2012 shortlist

Presidential (& VP) candidates I would vote for in 2012:

Ron Paul (Texas Congressman)
Gary Johnson (Former Governer of NM)
Jesse Ventura (Former Governer of MN)
Judge Andrew Napolitano
Lew Rockwell
Pat Buchanan


There are more, but they are even more obscure, sadly.

What the Tea Party is getting wrong: Immigration

The Tea Party was flawed almost from it's very inception.

I should know, I was there. The backbone of the movement is the Ron Paul supporters who were sadly ahead of their time. After the election of Obama and his massive expansion of the already atrociously huge big government fostered by Bush, our opposition went mainstream, and the Tea Party was born.

Thus the problems began. The only rallying cry everyone could agree on was OPPOSITION. They were unhappy about the bank bailouts (started by Bush), became obsessed with taxes, and coalesced against the insane Obamacare, all the while somehow missing the underlying principal:

Cut spending, cut spending, CUT $PENDING!

Then Arizona just had to pass their anti-illegal immigration bill. Believe me, I understand the reasons, the frustrations, and justifications for the bill. I was even glad when it passed.

But immigration should have NOTHING to do with the Tea Party movement. Why? Because it is an inherent contradiction to the already confused Tea Party platform: it complains the government isn't doing enough.

Yes, it is a huge issue. But all of the solutions presented (Amnesty, guest workers, national ID, border security) are an expansion of government, whereas government has been the problem all along.

A sad truth is that one of human beings principal motivations is convenience. Lets say you have a goal that you wish to accomplish; with one path being legal but inconvenient (time/$$$/consequence/etc) and the other path illegal but much less of a hassle overall. Guess which path gets chosen more? The vast majority of people only follow the law when it is, at most, as inconvenient as breaking said law.

The solution to this crime (like most!) is to LEGALIZE it. Make it AS convenient to immigrate into this country as it is to trek across the 130 degree Arizona deserts (that should tell you something right there). Ten year waiting periods? Employment requirements ahead of time? No wonder people are so frustrated by the current system that they are willing to risk death and deportation to get here rather than absurd bureaucratic ineffectual nonsense. That which is illegal is unregulated.

Additional solutions: Lower the minimum wage (illegals already work for less, brings down unemployment). Decouple health care from employment (legal employees cheaper to higher). Combine slimmed-down immigration offices with border posts (make the maze of bureaucracy a physical one, lasting minutes not years). The real solutions are LESS government.

Sadly, the Tea Party as it is today is incapable of this or any nuance. Therefore, they should just drop the issue altogether, or have a congruent organization rallying around this issue. Combining the messages of 'down with big gov' and 'gov screwing up' are just too confusing and alienate the movement even more.

Drop it, not helping.

Open letter to JD Hayworth running for Senate against McCain

Dear J.D. Hayworth,

You have declared war on big government "conservatives" by challenging McCain.

Start acting like it.


You need the following endorsements to get traction with the Tea Party movement:

Tucker Carlson

Pat Buchanan

Lew Rockwell (of LewRockwell.com)

Judge Andrew Nepolitano

Gov. Jesse Ventura

Gov. Gary Johnson (of New Mexico)

Barry Goldwater Jr.

Ron Paul and the rest of the Liberty Caucus


Main issues where you and Tea Party are in sync:

Anti-Tax

Anti-Bailouts

Anti-Cap & Trade

Anti-Obamacare (must apologize for 2003 Prescription Drug vote)

Pro-Constitution (must apologize for expansions of executive power)


You were swept into office in the '94 revolution, lost your way, and kicked out of office in 2006 for turning away from the principals of limited government along with the rest of the Republicans.

You are the poster boy for what the Republican party had become.

You have to show us that you "get it".

Stop trying to out-republican McCain, he has no principals and will say anything. You must take on the big government Washington beltway "conservatives" he represents, expose them for what they are.

Make this fight about the heart and soul of the Republican party. Start talking about the 9th and 10th amendments, not just the 2nd. Start talking about actual spending cuts and not just tax cuts. Put your Social Conservatism in a box because it's not going to win you any new voters.


I can help you become the national Tea Party spokesman that Palin is not. All you have to do is stop addressing issues and start addressing principals. If you want McCain's seat you have to rise to his stature.

The Tea Party is another American Revolution. Become our Patrick Henry.


"Give me liberty, or give me death!"


DH the Lurker

Good things about the Health Care Bill

Attention fellow Tea Partiers, Revolutionaries, and members of the Rebel Alliance. There are a few (a very few) good things to come out of the egregious Health Care Insurance legislation recently signed into law (grumble). Namely:

1. Insurance carriers can no longer drop you after you get sick. Say what you will, but one of the few proper roles of government is the enforcer of contracts. Your contract with insurance companies of any stripe is that you pay into the system with the understanding that if the unforeseeable happens, then one is financially covered, so to speak, and able to return to the status quo. It was and is outrageous that they only looked for and exploited loopholes after their services were required; other insurance companies don't get away with that... very often.

2. The end of big government republican Mitt Romney's political career. He signed the abysmal health care legislation that is tanking Massachusetts. The current Republican platform is totally anti and repeal, leaving no room for anyone remotely for it. Thank goodness. He would have guaranteed Obama another 4 years.

3. The Republican platform has almost become the Tea Party platform. Lower the deficit, limit and repeal big government programs, respect the Constitution, and the dropping of social conservatism (we'll see how long that lasts). We must join party leadership positions to crystallize and make permanent these planks in the platform.

4. The electorate is energized. Both sides have been rallying the troops for what seems like a year, getting everyone informed*, involved, and gearing up for the midterm election (where turnout is usually much lower than average). A healthy republic, depends on citizen participation, and their veto power.


So you see, it is not all bad. Demoncrats have been exposed for what they are, and all pretense of civil liberties have gone out the window.

Time for a revolution!


Lurker

End the Wars, Pay Down the Deficit

We the people are spending trillions of dollars on undeclared wars and policing the world.

Who thinks this is a good idea? Constitutional? Moral? Sustainable?

The Democrats were elected on an anti-war platform and are looking for something to cut that isn't a sacred entitlement. The Ron Paul Revolutionaries (the backbone of the Tea Party movement) are vehemently anti-deficit and in favor of a drastic reduction in military spending.

The time is now for the next stage in the Revolution.


The Federal Budget under Obama is way over a trillion dollars in the red this year and for many to come. Something has to give. Actually, many, many things have to give. But bringing the troops home from Iraq (125,000+), Afghanistan (~50,000), Germany (~57,000), Japan (~33,000) , Korea (~27,000), Italy (~10,000), UK (~10,000), and thousands more in dozens of other countries is a good start. Iraq and Afghanistan, say what you will, are not in any way the slightest overt military threat to us or their neighbors. And what's with all the leftover troops in the former Axis powers? Really? Not really a threat anymore, right? Now Korea is a whole 'nother issue, but even there I'd say our leaving would do more good than harm, leading to reunification sooner and ending that whole 60 year standoff behind us.

The purpose of the military (well, ours at least) should be very straight forward: a rapidly deployable destructive force pointed towards things you want to blow up and die. They aren't supposed to be nice, they are the exact opposite of politically correct, and anytime you have them trying to win over 'hearts and minds' instead of engaging the enemy... objectives become insubstantial and moral suffers.

Support our troops: bring them home. Stop bailing out the world.


Lurker

The Republican Party needs only one tentpole

The way our electoral system is set up in America, there will always be two major parties, each trying to reach just over 50% of the populace. As such, strange bedfellows are all but a given (union workers & environmentalists, big business & religious conservatives, etc). This alliance on the Republican side is fracturing, and if things are not changed they will become the next Whig Party, and lost to history.

The Republican Party needs to stand for something, and they haven't in a looong time. Right now, the only thing keeping them together (and the Tea Parties as well) is standing against something: Barack Obama's agenda. Every so-called principal was abandoned during the Bush era, with the final nail in the coffin was the selection of presidential candidate John McCain, whose platform was reduced to "Lookit me, I'm a Veteran" and "Earmarks ur bad" and then 'suspending his campaign' to vote for the bailouts. If he'd stood up to Bush and voted against that egregious pork-filled government intervention in the marketplace, he might've won.

So, now the GOP is doing some soul searching. Well, better late than never. There is one thing, and only one thing that can save this party. One principal that can garner support from the unease and opposition to Barrack Obama, recruit young people, and do an end run around Rush Limbaugh fans without alienating them. What is this radical new idea, you say?

Fiscal Conservatism. Remember that?

Yeah, I know. Crazy idea. But wait, aren't Republicans for "tax cuts"? Ostensibly. But do you know what's even better than "tax cuts"? Spending cuts! Because cutting government revenue and increasing spending ('cause who's against that?) leads to... huuuge deficits. Which now threaten to destroy the country.

Actual fiscal conservatism means reducing the size and scope and spending of the federal government. No new spending, no more bailouts, no more entitlements, no more endless undeclared wars. We need to start rolling everything back, and certainly stop adding to the problem.

Nobody in my generation expects to have Social Security. It's a pyramid scheme. Phase it out. Anyone born in the 1960's gets 50% benefits, 70's get 25%. Boom. Done. Next.

Bring the troops home from Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, Germany, Japan, and the rest of the freaking planet that can support itself yet we defend on our own dime. And stop all that foreign aid, real allies don't need bribes.

For goodness sakes, return issues like health care and education and illegal drugs to the states. See, they have to have balanced budgets. Many states will be able to figure something out, and other states will follow suit or people will move there themselves.

Stop all the fascist market regulations. Yes you read that right. The federal government requiring you to buy goods and services is horrendous. Shouldn't we have a freer marketplace than, say, China?

Do tax reform last. You read that right, LAST. We have tens of trillions of dollars in debt, and hundreds more in unfunded mandates. Take care of those first. For too long Republicans have done a targeted 1% tax cut and allowed 5% more in spending, and called themselves fiscal conservatives. This ends now.

Whatever your position (pro/anti) for the War on Terror/Drugs/Poverty/What-have-you, or abortion, school prayer, and so-called family values (insert definition here)... if we don't stop this monstrous federal growth and spending those other issues won't really matter because we won't have a country left.



Lurker
(Gary Johnson 2012)

Tea Party Health Care Reform Platform

As a long time proponent of limited government, a supporter of Ron Paul during his 2008 presidential campaign, and now an active participant in the Tea Party protests, I figured it is about time I lay out my health care positions. Even better, I'm going to simplify the counter-arguments against the Democrat/Obamacare proposals to only five basic precepts.

1. We can't afford it.
The federal government is spiraling towards bankruptcy. With all the bailouts, the falling revenues, overseas adventures, and countless social services, we literally can't afford to spend any more money. We're spending more than 100 billion dollars a month than we're taking in (or printing). We can't afford what we have now, and we want to spend more?!? If anything, we need to CUT SPENDING dramatically.

2. Tort Reform.
Doctors perform unnecessary (and expensive) tests so they don't get sued. They charge more to pay for malpractice insurance. We need an overhaul of the legal system so doctors can do what they think is best for the patients instead of covering their rears. If a doctor screws up he should lose his certification.

3. Lower costs by tossing regulations.
You can't buy health insurance across state lines, which reduces competition and keeps prices up. You can't go to unlicensed practitioners (who would be less expensive). Natural foods with legitimate health benefits are prohibited from advertising them at all by the FDA. Importing drugs from outside the country is illegal, and prescription drug companies have lobbied Congress for decades for "regulations" that keep competitors out and prices high. Countless mandates and regulations are stifling and overpowering free-market forces, creating burgeoning bureaucracies and inflating prices. Legalize drugs while your at it!

4. End subsidies that increase costs/rationing.
Medicare, Medicaid, Prescription Drug Benefits, even the VA are all making health care more expensive for the rest of us. This is because they pay up the maximum amount for services, patients get as much care as they can because they aren't paying for it (directly at least), and payments are immune to market forces so potential competitors cannot compete and prices stay high. So naturally the Democrats want to throw more government money into the pool, increasing the demand (but not the supply), which will inevitably lead to lines and rationing. Instead we need to prevent new people from going on these expensive programs, fulfill our obligations to people already on them, and eventually dismantle them entirely, and let the free market fulfill this obviously high demand for services.

5. Maximize choice and personal freedoms.
I cannot conceive of anything more small scale and local than my own body. Abandon all Federal oversight and turn the whole mess over to the states/counties/cities where people can vote for whatever crazy regulations they think they want, see what works, and flee the region when it all comes crashing down in flames. Will Democrats really want Conservatives making health determinations for them when they're back in power? Its my body, and 90% of the time I'm going to know whats best for me, not some distant bureaucracy.


Lurker


http://www.campaignforliberty.com/article.php?view=172
http://www.lewrockwell.com/paul/paul339.html