Salt and Light

Here is the latest John McCain ad and it is a very good one. Pass this far and wide; Barack Obama has an amazingly narcissistic opinion of himself. As a self-described Christian, you would think the junior senator of Illinois would remember Philippians 2:3 (NIV):

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.”

And as I expected, the whole “stolen prayer” event at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem was totally staged by the Obama campaign.

This is sung to the tune of “My Country Tis of Thee” (hat tip to Larwyn)

My country,’ tis of me,
Sweet land that gave you me
Of me I sing;
Land that my father tried,
Went home to Kenyan bride,
From every mountainside
My praises ring!

Al Gore and John Kerry,
Had not my dignity,
To me, they sing.
Change and hope and progress,
Did nothing in Congress,
All I have’s arrogance:
I’ll be your king.

Hat tip to Tom (Walter) Jennings for this…

This letter was written by Charles Grennel and his comrades who are veterans of the Global War On Terror. Grennel is an Army Reservist who spent two years in Iraq and was a principal in putting together the first Iraq elections in January of 2005. It was written to Jill Edwards, a student at the University of Washington , who did not want to honor Medal of Honor winner USMC Colonel Greg Boyington. Ms. Edwards and other students (and faculty) do not think those who serve in the U.S. armed services are good role models.

To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)

Subject: Sheep, Wolves, and Sheepdogs

Miss Edwards,

I read of your “student activity” regarding the proposed memorial to Col. Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from conservative folks like me. You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naivete.

It may be that you are, simply, a sheep. There’s no dishonor in being a sheep - as long as you know and accept what you are.

William J. Bennett, in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy on November 24, 1997 said: “Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident.” We may well be in the most violent times in history but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.

Then there are the wolves and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy. Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You’d better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.

Then there are sheepdogs and I’m a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf. If you have no capacity for violence, then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep.

If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog - a warrior - someone who is walking the uncharted path - someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed.

We know that the sheep live in denial; that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen - which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms, and fire exits throughout their kids’ schools. But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kids school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep’s only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard and so they choose the path of denial.

The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf; he has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, cannot, and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheepdog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way - at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.

Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn’t tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports in camouflage fatigues holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go “Baa.” Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.

The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students and, under ordinary circumstances, they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them.

This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door. Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America , more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be.

Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: he is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.

Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come but the sheepdog lives for that day.

After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep - that is, most citizens in America - said, “Thank God I wasn’t on one of those planes.” The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, “Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference.” You want to be able to make a difference. There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage - only one - and that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.

There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders, and the killing of law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: slumped walk, passive behavior, and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself. Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs.

But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I’m proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs. Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury , New Jersey . Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator at United Airlines about the hijacking. When they learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd and the other passengers confronted the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers - athletes, business people, and parents - from sheep to sheepdogs and, together, they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.

“There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men.” ~ Edmund Burke.

Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature, the sheep - real sheep - are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way and so are wolves. They didn’t have a choice.

But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision. If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust, or love.

But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior’s path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip, and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.

This business of being a sheep or a sheepdog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand sheep and, on the other end, is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other. Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11, almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously.

It’s okay to be a sheep but do not kick the sheepdog. Indeed, the sheepdog may just run a little harder, strive to protect a little better, and be fully prepared to pay an ultimate price in battle and spirit - with the sheep moving from “baa” to “thanks.”

We do not call for gifts or freedoms beyond our lot. We just need a small pat on the head, a smile, and a thank you to fill the emotional tank which is drained protecting the sheep. And when our number is called by the Almighty and day retreats into night, a small prayer before the heavens just may be in order to say thanks for letting you continue to be a sheep. And be grateful for the thousands - millions - of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.

I just had to post this brilliant piece “He ventured forth to bring light to the world” by Gerard Baker of the Times Online UK. This is the most wonderful piece of political satire I’ve read in years, although I’m sure the Obama Mice will begin quoting verses from it. Enjoy and please pass this on.

He ventured forth to bring light to the world: The anointed one’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land is a miracle in action - and a blessing to all his faithful followers

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing: “Yes, We Can.”

How many of you remember what you were doing on that day? I actually do; my wife and I were looking at a car and met a nice young man named Davey. On our way home we decided to buy the car and Karen said, “Make sure you let Davey sell it to you.”

The next morning I drove Karen to work. I had yet to find employment after retiring from the Army two months earlier. I stopped by the dealer and they said Davey would be in around 10 am. I took a drive over to Destin to kill some time and decided to stop at a Tom Thumb and get a cup of coffee.

I returned to the car and turned on the radio and heard a news announcement that sounded almost like the old Orson Welles “War of the Worlds” radio broadcast back in 1938. That show caused much panic because of its realism. I was just about to dismiss this radio broadcast as such and then I heard:

“We’ve just received a report that a plane has hit the Pentagon!”

One thought came immediately to my mind: Osama bin Laden.

You see we in the military, especially those of us stationed overseas, understood clearly the threat of Osama bin Laden and radical Islam. In 1998 when bin Laden declared a fatwa against all Americans, we overseas went on high alert. I still remember patrolling housing areas in Germany with live ammo.

Now just two months shy of the 7th Anniversary of the horrible attacks on 9/11, many Americans are living as though it is September 10, 2001. Part of that is due to the steadfastness of the Bush Administration, law enforcement, national security and intelligence agencies, and our magnificent military, but a large part of the population does not understand the threat we face even today, at this very moment.

I ask that you take six and one-half minutes to watch this video reminder:

Two people who have done yeomen’s work on capturing the truth and outlining the threat is Frank and Nancy Salvato at the Basics Project. Please visit their website and see the many fine educational initiatives they have, but I want to turn your attention to what is the quintessential work done of radical Islam.

As part of their “Educational CD Series” Basics Projects has put together an audio CD that “provides a basics overview of the threat posed by those who adhere to radical Islamist ideology”; to quote their website. “Understanding the Threat of Radical Islam” is a stirring account of the grave threat radical Islam is to all freedom loving nations. I almost pulled my car over to listen to the CD as I was driving to work because I was so engaged in listening that I was not paying close enough attention to my driving.

Please order at least one copy for yourself to teach your family the true meaning of radical Islam. And if you know of anyone who doubts the real threat then I encourage you to order two. You will be getting a wealth of information and helping out a great non-profit educational organization.

Thanks in advance for purchasing your copy and for spreading the word about Basics Project to all you know.

So where do I start?

First off, for anyone who believes that same-sex marriage is legal anywhere in America, it is not. My friend and brother-in-Christ Gregg Jackson has been sounding the alarm against executive tyranny for two years now and he has published a hard-hitting piece on Townhall.com titled “Same Sex “Marriage”: Illegal in All Fifty States.” Please pass this far and wide and if you live in California you need to mobilize like never before my friends.

Second, there are many, many emails swirling around about Senator Barack Obama’s birth certificate and the possibilities of it being a forgery. Some of the speculation is that Obama is not a natural born citizen which precludes him from running for President.

One blogger claimed the following:

Barack Obama is not a legal U.S. natural-born citizen according to the law on the books at the time of his birth, which falls between December 24, 1952, to November 13, 1986. Federal Law requires that the office of President requires a natural-born citizen if the child was not born to two U.S. Citizen parents. This is what exempts John McCain, though he was born in the US Panama Canal Zone.

In essence, Mother alone is not old enough to qualify her son for automatic U.S. Citizenship

There’s one big problem with this; it is not true and a simple investigation (I did it) would have immediately exposed this nonsense about Obama not being a natural born citizen. Barack Obama was born in Honolulu, Hawaii on August 4, 1961. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii was admitted to the union as our 50th state, which means Barack Obama was born IN the United States.

Section 301a, {8 U.S.C. 1401} says “a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof” shall be nationals and citizens of the United States at birth. Obama could have been an anchor baby of illegal aliens and could still be President.

Plain and simple Barack Obama is a natural-born American citizen.

Now this doesn’t mean we should not see what it is Obama seems to be hiding about his birth certificate, but we need to get off the “not natural born” nonsense.

Third, Richard Henry Lee has a damaging article on The American Thinker titled “Obama and the Woods Fund of Chicago” and it will be interesting to see how much if any traction this news gets in the mainstream media.

For all you media mice who have been fluted into a trance by Obama’s oratory skills how about for just one second stopping and taking a look at all the evidence about this man. For you evangelicals who think Obama is a solid Christian may I recommend my article “The Deep Faith of Barack Obama” and ask you to consider what I’ve written?

For you who were swindled into believing Obama would bring real change, how do you feel about him now that he is shifting back to the center and sounding more and more like a typical politician?

I’ll write some more in a day or two; I want to introduce all of you to some fine conservatives candidates who are worthy of our support.

I am very grateful to Frank Salvato for publishing my article at the New Media Journal on such a short notice.

Last night my good friend Mark Levin had me on his show and we discussed General Wesley Clark. I told Mark I was working on an article, actually it was only a concept at the time, and Mark said as soon as it was published he would link to on his website.

Well I dropped my article on Frank last night about 9:30 CST and true to his word Mark posted the link to his website.

Below is the interview between Mark and me. I am truly blessed and very grateful for such men who are generous with their time and resources.

Hat tip to Jackie for sending Larry Elder’s latest column. It is so hilarious I just had to publish it in full here. Enjoy!

Warming up to Obama’s message of hope and change

For Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, the stars certainly seem aligned.

Seventy percent of Americans consider the economy in a recession. Two-thirds consider the war in Iraq a bad idea. A new Gallup Poll shows Obama leading presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain 46 to 44 percent. And the ratings for “American Idol” fell 10 percent. Given all this, plus a swooning, pro-Obama media, what’s a Republican to do?

Guess it’s time to look on the bright side, and find something positive about the possibility of a President Barack Obama.

I called Margaret, a Republican friend who lives in Chicago. Do me a favor, I asked her, and attend a prayer service at St. Sabina — the church led by Father Michael Pfleger. YouTube star Pfleger, as a guest of Trinity United Church of Christ, called Sen. Hillary Clinton a white supremacist, resentful of the ascension of Barack Obama. Pfleger yelled that Clinton felt entitled because she felt, as he put it, “I’m white!” He also preached that any white person with a “401(k)” or a “trust fund” needs to surrender it — presumably to blacks — or consider themselves part of the problem. Rumor had it, I told Margaret, that Rev. Jeremiah Wright was expected to attend St. Sabina’s upcoming prayer service.

She agreed to go. Take a Bible with you, I suggested, so no one will think you’re a reporter. And should security refuse to let you in, scream, “I’m black!” Now, she’s white, but still …

At St. Sabina a security team did, indeed, stand in front of the church, warily eyeballing newcomers. They stopped Margaret, despite the Bible in hand. She was about to scream as security shooed her away, “I’m black! I’m black!” But, she admitted, she was afraid that they would think she was deranged and call the authorities.

“Mission aborted,” she dejectedly e-mailed me. But she did go back to the church after-hours, and sent an attachment of photos of her dog with the church in the background. Cute dog.

Don’t feel too bad, I told her, because I find myself warming up to Obama’s message of change and hope. To lift her spirits, I offered a few examples.

Obama rejects the Bush my-way-or-the-highway “cowboy” foreign policy. Obama repeatedly said he wishes to meet with enemy/thug leaders without preconditions. But wait!

He now says only if he decides to meet in the first place. And if he decides — to which he may not — he’ll do so without preconditions. And if he decides not to, his decision will have been made without preconditions, unless, of course, he decides to meet after all — but only without preconditions. And if he decides not to meet, he’ll make that decision without any preconditions, just as he would make the decision to meet without the precondition of no preconditions. But if he decides to meet, without preconditions, he’ll do so solely when, where and if he decides to — without preconditions.

That’s change.

Unlike President Bush, who “neglected” the Israeli/Palestinian peace process until the waning days of his administration, Obama intends to immediately get on it. Last week, he told America’s Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) — America’s leading pro-Israel lobby — that he supports a two-state solution, with Jerusalem as the sole, undivided capital of Israel. (The Bush administration, currently in negotiations with the Israelis and Palestinians, hasn’t taken a position on this thorny issue, preferring the parties to negotiate between themselves.) After Obama’s statement, the Palestinians immediately cried, “Foul!” and said there would be no discussions with that stipulation! Hamas, the Palestinian terror group, called him no different from Bush. Thus, with this demand, a President Obama threatens to derail talks from the very beginning. But wait!

The next day, Obama said that, well, “obviously” the issue of Jerusalem should be decided by the Israelis and Palestinians — adopting the same position as “cowboy” Bush.

That’s hope.

On deterring Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, Obama accused the Bush administration of “saber rattling.” Obama’s Web site calls for aggressive diplomacy, but mentions nothing about a military option. But wait!

He told AIPAC, “Let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel.”

What about Iran’s Revolutionary Guard? When Sen. Clinton voted to declare the Revolutionary Guard a terror organization, Obama criticized her, and deemed the vote irresponsibly militant. But wait!

He told AIPAC that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is, indeed, a terror organization. So why did he vote otherwise, and attack Clinton? Well, said Obama at the time, it was an unnecessarily belligerent move. But apparently, now they are terrorists because, well, it isn’t as belligerent to say so today as it was to say so yesterday.

That’s more hope and more change. So, I told Margaret, here’s hoping you find this hopeful. If not, I’ll change it.

Yesterday in my article “The Deep Faith of Barack Obama” I wrote:

When asked if he had people in his life he looked to for guidance, Senator Obama responded:

When Iran eventually gets the nuclear bomb, will President Obama state this was not the man I negotiated with? When Syria completely invades Lebanon through the help of Hezbollah, will President Obama say this was not the man I negotiated with? And what about North Korea and Venezuela; will President Obama’s only excuse for the betrayal of our enemies be these were not the men with whom he negotiated?

Today we had Jim Johnson from the Obama camp resign from his campaign. Now this is the man Senator Obama picked to vet the Vice Presidential candidates. Again this leads me to another question:

WHO IS VETTING THE VETTERS?!!!!!

We have Senator Obama slamming Countrywide Mortgage for goughing customers and taking advantage of vulnerable homeowners and he has one of the weasels who benefited from Countrywide, and a Washington insider, vetting the Vice President possibilities.

So much for real change, huh Senator?

Folks, this man’s ability to judge human character is stunningly inept.

All right you Obama supporters and I know you’re out there. Read about Senator Obama Global Poverty Act at the Center for Individual Freedom and please explain to me why I should vote for this guy?

If you are not familiar with the Center for Individual Freedom, I encourage to get on their email list and through some latte money their way once in awhile.

I’ve added them to our Citizen Action link; these folks do great work.

Hey folks - This is a quick post to say howdy and thank Dave for the opportunity to be a contributor to his blog. I will do my level best to be the “lighthouse” he spoke of in an earlier post. Here’s a little bit of info about me so you’ll have an idea about the man behind the keyboard. I’m much younger, handsomer, and almost as intelligent as Dave. Not really. He is probably the best friend I’ve ever had and more like a brother than anything else. I’m sure many of you feel the same way.

I am a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe the Bible is accurate, complete, and trustworthy. I have studied God’s Word for nearly thirty years and have yet to find it wanting in anything. I am a little different than Dave in some respects (apart from the age and good looks). He is much better than I am at discerning the political winds blowing through our country. I am up to date with political happenings but not to the level Dave is. I’m more in touch with religious happenings, trends, and apologetics. That’s one reason I’m so excited to be a part of Salt and Light.

Like Dave, I’m a retired Army guy. I’m intensely patriotic and very grateful for the blessing of living in the land of the free and the home of the brave. Most of my career was spent in aviation operations. I met Dave while we were both instructors at Ft. Rucker. He took me under his wing and has been my friend ever since. I taught a Sunday School class there and Dave started attending. It’s where he met his lovely wife Karen and where they were eventually married.

Oh yeah…I’m the world’s biggest UK Wildcat fan. I’ll leave it at that for now.

So…in the beginning was the blog. And the blog was Dave’s and he did some typing and decided to call it Salt and Light. What a perfect name for a blog that encourages all of us to be the salt and light that is so needed in our world! Like many of you, I sometimes end up being a salty light or just lightly salted. Sometimes something strikes a nerve and I’m a bit more “salty” when trying to shed the “light” on someone who’s just not “getting it”. Sadly, at times I’m only lightly salted and of no real use. Sound familiar?

I think Dave would agree that this should be an encouraging place. We should be encouraged to be involved in what’s going on around us both politically and socially. We should be encouraged to actually BE Salt and BE Light because there’s never been a time when both are needed more. Dave can’t do it, I can’t do it, and you can’t do it either without the Lord’s blessing, guidance, and help. Sometimes that help comes from one another. Dave has a lot of irons in the fire right now. I’m blessed to be able to help by working with this blog. There’ll be times when I need his help and the help of those on this blog. I thank God in advance for the peace that comes from knowing that the help is there from those who read these words. You can count on my being there as well.

My prayer is that, together, we’ll be more than just salty light or lightly salted. Again, I’m grateful and look forward to the journey!

Billy Ray

Note: Below is a response I wrote in an email to my good friend Dino Minutillo inquiring about the new “Christian movement” within the Democratic Party…

There is a very easy way to weed all these CINOs out (I like that Dino!). The Bible says: “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.” (1 John 4:1-3)

If a person will not acknowledge this about Christ, he or she is an antichrist, not the Antichrist. Being an antichrist means you are against Christ, in other words you do not accept the Truth about Him that the Bible proclaims. If the person answers yes but embraces teachings contrary to the Bible, he or she is also a false believer. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:21-23)

Hey Everyone!

Some exciting things happening at TheVanguard.org! First founder and chairman Rod Martin and TheVanguard.org have an excellent article written about them in Human Events Online.

Next, Rod Martin announces that Jerome Corsi has joined TheVanguard.org! This is big!

For those of you not familiar with Jerome Corsi, he is the co-author of the book “Unfit for Command,” detailing John Kerry’s Viet Nam record as told by his fellow Swift Boat veterans. If you haven’t read that book yet, buy it today and you’ll understand why John Kerry “never fought back.” (Kind of hard to do when the truth is dead against you)

Mr. Corsi has written an excellent article titled, “TheVanguard.org Plans Conservative Challenge to MoveOn.org”, and he explains why has joined TheVanguard.org and what role he will be playing. He also closes with a morally and politically clear (the goal of “Salt and Light”) explanation about his involvement with the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Please don’t miss any of this!

“It’s one thing to have a sizable minority like the Democrats stand in your way, but it is just unacceptable when a tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of Republicans in Congress also rear up in opposition and join the liberal Democrats to derail an agenda. At some point that has to be faced. It has to be faced because these RINOs, these moderates, are undermining our agenda on taxes; they are undermining our agenda on spending; they are undermining our agenda on oil drilling, and they are undermining the war on terror…”

—Rush Limbaugh, November 11, 2005

Excuse the long quote, but Rush has wrapped up the problem with RINOs and how we the Republican Party are going to get the heart beating again and stop the bleeding. Too many disgruntled conservatives have left the Party or are voting for “conservative” Democrats. The Republican Party’s heart is barely beating and it is bleeding profusely and immediate first aid is required.
How do we restore the Republican Party’s heartbeat? We need to pump new life into it and that means new, healthy candidates. We need to remove the RINOs—Senators Arlen Specter (PA), George Voinovich (Ohio), Chuck Hagel (Neb), Lindsey Graham (S.C.), John Warner (VA), Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins (this will be hard to do in Maine). And that’s just the Senate; I’m keeping my eye on the House too!

We also need to be concerned with stopping the bleeding. In what I consider that greatest betrayal by Republicans to a Republican President, the Commander-in-Chief, and also to the new commander in Iraq, and the troops in Iraq, the Senate is considering a resolution denouncing the plan to send more troops to Baghdad. This blood-letting must stop! Republicans are scared that they may not get reelected if they support the President in his efforts TO WIN THE WAR! Sorry for shouting, but I’m absolutely fed up.
I need everyone to email and call their Senators and the National Republican Senatorial Committee and let them know that if Republicans, all of them, do not get behind the President on this, the money and support stops. Not a penny!
Senator Joe Biden, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman and 2008 Democratic Presidential hopeful, said that this is not to embarrass the President or to tell him he’s wrong, but to rebuke him. HELLO! (sorry) Senator Biden, it is not only an embarrassment to the President, it is an embarrassment to our country and the troops. And guess what gentlemen? Al-Jazeera thinks what you’re doing is very newsworthy! (Just hit the link and read)
General Petraeus, the new commander in Iraq, believes the surge will work because security to Baghdad is vital. At least one Senator gets it; Senator Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said the following to the general: “I want to urge my colleagues to consider your testimony this morning and to put the brakes on’ such resolutions. ‘You, in my opinion, will receive unanimous or near-unanimous support… [for the nomination] from this committee and from the [full] Senate. But I fear that a resolution of disapproval will send you [Petraeus] over there” to Iraq with mixed signals to the Iraqis.”

Obviously I could on at great length writing about the examples of the RINO effect in Congress and how it is weakening our country, but space and time will not allow. Suffice to say, that if we can at least take the immediate first-aid steps to keep our patient alive, we can then administer the antidote to cure the sickness that is within the Republican Party. More on that in Part 5.

Hey Everyone!

You may be thinking that I’ve given up on my 5-part series, “Reviving the Republicans,” but I’ve been sitting back to see what House Democrats would do in their “first 100 hours” and how the Senate responds. I’ve also made some observations about the “Mini-Me RINOs” that the Dems have on a leash with a big lollipop in their (RINOs) hands. You getting my drift?

The main reason for this post is that there is an outstanding article on Human Events Online written by Stephanie Dube titled, “The Next MoveOn.org?” It is about my dear friend and founder of TheVanguard.org, Rod Martin. Please take a moment to read it and get to know Rod better; I learned some things about him I did not know. The heartbeat of TheVanguard.org is to be the antidote to MoveOn.org and we at TheVanguard.org are working hard to mobilize an army of conservatives to stand in the gap.

Thanks for your time and be looking here in a couple of days for me to post Part 4 of “Reviving the Republicans.” If you haven’t already done so, please sign up to receive RSS feeds for the entries and comments that are posted on “Salt and Light” and you will automatically receive an email notifying you. God bless!

Dave Jeffers

“This is the issue of this election: Whether we believe in our capacity for self-government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far-distant capitol can plan our lives for us better than we can plan them ourselves.”

—Ronald Reagan, from a speech delivered 27 October 1964, Los Angeles, CA

Mind you that wasn’t just a speech; that was “The Speech,” as it is now known but was actually titled, “A Time for Choosing.” This was a nationally televised speech that Ronald Reagan gave on behalf of the Republican presidential candidate, Barry Goldwater. Ronald Reagan was once a staunch Democrat but he became Republican because he was foremost a conservative and he knew the Democratic Party no longer held conservative views.

Today’s Republican Party is not breathing; oh it may be on life-support, but it is definitely not breathing on its own. Today’s Republican Party does not hold to the ideals of limited government; government has grown with Republicans in power, particularly in the area of discretionary spending. Hard as this may be to believe, discretionary spending under the Bush Administration is more than double that of the Clinton Administration. (Has anyone seen the President’s veto pen; it’s been missing for six years!)

Whenever you try to revive a patient who is not breathing, once the airway is clear, you must first give two full breaths and see if the patient’s lungs fill up and then deflate. The two breaths needed for the Republican Party is getting discretionary spending under control and out in the open, and securing the border.

Discretionary spending needs two fixes: 1) the line-item veto; and 2) the greatest abuse of discretionary spending is the use of earmarks and yesterday President Bush finally called for an end to this pork-barrel form of spending: “Congress needs to adopt real reform that requires full disclosure of the sponsors, the costs, the recipients and the justifications for every earmark. Congress needs to stop the practice of concealing earmarks in so-called report language. And Congress needs to cut the number and cost of earmarks next year by at least half.” (President’s remarks in Rose Garden, Jan. 4, 2007) The President also called for the line item veto.

The second breath needed is securing the borders. Now many politicians believe that the immigration issue is more important, but we must first secure our borders and then come up with a comprehensive immigration plan, or at best simultaneously. But securing our borders must happen; it is a matter of national security. Many voters stayed home because of the border issue and it can no longer be politicized or obscured by political correctness.

Here are two easy ways to fix the immigration issue: 1) stop calling illegal aliens “undocumented workers.” That’s a bunch of PC mumbo-jumbo. An alien is defined as “a resident born in or belonging to another country who has not acquired citizenship by naturalization; a foreigner,” and they are not here legally; hence the term “illegal alien!” 2) If you’re going to give amnesty as part of a guest worker program and/or “comprehensive immigration reform,” then call it amnesty. Americans aren’t stupid and you can slap whatever PC label you want on amnesty, but we know what it is.

Whichever Republican politician or candidate takes these two issues as two of their main goals to fix, that person will take a giant leap forward and attract much attention from the mass of disgruntled GOP voters. After that, we can return to the patient and check for circulation. The GOP is bleeding and its circulation is weak.

Next, we’ll look at stopping the bleeding and restoring the “circulation” of the GOP!

“To me, consensus seems to be the process of abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies. So it is something in which no one believes and to which no one objects.”

— Margaret Thatcher, Former British Prime Minister

Why the Maggie Thatcher quote? Well, first of all she is a great, conservative woman and since “Reviving the Republicans (Part 2) is about “clearing the airway” of RINOs, I thought it important to give some examples of RINO thinking and juxtaposition it (look it up) with what real conservatives believe. And since the patient (GOP) was severely wounded by the 2006 election, let’s see what RINOs and other pundits are offering as the antidote (I’ll provide that in Part 5).

In the Washington Post article, “Republicans’ Angry Factions Point Fingers at Each Other,” dated November 9, 2006, reporter Michael Grunwald writes, “In the aftermath of the historic GOP losses Tuesday night, moderate Republicans quickly concluded that the party needs to be more moderate. Conservative Republicans declared that it should be more conservative.” To the Moderate Republicans I say “absolutely not!”, and to the Conservative Republicans I say “absolutely!”

Does anyone remember Ronald Reagan? No really, I mean what he believed in as far as conservatism was concerned? Do you? Here’s a quote from the greatest 20^th Century President: “The American new conservative majority we represent is not based on abstract theorizing of the kind that turns off the American people, but on common sense, intelligence, reason, hard work, faith in God, and the guts to say, yes, there are things we do strongly believe in, that we are willing to live for and yes, if necessary, to die for. This is not ‘ideological purity.’ It is simply what built this country and kept it great.” (From Reagan’s 1977 speech before the American Conservative Union)

Moderates are always looking for “consensus;” leaders are always leading. Does that Reagan quote sound “squishy” to you? “Squishy” is the word used by Rod Martin of TheVanguard.Org to describe RINOs. Squishy is what John McCain and the Gang of Fourteen did with killing the “nuclear option” for judicial nominees. I’m tired of squishy; I’m tired of “abandoning all beliefs, principles, values and policies,” to again quote Madame Thatcher. No more RINOs! It’s time to elect real conservatives.

If we want to get the GOP breathing again, we need to clear the airway; that means clearing out all the RINOs. After that we check for breathing, and our patient is not breathing.

Next, we’ll look at restoring the “breathing” of the GOP!

“Study the history of revival. God has always sent a revival in the darkest days. Oh, for a mighty, sweeping revival today!”

— Adrian Rogers

Recently our church had a two-week revival conducted by Life Action Ministries. The revival leader Steven Canfield described revival as “the presence, power, and peace of God resting on a life, a family, a church, a nation.” Additionally, Dictionary.com defines revival as the “restoration to life, consciousness, vigor, strength, etc.” Finally, the American Heritage Dictionary’s second entry defines revival as “A restoration to use, acceptance, activity, or vigor after a period of obscurity or quiescence.”

Election 2006 was a bloodletting for the Republican Party. Many conservative and evangelical Christian voters were disenchanted with the Party and its candidates: many decided to stay home; others voted for conservative Democrats. The GOP suffered a devastating blow and while the wound is still bleeding and the patient still groggy, it’s time to diagnose what went wrong.

The ABC’s of first aid calls for clearing the Airway, checking for Breathing, and then checking for Circulation. If the patient is not breathing and/or does not have a heart beat, then you must take measures to revive the patient. The GOP clearly needs to be revived and the first step is to clear out all foreign matter; in other words, the Republicans in Name Only (RINOs) must go!

Now this may sound exclusive and not of the “big tent” approach to politics, but if we going to have Republicans describing themselves as Reagan Conservatives, then they need to act like it. The GOP is too crowded with RINOs and with any narrowed or blocked airway, life as we know becomes difficult to maintain. A blocked airway causes a person to stop breathing, and a party blocked with wannabe, albeit counterfeit conservatives will cause it to lose its life.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at clearing the “airway” of RINOs!

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for viewing my blog.  I’ll be posting my first series called, “Reviving the Republicans” on Jan 1st and I believe it will be a five-part series.  Look forward to your comments and am hoping you will pass the word as much as possible.