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Libertarian Republican 8

Posted by Tim Blessing on Saturday, March 15, 2008 7:24:40 PM
Ideas matter in politics to sell to the American People.
 
George Washington won the Revolutionary War, served as the head of the Constitutional Convention, and as the First President.
 
His Presidency was painfully Constitutional.
 
He set all the precedents for future Presidents.
 
He is an example, but in a way he is irrelevant in a contemporary Capitalist Democracy that is a Superpower.
 
Ideas are found in books, internet, talk radio, newspapers, magazines, liberal arts colleges, and in foreign nations.
 
Libertarian Republicans like me do exist as exemplars of new ideas, but we prefer to work within the two party system.
 
I figure that the voters will not change so I will to a degree.
 
An example of a Libertarian Republican is the Governor Mark Sanford of South Carolina.
 
He has not been totally successful, but he has made progress in my state. 
 
I would have prefered a man with ideas who had more people skills, but you can't have everything.
 
Each of us go through changes in our lives.
 
George W. Bush forced me to confront an issue I had no interest in dealing with as a voter, which is the unending war in Iraq.
 
That has cost the Republican Party the support of the mainstream voters and has forced a lot of changes on our politics that were not conceivable five years ago.
 
Bush failed to secure his place in history as Reagan's Disciple and yes there is a book recently published with that title.
 
Libertarian Republicans have counterparts on the democrat side called Communitarians, but I don't know how far along they are.
 
Ideas do matter because they drive everything else in politics.  The answer is to use them in a positive way.
 
 
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Libertarian Republcan # 7

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 14, 2008 7:38:52 PM
John McCain doesn't know what to do about pork barrel spending that the Congress put's in the budget.
 
If he become's President in November, then he has another option that most Presidents have not used effectively The Veto.
 
The President can sign a bill within 10 days of coming to him from Congress making it a law.
 
He can let it sit on his desk for over 10 days leaving it to become law without his signature.
 
He can at the end of a session use the pocket veto to kill a bill without letting Congress do anything.
 
Finally, he can veto a bill within 10 days send it back to Congress where 2/3rds of each house are needed to override his blunt veto to make it a law.
 
Most State Governors have a line item veto.
 
The Governor of Wisconsin has what's called a Partial Veto.
 
The Governor of North Carolina has no Veto.
 
The President of the United States under Clinton had a something of a temporary line item veto.
 
According to Article 1, Section 7, Last Paragraph of the Constitution the President of the United States has a Line Item Veto that has never been exercised and never been adjucated in the Courts.
 
Every Order, Resolution, or Vote taken by the Congress shall be subject to Presidential Review.
 
Orders would be amendments.
 
Resolutions would include the War Powers Act.
 
Votes take place each day in Congress.
 
As a Libertarian Republican, I believe in the Constitution and a minimalist government.
 
Here's a way to reduce government's size although I don't think it would not be instituted without a fight.
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Terrorist Surveillance

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 14, 2008 7:24:03 PM
I don't understand how sophisticated the technology of the intel agencies of the United States Government are.
 
I do understand there is a disagreement between Bush and the Democrat Congress.
 
Bush simply doesn't know how to work the Congress in terms of lobbying.
 
I am uncomfortable with people listening in on my phone calls.
 
ILLegal Searches and Seizures is the term the Constitution use's.
 
I think Congress should hash it out among themselves.  When they come to an agreement stick it in a bill that has wide bipartisan support with veto-proof majorities.
 
Terrorists are an ongoing threat to our National Security as Bush might say, while the Democrats come down on the side of Civil Liberties.
 
No matter what the two political branches will do the Courts may strike down whatever law Congress set's up for FISA.
 
Remember, the longer Bush is allowed to dominate the debate with his intransigience the political poison in Congress will get worse.
 
Bush has done nothing to help Congress on a whole range of issues.  He merely want's to give orders and expect's them to be carried out.
 
In essence, let Congress make a decent agreement on FISA and stick in a bill that Bush can't veto or has veto-proof majorities.
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Obama's Black Experience

Posted by Tim Blessing on Friday, March 14, 2008 7:14:39 PM
Let's be honest African Americans got a raw deal throughout the history of their American Experience.
 
That it changed in the 1960s is undeniable, but something has happened in the Black Community.
 
Their are those that took up Islam.
 
Their are those that want to emmigrate back to Africa.
 
Their are those that chose Christianity and integrated into the American System.
 
There are those that became politically active on both sides of the aisle.
 
Obama is the latest incarnation of the black experience.
 
What you have in his Pastor is a Black Leader who does good works, is a black rascist, and a black nationalist.
 
The key issue is why did Obama stay at that church for 20 years?
 
If he liked the sermons and believes in Wainwright's teachings then he is a covert rascist himself, which disqualify's him for President.
 
If Obama made a calculation that Wainwright's controversial activities would not become public then he is just another politician rather than some grand practicioner of politics.
 
Wainwright is no different than those Right-Wing Christianity types who spout radical rhetoric.
 
In essence, does Obama believe as Wainwright does as layed out in the latter's sermons.
 
If you stay at the same church for 20 years then that indicate's a good deal of agreement and if you went every Sunday then that indicate's 100% agreement.
 
That is not a good campaign issue.  Black Rascism and Black Nationalism is no different than the Ku Klux Klan and others of their ilk.
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Libertarian VI

Posted by Tim Blessing on Thursday, March 13, 2008 7:47:08 PM
Do we need the Dept of Education at the Federal Level?
 
It has no purpose from what I can see, except to spend money.
 
I always thought education was a state and local responsibility.
 
Somewhere it became a Federal Responsibility.
 
I did not have a fun time in Public Education, but it is a national institution.
 
We've tried a number of approaches at the Federal Level with no success.
 
There is an option that hasn't been used since Reagan cut it off: Revenue Sharing.
 
Why not role the education function of the Federal Government into another department.  Let a smaller bureaucracy distribute money to the Governors since they are closer to the issue.
 
You reduce bureaucracy costs, cut the federal red tape, and give the Governors a bonanza in federal money to use at their discretion.
 
Revenue Sharing instead of Federal Intrusion through regulation.
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Libertarian Republican V

Posted by Tim Blessing on Thursday, March 13, 2008 7:38:48 PM
Bill Buckley put together a lot of different groups into a Conservative Coalition, while he did not serve as an officeholder he did appear on Firing Line for 30 years.
 
What is needed for Libertarian Republicans is for someone to do a show like Firing Line so as to get our message out to the public.
 
From what I can see with the Libertarian Party itself, while they do have an organization and members there is no place on TV to get a glance at their ideas.
 
The Republican Party has a much larger organization, but the Reagan Revolution is exhausted much like the Kennedy Revolution on the Democrat side is exhausted.
 
Usually. at times like this 3rd Parties have developed ideas that the two major parties take up as their own ideas.
 
The Libertarian Party has the most comprehensive program of the 3rd Parties that I can see.
 
Yes, I am a Libertarian Republican an unusual mix, but it may be the wave of the future.
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Post Racial Politics in the United States

Posted by Tim Blessing on Thursday, March 13, 2008 7:21:15 PM
A Black Candidate for President has been bandied about since the 1960s.
 
The main question is when is the United States ready for such a candidate?
 
The answer at least on the democrat side is now.
 
The problem could be that Obama lack's gravitas to the other power brokers in the system.
 
More of a symbol of post racial politics rather than a formidable candidate for President.
 
That mean's Obama supporters are going to have to get use to the fact that Obama can and will be criticized by other players.
 
If they play the double standard of racial politics then these voters are not ready for the power politics of a national campaign, governing in Washington, and International Relations.
 
Power Politics could be called a bloodsport if you can't take the least criticism then you have no business in national affairs.
 
In essence, is the double standard that Obama's supporters use going to end or will they continue their self-serving ways.
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Men like Gov. Eliot Spitzer

Posted by Tim Blessing on Thursday, March 13, 2008 7:13:53 PM
Power corrupt's and absolute power corrupts absolutely.
 
Eliot Spitzer had almost unchecked power as attorney general plus a large bank account.
 
Men like that might have an obssessive compulsive disorder related to women.
 
Men like him have adjustment disorder on conduct when using tools of government for personal gain.
 
Men like him may have impulse control disorder where power and women are concerned.
 
They may have a way with words, which is called expressive language disorder.
 
Such men lose sight of the responsibilities of their jobs.
 
Women can be both good partners for such men or highly disruptive.
 
In essence, Eliot Spitzer is J R Ewing of New York State.  A man who uses women, but has no feeling for them.
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Libertarian Republican IV

Posted by Tim Blessing on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 7:43:31 PM
Cruel and Unusual Punishment is the standard in the Constitution that Anti-Death Penalty Activists use to argue against the use of the procedure.
 
Currently, the use of IVs to put someone to death is considered a neat and painless way to deal with murderers.
 
I alway's thought the death penalty was a good way to deal with murderers.
 
Unfortunately, the number of defendants getting off because of technicalities, dna testing, or endless of appeals lead me to reconsider my position.
 
It is simpler to put someone in prison for life without the possibility of parole than to put them to death.
 
Human Rights People may not like the living conditions of some of our maximum security prisons, but it is easier to keep people in such environments than to put victims families through years of torment where the criminal justice system is concerned.
 
For example, if the Unabomber had gone to trial there would have been a multitude of mental health people arguing over every aspect of his personality.
 
Its simpler to get a guilty plea on a life sentence without a trial then to go through the farce of a murder trial/death penalty approach.
 
Its not perfect with a life sentence, but it end's the torment for the victim's families and save's the taxpayers millions of dollars in court costs.
 
The only exception to this rule would be Ruby killing Lee Harvey Oswald on Camera. 
 
The Death Penalty must have have a higher standard like Absolutely No Doubt.
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John McCain and the Air Force Deal

Posted by Tim Blessing on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 7:22:46 PM
Its safe to say that McCain has ruffled a lot of feathers in his 25 year career on Capitol Hill.
 
If he is a reformer who take's on the Special Interests then there must be a record of votes, speeches, hearings, and other activities of him in each area of the legislative process.
 
That can be found in ratings by watchdog groups, Roll Call, The Hill newspaper, C-Span II, and a whole host of other national sources.
 
The Air Force chose the Company with the best plane rather than the one based on politics.
 
Jobs could be the behind the scenes reason Congressional Democrats are acting this way.
 
House and Senate Democrats may see this as a way to damage the Republican Nominee, while Hillary and Obama confront each other.
 
In the final analysis, McCain should resolve this issue earlier rather than later if he want's to win the election in November.
 
 
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Obama's People vs Hillary's People

Posted by Tim Blessing on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 7:14:29 PM
The people behind Hillary and Obama that is activists and campaign staff appear to be holier than thou partisans for their candidates.
 
Not all of them are that way, but their tactics appear to be outside the normal rules of behavior.
 
Geraldine Ferraro might have gone to far in her statement on Obama, but the Obama people responded with a strong underground counter attack.
 
These people around Obama may have to narrow a view of politics or they may be engaged in a smear campaign toward's Ms. Ferraro.
 
Hillary's people launch torpedoes and then are canned when their usefulness is at an end.
 
Politics get's to be more and more of a bloodsport the higher you go in the business.
 
But have the Obama People been too sensitive to attacks on their candidate?  Has Hillary been practising the politics of personal destruction?
 
The answer may lie in Feminism and Racism.  Both issues are being addressed at the same time and there are no rules of political manners or history to draw from in this situation.
 
Personally, I would not consider Obama a strong candidate, but he obviously has something a lot of people like. 
 
Personally, Hillary is not my first choice for a female president becuase she is tied to the seamier side of the Clinton Years.
 
In essence, the Democrats are confronting the demon of racism and the demon of feminism at the same time and the rules of political discourse are being set as we go through this process.
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War with Iran

Posted by Tim Blessing on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 7:23:52 PM
The President think's Iran want's to get a nuclear weapon.
 
The President put two aircraft carrier battle groups in the Persian Gulf.
 
The Iranian President seem's to be a big a hothead that Bush is.
 
Never mind the fact that the Clerics run Iran even if it is not on a day to day basis.
 
The United States Congress put an amendment in the defense department budget bill that said Bush cannot spend money on attacking Iran through the Military or Intelligence Agencies.  He can't do it directly or indirectly or overtly or covertly.
 
In essence, Congress put a lot of safeguards in Bush's way so he can't attack Iran.
 
Does Iran want a Nuclear Weapon?  If I had Pakistan and Afghanistan to my East.  Iraq to my west with Saudi Arabia across the Persian Gulf Waterway.  Yes, I would strongly consider developing such a weapon.
 
However, from what I heard and read the Russians tightly control those nuclear facilities.
 
Bush is now trying to find ways of wrecking the Iranian Economy like Reagan tried to do to Russia.
 
Peaceful Revolution instead of invasion or attack.
 
Bush's problem is once he get's hooked on something its hard to break him of it.  He suffer's from Obssessive-Compulsive Disorder as a Minister once told me.
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Governor Eliot Spitzer

Posted by Tim Blessing on Tuesday, March 11, 2008 7:12:29 PM
Gov. Spitzer is now in the spotlight in a negative sense.
 
His holier than thou attitude has cost him dearly because he is seen as a hypocrite.
 
Such people who are public figures tend to suffer in terms of their reputations rather than actual jail time.
 
I was for the impeachment of Clinton, but the result was less than satisfactory with him staying in office.
 
If Eliot Spitzer has humiliated people throughout New York State then they will force him out of office one way or the other.
 
The best option is get all the facts in order and then move against him.  Taking down a governor is not like taking down a President.
 
I will say that I only know Eliot Spitzer from the Business News People on CNBC and from what I remember he was against all forms of corruption.
 
If he went to extreme lengths that were uncalled for in terms of criminal prosecution then he is up the creek without a paddle.
 
You reap as you sow.  I was for Clinton's Impeachment, but I don't think that the women should be dragged through the mud anymore than is necessary.
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Libertarian Republican III

Posted by Tim Blessing on Monday, March 10, 2008 7:34:20 PM
Libertarian Republicans are the original Conservatives who had their party hijacked by the Religious Right.
 
George W. Bush is a member of the Religious Right.  His family does not follow in this tradition.
 
The Religious Right are really Yellow Dog Democrats.
 
They have rock hard views on economics, social values, and foreign policy.
 
Reagan and Nixon brought them into the Republican Party even though the values of Libertarian Republicans and the Religious Right do not mesh.
 
In a way, the Religious Right seeks to merge Church and State along their range of thinking.
 
The First Amendment is clear on this issue and people outside the Religious Right do not like being told what to do where Religion is concerned.
 
Social Regulation like Economic Regulation is more of a democrat approach than Republican.
 
In essence, the Religious Right belong's in the Democrat Party.
 
If I am an African American and have been in a family voting Democrat since 1960 the question is what did I get for my vote?
 
A massive amount of social and economic lawmaking that has changed conditions of African American life, but it has changed conditions for the better in some respects and made it worse in some respects.
 
Libertarian Republicans believe in a minimalist government, but they believe in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and the Bill of Rights,
 
The Bill of Rights does include the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendment.  Yes, Libertarian Republicans do have a bridge to work with African Americans.
 
Civil Rights was designed to correct prior injustices and Republicans voted for those bills in the 1960s.
 
Americans of all stripes, however, continually ask this question.  What have you done for me lately?
 
The Republican Party under Nixon and Reagan sacraficed their public support of civil rights to gain the votes of the Religious Right (Yellow Dog Democrats).
 
African Americans have more in common with Libertarian Republicans, but they feel Libertarian Republicans won't implement their program even though the Republican Party is currently the Party of Innovation.
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Democrat Race for President

Posted by Tim Blessing on Monday, March 10, 2008 7:13:48 PM
The Democrats are split down the middle if you include Florida and Michigan.
 
Their Party could suffer damage lasting a decade if they do not come to an agreement.
 
The question is how do you resolve this issue satisfactorily?
 
The two of them on the ticket would resolve the Democrat Civil War.
 
Unfortunately, I think Obama knows the Clintons History of using and discarding lower level people.
 
Hillary is on an ego trip with Bill pushing all the buttons.
 
Hillary has been 2nd in Command in the 1990s so she is not in the mood to be 2nd in Command again.
 
If I was Obama I would not want Bill hanging around the White House.
 
This Democrat Primary Campaign feature's an African American Male and a European Female.  Ironically, they both have one shot at the top job and that is in this election cycle.
 
The end result is they will probably damage each other beyond repair in the next 5 months and they will deny each other the top job.
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