Dare Defend Our Rights

Byrne Likely to Run for Governor-2010

2009-05-20T04:34:00.006-05:00

Well, it has been a while since I wrote to everyone. I apologize as I have been occupied with other things. Well, I'm baaaaack!

There is a potentially very big development in the run for Governor going down. Yesterday, Bradley Byrne resigned from his position as Chancellor of the two-year college system in the state.

Byrne had indicated earlier that late May or early June would be a date in which he would make his final decision whether or not to run for Governor. There has been speculation about a Byrne candidacy in the GOP for several months now. His resignation from his current position is a clear signal that he intends to pursue other options, ya know, like Governor.

Byrne hasn't made anything official yet and said the long awaited official announcement would come on the 27th later this month. Being that he has taken leave of a fairly important position within the state would seem to signal he is ready to devote himself to a full-time campaign for Governor late next year.

Legally, no one can begin fund raising until June 1st which is roughly a year ahead of next June's state primary. So it makes sense that more and more candidates are coming out of the woodwork. The next few weeks should be interesting as it is also likely that we will separate the wheat from the chafe so to speak.

The list of potential candidates for Governor has run as long as a list of State Senators. The rumors and fact will soon be publicly separated.

There are two other official candidates in the GOP race right now. Greenville businessmen Tim James and State House member and doctor Robert Bentley are the only ones to have officially announced their candidacy. Other big names in the rumor mill include State Treasurer Kay Ivey and Republican Minority Leader Mike Hubbard. I suspect that Ivey's candidacy is merely a rumor. No real developments have happened in her court for months. She is interesting from a rumor mill standpoint because she is the only name mentioned who has already won and currently holds a state-wide office.

Two reasons I say she isn't too serious about it though. 1) This PACT mess coming down has made her look bad. Whether it is her fault or not, she is ultimately responsible for the Treasury Dept and doesn't look so good when half of the value of the program has gone down the tubes. 2) There is already a crowded list of big time candidates in the mix. James has been working for months to organize a campaign. Byrne has supposedly secured a lot of support within the business community. Given that the last open GOP primary really only had 3 candidates and saw a relatively weak showing from Tim James in the polls, there's no reason to believe that a Ivey candidacy would produce anything more than an 'also ran' result.

What is also interesting is that the race could become more crowded yet regardless of the unlikelihood that there will be only 2 to 3 major candidates. Tony Petelos has batted around the idea of running, but I think his lack of name recognition statewide would make his candidacy a poor choice. Perhaps a run for Lt. Governor would be more suiting of the Hoover mayor.

In addition, the prospect of Mike Hubbard joining the fight still looms. I don't really have any strong inclinations one way or the other on his chances of running, but I don't think he's a strong candidacy if he enters. Again, a strong candidate for Lt. Gov he would be.

Finally, there was some speculation that Luther Strange might take a shot at the top job. He put that to rest a few weeks ago as he more or less indicated he would seek the job of Atty. Gen. despite the fact the position is currently held by a Republican. He made that official with his announcement last week to challenge Troy King.

Speaking of Troy King, there was a lat of talk of him running for Governor this year, but his dirty laundry list would make this article twice as long so I think the likelihood of that happening much less the wisdom of that move is good and small.

Finally, I should give attention to Robert Bentley. Although he is from my native Tuscaloosa and I have a little inclination to support him simply for that reason not to mention his super-conservative stances, I said early on that his candidacy would achieve 'also ran' status. I'm not quite so sure of that anymore. Have you seen the man's bus? Pictures of it are at the previous link. I may be ignorant here, but I've never seen an Alabama gubernatorial candidate roll around in a state-of-the-art ride like that. Point being, he's got some serious backing somewhere. Being a doctor, he's certainly got some money in the bank so I don't doubt he could afford a bus like that, but why do it unless you've got campaign funds rolling in? Not that he's collecting funds illegally, I'm saying he has the promise of money from people he obviously trusts.

My inclination from sources say that Bentley's not interested in running unless he knows he can win. Despite his lack of name recognition statewide, a name can be made in a relatively short period of time if you've got the money to do it. It will be interesting if Bentley ends up being that 3rd major candidate.

Alabama's PACT Plan in Trouble- Officials Yet to Decide on New Plan

2009-04-07T17:52:00.008-05:00

Most everyone knows that since September the Alabama Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Plan or PACT has been in serious trouble. With the stock market crash that reduced nearly half of the assets on the books, also came the the reduction of PACT assets to about half.

The PACT Plan was created in 1989 in order to save up money for Alabama high school Seniors to go to college at an in-state institution. Well, not so much anymore....

Technically, the state now owes twice as much in fund liabilities as they actually possess now in the fund. I'm not a parent, but if I was and I had been paying in money to the state for the last 15 years for my child to have enough later to go to college, I'd be a bit peeved right now.

My candidate, Tim James, had a relevant comment on the issue. He said it was "the most irresponsible thing" for the board to put the largest portion of the investments in the stock market. I agree with that as well. The majority of the funds should have been in mutual funds. As Dave Ramsey says, "you should never have more than 10% of money in the stock market." And the reason is because of precisely what happened this past fall with the huge losses in the stock market. I'm not sure who was making the investment decisions for the PACT plan, but they probably need to be fired.

What is next is that a few officials, several of which are gubernatorial candidates in 2010, have gotten together to figure out where they will go from here.

Analysis: Tuition plan now big issue in Governor's race

As you can see, this group was to meet about 2 weeks ago on the 24th. Now, this committee isn't exactly a committee. It seems to be made up of a hodge-podge of officials and won't actually have any power to make a decision in this area. I planned on reserving judgement until later on whether or not they come up with something feasible. What is new today is that 3 members; Jim Folsom, Kay Ivey, and Bradley Byrne, those gubernatorial candidates I was mentioning, met with Gov. Riley today to make a few of their ideas known. I think I can stop waiting....

Read here:

Gov Riley says PACT solution workable

There's not a heck of a lot of material there to judge. The committee thinks they have a proposal to give to the Legislature before the session is over. They all seem to be on board with freezing tuition hikes for PACT students for a few years which I think is a good start, but there isn't much there that will make the 48,000 families happy. I hate to say it, but I think I agree with this Democrat:

Rep. Proposes rescue for Alabama Tuition plan

Now, I don't want to give the impression that I am for the Legislature writing a blank check to these students and I don't want to imply that I know all the ins and outs of Craig Ford's proposal, but the state made a promise to fund the college tuition for these students. Freezing the tuition hikes along with making sure the tuition is completely covered is what the plan should be.

Obama's Latest Big Government Power Grab- Private Sector in Danger

2009-03-24T17:17:00.011-05:00

Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse. Obama Man, defender of all that is socialist and unwieldy, comes to the rescue.

The latest shock to the system, if Obama gets his way, will be the creation of a new government authority over non-bank financial institutions. The best part is that there probably won't be the creation of a new bureaucracy. After all, Obama isn't interested in creating government programs that don't work. He's going to skip the middle man simply take CEO power itself for the administration over these financial giants. And the peasants rejoiced.....

Check out this odd description of what exactly the administration wants:

Yahoo- Decrying AIG, top officials ask strong new control

Geithner made it clear he believes the treasury secretary should be granted broad powers — after consultation with Federal Reserve officials — to take control of a major financial institution and run it. The treasury chief is an official of the administration, unlike the FDIC, which is an independent regulatory agency.

Personally, I think it is bad enough that such an entity as the FDIC has the power to take over any private sector institution in certain circumstances. What is even worse is the idea that an inherently partisan member of any Presidential administration, much less the Obama team, could actually have the power to seize a financial company and place it under the control of the President. Unfortunately, this isn't the most disgusting thing I've heard this week. Obama has hit a new record when it comes to the fast-paced presentation of lunatic ideas.

The hits just keep on coming:

Washington Post- Geithner Asks Congress for Broad Powers to Seize Firms

Appearing on television news shows this morning, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the White House wants "resolution authority to go in and be able to change contracts, be able to change the business model, unwind what doesn't work."

The power to change contracts....are you serious? Not only do they want to control multi-billion dollar firms, they want to be able to retroactively change a past contract. What this means in addition to the obvious abuse of power is that individuals out in the private sector are going to think twice or even a third time about doing business with a troubled company simply because they will understand that the government could come in at any time and void the contract.

It makes me wonder, does Obama really enjoy doing such damage to a free market system?

And get a load of this:

"This is common sense. This isn't anything crazy," Gibbs told CNN. " . . . If the Treasury had resolution authority on AIG, you wouldn't have to put it in bankruptcy to change executive compensation, you could do that automatically."

Ok, the very fact that he has to say this concept is not crazy pretty much means it is the nuttiest thing to come down the pike yet. Listen carefully to what Gibbs just stated. Obama wants the power to change how people are paid...rich people that is. The pushing of and the exploitation of the American's envy of the rich just blows my mind.

If Obama could have simply just done away with the payment of CEOs at the top of AIG, he would have. Does anyone have a problem with the idea of the President or anyone else in government simply deciding how much CEOs get paid? Of course, the process for determining how these people would be paid won't be based on any country-first ideals, it will be purely political and be designed the serve whatever purposes the President desires at the time.

Obama Hates Moral Doctors

2009-03-23T19:50:00.003-05:00

Some of you may have heard recently that Obama has decided to rescind the rule that bars hospitals or the government from forcing doctors and nurses to perform abortions even when they refuse to under their right of conscience.

The following is an excerpt from the administration's document:

“The Department is proposing to rescind in its entirety the final rule entitled “Ensuring That Department of Health and Human Services Funds Do Not Support Coercive or Discriminatory Policies or Practices in Violation of Federal Law,” published in the Federal Register (73 FR 78072, 45 CFR Part 88).”

Well isn't that lovely? Now, if you are a doctor or nurse of conscience and you think that abortion is murder you cannot do a dern thing about it. The Federal government will force you to perform that abortion. There is no word yet on what exact penalty will be assessed for doctors and nurses that refuse to engage in abortions despite the Federal rules.

You can bet that this will end up in the Federal courts, but as always it will depend on who gets to hear the case. If the liberals have anything to do with it, Obama will get away with violating the rights of innumerable doctors and nurses across the country and all in the name of preserving the all-important "right to choose."

This is change we can believe in! Can we kill our children? YES WE CAN!

The administration has however set up a comment section to allow for opinions from the common folk, how generous.....

The comment period is one month long and is almost gone. Please submit comments.

You may submit your comments:

1. http://www.Regulations.gov

2. Email to proposedrescission@hhs.gov

3. Electronic comments to http://www.Regulations.gov, go to the Web site and click on the link "Comment or Submission" and enter the keywords "Rescission Proposal."

4. Regular mail: You may mail written comments (one original and two copies) to the following address: Office of Public Health and Science, Department of Health and Human Services, Attention: Rescission Proposal Comments, Hubert H. Humphrey Building, 200 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 716G, Washington, DC 20201.

Governor of Alabama in 2010- Looking Ahead

2009-03-05T17:08:00.011-06:00

Well, ladies and gentlemen, the time is closer than you may think. Alabama will elect a new Governor in November of 2010 and potential candidates have been lining up and jockeying for attention for the past several months. I will attempt to identify a few here and share some thoughts on their candidacy.

Gov. Riley will be forced to step down next time around after two terms in Montgomery. Riley, who was only Alabama's 4th Republican since Reconstruction, accomplished the rare feat of winning consecutive bids for Governor in 2006. Guy Hunt also won reelection in 1990, but had to resign before his 2nd term was finished. Fob James served 2 terms, but they came 12 years apart and James ran as a Democrat the first time around.

The recent success of Republicans in statewide offices leads some to believe that we now have a strong Republican state and that the real race will take place between those primary contenders. I am one who sees the scale as tipped in favor of the Republicans, but that does not necessarily mean the Rep is a lock. After all, Riley narrowly defeated the incumbent Siegelman in 2002. So, we Conservatives must be on the lookout for a Democrat with a plan. With that in mind, I'd like to highlight some certain and some not so certain Republican candidates for the high office.

The first is Tim James. The son of the formerly mentioned Fob James and a long time businessman, he has never actually held public office. He was though one of the three prime Republican contenders for Governor in 2002. Unfortunately for James, he finished 3rd out of the three. He admits the timing for his candidacy was bad. It had only been 4 years since his father had been defeated by Don Siegleman and so the perception among many could still be categorized by the phrase "no more Fob."

This time around though, James has dedicated 2 million dollars and an early start to hopefully finish the marathon first this time. I had an opportunity to sit down with Mr. James last year before he was allowed to formally announce and had an interesting conversation along with other political junkies in attendance. As many other candidates before him, James will place a special focus on education in Alabama. Riley put us a step ahead of the curve with the AR program as well as broadcasting AP classes around the state to rural schools who couldn't afford such teachers. James' plan will center around giving local principals and superintendents more control over their respective schools. Allowing less bureaucratic interference and putting less of an emphasis on buying new bricks and a fresh coat of paint should give our schools a jump start over other states.

In addition, James plans on bringing a new and more responsible fiscal conservatism to the state. As we have seen recently with the passage of Amendment One, our legislature is far too open to taking and spending our money. The raiding of the state's Alabama Trust Fund in order to supplement last year's avoidable budget shortfalls is just the latest example of their disregard for good fiscal policy. James opposed the amendment as I did. Considering that money will likely never be paid back to the state despite the promises of such, it is even more important to have a fiscal conservative in Montgomery. James also promises to get rid of yearly appraised property values which, of course, leads to higher property taxes each and every year instead of every four years as it once was.

I believe James' experience and success as a businessman make him more than qualified to take the reins of the state. It certainly is more of a qualification than being in career politics as so many of our Legislature members and other politicians rely on.

http://www.timjames2010.com

Tim James website is above and I hope you all will consider his candidacy for 2010.....

Uninformed and Dangerous

2008-04-16T16:28:00.004-05:00

-A friend of mine recently took a good hard look at Barack Obama's "plan." I'll call him Adam as revealing his last name could pose a danger to his family;) Enjoy:

I am excited that so many people my age and younger are getting involved with the presidential race this term. There are more important issues that should be addressed this election year than in any I can remember in my lifetime (pre-cold war Thanks Ron). In the past few months, as Hillary and Obama are still dueling and McCain has cemented his place at the GOP convention, I have noticed an alarming trend. You might have noticed this as well if you occasionally discuss politics.

When I ask someone whom they are voting for, I always ask them why they have chosen that person. If the person is well informed and educated you will get an answer like, “I like his/her stance on social issues and I believe his fiscal restraint and policies will strengthen the economy.” But I can’t remember the last time I heard something like that. Here is what you get now, “ I like what he has to say. I think he’ll be good.” I usually respond with something like “What positions of his do you really get on board with?” They respond, “Well, I like all of them.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard those exact lines. It is great when informed young people get out and cast their vote. The key word being informed. Maybe most people now just don’t care who wins as long as it’s not George W. That is extremely dangerous thinking. Americans are jaded by the lack of success in Iraq. Any kind of change is welcomed. So in essence Americans believe it cant get any worse than the last eight years. Terribly dangerous thinking. Here’s why.

I’ve spent the last couple weeks reading Barack Obama’s plan for the country aptly named A Blueprint for Change and I am convinced it can get much worse. Every Obama voter that I have spoken with has seldom studied this candidate’s policies much less read his manuscript for the future of America. Don’t get me wrong, I can see the appeal of Obama and can also see why so many people will vote for him in November. What I don’t understand is why an educated person would vote for him. Or why an upper, middle, or lower class American would vote for him. Or why someone familiar with the history of other governments would vote for him. So I’m going to briefly take you step by step through Obama’s Blueprint for Change and explain how Obama, and to lesser extent Hillary Clinton, would be poison for this country.

After reading the blueprint, I saw a common theme throughout. The word create is used over 50 times. Seems inconsequential but after every create there is a new and I’m sure, well-intentioned program. For example, a plan called Children First, which provides care from birth to K-5. Create a program to ensure criminals have counseling and work opportunities. Create a program to engage youth to work in energy programs. Create Rural Revitalization Program. Create Green Jobs Corps. Create RPS. Strengthen families via four new programs that give housing, jobs, counseling and other opportunities. Really? The answer to our deteriorating families is a program that gives you a cheaper house?

The other trend I noticed in this booklet was phrases like: double funding, quadruple funding, and invest 10 billion. I saw this over 50 times as well. I could go on and talk about the endless programs that will swell the government to a size never seen before but I have a different point to make.

There is a fundamental difference between Obama’s thinking and the brilliant founding fathers that crafted the Constitution. This set of laws (Constitution) demonstrates a moral commitment to liberty and was written to establish once and for all- that sovereignty will be placed in the hands of the people- not in the federal government. For this reason, the Constitutions theme is the limitation of government power. Government is now expected to provide profits, medical care, jobs, homes and food whenever the people demand these benefits as a right.

These programs created to try to eradicate say poverty will spend billions in addition to the hundreds of billions already spent, to get people off the streets and yet logic tells us the more and more we spend and the more we subsidize poverty in America, the more we will have of it.

What young people today need to understand is in order to fund these programs, the government needs money. Since they will be spending trillions more every year, the money will come directly from our taxes. Forget your tax refund at the end of the year and forget bringing home 75-80% of your income. If this radical swelling of the federal government is brought about with Obama being elected, you will be taxed over 50%. You earn $40,000/year- you bring home $18,000. But nobody cares about this, they just keep saying, “I like what he has to say”. Its very simple- money is taken from the people who have it and redistributed to the people who don’t. That’s socialism.The more we handout to the poor; the more poor people we will have.

I, like the founding fathers, believe a man should take personal responsibility for himself and his actions. The founding fathers envisioned America as a beautiful place where people are responsible for themselves and the federal government would stay out of everyone’s lives. Boy that sounds nice.

Duncan Hunter endorses Mike Huckabee

2008-01-24T06:44:00.000-06:00

I have a lot of respect for Congressman Duncan Hunter. Originally, he was my favorite candidate in the race. I had the opportunity to meet him in Huntsville back in October at the Annual Convention of the Alabama Federation of Republican Women. It was quite an impressive showing. I was a nervous political junkie who had never so much as met a city councilman and here I was spending time with a Presidential candidate. You would not have known it speaking with him. He was intentionally friendly and it was obvious that his sentiments were genuine.

Aside from his strong Conservative values and his Christian faith, he also impressed me with his humility and optimistic personality. He officially gave up his Presidential bid on Saturday after the final results from the South Carolina Primary. After the long shot bid officially came to an end, the Congressman went about the process of considering who to endorse for his party's nomination. He chose Mike Huckabee.

I can understand why. As someone who values Conservative practice in government, smart practical leadership, and most importantly personal integrity, I believe I was drawn to Huckabee for the same reason that Congressman Hunter was. Though Hunter never garnered large poll numbers, this endorsement is potentially important because of the Reagan wing of the Republicans that Hunter represents. Huckabee has been criticized as a Democrat, a liberal, and a fake politician who hoped to garner support based on his Baptist background. It appears that Duncan Hunter views the situation quite differently and as a man of immense integrity himself, his opinion weighs heavy with me.

Now is the time....

2008-01-22T23:22:00.000-06:00

As the Feb 5th Primary approaches here in Alabama, one thing is for sure....nothing is for sure.

As it stands there remain 4 big candidates left in the race. It is likely that no more will drop out until after Super Tuesday so for the first time in many years, the state of Alabama will have the opportunity to play a part in selecting our next President.

I make no apologies about being both a Conservative and a Christian and with these two ideologies banging around in my head at all hours of the day, I cannot help but judge my candidates by them. With these two in mind I have made my decision for whom to vote. That man is Mike Huckabee.

He is the strongest Values candidate left in the race. He has committed to changing the status quo in Washington with regards to abortion policy and policy affecting the family. Unlike some, he does not give lip service to the idea of values in hopes he will take away a few votes using the rhetoric. Instead, he has entered politics for the purpose of reflecting those values in our law.

In addition, I do believe he has the best tax plan our nation has seen since the Founding Fathers. The elimination of the income tax and all productivity taxes under the Fair Tax could very well take our economy to places it has never been. What is the Fair Tax you might ask? It is basically a national sales tax. The idea has been batted about by economists and other Conservative idea generators for the better part of the last 2 decades. Now, it makes its entrance onto the landscape of the American Presidential race. Personally, the idea of basing my taxation off of what I buy rather than having the hand of the government come into my pocket and decide for me what I shall pay is rather appealing. Mike Huckabee believes that a person owns what he or she earns and the government has no right to simply take it. I agree.

For those who are concerned with foreign policy experience and I am among them there is no need to doubt Huckabee's credentials. Although he has never served in a capacity in the State Department or any other organization that is focused on foreign matters, I must ask if this is really necessary? How many of our nation's great wartime leaders were experts when it came to leading the nation in war. One aspect of a great leader is one who is a great delegater of power. The prime responsibility of our next President will be to put the right people in the right place. From the Secretary of Defense to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a war is run ultimately by those who know war.

This was one of Bush's primary mistakes. Appointing a civilian(Don Rumsfeld) as Secretary of Defense was a huge mistake and cost us greatly in Iraq. This mistake has been corrected and the war effort has gone much more smoothly since. I doubt Mike Huckabee will make mistakes such as these. In his 10 years as Governor of Arkansas if there is one thing he found out how to do well it was to govern and to set up your personnel under you in positions for them to succeed. Knowing everything about everything is no more a qualification for executive office than knowing how to hit a 90 mph fastball is a qualification to own a Major League franchise.

I sincerely hope that you all take a look at Mike Huckabee and remember his leadership skills and values come Feb. 5th.

Go Duncan Hunter

2007-11-15T23:31:00.000-06:00

Our nation is in desperate need for conservative leadership. The 2008 election is quite possibly the last best chance to steer the US in a solid direction for the next generation.

For the last three to four decades the liberal movement has made significant gains both in public policy and cultural influence. After the liberal crown jewel achievement of electing Bill Clinton to consecutive terms, Conservatives were reeling, disgusted, and to a degree desperate. The base was motivated and mobilized to usher in a new era of change. We needed a solid Conservative and a moral man as President to return dignity to the office and to the country. We barely pulled it off too. A narrow election brought George W. Bush into office along with new promises and renewed optimism.

Unfortunately, we did not get everything we bargained for. No doubt Bush has been better than Clinton or Gore could have ever been, but his failings have once again left the Republican Party and the Conservative movement in particular in a less than favorable position. With a handful of accomplishments came a handful of failures along with most notably two handfuls of mistrust and contempt.

Our country has serious problems on the horizon both foreign and domestic. In order to win the war in Iraq and begin to reform things at home we need an individual who refuses to compromise what is right and yet has more discretion than the current administration. We need Duncan Hunter.

I think I heard a pretty loud “huh?” You may not know who the man is, but you would like him if you did. Hunter is a Conservative’s Conservative. He is a man with immense Congressional experience spanning multiple administrations. He was first elected in 1980 on the heels of Ronald Reagan after finishing a successful law career. The San Diego native is in a unique position politically. He is adamantly pro-life, a leader on the front against illegal immigration, a believer in trade policies that protect American security interests and not just economic interests, and he is also a credentialed supporter of a smarter war in Iraq.

Hunter is perhaps the only candidate in either party who has no weaknesses other than obscurity. The Vietnam veteran has served as Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and is the proud father of a two term Iraqi War veteran. He has presided over extensive improvements to a military that after the gutting of the Clinton era was inadequately prepared for a war in Afghanistan or Iraq. Can you say “credibility?” It is odd that the media has ignored the military record of this man. I suppose it is only because there is nothing wrong with it and controversy makes for a more interesting story.

His vision for Iraq includes standing up the Iraqi military and government until they are capable of supporting themselves. Given our mistakes in the early going of the war, that is the best possible outcome at this time and highly attainable.

Have you heard of the Secure Fence Act? The legislation passed in late 2006 that called for a more than 700 mile fence on the Mexican border along with increased Border Patrol agents and other security measures was authored by Peter King and cosigned by Duncan Hunter. He is also the reason today that San Diego is no longer a major crossing point for illegals and drug smugglers as he allocated funds for a tight fence along the border in San Diego County. He wants to do that for the rest of the country. It is something that none of the big three Republican candidates have shown much of a desire for nor do they have the record to back it up if they had.

Duncan Hunter was one of only two candidates that made his presence known at the National Right to Life March this year. He advocates a pro-life amendment to the Constitution that would render Roe v. Wade meaningless. If that avenue is unsuccessful then you can bank on another one of his pledges. He will not appoint a Federal justice who is not pro-life. That is an awfully strong statement and one none of the other candidates have been willing to make. There is doubt with regard to all the other major candidates as to what type of Federal justices they would appoint. Would we see Sandra Day O’Connor appointed under Duncan Hunter? I think not. It would be encouraging to have a strong pro-life President in office, one that is committed to the cause rather than one who gives lip service to obtain votes.

Another unique position that Hunter has taken is one of “fair” trade with China among other nations. Hunter has mentioned frequently the lack of an industrial base in this country that would be capable of supporting a military build up in an all-out conflict such as we faced in World War II. It is fun for some to blame Bush for the lack of armor on Humvees or the lack of other adequate military supplies, but the fact of the matter is that there are very few companies left in the US today that are capable of cranking out the necessities for a war machine. In fact, there is only one that produces adequate armor for American Humvees. The unfortunate reality is that much of our industrial base has been allowed to relocate overseas and in the case of China relocate to a nation that has proven itself to be an adversary. In the event of a war with an ever growing China it would be wise to refrain from having economic policies that further enrich that nation and others with goods and capital that could just as well stay in the US, don’t you think?

The US currently has a huge trade deficit with China. Couple that with the fact that their government manipulates currency and you could say that we, the richest nation in the world, are China’s best friend right now.

The fact of the matter is we need Conservative leadership. Even though those in the major news sources have chosen to ignore all but the flashiest of candidates, I think it is a fair argument that Duncan Hunter would have far surpassed Giuliani, McCain, Romney, and even Fred Thompson as the true Conservative in this race if Hunter had the money the others have. My vote will go to Duncan Hunter, the Conservative leader, come primary day on February 5th.

Things to Come

2007-06-15T05:33:00.000-05:00

What can you expect from this new blog?

A lot.

Here at DareDefendOurRights, I'll be focusing on the pro-life issue, national politics especially our upcoming Presidential election, as well as Alabama state politics.

In the days and weeks to come make sure to drop by this blog to hear something you may have never considered before. Thanks to all.