In 2014 We Must Focus On The Long Term

The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld the ruling of a federal judge that “Choose Life” license plates in North Carolina were “Unconstitutional.” Supposedly, their opinion was based on North Carolina rejecting license plates that read “Trust Women” and “Respect Choice.” Ergo, the appeals court found “blatant viewpoint discrimination squarely at odds with the First Amendment.”

Chris Brook, attorney for the ACLU said, “Today’s ruling protects the right of North Carolinians of all political beliefs to have equal access to avenues for free speech.” He further stated that the ACLU would have held the same position if the state had authorized abortion-rights license plates but refused to authorize pro-life license plates. At times, it is impossible not to marvel at the fact that the lies of people such as Brook do not stick in their throats and choke them. But I digress.

Well, what the heck, Chief Justice John Roberts somehow inexplicably found that the individual mandate in obamacare was a tax and not a penalty. As Terence Jeffrey, writing for CNSNews.com noted, “[Roberts upheld] the individual mandate—as a tax, not a penalty—as the law of the land. But then says it would not be ‘unlawful’ for Americans to violate the law’s mandate that they ‘shall’ buy health insurance—as long as they are willing to pay the ‘penalty’ for not obeying the law.” (Chief Justice Roberts: It’s Not A Tax, It Is A Tax; It’s Law, But It’s Not ‘Unlawful’ To Break It; 6/28/12)

You may be asking what the two things have to do with one another. The answer is a lot. They bookend the depth of danger we are confronted with. Between those bookends is a federal government we continue to license as it systematically deprives us of our Constitutional rights and bankrupts America fiscally and morally.

During an on-air appearance this morning, I reminded the host and his audience that in the 2012 elections 94 percent of all Congressional incumbents were reelected to a Congress with a nine percent approval rating. And people today wonder why things continue to decline.

Nothing is going to change, for the better at any rate, until We the People make it change. And that’s not going to happen until more people come to the understanding that Congress is a physical metaphor for a feckless, self-serving, special-interest collective of liars, swindlers, and thieves. And the courts have become instruments designed to commit injustice not adjudicate same.

Between the metaphorical judicial bookends is the Congress. Contrary to the opinion of Mr. Constitutional Law Professor Obama, America is not a Democracy, it is a Constitutional Republic. We elect representatives to represent our interests.

How are our interests being represented when the leadership of the Republican party thumbs its nose at us and determinedly forges ahead with amnesty for illegal aliens? As Ronald W. Mortensen wrote for the Center for Immigration Studies, “Establishment Republicans like Grover Norquist, Haley Barbour, Charles Krauthammer, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)…are not just throwing their arms away as they desert the battlefield, they are also jettisoning their principles. … According to these establishment Republicans, who have spent years driving the Republican party down the road to permanent minority status, Republicans must support amnesty for millions of illegal aliens in order to win the Hispanic vote (even though Hispanics have consistently favored Democrats by a margin of 20 to 30 percent in presidential elections.” (Establishment Republicans Support Amnesty — Is Gun Control Next?; 1/22/13)

Judicial Watch reported, “With the midterm elections looming, House Republicans are discounting their constituents’ wishes by crafting a measure to give illegal [aliens] legal status, a chance at permanent U.S. residency and even American citizenship. … The unbelievable plan was confirmed by GOP leadership on national television this week and reiterated in a mainstream newspaper article. Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, whose national profile rose immensely after running as Mitt Romney’s vice president, revealed the Republican measure looks to give the nation’s 11 million illegal aliens legal status right away.” (GOP Amnesty Plan Ignores Will of Republican Voters; 1/30/14) Take note, this is the same Paul Ryan whom Republican voters castigated me about for saying he wasn’t a person conservatives could count on.

And even though Republicans float the appearance of retreating from the plan, I recently wrote do not be fooled by same. (See: Don’t Be Fooled By Boehner And Republicans Retreat From Amnesty; 2/4/14)

How have our interests been served by Republican leadership voting in near lockstep with the Obama White House to increase the debt limit yet another year? The debt ceiling increase was passed 221-201 with no strings attached in a Republican controlled House of Representatives.

Of course, the spin is that the Republican party suffered because of a government shutdown, for which the Republicans were not responsible for. Boehner used sleight of hand, relying on 193 Democrats to bring the bill to the floor with the appearance of minimal Republican support (though he and the other GOP leaders signed the bill).

Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots said: “A clean debt ceiling is a complete capitulation on the Speaker’s part and demonstrates that he has lost his ability to lead the House of Representatives, let alone his own party.” I say: Boehner never had the ability to lead the House of Representatives or the Republican Party.

There are times that I long to be wrong, but the simple fact is that I’m not. As I wrote in my syndicated column “Are Republicans Becoming Republi-crats or Whigs?” we have decisions to make. We can continue to blindly follow the establishment Republicans, refusing to realize we are being played as their useful idiots, or we can take the bit in our mouth, say damn the defiant, and refuse to support them no matter if it appears to hurt us in the short term. Because we are beyond worrying about the short term. It is the long term that we must plan for now.