The Discerning Texan

All that is necessary for evil to triumph, is for good men to do nothing.
-- Edmund Burke
Wednesday, February 04, 2009

Up to Here with RINO's...

When Dr. Melissa Clouthier got a message from a Senate Republican staffer questioning anger she had expressed about the propensity of Republican Senators to be disloyal to the people who voted for them, her response was--quite simply--remarkable:

Why was I outraged? Well, because as a tax-paying, small-business owning, home-owner who is refinancing right now to get near a 4.5% interest rate LEGITIMATELY, the bank is humping us because appraisers are afraid to stand by appraisals so are way under-valuing property making it a pain in the butt to get a good deal on a loan. So, when REPUBLICAN Senators write legislation rewarding people who couldn't afford the houses they bought given by banks who played with funny money at the Senate's own behest (because of horrible laws encouraging lending to bad risks), are now troubled and they get an automatic 4.0% loan to "take the pressure off" and "save their homes" while I have to jump through hoops like a circus poodle when I have paid on-time, actually pay my taxes (a lot of them) and employ people, it ticks me off. [Yes, that was a long sentence. Taking a breath.]

So, let me get this straight: Republican Senators are just Democrat Senators but a little nicer? The new Republican policy is to reward bad behavior and punish those who follow the law, live within their means and employ people?

I get that if everyone loses their jobs, loses their homes and banks implode that it's bad for the economy--and for my home value (which will lose more value). What I also get is that the GOVERNMENT caused this to begin with. Stupid law created the economic situation we're in and we don't need the government trying to bail themselves out by avoiding the inevitable. This situation is going to be painful for a while.

The solution, as I see it, is to start rewarding good behavior. Banks who are solvent should advertise and open their books. People will start putting their money there. Bad banks will fail. Aw, too bad. That's what happens when you're greedy or stupid or both. Bad businesses will fail who relied exclusively on credit. You know what? That is life. That's capitalism. And it's harsh and horrible. Companies who don't live on credit will survive. Right now the "bailed out" banks aren't lending anyway. They are holding the money and trying to stay solvent.

The solution is to free up the market by reassuring the market. Right now, businesses with money are afraid to invest. They have hiring freezes, traveling freezes, they are "hunkering down" (to use that reviled phrase) for the next four years of higher taxes and a miserable business climate. This fear is causing the economy to further implode. People are waiting to see what happens.

The solution is for President Obama to send a clear signal that taxes will be cut, corporations will be given tax cuts and room and reinforcement to grow. The solution is to cut the size of the government because it's taking money out of the private sector.

Unfortunately for America, the solution is to do the very things that Republicans used to stand for and do and we're stuck with a Democratic Congress and President. Well, the American people would prefer a real Democrat than a false one dressed up as a Republican. And besides, Barack Obama sounded more conservative than any Republicans anywhere during the election cycle. He may be forced to BE one, too. The economy cannot bear Democratic wish lists. It will sink an embattled ship and take Dems down with it. Seems like the Blue Dogs, at least, get this.

So, when I was saying that the Senate houses a bunch of "inbred cretins", that's what I meant. Republicans WILL NOT succeed by being Democrats-lite. Stand for principles already or be consigned to irrelevance for decades. That Senate Republicans do not get this is just maddening. They have killed the brand and continue, after losing big over and over, to do so. And Senate staffers are angry with ME and other conservatives for pointing this out?

I believe in Reagan's 11th Commandment, too. It's what kept me positive when I heard McCain bumble around during the run-up to the election. But enough is enough. Republicans cannot win by betraying principles--being corrupt, spending, bad-behavior-enforcing, unethical, pork-loving legislators. That's what Democrats are for. That's what is expected of Democrats. It IS their brand. And their constituents don't care because they hope to be on the receiving end of the largess.

There is a lot more meat here, including some choice quotes by one of the greatest living economists and a personal hero of mine, Thomas Sowell. So you will want to read the whole thing.

This post is a stellar example of what we who believe in the principles of sound economics need to be doing and saying to our so-called "advocates". The squeaky wheels get the oil. And it is not just Democrats that need to learn that they work for us, not the only way around.

We are entering what is an absolutly critical period in our history. There are existential threats from within and without. If this is still a government OF the people, BY the people and FOR the people (and no, I am not talking about the labor unions), then WE the people need to "man-up" and fight for what we know is right.

So to all the RINO's out there: yes we are paying attention, yes we care about "the brand" and YES we are mad as hell that you have squandered your majority in both houses by departing from the principles you are supposed to stand for. And NO, we are not just going to lay down like sheep while you give our country away just so you can be invited to the "in" cocktail parties in Georgetown. It's nothing personal; it is principle.

Thanks to Melissa for firing this shot across their bow; I hope they are listening.

Get used to it.
DiscerningTexan, 2/04/2009 09:15:00 PM |