Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Don't Let Them Eat Cake! (Save It For Me)

Bratwurst



Kielbasa



Cheeseburgers


Deep Dish Pizza



Buffalo Wings



German Potato Salad


Twice Baked Potatoes


Snyders Potato Chips and Pretzels



Chips and Dips



Salad
 


Ice Cream

Sounds like a pretty decent Super Bowl party spread. No one should have gone home hungry, in any case.

I don’t begrudge anyone good food. My current level of rotundity testifies that I have partaken of my fair share of buffets. The problem is that this array of eats is what was served at Barack Obama’s Super Bowl party.

Now, I think the President should be able to have a party or two, and heaven knows this President has had a few parties. Nor do I think a President should not be entitled to eat tasty food. In fact, when compared to the Wagyu beef ($99-$115/lb. at Allen Bros. as of this writing) bash that the Spender-in-Chief threw to celebrate passage of the “Stimulus Bill”, this menu is downright plebian.

The problem that I have with the Obamas serving this food is that this is a White House that continues to nag us about our eating habits. Michelle Obama lobbied heavily for the Child Nutrition Act, a $4.5 billion bill that, among other things, allows the federal government to mandate ingredients in school lunches, what may be sold in school vending machines, and even whether or not bake sales will be allowed in schools. She continues to pressure restaurants to cut fat in their menus, cut out salt in food preparation, and serve apples with fast food instead of French fries. Michelle has become a reverse Marie Antoinette, exclaiming, "Don't let them eat cake!"

We can argue whether or not this should be a concern of the federal government but, if nothing else, it once again demonstrates the hypocrisy of the left and of this administration. As usual, this is an example from this administration to “Do as I say, not as I do.”

This is the same administration that believes that everyone who makes more than $200,000 a year should pay more in taxes but has a tax cheat as its Secretary of the Treasury. It is an administration that says the populace must tighten its belt, but spends at a record pace. It is an administration that tells corporations not to hold conferences in Las Vegas, but spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on lavish vacations. It is an administration that cancels the school voucher program in Washington, DC, the worst public school system in the nation, and then sends its children to exclusive private schools. It is an administration that calls its political opponents “enemies” and “hostage takers”, then says we need to tone down our rhetoric.

This is a President that, when speaking on abortions, states that, “The government should not intrude on private family matters,” yet wants to not allow me to have fries with my Happy Meal.

This administration cannot be taken seriously on anything it says. Its only driving philosophy is to exert more and more control over your life. Every decision it has made, from health care to “net neutrality” to food has this as its ultimate goal. They want to you to sacrifice for their benefit. Do you really think the Obamas are going to be subject to Obamacare?

Americans need to be aware of their eroding liberties and stand against this administration. They must pressure their elected representatives to obstruct whatever increases the power of the federal government to the detriment of individual liberty and self-determination. Today it may be trans-fats, tomorrow, who knows?

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Completing the Job

All the bell ringing and cheering you heard today was conservatives celebrating the turnover of the House of Representatives. It is a celebration well earned. Riding the enthusiasm of the grass-roots Tea Party and driven by a public that is tired of an out-of-touch, out-of-control Congress, the landslide election of last November 2 culminated in John Boehner taking the gavel of leadership from Nancy Pelosi. As one wag on Twitter said, “It will be nice to have a Speaker who won’t call us Nazis.”

There was reason to celebrate on the Senate side, also. The highly intelligent, Pat Toomey, replaces the execrable, Arlen Specter, as the Senator from Pennsylvania, thereby effecting a dramatic leap in the cumulative IQ of the upper house, even though Sens. Barbara Boxer and Debbie Stabenow continue to act as an anchor on that statistic. Probably the new Senator who caused the biggest stir, however, is Florida Senator, Marco Rubio. A young, handsome, well-spoken conservative of Cuban descent and Tea Party darling, many expect that Rubio may, one day, wind up in the Oval Office.

But while today was a day of celebration, we must keep in mind that the job is only half done. No, I’m not speaking of the 2012 elections when, hopefully, a conservative will ascend to the Presidency and, my personal project, Debbie Stabenow is returned to private life as part of a Senate take-over by Republicans. I am speaking of our duty to serve as citizen watchdogs over our government.

So far, the Republicans have said all the right things. They realize that they were not elected because everyone loves the Republican Party, but that they were elected because the people thought they might suck less than the Democrats. While that will no doubt be true, the bar is set pretty low and, frankly, past experience with the Republicans is not particularly encouraging.

Each party comes to Washington promising that, this time, things will be different. Each promises to govern responsibly, and each rapidly succumbs to the temptations of power and knuckles to the pressure of their leadership.

In no Congress in my lifetime, and possibly ever, was this more evident than in the 111th Congress. In spite of spirited confrontations in town hall meetings and polls ranging greater than 60% of the American people opposed, the Democrat controlled Congress disregarded public sentiment and rammed through the highly unpopular Health Care Affordability Act as only one of its many legislative abuses. Multiple statements by the Democratic congressional leadership and the President demonstrated the disdain held for the very people they were sent to Washington to represent.

Much of the problem with the Democrats in the 111th Congress is that they interpreted their large margin of victory with a popular mandate for their policies, rather than the response of a war-weary country and an unpopular President. The Republicans in the 112th Congress must avoid this same temptation, and it is up to those who elected them to make sure that they do.

So celebrate tonight, because the second half of the job starts tomorrow. Those of us who are conservative must remain vigilant and hold our Congress critter’s feet to the fire. We must make sure that they understand that it really can no longer be business as usual. Conservatives cannot any longer allow Republicans to get away with fiscal or legislative irresponsibility simply because they are Republicans. Our new Congress critters must understand that they represent the people and will be held accountable for their actions. If not, they should understand that they will go the way of their predecessors.

So get ready, conservatives. We’ve still got a long way to go.