Open Letter to Texas Conservatives

“This is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.” 

I used to type this little statement over and over when I was in school learning to type. For me I had always taken it for granted. But today friends it is truer than it has ever been in our lifetimes. We are charged with electing representatives for our area to send to Washington D.C. We have the basic information. In these times what we really need to know is the character. We need people who will vote to repeal laws not write new ones. We need people who espouse and respect the U.S. Constitution. We need people who will fight the establishment leadership who are only interested in winning the next election even if it means making unprincipled exceptions against the People’s interest. I write you today to ask you to please vote in this run-off election. And when you go into that booth I want you to ask yourself one question. “Who is more likely to have the character to fight our own leadership when they attempt to usurp the U.S. Constitution?” We know what the Democrats will do my friends. Our fight is to clean out our own party and ensure that constitutional republicans make up the foundation of the GOP. Compromising with liberals who want to replace our constitution with social justice is just a slower train to Hell. We need sound leadership.

It is for these reasons that I am voting for Wes Riddle in TX CD 25. Wes was writing about the Constitution when Roger Williams was lobbying for the auto bailout. While Roger was fundraising for crony capitalists Wes was founding the Central Texas Tea Party. Wes had a distinguished military career and taught at West Point. He is a small business owner, husband, father and Patriot. I am proud to have met him in these perilous times. Make no mistake. I have told Wes to his face that if he goes to D.C. and starts compromising his principles, I will be actively campaigning against him in two years. It is the sad truth that we must watch them all very closely. And you know what, Wes agrees with me.

I will also be voting for Ted Cruz for U.S. Senate. Ted is a Tea Party favorite while Dewhurst is the establishment insider. That’s all I need to know for now. Again, we will have to watch Ted like a hawk. If he wanders off of the reservation we will primary him out of office as well. However, don’t let millions of dollars of negative advertising buy this election. The last thing we need right now is another weak kneed Republican like David Dewhurst who will water down the GOP agenda just like he helped Joe Strauss do in Texas in the last session of the legislature.This is the sad truth of these times. Trust no one. Verify everything. Watch what they do rather than listen to what they say.

Yours in Liberty,

Keith D. Rodebush

The Debate Must Change II

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It is entirely possible that President Obama is such a bad president that he can lose this election all by himself. He is indisputably the worst president in U.S. history. He may not be the most incompetent, nor may he be the most despised; but he has undoubtedly done more damage than any former resident of the office regardless of how sullied the office is after Clinton's shenanigans. Mr. Obama has increased racial tensions at a time when we were healing as a nation and beginning to come together as a people. He has done so for personal and political reasons. He has destroyed the most vibrant economy in the world. He has ignored the Constitution and piggy-backed excessive regulation, unlawful and renegade Department of Justice programs and blatant disregard for immigration law on the backs of the cowardly Republicans in Congress who are afraid that racial tensions would rise even higher should they impeach him as they should. All that being said...Mitt Romney must change the debate if he is to win the mandate that he should win in November. A mandate that he will need if he is to make the changes necessary to save this republic.

The recent SCOTUS decision on ObamaTax has introduced an interesting and perhaps fortuitous glitch into the Mitt Romney campaign. Romney could have spent the remainder of this campaign simply pointing to this failing economy and the dismal jobs outlook for most Americans and probably cruised to office. However, this spurious court decision is likely to embolden much of the core base for Obama. This has now become a referendum on government health care. Do you want free health care or not? That will be the Democrat's insincere plea to voters this November. Like it or not, there are a large bloc of voters who are susceptible to the sirens call of 'free' government 'benefits'. Additionally, Mitt Romney makes the perfect backdrop for the perpetual liberal argument that the 'rich' should pay for this 'free' healthcare. Chief Justice John Robert's incomprehensible opinion on ObamaTax has completely changed the dynamic of the November presidential election and could be the perfect platform to champion the conservative defense of Liberty over comfort; if Mitt Romney has the character and courage to profess same.

One may ask, "Okay Keith, you say that politicians don't defend Liberty enough. Specifically, what do you want them to do?" I'm glad you asked. Suppose a reporter asks Mr. Romney, "Sir, isn't it mean spirited to let people with pre-existing conditions be excluded from health care?" As things stand today, Romneys response would most likely be some wishy washy, 'we care too' and we can do 'some things' to allow them to receive care. Wrong! Dead wrong. The proper answer is, "First we must understand the difference between care and insurance. If you wrecked your car and then called an insurance agent and said that you want insurance on your car and you want it to cover the wreck you just had, he would justifiably laugh at you. That is welfare, not insurance. Secondly, what is mean spirited is to go to one American at the point of a gun and demand that they pay for another's care simply because that person allowed their insurance to lapse. Thirdly, people with pre-existing conditions can typically get insurance but have to wait for a period, sometimes a year, before being treated for that particular affliction so your question is biased."

What if they asked, "Mr. Romney isn't it immoral to allow people to suffer even if they failed to properly prepare by purchasing health insurance?" The answer is, "What is immoral is to trade your childrens freedom for your own comfort. This nation was not founded to create a central government to cure all of our daily ills. This nation was founded to protect individual liberty. By far the most moral and effective way to handle charity is at a local level by our neighbors with some county and state support if necessary. Even if I believed that the federal government should provide health care, our Constitution makes no provision for the federal government to do so. If I cannot protect the Constitution, I cannot protect your rights."

Or, "Mr. Romney what are you going to do to solve the health care crisis?" Answer, "The primary crisis in health care today is the infiltration of the federal government beyond it's enumerated powers into the health care system via Medicare and Medicaid. The trajectory of rising costs in health care can be seen side by side with the increasing insurgency of the federal government into this private industry. We will never solve the health care problems without addressing this issue. Once again we see the price that We the People pay when the federal government strays from it's enumerated powers."

Or, "Mr. Romney what are you going to do to create jobs." Answer, "The federal government doesn't create jobs, it only destroys them through taxation and regulation. Therefore, I will work to decrease these roadblocks to prosperity and allow the private sector to do what it does best, create wealth and prosperity."
"But what would you do as president to stimulate the economy, Mr. Romney?" Answer, "I would return this nation to the constitutional republic it was founded to be. Returning the federal government to it's constitutional duty and slowly repealing unconstitutional regulation and legislation would go further in stimulating our economy than anything any bureaucrat could ever dream of doing."

Or, "Isn't it your job to protect the people's right to healthcare, a job and housing?" Answer, "My most important job is to protect the People's life, liberty and property. I will not sacrifice future generations freedom for our current comfort. That would be selfish and despicable. Communities must come together and assist those that need and deserve help. County and State governments should help where needed but with as little regulation as possible. This is the dream of America. Freedom from oppressive government. Forcing people to help others is not charity it is theft."

Obviously this could go on but you should get the point. If we want to save this republic we must begin to unabashedly defend the concept that liberty is evermore important than your particular problem. We must return the assistance of deserving neighbors to private charities first and state and local governments only when unavoidable. We must repeal and abolish all unconstitutional laws and regulations. We must stand on this principle without shame or fear of reprisal from covetous enemies of individual rights. We should call selfish people selfish without flinching in the least. How dare you steal from your neighbor!

Most importantly, in the case of ObamaTax there is no better fight to have than this. Do you want to enslave your grandchildren to an all powerful government who will now have a stake in what you do in your daily lives? Your occupation, your hobby, your eating habits, your car, your boat, your house, your religion (fasting? oooh that could be unhealthy); every thing you do or own can be construed as affecting your health and therefore subject to 'penalty' to minimize the costs to government health care. New York City is the canary in the coal mine. No 32oz. Pepsi for you! No sugar for you! No salt for you! No transfats for you! No tobacco for you! Is this the America you want? Or do you want the freedom to fail? The Liberty to worship and raise your family as you see fit? The protection of individual rights over some utopian dream of collective salvation?

This is the debate that Mitt Romney has been handed on a silver platter. Does this man have the vision to realize that he could go down in history as the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln? He could be the president that turned the ship of state away from statism once and for all. He could be the man that put aside his cronies cravings for the Peoples Treasury and instead began the return of power to the rightful owners, the People and the States that by constitution allows the federal government to exist in the first place. Mitt Romney could be a historical president, lauded in text books for centuries to come; if only he had the foresight and fortitude to change the debate and return the focus to our God given rights to be left free to achieve our greatest potential without intrusive government holding us back rather than cheering us on! Oh but to have a leader like that. Oh but to have a party like that. Oh but to have a real America again! May God Bless and inspire Willard "Mitt" Romney.

by: Keith D. Rodebush

Let Freedom Ring!

 

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“As long as you have the wisdom to keep the sovereign authority of this country as the sanctuary of liberty, the sacred temple consecrated to our common faith, wherever the chosen race and sons of England worship freedom, they will turn their faces towards you. The more they multiply, the more friends you will have, the more ardently they love liberty, the more perfect will be their obedience. Slavery they can have anywhere. It is a weed that grows in every soil. They may have it from Spain, they may have it from Prussia. But until you become lost to all feeling of your true interest and your natural dignity, freedom they can have from none but you.”  Edmund Burke-Concilliation Speech, March, 22 1775. (bold emphasis mine)

This speech was given in the House of Commons by Edmund Burke to his King. I include it here for two reasons. One, to show that even those liberty minded individuals in England in the days before the Revolutionary War, were begging the King to allow the Colonies to have their freedom. And two, to show that the natural state of Man is to be free, those in England knew it also. Our acknowledgment and sense of freedom was a part of our English heritage. This is what it is all about. We toss words like liberty and freedom around these days and people hardly even listen. Worse, many will ridicule and marginalize someone who speaks thusly. This is not just sad, but dangerous. The United States of America was founded, is constitutionally bound and should forever be the beacon of freedom throughout the world.

We must return to our roots. We must instill in our children the love of liberty that birthed a nation like no other in history. A nation that went on to become the envy of the world. Indeed many of the altercations or insults from other countries are based in nothing but childish jealousy. The spirit of Man yearns to be free. In freedom we achieve our highest purpose, our greatest value, our deepest happiness. The virtuous man on bended knee gives thanks to his Lord not to government, not to charity, not to collectivist false equality, not to tyranny; but to the freedom that allows him to raise his family in the faith of his fathers, to prosper from his work and ingenuity, to acquire the wealth he alone creates and to the grace of God who despite Man’s failings saw fit to imbue him with Free Will. This is the promise of America. This is what has driven people from around the world to risk their very lives to escape totalitarian governments which would seize them and torture them if caught, just to have a glimpse of America, the shining city on a hill. This nation is the living embodiment of the promise of Almighty God.

For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” Galations 5, 14-15

We love thy neighbor by respecting his freedom. We love thy neighbor by allowing him to succeed or fail on his own terms. We love thy neighbor by helping him when he falls not by forcing him at gunpoint to help others who have failed. We love thy neighbor by allowing him to keep the fruits of HIS labor.
We do not love our neighbor by taxing his labor. We do not love our neighbor by over regulation. We do not love our neighbor by controlling what he eats, how he lives, how he loves or how he works. Those that use government to control people do not love their neighbors, they love themselves. Those that seek to take from others what they themselves could not attain are covetous. Those who seek to force others to act as they see fit do not love their neighbors. People who love themselves are of the flesh and not of the spirit. They will be damned by His word. Do not fall for the sirens call of equality in place of liberty. To do so is to sell your soul for a utopian dream of heaven on earth.

On this Independence Day my fellow Americans I beseech you. Celebrate the founding of this great nation. Rejoice in your freedom to go out among Natures beautiful and mesmerizing majesty and eat, imbibe and frolic the day away. But take a solemn moment to gather your family and friends around you and remind them that our liberty comes from God not man. That the purpose of our liberty is to allow our love for our fellow man to flourish and be manifest in our lives. That we protect our individual liberty by protecting it for our fellow man. “I will not tread on you.” We love our neighbors as ourselves by protecting their right to be free.

All that we hold dear is wholly what Marxists seek to tear asunder. We Americans seek Independence from those who falsely claim knowledge above our own. The only knowledge that we need is that we are and ought to be free. That those usurpers who would use our tolerance and the tenants of our faith against us to gain power over and rule our daily lives are not patriots, are not Americans, are not faithful servants of our God and will not join us in Heaven. Save them if you may; banish them if not!

May God Bless America. May God Bless our Founding Fathers for their foresight and wisdom. And thank God for the exhilaration of FREEDOM! 

A very happy Independence Day to all.

May you celebrate with pomp and parade, bonfires and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more.  John Adams - July 3, 1776
 

by: Keith D. Rodebush

The Debate Must Change

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The primary failing of the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) Decision on ObamaTAX last week was the absence of any recognition of individual Liberty in Chief Justice John Roberts’s incomprehensible opinion. I will not bore you with the detailed quotes from the decision, it is available here if you want to read it; but the appalling reality is that this decision tells ‘free’ American people that the United States government can do anything they want to you, regardless of the Constitutional protections we have taken for granted all our lives, simply by calling the oppressive legislation a ‘tax’. I have no proof of course, but I guarantee you that Justice Roberts spent a lot of time reading early bad SCOTUS decisions on Social Security. This is not the first terrible legal decision by SCOTUS and will not be the last. Thus the Founders warned time and again that the People are the final arbiters of constitutionality, not the courts. The debate in American politics must devolve back to the basis of our founding, or this nation will never continue to be the beacon of freedom it has been since 1776.

Sadly, there are very few people on the national scene today who appear to be intellectually prepared to make the argument for freedom. Political correctness and the Marxists brilliant misuse of the English language seems to have been successful in stymying the contemporary conservative from extolling the virtue and value of individual freedom coupled with free market capitalism that have made this nation the envy of the world. A primary characteristic required for a true Patriot is the courage of one’s convictions. One must not falter or wither at the vitriolic hatred and obfuscation that comes with encountering Marxists in public debate. In their world, one Man’s freedom is another’s oppression. Ridiculous as that is, demeaning freedom and capitalism is their strategy and they have been masters at twisting language and emotions to frame that debate. Americans must realize this as what it is, an attack on individual freedom by Marxists who want to fundamentally change America from a constitutional republic to a democratic socialist country that will then evolve into a ‘utopian’ commune. The false promise of a fair and equal society has been the tool of Marxists from the beginning. Only naiveté and the lack of an aggressive counter argument allow this narrative to survive.

The only way that this nation can possibly return to its founding principles is for one party to aggressively tout the virtue and prosperity of individual freedom protected by a Constitutional government that adheres to its enumerated powers. Presumably the Republican Party is our refuge but time will tell if they have the aforementioned courage or if another party necessarily be formed to lead the fight. This is ideological war. This is not typical retail politics; this is the battle for the soul of our nation and what it will be for future generations.

The devastating effects of recent encroachment into our daily lives by federal oppression must be called what it is, tyranny. The loss of freedom for our grandchildren must be thrown in the face of those who blindly go along with this government expansion. The despicable nature of those who would trade their children’s freedom for their own comfort must be thrown right in their face. This is no time for niceties. Enslaving your progeny is not nice. Don’t tell me about nice while you’re submitting our people to perpetual regulation and interference into our personal and religious liberty. Those that embrace such deserve nothing but contempt and everlasting status as enemies of true Americans. Make no mistake my fellow Americans, tolerance of Marxist ideology is disastrous to the American way of life and must be fought vigorously and perpetually. Collective primacy over individual liberty will destroy America; and in fact is well on its way.

Without an aggressive and principled change of the nature of political discourse in this country, our constitutional republic will not survive. Only a nation with firmly instilled knowledge of the virtue of individual freedom would have the fortitude to do what is necessary to protect it. In this case, Chief Justice John Roberts should have articles of impeachment written against him for his arrogant ignorance of the United States Constitution’s primary purpose; the protection of individual liberty against oppressive and tyrannical central government. How many of the plastic politicians now serving in Congress via our uneducated votes have the nerve and righteous confidence to demand such?

While one may argue for statesmanship or civility, aggression must be met with aggression, falsity with indignation, collectivism with liberty, emotion with intellect. The straight forward refusal to suffer fools embodied recently by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie’s news conferences is something the people are hungry for, if only our leaders will have the guts to embrace it. The longing for liberty is innate in the American public. True, an insidious infection of collectivist ideology within our public education system has recently clouded this natural instinct for freedom. However, when the true purpose of liberty, the equality of opportunity for all people free from intrusive and corrupt government to pursue personal ambition and enrich themselves and their family, is properly proffered, almost every American will cheer. Those who don’t are the enemies of freedom and should be ostracized at every opportunity.

This is America. We are free. We are righteous and virtuous. We are meant to pursue our greatest potential without the intrusion, however well-intended, of a regulatory and corrupt government. We are a nation of equal opportunity not of equal outcomes. We must be a nation with the courage to confront the evils and enslavement of collectivism without fear and cowardice. Once freedom is destroyed in America, to whom will the world turn for solace? Where will the innate rights of Man be championed if not in the United States of America? Where will freedom ring, if not here? My fellow Americans, we live in historical times. History will regard this generation as either the embodiment of the revolutionary spirit of our Founders who saved a nation from the ubiquitous insurgency of Marxist ideology, or the cowards who allowed the regression of the world’s greatest defender of liberty to the chains of socialism/communism and its inherent decomposition of freedom and ultimate chaos historically associated with all nations who have adopted its tenants. May God have mercy on the souls of the cowards who would allow this horrible tragedy to beset the American people, for their children may not be so kind.

by: Keith D. Rodebush