by Thomas Craig

"I have the right to... have a home, have a car, have money given to me for retirement, have all my bills paid, have cable, have welfare, have everything and anything that somebody else has worked hard for."  Well I'm sorry but you really DON'T!  You certainly have rights.  You have the rights to Life, Liberty, and the PURSUIT of Happiness.  Hmm, that one word is pretty sneaky.  You have to admit, the words Life, Liberty, and Happiness are all inspirational and strong.  The Founding Fathers knew something about these ideals.  They had fought a bloody war of rebellion against their government, just to achieve them.  However, the Founding Fathers were not stupid.  They realized, as Thomas Jefferson so eloquently put it, "A Government big enough to give you everything you want, is big enough to take away everything you have."  In their wisdom, they opted to modify what was never a realistic ability for them to grant which is assuring happiness.  Instead, they guaranteed every American the right to pursue their own happiness, whatever you deem that to be, as long as it does not interfere with anothers rights. 

Americans need to get over this "entitlement" issue.  You do not have a right to own a home.  In fact, most people probably should not take on that responsibility. (Most likely myself included)  We have backed ourselves into a dark corner where we cannot withdraw all the "blessings" which our Government has given us.  These blessings, all too often, are mismanaged and poorly ran by our Leaders.  You want to keep more in your paycheck?  Sorry, we need to pay an endless and ever-growing commitment of Social Security payments.  Did we mention that it's broke and you will spend your life trying to replenish it?  You want universal healthcare?  Well, after the great job the Government did with Medicare and Medicaid, you think they will do much better when it comes to your child's fever or your Mother's chemotherapy?  Is this really what you want?  You want the Government, who has their Treasury overseen by a man who could not do his own taxes, running every aspect of your life?  If you do, then you need to think deeply about the history and founding of this Nation.

I'm sorry but you are not entitled to my wallet.  That job has already been claimed by my Wife and even she prefers to use her own money before mine.  This problem is only going to get worse as the generation currently in College and younger believe that they deserve everything and anything, caused by a generation of Parents who catered to their every whim and did not think to encourage work ethic.  Generation X was filled with wannabe musicians, actors, and filmmakers who imagined working hard at their craft and hitting it big.  This is now replaced with a generation of Paris Hiltons who don't want to accomplish anything other than having a camera follow them around as they brush their teeth and make sex videos, mistaking both of them as acheivements.  To those who take the stability and strength of America for granted, it is time to wake up.

by Thomas Craig

Last night I attended a Young Republicans meeting and of course the discussion revolved around politics.  I soon found myself engaged in a conversation, not about specific policies or complaints about Pres. Obama,  but why so many people who claim to not know much about politics identify themselves as Democrats.  Obviously there were plenty of statements along the lines of just writing them off to being stupid.  I would not go so far as to call them stupid, but certainly ignorant of the issues.  To several people's amazement, however, I was in fact defending these ignorant liberals or "ignor-iberals" as I call them.  You see, Thomas Jefferson put it best when he said "He who would steal from Peter to pay Paul, will always have the support of Paul."  That in a nutshell is the problem with "ignor-iberals".  When you take someone who is politically ignorant, and you boil down the issues into a ridiculously childish premise, you walk away with a simple statement.  "Democrats want to take money from greedy corporations and heartless rich people, and they want to give that money to you."  Wow, what a tremendous theory!  I can completely understand why so many people are for that.  Who wouldn't want free money?  In our group was a young lady who admitted that she was in fact an "ignor-iberal" (she didn't put it like that though).  She confessed to us that she has in fact always referred to herself as a Democrat or at best an Independent (she was there with her Republican friend).  Several people began lecturing and belittling her on her statements.  Is that how we are going to educate people?  I'm sure all that was going through her mind was a confirmation of the ugly reputations of the greedy and heartless Republican.  I approached her and was as kind as could be.  Perhaps nobody ever took the time to break down some of the issues with her and listen to her questions (not even her Republican friend who she was there with).  I carefully explained the fundamentals of trickle down economics to her and she listened intently.  When I finished, her exact words were, "I actually never saw it that way."  She was not stupid and just like most people, when they are presented with an argument based on logic and reason, they are open to it.  Will I see her at the next Young Republican meeting?  Who knows?  At least I contributed a small part to opening her eyes about the Country she lives in.  Now, imagine if all of us did the same when we meet "ignor-iberals".  What a Party we would have!    

by Thomas Craig

Alright, I'll admit it.  I took the bait.  I previously wrote about the ridiculous Limbaugh/Steele feud and continued the discussion.  I honestly could not anticipate how such a silly and meaningless story has been the focal point of the media for days now.  Republicans don't seem to see this "feud" as a big deal.  I couldn't help but wonder why I was hearing so much about Rush Limbaugh and so little about the thousands and thousands of earmarks that are trying to be pushed through as Congress moves forward with the budget.  It finally clicked with me when I was watching the news and they mentioned Terry McAuliffe (Democratic Consultant) was demanding the GOP reject Rush Limbaugh's statements.  You see, when you are trying to spend as much money as possible, and you don't want people to realize that it is their money that is being spent, you need to distract them.  Now I'm not saying that the Democrats planned this feud or that there is some complex conspiracy going on.  Quite frankly, I don't think the Democrats are smart enough to plan this.  I do think that the story has been exaggerated and amplified by the Democrats.  The Republicans, if not distracted by this ongoing defense of who our Leader is, would be front and center in the argument against all the earmarks and wasteful spending.  The Dems have done their job which is distracting us while they pick our pockets.   Now, instead of doing our job, we are wasting time and energy by playing along with this idiocy.  Rush needs to retreat back to his studio and Steele needs to stop addressing this.  The media will follow suit when no Republican wants to address it anymore.  Get back to work gentlemen, because there are much bigger battles to be fought.  

AmericanTusk Contributor Amile Wilson just returned from CPAC and has plenty of pictures to share. 

You can view the pictures here...
Gallery 1 & Gallery 2

by Thomas Craig

As the Republican Party continues to regroup and return to our core principles, we find ourselves in the predicament of choosing who represents our newly reformed Party.  Not too long ago, Michael Steele was chosen to head the RNC, which I think was a good choice (however, my support has begun to slide a bit).  Steele has been doing an okay job representing the GOP and communicating its message to the People.  Not good, definitely not great, but okay.  He gets points for maintaining a semi-strong presence within the media.  His rhetorical skills, however, need some improvement.  A lot of people are criticizing his pick to lead the RNC and calling it nothing more than a political ploy to make the GOP seem more "minority-friendly".  This is to be expected from the Left, because let's be honest, we would have done the same.  We need Steele to be the loudest one in the room, shouting out our message, and telling each and every American exactly why their best interests lie with the Republican Party.  Furthermore, he needs to explain why the Democrats policies will harm John and Jane Doe.  Spreading the wealth sounds great to those who are receiving the wealth, but it does not CREATE wealth and jobs.  In the absence of this message being shouted from the rooftops, the People will listen to the loudest voice in the room which at the moment is good ol' Rush Limbaugh.  There is some internal conflict at the moment between Steele and Limbaugh regarding who runs the Party.  I don't blame Rush.  If the People cannot clearly have access to Steele and the RNC along with their positions, they will turn to media figures such as Rush who at times do not have the interests of expanding the Party as much as catering to those who are solidly Republican and form the solid right base.  If you aren't happy with the messenger, deliver the message yourself!