“Ronald Reagan made it cool to be a Republican – it wasn’t just his specific policies, but the timeless truths he so eloquently gave voice to upon which his policies were based. That’s the Republican Party we must re-establish. It can’t just be a business involved with the management of government. Instead, we must represent a transformative movement that speaks with empathy and compassion, but isn’t afraid of hard truths and productive debate. We must stand on timeless principles but with fresh ideas and a welcoming heart.”

Michael S. Steele
Former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland

by: Thomas Craig

So much for President Obama's bipartisan change.  In all fairness, he did show goodwill and met with the GOP to here there concerns.  I even think he honestly took into consideration many of the ideas on the Right.  Pelosi and the Democratic majority has undermined the President's gesture by practically shutting out the Republican input into this stimulus bill.  Republicans on the other hand have taken a huge gamble here by unanimously rejecting it.  They do have good cause to be skeptical though.  As we have seen with Hoover, Roosevelt, Japan, and our recent stimulus in 2008, this is historically bound to not work.  After all, the definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over again and expect a different result.  But hey, I'm truly hoping that we are wrong and this does work.  My Country still comes before my Party. 

The scary truth though, and nobody wants to admit it- especially in Washington, is that NOBODY knows if this will work or not.  We are going to spend over $1.1 TRILLION dollars on this (when interest is added in) and nobody can say if this will actually work.  It seems to me that with a gamble that large, they would have taken some extra time to truly go through this bill and take out anything that does not immediately create jobs.  If this fails, I won't be looking forward to explaing to my grandchildren why they must pay 80% of their income to taxes because we messed up big in my day and figured we should throw good money after bad.  As much as the Left is bashing the Conservative call for more tax cuts, it seems to make more sense to give money to the businesses which create and maintain jobs than to give it to someone who doesn't even pay income taxes.  I don't mean to sound harsh, but the person who makes so little he/she doesn't have to pay federal income tax would be much better helped by being given or keeping a job.  In order to do this, companies need to be able to afford to keep employees.  Of course, this here is one of the fundamental differences between the Left and the Right and the backwards thinking of the Democrats is what buys them votes.  They know as well as we do how jobs are created.  What happens if this stimulus fails?  I would say we won't have the money to spend on anything if that happens but hey, we don't have the money for this NOW!  That won't stop the Democrats from promising away the money of our future generations.

The President has quite a task ahead of him.  Today he is meeting with Republican's concerned about the stimulus price tag of almost $1 trillion.  The inclusion of pork spending plus not enough tax cuts has the GOP on edge.  Let's face it, this stimulus is going to go through whether we like it or not.  President Obama is willing to make some concessions and he has urged the Democratic majority to do so as well.  He has already convinced Pelosi to drop her contraception funding project.  I suppose she figures if she can't create new jobs, she can at least stop the creation of new people to later find jobs for.  The President is sitting on a very high approval rating right now and that will prove to be helpful.  His real burden, however, is to get Pelosi and Reid in line.  If this stimulus is filled with ridiculous pork spending, it will be a defeat to the President and a show that he cannot rein in his party leaders.  However, if he can rid the stimulus of these expenses, it will show Washington that the President is in the driving seat.  The President is in a strong position to accomplish this.  You can not misjudge the Democratic Party leaders ambition.  They have been making it quite clear that they will not simply fall in line behind the President.  This is the President's first challenge.  The GOP will be watching carefully as we must do.

In regards to the stimulus itself, President Obama needs to consider the consequences of his actions.  The American People have been quite generous with our money without even having a say.  Our Representatives are writing checks which our children and grandchildren will be paying for.  Of course something must be done and must be done soon.  When this stimulus passes, there will be an uptick in the economy.  If the uptick is sustained and proven to be successful, it will cement the President's legendary status in the minds of Americans and a grateful Nation will most likely reward him with a re-election in four years.  (Of course a lot could happen in four years).  There is, however, a possibility that the uptick will be just that, a temporary uptick, and the spending of nearly $1 TRILLION will not have saved the economy.  If the economy falls to be worse off than it currently is after spending the money, there will be political and I strongly believe social unrest.  I do not think it would be that far-fetched to see a small California town collectively not paying taxes in protest, led by their local government.  Such a move would get so much media attention that the idea would spread to other towns.  Nobody wishes to see this happen but it is understandable if it did.  It is OUR money at risk.  I personally wish Congress would listen to the numerous Economists who insist that the current system is too flawed to endlessly go on.  Perhaps the time is now to consider a Progressive Consumption Tax instead of the current system.  A PCT mixed with a free and transparent market would, in my belief, be the most succesful and truely capitalistic method to addressing our problems.  We will of course have to move forward with our current method of Socialism and unprecedented spending first.  I pray the President is successful because we cannot afford a second chance.  We've committed our future generations to enough.

Earlier today, President Obama outlined the beginning steps to his "Green Agenda".  As a Republican, I believe that the Government's first priority is to protect Americans and weaning us off of foreign oil is a huge step towards protecting our citizens.  It is for this reason that I applaud the President taking the first steps in doing this.  That was my first thought.  As much as I care about the Polar Bears and the icecaps melting, etc, I am just not completely sold on man-made global warming yet- irregardless of Al Gore's nifty slideshows.  Freeing us from foreign oil though, thats a ship I'll get on. (Don't worry Al, a sailboat, not a diesel.) 

The next thought that went through my mind though was a relief that I don't work in the auto industry.  President Obama's agenda is of course a long-term goal.  He failed to mention the short-term effects this will create.  The struggling auto industry is ill-equipped to handle these new regulations right now.  They will make it happen, but the cost of doing so will be passed on to us in the form of higher prices and more bailout money.  These new requirements will be difficult enough for the car manufacturers.  The President will now push for the State's rights to increase their auto emission standards.  I understand and agree with the mentality of "if not now, when" but setting new Federal requirements for a beaten down industry is more than sufficient for the time being.  Let's not sweep the crutches out from under their arms now by insisting on too much too soon.

I know the media is upset over the fact that Caroline Kennedy simply released a one line statement regarding her withdrawal as a candidate for New York Senator.  I for one believe it is to be expected.  Here is a woman who has never been elected to any public office, lacks the experience to serve in the Senate, and has proven to be so inarticulate that she could not convey one solid reason for the people of New York to support her.  Caroline, along with the rest of the Kennedy crew, actually believed that she should be appointed Senator merely because of her name.  Former Mayor Ed Koch went on television with his support and actually said "Think of the genetics!".  Is this what America has come to?  I would expect Germany circa 1930's-1940's to appoint leaders based on "genetics" but not the United States in 2009.  I did not get the memo that we are going to turn our back on over 200 years of history, and establish a royal family of America regardless of how much people like the Kennedys.  I recall a pundit also having the nerve to compare Caroline Kennedy with John Quincy Adams.  What drove me nuts was that NOBODY contradicted him.  John Quincy Adams was ELECTED to be President and later became a Senator.  Although I'm sure his name helped, he campaigned for the positions and was elected.  Let us not forget the fact that he had been playing active role's in our early government since he was a boy.  His credentials were significantly more impressive than Caroline's achievement of writing a book.

It is her royal attitude which made her believe she has a right to be the NY Junior Senator and it is that same royal attitude which makes her believe that she owes the people of New York no explanation to why she has withdrawn her name.  How dare the media expect her to lower herself so much as to speak to the commoners. 

On Tuesday, January 20th, 2009, I witnessed the first coronation in American history.  The grand events, multiple concerts, parades, and the addition of an adoring and ultra biased media go against everything the Founding Fathers stood for.  The Presidential Inauguration was intentionally planned to NOT look like a coronation of royalty.  Let us not forget that prior to the first inauguration, we had just fought and won a war waged against an oppressive King.  The idea that ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL was a bold and drastic change from the established society of British Class.  As much as America loved George Washington, they did not wish to trade one King for another.  This is American.  This is Democracy.  On January 20th, 2009, I believe the Founding Fathers closed their eyes in disgust. 

What is done is done though.  Let us move on and remind those who are blissfully blinded that President Obama WAS in fact elected, and that he was elected by only 52%.  This means that 48% did NOT vote for him.  I don't remind you of this to belittle the President or his achievement, but to remind you that he must listen to the opposition and listen to the 48% of the country who were looking for a plan more detailed than "HOPE".  Hope is great but it is not a policy.  It will not fix the economy and it will not protect us from terrorists.

This is the beginning of American Tusk!  It is a site dedicated to the love and pride of the greatest nation on Earth- The United States of America!

On Tuesday, January 20th, President Barack Obama took the oath for our highest office.  In the days that followed, it has become apparent that our Executive and Legislative branches have the intent to drastically "change" our Nation.  It is up to us, True Americans, to carefully watch our Government and prevent them from bankrupting, destroying, or changing our Country to a Socialist regime.  Please email me your thoughts and concerns. 

Many of our fellow citizens, including myself, are rightfully proud of the historic nature and significance of electing an African-American to the Office of President.  We must now move beyond that and require, better yet demand, that our Representatives work in the interest of the People, not themselves!