Sunday, August 7, 2016

2016 Election Is Nothing New.

It's a popular premise that this election cycle and the division is at unpecidented levels. That is only because we use our own life experiences as if they are the entire scope of history. What we are seeing today is remarkably like we have seen several times before. Those who actually were involved in the campaign cycle in 1976 and 1980, the political establishment was in full war mode against Ronald Reagan and his supporters. As such we were castigated as troglodytes who the party needed to purge from their ranks. In fact in many cases it's exactly the same people saying exactly the same things about Trump and his supporters today.

However it goes back further, if you look at the 1860 election the political professionals were appalled at this classless backwoods rube who emerged as the candidate. The Ameeican people were so divided that almost half left the country and a full fledged war ensued. In the 1860 Republican Convention the favorites were Senator Henry Seward, Ohio Governor Salmon P. Chase, or St. Louis judge, Edward Bates, and Simon Cameron from Pennsylvania were all the ones being watched to emerge as the nominee when an abscure Abraham Lincoln got the nod. Lincoln brilliantly brought all the competitors into his cabinet, even though they all thought he was a fool. After some very bumpy and disloyal, even insubordinate acts by them, they eventually came to understand the merit of his leadership and together successfully steered the ship of state during our nation's most dangerous times.

If you go back to our first time where we saw duplicitous actions by party leaders against their own candidates and outright lies pushed by the opposition against a candidate was our very first contested election with John Adams seeking reelection against his Vice President Thomas Jefferson. It was one of the dirtiest elections in history. Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton formed and led the two political parties while serving as Washington's cabinet until the infighting became so severe that Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson resigned and moved back to Monticello. When Secretary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton stepped down he stacked Washington's Cabinet with his lackies who did his and his Federalist Party's bidding.

John Adams, with hopes of unity, kept Washington's Cabinet which kept Hamilton's voice loud in the chamber. Adams wouldn't give in to Hamilton and eventually fired his left over Cabinet. Hamilton set out to destroy his own Party's candidate to get back at Adams. Hamilton, long the prolific writer, he would be considered a blogger today, wrote the campaign pamphlet against his own Federalist President "Letter from Alexander Hamilton Cconcerning The Public Character Of John Adams, Esq. President Of The United States." 24th of October 1800, the first October Surprise.
Hamilton called ro question Adam's sanity, temperament his judgement his morals and his loyalty to his country.
Thomas Jefferson, who Adams and his wife Abigail had considered their best friend until they learned how politics was more dear to Jefferson than personal attachments. Jefferson hired James Callendar, who was what would be considered a yellow journalist today, to write articles to destroy the political careers of John Adams and also his political enemy Alexander Hamilton. The funniest story to go with this is that after Jefferson won, Callendar expected a job in his administration as a reward. When Jefferson cut off access to Callendar, he got his revenge by exposing the world to the story about Jefferson's sexual relationship and children with his slave Sally Hemming.

So you can see that this is nothing new in 2016. However it is much like some of the most turmultuous four election cycles in our history. We have seen that never does the current establishment power structure give in quietly.

Saturday, July 30, 2016

Okay Not Why Not Hillary But Why Trump?

Today I was asked by an old high school friend who holds opposite political views than myself, "Why should I vote for Donald Trump? Not why I should vote against Hillary, but for Trump."

Let me attempt to answer that in a way that is relevant to those who may not agree with a lot of my own political beliefs. There are going to be those things that I hold dear that she would not. So allow me some space to try to answer her question for her. I chose this forum to record it because it is highly likely that I will be asked this again.

From a position stand point I agree with most of them, but not all. There has yet to be a president in our history from Washington forward that I've agreed with all they did or believed, with the possible exception of Calvin Coolidge.

Trump plans to build the Wall and make Mexico pay for it. Of course people scoff at this but he's outlined his thoughts and plans well on his website so I won't repeat them here. This will be long enough as it is. When it comes to the wall, I am not a fan of an actual wall, I find history too often found them eventually used to hold people in rather than others out. But with that said, I agree completely with the reason for the wall and what it represents for America. A nation is not a sovereign nation without borders and means of screening those coming in and going out.
Our economy is bleeding billions upon billions of dollars supporting those who are here illegally, clogging the health services for citizens and draining the resources to educate our own citizens and more. The safety of the nation in the world of today is all the more critical to assure those coming in are not intent on destruction.

While here, the Muslim ban, is anything but what the media and the Democrats are painting it. It's simply common sense. If we are at war with Radical Islam, and we are, then it makes sense to be highly careful before allowing someone in who could be on a mission of Jihad. Many of three counties have long been primitive and corrupt but today there is near anarchy where there is no means of finding records on people who want to come in. We MUST find a way to be assured those we allow in don't kill American citizens.

U.S. Trade, while the media paints a picture of isolationist that is anything but what he is actually saying. He is saying it's time to create trade deals that are win-win or not at all. For decades our deals have been done by politicians who are clueless about world economies and business and are being undressed by other nations in these deals. We need someone who understands how to trade internationally to renegotiate these deals and we have never had a better candidate to do that than Trumo who runs a highly successful global business.

Those who claim he is a bad businessman due to four of his LLC's filing Chapter 11. Keep in mind two things, that is part of our laws to protect the overt risk of business and capital. Second that those were four strategic bankruptcies out of 550 different LLC's he owns. That is a staggering success rate.

For decades, especially over the last eight years, it has become an absolute disgrace what we have done to our military and veterans. The VA is a place of nightmares where they have even been caught delaying service until the veteran died to avoid spending the money to treat them. Our active military has been engaged in war since 2002 without relief. All the while we have cut funding, reduced force numbers and ask those in service to keep going back on tours over and over again. It has caused the highest suicide rates in history in our armed forces. Trump promises to fix it or change it. If after analysis of the VA if he believes it not fixable then he will push to allow the money we promise to care for them to be used at any hospital to get the vets the care we owe them.

Tax reform he understands why American companies are moving their jobs overseas and hoarding now about 10 trillion dollars off shore. America has the highest business tax rates in the world making them less competitive in this, the global market place. Reducing these rates will cause businesses to grow in America bring back jobs and prosperity.

Trump has promised to repeal the 29,000 new regulations on businesses imposed since Obama took office that have been the cause of the lost decade in our economy. It has crushed small businesses in favor of Wall Street, large companies don't mind because it crushes their competition who cannot afford the floors of employees who do nothing but keep them compliant.

Trump has shown clearly that he is committed to protecting the Constitution with the list of Supreme Court Justice candidates he is proposing.

Beyond all the above he is uniquely fitted for the time we find ourselves. First he is the first politician in my lifetime who will lose net worth by becoming president because his time value of money is massively better in business. He is a businessman who actually understands how to create a dollar, the only one of all that ran who have.
He is the only one who has actually created a job in his life and he has tens of thousands working for him.

Politics has long been a breeding ground for corruption and this election has shown that even more clearly. Ask those who were "Feeling the Bern" about their wake up call. This may in fact be our only chance to actually send someone who isn't bought and paid for on either side of the aisle to actually give the power back to the people instead of some sort of ongoing Hunger Games immitation where we currently find ourselves.

Sunday, May 29, 2016

What Is At Stake In November

The 2016 election is likely the single most important election since 1860 to the direction of These United States.
Two roads diverged in this race and we must take the one less traveled if we want to truly make a difference.
We have the patron saint of the establishment crony political class against someone who has never been a politician before. There are many who want to paint Trump as "the same" as Hillary due to him knowing how to navigate his business through the political elites pay to play system. But in business you must adapt to the playing field and adjust to it as it changes or you won't have a business to navigate. To me this just means he knows how the system is corrupt and it's has cost him millions to negotiate through it, who better to ferret out the mess than someone who knows it from the outside not making wealth from the inside.

This is the bottom-line. If Hillary is elected she has promised in her first 100 days to give all 20 million illegal immigrants full legal citizenship status as well as all their families not yet here effectively adding 20-50 million New Democrat voters. She has promised to double down on the Dodd-Frank and CFPB. She has promised to double down on Obamacare. She has promised to do away with the 2nd Amendment. Donald Trump has promised the exact opposite of each.

Donald Trump has released the names of eleven possible Supreme Court Justices to replace Scalia who were all recommended by The Heritage Foundation and are a wish list of Constitutional Conservatives and pro-life believers.
Hillary would appoint more of the caliber that Obama has. The next president will likely appoint 4-5 justices. If they are in that eleven we will all be rejoicing, if they are Hillary's the Constitution will be no more.

With Hillary's 20-50 million more dependent voters there will never be another Republican or conservative ever elected president again. There will never be a Constitution again, there will never be an opportunity to roll back or end abortion. If any of those things mean anything to you, then you have to pray that Donald Trump is the next president or really nothing else matters. For me, I'm fighting to save this Free Constitutional Republic by working to elect Donald Trump, then plan to use equal vigor to hold his feet to the fire to do as he has said.
If Hillary wins, my thirty seven year fight for conservative political movement will come to an end because it's over, we can never even hope to win again in the lifetimes of anyone currently breathing. I will do what I can to protect my family as best as I can in what will become The People's Republic of America.

We have one last chance. Please put down our differences and save this nation. If you have emotional issues against Trump then do as I did with Dole, McCain and Romney and hold your nose and vote against Hillary. You, your family and your county are depending upon it.

Thursday, May 26, 2016

No Matter Your Favorite We Are Watching History

When this election season began I was 100% for Scott Walker, and had been since 2012. My second choice was Bobby Jindal. For me the only intelligent choices would be someone with solid successful experience at a "C" level position either in business or with governorships. That meant that Walker, Jindal, Fiorina, Trump, Christy, Bush, Kasich were the ONLY ones qualified regardless of ideology and politics. While I align closer to Ted Cruz than any in belief systems and would vote for him over any of them as a Senator, I see him wholly unqualified and ill equipped for President at this time in his life. The same goes for Marco Rubio. They have never shown any evidence of having the required leadership skills to be President.

As to Trump, the day he threw his hat into the ring I knew, if he was serious, no one could beat him in either party due to our society's celebrity culture. He has a 98% name recognition and mostly positive in that he's a tough smart rich guy who fires people, and everyone hates politicians especially now. Further when you add that the results of a study done in 2006 where one of the questions was "Name Your State's Governor," and only 9% on average by state could do so.

I wasn't sure what I thought of Trump as president. But as I watched him being attacked financially by having one deal after another cancelled due to his involvement thus costing him hundreds of millions to his bottom-line and yet he didn't blink. I've never seen this before in my lifetime. Every other time any politician was attacked financially they bailed.

Was I actually seeing for the first time or at most the second time in my life someone who was actually following the model our founders had imagined? They never imagined career politicians who would go into politics for life as a career and to make their wealth. They envisioned that men would go into business, become wealthy, and then in the later part of their lives go do as a public service by bringing their expertise to elected position for a period without needing to be reelected to feed their families. We saw this with Reagan who made his wealth in Hollywood who late in life gave 8 years to his state and then 8 more to the nation.

If you look at our founders they more resembled Reagan and Trump than any other candidate. Washington was the wealthiest man in America. He was not always with the best cash-flow but was hugely wealthy in land. He also was the largest whisky distiller in America producing 11,000 gallons a year, one of the largest commercial fishing operations and an innovative agriculture enterprise. In fact his land speculation company was one of the main reasons that drove him to war when the King took away his company's claims to millions of acres of land he held in the Ohio territories. He was also upset with the usury charges that the English banks and merchants charged to the colonies with the blessings of the King.

John Hancock who was the wealthiest man in Massachusetts in the shipping business. He was a Tory because he had business relations where he paid off the King's men to look the other way on what came and went on his ships. Then when the King cracked down and cost him business and money he started moving away from the English, but when they took over Hancock's home to use as the English General's home and base of operations it was the final straw.

We are seeing a peaceful revolution and a one time ever chance of the people taking power back from the back room deals of the establishment political elites who are in collusion no matter what label they carry.

Monday, April 11, 2016

We Are Watching A Case Study Of Hoizontal Hostility

Every day in today's news we see the battles between Trump vs Cruz vs The Establishment Republicans playing out in front of our eyes. Likely most reading this have picked sides and are passionately defending our turf, and possibly pointing out all the monsters in the other camps. Have you ever asked yourself why is it that the two most radically opposed to business as usual in D.C. are the most passionately fighting each other? Personally I took one of those "Who's the candidate for you?" Quizzes and predictably I was 94% aligned with Ted Cruz and 91% aligned with Donald Trump and significantly less with all others down to 11% with Hillary Clinton and 8% with Bernie Sanders. I am personally in favor of Trump but it's a coin flip on policies, I hold leadership skills and experience high on my decision process, if I was voting for a Senator where ideology is my primary measure I would vote for Cruz over any who ran. To me President is a bigger more broad thought process.

What we are seeing is what Dartmouth Psycologist, Judith White calls Horizonantal Hostility, that even though they share a fundamental objective, radical groups often disparage more mainstream groups as impostors or sell outs. Sigmund Freud wrote, "It's precisely the minor differences in people who are otherwise alike that forM the basis of feeling of strangeness and hostility between them."

We notice Horizontal Hostilty everywhere. When a deaf woman won Miss America, rather than cheering her on as a trailblazer, deaf activists protested because she spoke orally rather than using sign language and "wasn't deaf enough." In a study in Greek politics it was found the members of the most Conservative party judged most harshly the most similar party even more than the most Progressive. Also the most liberal party most criticized the next most Progressive.

There is an excellent case study with the Women's Suffrage Movement started by Lucy Stanton who created the nationwide organization and was making remarkable progress until two of her lieutenants, Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cade Staton broke away and went to war with Stone for not being radical enough. Stone was aghast that Anthony attached her own movement with a racist organization led by George Frances that was working to block the black community from the right to vote. Biographers of Anthony said her radical ties set back the movement at least twenty years.

Hopefully, we who want to see change can come together rather than follow basic human nature and fight among ourselves. To me, I still see the smartest, if not most difficult path would be an alliance of Trump and Cruz. Can we focus on the real enemy is the question.