Democrats Continue to Cry Over Elections

There is an old Country song that starts out "There's a tear in my beer...." and it could be the song of the "Crying" Democrat Party since the Presidential elections.  Yesterday, Republicans handed Democrats another loss as Karen Handel defeated Jon Ossoff in Georgia.  With that election, the crying continues.

The Democrat theme lately has been "Anyone's fault except mine!"  Most will remember election night 2016, when Hillary Clinton could not even make an appearance at her own Victory, or Losing, party.  She sent word out with someone else, made a concession call to Trump, and stayed out of the spotlight until the next day.  Tradition has always been to have a Victory/Losing party for Presidential elections.  I say "Victory/Losing" because someone is going to win and someone is going to lose.  In other words, someone is going to party all night and someone else is going to talk to their supporters, thank them, and gracefully bow out.  That did not happen this last election.  Clinton was nowhere to be seen at her "Losing" party.  Shocked supporters cried across the nation and even on national television as Hillary - the favorite by many polls to win - was upset by the billionaire, businessman.  Instead of having the support and hearing words of encouragement and unity from their candidate, supporters were left to hear from a second-hand messenger that Hillary had called Trump and conceded the election.  No major players - not Hillary, not Bill, not their daughter - made an attempt to appear and thank supporters.

What happened next was shocking for American politics.  College students needed safe places to go and cry about the loss, academic classes were cancelled across the nation, and even finals were cancelled for some colleges because Hillary Clinton had lost.   Then the riots started with people destroying property, threatening Trump supporters, and searching for someone to blame for the loss.  They finally found it.  The media that supported Hillary began to yell that the Russians had somehow acted in the elections and influenced them.   Along the way they started to blame the electoral college - saying it was outdated and that Hillary should have won by the majority of the votes only - suddenly they forgot the very reasons an electoral college was put in place to protect the nation from one area only having all the power to elect a President.  They yelled, the screamed, they cried, they blamed everyone.....that is they blamed everyone except their own candidate.  Perhaps the only Democrat to actually, and honestly set out the blame, was Vice President Joe Biden who said that Hillary just wasn't a good candidate.  Biden was alone though, and the rest of the party sought to blame someone else.

Don't worry, the blame game is not over.  Now special investigators are being set up to look into the Russia connection.  Ironically, most of the investigators being assigned were Hillary Clinton supporters - now if that isn't a major bias in the investigation, then I don't know what is!  It's crazy, but it is happening.  The fact of the matter is, the only way Russia could have influenced any election outcome is exactly the same way any country, any group, or any individual could have done it.  They could have posted social media, they could have bought ads to support a candidate, or they could have donated money - Do we really want to look at how much money Clinton has taken from other countries?  Really?

Yesterday with the special election in Georgia, Democrats were again defeated.  They had invested money from Hollywood, from around the nation, and they fought for that position in the special election.  The fact is they did a really good job running the campaign.....they simply lost the election.  It's a time when the candidate and everyone in the media should say, "Good job, congratulations to my opponent.  I hope to run and seve the people again someday," and then move off the stage.  Did that happen?  No....Did Russia interfere?  No....Then what in Georgia could have caused the Democrat defeat.....Rain.  Yes, a major media outlet has now pointed out that the rainfall, increased likely from the tropical storm, caused Democrat voters not to turn out.  Since, to my knowledge, the Russians can not control the rain, then that leaves only two by extension for the Democrats to blame - either Mother Nature, or God caused the rain that caused the Democrats to not turn out and lose yet another election.

As much as I would like to hope that God is a Republican, and that Ronald Regan is on our Creator's advisory cabinet in the sky, I really do not believe God is overly interested in the affairs of the Democrat or Republican Parties.  He pretty much has His hands full with the universe, but hey - if the Democrats do go beyond the Russian, the Rain and whatever else they may blame - there will be some of their numbers that truly believe that Almighty God Himself has tweaked the ballots against the Democrat Party and cost them yet another election.  Maybe a more realistic view might be to realize that the American People are no longer blind and will no longer be lead by a party with a long history of deception, falsehoods, and racism- a history that they so often try to cast on the Republican Party.

Trump - Unlike Any Other

President Donald Trump is unlike any other President in recent memory.  He often opens his mouth first, thinks later, and thanks to social media he's able to fire off Tweets sometimes faster than anyone can say, "Well is that really a good idea?" ....Not that he would likely listen to them.

Recently when speaking with a Democrat friend of mine, I asked how he was doing.  We had not been discussing Trump or anything about politics for that matter up to that point.  My friend responded, "Well, as good as a man can be who has a madman running his country."  I laughed it off and didn't offer the response I wanted to offer of "Yes, that's how we felt for eight years too."  We parted ways and I didn't worry about it too much.  I'm not really sure that Trump needs or even wants my defending him.  He is, after all, the billionaire who gave up his privacy, his lifestyle, and to a great extent his reputation, all because he believed that America can be great again.

Trump is still under the 100 day mark in his presidency and already his popularity, even with people who voted for him, has fallen to significant lows.   The media hounds him for anything he does, he is the first President, out of a very long line that includes Carter, Regan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, and yes - even Obama - to issue not one travel ban and have a judge overrule it, but to issue two and have judges overrule them.  There was a time when the U.S. would never have allowed a federal judge to overturn a travel ban by the President - oh, and if you're wondering, that time was with the last President - Obama - so not that far off in our history.

For all he tries to do, the media and certainly his opponents find everything wrong with him.   A room is full of people discussing a major health bill and instead of posting pictures of ALL the people in the room, the media post only a picture of the men - then Trump is dealing with women's health with no input from women (those saying this may want to look back to the early 1900's and see how women felt and were treated with their health issues then!).  It seems that if Trump stepped out and signed an Executive Order that said, "Milk is good," the media would come out with a picture and say, "Yeah, Trump is deciding that milk is good without any cows represented.....how do the cows feel about this?"  The bottom line is, in the eyes of the media Trump can do nothing right.  Even when Trump issues orders to round up illegal immigrants- the media, church groups, and others find something to complain about (I noticed they did not do this when Clinton did the same thing).  Everyone seems to forget that the key word here is ILLEGAL.

So with all the low polls, all the complaining about Tweets, all the commotion each time he tries to do anything, it would seem that there would be signs of revolt against the President everywhere.  In fact, with all this, some might ask why don't he just hang it up and let Pence do the job?  What the media is not telling you and what Trump knows is that despite the push to go against Trump, there is a lot of Americans who believe in what he's doing and they like his ability to not be like other Presidents.

Consider a few issues here:

1.  How many times have you heard someone complain that people should not be allowed here in this country illegally?  Likely a lot - those people support Trump.

2.  How many times have you heard others talk about border walls? - Mexico has one in the south - a lot of people believe we should have one.

3.  How many times have you heard people say they can't stand the EPA rules and regulations - regulations that do not seem to apply to them?  A lot.

4.  How many times have you heard people say do something about the Affordable Healthcare Act?  A lot - and that fight is certainly not over at this time by a long shot.

Perhaps the most telling sign though is not the little things that people have complained about for years, but it's the events.  Anywhere Trump goes, he draws a crowd.  Supporters come out in droves to see the man, hear him.  Drive down any Interstate and you'll see "Trump" and "Make America Great Again" stickers on cars, trucks, and big rigs.  Autographed books from before Trump was President are in high demand - setting record prices on Ebay - so somebody has to have all those stickers, somebody has to be buying those books......

The bottom line is a great number of Americans still support what Trump is doing.  He is laying out the groundwork, and starting the foundation for change like no other President has ever done before.  Nobody expected America to be Great Again without  hard work, without change, without some difficult choices.  The difference is that Trump is making those choices.  He is doing what others have held off doing because it might cost votes.

Of the many things that Trump is, he is above all of them a business man.  As a business man, he knows you often have to make the tough choices first, so that in the long run the benefits will be great.  It's the same for a President - tough choices are made in the first year or so, in the second year you start showing what's happening with the program.  All Presidents have done it, and Trump is no different in that action.  What makes Trump different though is the fact that he is doing exactly what he said he would do, and he's making the hard decisions that most politicians do not want to make - unpopular decisions lose votes, but if something is not done, and done quickly, there are a lot of people who will tell you that our government can not continue.  It is bloated, underfunded for the programs it wants to promote, and we simply can not sustain our current rate of spending.  Just because Congress can raise the debt ceiling does not mean it should.   Tough choices are being made and we're fortunate that we have someone unlike any other President in recent memory willing to make those tough choices, and push America to be Great Again.

Vice President Pence Visiting Little Rock

Little Rock, AR -  Vice President Mike Pence will make his first official visit to Little Rock, Arkansas March the 24th.  Those wishing to attend have been directed to park 1000 East Roosevelt Road.  The location is Horace Mann Magnate Middle School.  

People are encouraged to arrive early for processing and the shuttle ride to the location where Pence will be speaking.  The event opens at noon with remarks at 2:30 p.m. 

The visit is being supported by the Republican Party of Arkansas located at 1201 W. 6th St, Little Rock, AR 72201.  The Republican Party of Arkansas can be found on the web at http://www.arkansasgop.org/

Republicans: Have We Missed Our Calling?

The Republican Party was founded with a mission of ending slavery.  The party, grown out of the old Whig Party, was strictly against the spread of slavery.  The core belief was that stopping the continued growth of slavery would eventually lead to enough votes in Congress to eliminate it altogether.  From that time on, the party has always stood against injustices.  After slavery was abolished, Republicans pushed for the voting rights of former slaves.  They later pushed for equality and women's rights.  They stood firmly against southern Democrats who wanted to put down the Civil Rights movements.  In many cases the Republican Party stood against what society considered to be the norm.  In fact, the party even stood against what religion considered to be appropriate.

Unfortunately, the Republican Party again stands at the threshold of a fight against discrimination.  The problem that now faces the party that has always fought hard against discrimination is the core question that must now be answered.  Can the party separate religious beliefs from political views once again?  I say once again, because few may remember that at the time slavery was in place, many preached it was appropriate and even Biblical to have slaves.  Later, store owners in the 1960's would justify not serving African-American people because they were "decedents of Cain" and in some circles the color of a person's skin indicated whether he descended from Cain or not.  Religion was used to justify what Republicans simply saw as wrong.  Today we would be horrified to think of someone justifying slavery with the Bible, or justifying women not voting based on some Biblical verse that indicated women had no rights.  We would simply say those religious leaders were wrong.  We can say that, but the question remains "Can the party separate religious beliefs from political views once again?"

The fact is that many Republicans firmly tie their religious views to their political views.  In other words, regardless of what the Constitution might say, they elevate the Bible, or another religious book over it.  If that is how a person feels, then it is fine....we are, after all, a nation founded on religious freedom.  However, it is because of that foundation of religious freedom that we must be very careful not to allow our religious views to guide us in all matters regarding the Constitution and other people's rights.

Consider this for a moment - what if a large group of the voting population was Jewish.  That population turns out to be the dominate voting group in the Republican Party.  Would it be appropriate for them to tell Christians that they can not work on Saturdays because Saturday is the Sabbath? No.  It would be no more appropriate than it would be for Christians to tell Jews that they must honor Sunday as a Holy Day, not Saturday.  The bottom line is religion does not matter and in fact has not mattered many times when the Republican Party stood up for the Constitution and stood against society, and even religious, norms such as slavery, voting rights, women's rights, and many other situations.

Where is all this going?  We stand at a crossroad as a party.  We can embrace our calling to stand up for the Constitutional rights of all people, or we can continue to select who and when we will stand up based on our own religious views - regardless of the views of other people or the law.

President Trump recently had the DOJ withdraw support for a Transgender lawsuit in Texas.  The message sent to the LGBT community was clear - the highest ranking Republican in the country is not going to support your rights.    It's a scary thought to our fellow citizens who are LGBT.  They felt suddenly justified for all their open opposition to candidate Trump and now President Trump.   On the other hand, many Republicans cheered Trump's decision.  But is his decision the right one for the party and the nation?

Although many Republicans are not supportive of the LGBT community or their efforts, how is it different than the efforts of women to gain the right to vote, or African-Americans to gain equal rights?  Much like those efforts, isn't the LGBT communities push for equal rights the same?  The answer should be a resounding "Yes", but the problem is that our religion conflicts with our Constitution.  Remember, many preachers stated that slavery was okay, but Republicans set religion aside and said, "No, slavery is not okay."  Many religions felt that women should not have the right to vote - even allowed beating women who tried and promoted voting- but Republicans set religion aside and said women should vote.  Many preachers stated that separation of "Colored and Whites" was God's will, but Republicans set religion aside and said, "No separation is right in the United States."

We now stand at a point where religion once again tells us something is wrong.  It tells us that the LGBT society is wrong.  Preachers talk against it, religious leaders pound the podiums of churches across the nation and say it's wrong!  In the eyes of those religions, it is wrong.  In the eyes of many reading this now, it is wrong.  But ultimately why should your religion or the religious beliefs of any group of people, rule over and tell the LGBT that they do not have rights?  That is not what this nation was founded on.  This nation was founded on the belief that you can have your religious view and others can have religious views that are different from yours.....That is what the Republican party has stood for.  Members of the party have not always agreed when it comes to Religion - we have Catholics, Jews, Christians, Muslims, and even Atheist who are Republican - but what we have in common is a belief that we should and can all have equal rights under the Constitution of the United States of America.  It is time for Republicans to realize that as a party we can not miss our calling.  Our calling is to stand up for those oppressed- whether it is a slave in the 1800, a woman in the early 1900, Civil Rights in the mid-1960s, or even the LGBT person in the 2000s - we do not back down when it comes to Constitutional Rights.  We may not personally believe  in the issue on a religious basis, but we understand that the United States is bigger than our individual religious views - we can hold onto them, believe in them, but we can not allow any person or group of people - whether we like their views or not- to be oppressed in this country.  It is not what Americans allow to be done and it goes against everything the party was founded on to allow anyone to live under any sort of oppression without the same rights and liberties that we all share.   The time for the Republican Party to rise up and answer the call is now or else we betray everything those founding members of our country and party have set in motion so long ago.

The Travel Ban: A Judge, A President, and American Safety

One of the first things President Trump did when he entered office was to sign a travel ban on Muslims from certain countries.  Immediately Democrats and others began to cry foul.  It was followed by people from around the world criticizing the order.   Trump had stated when running for office that he felt like we needed a better system to ensure those meaning to harm U.S. citizens can not easily get into our nation.  He made the promise to look into it.  Once he was in office, as President he would naturally learn information not known by most Americans.  He now holds some of the nation's most secret intelligence reports from around the world in his hands daily.  He has to make decisions- some will be popular, and some will be unpopular such as the travel ban.

Travel bans are nothing new.  The modern media may want to make everyone feel like Trump is being a "real mean guy" and putting out the torch of liberty here in the U.S., but the truth is almost all of Trump's predecessors have done it.  In fact, Obama did it, Bush did it, Clinton did it, Bush Sr. did it, Reagan did it, Carter did it, and that list extends clear back to World War II when travel bans were put in place stopping Japanese, Germans and Italians from entering the United States.  The media seems to forget all about those travel bans because they sure treat Trump as if he is the first to ever issue one!

Fast forward a few days and suddenly a judge puts a halt on Trump's order.....now let that soak in for a moment.  Think long and hard about this.....a federal judge put a halt on the President's order for a travel ban....are you realizing the dangers of what just happened?  A federal judge who has no information from the CIA, the FBI, Homeland Security, and that federal judge has no daily security briefings on intelligence that has been gathered - some of it hours or even minutes old - that the President does have; however, that judge was able to halt the President's order.  This has been unheard of in the past - nobody challenged any of the previous President's on their travel bans.  Why would a judge who is ignorant to security briefings  - because that judge is certainly not involved in security briefings at the White House - halt the travel ban?  Keep in mind that judicial review of Executive Orders is part of the system, but no travel bans have been overruled in the past because the President issuing a travel ban is supported by the law.

To make matters worse, an appeals court has now refused to reinstate the President's order.  Again, why are we even having this argument?  Why is any court or judge overruling the President of the United States when it comes to American's safety?  As much as Republicans often disagreed with Obama's Executive Orders, never once was a judge called on to overrule one regarding travel - and had it been done, it would have had to go to trial and be reviewed before it was simply stopped.  Even if we disagree with an Executive Order, we have to assume that the President has some information that we do not have or have not seen.   With an appeals court now refusing to reinstate the President's order, we have crossed into a dangerous area where those who do not have information, an understanding of the full scope of the situation, and who apparently can only be making their judgements regarding travel based on what the media is telling them are in a position to overrule a President.

Whether you agree with the travel ban or not, this overruling of the ban has been handled in the worst possible manner and has not set up a situation where all American's are at risk.  If a President can not enforce Executive Orders on travel based on intelligence he or she has access to without someone overruling it with no access to the intelligence, we have put all Americans at the mercy of uninformed judges who may know the law and have good intentions, but have no clue as to what information may have prompted a decision.  These will be dangerous times - Trump has vowed to fight the failure to reinstate the order, as well he should - the fact is even if this was President Obama and an order we did not agree with, no judge should be halting it when it comes to the potential safety of American lives without a lengthy, and proper judicial review or review by Congress.

Immigration and Nationality Act: Section 212(f) "Whenever the President finds that the entry of any aliens or of any class of aliens into the United States would be detrimental to the interests of the United States, he may by proclamation, and for such period as he shall deem necessary, suspend the entry of all aliens or any class of aliens as immigrants or nonimmigrants, or impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."