Medved had a debate with a Liberal who reminded him that the military is a government run agency and it proves that not all government agency is wasteful or unsuccessful.

Here's the BIG difference...the military is NOT a democracy.  Now, unless, we as a society want to give up our civilian lifestyle, the success of our military cannot be used to measure the probability of creating another effective public department.

He also spoke of the fire and police department being "successful" government programs funded by the tax payer; again both agencies have a military type rank and file system where the heads of both agencies are subject to public hearings and removal that doesn't require acts of congress and long and expensive hearings.

Like it or not, the profit factor is directly responsible for cures to many of the diseases that mere decades ago were considered to be in the realm of the almighty.

Take away the money factor and you are left with professionals that have the financial ability and the desire to heal with little compensation...backed by drug companies that also has the financial ability to promote new discoveries and miracles.

We already have a shortage of medical professionals and each day, drug companies are finding their cures cost more in litigation than they could ever offer in profits to their stock holders.

I'm not sure if Liberals live in a world that is so far above reality or if they truly do not comprehend how business works.  They are like kids that keep taking support from their parents, way after they have gone to college and insist that their level of education makes them smarter than their parents.

In any event, until these "kids" grow up, we really shouldn't have them running this nation.

I agree with Michael Medved on most things. I find him to be the most practical of all the talk show hosts but he’s way off on the reaction of Independents on Joe Wilson’s outburst during Obama’s lecture to Congress.

Medved believes that Independents, by his definition pays little or no attention to politics, will be put off by the “uncivilized” accusation of Rep. Wilson that Obama was a “liar”.

First off, it there was a price to pay for disrespecting the office of the presidency, the Democrats would have never have gained Congress in 2006 and lost it in 2008 after nearly 8 years of bashing Bush. In fact, Wilson’s outburst was mild compared to the accusations hurled at the previous president.

Secondly, isn’t Medved paying attention to the heated townhall meetings? People were alot angrier than Wilson–and any denounciation of Wilson’s control is a knock on all those people who said and felt alot worst at our leaders.

Medved is fond of saying that the GOP has to learn from their mistakes.

Here’s one really good one he and his cronies should learn:

Trent Lott was crucified not for what he said but what the sanctimonous people on the Right thought he meant. They insisted on Lott living up to a standard that wasn’t just too high for any politician…it was ridiculous for most mere mortals.

You know…the 20% Independents that DECIDE elections. They say stupid things…and get real emotional…and they make some truly dumb mistakes. And whenever they hear people that is supposed to speak for the Republican party tell their politicians that there is no room for being less than perfect…they run…to the party that claims to be tolerant of sinners.

Medved wants Wilson to apologize to Congress…and go on apologizing.

Then when no Republican will take on Obama and the Dems, he will lament the lack of courage…of men and woman that got tired of having to watch their own backs.

The following post was written a couple of years ago and reprinted a few times. It is the story of how I felt on that fateful day when for one moment in time, this nation came together.

In 2001, I was a part of a group that hailed from 4 foreign countries: Canada, UK, Germany, and Australia. During our down time, most of these people would join the Americans in our group in a wonderful pastime of knocking our prospective governments, particularly the U.S.A. because she was the big guy (translation: bully) on the world stage. I paid little heed to this hobby for no other reason than it simply failed to interest me. I didn’t care what some politician did or didn’t do nor did I care with whom he/she did it. A female Secretary of State didn’t impress me one iota. And other than the cases that involved my pet issue, I really found it hard to get all worked up about anything the Supreme Court decided.

On that September morning, I was awaken by a colleague from the U.K. He advised me to turn on my t.v. His voice was solemn and almost expectant; the kind of tone people used when they expect to deal with something they really rather not.

“Is this for real?” I asked when they replayed the two towers crumbling to the ground…it looked like some kind of movie stunt.

“Yes.” he replied, again that pause, that expectant tone that said, please don’t get too emotional.

I watched for a bit, listening to the reporter. Finally, I said, “I’ve got to get dress; I’ve got a client that is intent on making my life miserable.”

“You’re going to work?” he asked incredulously, the first crack in an otherwise deliberately controlled voice.

I frowned, “Why not?”

“Well, there might be…50 thousands deaths, maybe more. YOUR people.”

“Look,” I said, getting pretty angry. I disliked it when things begin to unravel. I like knowing what’s happening and why. And failing that, the probability and the possibility of avoiding negative consequences. “Every year thousands of people die…in hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes. That’s life.”

Silence. I didn’t care. So, I can be pretty cold sometimes. Well, I wasn’t in some popularity contest. If you like what I do, you buy. If you don’t, you go elsewhere. Simple.

I live in the country and the drive to town is long and pretty hectic. Only that day, the freeway is rather empty; except at the openings to the various bases. There, long lines of cars waited to get through what was now heavily secured gates.

By the time I parked my car in the multi garage complex, I was shaking and I didn’t know why. I made my way to the front and climbed the stairs to the building where I worked. Waikiki is one of the hottest tourist attractions in the world, yet on this day, all I saw were two soldiers, perhaps National guardsmen, walking down the street carrying rifles.

I was all alone in the elevator and the ride up seemed to take forever.

My phone was ringing by the time I let myself in. I’m not sure why but I was really surprised when it turned out to be my Canadian client from h*ll. “Did you hear?” I began, then stopped. I could hear the panic in my voice. I swallowed hard and tried again. “My country was attacked.”

And just like that, with zero warning, I realized that I actually loved America. I mean sappy, this is the greatest country in the world kind of loved America. Tears were falling down my cheeks and real grief for those who had been killed began to churn in the pit of my stomach.

I remember thinking of the war stories of my elderly relatives and wondering if we too would have to blacken our windows and ration our food.

In the days that followed, strange things happened. People went to church, children prayed in school, Congress stood on the steps of the Capital and sang God Bless America.

And the courts said “so what” and “too bad” to the ACLU and all those anti-Christian groups.

Cops, Firemen, and soldiers were heroes again.

And for one shiny moment, this nation came together.

For some of us, 9/11 changed everything.

For others, 9/11 only changed … one moment.

The consequences of Hispanic bashing aka the "illegal immigrant issue" was that many Republicans felt unable to vote against Sotomayor.

The Dems literally put the GOP in a box.  No matter what was said, Republicans APPEARED racist with a no vote.

But what about Miguel Estrada? Surely HIS nomination shows Republicans have no problem with Hispanics right?  Unfortunately the American public has a notoriously short memory AND the Dems played his nomination right.

To be fair, the Republicans ALSO tried to dismiss the racial background and gender of the Sotomayor, but they were up against a long history of "progressive" vs. conservative...and the last 3 years of vitriolic ranting against the illegals to the South, not anywhere else (and sometimes not necessarily illegal, just Mexicans period.) put any opposition in the no win catagory.

Saying all of that, let me say that I am actually proud of those Republicans who DID vote "no" against Sotomayor.  Yes, I know that a good many of them voted that way to keep their conservative base happy.  Still, it takes some courage to face a battle you cannot win and take a hit for those who stupidly helped the Dems form and use the race card to include Hispanics.

If I was one of those minority senators, I would have made this little speech:

I refuse to vote for Judge Sotomayor because she is a Hispanic or because she is a woman because I am neither a racist or a sexist.  I am charged with confirming a nominee to the highest judiciary court in the nation, one whose opinions will touch the rights and lives of every American.  I vote "no" because the evidence presented to me has shown Judge Sotomayor to be a judiciary activist and I believe that confirming her would harm the constitution we have all promised to uphold.

Then I would have gone home, had a couple of drinks, and then prayed to God that the next time the Dems play the race card, it is negated by a Black president who's ratings are in the tank.

Dennis Prager asked his listeners if Hispanics believed that conservatives voted against the confirmation of Sotomayor because they were racist.  Upon learning that many Hispanics in fact, did believe the Republican party was racist, Prager first sighed and then ranted about how unfair that perception was.

A caller tried to explain that the vitriolic rhetoric about Mexican immigrants were a big part of that perception and THAT is unfair because everyone unless an American Indian was once an immigrant.

Prager of course pointed out that his ancestors and most GOP came here LEGALLY.

"But when your ancestors came here," the caller pointed out, "there was no immigration law; thus coming here was a matter of signing up.  You got here, here you were able to stay."

Prager said "Fair enough" --and ran out of time.  The next hour was his hour where people came to him to seek his wisdom in the man-woman's hour or whatever segment where Prager gets to play wise sage.

First off, I probably have one of the best medical insurance plans in the nation: generous health, vision, drug benefits with very little out of pocket deductible.  What I am about to say is from the prospective of those millions that aren't quite as fortunate.

The health care situation isn't going to go away even if the GOP ends up defeating Obama's care.

The premium on an average medical plan for a family is close to the cost of a month's rent and if any person in the family unit has a precondition, then double the cost or be denied coverage altogether.  In these days when most workers change employment every few years, this astronomical burden is frequently born by the worker.

Like it or not, government will eventually have to step in...as they do with utilities, bank savings protection, and other items deemed critical to the American way of life.

For months, 6 figure earning talk show hosts have been offering a catastrophic health protection alternative that would have huge thousand dollar deductibles.  They have no clue to the fact that for many workers, paying a thousand dollars IS catastrophic!

The poor have medicaid. 

The elderly have medicare. 

As strange as this sounds to those who cannot remember making minimum wage or working 2 jobs just to put clothes on their family's backs and gas in the car, the reality is that for many working Americans, it IS a choice between eating and paying health premiums...and the latter always loses.

In an America that is being asked by Hewitt and other "good" conservatives to help children in foreign countries...it is only a matter of time before that same America feels that charity should begin at home.

Republicans MUST address this issue and offer serious and viable solutions or it WILL be an issue that will haunt them long after the scare for social medicine has become a Hilary memory.

Not a week went by before I was defending Palin's decision to resign from the top job in Alaska. The general concession was that Palin quit because she couldn't stand "the heat".  GWB, it was noted, took the "heat" for 8 years and McCain battled the extreme Right for decades.  In fact, lately, there isn't a politician that hasn't been getting heat, the kind only made possible by the internet and blogging.

But there is a huge difference between the heat thrown on Republican politicians and those experienced by Democrats.  

And no, I'm not talking about unfair, ugly, and truly vile attacks.  Like it or not, in our world of open communication where four letter words are common in cinema and literature, very few words have the power to shock and repel the public anymore. The fact is that NOTHING said about Palin would cause most voters to decide against her. They KNOW that Palin has more executive experience than the man who won the White House and certainly uttered less embarrassing things than clueless Biden. They even know at some level that the reason that most people voted for Obama was because of the color of his skin; Black IS cool.

No, the big difference between the heat on the Left and GOP heat is this one simple but unmistakable element: Politicians on the Left fight bloggers, pundits, activists on the Right…GOP politicians fight BOTH sides.

Think about it…every negative thing said or hinted about a politician gets a career killing reaction from the Right, NOT the Left. Conservatives believe that this rush to judgment makes them morally superior. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard” they insist…like the Left who wants to hold America to a higher standard when it comes to fighting a war and thus tie the hands of our troops.

Frankly, I don’t know if Palin couldn’t stand the heat…as I told my colleagues, you’re talking to a mother and if you ask me to choose between my career or my kids, guess which one I’d choose?

I do know that the kind of heat GOP candidates are being subject to is ridiculous and must stop. Just days prior to Palin’s announcement, I had gotten into an email disagreement with some conservatives who believed it HELPED the GOP cause to go over GWB’s failings. They said that conservatives, unlike liberals, are allowed to disagree with GOP politicians. Now these same people see NO merit in people like Peggy Noonan doing the same to Palin.

I believe that they finally got it. The problem is I wonder how many more 401ks will be tanked, jobs lost, homes foreclosed, businesses boarded up before other conservative bloggers are willing to trade their egos for a united Republican party?

 

As many who has followed my blogs may know, I was a supporter of Gov. Palin months before most of America had even heard of her.

Steve of the then CampaignVictory2008 blog had asked me to take a look at a possible VP offering on the GOP ticket.  A young college kid had found her while doing research on VP picks.  Like everyone else, my initial reaction was “huh?”  And ALSO like everyone else, the more I saw and read and heard, the more I liked.

For months I kept finding more reasons to add Palin to the ticket…but truth be told, I didn’t REALLY think someone would be smart enough to actually put her there.  I mean, come on…Palin was Governor of one of the largest states in the union…she had more executive experience than any of the two candidates running in the top seat…she was famous (in Alaska) for being so tight with the tax payers’ funds that it was said that she acted as if it was her money that was being spent…she was respected by both business and unions, managing to bring prosperity for both.

On top of that she was: 1) a woman  2) gorgeous with a beautiful family.

To put her into the 2nd spot and give her national experience, setting her up for 8 years in the White House was sheer smarts…and such political acumen seemed to have left when Karl Rove and D*ck (won't allow me to spell his name which is wierd since he's a contributor writer) Morris retired.

Palin came out like the “White Queen” on the political chessboard that I had written about in my blog a year earlier, but with moves I had not foreseen.  Gone was the soccer mom that only a few people could relate to or the American Idol beauty that many would cheer (and later vote) for.  This was the old time politician that talked of good ol’ values when teachers like her parents and hard working union guys like her husband were looked up to and respected.  She painted a portrait of an America that could don Reagan’s cowboy hat and stand tall for what America represented and what America has done.

But she was fresh, TODAY’S woman…giving kudos to the feminists before her that gave one half of the population the vote and made it possible for a female to run for the highest office in the nation.  She told the woman of America that the battle begun decades earlier had one purpose…to allow woman to JOIN not supplant men in the eternal battle for a brighter future.

She gave voice to every female in America…from the stay at home moms to the diner waitress to the corporate CEO who made choices that either gave them no audience or expected too much.

She also allowed men to relax.  She was their mom, sister, wife…the woman they knew in their lives, not some hard nose elite who would cut off their arm for offering a hand and bite off their nose for ignoring their feminity.

For all of a week she was the darling of conservatives…and more importantly, Independents and cross over Democrats started taking a look at the GOP ticket.

So what happened?

The MSM went after her…but let’s get this straight, if we’re going to be honest…if Palin represents a real shot at winning in 2012, we need to take a hard look at what went wrong.

The MSM went after Palin the SAME way they went after GWB and all heavy hitting contenders.  And like with GWB, the people that was supposed to be on her side, folded.

From Peggy Noonan to Kathleen Parker and bloggers everwhere JOINED the MSM in painting Palin as a small town hick that had no business in the major leagues.

Months later, they are STILL attacking Palin and STILL conservatives are trying to argue style not substance.

I have said and I still maintain, UNTIL bloggers that claim to support the party of Republicans understand that this battle began and has to end with GWB, Palin and all GOP contenders will not stand a chance.  UNTIL bloggers and pundits start to argue issues such as the War, the Courts, the Economy…issues that GWB AND Palin IS GREAT at and stop all this rubbish about what was said or NOT, the MSM will continue to crucify and ridicule Palin and her family.

They will because it works and like all bullies, because THEY CAN.

 Imagine if you will, bringing in a contractor to maintain your data systems.  For most of the 8 years, the contractor does a good job despite having his competitor AND the contractors' employer critiquing his every effort. 

 Now, at the end of his 8 years, something goes wrong and you decide to give the competitor a chance.  The competitor rips out your entire computer system because "the other guy did such a terrible job" and the previous contractor's employer is agreeing that the guy did a terrible job and probably was doing so for the entire 8 years.  Now four years later if the system is still a mess, will you go BACK to the previous contracting company and give them another chance to send someone to mess up your system or will you look for someone else?

Libertarians aka "conservatives" are hoping to be that someone else.  That is why they have spent the last 4 years telling the American voter what lousy leaders Republicans choose.  It is why Palin never stood a chance or will stand a chance if we continue to look at who is selling the product rather than who is actually trying to undercut it.  It is why they are demanding that the only Republicans with any power join Specter and leave the party that they hope to take over like a phoenix rising from the ashes.

The biggest problem with the below list is that none of these people are salesmen. 

 It is welll known that Reagan was an ACTOR surrounded by fabulous speechwriters that rewrote his legacy AND SOLD his revised conservatism...the guy who out SPENT the Russians remember?  Who gave REAL amnesty to illegals....and a whole bunch of things that would have had him labeled a RINO today.

Obama can't speak without his teleprompter--and he doesn't write what's in it.

You can't blame Bush and McCain for being lousy salesmen but excuse Palin and Romney by saying the media did them in.  Remember the SAME Bush who won and carried a bigger Congress in 2004 is the same guy on the list of bad salesmen...should he be in BOTH lists?

The fact is Bush didn't fail any more than Palin...it is WE, those of us who CAN write and communicate that failed to push the issue.

If we had done what we had done prior to 2004 and did a counter point to every Democratic attack, the results would have been as it was in 2004...and we'd be looking at the demise of the Democrats.

One of the first things we are taught in Retail is to look at your product honestly.  If you can not sell it, then leave.  If you can, then you fight for that sale and you do so by understanding who and what is trying to undercut you.

In the case of the Republicans, it is the conservatives aka Libertarian.  And you can tell who they are when they talk about being moderate like it's a dirty word.

I'm having a big discussion about Ronald Regan not having to give up his "principles"...that he brought voters to HIS conservative values, not moved to theirs.  The fact is that the big spending, amnesty giving Reagan didn't have to give up anything to attract the American voter to his side.  He was, by today's standard, a moderate conservative.

He was, in other words, a REPUBLICAN.

It is way pass time that Republicans took back their party.  Think of this as getting rid of the sales people that want to take over and fight like you would if your company was going to lose some hot shot salespeople...like Palin...Jendal...Steele...

Because you will if you continue to expect the worker to be the salesmen too.