No Payne, No Gain

I wrote yesterday in my Bottom Up Politics blog that the government was broke.

-----link-----
http://tinyurl.com/yklbe37
---------------

I believe that, but as so often the case and due to the knowledge found in and the speed of the internet I came across the following piece in Rasmussen Reports, written by Tony Blankly. He shared some perspective on the issue.

-----link-----
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/political_commentary/commentary_by_tony_blankley/is_our_government_really_broken
---------------

Mr. Blankly was entirely right; the government is not broken. It is however being pushed to the breaking point by the overreaching of the Executive Branch. I also agree that if the people put in power a Party in the Congress with a clear mandate and they fail to act then a crisis is at hand.

I might add that if they do act by passing legislation and the bill cannot get carried out by the bureaucracy which I feel more likely, then a crisis is at hand.

Hopefully neither of those will happen. The voice of an active majority is still important to elected officials. The question will be how we cut back enough to really stop the problem. Programs will be bleeding arterially, bureaucrats from the Townships on up to the Fed will be screaming in pain.

At all levels are politicians who are running things used to basically letting the bureaucracy get its way. At the county level, for example they are not used to saying no to the unions, the planning boards and the various departments providing services. If we demand of them that they do, we have to stand ready at their back to give them the political cover they need.

To prevent the type of remedy Mr. Blankly tells us has happened in the past. (Civil War) there will have to be a huge common will and the people behind it who are willing to sacrifice and the politicians with the sac, brains and desire to put a real plan together. There will have to be alternatives for the programs that will be cut. The people of this country as before will have to step up and in, to fill the void.

We live in interesting times as someone in our past who had the sac, brains and desire once said and I paraphrase, we may be entering the “Times that try men’s souls”.

Thomas Payne the “blogger extraordinaire” of the 1700s hopefully would have felt at home here today and in the 2010s.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative
……………………………..

2+2=4

2+2=4

Newt Gingrich explains his new slogan 2+2=4 at the recent CPAC. The slogan was used by the Polish dissidents of Soviet rule in their country. By putting this slogan on paper and up in stores restaurants and on signs, the Polish people were stating what was so obviously true that the authorities couldn’t do anything about it. It became a symbol of all the other obvious truths that if put to paper would be called treason by the Polish Government.

But 2+2 does equal 4 and people will not argue about that.

Below is a link to Newt’s CPAC speech, it is long and may take some time to load depending on you internet connection.

-----link-----
http://newt.org/MediaCenter/FeaturedVideo/tabid/258/Default.aspx
--------------

Newt explains the stategy for the upcoming elections. His ideas on a balanced budget amendment was well received; but his talk of saying the obvious boldly, clearly and unequivicably (2+2=4) was excellent. Corruption in bureaucracies and big unions is pandemic and we should demand its end.

The former Speaker translated this slogan into not afraid of being bold and fighting for one’s ideas in a principled responsible bipartisan way. By standing up and claiming our principles are as good as theirs.

I would add we will meet you in the middle on common ground or at the barricades.
Principled leadership as Newt suggests need to come from all levels of government from the city and county as well as the state and federal governments. All levels are permeated with corruption. Just look at the Muskegon County Treasurer’s office and the alleged fraud coming to light; how about drunk driving + felony false police report by the Drain Commissioners office from the Commissioner. Oh yeah the previous holder of that office had to deal with sexual harrasment charges.

My idea that the Tea Party is the broom that is demanding everyone be swept out who is even remotely responsible for this systemic corruption that Newt talks about unless they stand up and reaffirm that 2+2=4; and start doing something about it regardless of consequences right now.

In other words they've Had Enough The 10,000 at CPAC obviously did. The Millions around the country brewing tea have definitely had enough and don’t care much anymore if some eggs are broken making the Omelets.

Candidates beware, August is looming.

As always Newt got me fired up – because he was taking the words out of my mouth, and with them lighting a fire in my belly.

Regards, Live Dangerously Be A Conservative

PS. I’ve been reading F.A. Hayek’s “Road to Serfdom” and I really connected when Newt said of the corruption that it is the logical extension of centralized planning in the government of Great Britain, which was proof of Hayek’s principle that Central Planning inherently leads to dictatorship.

As I’ve previously blogged, this book is helping me in the constant confusion of the words socialism, conservatism and liberalism. The roots for the confusion are deep and I’m amazed finding myself a liberal in the classic sense, not the distorted socialist sense. Individual freedom being the key determinator.