Barry Goldwater's 1964 Acceptance Speech

Goldwater's 1964 Acceptance Speech
The following is the text of Barry Goldwater's 1964 speech at the 28th Republican National Convention, accepting the nomination for president. Provided by the Arizona Historical Foundation

To my good friend and great Republican, Dick Nixon, and your charming wife, Pat; my running mate and that wonderful Republican who has served us well for so long, Bill Miller and his wife, Stephanie; to Thurston Morton who has done such a commendable job in chairmaning this Convention; to Mr. Herbert Hoover, who I hope is watching; and to that great American and his wife, General and Mrs. Eisenhower; to my own wife, my family, and to all of my fellow Republicans here assembled, and Americans across this great Nation.

From this moment, united and determined, we will go forward together, dedicated to the ultimate and undeniable greatness of the whole man. Together we will win.

I accept your nomination with a deep sense of humility. I accept, too, the responsibility that goes with it, and I seek your continued help and your continued guidance. My fellow Republicans, our cause is too great for any man to feel worthy of it. Our task would be too great for any man, did he not have with him the heart and the hands of this great Republican Party, and I promise you tonight that every fiber of my being is consecrated to our cause; that nothing shall be lacking from the struggle that can be brought to it by enthusiasm, by devotion, and plain hard work. In this world no person, no party can guarantee anything, but what we can do and what we shall do is to deserve victory, and victory will be ours.

The good Lord raised this mighty Republic to be a home for the brave and to flourish as the land of the free-not to stagnate in the swampland of collectivism, not to cringe before the bully of communism.

Now, my fellow Americans, the tide has been running against freedom. Our people have followed false prophets. We must, and we shall, return to proven ways-- not because they are old, but because they are true. We must, and we shall, set the tide running again in the cause of freedom. And this party, with its every action, every word, every breath, and every heartbeat, has but a single resolve, and that is freedom - freedom made orderly for this nation by our constitutional government; freedom under a government limited by laws of nature and of nature's God; freedom - balanced so that liberty lacking order will not become the slavery of the prison cell; balanced so that liberty lacking order will not become the license of the mob and of the jungle.

Now, we Americans understand freedom. We have earned it, we have lived for it, and we have died for it. This Nation and its people are freedom's model in a searching world. We can be freedom's missionaries in a doubting world. But, ladies and gentlemen, first we must renew freedom's mission in our own hearts and in our own homes.

During four futile years, the administration which we shall replace has distorted and lost that faith. It has talked and talked and talked and talked the words of freedom. Now, failures cement the wall of shame in Berlin. Failures blot the sands of shame at the Bay of Pigs. Failures mark the slow death of freedom in Laos. Failures infest the jungles of Vietnam. And failures haunt the houses of our once great alliances and undermine the greatest bulwark ever erected by free nations - the NATO community. Failures proclaim lost leadership, obscure purpose, weakening wills, and the risk of inciting our sworn enemies to new aggressions and to new excesses. Because of this administration we are tonight a world divided - we are a Nation becalmed. We have lost the brisk pace of diversity and the genius of individual creativity. We are plodding at a pace set by centralized planning, red tape, rules without responsibility, and regimentation without recourse.

Rather than useful jobs in our country, people have been offered bureaucratic "make work," rather than moral leadership, they have been given bread and circuses, spectacles, and, yes, they have even been given scandals. Tonight there is violence in our streets, corruption in our highest offices, aimlessness among our youth, anxiety among our elders and there is a virtual despair among the many who look beyond material success for the inner meaning of their lives. Where examples of morality should be set, the opposite is seen. Small men, seeking great wealth or power, have too often and too long turned even the highest levels of public service into mere personal opportunity.

Now, certainly, simple honesty is not too much to demand of men in government. We find it in most. Republicans demand it from everyone. They demand it from everyone no matter how exalted or protected his position might be. The growing menace in our country tonight, to personal safety, to life, to limb and property, in homes, in churches, on the playgrounds, and places of business, particularly in our great cities, is the mounting concern, or should be, of every thoughtful citizen in the United States.

Security from domestic violence, no less than from foreign aggression, is the most elementary and fundamental purpose of any government, and a government that cannot fulfill that purpose is one that cannot long command the loyalty of its citizens. History shows us - demonstrates that nothing - nothing prepares the way for tyranny more than the failure of public officials to keep the streets from bullies and marauders.

Now, we Republicans see all this as more, much more, than the rest: of mere political differences or mere political mistakes. We see this as the result of a fundamentally and absolutely wrong view of man, his nature and his destiny. Those who seek to live your lives for you, to take your liberties in return for relieving you of yours, those who elevate the state and downgrade the citizen must see ultimately a world in which earthly power can be substituted for divine will, and this Nation was founded upon the rejection of that notion and upon the acceptance of God as the author of freedom.

Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed. Their mistaken course stems from false notions of equality, ladies and gentlemen. Equality, rightly understood, as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences. Wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.

Fellow Republicans, it is the cause of Republicanism to resist concentrations of power, private or public, which enforce such conformity and inflict such despotism. It is the cause of Republicanism to ensure that power remains in the hands of the people. And, so help us God, that is exactly what a Republican president will do with the help of a Republican Congress.

It is further the cause of Republicanism to restore a clear understanding of the tyranny of man over man in the world at large. It is our cause to dispel the foggy thinking which avoids hard decisions in the illusion that a world of conflict will somehow mysteriously resolve itself into a world of harmony, if we just don't rock the boat or irritate the forces of aggression - and this is hogwash.

It is further the cause of Republicanism to remind ourselves, and the world, that only the strong can remain free, that only the strong can keep the peace.

Now, I needn't remind you, or my fellow Americans regardless of party, that Republicans have shouldered this hard responsibility and marched in this cause before. It was Republican leadership under Dwight Eisenhower that kept the peace, and passed along to this administration the mightiest arsenal for defense the world has ever known. And I needn't remind you that it was the strength and the unbelievable will of the Eisenhower years that kept the peace by using our strength, by using it in the Formosa Straits and in Lebanon and by showing it courageously at all times.

It was during those Republican years that the thrust of Communist imperialism was blunted. It was during those years of Republican leadership that this world moved closer, not to war, but closer to peace, than at any other time in the three decades just passed.

And I needn't remind you - but I will - that it's been during Democratic years that our strength to deter war has stood still, and even gone into a planned decline. It has been during Democratic years that we have weakly stumbled into conflict, timidly refusing to draw our own lines against aggression, deceitfully refusing to tell even our people of our full participation, and tragically, letting our finest men die on battlefields (unmarked by purpose, unmarked by pride or the prospect of victory).

Yesterday it was Korea. Tonight it is Vietnam. Make no bones of this. Don't try to sweep this under the rug. We are at war in Vietnam. And yet the President, who is Commander-in-Chief of our forces, refuses to say - refuses to say, mind you, whether or not the objective over there is victory. And his Secretary of Defense continues to mislead and misinform the American people, and enough of it has gone by.

And I needn't remind you, but I will; it has been during Democratic years that a billion persons were cast into Communist captivity and their fate cynically sealed.

Today in our beloved country we have an administration which seems eager to deal with communism in every coin known - from gold to wheat, from consulates to confidence, and even human freedom itself.

The Republican cause demands that we brand communism as a principal disturber of peace in the world today. Indeed, we should brand it as the only significant disturber of the peace, and we must make clear that until its goals of conquest are absolutely renounced and its rejections with all nations tempered, communism and the governments it now controls are enemies of every man on earth who is or wants to be free.

We here in America can keep the peace only if we remain vigilant and only if we remain strong. Only if we keep our eyes open and keep our guard up can we prevent war. And I want to make this abundantly clear - I don't intend to let peace or freedom be torn from our grasp because of lack of strength or lack of will - and that I promise you Americans.

I believe that we must look beyond the defense of freedom today to its extension tomorrow. I believe that the communism which boasts it will bury us will, instead, give way to the forces of freedom. And I can see in the distant and yet recognizable future the outlines of a world worthy our dedication, our every risk, our every effort, our every sacrifice along the way. Yes, a world that will redeem the suffering of those who will be liberated from tyranny. I can see and I suggest that all thoughtful men must contemplate the flowering of an Atlantic civilization, the whole world of Europe unified and free, trading openly across its borders, communicating openly across the world. This is a goal far, far more meaningful than a moon shot.

It's a truly inspiring goal for all free men to set for themselves during the latter half of the twentieth century. I can also see - and all free men must thrill to - the events of this Atlantic civilization joined by its great ocean highway to the United States. What a destiny, what a destiny can be ours to stand as a great central pillar linking Europe, the Americans and the venerable and vital peoples and cultures of the Pacific. I can see a day when all the Americas, North and South, will be linked in a mighty system, a system in which the errors and misunderstandings of the past will be submerged one by one in a rising tide of prosperity and interdependence. We know that the misunderstandings of centuries are not to be wiped away in a day or wiped away in an hour. But we pledge - we pledge that human sympathy - what our neighbors to the South call that attitude of "simpatico" - no less than enlightened self'-interest will be our guide.

I can see this Atlantic civilization galvanizing and guiding emergent nations everywhere.

I know this freedom is not the fruit of every soil. I know that our own freedom was achieved through centuries, by unremitting efforts by brave and wise men. I know that the road to freedom is a long and a challenging road. I know also that some men may walk away from it, that some men resist challenge, accepting the false security of governmental paternalism.

And I pledge that the America I envision in the years ahead will extend its hand in health, in teaching and in cultivation, so that all new nations will be at least encouraged to go our way, so that they will not wander down the dark alleys of tyranny or to the dead-end streets of collectivism. My fellow Republicans, we do no man a service by hiding freedom's light under a bushel of mistaken humility.

I seek an American proud of its past, proud of its ways, proud of its dreams, and determined actively to proclaim them. But our example to the world must, like charity, begin at home.

In our vision of a good and decent future, free and peaceful, there must be room for deliberation of the energy and talent of the individual - otherwise our vision is blind at the outset.

We must assure a society here which, while never abandoning the needy or forsaking the helpless, nurtures incentives and opportunity for the creative and the productive. We must know the whole good is the product of many single contributions.

I cherish a day when our children once again will restore as heroes the sort of men and women who - unafraid and undaunted - pursue the truth, strive to cure disease, subdue and make fruitful our natural environment and produce the inventive engines of production, science, and technology.

This Nation, whose creative people have enhanced this entire span of history, should again thrive upon the greatness of all those things which we, as individual citizens, can and should do. During Republican years, this again will be a nation of men and women, of families proud of their role, jealous of their responsibilities, unlimited in their aspirations - a Nation where all who can will be self-reliant.

We Republicans see in our constitutional form of government the great framework which assures the orderly but dynamic fulfillment of the whole man, and we see the whole man as the great reason for instituting orderly government in the first place.

We see, in private property and in economy based upon and fostering private property, the one way to make government a durable ally of the whole man, rather than his determined enemy. We see in the sanctity of private property the only durable foundation for constitutional government in a free society. And beyond that, we see, in cherished diversity of ways, diversity of thoughts, of motives and accomplishments. We do not seek to lead anyone's life for him - we seek only to secure his rights and to guarantee him opportunity to strive, with government performing only those needed and constitutionally sanctioned tasks which cannot otherwise be performed.

We Republicans seek a government that attends to its inherent responsibilities of maintaining a stable monetary and fiscal climate, encouraging a free and a competitive economy and enforcing law and order. Thus do we seek inventiveness, diversity, and creativity within a stable order, for we Republicans define government's role where needed at many, many levels, preferably through the one closest to the people involved.

Our towns and our cities, then our counties, then our states, then our regional contacts - and only then, the national government. That, let me remind you, is the ladder of liberty, built by decentralized power. On it also we must have balance between the branches of government at every level.

Balance, diversity, creativity - these are the elements of Republican equation. Republicans agree, Republicans agree heartily to disagree on many, many of their applications, but we have never disagreed on the basic fundamental issues of why you and I are Republicans.

This is a party, this Republican Party, a Party for free men, not for blind followers, and not for conformists.

Back in 1858 Abraham Lincoln said this of the Republican party - and I quote him, because he probably could have said it during the last week or so: "It was composed of strained, discordant, and even hostile elements" in 1858. Yet all of these elements agreed on one paramount objective: To arrest the progress of slavery, and place it in the course of ultimate extinction.

Today, as then, but more urgently and more broadly than then, the task of preserving and enlarging freedom at home and safeguarding it from the forces of tyranny abroad is great enough to challenge all our resources and to require all our strength. Anyone who joins us in all sincerity, we welcome. Those who do not care for our cause, we don't expect to enter our ranks in any case. And let our Republicanism, so focused and so dedicated, not be made fuzzy and futile by unthinking and stupid labels.

I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.

The beauty of the very system we Republicans are pledged to restore and revitalize, the beauty of this Federal system of ours is in its reconciliation of diversity with unity. We must not see malice in honest differences of opinion, and no matter how great, so long as they are not inconsistent with the pledges we have given to each other in and through our Constitution. Our Republican cause is not to level out the world or make its people conform in computer regimented sameness. Our Republican cause is to free our people and light the way for liberty throughout the world.

Ours is a very human cause for very humane goals.

This Party, its good people, and its unquestionable devotion to freedom, will not fulfill the purposes of this campaign which we launch here now until our cause has won the day, inspired the world, and shown the way to a tomorrow worthy of all our yesteryears.

I repeat, I accept your nomination with humbleness, with pride, and you and I are going to fight for the goodness of our land. Thank you.

Cain May Be Able

In 2008, Barack Obama was a relatively unknown fringe candidate until he received a surprisingly good showing in the Iowa caucuses. From there, he used a glib tongue, a lot of funding, and a campaign light on specifics to catapult over a very strong Clinton candidacy.

The latest Iowa Caucus polls, although this contest is still an eternity away in political time, have Mitt Romney in the lead with Sarah Palin six points behind in second. Tied with her is Hermann Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza who also once ran the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

Cain, according to pollsters, came from almost nowhere to challenge Romney's lead. He has almost no name recognition, but is outpolling Newt Gingrich and other GOP stalwarts. Cain is running on an economic conservative platform and has attracted support from many Tea Party groups. He has a sound record in business, rescuing Godfather's Pizza from bankruptcy.

Cain's success shows just how fluid the contest for the Republican nomination is at this point. Winning that prize will come down to conservative credentials. Who can demonstrate the strongest commitment to fiscal sanity and real changes in government that will reduce our debt? That is the man or woman who will win the nomination of the Republican Party. Cain has shot himself into a contending position, now can he mobilize enough supporters and funds to sustain his momentum?

Sarah Palin's Strategy

It's an interesting strategy. Sarah Palin is traveling across the country with her family by bus, seeing sights, speaking to people here and there, and not informing the media of her every move. CBS has rated this almost as disastrous a campaign blunder as killing someone. But is it?

First of all, despite the almost certain fact that she will be, Sarah Palin is still not an official candidate for anything. She is just another private citizen traveling by bus with her family. She has no obligation whatsoever to inform the media of her movements. Also, has the American news media gotten so lazy that they cannot track a bus across the United States?

What obligation does Palin have to the media? None. They cut her no breaks during and after her campaign. They single her out for insult and abuse above and beyond what many other candidates generally face. Like black conservatives, females who run for office as Republicans sometimes are seen as some sort of traitors. And, by all means, it is a sin for a female conservative to be the least bit physically attractive.

Interestingly enough, this could be a strategem. Sarah Palin visiting Gettysburg is not a national news story. Media outrage that she did not check with them every time she sipped at a Coke or went to the bathroom has become one. Palin has gotten coverage when she did not overtly seek it. And most Americans sympathize with people who do not want cameras following them everywhere.

Sarah Palin and her team are showing some serious savvy when it comes to media relations. It helps a lot that the media itself is so predictable. And she knows that she is in the drivers seat when it comes to them.

"I don’t think I owe anything to the mainstream media," Palin said on Fox. "I think that it would be a mistake for me to become some kind of conventional politician and doing things the way it’s always been done with the media, in terms of relationships with them.”

Good for you!

City Elections Are Important

It is city election season once again. Time to go forth and select the mayor and city council who will lead Keyser and other cities over the next couple of years.

We pay so much attention to state and national issues that we sometimes forget that county and city government are the closest to our daily lives. The questions they debate, such as whether or not to keep open, limit the hours of, or close entirely, the Keyser City Pool, affect many of us. Water, street, police, and other services are also vital to any of us living in town.

City elections need more participation than they have received in the past.

Representative David McKinley (R-WV 1) to Oppose Raising the Debt Ceiling

Press Release

McKinley to Vote No on “Clean” Debt Ceiling Hike
Washington, D.C. – The House will vote this evening on President Obama’s request to raise the debt ceiling without any spending reforms attached to the bill. Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) will vote against this “clean” debt ceiling bill, citing the fiscal irresponsibility of continuing down the same reckless road Washington has been on for years.
“The president is asking Congress to vote for the status quo. Another debt ceiling increase with no spending cuts or reforms in exchange is the height of irresponsibility,” said McKinley. “No one wants to see this country default on its obligations, but I refuse to give this fiscally reckless president my vote to raise the debt ceiling unless he agrees to pair it with major structural restraints on Congress' ability to spend money.
“We are on an unsustainable path that will lead to a troubling future for our children and grandchildren and the time is now to get serious about our country’s financial future. We must enact major long-term spending reductions that put us on a path toward a balanced budget. Whether it is a balanced budget amendment, enforceable discretionary spending caps in the future or serious spending reductions now — or some combination thereof — we must demand reform. Fundamental reforms that right our fiscal ship are absolutely necessary to earn my vote on the debt limit.”

Rick Snuffer Speaks Out on Redistricting Outrage

COMMITTEE MIRRORS CONCERNS

Where's Tim??? (let's ask the Boss Hawgs and yellow dawgs ;>)

Beckley - A Raleigh County delegate says the recently appointed House redistricting committee is a prime example of the concerns many of his colleagues from both political parties share concerning the upcoming redistricting process of the West Virginia House of Delegates."There are good people on this committee; people I like and respect. But from the first selection to the first 'non-selection'; you can see the political bosses at work to draw up a government of the incumbents, by the incumbents, and for the incumbents; with no real input from the citizens of West Virginia. Not only is the key member from the minority party missing; but also those from the majority party who have
had the courage to publicly support the Single Member Districts which are being overwhelmingly supported by the West Virginia citizenry."Rick Snuffer goes on to explain while the appointment of House Majority Leader Brent Boggs to chair the committee is understandable and the right one; the omission of House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, who had requested to be on the committee, is a signal right from the beginning that no matter what public statements have been issued by House leadership, the political bosses are going to be the ones calling the shots with no concern for what West Virginians or any elected official who isn't marching lockstep with the political bosses desire."This is the first time in 40 years the Minority Leader hasn't been allowed a voice in the redistricting process. Where's Tim and why hasn't there been any public/media discussion and scrutiny over this omission? No matter what facade is put on the committee - any public statements issued, websites created, toll free numbers set up at the public expense, or even if they cave to pressure; reverse course and hold a token public hearing or two - if you look at the committee and who is on it and who isn't, it's very easy to foresee the result will be 'Monkey Business as usual' ," says Snuffer.


The first-term delegate is also quick to note while 2/3rds of West Virginia House districts are single member districts, only a little over 1/3 of districts represented on the redistricting committee represents SMDs."Add these factors up, with the absense of any vocal Democrat delegates who have advocated allowing WV citizens to be represented by 100 individually elected delegates, and it's fairly easy to see an incumbency protection plan in the making", Snuffer emphasizes. "Unless there is enough public outcry and media pressure to force leadership to ignore the wishes of their party bosses and put the interests of the state of West Virginia and her citizens first, we are going to see a narrowly focused and narrow minded redistricting plan forced through, barring anydirection from a court to do otherwise."Snuffer concludes, "This happened with the initial resistance to a primary for the special election for Governor and it's possible it could happen again; if an overwhelmingly, un-ignorable amount of voters let their thoughts be made known to the House leadership and committee members."

President Reagan Remarks at Arlington, Memorial Day 1986

Remarks at a Memorial Day Ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia
May 26, 1986

Today is the day we put aside to remember fallen heroes and to pray that no heroes will ever have to die for us again. It's a day of thanks for the valor of others, a day to remember the splendor of America and those of her children who rest in this cemetery and others. It's a day to be with the family and remember.

I was thinking this morning that across the country children and their parents will be going to the town parade and the young ones will sit on the sidewalks and wave their flags as the band goes by. Later, maybe, they'll have a cookout or a day at the beach. And that's good, because today is a day to be with the family and to remember.

Arlington, this place of so many memories, is a fitting place for some remembering. So many wonderful men and women rest here, men and women who led colorful, vivid, and passionate lives. There are the greats of the military: Bull Halsey and the Admirals Leahy, father and son; Black Jack Pershing; and the GI's general, Omar Bradley. Great men all, military men. But there are others here known for other things.

Here in Arlington rests a sharecropper's son who became a hero to a lonely people. Joe Louis came from nowhere, but he knew how to fight. And he galvanized a nation in the days after Pearl Harbor when he put on the uniform of his country and said, ``I know we'll win because we're on God's side.'' Audie Murphy is here, Audie Murphy of the wild, wild courage. For what else would you call it when a man bounds to the top of a disabled tank, stops an enemy advance, saves lives, and rallies his men, and all of it singlehandedly. When he radioed for artillery support and was asked how close the enemy was to his position, he said, "Wait a minute and I'll let you speak to them.'' [Laughter]

Michael Smith is here, and Dick Scobee, both of the space shuttle Challenger. Their courage wasn't wild, but thoughtful, the mature and measured courage of career professionals who took prudent risks for great reward -- in their case, to advance the sum total of knowledge in the world. They're only the latest to rest here; they join other great explorers with names like Grissom and Chaffee.

Oliver Wendell Holmes is here, the great jurist and fighter for the right. A poet searching for an image of true majesty could not rest until he seized on "Holmes dissenting in a sordid age.'' Young Holmes served in the Civil War. He might have been thinking of the crosses and stars of Arlington when he wrote: "At the grave of a hero we end, not with sorrow at the inevitable loss, but with the contagion of his courage; and with a kind of desperate joy we go back to the fight.''

All of these men were different, but they shared this in common: They loved America very much. There was nothing they wouldn't do for her. And they loved with the sureness of the young. It's hard not to think of the young in a place like this, for it's the young who do the fighting and dying when a peace fails and a war begins. Not far from here is the statue of the three servicemen -- the three fighting boys of Vietnam. It, too, has majesty and more. Perhaps you've seen it -- three rough boys walking together, looking ahead with a steady gaze. There's something wounded about them, a kind of resigned toughness. But there's an unexpected tenderness, too. At first you don't really notice, but then you see it. The three are touching each other, as if they're supporting each other, helping each other on.

I know that many veterans of Vietnam will gather today, some of them perhaps by the wall. And they're still helping each other on. They were quite a group, the boys of Vietnam -- boys who fought a terrible and vicious war without enough support from home, boys who were dodging bullets while we debated the efficacy of the battle. It was often our poor who fought in that war; it was the unpampered boys of the working class who picked up the rifles and went on the march. They learned not to rely on us; they learned to rely on each other. And they were special in another way: They chose to be faithful. They chose to reject the fashionable skepticism of their time. They chose to believe and answer the call of duty. They had the wild, wild courage of youth. They seized certainty from the heart of an ambivalent age; they stood for something.

And we owe them something, those boys. We owe them first a promise: That just as they did not forget their missing comrades, neither, ever, will we. And there are other promises. We must always remember that peace is a fragile thing that needs constant vigilance. We owe them a promise to look at the world with a steady gaze and, perhaps, a resigned toughness, knowing that we have adversaries in the world and challenges and the only way to meet them and maintain the peace is by staying strong.

That, of course, is the lesson of this century, a lesson learned in the Sudetenland, in Poland, in Hungary, in Czechoslovakia, in Cambodia. If we really care about peace, we must stay strong. If we really care about peace, we must, through our strength, demonstrate our unwillingness to accept an ending of the peace. We must be strong enough to create peace where it does not exist and strong enough to protect it where it does. That's the lesson of this century and, I think, of this day. And that's all I wanted to say. The rest of my contribution is to leave this great place to its peace, a peace it has earned.

Thank all of you, and God bless you, and have a day full of memories.

Note: The President spoke at 10:10 a.m. at the Memorial Amphitheater. Prior to his remarks, he placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Confessions of an Active Eastern Panhandle Republican

Bill Maloney is our party's nominee for governor. After his nomination, I put up some information about him and tried to say some favorable things about his campaign.

I have a few problems though.

As an active Republican, I know Betty Ireland and Clark Barnes. I know Ireland and Barnes to be good and ethical people. They have spoken at our dinners, socialized with us, shared their vision of what this state ought to be waaayyy before they ran for governor. We have been much obliged to these folks over the years for being there for the Republican Party almost any time we asked.

We don't know Bill Maloney. At least not over here.

We did not see much of him here. All I have heard about are the negative ads and backbiting with the Ireland and Barnes campaigns. Fair or unfair, insiders are not happy. Insiders don't decide primary elections, but they do help an awful lot in the general elections. Most of us could not take sides during the primary and actively help our man or woman of choice. But now the question is, can Maloney win the hearts and minds of the party insiders, the ones who do the walking, the talking, the phone calls, and everything else?

Party "insiders" always have a bad name. Images of insiders make you think of smoke filled rooms and machinations to try and get around the honest voters. This isn't the case. "Insiders" are simply folks who devote a lot more time to organizing, fundraising, and other aspects of party and campaign needs. They are usually the same small businessmen, professionals, students, and others that you see every day. And very few of them smoke. They have experience and commitment. These are the people that help make campaigns work. And for Maloney to have a victorious campaign, he must work hard to get as many of them enthusiastically in his corner as possible after a contentious primary. David McKinley had to do the same thing, and he healed wounds very well. Maloney needs to do the same

I want to see a Republican in the governor's mansion. An October victory could start a momentum swing that could help Republicans equal in 2012 their gains in 2010. But I really want to know more about Bill Maloney. The Potomac Highlands has areas which could serve as a strong Republican base. He needs to come here and talk to our active Republicans and tell us his plans, both for the campaign and for his tenure as governor. He needs to smooth over relations with his competitors for the nomination, also. Barnes and Ireland particularly have strong following among the active committee member Republicans whose help will be very important between now and October.

In other words, he has a huge job to do. But we need to see him in person.

The Origin of Our Debt Problem

A long, long time ago, our c ountry and the rest of the industrialized world enjoyed rapid explosions of production, wealth, and standards of living connected to the Industrial Revolution. Like a cart pulled by a team of Clydesdales, industry broughtus into the 20th century fast and strong. People had high expectations for the social utility of the money that could be made. They also assumed that no matter what happened, companies would always want to manufacture in the good ol' US of A.

Expectations and assumptions became part of the problem. We always assumed that the team could pull more weight, add more burdens, and would still be able to muscle through. Bureaucracy, stringent environmental regulations, taxes, and thousands more requirements from three and sometimes four separate levels of government have taken their toll. Manufacturing has left our shores for more congenial environments. The wealth created is being siphoned off quickly by our government because it assumes that our economy will always be able to handle the burden.

Well, our industrial economy no longer can. The horses are foaming and stumbling. They need relief from the weight we have demanded that they carry. Democrats want to throw off thimblefulls and moderate Republicans propose cupfulls. We need to toss a lot more off of the cart to get the economy moving efficiently again.

Obama's Neville Chamberlain Moment

Supporters of Barack Obama cannot be enjoying the two-step they have to perform to stay with their guy.

Not that long ago, their champion soared in the polls (well, maybe not soared) after the killing of Bin Laden. Most Americans cheered the kill and gave the president at least partial credit for the decision to kill and not capture. Now, Obama wants our most important Middle East ally to hand over their fortified frontiers to an enemy that has vowed to destroy them.

In some ways, this looks like the Munich Conference of 1938. Neville Chamberlain eagerly signed over to Hitler the fortified boundary lines between Czechoslovakia and Germany. He called the policy appeasement and promised that it brought "peace in our time." All it brought was an accelerated timetable to start World War II because Europe's biggest terrorist sensed weakness in the Western Democracies.

Many Palestinians want peace, but much of their leadership remains bent upon the destruction of Israel. At least Chamberlain had the excuse of believing (falsely as it turns out) that Hitler had superior strength and would have declared war to get what he wanted. Obama has nothing to fear from Palestinian rock throwers, but he might sense that the Moslem vote will put him over the top in Michigan and that Jewish voters will overlook his abandonment of them.

This is a pattern though. Obama dislikes our allies and embraces our enemies, even if they are terrorists or dictators. It is amazing that he made such a major foreign policy speech without any consultation with Israel. It simply shows that our nation, yet again, has no direction or cohesion in foreign policy. And that Obama is bound and determined to leave us friendless when he exits office in 2013.

Randy Moss Gives Back

Fame is fleeting, even for NFL superstars. You only get one chance to make a good first impression. Randy Moss made several bad impressions even before he started his professional career and these have tarnished his image ever since.

Moss beat down a high school student the spring before he graduated from high school, went to jail, and lost his chance to play for the legendary Lou Holtz at Notre Dame. Other issues lost him a scholarship to play for Bobby Bowden at Florida State. Choice number three, Don Nehlen's West Virginia Mountaineers, passed on him and he ended up playing two years with Chad Pennington and Marshall.

Since then he has been accused of being an individual in a team sport, putting himself first, often holding back on giving full effort. But those are on the field and in the locker room issues. Off the field, he has been giving back. For the past few years, he has run smoothie stores in Charleston, often extending employment offers to troubled kids. Moss often tells reporters that when he wants to kick back and relax, he goes back to his hometown of Rand.

Last week, Moss traveled to Salem to meet the children incarcerated there. Often times we forget about these kids who come from some pretty rough places and have done some pretty bad things. Moss didn't forget. He spoke to every child there, including those in the maximum security wing. He talked about his misdeeds and how you rise above them.

We're quick to condemn when they screw up. But let's remember to praise when they give back to their communities and their state.

Thank you Randy Moss. Well done.

From the Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand

“The creator’s concern is the conquest of nature. The parasite’s concern is the conquest of men.
“The creator lives for his work. He needs no other men. His primary goal is within himself. The parasite lives second-hand. He needs others. Others become his prime motive.
“The basic need of the creator is independence. The reasoning mind cannot work under any form of compulsion. It cannot be curbed, sacrificed or subordinated to any consideration whatsoever. It demands total independence in function and in motive. To a creator, all relations with men are secondary.
“The basic need of the second-hander is to secure his ties with men in order to be fed. He places relations first. He declares that man exists in order to serve others. He preaches altruism.
“Altruism is the doctrine which demands that man live for others and place others above self.
“No man can live for another. He cannot share his spirit just as he cannot share his body. But the second-hander has used altruism as a weapon of expoloitation and reversed the base of mankind’s moral principles. Men have been taught every precept that destroys the creator. Men have been taught dependence as a virtue.
“The man who attemps to live for others is a dependent. He is a parasite in motive and makes parasites of those he serves. The relationship produces nothing but mutual corruption. It is impossible in concept. The nearest approach to it in reality—the man who lives to serve others—is the slave. If physical slavery is repulsive, how much more repulsive is the concept of servility of the spirit? The conquered slave has a vestige of honor. He has the merit of having resisted and of considering his condition evil. But the man who enslaves himself voluntarily in the name of love is the basest of creatures. He degrades the dignity of man and he degrades the conception of love. But this is the essence of altruism.
“Men have been taught that the highest virtue is not to achieve, but to give. Yet one cannot give that which has not been created. Creation comes before distribution—or there will be nothing to distribute. The need of the creator comes before the need of any possible beneficiary. Yet we are taught to admire the second-hander who dispenses gifts he has not produced above the man who made the gifts possible. We praise an act of charity. We shrug at an act of achievement.
“Men have been taught that their first concern is to relieve the sufferings of others. But suffering is a disease. Should one come upon it, one tries to give relief and assistance. To make that the highest test of virtue is to make suffering the most important part of life. Then man must wish to see others suffer—in order that he may be virtuous. Such is the nature of altruism. The creator is not concerned with disease, but with life. Yet the work of the creators has eliminated one form of disease after another, in man’s body and spirit, and brought more relief from suffering than any altruist could ever conceive.
“Men have been taught that it is a virtue to agree with others. But the creator is the man who disagrees. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to swim with the current. But the creator is the man who goes against the current. Men have been taught that it is a virtue to stand together. But the creator is the man who stands alone.
“Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egotist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self.
“Here the basic reversal is most deadly. The issue has been perverted and man has been left no alternative—and no freedom. As poles of good and evil, he was offered two conceptions: egotism and altruism. Egotism was held to mean the sacrifice of others to self. Altruism—the sacrifice of self to others. This tied man irrevocably to other men and left him nothing but a choice of pain: his own pain borne for the sake of others or pain inflicted upon others for the sake of self. When it was added that man must find joy in self-immolation, the trap was closed. Man was forced to accept masochism as his ideal—under the threat that sadism was his only alternative. This was the greatest fraud ever perpetrated on mankind.
“This was the device by which dependence and suffering were perpetuated as fundamentals of life.

Class Act: Bill Stewart

There are few things quite as bad as being fired. Being fired a year ahead of time and having to work with your successor almost borders on the bizzarre. Most folks could be blamed for thinking that it wouldn't work.

But so far, so good.

Head Coach in waiting/offensive coordinator Dana Holgerson garnered much of the attention this spring. His offense opened eyes and catapulted West Virginia high into many way too early preseason polls. Sometimes you almost forget that Bill Stewart still technically runs this team.

Success is nice, but the Mountaineers were playing against each other. Quarterback Geno Smith played well, but no one was allowed to hit him. We'll see if this works when the rubber meets the road around the end of September.

For now, Bill Stewart deserves kudos for helping to make a bad situation work.

Earl Ray Tomblin, the Gray Acting Governor

In the 1800s, they had a phrase that described figures like Tomblin. It was repeated about several different figures who held governorships in different states. The phrase was "gray governor." In other words, they had experience, but not vision and stability without energy. They did not inspire, but didn't raise expectations either.

Tomblin's main asset seems to be the general consensus that he will not rock the boat or try to do too much. If West Virginia were riding high and doing well, I'd be the first to support a candidate whose primary purpose seemed to be to stay the course. The problem is that our ship of state is going nowhere. We are in the Sargasso Sea of economic development and have been for over eighty years. Joe Manchin was the best that the Democrats produced in that span and even he could not help to create conditions that would result in a growth of varied economic sectors. He, like Tomblin, was one of a series of career politicians who only know the political way to do anything.

Bill Maloney is a job creator. Like Congressman David McKinley, he brings successful business sense to the table. Maloney has a vitality and an energy that we need in the Governor's Mansion. What he lacks in political experience, he more than makes up in economic. He's no career politico or community organizer. Maloney creates jobs.

And that is what we need, first and foremost, in West Virginia

Biography of Republican Nominee For West Virginia Governor Bill Maloney

BiographyBill Maloney is an experienced and dedicated West Virginia business and community leader. He is a conservative who is willing to lead by example, stand by his principles and values, and put the needs of West Virginians first.

Bill’s leadership experience in the business world and in service to his community runs deep. No stranger to hard work, he worked his way up from rig hand to project engineer to founder and executive of leading global drilling companies.

Bill was a co-founder and executive at North American Drillers, North American Pump and Supply Co., and Shaft Drillers International (SDI). He grew SDI from a two-person business in 1984 to become the world-leader in large-diameter shaft drilling for mining and other industries. Bill sold his share of the business in 2006. Currently, he is the principal of Cow Run Energy LLC and Drill Leader LLC.

An active investor in numerous start-up companies and community organizations, Bill is committed to helping others succeed. He doesn’t just invest in ideas or business plans, he invests in people. Bill believes people make all the difference.

An active member of the West Virginia Angel Network, Bill provides needed financial support and guidance to entrepreneurial efforts to diversify West Virginia’s economy in such areas as engineering and construction, specialized manufacturing, banking, media, organic foods, software, and natural resource development. He is also a past president of the Greater Morgantown Community Trust.

Bill is the founder of the Mine Rescue Drilling Fund, which was established to provide critical assistance for mine rescues in the United States and abroad. He started the fund following his efforts in the successful rescue of 33 trapped miners in Chile last year. Convinced their expertise could aid in the rescue of the miners, Bill and his drilling colleagues took action and were the driving force behind rescue “Plan B,” which helped to free the miners.

Bill is an active member of the Society of Mining Engineers, the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute, the Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia, and the National Groundwater Association. He is a past chairman of the West Virginia chapter of Associated Builders and Contractors.

Bill, 52, has been married to Sharon Maloney for 29 years. They have two daughters. The Maloneys reside in Monongalia County and attend Chestnut Ridge Church. Bill is a graduate of Lehigh University with a degree in industrial engineering.

How to Make Sure That We Get the Most Bang For Our Buck In Highway Spending

Infrastructure is an issue that affects us all. We all drive over the roads and bridges that criss-cross the nation, or at least pay for them. However, we need more transparency in this process to make sure that our money is spent as efficiently and as effectively as possible. There is a proposal before Congress that can help make this a reality.

It is The Fiscal Accountability and Transparency in Infrastructure Spending Act, also known as Senate Bill 615 and sponsored by Louisiana Senator David Vitter. It is exactly the type of legislation that our citizens are demanding because it requires states and government agencies to obtain a life-cycle cost analysis based on the standards developed by the Office of Management and Budget. In addition, the cost analysis must incorporate initial costs and discounted future costs over at least a 50-year period as this model more closely captures the actual economic impact of infrastructure projects. It also provides state and local transportation agencies with the flexibility to use alternate infrastructure type design and bidding procedures to increase competition and drive down costs.

A failing infrastructure cannot support a strong economy. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), America's infrastructure has a cumulative grade of D and our nation's network of roads, highways and bridges needs substantial work. This transparent process ensures that officials can make decisions that are truly the most cost effective for the American taxpayer and includes measures to further drive down the costs of these important projects

This legislation will help officials build roads with more transparency, at a better value. I hope West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin will vote to support Senator Vitter's critical piece of legislation. It's the right thing to do.

Bill Maloney Projected to Win Gubernatorial Nomination

Bill Maloney, Morgantown businessman, has been projected the winner of the Republican nomination with 86% of the votes in.

Polling for this race was sparse and dreadfully inaccurate. Second place winner Betty Ireland was projected a few days before the election to be in a tie with Maloney, but as of this point, is down by almost 15% points. Maloney's biggest obstacle was name recognition. He was relatively anonymous insofar as political recognitioon was concerned, but overcame the fact that Ireland had been the only victorious statewide Republican candidate since Governor Underwood in 1996. Back then, Ireland defeated the much more well known Ken Hechler who had held the position before. She did so with a powerful and personal campaign that introduced her to West Virginians as a powerful and decisive figure. As Secretary of State, Ireland succeeded in implementing measures to combat voter fraud and update voting technology.

The race at first seemed to be a referendum on Ireland herself with people deciding whether or not they liked the pugnacious politician. Late in the race, the personalities of Maloney and State Senator Clark Barnes emerged and they picked up support on their own as more than being "not Betty." Others could have gained support, but lacked funds. Mitch Carmichael and Clark Barnes have positioned themselves for future runs at higher office. The name recognition that came from this race was a no-lose proposition for them.

Maloney made an amazing run at the nomination, closing the gap over the past two weeks in polling. Of course a huge discrepancy exists between the final polls and the final numbers. This makes you wonder how accurate they have been all along.

The Maloney campaign must now switch gears and try to appeal to the broad spectrum of West Virginia voters. Many of them see Earl Ray Tomblin as experienced and, most of all, safe. Maloney must convince voters that this most established of establishment candidates represents business as usual. He must convince the state that business as usual cannot work anymore for this state. Eight decades of Democratic domination have led us to see mediocrity as safe instead of unacceptable. Maloney needs to overturn that belief system.

We were disappointed to see so little direct contact with candidates with much of the Eastern Panhandle. This is a large concentration of Republican voters and needed attention. Maloney should try to shore up his base and energize the Republican vote in the Panhandle. He can also make appeals to Democrats and Independents who might be wary of a Southern West Virginia politico running the state.

We were lucky, speaking as a Republican. We had a good slate of experienced candidates, many of whom would have done well as governor. I know that we commented little on this race, but as members of the county executive committee in Mineral, we had to remain publicly neutral. We all must get behind Maloney because he is the only canidate who can rescue West Virginia from mediocrity.

Hiatus

The Potomac Highlands Conservative will be on hiatus this week. We will return with a commentary on the election next week.

Geronimo

The following has been lifted from Wikipedia........

Geronimo (June 16, 1829 – February 17, 1909) was a prominent Native American leader of the Chiricahua Apache who fought against Mexico and the United States for their expansion into Apache tribal lands for several decades during the Apache Wars. Geronimo was the name given to him by the Mexicans but his real name was Goyaałé from the Chiricahua language meaning "one who yawns"; often spelled Goyathlay or Goyahkla[2][3] in English.
After an attack by a company of Mexican soldiers killed many members of his family in 1858, Geronimo joined revenge attacks on the Mexicans and later against the United States. He became known for bravery and daring feats and was revered by the Apaches as a warrior with spiritual powers. In 1886 Geronimo was eventually tracked down by U.S. authorities and surrendered. As a prisoner of war in old age he became a celebrity but was never allowed to return to the land of his birth. He later regretted his surrender and claimed the conditions he made had been ignored. Geronimo died in 1909 after being thrown from his horse.

I am going to say here that I actually agree with the Indians on this one. Geronimo is one of their most respected heroes.

Consider if the code name referred to another successful and elusive warrior who took arms against the United States, say Stonewall Jackson?

Someone, somewhere really should think before they do these things. I don't think that this controversey is excessive PC as much as respect and courtesy.

The U. S. Postal Service

You learn something new every day. The American based postal service actually came into existence in 1774, two years before independence. Opponents of British policy were fearful after Benjamin Franklin was fired from the Imperial service as American postmaster. They wanted to be able to exchange letters without concern that the British would open their mail (as Franklin had opened that of Loyalists.) Americans set up a postal service to rival the one run by the British government and soon pushed its competitor out of business.

Traditionally, the United States has had a government run postal service, although the current incarnation is semi-privatized. To do what it does, it actually runs fairly effectively and efficiently. Of course it must compete with electronic communications and private package companies to do so. The U. S. Postal Service also contracts much of its work out to firms such as UPS. Unfortunately, the service also runs at a loss much of the time.

As we debate the inevitable major budget cutting that this generation must do, the Postal Service must be part of the debate. Is the Postal Service a government run business that must at least break even? Or is this an essential service to citizens? These will be the questions asked about the Postal Service and our leaders must be prepared to answer them and then decide how debt reduction will involve the Postal Service.

Gaston Caperton Is Definitely, Absotively Not Interested In Politics

Gaston Caperton just bought a $900,000 mansion in Charleston.

Does that mean anything? Should it? Younger folks are asking "who is Gaston Caperton?"

Caperton was governor from 1989-1997. He started off a little rocky, but became enormously popular and respected by the end of his tenure in office. Since then he has worked for the College Board, most recently as president. He plans to retire this year and return to Charleston to be close to his friends.

He's 71. In many places that is over the hill, but in West Virginia politics, he's still viable even if not a young whippersnapper. Should a Republican win the special election this fall, Democrats will start feeling Caperton out to see if he wants to pursue a third term a la Arch Moore. More likely, he could be putting himself into position to succeed Jay Rockefeller.

In any event, this is an interesting development.

No Pictures After All

After we heard that pictures of Bin Laden's corpse would be made available, Obama today revealed in a taping of 60 Minutes that he has no plans of doing so.

It's hard to fathom why he would not. It makes sense on a variety of levels and is almost a no risk move for him.

Many argue that he received much more respect than an enemy would treat an American. Daniel Pearl was beheaded. Somalians dragged U. S. servicemen's bodies through the streets of Mogadishu. Not that we should hang him by the ankles as the Italians did Mussolini, but I fail to see what is served by not releasing the photos.

The aftermath of what should have been a clear public and political triumph for Obama's presidency has become predictably muddled by mixed messages and a lack of professional handling. I said it before and I will say it again. Obama misses Rahm Emmanuel and his ability to guide the White House more than anyone will admit.

In any event, my prediction is that the photos will be released or leaked within a week pending an outcry from New York and New Jersey.

Let's once again remember the real heroes here, both the brave servicemen who risked their lives on this mission, their support crews, and the intelligence operatives. Well done!

Governor's Race Heating Up

The Potomac Highlands Conservative, reluctantly, cannot endorse a Republican nominee for governor. We are members of a county executive committee and ethically, if not legally, cannot endorse anyone in a primary.

We have a very solid field of candidates this time in terms of experience, personality, and electability. If nothing else, the West Virginia Republican Party is continuing to grow into a more viable political force within the state.

When looking at who to choose in this cycle, look at issues and electability. This state needs a governor who can take the ship of state and wrench it into a completely different direction. The candidate needs to have the right principles, but also more than a snowball's chance in hell of beating the Democrat. The perfect candidate is the right mix of principles, experience, and electability. I do believe that there are a few candidates among the field that fit this bill.

Other random thoughts...

Thank you Congressman David McKinley. Even though both senators' offices were also called, David McKinley was the only congressional representative to greet the Keyser High School "We the People" team when they went to Capitol Hill this week. It was the day after the killing of Bin Laden, so it was likely a busy day, but the congressman made it down to see them.

West Virginia Red has obviously morphed into a Bill Maloney campaign mouthpiece. While there is nothing wrong with that per se, they would be more effective if they were more subtle. Right now, they are preaching to the choir and that won't accomplish their goal of spreading the campaign message. Also mix it up with some news and commentary.

How is it that Earl Ray Tomblin gets away with using "More Jobs and Less Taxes" as his motto? As Senate President, he was in a much better position to create those conditions.

Beautiful Day, Brought to You Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue

It's a beautiful day today. Every day after this will be a little more beautiful because U. S. forces removed Osama Bin Laden from this earth and dispatched him to the hellfire that he so richly deserves.

Since the American invasion of Afghanistan, the popular image of Bin Laden has remained that of a man on the run, moving from cave to shack, always elusive of his trackers. This image was evoked often by Bush officials and was one that Al Quaeda itself seemed to perpetuate. Every film of him showed a barren and rocky background.

Like the Mahdi of the late 1800s (a Sudanese revolutionary who sought to impose Islamic law in northern Africa) Bin Laden actually lived a life of indolence and luxury. This was a far cry from the sterile existence of many of his terrorists. As American and allied forces demolished his organization, he grew into a symbol more than an effective leader. He became, fair or not, an image of American impotence in the region.

This was not a fair characterization. The Olympic bomber, Eric Rudolph, lived out of dumpsters in North Carolina for five years while evading the FBI. Bin Laden had a whole world to hide in and billions of dollars to spend. The Bush Administration initiated a strategy that slowly closed the net around him, waiting for the other side to make a mistake. We finally got one and, as a result, Bin Laden is dead.

Will there be reprisals? Probably on a minor scale. The War on Terror succeeded in breaking up and breaking down Al Quaeda itself. Individuals can still wreck havoc by setting off small bombs or shooting into crowds. That is bad enough. However, we will not see attacks on the scale of what occured between 1995 and 2001. They just are not capable unless they have obtained a WMD.

Politically, does this help Obama? In the short term, yes. This happened on his watch and if he treads lightly and limits his use of the pronoun "I," people will remember that this happened on his watch. History tells us that any political bump from something like this can be fleeting. George H. W. Bush enjoyed 90% approval ratings after the Gulf War in 1991. Two years later, we inaugurated Bill Clinton as president. High energy prices, a stagnant economy, unacceptable unemployment, and out of control debt menace this country still. These will remain the issues of 2012.

So it is a beautiful day. The world has one less evil doer. We should all thank our brave military men and our capable intelligence community for a job well done!

Two things overheard yesterday night. "Enjoy your wedding, England. We're celebrating a funeral!" and the immortal "We'll put a boot in your ass! It's the American way!"

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I went yesterday to watch the Keyser High School team compete in the We the People contest in Washington D. C. I was amazed at the preparation and the knowledge that they demonstrated inpresentations and subsequent questioning. Well done Dairic and Rae Piraino and all the kids who went.

David McKinley and Shelley Moore Capito Working For West Virginia

Citing Medicare, McKinley votes against GOP budgetW.Va. rep renews critique of Obama's tax-and-spend budget, ultra-partisan approach
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Rep. David B. McKinley, P.E. (R-WV) voted against the 2012 budget passed by the House on Friday, saying that although he favors its overall deficit-reduction goals, he cannot support two of the main ways the savings in this budget are achieved: dramatically restructuring the Medicare program in a way that forces future retirees to pay substantially more for their healthcare, and keeping ObamaCare's crippling Medicare cuts in place.
McKinley also stated that he is unequivocally opposed to the president’s budget. In so doing, he reiterated his criticism of Obama’s plan and the speech he delivered this week calling for higher taxes.
“President Obama’s budget calls for $8.7 trillion in more deficit spending, $1.6 trillion in new tax increases and adds $13 trillion to the debt,” McKinley said. “We cannot continue this unsustainable status quo of record deficits and job-killing debt. Our small businesses and middle class deserve better. The president’s recent speech didn't change a thing. It just called for higher taxes on small businesses that would devastate the economy and was delivered in an ultra-partisan tone that demonstrates he's now fully engaged in a re-election campaign rather than participating in an adult conversation on how best to reduce the deficit.
“Congressman Paul Ryan’s proposal is a vast improvement over the president’s, and I thank him for putting forth a serious plan that puts us on a path toward balancing the budget and paying off our debt. Government spending is simply out of control. I am proud to have voted over 20 times to reduce spending in my first one hundred days in office, including the enactment of the largest spending decrease in America’s history this week. But we have far to go before the job is done.
“My home state of West Virginia has the highest percentage of Medicare beneficiaries in the country, and I cannot support a plan that the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has determined would nearly double out-of-pocket healthcare costs for future retirees. Unfortunately, Medicare is on a path to bankruptcy unless action is taken. However, I am not convinced that such a dramatic overhaul of benefits for future retirees is necessary to save the program. Incremental changes may very well be a better solution when coupled with a robust effort to curtail fraud and abuse. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found that in 2010 alone, Medicare lost $48 billion to fraud and other improper payments. We could save hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade if we implemented stringent accountability measures to correct these massive mistakes.
“Further, one of the chief reasons I opposed ObamaCare was because it cut $500 billion from Medicare to pay for government-run healthcare, and this budget does not repeal President Obama’s cuts. The entire law should be repealed as we work toward real healthcare reform that brings down costs through a variety of free-market reforms.
“There are attractive elements of the Ryan budget: it continues the ban on earmarks, repeals the job-killing provisions of the ObamaCare law, and reduces over-regulation on American job-creators to grow the economy. But the senior citizens of ten years from now have already experienced severe financial losses in their retirement funds due to job-killing policies in Washington and abuses by Wall Street. They deserve a Medicare program that takes into account the economic turmoil of the last few years and guarantees retirement security.
“My votes to cut $100 billion in spending this year alone serve as a demonstration of my commitment to fiscal responsibility. But whether it’s the president’s budget, the budget passed today by the House or any other proposal that has been offered thus far, I do not believe the right solution for the 1st Congressional District of West Virginia has been found yet. I will continue to work with my colleagues both Republican and Democrat to develop the best way to balance the budget, protect Medicare and serve my constituents’ interests as we proceed with this debate in the months ahead.”






Capito Joins Bipartisan Group Of Lawmakers Urging The Administration To Stop Using The Clean Water Act To Justify Gross Overreach Of Federal Power4/19/11
Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., joined a bipartisan group of 170 lawmakers in sending a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers expressing deep concern that the “guidance” letter these agencies sent to the Office of Management and Budget for regulatory review is no more than an attempt to circumvent the rule-making process in order to change the scope and meaning of the Clean Water Act.
“Congress, not unelected bureaucrats, should be making the decisions on environmental policy. This “guidance” will significantly change the scope of the federal government’s power to regulate streams in West Virginia. Once again, this Administration is using broadly interpreted regulatory authority to overstep the bounds of its traditional role in the permitting process to advance a political agenda,” stated Capito.
To view the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee press release and the bipartisan letter click here.

Last Gasp Efforts of Desperation

Two last gasp efforts are taking shape this week.

One is Donald Trump's plan to attract attention to himself. After Obama released his birth certificate, Trump moved on to ask for the release of other records, such as college grades and academic writings. Trump had implied that he had some very dicey revelations that turned out to be very little. His presidential campaign, such as it is or was, will probably dissipate as serious candidates ramp up their rhetoric.

While I don't see why Obama would have a problem with the release of grades, theses, or other materials, this just doesn't have the wow factor of the possibility of foreign birth. Franklin Roosevelt, Ulysses S. Grant, and Winston Churchill all did poorly in various phases of their schooling. If Obama was a C student, it is one of the few things he has done that would raise him into that sort of company. Perhaps there is some proto-Marxist expression in there, but that would not be as effective as hacking away at the poor decisions that he has already made. Most people care about Obama now, not Obama in college. College Obama did not attack Libya or shut off access to energy resources in a time of skyrocketing prices.

The other gasp of desperation comes from Obama supporters. This won't be a last gasp, but it is desperate. They want to shape the agenda for 2012 in terms of racism. In other words, you are a racist if you do not support or like Obama. An Associated Press story today pulled experts from Tufts University and elsewhere who confirmed over and over again that everyone who accused Obama of not being born in the United States of being racists. I suppose that included blacks who also asked those questions. They also tried to link racism to the Tea Party again, despite the fact that many Tea Partiers support either Allen West or Hermann Cain for president.

Obama supporters are definitely afraid. Their incumbent has had a difficult time and they have little positive record to run on. Incumbents cannot run on hope and change, either. So they will be pulling out the race card next year, just as Trump pulled the birth one in the past few months. Obama called Trump a carnival barker who pushed a non issue when there are many other problems to debate (does anyone REALLY think Trump is a racist?) Those who pull the race strategy are of the same ilk. They want to raise a distracting issue that is not even relevant to get us away from the real problems faced by America.

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Personally, I am tired of presidents who want to create a historical legacy. Since the 1920s, we have not had a president who simply let things work as they should and who had no interest in talking to anyone, or creating a historical legacy. I say dig him up, extract DNA, and clone him now. Then I'll campaign for Calvin Coolidge in 2012.

Issue Settled?

Barack Obama this morning finally released his certificate of live birth to satisfy those who have questioned his constitutional eligibility to serve.

Will this put a halt to the issue? Not likely. Many have started pointing out what they believe to be discrepancies between the released certificate and other certificates from the same era. It is an easy way to get under the skin of the president and his supporters, so some will continue to question the fact of his birth.

Democrats who cringe over the "birther" issue need to be honest with themselves. Had John McCain been elected, his birth in the Canal Zone would have spawned the same kind of movement on their side. They actually would have had better grounds for complaint, seeing as how Theodore Roosevelt's secretary of state flatly denied that the Canal Zone was United States territory. I am actually surprised that Republican contenders in 2008 did not make more of an issue of McCain's questionable eligibility.

The really interesting question here is why, after so long, did they finally release these records? It may indicate some fear that the Trump candidacy could start getting some traction, which is honestly a little laughable. Trump is a celebrity, not a candidate. He likes attention and this has garnered a lot for him. We are still in what political experts call "the silly season." Obama should be thinking in terms of Michael Corleone in the Godfather III when he said "Our true enemy has not yet revealed himself."

Obama is right when he says that we should focus on the issues at hand rather than the birth certificate. Ironically, the birth certificate issue is one of the few places where moderates tend to support Obama. Wiping it away does lead us back to $4 per gallon gas, near 10% unemployment, and a debt spiraling out of control. Thanks Obama! That was mighty helpful.

Trump has moved on, demanding release of Obama's college records. These could make him look bad, but it's not as if exemplary scholarship prevents one from becomign president. As the issue fades, so will Trump, until he finds a new way to get attention.

I have always maintained that Obama was likely born here. However, his ideas come from abroad. They are fundamentally non American. That is the problem.

Increasingly Alone and Isolated

Obama's presidency is imploding. Anyone can see that. His personality seems to be doing so as well.

As I have mentioned before, Obama's administration began a steep decline in terms of professionalism and message when Rahm Emmanuel left the White House. Emmanuel seemed to be the glue holding it all together. He was abrasive and irritated Republicans to no end, but Emmanuel was a capable helmsman for the ship of state.

Obama has foundered since, shifting course abruptly from the center to the left, back to the center, back to the left with no real rhyme or reason. He shifts from presidential to campaign mode constantly. Emmanuel also seemed to be the guy telling the president "don't say that." The president has grown much more hateful and angry over the past year, lashing out at conservative figures and trying to write Republicans out of every process. Obama also seems confused about Republican gains made last fall, seeing them as an aberration instead of a protest against his policies and ideas. His speech on the debt made left wingers fall in love all over again, but did not strike a presidential chord. Obama now just blames the Republican Party for all of his problems since he cannot single out George W. Bush anymore (probably since some polls suggest that voters would rather have W back in the White House.)

The presidency has worn down Obama. He was not prepared from the beginning and lost his most capable guide. Obama now seems lost, bitter, angry, and surrounded mostly by sycophants. Republicans fear that he can turn on the campaign mojo at the drop of a hat, but incumbents cannot run on hope and change. Outside of Rolling Stone, few people think that he has much of a positive record to run on either. He has succeeded in liberating the black conservative and reorienting the GOP for the 21st century. It remains to be seen if Obama can even campaign effectively in the coming months.

Does Anyone Care?

Does anyone really care? Honestly?

About the wedding of one of the British royal family princes (I forget which one) and a very attractive girl named Kate. Is this really worthy of the American media's full court press?

I imagine that if you polled most Americans, they, like me, would not be able to recall exactly who was getting married. However, we can all recite the gas prices for all of the different stations within five miles of our houses.

It's not that I have anything against the people getting married or the pomp and circumstance surrounding it. The British have this wonderful institution that is almost the only thing anymore that distinguishes them from Canada, sorry to say. It is interesting and draws large numbers of tourists, but I think that most Americans just are not as enthralled by the whole spectacle as they have been in past years. This is likely because we are still trying to figure out why we attacked Libya, how we will pay our debt, and how we will pay for fuel in the coming months.

Sorry, Britain, it's not your fault that we're not interested this time. Of course the media is jumping at the chance to cover something, anything that does not result in Obama looking worse and worse.

And In Left Field For the Democratic Party...John Perdue....

State Treasurer John Perdue has decided to try and take the demagogue's path to winning the governor's mansion.

He has opened a barrage on Earl Ray Tomblin and utility companies within the state, charging power, gas, and other companies with raising rates so that they could funnel more money to Tomblin's campaign.

This is untrue, dangerous, and bizarre.

Perdue understands the numbers though. Only a small percentage of West Virginians voted in last year's special primary election for U. S. Senator. If that result holds up, a man or woman could be nominated with a vote total of ten thousand or even less. Perdue is counting on there being enough conspiracy theorists to flock to his banner and put him over the top.

He also has proposed to cap utility rate increases. This may sound nice, but prices for any commodity increase when supplies dwindle. The rise in prices causes a drop in demand that usually will prevent the market from running out of a commodity. Rising energy prices, were it not for left wingers, would usually stimulate an expansion of production which would increase supplies, which would lower prices. But as long as Obama is in office, we'll get no relief. He puts the left wing agenda over the people. Perdue's plan would be madness, though. Capping rises in rates would cause power outages due to lack of supply.

If the Democratic candidates were a baseball team, Perdue would definitely be assigned the position of left field. Most of his political statements recently tend to come from that direction.

West Virginia Blue Takes Aim At Its Own Party

Below is a list of West Virginia Blue's "Neo-Confederates" who supported the Intrastate Coal and Use Act which would have returned many miners to work.

Note that many are Democrats.

It is apparent that West Virginia Blue has taken aim at the pro-jobs faction of the Democratic Party.


Delegates Varner (D)Delegate Howell (R)

Delegate Kominar(D)Delegate Canterbury (R)
Delegate Stowers(D)Delegate C. Miller (R)

Delegate White (D)Delegate Sobonya (R)

Delegate Cann (D)Delegate Ellem (R)

Delegate Perry (D)Delegate Carmichael (R)

Delegate Hall (D)
Delegate Sumner (R)

Delegate Ferro (D)
Delegate Duke (R)

Delegate Pethtel (D)
Senator Sypolt (R)

Delegate Hartman (D)


Delegates R. Phillips (D)

Neo-Confederates?

The scribes at West Virginia Blue, with their usual grasp of history and facts, have dubbed those supporting the Intrastate Coal and Use Act "Neo-Confederates." This must come from the fact that they are citing the Tenth Amendment and its defense of states' rights.

The Confederates did cite states' rights in defense of their cause, as did the legislators in the last session. That must mean that abolitionists in the North between 1850 and the Civil War were Confederates beofre the fact. In 1850, Congress passed a Fugitive Slave Act that expanded the law enforcement powers of United states Marshals and infringed upon property rights. Abolitionists cited states' rights in opposition. This makes them pre Confederates, according to the Democratic blog.

Other pre-Confederates, according to the logic of West Virginia Blue, include Democratic Party founders Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. They were the first to articulate states' rights doctrine. In 1798, they penned the Kentucky and Virginia Resolutions that claimed state courts could find federal laws unconstitutional. The law that created such powerful objections was the Sedition Act. This law made it a crime to satirize or make any untrue statements about the government, its policies, or its officials. In other words, today it would allow the arrest of newspaper editors, the cast and crew of Saturday Night Live, and a lot of bloggers. Who defines what the truth is about the government? The government would! Jefferson and Madison knew no other recourse against such an abominable law rather than to resort to states' rights doctrine. And Madison, being the architect of the Constitution, would know what could and could not be done.

Since we are on the subject of associating ideas with regimes, I wonder if anyone at West Virginia Blue has ever done the following:

Driven on the interstate

Ridden in a jet plane

Used satellite television

Approved of Obama using cruise missiles in Libya

Owned, drove, or simply admired a Volkswagen

If so, this makes them neo-Nazis. The National Socialists came up with the idea of the authobahn, which Eisenhower adapted into the interstate highway system. The German Air Force invented the jet engine. Germans in World War II created the ballistic and cruise missiles; of course ballistic missiles were the basis for the rockets that brought the advance of space flight and satellite deployment. And we all know that Volkswagens were "Hitler's car."

The states' rights principles articulated by Republicans and Democrats in the past session are meant to put checks on an overreaching federal government. A bipartisan group of men and women want to make economic conditions better for everyone, regardless of race. They see the federal government standing in the way at every turn. and just like the co-founders of the Democratic Party, Messrs. Jefferson and Madison, they see states' rights as a shield of liberty when the federal government goes too far.

Ugly

It's going to get ugly folks. Very, very ugly. The Wall Street Journal this morning called Obama's speech "toxic." And so it was. It raised spectres of horrific imagery, likethe sick dying without care, the infrastructure crumbling, and the appearance of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man if Republicans had their way. This in response to the flat out and realistic claims by Republicans that if we do not seriously curtail spending and reign in the debt, that we face a national collapse.

Republican proposals are insufficient to the current task, but are the best possible until 2013. At least, however, they address the debt. Obama's ideas would slightly cut the deficit, but allow the debt to continue to grow. But the speech revealed Democratic Party plans for next year. All out class warfare. If you make over $250,000 per year and you feel like you already pay enough taxes, prepare to be vilified as unpatriotic. This will happen even if it is your business that grosses over that much and your net is far, far less.

The West Virginia gubernatorial election could be a bell cow for next year's national races. It will not be if Earl Ray Tomblin wins the Democratic nomination, since he is already campaigning on the idea of lower taxes. He and the GOP choice will disagree on degrees of difference more so than basic principles. If one of the others wins the nomination, they may try to ride the coattails of the emerging class warfare strategy, even while distancing themselves from the extremely unpopular president, and it could get rough by next fall. That all being said, as the Democratic Party moves farther left while failing to address basic economic concerns, they risk losing West Virginia to the Republican column in state elections as well as registrations. West Virginia's race will most likely be more civil, but expect an attempted bloodletting at the national level. Hopefully it will be the last gasp of the radical Left. A loss by them in 2012 will convince the party men and women that moderate is better.

By the way, happy tax day.

Savyla Yoder and Sally Burnside

Keyser lost two wonderful individuals in the past week who worked very hard to better their community in different ways. Both died tragically as a result of automobile accidents.

I only met Sally Burnside, the former city councilwoman, a few times. She always struck me as a woman who cared very much and worked very hard for the people of Keyser. Sally believed that her city had a bright future and did what she could in and out of the council chamber to advance it. Any time that I ever had a concern, Sally was always available to answer questions and try to help. And she was not done, either. She told me when she retired that she intended to stay connected with Republican politics and continue to work for the betterment of the area. Her experience and enthusiasm will be sorely missed.

You might not have known Savyla. She was a wonderful Keyser High School senior who was a friend of my daughter and her boyfriend. Even though Savyla was only in high school, she earnestly believed that her efforts could help make her community a better place. She worked hard to help build up Christian youth groups, organize trips to events, and assist local pastors in spreading the Gospel. If the dictionary had a picture of "Good Christian," it would be Savyla. She believed with her full heart that Jesus Christ had the answers to the questions that afflicted this area. Her funeral at First Baptist was the first event, so its preacher said, that had ever filled up that church. Keyser lost two of its best in the past week. Their families need everyone's prayers.

"I Can Afford to Pay More"

That was Obama's statement about raising taxes on those who make over $250,000 per year. He can pay more. Good for you, Mr. President. I am glad that being a community organizer was so profitable for you that you can afford to pay more taxes. I have worked on community organizing projects before. I can assure you that that work cost me and others that organized it, rather than paid us. So I am glad that you managed to eke out over $250,000 from that. What you still don't get, or don't care about, is that small businesses and entrepreneurs file personal forms because it is easier. When you say earners over $250,000, you include businesses that have overhead and bottom lines, not just extremely wealthy community organizers. Your tax hikes will destroy jobs and convince others that being your own boss just does not pay in America. This was not a plan. Obama still just wants to cut the deficit. His deficit cut proposals are not even enough to reduce the growth of the national debt. Sorry Obama, you still don't get it, do you? The Republican plan advanced by Paul Ryan actually does address the debt, but it still does not go far enough. We must radically re-evaluate what we expect of government. We must cut our expectations of government more. No more wasteful research into pig farts. No more subsidies for big oil, abortions, or NPR and PBS. No more Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. No more of a lot of stuff. The Ryan plan did propose that taxes be cut to a 25% ceiling while eliminating loopholes. This would raise revenue, but Obama can't have the loopholes eliminated for his friends. Yes this is an angry column today. But the man either just doesn't get it, or he is willing to let the nation slide into insolvency, banking that it will happen after he is done.

We Need Transparency In State Government

Transparency in government is important and necessary. When they spend the people's money, the people need to know where it is going. National security, within reason, is an exception. Representative Ron Paul and Senator Rand Paul have gone after the Federal Reserve to figure out what they have done with our money. There's no reason to hide how it is spent.

Transparency has come up on the state level as well. Delegate Rick Snuffer, a former Republican candidate for Congress, has blasted Acting Governor Tomblin and the State Legislature. State law allows only 1% of the $11.4 billion budget to be unassigned or unclassified. This year's budget leaves nealy a third of the budget unassigned, almost 3,000% above and beyong the specifications of the law.

It would be one thing if the state had to list at some point how the unassigned funds were paid out. Snuffer states that over a billion dollars in some years get paid out without knowledge of the money's destination.

This is an issue where Snuffer should get the backing of Tennant and other Democratic contenders for the office of governor. With a third of the budget unassigned, Tomblin could conceivably steer funds in directions that could benefit his campaign. It leaves a good impression when the governor shows up in person with a few thousand dollars for your town's senior center. I'm not saying he'll do it, but the situation leaves too much temptation.

Snuffer has held off on filing a lawsuit pending a meeting with Tomblin.

Here is a link to the budget votes. You can probably tell that it was almost entirely party line, Democrats in favor and Republicans against. It's obvious that Republicans and some responsible Democrats are continuing to campaign for transparency in government. And we, as taxpayers, always deserve to know.We should congratulate the Legislature for taking some baby steps towards making the state economy more friendly to taxpayers and business. The food tax dropped to 2% and the corporate franchise income tax was lowered as well. These are baby steps though, and fall well short of the drastic reforms needed to make West Virginia business friendly.