THE DEMISE OF THE GOP, OR A REBIRTH??? I GUESS WE’LL SEE…

I recently read somewhere that former President George W. Bush had remarked that he has some concerns regarding the future of the Republican Party.  The remark came at a time when the two top contenders in the Republican race for president were Donald Trump and Texas Sen. Ted Cruz.  But I would argue that that would depend upon how it is that Mr. Bush views the direction in which the party has been headed for the last eight years.  And while the fact that Trump has now officially been named the party's presidential nominee is not sitting well with some Republicans, the fact that Trump has come to find himself in such a position can be said to be the direct result of how many of those now opposed to his candidacy have treated the voters.

The Bushes, including both former presidents as well as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, decided that they would not to be a part of the GOP convention this week.  Neither will prior presidential losers John McCain and Mitt Romney, the failed 2008 and 2012 Republican presidential candidates be in attendance. In total, we’re told that 99 of the top Republicans have opted to skip the convention this week.  Trump's improbable rise in the political arena has gone against the grain of what many feel is the conservative core of their party. That said, when faced with the possible presidency of Hitlery, party members such as House Speaker Paul Ryan have now found themselves onboard the Trump train whether they like it or not.

In breaking his vow to support the party's nominee, Jeb Bush now comes across as being your typical politician who promises to do one thing and then does another when the result isn’t to his liking.  He is a liar and untrustworthy person.  And you know, I’m finding that I don't really miss many of those who have opted out.  I’ve always thought that 43 could have done more to protect us from the Democrat agenda by using the bully pulpit more effectively than he did.  Jeb is a poor sport at best, Romney failed us, and was willing to attack Newt with vim and vigor, yet limp when Barry had bare knuckles owed.  McCain, well, he served in Vietnam, so I suppose he deserves some level of a pass no matter how liberal his alliances, right John?

It was the guys who lost, and many of those who had supported them, who now want Trump to lose for no other reason than so they can then say "I told you so."  Is that how one defines loyalty when one is a political elitist?  Actually, in many respects Trump may very well be the last chance we may have for there to ever be another president elected under the banner of the GOP.  We who have steadfastly supported the Republican Party, and received nothing in return but a sharp stick jabbed in our collective eye, have gotten to the point where we’ve now come to the conclusion that those for who we voted had no intention of making good on the many promises they made.  Hence, we have since decided to turn our attention in another direction.

Let’s face it, in looking back to the failed presidential attempt put forth by the Republican Party in 2012 it was up until the final two months prior to the election Mitt Romney insisted upon prefacing each of his campaign speeches by stating that Barry was really a nice guy as well as a good father, before offering up any amount criticism of what was then being down to our country.  By not applying the arsenal of Barry's failures at that time practically guaranteed Romney's self-defeat.  But while the GOP must change with the times, it’s far from being gone.  Its basic principles of smaller government, less taxes, personal freedom and faith in the Constitution are still vibrant. So rumors of its demise, I believe, are being greatly exaggerated.

But look, I still like 43 and while I do agree that both 41 and Jeb are globalists, call me naïve, but I don’t think that 43 is.  His big mistake, I think, was in surrounding himself with 41’s people particularly Cheney. Cheney got rich off a war that 43 got bogged down in with Cheney pushing him. Remember Ike? He warned of the Shadow Government and military industrial complex.  43 hasn’t attended a convention since 2004 because he felt he would hurt party, but did appear on video in 2008. He has continued to support the military and the police and is still very much active with our disabled vets. Again it’s easy to promise but in that job you have to watch who it is your staff is loyal to. His was to 41 and their own self-interests.

I think his concern when it comes to Trump is that 43 might view Trump as being somewhat of an unknown.  So if I were Trump, and if I were elected, I think at some point after my inauguration I would invite 43 to the White house.  Because while 43 may have some regrets and experienced making some mistakes, he did win the crazy war only to have Barry give the win away.  And because Muslims hate each other, and the rest of the world, they are never going to be peaceful.  And whether Trump wins or not, the GOP will be forever changed.  But I don’t see it as being 43’s fault.  McCain, Romney were bad candidates. Then we gave the GOP both houses of Congress and still they supported Barry’s agenda.  They self-destructed and still have no clue.

NOVEMBER 2016, THE GOP’S LAST STAND???

While I fear I might possibly be jinxing the entire election by daring to put the cart pretty far in front of the horse, it would seem, at least at this point, that something which I never thought would happen, ‘MAY’ actually be on the verge of becoming a reality.  That being, of course, that despite of the thoroughly incompetent leadership of Mitch McConnell, the Republicans ‘may’ actually retain control of the Senate.  And just as I had resolved myself to Chuckie Schumer becoming the majority leader.  But the election is still very far away. 

Republican hopes for holding onto the Senate are being bolstered a bit by a recent Quinnipiac University poll showing GOP incumbents leading in Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania, three critical swing states and may prove to be even more critical than usual this election.  Proving, I suppose, that old adage that even a blind squirrel finds a nut every now and again.  And if they do in fact manage to keep control of Congress it will be more in spite of anything they have done than because of anything that they have managed to accomplish.

Mr. Peter A. Brown is the assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.  And Mr. Brown said, “The numbers seem to be breaking the Republican way in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate, at least when it comes to the critical swing states of Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania.”  And according to the poll’s executive summary: “The Swing State Poll focuses on Florida, Ohio and Pennsylvania because since 1960 no candidate has won the presidential race without taking at least two of these three states.”  So, I guess we’ll see.

And the poll also found: “Noteworthy is Ohio where former Gov. Ted Strickland, who had an early lead but now trails Sen. Rob Portman (R.-Ohio) by 7 percentage points.” In Florida, Marco Rubio leads Democrats Rep. Patrick Murphy 50 percent to 37 percent Rep. Alan Grayson similarly: 50 percent to 38 percent.  And meanwhile in Pennsylvania, Pat Toomey over Democrat Katie McGinty 49 percent to 39 percent.  But as I said, it’s still very early and as we all things in the world of politics can change all too quickly. A lot can happen in the next 115 days.

In looking at Ohio Mr. Brown said, “Portman had trailed for much of the campaign, but now has moved clearly ahead of Democratic challenger Ted Strickland, a former governor.  HE added, “Many talking heads have suggested that with Donald Trump at the top of the GOP ticket, Republican Senate candidates might suffer.”  And Mr. Brown went on to say, “But at least in these three key states, the Republican Senate candidates are running ahead of Trump and don’t seem to be hurt by their shared party label.”  The Trump brand ‘may’ even be helping.

Mr. Brown said, “There’s a seeming paradox about the U.S. Senate race in Ohio. Democrat Ted Strickland, who will be 75-years-old next month, does best among young voters, beating incumbent Republican Sen. Rob Portman 49 percent 36 percent among voters 18 to 34 years old. Portman, who is 60-years-old, scores best among voters over 65 years old, beating Strickland 51 percent to 35 percent.”  Well I’m quite sure that the Democrat in this race is working the young voters in the same as Bernie Sanders did, just promise them free everything.

Turning to Pennsylvania, Brown said, “In Pennsylvania, incumbent Sen. Pat Toomey, who has led from the start, maintains a double-digit margin.”  Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll, said Trump is not hindrance to Toomey.  “Republicans, at least in Pennsylvania, can exhale. Toomey has a comfortable lead in his bid to keep this GOP Senate seat safe. A welcome development in the turbulent and polarizing landscape where Donald Trump roams.”  And Toomey isn’t the most conservative of Republicans.

And in Florida Democrats were hoping to pick up the open seat left by the retirement of Rubio, but Rubio has retired his retirement plan and is seeking to be rehired. Brown said the Quinnipiac University Poll finds Rubio in a very strong position. He said, “The breadth of Senator Rubio’s lead against Rep. Patrick Murphy, who has the backing of the Democratic leadership, is impressive. He has a 19-point margin among independent voters and scores 10 points better among Republicans than Murphy does among Democrats.”

So let’s say, for the sake of argument, that these polls hold true and come this November voters hand to the Republicans that which they have been saying they needed for what will have been the last eight years, complete control of Congress as well as the White House.  What might we, the American people expect to see happen?  Will we see them throw caution to the wind by putting the future, and the very survival of our country, above their individual political careers and finally do what we elected them to do?  Or, will we once again hear nothing but excuses?

After all, Republican majorities in the House in 2010 and the senate in 2014 proved themselves to be little more than impotent as they basically allowed ‘Dingy Harry’ Reid and Nancy Pelosi free rein to implement Barry's agenda with nary a word of opposition. And with the entrance of Trump what we may very well be watching could actually be the final death gasps of the uniparty.  And this is not Trump wrecking the Republican Party, this is the people sick of voting for a specific agenda and getting the complete opposite of what they were promised and voted for.

If this recent poll is accurate, and may actually be foretelling that which will actually come to pass, I can’t help but wonder if it might be because voters have a sense that Donald Trump intends to do those things that he has promised them he will do, and realize that he will need a unified Congress behind him if he is to be successful.  So in an effort to give him a chance they may be willing to allow the Republicans to keep their majority at least long enough to provide Trump the opportunity to make good on what he has promised.  But the window of opportunity will be ever so brief.   

ON THE SUBJECT OF 2016 AND IMMIGRATION…

When this process first got started I had some pretty high hopes for Rick Perry, and then when he flamed out, I must admit, I became somewhat infatuated with ‘The Donald’.  And while it’s true he’s an outsider who has not yet been tainted by having spent much time within the beltway, I must admit that with the passage of time the bloom has now, to some degree, come off the rose.  And with his mention of a ‘Deportation Force’ I think he continues to detract from his potential as a serious candidate.

And while I am not a fan of Chris Christie, his idea of fining employers who knowingly hire those in this country illegally makes much more sense.  I mean, why is it that we cannot simply enforce those immigration laws that are already on the books?  If we simply make it too difficult for those here illegally to find meaningful employment, most, but likely not all, will go back to where they came from.  But obviously, as long as Barry “Almighty” is in the White House, and if Hiterly gets elected, that ain’t gonna happen.

And I will also let it be known that I not only voted for Marco Rubio for Senator, but I also gave his campaign some money.  My only excuse being that it was more out of not wanting Charlie Crist than actually wanting Rubio.  And of course it didn’t take long for Senator Rubio to show his true colors once he arrived in Washington, as he was only too happy to ally himself with Chuck Schumer as part of the “Gang of Eight.”  And he can still be heard pushing those very same policies that this ‘gang’ came up with.

And then of course we have the blatant immigration panderers, Bush and Kasich, aka the Dupp boys, Dick and Jack.  I think we can all agree that neither of these fellas is the least bit interested in addressing our illegal immigration problem in any meaningful way.  Their solution to the problem is to simply wave their magic wand and to allow those here illegally to stay.  Presto, we have millions of new Democrats!  Now how much sense does that make?  These two just come across as rather desperate.

And now to Dr. Carson, who I respect as being a genuinely good man.  But try as I might, I simply don’t see him as president.  While he is the near perfect role model, and very clearly demonstrates just what is possible to achieve because of the opportunities this country provides to its citizens, regardless of how left laments the unfairness of ‘the system’, I fear that he may not be up to the task of dealing with the problems this country now faces, and on nearly every front, after eight years of Barry.

Which, I guess, brings me to Senator Ted Cruz.  Now granted, like Barry, his too is a one term senator.  But to be honest, I think that that is where the similarities between these two men end, and rather abruptly.  And while some may call me a bit naïve for perhaps being a little too quick to start singing his praises, as the process moves along I’ve seen Cruz move closer and closer to the top.  And while we can all agree that there is no such thing as the ‘prefect’ candidate, to me Cruz is quite acceptable.

In conclusion I’d like to mention something that I recently read about. There is currently some talk among, I guess, those who comprise the RINO faction of the party about the possibility of drafting Mitt Romney.  While this may make sense to some inside the beltway, to those of us out here in the real world it’s nothing short of ludicrous.  It would seem that the preference amongst these RINOs would be to have Hitlery win instead of a conservative.  I will say this just once, if Romney is our nominee I will stay home!

EXPECT RYAN TO PICK UP RIGHT WHERE BOEHNER LEFT OFF…

So now it all becomes painfully obvious why it was that John Boehner proved to be such an unmitigated disaster as Speaker.  It would seem that carrying out the people’s business in what should have been a responsible manner was seen by Boehner as being simply too hard and too much work.  So old ‘Boner’ decided to take the easier less stressful route, hence the reason that our national debt increased by nearly $4 Trillion on his watch.  Boehner made the claim in a recent interview that he came to Washington to fight for a smaller, less costly and more accountable government.  And yet, now that he's finally leaving the House that still hasn't happened.

It was just yesterday, in an interview with Fox News’ Bill Hemmer, that Boehner admitted, "I began to realize over the years there is no winning this fight."  Well shit no John, it’s damn near impossible to win fight when all you do is to choose to constantly surrender.  His as much as admitted to being an abject failure shortly after a man who is essentially his clone, Paul Ryan, took up the gavel.  The fight has been going on for over 200 years in Washington, he told Hemmer in the interview, which aired earlier today on the network's "America's Newsroom" program, and "it will be a constant struggle over how big should Washington be, how much should it take?"

Boehner said his biggest regret for the time he was speaker was the failure to reach the so-called "Grand Bargain," in 2012, which would have been an agreement with Barry “Almighty” and congressional leaders to curb spending while reducing the national debt and avoiding sequestration.  Boehner said, "I sat in the Oval Office with the president of the United States and Eric Cantor, shook hands with the president and the deal was done."  He said, "$5 trillion in deficit reductions would have meant tens of trillions of dollars over the next 20 years in terms of really fixing our entitlement programs and getting us on to a much more solid foundation."

But instead, he said, Barry "walked away from the agreement and caused, really, the country to have a real struggle, because how are we going to raise the debt limit? How will we offset spending? The country went through a lot more than it needed to."  But the fact that Boehner was surprised by Barry actions demonstrates better than anything else that he simply was not up to the all-important task at hand.  Let’s face it, anyone who can be outsmarted by Barry, and who is unable to recognize what it is that Barry is trying do, even after he has made it abundantly clear on numerous occasions, simply has no business being in a position of party leadership. 

Still, Boehner said that he and Barry have had a good relationship, despite their disagreements about many issues.  He said, "I think it's essential the leaders be able to work with each other, have a relationship, build some trust so we do the nation's business."  He went on to say, "The president called me the day I announced my retirement and we had a nice conversation. At one point he said, 'Man, I'm going to miss you.' I said, 'Yes, you are, Mr. President, yes, you are.'"  What a bunch of idiotic nonsense.  Look, working together is one thing, but to purposely aid and abet a man like Barry in his effort to destroy this country is inexcusable and unconscionable.

Boehner did leave office on a high point, if you can call it that.  That being, the arranging for the first communist pope to address a joint session of Congress.  Boehner, a devout Catholic was, as he was on any number of other occasions, moved to tears while Pope Francis spoke.  Boehner resigned his office the very next day.  But he said he does not have any regrets about quitting, as "it was the right decision, the right time. And you are right, I'm ready to go."  Well no, not really.  Actually, if we’re being honest here, the ‘right time’ would have been 3 years earlier, after making it quite clear after his first 2 years as Speaker that he just didn’t have what it took.

And now, here we go again with Paul Ryan.  This is a guy who Democrats have said, sounds remarkably like he’s one of them.  I mean here we have a guy who favors open borders, favors amnesty, and is a guy who was all in when it came to this recent ‘budget’ fiasco that was essentially snuck through in the dark of night.  What Ryan is, is Boehner 2.0. or, the new and improved version of what we have had to put up with for the last five years.  Ryan’s made a lot of noise about wiping the slate clean and making a fresh start, but it’s all nothing more than bullshit.  Because what we’re likely to experience over the coming months is nothing but more of the same.  

THE INCOMPETENT MR. PRIEBUS…

Finally bringing himself to acknowledge the fact that if the party fails to regain the White House in 2016 the Republican Party’s goose will effectively have been cooked, there still seems to be no let up in the ongoing assault on those of us who are conservatives or who identify with the stated goals of the Tea Party.  The push still seems to be behind the establishment candidates, or, in other words, those guaranteed to lose.  Look at any of presidential polls and it’s those guys who are consistently in single digits.

So according to Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus, the Republican Party is "cooked" if it fails to take back the White House in 2016.  It was in a recent interview with the Washington Examiner that Priebus said, "We're cooked as a party for quite a while if we don't win in 2016."  But then he quickly adds that he doesn't anticipate a disastrous election for the GOP because "history is on our side."  He said, "Our job as a national party is to elect Republicans, and it generally means House, Senate, presidential."

And he went on to say, "However, I think that we have become, unfortunately, a midterm party that doesn't lose and a presidential party that's had a really hard time winning.  We're seeing more and more that if you don't hold the White House, it's very difficult to govern in this country, especially in Washington D.C."   Well maybe if those who won elections actually did what they promised to do it would be easier to win when presidential elections rolled around.  And why do the Democrat never have a problem driving the bus without possessing the White House?

And in a Washington Post piece published Thursday and titled "The GOP was Right to Fear Clinton," columnist Eugene Robinson said Republicans lack a "compelling" message on many issues.  He writes, "How can government help the middle class? With a higher minimum wage? With a mandate for businesses to offer paid family leave? With assistance in paying for higher education, perhaps even free tuition at public universities? With trade and tax policies that encourage keeping jobs in the United States?"  All wonderfully socialist ideas, but would accomplish little in getting the country back on track.

Robinson goes on to write, "The Democratic candidates understand that these are the issues people care most about. [Donald] Trump gets it, too, in his own bombastic way. A party that goes into the election without a compelling message on jobs and incomes — I'm talking to you, GOP establishment — is begging to lose."  But I would argue that the burying of our children under a mountain of debt, the economic destruction that has taken place during the last 8 years and the opening of the floodgates for illegal immigrants is a more compelling, realistic, albeit less socialist, message.

I think this election is less about the message than it is about getting people to listen.  Because what’s keeping folks from listening is the number of promises made during the 2014 campaign that were broken.  Promises to stop Barry’s insane spending, his assault on the Constitution regarding his illegal executive orders and the promises made to get rid of Obamacare. Not one promise was followed through on. Combine that with how the GOP rolled over in confirming Loretta Lynch and you come up with a lot of pissed off people who refuse to listen to what they see as the same old shit.

And to simply say you’re relying on history as the rationale for your confidence in being able to achieve electoral success is, I think, rather simplistic if not more than a bit naïve, or even foolish.  Because what has effectively taken place in this country during the time since Barry first strutted his cool self into the Oval Office is that the playing field has now been changed to the point where using election trends of the past as your guidepost is no longer applicable.  Historical trends of the past have become meaningless and to continue to rely on them is foolish.   

Because the net result of having had Barry in office for what will have been eight long years by the time Election Day 2016 rolls around is that we will have millions more Americans firmly on the government dole, in some form or another, and millions of Americans who want to get their fair share and see voting Democrat as being their path to getting lots of ‘free’ stuff, so it’s hard to see any of these folks voting for Republicans who are less likely to give away ‘free’ stuff, who advocate personal responsibility and who want to get people back to work.  Hell, who wants that?

THE FATE OF THE GOP REMAINS UNCERTAIN…

In 2008, Barry “Almighty” rode into the White House on what was then a wave of Democrat votes, and there were many at the time who believed it was the beginning of what would be a permanent Democrat majority.  I even seem to recall hearing from many on the left that with the election of Barry “Almighty” we would see the Republican Party being left wandering out in the far reaches of the political wilderness for what would likely be, the next 20 years.  But something odd, and totally unexpected, happened on the way into the wilderness.

Because, instead of becoming the permanent majority party for years, or perhaps decades, to come, the Democrat Party has become what has been described as, decimated as all across the country 85 of 98 state legislatures have become more Republican since 2010.  And Democrats and other liberals were so sure that the Republican Party had become a doomed party upon the ascension of Barry that many had thought that the popular liberal book, “The Emerging Democratic Majority,” had been validated.  But, apparently, such was not the case.  At least not yet.

Because while Democrats were busy slapping themselves on the back and congratulating themselves, something very odd began to take place.  Democrats out in the states, even very blue states, began to lose election after election. It has gotten so bad that even hardcore Democrat imbecile Dona Brazile recently complained that she and her party “have absolutely been devastated.”  Politico’s Jeff Grenfield agreed, saying, “no president in modern times has presided over so disastrous a stretch for his party, at almost every level of politics.”

And it was a recent article in the Washington Post which found that Democrats have “taken a drubbing” in the states.  The Post found that “the ratio of Republicans to Democrats has tilted to the right in nearly every Senate and nearly every legislature” since Barry was first elected.  “According to the NCSL data,” the Post article notes, “there were 4,082 Democrats in state senates and state houses in 2009. In 2015, there were 3,163–a decrease of 22.5 percent.”  This massive loss, the article notes, is another reason the Democrat’s bench is so weak all over the country.

But make no mistake, even with all that having been said, the fact that the demise of the Republican Party has been avoided, at least for now, it has had little to do with anything the party might have actually done.  Because the survival of the party beyond 2017 still remains very much in doubt.  We have a majority in Congress who insists upon doing nothing more than to kowtow to a president who should have long ago been impeached, and a cadre of presidential candidates who has yet to make the case that it would be nothing short of disaster if we were elect another Democrat. 

SADLY FOR AMERICA, THE REPUBLICAN BASE SAID TO BE DYING OFF…

Well, it’s according to Politico, that those like me or, in other words, those who work for a living, who actually pay taxes and who also tend to vote Republican, otherwise those known as our society’s adult population, are aging rapidly and dying off faster than are their Democrat counterparts.  And what’s worse, as we die off we’re being replaced by those who will come to make up our just as rapidly expanding parasite class which consists primarily of those folks who prefer to work as little as possible or who spend a great deal of their time looking for ways to avoid having to work altogether.  Of course few of these people also pay taxes, getting, instead, a refund every year after having paid nothing in.  Still not sure how that scam works.

But anyway, Politico states that the Republican Party’s "core is dying off by the day," making 2016 a tough roll as more youthful voters reliably turn to the Democrat Party in the hopes, of course, of  getting their fair share of the ‘free stuff.’  Of course as more of those who actually pick up the tab for all of that ‘free stuff’, these perspective Democrat voters might be in for a rather rude awakening when there’s no one left to pay for things.  Politic says, "Since the average Republican is significantly older than the average Democrat, far more Republicans than Democrats have died since the 2012 elections. To make matters worse, or so according to Politic, the GOP is attracting fewer first-time voters.

It was Politico's Daniel J. McGraw who wrote, "Unless the party is able to make inroads with new voters, or discover a fountain of youth, the GOP’s slow demographic slide will continue election to election."  McGraw used census data for his look into age decline at the GOP.  What he supposedly found was that "of the 61 million who voted for Mitt Romney in 2012, about 2.75 million will be dead by the 2016 election." By contrast, of those 66 million people who voted for Barry “Almighty”, close to 2.3 million are unlikely to live to see the 2016 election play out.  All of which lead McGraw to the conclusion that: "That leaves a big gap in between, a difference of roughly 453,000 in favor of the Democrats."

McGraw's voter turnout rationale, however, did draw a certain amount of ridicule from some of those who earn their living as electorate experts.  It was Brookings Institution senior fellow William Frey that told Politico, "I’ve never seen anyone doing any studies on how many dead people can’t vote."  And he then went on to say, "I’ve seen studies on how many dead people do vote. The old Daley Administration in Chicago was very good at that."  But even Frey allowed that, indeed, the GOP would need to do more to nab younger voters if it hoped to stay competitive in the future, and that includes staying out of the social issue debate and focusing on issues that matter to a younger generation.

Republicans do "rely too much on older and white voters, and especially in rural areas, deaths from this group can be significant,” Frey told Politico.  He said, “But millennials (born 1981 to 1997) now are larger in numbers than baby boomers (1946 to 1964), and how they vote will make the big difference.  And the data says that if Republicans focus on economic issues and stay away from social ones like gay marriage, they can make serious inroads with millennials.”  Some youth voting experts do think Republicans have a chance with the right message.  Millennials have been let down by Democrats over the past seven years and are not looking for a repeat of the same old Washington, D.C., agenda.

It is clear younger voters like change and are embracing outsider candidates.  In April, political newcomer Ben Carson led a Harvard University Institute of Politics poll of Republican primary voters under 30, The Washington Times reported.  Carson, at 10 percent, headed off rivals Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul (8 percent), and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who were both chosen by 7 percent of young Republicans in the poll.  Most telling, however, was a third of those younger voters said they were undecided on a primary choice, opening a window for candidates to win their interest, as Harvard reported "no front-runner" among the crowded GOP presidential primary field.

Our country now seems to have a great deal going against it as we look off into the future.  The odds of it being able to survive much longer, at least in the form that it was intended by our Founders, become slimmer with each new generation.  And it’s quite sad, really, that fewer and fewer ‘Americans’ seem to recognize what has always been so truly unique about America.  Freedom seems to be a completely foreign commodity to a growing number of Americans.  I would appear that they would rather be completely dependent upon their government than on themselves.  Which, to me, at least, would seem to be more than a little bit risky.  Because to do so requires that one place an inordinate amount of trust in one’s government.

I think it fair to say that it has always been, and still it today, it’s conservatives in this country who act as this nation’s last line of defense.  We are the only ones who continue to support our Constitution as it was originally intended.  We see very few of the gray areas seen by many on the left.  I can honestly say that I have raised my soon-to-be 23 year old daughter to possess traditional American values.  While my family and I are not regular church goers, that has far more to do with my dislike, and distrust, of organized religion than anything else.  A dislike that goes all the way back to my childhood.  I’ve always been of the opinion that one needs not to attend church to prove one is a Christian.  What’s important is believing in Christian values.

TIME FOR OUR GOP 'LEADERS' TO COME UP WITH ANOTHER PLAN...

Apparently, the latest tactic now to be employed by the chairman of the Republican National Committee in his effort to advance the latest plan, the purpose of which we are told, is to "expand" the GOP, is to urge religious conservatives to blindly follow in the direction of those in charge of the party. What we heard from Reince Priebus, as recently as this past Saturday, was him asking, "that we come together and that we pray for the future of this country." His request/plea came during the final day of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conference that brought several Republicans leaders together with evangelical activists. Priebus went on to say, "I'm a Christian. I'm a believer. God lives in my heart. And I'm for changing minds, not changing values." Fine words all, but sadly, really nothing much more that.

Religious conservatives have always been very skeptical, and with good reason, of establishment Republicans in Washington and the RNC's plan for growth. A plan that calls for the need to be much more tolerant regarding attitudes on immigration and social issues such as abortion and gay marriage. Party leadership has arrived at the decision that there is now a need for the party to rebuild itself after the 2012 election season but seems unsure on how to do it and thinks it has a plan to do just that. "When it comes to social issues, the party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming," according to an RNC report commissioned by Priebus after the election and released in March. "If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues."

While Priebus did not mention any of those recommendations in his remarks, he did repeat calls for significant changes to the Republican presidential nominating process, particularly, fewer debates and a shorter primary season. The RNC's call for tolerance was not a very popular one during the three-day meeting of social conservative leaders, which attracted several politicians considering 2016 presidential bids. The conference's final speaker, former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, rejected calls for an immigration overhaul that includes a path to citizenship for those immigrants in the country illegally. She’s right, and regardless of the claims being made, it would do absolutely nothing in accomplishing the goal of expansion that Priebus claims to want to advance.

Palin, who is rejoining Fox News Channel as an analyst less than half a year after they decided to part ways, also offered a warning to "the good old boys" in the GOP leadership who are calling for conservative activists to tone down their ‘aggressive’ rhetoric. "You do not marginalize, you don't discredit and dismiss, every day average hard-working Americans - those who are part of that grass-roots tea party movement," she said. "Just let them tell us to sit down and shut up," Palin said later, "which I refuse to do." Again, she is absolutely right! And I think it’s more than just a little arrogant of Mr. Priebus to think that we’ll be willing to do nothing more than to sit on the sidelines and blindly follow our party ‘leadership’ down the path that ends in nothing more than the political suicide of our party.

What Mr. Priebus is suggesting here is not a solution to the problem that he professes to be interested in solving. Since when did surrender ever provide any sort of a path to victory? Such things as this ‘Gang of Eight’ immigration plan that now seems to be gaining steam would prove to be nothing short of an absolute disaster for the GOP. If Priebus wishes to demonstrate his abilities as a leader, maybe he should begin to busy himself explaining things to those who are unsure about what the Republican Party stands for. Such things as the benefits of living in a free society where there in minimal government interference. And about the benefits of capitalism and free enterprise that affords everyone the opportunity to become successful and self-reliant. And he could be talking about the importance of family!

But nope, apparently Mr. Preibus would rather head in another direction altogether by welcoming in, and with open arms, those who support gay marriage, illegal immigrants and virtually unlimited abortions. Excuse me? But how is becoming more like the Democrat Party going to entice more people to affiliate with the Republican Party? What the focus needs to be on is demonstrating how those things that we support, things like ‘legal’ immigration, a free market economy, low taxes, keeping government intrusion in our lives to a minimum, a strong national defense and the benefits of living in a constitutional republic, benefit everyone. We need to point out that the majority of the problems that we face today can be traced directly back to the Democrat Party.