I had to go to my son’s high school football game last night, so I got in just in time to catch most of VP Joe Biden’s speech, and then Pres. Obama’s speech. Who would have dreamed four years ago that Joe Biden would provide a more riveting speech than Obama? Obama gave Biden his due as well, saying he was the best Vice President he could have hoped for. I suppose that makes up for the whispering behind the scenes that he should/would replace Biden with Hillary.
Pres. Obama’s speech did not have the soaring oratory of the past. In all honesty, there was no way Pres. Obama of 2012 could possibly live up to the hype and adoration of the media of 2008. The ridiculous Greek columns were no where to be seen. What we saw last night was the Obama that was unadorned by the gushing media. America now knows he is simply a man, a man who was not prepared for the enormous job of being President. Democrats still love him for believing in all the things they believe in. Clearly abortion being at the top of that list, given the speeches we have heard this week. They believe more government is a good thing. They believe over regulation will somehow make things more fair. They believe in gay marriage. They believe that illegal immigrants shouldn’t have to follow the rules and law to be able to stay in this country or take advantage of our entitlement programs. I think the crowd at the DNC were much more hyped up than the ones at the RNC because their man was as liberal and leftwing as they are. At our convention we knew that Romney was not as conservative as we are. We had nominated a man much closer to the middle. That may make convention goers less excited, but I believe it is what will help Romney win.
What struck me watching Obama’s speech is that in Obama’s mind, it’s only the government that can makes things more fair, not opportunity. We conservatives believe that it is freedom that gives everyone a chance. They believe it is government. We believe that government is there to protect our rights. They believe government’s role should be much more invasive and involved in our daily lives. Obama also carries the false notion that the choice is between big government or no government. Liberals like to pretend that Republicans just want to dismantle the whole thing. Yet, on the other hand they point out that Bush grew the government, and that it even grew under Reagan. You can’t have it both ways. Republicans really are no better at stopping the monster of government growth. They simply try to slow it. Stopping government growth is one of the main goals of the Tea Party, not the Republican party (sadly). We are at a time in history when continued spending and deficit isn’t something that we can punt to the next generation. The ugly consequences are staring us in the face. One does not have to be a mathematician to understand that a government cannot keep spending a trillion more dollars than it takes in. It is only the American people who can make our politicians do something about it. This is why we elected people like Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio. It’s past time for hard decisions.
But I digress. Pres. Obama basically said that he knows he didn’t quite get the economy moving as he promised, but just give him another chance on this “journey to hope.” The truth is most Americans have seen this journey as pretty dismal. Obama insisted that to overcome this failing economy, “It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one.” I’m thinking that businesses and the financial market won’t look to kindly upon the words, “persistent experimentation.” What we need is stability and certainty, not experimentation.
In the end, the words of Marco Rubio at the RNC convention ring true, “Our problem with President Obama isn’t that he’s a bad person. By all accounts, he too is a good husband, and a good father — and thanks to lots of practice, a pretty good golfer. Our problem is he’s a bad president.”
Pres. Obama has, and has had, a radically different vision for our country than conservatives. He once said that he carried a list of things he wanted to accomplish in his pocket, and that he had accomplished about 70% of them. We have seen the results of his accomplishments. Do we really want to see the other 30%?
It’s up to us. Thank God. It’s still up to us.
The highlight of the evening to me of course was Cardinal Dolan’s closing benediction. The Cardinal praying, “We ask your benediction on those waiting to be born, that they may be welcomed and protected,” to a crowd who believes that child deserves NO protection, was something to behold. Sadly, twitter had quite a bit of the “f’ word with the DNC hashtag coming from liberals during that prayer. They were not happy. The Cardinal also emphasized religious liberty, something the Church feels is under attack by this administration, by praying, “Renew in all our people a profound respect for religious liberty: the first, most cherished freedom bequeathed upon us at our Founding.” Read the whole prayer here.
I have to say that the conventions left me with a profound feeling of sadness. I grew up in politics. I grew up in the center of the civil rights movement. It was a heavy time filled with violence, emotion, and the pursuit of justice. There was a time when when Republicans and Democrats differed on issues, but never on founding principles. This is what is sad to me. It’s grossly understating it to say we have different visions. Not only do I not think we agree on what the future of our country should be for our children, but we disagree on the very foundation upon which this country was built. When did that happen? When did having God in a party’s platform become controversial?? What I experienced growing up in politics was so different from what I experience now. People fought for civil rights, and they understood that it was our Constitution and our founding principles that allowed us to change things for the better. Those two things were never questioned. Now, not only are they questioned, they are sometimes hated. Not only that, we disagree in a profoundly uncivil manner. Last night I was called the “c” word twice on twitter. Women are especially attacked in the political discourse. From Sarah Palin to Michelle Bachman to Michelle Obama, it goes way beyond the pale. And that goes for both sides.
When Bill Clinton said in his speech at the convention that he had never seen a President as hated as Obama, I had to wonder where he had been during the Bush years. I was shocked by the level of hate coming from liberals when I was writing during those years. Is it as bad with Obama? Sure. Sadly. But both sides have their attack dogs. Let’s not pretend that one is worse than the other.
My oldest son is a libertarian. Why? Because he sees both parties as corrupt and unacceptable. We argue about this, but I know that in many ways he is right. But we have no one to blame but ourselves. We elect them. I vote Republican because men like Marco Rubio, Allen West, Ted Cruz, Gregg Abbott, and Rick Perry, and women like Sarah Palin, Michele Bachmann, and Condi Rice, far more represent what I believe than Bill Clinton, the late Ted Kennedy, John Edwards, Barney Frank, Al Franken, Hillary Clinton, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid. It’s that simple.
The conventions showed us a stark difference. So, plant your feet on the side you believe in, and let’s get this Democracy thing going once again.
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