ARE A WASTE OF FLESH, A WASTE OF GOOD AIR AND A WASTE OF FOOD FROM MY TABLE!!!


I am exhausted by some little snowflake having their feelings hurt because I think they’re a dumbass . . . cause they’re a dumbass.  Spend 5 years, $200,000 to get a Master’s Degree in “Puppetry” . . . and now you can’t find a job???  You’re a dumbass – don’t look at me to provide a “free” education or to pick up your tab.


Want a $30,000 a year job (the infamous $15/hour job) but didn’t finish high school, have never held a fulltime job in your life, can’t show up on time . . . you’re a dumbass – I won’t hire you and if the government simply says I “have too”, I’ll make damn sure I’ll hire as few as I can, I’ll automate every chance I can and provide nothing, zero, zip in benefits . . . cause the public won’t pay $10 for a Big Mac . . . just sayin’.


Harass cops – be like all “He Man” and then flash a squirt gun . . . and get all pissed off when you wind up dead?  You’re a dumb-ass.  Yell and scream at the cops when your special snowflake gets dead while committing armed robbery at a store . . . and blame it on the cops because your boy is a “good boy” . . . you’re a dumbass.  Come through the window of a cruiser, try to steal a cop’s gun, get shot, turn to leave and fail to stop when ordered, use your 6”4” – 274 pound body to charge the same cop . . . you end up dead while proving you’re a dumbass . . . TOUGH SHIT.


We . . . the “adults” . . . are sick and f’-ing tired of your whiney-assed crap.  GROW. THE. HELL. UP.  Regardless of your age – teenage to life-long 40-year old snowflake – grow a “pair” Put on your big girl panties.  IT’S. NOT. MY. JOB. TO. TAKE. CARE. OF. YOU. . . . PERIOD.  If you are able bodied . . . of “normal” intelligence . . . and ability . . . and have simply given up and want to live off my dime . . . I will leave you die by the side of the road.  You have the right to choose . . . choose well.


All that said . . . there are those in our society who truly need our help.  The infirm, the old, the very young, the disabled, the mentally unstable, the developmentally challenged . . . and it is our direct charge as individuals, as a society, as a nation, to care for them.  Without hesitation.  Without complaint.


But . . . the “special snowflakes”?  YOU. CAN. KISS. MY. ASS.



Trump was not a surprise.  One of the other more “appropriate” candidates that the Republicans has could have taken on the mantel of being an adult . . . of taking away the “kids Ice Cream’ . . . they chose poorly and were cast aside.



Have we, as a nation, chose wisely?   Who knows.  Trump is a genuine wild card – and an indicator of how desperate our nation is to move out of the crap-hole we’re currently in.  I pray he listens, that Congress listens and that we find the strength to do the hard work ahead.


Only time will tell.


Some reference links . . .




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