November 13, 1979

By Gary P Jackson

Lot of the anti-Palin forces are losing their minds today, as the phony deadline they have created for Sarah Palin’s presidential bid is upon us. These same people have been proclaiming it’s “too late” for Sarah Palin to enter the race for months now.

It’s nonsense, of course, but they keep shouting it anyhow.

Oddly enough, these same people are cheering on the likes of Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee and want them in.

It’s not too late for a couple of back benchers, but it’s too late for a former Mayor, Governor, and vice presidential candidate who enjoys almost 100% name recognition, and who’s record is unmatched by any candidate currently in the race?

How stupid do these people think we are?

Sarah Palin has thousands of supporters who have spent the better part of a year setting up networks in the early states, and will be ready to put things in high gear the moment she announces her candidacy. Her network rivals anything any candidate has, and it’s all organic and independent of Sarah herself.

The folks at Organize4Palin have done all of this on spec, because they believe in Sarah Palin’s message, and they believe in Sarah Palin. They believe she is the one who can put her message into action. This is like nothing in modern history.

As I sit back and laugh at fools like Erick Erickson over at Red State, who is going berserk trashing Sarah Palin on his website and on Twitter, even claiming that “Reagan didn’t get in late,” I thought it a good idea to not only remind people that Reagan did, indeed get in late, November 13, 1979 to be exact, others have waited as well.

The left wing media is actually celebrating the 20th anniversary of Bill Clinton’s announcement this weekend! That’s right, Clinton announced in October. For those too young to remember, John F Kennedy didn’t announce his candidacy until January 2, 1960, the year of the election.

These three late comers all became President of the United States.

Sarah Palin waiting to announce at the time of her choosing in not unprecedented in any way.

It’s only a recent thing that presidential hopefuls feel the need to get in almost a year before the first primary elections. These early birds usually enjoy some success in the polls, but peak too early, and fade away.

Look, no one but Sarah Palin knows for sure what she’s going to do. That said, she’s not going to let a bunch of Establishment™ hacks intimidate her one bit. Sarah will do this on her timetable, and no one else’s.

I continue to think she will run. She knows of the herculean efforts of those Organize4Palin volunteers, and has been asked repeatedly since July [by the media] if she wanted to tell these hard working supporters to stand down. Her response has always been to encourage then to work harder.

Having followed Sarah Palin’s career since early 2007, I feel she is a person of good character, and simply wouldn’t allow people to continually spend their own time and money on a campaign that would never happen. That would take an incredibly cold-hearted person to pull that off. That’s not Sarah Palin.

I think what amazes me most about the anti-Palin crowd is how worried they are about her announcement. Their actions betray their fear.

Palin supporters only care that she announces. The date is inconsequential.

Instead of pissing and moaning like the GOP elite, how about we sit back and enjoy the great Ronald Reagan’s historic presidential campaign announcement, November 13, 1979, instead:

Ronald Reagan’s announcement for Presidential Candidacy

11/13/1979

Good evening. I am here tonight to announce my intention to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

I’m sure that each of us has seen our country from a number of viewpoints depending on where we’ve lived and what we’ve done. For me it has been as a boy growing up in several small towns in Illinois. As a young man in Iowa trying to get a start in the years of the great depression and later in California for most of my adult life.

I’ve seen America from the stadium press box as a sportscaster, as an actor, officer of my labor union, soldier, officeholder and as both Democrat and Republican. I’ve lived in an America where those who often had too little to eat outnumbered those who had enough. There have been four wars in my lifetime and I’ve seen our country face financial ruin in depression. I have also seen the great strength of this nation as it pulled itself up from that ruin to become the dominant force in the world.

To me our country is a living, breathing presence, unimpressed by what others say is impossible, proud of its own success, generous, yes and naïve, sometimes wrong, never mean and always impatient to provide a better life for its people in a framework of a basic fairness and freedom.

Someone once said that the difference between an American and any other kind of person is that an American lives in anticipation of the future because he knows it will be a great place. Other people fear the future as just a repetition of past failures. There’s a lot of truth in that. If there is one thing we are sure of it is that history need not be relived; that nothing is impossible, and that man is capable of improving his circumstances beyond what we are told is fact.

There are those in our land today, however, who would have us believe that the United States, like other great civilizations of the past, has reached the zenith of its power; that we are weak and fearful, reduced to bickering with each other and no longer possessed of the will to cope with our problems.

Much of this talk has come from leaders who claim that our problems are too difficult to handle. We are supposed to meekly accept their failures as the most which humanly can be done. They tell us we must learn to live with less, and teach our children that their lives will be less full and prosperous than ours have been; that the America of the coming years will be a place where – because of our past excesses – it will be impossible to dream and make those dreams come true.

I don’t believe that. And, I don’t believe you do either. That is why I am seeking the presidency. I cannot and will not stand by and see this great country destroy itself. Our leaders attempt to blame their failures on circumstances beyond their control, on false estimates by unknown, unidentifiable experts who rewrite modern history in an attempt to convince us our high standard of living, the result of thrift and hard work, is somehow selfish extravagance which we must renounce as we join in sharing scarcity. I don’t agree that our nation must resign itself to inevitable decline, yielding its proud position to other hands. I am totally unwilling to see this country fail in its obligation to itself and to the other free peoples of the world.

The crisis we face is not the result of any failure of the American spirit; it is a failure of our leaders to establish rational goals and give our people something to order their lives by. If I am elected, I shall regard my election as proof that the people of the United States have decided to set a new agenda and have recognized that the human spirit thrives best when goals are set and progress can be measured in their achievement.

During the next year I shall discuss in detail a wide variety of problems which a new administration must address. Tonight I shall mention only a few.

No problem that we face today can compare with the need to restore the health of the American economy and the strength of the American dollar. Double-digit inflation has robbed you and your family of the ability to plan. It has destroyed the confidence to buy and it threatens the very structure of family life itself as more and more wives are forced to work in order to help meet the ever-increasing cost of living. At the same time, the lack of year growth in the economy has introduced the justifiable fear in the minds of working men and women who are already over extended that soon there will be fewer jobs and no money to pay for even the necessities of life. And tragically as the cost of living keeps going up, the standard of living which has been our great pride keeps going down.

The people have not created this disaster in our economy; the federal government has. It has overspent, overestimated, and over regulated. It has failed to deliver services within the revenues it should be allowed to raise from taxes. In the thirty-four years since the end of World War II, it has spent 448 billion dollars more than it has collection in taxes – 448 billion dollars of printing press money, which has made every dollar you earn worth less and less. At the same time, the federal government has cynically told us that high taxes on business will in some way “solve” the problem and allow the average taxpayer to pay less. Well, business is not a taxpayer it is a tax collector. Business has to pass its tax burden on to the customer as part of the cost of doing business. You and I pay the taxes imposed on business every time we go to the store. Only people pay taxes and it is political demagoguery or economic illiteracy to try and tell us otherwise.

The key to restoring the health of the economy lies in cutting taxes. At the same time, we need to get the waste out of federal spending. This does not mean sacrificing essential services, nor do we need to destroy the system of benefits which flow to the poor, the elderly, the sick and the handicapped. We have long since committed ourselves, as a people, to help those among us who cannot take care of themselves. But the federal government has proven to be the costliest and most inefficient provider of such help we could possibly have.

We must put an end to the arrogance of a federal establishment which accepts no blame for our condition, cannot be relied upon to give us a fair estimate of our situation and utterly refuses to live within its means. I will not accept the supposed “wisdom” which has it that the federal bureaucracy has become so powerful that it can no longer be changed or controlled by any administration. As President I would use every power at my command to make the federal establishment respond to the will and the collective wishes of the people.

We must force the entire federal bureaucracy to live in the real world of reduced spending, streamlined functions and accountability to the people it serves. We must review the functions of the federal government to determine which of those are the proper province of levels of government closer to the people.

The 10th article of the Bill of Rights is explicit in pointing out that the federal government should do only those things specifically called for in the Constitution. All others shall remain with the states or the people. We haven’t been observing that 10th article of late. The federal government has taken on functions it was never intended to perform and which it does not perform well. There should be a planned, orderly transfer of such functions to states and communities and a transfer with them of the sources of taxation to pay for them.

The savings in administrative would be considerable and certainly there would be increased efficiency and less bureaucracy.

By reducing federal tax rates where they discourage individual initiative – especially personal income tax rates – we can restore incentives, invite greater economic growth and at the same time help give us better government instead of bigger government. Proposals such as the Kemp-Roth bill would bring about this kind of realistic reductions in tax rates.

In short, a punitive tax system must be replaced by one that restores incentive for the worker and for industry; a system that rewards initiative and effort and encourages thrift.

All these things are possible; none of them will be easy. But the choice is clear. We can go on letting the country slip over the brink to financial ruin with the disaster that it means for the individual or we can find the will to work together to restore confidence in ourselves and to regain the confidence of the world. I have lived through one depression. I carry with me the memory of a Christmas Eve when my brother and I and our parents exchanged modest gifts – there was no lighted tree as there had been on Christmases past.

I remember watching my father open what he thought was a greeting from his employer. We all watched and yes, we were hoping for a bonus check. It was notice that he no longer had a job. And in those days the government ran radio announcements telling workers not to leave home looking for jobs – there were no jobs. I’ll carry with me always the memory of my father sitting there holding that envelope, unable to look at us. I cannot and will not stand by while inflation and joblessness destroy the dignity of our people.

Another serious problem which must be discussed tonight is our energy situation. Our country was built on cheap energy. Today, energy is not cheap and we face the prospect that some forms of energy may soon not be available at all.

Last summer you probably spent hours sitting in gasoline lines. This winter, some will be without heat and everyone will be paying much more simply to keep home and family warm. If you ever had any doubt of the government’s inability to provide for the needs of the people, just look at the utter fiasco we now call “the energy crisis.” Not one straight answer nor any realistic hope of relief has come from the present administration in almost three years of federal treatment of the problem. As gas lines grew, the administration again panicked and now has proposed to put the country on a wartime footing; but for this “war” there is no victory in sight. And, as always, when the federal bureaucracy fails, all it can suggest is more of the same. This time it’s another bureau to untangle the mess made by the ones we already have.

But, this just won’t work. Solving the energy crisis will not be easy, but it can be done. First we must decide that “less” is not enough. Next we must remove government obstacles to energy production. And, we must make use of those technological advantages we still possess.

It is no program simply to say “use less energy.” Of course waste must be eliminated and efficiency promoted, but not an energy policy. At best it means we will run out of energy a little more slowly. But a day will come when the lights will dim and the wheels of industry will turn more slowly and finally stop. As President I will not endorse any course which has this as its principle objective.

We need more energy and that means diversifying our sources of supply away from the OPEC countries. Yes, it means more efficient automobiles. But it also means more exploration and development of oil and natural gas here in our own country. The only way to free ourselves from the monopoly pricing power of OPEC is to be less dependent on outside sources of fuel.

The answer obvious to anyone except those in the administration, it seems, is more domestic production of oil and gas. We must also have wider use of nuclear power within strict safety rules, of course. There must be more spending by the energy industries on research and development of substitutes for fossil fuels.

In years to come solar energy may provide much of the answer but for the next two or three decades we must do such things as master the chemistry of coal. Putting the market system to work for these objectives is an essential first step for their achievement. Additional multi-billion dollar federal bureaus and programs are not the answer.

In recent weeks there has been much talk about “excess” oil company profits. I don’t believe we’ve been given all the information we need to make a judgement about this. We should have that information. Government exists to protect us from each other. It is not government’s function to allocate fuel or impose unnecessary restrictions on the marketplace. It is government’s function to determine whether we are being unfairly exploited and if so to take immediate and appropriate action. As President I would do exactly that.

On the foreign front, the decade of the 1980’s will place severe pressures upon the United States and its allies. We can expect to be tested in ways calculated to try our patience, to confound our resolve and to erode our belief in ourselves. During a time when the Soviet Union may enjoy nuclear superiority over this country, we must never waiver in our commitment to our allies nor accept any negotiation which is not clearly in the national interest. We must judge carefully. Though we should leave no initiative untried in our pursuit of peace, we must be clear voiced in our resolve to resist any unpeaceful act wherever it may occur. Negotiations with the Soviet Union must never become appeasement.

For the most of the last forty years, we have been preoccupied with the global struggle – the competition – with the Soviet Union and with our responsibilities to our allies. But too often in recent times we have just drifted along with events, responding as if we thought of ourselves as a nation in decline. To our allies we seem to appear to be a nation unable to make decisions in its own interests, let alone in the common interest. Since the Second World War we have spent large amounts of money and much of our time protecting and defending freedom all over the world. We must continue this, for if we do not accept the responsibilities of leadership, who will? And if no one will, how will we survive?

The 1970’s have taught us the foolhardiness of not having a long-range diplomatic strategy of our own. The world has become a place where, in order to survive, our country needs more than just allies – it needs real friends. Yet, in recent times we often seem not to have recognized who our friends are. This must change. It is now time to take stock of our own house and to resupply its strength.

Part of that process involves taking stock of our relationship with Puerto Rico. I favor statehood for Puerto Rico and if the people of Puerto Rico vote for statehood in their coming referendum I would, as President, initiate the enabling legislation to make this a reality.

We live on a continent whose three countries possess the assets to make it the strongest, most prosperous and self-sufficient area on earth. Within the borders of this North American continent are the food, resources, technology and undeveloped territory which, properly managed, could dramatically improve the quality of life of all its inhabitants.

It is no accident that this unmatched potential for progress and prosperity exists in three countries with such long-standing heritages of free government. A developing closeness among Canada, Mexico and the United States – a North American accord – would permit achievement of that potential in each country beyond that which I believe any of them – strong as they are – could accomplish in the absence of such cooperation. In fact, the key to our own future security may lie in both Mexico and Canada becoming much stronger countries than they are today.

No one can say at this point what form future cooperation among our three countries will take. But if I am elected President, I would be willing to invite each of our neighbors to send a special representative to our government to sit in on high level planning sessions with us, as partners, mutually concerned about the future of our Continent. First, I would immediately seek the views and ideas of Canadian and Mexican leaders on this issue, and work tirelessly with them to develop closer ties among our peoples. It is time we stopped thinking of our nearest neighbors as foreigners.

By developing methods of working closely together, we will lay the foundations for future cooperation on a broader and more significant scale. We will also put to rest any doubts of those cynical enough to believe that the United States would seek to dominate any relationship among our three countries, or foolish enough to think that the governments and peoples of Canada and Mexico would ever permit such domination to occur. I, for one, am confident that we can show the world by example that the nations of North America are ready, within the context of an unswerving commitment to freedom, to seek new forms of accommodation to meet a changing world. A developing closeness between the United States, Canada and Mexico would serve notice on friend and foe alike that we were prepared for a long haul, looking outward again and confident our of future; that together we are going to create jobs, to generate new fortunes of wealth for many and provide a legacy for the children of each of our countries.

Two hundred years ago we taught the world that a new form of government, created out of the genius of man to cope with his circumstances, could succeed in bringing a measure of quality to human life previously thought impossible.

Now let us work toward the goal of using the assets of this continent, its resources, technology and foodstuffs in the most efficient ways possible for the common good of all its people. It may take the next 100 years but we can dare to dream that at some future date a map of the world might show the North American continent as one in which the peoples and commerce of its three strong countries flow more freely across their present borders than they do today.

In recent months leaders in our government have told us that, we, the people, have lost confidence in ourselves; that we must regain the spirit and our will to achieve our national goals. Well, it is true there is a lack of confidence, an unease with things the way they are. But the confidence we have lost is confidence in our government’s policies. Our unease can almost be called bewilderment at how our defense strength has deteriorated. The great productivity of our industry is now surpassed by virtually all the major nations who compete with us for world markets. And, our currency is no longer the stable measure of value it once was.

But there remains the greatness of our people, our capacity for dreaming up fantastic deeds and bringing them off to the surprise of an unbelieving world. When Washington’s men were freezing at Valley Forge, Tom Paine told his fellow Americans: “We have it in our power to begin the world over again.” We still have that power.

We—today’s living Americans—have in our lifetime fought harder, paid a higher price for freedom and done more to advance the dignity of man than any people who ever lived on this earth. The citizens of this great nation want leadership—yes—but not a “man on a white horse” demanding obedience to his commands. They want someone who believes they can “begin the world over again.” A leader who will unleash their great strength and remove the roadblocks government has put in their way. I want to do that more than anything I’ve ever wanted. And it’s something that I believe with God’s help I can do.

I believe this nation hungers for a spiritual revival; hungers to once again see honor placed above political expediency; to see government once again the protector of our liberties, not the distributor of gifts and privilege. Government should uphold and not undermine those institutions which are custodians of the very values upon which civilization is founded—religion, education and, above all, family. Government cannot be clergyman, teacher and parent. It is our servant, beholden to us.

We who are privileged to be Americans have had a rendezvous with destiny since the moment in 1630 when John Winthrop, standing on the deck of the tiny Arbella off the coast of Massachusetts, told the little band of pilgrims, “We shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us so that if we shall deal falsely with our God in this work we have undertaken and so cause Him to withdraw His present help from us, we shall be made a story and a byword throughout the world.”

A troubled and afflicted mankind looks to us, pleading for us to keep our rendezvous with destiny; that we will uphold the principles of self-reliance, self-discipline, morality, and—above all—responsible liberty for every individual that we will become that shining city on a hill.

I believe that you and I together can keep this rendezvous with destiny.

Thank you and good night.

~ Ronald Reagan

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Sarah Palin: Whatever It Takes to Retire the Permanent Political Class We’re Going to Do It!

By Gary P Jackson

Sarah Palin starts out her interview on Freedom Watch by saying she’s holding her political cards close to her chest. Then she takes on Juan Williams for erroneously saying she disrespected Herman Cain when interviewed by Greta Van Susteren.

Sarah also talks about the debates, their worth, and the voters’ responsibility to do their homework looking into candidates and their records. Something we advocate as well.

Sarah then talks about the role of government, and how the larger, more remote government is, the more danger to Liberty and Freedom there is. She also goes after the “permanent political class,” crony capitalism, and corporate welfare.

Sarah brings up Solyndra and calls it “crony capitalism on steroids.” Says whatever it takes to retire the permanent political class that embraces it: “We’re going to do it!”

For readers who may not know, this is how Sarah Palin won big in Alaska. She took on the massive corruption and cronyism, in both parties. She ran as a Republican, but whipped the sitting Republican governor like a rented mule. Once in office she worked day and night reforming government, and removing the incentives that made it so easy to corrupt the system.

Sarah championed legislation that made cronyism a crime.

There are many problems in our nation right now: A collapsing economy, high unemployment, energy issues, illegal immigration, just to name a few.

Once one gets past the political ideology, at the bottom of it all you will find cronyism. Some special interest group that heavily supports a political party, or individual, has spent serious bucks to make sure their position is the winning position.

From the “green” lobby, getting billions of dollars to prop up products and services that are commercially nonviable, to people like Charles Butt and Bob Perry who work to defeat any law in Texas that restricts the activities of illegal aliens, big money is everywhere in politics, in both parties, at every level.

The only way America will be saved is to get the money out of politics. To restrict the lobbyists, and take away the opportunities for cronyism to continue.

Sarah has alluded to one of the best ways to do this. Reforming the U.S. tax code will go a long way towards stopping cronyism by simply taking away deductions and loopholes. Situations within the tax laws that allow favoritism toward certain companies and individuals.

Ethics reform, as she did in Alaska, is the second way we can get this done.

The permanent political class, the Ruling Class, has harmed our nation greatly. It’s time they all go and we replace them with honorable and ethical people. We need this from the top down.

Video courtesy SarahNET

Seriously? Rick Perry: I Had to Give Illegals In-State Tuition Because of the Federal Government … or Something

There has clearly been a failure of our federal government. That’s the reason that we’re having to deal with issues like in-state tuition.

~ Rick Perry

By Gary P Jackson

Just like Barack Obama, when cornered, Rick Perry is looking to blame someone, anyone but himself for the results of his antics.

Appearing on CNBC’s Squawk Box along with Florida Governor Rick Scott Rick Perry tells the host the reason why He signed the Texas DREAM Act into law was because the federal government won’t secure the border:

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Funny, there are 50 states in our Union, and illegals have made their way to every single one. And yet, only a few states have in-state tuition for illegals. Texas was the very first. Other states have patterned their DREAM Acts off the one Rick Perry signed into law.

Perry whines about the federal government, and it’s inability to secure the border, but as Texans know, Perry has made Texas friendly to illegals. Besides these tuition discounts, illegals have gotten over $33 million in taxpayer aid for higher education.

Perry opposes E-verify, which would help identify illegals, and pretty much everything else that would help encourage illegals to leave the state.

Texans are demanding Rick Perry end his quixotic quest for the presidency, or at least suspend it for a time, and come back to Texas and deal with these issues.

Back in January, Perry declared an “emergency,” saying something had to be done about sanctuary cities. Though separate bills have passed in the House and Senate, and only need reconciliation, Perry has done absolutely nothing to make that happen.

Perry’s multi-million dollar campaign contributors all oppose banning sanctuary cities in Texas, and pretty much everything else that makes it difficult for illegals to live and work in the state. That would be bad for their businesses.

The real problem in Texas is not the federal government’s lack of immigration enforcement, it’s Rick Perry’s lack of leadership, and inability to end programs that actually entice illegals to make Texas their destination of choice.

In Texas illegals have no problem getting a job, and there are entire cities that look the other way. It’s easy for illegals in Texas to get aid and assistance. Why wouldn’t they come here?

The United States Supreme Court has forced states to educate children of illegals K-12.

Rick Perry has called his fellow Texans, and Americans “heartless” for complaining about his DREAM Act, giving in-state tuition to illegals, and yet, many Texas school districts hire bi-lingual teachers to teach children in Spanish only, rather than immerse them in English. That’s cruel.

English is the official language in Texas. It’s also the language of business worldwide. Perry claims he wants to make sure children are educated and become productive members of society.

If Perry really cared, he’d work toward making sure all of these children were fluent in English. To not do so traps them into situations where they can be exploited. I makes it almost certain they will only be able to work long hours for low wages.

If it’s “heartless” for those who want secure borders to demand we stop the incentives that bring the illegals to Texas, then it’s cruel not to make sure these children we’re educating are fluent in our language.

Here’s the bottom line. Our federal government is a mess. It has no intentions of securing the border. Neither does Rick Perry.

Perry has had numerous opportunities to put an end to policies that make Texas attractive to illegals. Rick Perry has failed to support laws that would make it almost impossible for illegals to live and work here.

Instead of using his bully pulpit to advocated for legislation that would go along way toward curing our problems with illegals, Perry has only given lip service to the issues, while signing serious incentives for illegals, like the DREAM Act, into law.

What’s pathetic is like Obama, rather than man-up, Perry wants to blame all of his failures on someone else.

Sarah Palin: Now Obama Is Blaming Europe For Everything

By Gary P Jackson

Barack Obama is incapable for taking responsibility for the results of his antics, so he finds himself compelled to blame someone, anyone else for his shortcomings.

Sarah Palin has a little something to say about this:

On Monday, during a fundraiser in California, President Obama declared that Europe’s debt problems and their inability to solve them was “scaring the world.” He went on to explain that Europeans “have not fully healed from the crisis back in 2007 and never fully dealt with the challenges that their banking system faced” and that “they’re trying to take responsible actions, but those actions haven’t been quite as quick as they need to be.”

This of course is coming from a President who has done nothing to deal with our own country’s enormous debt crisis and who is in fact eager to incur even more debt with another useless stimulus bill (now called a “jobs bill” though the last stimulus failed to produce the jobs it promised, which is perhaps why Harry Reid doesn’t seem too eager to bring this new bill to a vote despite the President’s demands to “pass this bill”). Yes, Europe has serious debt problems, but for President Obama to be lecturing our allies about not being “quite as quick” in dealing with a debt crisis is downright hypocritical.

When his all-too-common finger-pointing is directed at Republicans, President Obama’s search for a scapegoat is swallowed as merely the typical Beltway politics of our permanent political class. But pointing fingers at our allies when they are working to get their own financial house in order is counterproductive and can have a serious negative affect on our ability to lead the free world.

One German newspaper denounced the President’s comments as “overbearing, arrogant, and absurd.” Another wrote: “The gloomy state of the economy is putting a damper on Obama’s future prospects. The optimism of the past is gone, replaced by a cheap search for a scapegoat.” And still another wrote: “That’s not how friends talk to each other. That applies particularly to friends who have themselves failed to get a handle on their own, self-made crisis.”

Can we blame them for feeling this way? Keep in mind this was a President who was supposed to make the rest of the world “like” us again.

It’s about time the President showed some leadership and took responsibility rather than campaigning on blaming everyone else for the financial mess his policies have exacerbated.

Between President Obama’s hypocritical lecture poking our allies in the eye again and one Democrat governor’s call to postpone lawfully mandated elections for two years, I suppose nothing should surprise concerned Americans anymore. But that doesn’t mean we have to accept these misguided memes. 2012 can’t come soon enough.

~ Sarah Palin

As Gateway Pundit reports, the Brits aren’t all that impressed with Obama either.

Reminder: In Rick Perry’s Texas Illegals Are Awarded More Than $33.6 Million in State and Institutional Financial Aid For College

By Gary P Jackson

We’ve been hearing a lot of spin on Rick Perry’s DREAM Act, which gives in-state tutions to illegal aliens. His supporters say this only allows then a chance to go to school [at a sizable discount] and nothing more. That however, is anything but the truth.

Fact is, illegals apply for and receive millions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize their education. And, like every other hand-out, the number of illegals applying for and receiving aid is only growing.

Perry’s DREAM Act, which he says you’re “heartless” if you don’t support, is a magnet for illegals to come to Texas, and a drain on a Texas budget that is already stretched to the limit.

As long as Rick Perry supports incentives like the DREAM Act, and refuses to address the Sanctuary City issue, Texas will continue to be a magnet for illegals who want to take advantage of everything great Texas has to offer, without respecting Texas enough to do it legally.

Remember, no matter how well educated these illegals become, they still can’t work legally in the United States. We are wasting money educating people who, by law, can never be productive members of our society.

Honestly, I don’t have a problem if they want to seek higher education. What I have a problem with is taxpayers funding it. Especially when there are Texans who could use the aid but aren’t getting it.

A little flashback from The Dallas Morning News: [emphasis mine]

Number of illegal immigrants getting in-state tuition for Texas colleges rises

The number of illegal immigrant college students paying in-state tuition and receiving financial aid at Texas’ public colleges and universities continues to climb, according to state higher education records.

During the fall semester, 12,138 students – about 1 percent of all Texas college students – benefited from the state law granting in-state tuition, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Most of the immigrants among those students are illegal, and some others are not legal permanent residents or U.S. citizens.

Texas awarded about $33.6 million in state and institutional financial aid to those students between fall 2004 and summer 2008.

In 2001, Texas became the first state in the country to pass an in-state tuition law. The law created a national movement. Many private universities also now award aid to illegal immigrant students.

Now some of the students are graduating but unable to work legally as professionals. Julie, 29, who moved from Mexico to Austin at age 12, earned a degree in nursing from the University of Texas. She is unable to work, so instead she volunteers in Dallas.

“You have people here, and they’re trained,” said Julie, who did not want her last name used because of her immigration status. “The state has invested in us, so why not let us be contributing members of society and our community?”

But immigration reform has stalled. Congress has repeatedly failed to pass the Dream Act, a proposal that would put the students on a path to citizenship.

Critics question how much tuition discounts and state financial aid cost the state, especially during tough economic times. A lawsuit has been filed challenging the law.

Even so, Gov. Rick Perry supports the law aiding illegal immigrant students. In a recent debate, he said the students are on the path to citizenship. However, they actually won’t be on that path unless the Dream Act passes.

Illegal immigrants entering Texas’ higher education system are direct beneficiaries of a 1982 Supreme Court decision, Plyler vs. Doe. Parents in Tyler sued after the state began charging tuition for illegal immigrant children. The court ruled that Texas and the rest of the country must educate illegal immigrant children free of charge in public schools.

Some of the most vocal illegal immigration opponents don’t oppose the decision. But they say higher education is different, because it is tuition-based.

Suit challenges law

A lawsuit was filed in December challenging Texas’ law providing the students in-state tuition and state aid. The students are not eligible for federal aid such as Pell Grants.

Attorneys for the Immigration Reform Coalition of Texas sued the University of Houston, Houston Community College and Lone Star College systems in Harris County District Court, but the case was moved to federal court. “It’s not like we’re swimming in budget surpluses,” said attorney David Rogers. “It’s the responsibility of the government of Mexico to educate Mexican citizens.”

Read more here.

Fundraising: Mitt Romney-Barack Obama Lead All In Money From Health Insurance Lobby

By Gary P Jackson

Not a surprise. Mitt Romney and Barack Obama both created situations that can potentially be incredibly profitable to insurance providers. Forcing people to buy insurance, with the government picking up the tab for those who can’t afford it, means big bucks for the providers.

The campaign cash will flow to candidates who the insurance lobby knows won’t upset the apple cart.

Crony capitalism.

From Open Secrets:

As of June 30, the date of the most recent campaign finance reports, Romney edges out Obama in terms of money raised, $43,750 versus $42,675, the Center’s analysis indicates.

Both men have favored health care policies that include an individual mandate for people to purchase private insurance plans. Romney did so as governor of Massachusetts, and Obama did so as part of the health care reform package he signed into law last year — a package that did not include a public insurance option to compete against private plans, as many liberals hoped it would.

Such mandates are supported by the insurance industry, which stand to benefit from increased customers as well as from government subsidies that help enroll people who could not otherwise afford insurance.

According to the report, Rick Perry’s team hasn’t filed their campaign finance reports yet, but there are strong ties between Perry and the Texas health care lobby.

Read more here.

Sarah Palin Hammers Fox For “Distortions” and “Misinformation” Praises Herman Cain

By Gary P Jackson

A rather feisty interview with Greta.

Sarah Palin hammers Fox for distorting her record, and misleading the views. She seems particularly angry that Fox has widely talked about a poll that’s highly suspect, while ignoring the Marist Poll that shows her beating Barack Obama among independent voters. In fact, doing better with indies against Obama than any other candidate. Both Sarah and Greta talk about independent voters being the key.

Though many in the media have chosen to focus on her “flavor of the month” comment, fact is Sarah had big praise for Herman Cain. She rightly points out that he resonates with voters because he talks common sense.

Lot of tea leaf reading going on right now over this interview. The “will she or won’t she” talk is in high gear. One thing people need to remember, thanks to campaign laws like McCain-Feingold, Sarah has to walk a very fine line when talking about a presidential run. Once she even kinda-sorta says something hints that she’s definitely running, all sorts of restrictions kick in.

No one knows what Sarah Palin is going to do but Sarah, and her closest advisers. That said, she is fully aware of all of the work being done nationwide on her behalf. For months Sarah has had numerous opportunities to tell these hard working organizers to stand down. Instead she has only encouraged them to keep on doing what they are doing. I can’t believe she would do that if she wasn’t going to run.

Video courtesy SarahNET

Centrism and Crony Capitalism

By Patrick S Adams

To understand why Palin must run and win, you must understand how our two party system really works.
Many have faulted the two party system for not giving voters more choices in elections. They see our parties as strictly left and right with both pulling toward the center to attract the moderate voter. It’s cynical to think that our parties will lie about who they are in order to court votes, but until we stop accepting this false premise, we are doomed to recycle it. Sarah Palin, the Tea Party and the forthcoming 2012 GOP primaries will give us a great opportunity that rarely comes along in American electoral politics.

The Republican Party has always been known as the center-right party. But, many question whether it tries to be too center and not enough right. This writer often talks about the weaknesses of leftism, but ever since Sarah Palin talked about “crony capitalism” in Iowa, it began a discussion about the weaknesses of centrism that is long overdue. If leftism is rhetorically equated with socialism, centrism has to be rhetorically equated with crony capitalism.

Picture the political spectrum as a box divided by a line down the center. This creates two boxes, liberal and conservative. We have always traditionally thought of our political divide this way. But, think again. Draw a dotted line and split the liberal and conservative boxes in half. Between those two dotted lines is centrism. It is there where crony capitalism breeds and lives. Just as much as socialists believe we need to redistribute the wealth, crony capitalist statists believes we simply need to control the wealth. Socialists take money from those who earn it and give it to those who don’t. Crony capitalists decide who gets to earn it and they take their political power cut for tapping the best pay for players with their sepulchre. Pure capitalists don’t care who gets the money as long as it’s earned.

Socialism and crony capitalism have failed. Capitalism has succeeded in the past (see Ronald Reagan, the industrial revolution and the colonial days). Only in politics do we fail to recognize what works.

Automobiles are always fitted with four tires. Doors always open after you turn the knob in one direction. Fire and heat cooks food. Capitalism always results in the best distribution of goods and services. But, political thinkers continue to try to tell us that we don’t need four tires on our political car, we can turn the knob the other direction to open the door and there is probably an alternative way to cook food. Therefore, they will tell us that capitalism either needs to be destroyed or controlled by the government. Try leaving your parking break on, pull out of your driveway and drive down the street. You’ll understand what I’m trying to say here.

We are at a unique moment in our political timeline. In the past, elections have been decided by who could best convince the people that they were most qualified to take care of them. This time around, we don’t want people “taking care of us.” We have finally discovered what was festering in our system for over a century now. Yeah, we know about the communists in the 1950’s. Yeah, we know about the European socialist style progressives of today. But we never stopped to realize that capitalism is not the problem, it’s the people who are trying to control capitalism that are the problem.

When neither political party chooses to address this fact, the people become cynical. The people know they are frustrated by a system where merit is replaced with a “it’s not what you know, but who you know” or a “you can’t beat city hall” attitude. This kills creativity. This kills entrepreneurship. It tells people to ask themselves the wrong question: “why bother.”

Governor Palin’s crusading speech against crony capitalism in Iowa tells us we can change this. Should she run, she would be uniquely situated to move the Republican Party in a direction that would give voters hope and optimism again. Voters would be able to finally have a choice between voting for a meritocracy or an aristocracy. This is a choice they have never had before in their lifetimes.

There is a key line in the movie Rango. “Control the water and you control everything.” Think how the regulatory environment works. Think our oil and gas development industry. Think ANWAR. Think shale. Think off shore drilling here folks.

If you know the movie, the snake is the snake of crony capitalism. The snake controlled the mayor who controlled the town of Dirt.

We need a bold leader right now. We don’t need to play it safe. This is our opportunity, as Obama plummets like a stone, to put someone who can be effective in there. It’s more than just anybody but Obama.

Rush Limbaugh explains why centrism is not the way to go:

We’ve already gone the centrist route. The Republican establishment tries that every cycle. They try to give us a Bob Dole, God bless him, I know him, he’s a nice guy, but McCain, same thing. Nothing’s changed. The Republican establishment, which is now trying to deny that they exist, by the way. There is no Republican establishment. This is a little Inside Baseball. They’re trying to co-opt the word conservative. The Republican establishment wants you to think that they are conservatism today, and of course they’re not. The reason these people tout Romney and they follow it up, “Yeah, Romney can win.” Why? “Well, you know, centrist, he’s not extreme and this sort of thing.” And I’m telling you, folks, those are the people that have the greatest likelihood of losing.

I’m telling you, this country does not want from the Republican Party a centrist or a moderate or anybody that is looked upon favorably by that group of people. This is a time and a place that calls for unabashed, unapologetic conservatism. And if such a candidate wins the nomination, this candidate could win the general election in a landslide. The Tea Party is portrayed by both the Republican and Democrat establishments in Washington as kind of fringe right wing. If you wanted to say that there is a centrist position in American politics today, and by that I mean a majority position, the Tea Party is it. Tea Party conservatism is the majority position in America in terms of reflecting not only the way people live their lives, but the way they think.

It’s hard for people to believe this if their primary exposure to media is with the three networks, either news or their primetime entertainment offerings. The pop culture and the news culture is dominated by liberals and it makes it look like that’s what the whole country is, but it isn’t. And we talk about this a lot. It’s an effort to stay confident, even in circumstances like this. But if there was ever a time to be confident, this is it. The challenge remains, though, nevertheless, nothing in the Republican Party is different today than it was in ’76 or 1980. A conservative nominee is considered a threat to the Republican establishment, must be done away with.

I saw, what was it, the days run together, might have been Friday, the day that I was out.

Ken Langone, one of the cofounders of Home Depot with Arthur Blank, who is the owner of the Atlanta Falcons. Ken Langone is lining up donors to do everything he can to influence Chris Christie to get in the race. Now, Langone is a great guy, you’d like him, he’s a take no prisoners Republican. But he’s not a conservative Republican, although he probably thinks he is. I ran into him when I was not endorsing anybody back in ’08, I ran into him at a golf club clubhouse. And he came up, “Look, you are gonna get on the McCain bandwagon, I mean we’re gonna need you. You are gonna be there, aren’t you?” I said, “I don’t know, certainly not in the primaries.”

I remember I had gone out to Palm Springs and I was asked to address a group out there. One of McCain’s chief money guys was in the audience, and I launched. I said this is not how we’re gonna beat Barack Obama, trying to make excuses for ourselves and go moderate, go centrist, go tippy toe, like we have something to excuse ourselves for or to apologize for. The Tea Party now represents the majority of thought. But it’s like every other similar circumstance in the Republican Party. Reagan, just for the simplicity here of explanation, Reagan was the equivalent of the Tea Party in ’76 and ’80. And the Republican establishment was as lined up against him then as they are against the Tea Party today.

The Republican establishment, which they hate being called that, by the way. I’m since learning this. They hate being called the Republican establishment. That’s why they’re trying to co-opt the term conservative. But regardless, there is an effort underway here to get Christie in this. I don’t know where his thinking is, I don’t know if he’s changed his mind from what he’s said all along, that he’s not ready, he doesn’t think he’s quite qualified yet and all that. He might be looking at the Perry situation. Perry got in late compared to others, and he might be saying, “Yeah, it’s getting a little late. Maybe I’ll wait.” I think there are other reasons if Christie doesn’t get in, there are other reasons why he won’t. But even within the establishment side the fact that there is now an effort being made to get Christie in this means there’s some nervousness about Romney in terms of his being able to win. And it’s I think justifiable.

We’ve done the centrist route. We’ve gone the moderate way. We’ve gone with the guy who could cross the aisle and work with the other side. It is never gonna win, particularly now. Boldness, fearlessness, while at the same time being filled with optimism and good cheer, that’s what’s called for right now.

More Americans… See, the one thing the Republican establishment does not get, and I don’t even think they think it: I don’t think they think the country’s threatened. They don’t think they look at it nearly the way you and I do in terms of the future for your children or grandchildren. The fact is you know, for example, that your grandchildren’s lifetime income has been spent — not just what they would be taxed. Your grandchildren’s lifetime income has been spent the last two and a half years with the debt that this country is in; and you know that it’s going to get almost insurmountably worse if Obamacare is fully implemented.

The Republican establishment is not of that mind. It’s, “Meh, government’s always there, it’s always going to be big, and we want our turn to run it. We’re not interested in making it smaller. We’ll talk about it getting smaller on the margins but we’re not really interested in making it smaller. We’re interested in running it. We’re interested in having control of it, power over it, being in charge of it. We want to be the ones that can buy votes! We want to be the ones that can buy elections,” and they trade off with the Democrats — and that’s every four years, sometimes every eight years — whereas we are not interested in the seesaw of politics.

Sarah Palin is the solution to this problem. We are not looking to elect another Republican just so we can get rid of the socialism. We need to elect someone who can renew and restore our country. Going back to the way it was before Obama is like cutting the lawn without putting weed killer down. It may start out looking good again, but the cycle continues. We must end that cycle and put this country back into the hands of the people.

-Listen to Patrick’s World USA tonight on Blogtalk Radio at 11pm Et 10pm CT 8pm PT.

Being A State Legislator Means BIG BUCKS at Retirement

By Gary P Jackson

The Des Moines Register has an article today that looks at the perks one can get by being a state legislator. It should get you’re blood boiling on a Tuesday afternoon!

Being a Texan, this blew me away:

Texas pension calculations stray even further from reality. Lawmakers there haven’t raised their pay since 1975. They convene every other year and get a $7,200 annual salary. But because of a law they passed in 1981, their pension is based on whatever the lawmakers decide to pay Texas trial judges.

Since 1981, Texas lawmakers have nearly tripled a judge’s salary — and, by extension, their own pensions — raising the pay from $42,500 to $125,000.

Legislators also removed a sentence that limited their pensions to 60% of a judge’s salary. Now, the pensions can equal 100% of a judge’s salary.

The changes mean that state Rep. Tom Craddick, a Republican who took office in 1969, is guaranteed a $125,000 pension — more than 17 times his $7,200 salary. Another 58 state lawmakers are guaranteed pensions of more than $40,000, USA TODAY found.

“That’s just the way the system is,” says Craddick, who owns Craddick Properties, an investment business.

‘It’s hard … to raise your own salary’

No one in 2011 should be in office since 1969. NO ONE. Craddick’s “that’s just the way the system is” comment is why no one should be allowed to stay in office for 42 years. Serving the people should be considered a privilege.

Pay the lawmakers a decent wage while they serve. This is not supposed to be a lifetime job. Why in the hell are we handing out pensions to these people in the first place?

This is yet another reason why we need term limits for all elected officials.

Read about the perks other state’s hand out here.

H/T: Tommy4USA

Texas Lt Governor David Dewhurst: Perry’s In-State Tuition For Illegals Is Wrong

By Gary P Jackson

Texas Lt Governor David Dewhurst has now weighed in on the latest Perry controversy, in-state tuition for illegal aliens. I wonder if Rick will call him “heartless” too?

From the Houston Chronicle:

DALLAS (AP) — Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst is breaking with Gov. Rick Perry by opposing in-state college tuition rates for illegal immigrants.

Dewhurst, running for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Kay Bailey Hutchison, says he understands Perry’s arguments but says his stance is all about fairness.

Dewhurst’s comments came in a taping Monday for a political show to be aired Sunday on Dallas’ WFAA-TV.

Perry, seeking the Republican presidential nomination, has been criticized by opponents in his own party for his position that children of illegal immigrants in Texas through no fault of their own should pay reduced in-state college tuition.

Dewhurst says if Americans from Louisiana or Oklahoma or New Mexico aren’t eligible for the lower tuition, it’s not fair to give the break to non-citizens.

Not sure if this is just campaign season rhetoric, as Dewhurst is running for the U.S. Senate, but this can’t be good for Perry’s already floundering campaign.

In Texas the Lt Governor is a powerful position, in many ways more powerful than the Governor’s. If this guy isn’t on your side, you know you are in trouble.

I took a look at Dewhurst’s website and he expands further on this subject here and here.