The Conservative Revolution

I recently had a conversation with a good friend of mine about Barack Obama. When he told me that Obama represents “change” and a break with the past, I agreed. I said that Hillary Clinton has been around forever and people are tired of the Clintononian will to power. Many Democrats are embarrassed by their racial comments and attempts to divide minority groups against each other for their own political purposes.
But if Barack Obama is going to change things, shouldn’t we talk about the direction he will take the country if elected? Too many of his enthusiastic, young supporters have no clue what he has voted for or against during his years as a state senator in Illinois or as a United States Senator.

One of the most comprehensive websites for such voting records is OnTheIssues.org

A quick glance at this website shows us that Obama voted against banning partial birth abortion, a most gruesome procedure that is akin to infanticide. He also opposed a bill that would require parental notification for minors that get abortions across state lines.

Obama has voted YES on banning exploration for oil in Alaska. So when he talks about weaning us from our dependence on foreign oil, how serious can he be? If he doesn’t support increasing the domestic supply of oil and gas, how does he expect us to use less foreign energy and keep our own prices down?

Obama has recently been part of a growing Democrat cacophony of free trade bashing, along with Hillary Clinton. He voted against the Central American Free Trade Agreement, and has indicated he would amend the North American Free Trade Agreement. Never missing an opportunity to reward the unions, he supports doing away with secret ballots for union organizing, which would only allow more union intimidation of workers.
Obama voted YES on giving illegal aliens Social Security benefits. He also supports raising taxes on legal residents to pay for the Social Security shortfall. At the same time, he voted against stopping the raid on the Social Security Trust Fund! This means that Obama would rather raise taxes on the rest of us than make sure that the money meant for Social Security is applied to those entitled to legal Social Security benefits.

Obama has secured millions in pork barrel projects, including $3 million for Chicago Parks and $1 million to the GoGirlGO! Chicago Initiative. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. He has directed taxpayer dollars to pay for projectors at a planetarium and renovating entire buildings in his district.
Obama voted against repealing the death tax, against repealing the alternative minimum tax, supports repealing capital gains taxes, voted NO on extending the capital gains and dividend tax cuts and is rated a 100% liberal by the left-wing Citizens for Tax Justice.

I will continue to post information on Obama’s votes and public statements in the quixotic hope that at least some of his emotionally charged supporters will begin to think about what his presidency will mean for their pocketbooks, the economy as a whole, our foreign policy and our culture.

I don’t know about my fellow Texans, but I can’t wait until the Clintons leave our fine state.

CNN’s Thom Patterson writes,

Mauro’s story underscores how Sen. Clinton’s lifelong political journey has come full circle in Texas. With the March 4 primary just days away, the place where the New York senator got her first job in presidential politics may become her launching pad to the White House — or perhaps one of her final battlegrounds.

My guess is that the Clinton campaign ends in Texas. Obamamania seems to have swept through the masses and inspired young people to have the audacity to hope for change. When pressed what this means, most can’t provide an answer. Nevertheless, the Clinton machine, ostensibly steeped in experience, is having trouble convincing the voters.

Wednesday can’t come soon enough.

Today I joined a group of FreedomWorks activists for our “Take Back the Commonwealth Day” in Richmond, Virginia. We lobbied the general assembly on the budget, taxes, transparency and regulations. Below is a short video from our breakfast at Becky’s diner in downtown Richmond. We got a good reception from most of the Republican delegates and senators. Many of the staffers knew about FreedomWorks and said that they liked our work.

VIDEO HERE

Today we have lost a founder of the modern conservative movement in America. William F. Buckley, author of God and Man at Yale and founder of National Review, died in his home today in Stamford, CT.

I read this quote in George Nash’s book on the conservative intellectual movement that I think sums up Buckley’s life work. “An institution is but the lengthened shadow of a man.” Buckely was involved in the founding and/or growth of a number of important conservative institutions, including National Review, Young Americans for Freedom and the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

The New York Times has his obituary.

National Review also pays tribute here.

William F. Buckley, dead at 82. R.I.P.

The Washington Times reports today that many military leaders are concerned about the potential election of Barack Obama as president. Here is a quote from General John Keane, who was an architect of “the surge” in U.S. forces in Iraq.

“Anyone who is advocating a precipitous pullout of U.S. forces, believing this will be a catalyst for political progress, does not understand the realities of Iraq and the minds of the key political leaders,” Gen. Keane told The Washington Times. “The U.S. military presence is the glue that is holding things together in Iraq and is the fundamental reason for the recent political progress. If you remove this presence, the political leaders in Iraq will believe they are on their own and will fall prey to their own fears and paranoia. … They will bunker down and the political progress will come to a dead stop.”

Obama’s inexperience, lack of military service and tired liberal rhetoric on Iraq does not bode well in a matchup against Senator McCain. I have been reading Obama’s article in Foreign Affairs where he lays out his foreign policy views, and I must say that I am not impressed. His plan for combating al Qaeda and other Islamists? World socialism. He wants to pour billions and billions of dollars into more foreign aid for education, health care and jobs in the Arab/Muslim world. This is a fundamental misunderstanding of Islamist terrorism and I think the American people will find this to be a ridiculous position.

I am surprised to see that The Politico has covered this story about the connection between Barack Obama and a couple of domestic terrorists who set off bombs aimed at military installations throughout the country. Both Dohrn and Ayers were rewarded for their terrorism with jobs at universities. Just another example of the disgrace that our university system has become.

Obama should apologize, return the money Ayers gave him for his re-election campaign and condemn the Weathermen as the terrorist group it was.

More on Obama’s friends here.

Update: Other news outlets have picked up the story. Apparently the Clinton campaign is making this an issue. But President Clinton pardoned members of the Weathermen Underground terrorist group. Doh! Seems that both leftist candidates are friendly to extremists.

ABC News reports.

The New York Sun notes that Ayers spoke at a university recently and refused to comment about his ties to Obama.

Well, last week started out great, but then I ended coming down with the flu and then a sinus infection. It was a tough weekend, and I spent most of my time in bed trying to recover. I will be glad to get some rest this weekend.

CPAC was a lot of fun. We signed up hundreds of new members for FreedomWorks, recruited for our internship program and hung out with old friends. Leader Armey gave a good speech on the power of principle, and even took a shot at loudmouth Ann Colter. He said that her decision to campaign for Hillary Clinton against John McCain was the “dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

This week, although a bunch of folks have been slowed down by the flu, we are back in the office. Unfortunately, Jeff Flake did not get the open seat on the House Appropriations Committee, but we put up a good fight! We are planning our next move now.

It was good to see everyone at CPAC last week, and I am looking forward to working with all the students we met on our campus outreach program. If you want some more information about this, just drop me a line.

This will be a busy week for me. Today I fly to Los Angeles for Super Tuesday. Most of my attention will be on campaigning against a tax increase on the ballot there. I am also looking forward to seeing the circus surrounding Super Tuesday in L.A.

When I return on Thursday I’ll be introducing FreedomWorks Chairman Dick Armey at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. FreedomWorks will also have a table for recruiting new members and interns.

It will be interesting to see whether Senator John McCain gets a cold reception at CPAC this year. Last year he refused to attend the conference and has shown little regard for conservatives over the years.