The Faltering of America

America is in trouble this evening as I write these words.  I realize that we are more challenged now than we ever have been before, and maybe more challenged than we ever will be in the future.  We are a faltering nation; one on the very coattails of what causes nations to collapse and the time to take action is now.  We can believe that in November we will make the change, or we can believe that we will make the change in 2012; nonetheless that change will not come without work, dedication, and courage that may not have been seen on this continent since the dedication of this nation to the war effort of World War Two.  I strongly fear that the generation that fought that war for world freedom may truly pass away into history as the last, greatest generation of America. 

We are crippled today by economic strife that causes dependence on foreign loans, social unrest, and educational gaps that threaten to take us to the level of a third world country.  People are standing in lines again for jobs while countries like China continue to add to the books the money we owe them, the safety of the home in our social world is collapsing, and the education system, once the envy of nations, is now taking a backseat to countries we once thought inferior.  America is faltering.  America has not failed, but if we continue down this road, we will become that third world country that envied us in years past and stand on the brink of certain failure.

To further this problem, our party, the backbone of the anti-slavery movement, the strength of a woman’s right to vote, the force behind the fight to end the Cold War, and the bell-ringer for Civil Rights and desegregation is faltering.  We have party members spending donor dollars for entertainment, we have county parties splitting, we have people leaving the party for other parties, and we have people sitting around searching for the next great Reagan.  Here’s the facts, we must gain control of our party spending, we must unite county party groups, we must bring those leaving the party back, and must accept that as great as Ronald Regan was, he cannot and never will be replaced.

President Regan left us a bold new frontier.  He left us with a fighting chance to turn the world around.  He left us better off than we had been, and he left us with the tools, the economic resources, and the growing educational institutions to go forward.  He said he saw a bright new dawn ahead for America.  I am glad he is not here to see what Americans have done with that new dawn.

The thoughts I want to convey tonight as I write this is that we can rebuild and build that future that Republican’s have so long fought to preserve.  Together we can take back our economy, we can take back our social lives, and we can propel our educational institutions into this new century.  We cannot do it, unless we start at the ground level.  Invite a friend to a Republican meeting, share the word on social networks, write your leaders, fly your flag, and if necessary be ready to step up, run for office, and defend this great country again from the city council meetings, to the Congressional meetings in Washington.  In the coming months and years, you will have the opportunity to do all this.  Together, we can rise up as a generation that the future will one day look back upon and declare, “They stood and because they did, we stand today.”

Glenn Gallas Endorsement of Beth Anne Rankin

HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE, AR -- Hot Springs businessman and TEA Party leader Glenn Gallas endorsed Beth Anne Rankin of Magnolia Tuesday in the race for Congress from the Fourth Congressional District.

Rankin and Gallas faced each other in the Republican primary election last month. Rankin won her party’s nomination and will face incumbent Mike Ross in the Nov. 2 General Election. Gallas made the endorsement of Rankin during a meeting for the Hot Springs Village Republican Committee.

Rankin said she appreciated Gallas’ efforts to bring conservative voters together by supporting her.

Gallas said he and Rankin never personally attacked each other during the primary. Instead, they presented their conservative ideas and let the voters decide.

“Now, I’m asking all of my supporters to support her,” Gallas said.

He said voters need to retire Ross from Congress and replace him with Rankin, who is a true conservative.

“The important thing is to get Mike Ross out of Congress,” Gallas said.
Rankin has been endorsed by former Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Fourth District Congressman Jay Dickey.
Rankin  is a 1989 Honor Graduate of Magnolia High School, attended Southern Arkansas University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ouachita Baptist University after being selected as the “Ouachitonian Outstanding Senior Woman.”
She served the state as Miss Arkansas 1994. Rankin performed in the fall, Christmas and New Year’s shows of America’s Piano Showman DINO in Branson, Missouri, before retuning to Arkansas to work for Gov. Huckabee.
While working in the governor’s office, Rankin served in several capacities including liaison and policy advisor to the National Governors’ Association, the Southern Governors’ Association, the Council of State Governments, Southern Growth Policies Board, Capitol Hill and the White House.
Under the direction of Gov. Huckabee, she coordinated the Governor’s Summit on Economic Development and launched and chaired the state-wide effort in selection of the winning design for the Arkansas quarter.
A small business owner, Rankin Anne founded Beth Anne Productions, Inc. in 1998.

Once again I would like to thank Jim Harris for this update.

Memorial Day 2010

It is not much; it is simply two small United States flags. The entire packet cost me less than a dollar at Target. I walked in on our trip, found them, set them in the basket and bought them along with some other items we desperately needed. Well, okay, I bought them with some other items we wanted. But Sunday afternoon, those two little flags will be important. I’m taking my children to visit their great-granddaddy’s grave and remind them of the others who have served our country.

Granddaddy (as I called him) served in World War Two and was part of “The Greatest Generation”. As the story goes, he went down and volunteered two times to serve and was rejected. After the second time he received a draft notice. He served throughout the war making teeth and working in the medical aspect of the army. My other Grandfather was somewhat more reluctant. He waited until the draft notice came and then joined without hesitation. His story became the thing of legends with five bronze stars, two purple hearts, and participation in Africa, D-day, the Battle of the Bulge and the taking of Germany. They served with honor to ensure that they Constitution, our way of life, and the little flags that will be placed on their graves will always stand apart in the world for freedom.

Since that time, my father served in the navy and all three of my brother-in-laws served in Iraq through the army, navy, and air force. I’m proud of them and thankful for their service to ensure yours and my right to freedom.

As I said before, our children will visit their great-granddaddy’s grave. They will each have the opportunity to place flags on the grave. I will tell them about the service of men and women not only in our family, but around the nation as well. They will basically get one more history lesson this Memorial Day weekend. It won’t all be about trips, days off, and cooking hamburgers. It will be about the people who served. It is my hope that my children will walk away with an appreciation for the freedoms they have and that someday they will teach their children about Memorial Day.

Sadly, as I do this, I have read newspaper reports concerning our President’s planned vacation to Chicago. He will not go to Arlington to honor those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. According to all reports he will be going to the gym and taking some time off. It’s always nice to be able to take a vacation whenever you want to do so. In fact, the President is one of the few people who can take several vacations a year. But I have to wonder why the leader of our nation chose this weekend to take a vacation and ignore the honor and meaning of Memorial Day. I have to think that when a President does this, maybe he doesn’t value the freedoms, the Constitution, and the flag that these men and women have sacrificed for over the life of our great, free nation known as the United States of America. Hopefully, the gestures of American families all over this great nation will make up for the poor judgment of our President.
(Cartoon from Cox Forkum  Cox Forkum)

The Smoke Clears

Well, as the old saying goes, round one is over in Arkansas.  It’s now time to get on to round two of the battle.  We had a great group of candidates for Congress and the Senate.  Any one of these folks could have served the state well in Washington and against the Democrat’s agenda.

During the campaign season, I had the opportunity to meet several of those running for office.  The one thing I liked the most was that most of the campaigns were positive.  They did not spend a great amount of time bashing each other, but rather they simply focused on talking to voters.  Here in Miller County, several of them even came to committee meetings on the same night and presented their information straightforward.  I think everyone ran great, professional campaigns.

The above being said, it’s time to get busy.  Out of the election night, Beth Anne Rankin and John Boozman emerged as our primary candidates for the November primary.  It’s now time for all the former candidates, each county party, and tea party groups to join us as we back Rankin and Boozman.  We must send these two candidates to fight for us in Washington.

Beth Anne Rankin wins Republican primary

Beth Anne Rankin addresses a crowd of supporters in Magnolia after winning the Republican primary election Tuesday night.


MAGNOLIA, AR – Beth Anne Rankin of Magnolia won the Republican nomination for the Fourth Congressional District in Tuesday’s primary election.
Before a crowd of supporters Tuesday night , Rankin said she is ready to take on the career politician who now holds the office.

“I would rather be an underdog than a blue dog,” Rankin said.

Rankin said she credits her primary victory to her “Back to Basics” campaign resonating with the voters.

“I’m for limited government, lower taxes and individual liberty,” Rankin said. “These are fundamental principles upon which our Constitution is built. It is time that we the people send a strong message to Washington that the federal government must live within its means and respect the spirit of entrepreneurship and free-market principles”

Rankin has been endorsed by former Gov. Mike Huckabee and former Fourth District Congressman Jay Dickey.

Rankin is a 1989 Honor Graduate of Magnolia High School, attended Southern Arkansas University and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Ouachita Baptist University after being selected as the “Ouachitonian Outstanding Senior Woman.”

She served the state as Miss Arkansas 1994. Rankin performed in the fall, Christmas and New Year’s shows of America’s Piano Showman DINO in Branson, Missouri, before retuning to Arkansas to work for Gov. Huckabee.
While working in the governor’s office, Rankin served in several capacities including liaison and policy advisor to the National Governors’ Association, the Southern Governors’ Association, the Council of State Governments, Southern Growth Policies Board, Capitol Hill and the White House.

Under the direction of Gov. Huckabee, she coordinated the Governor’s Summit on Economic Development and launched and chaired the state-wide effort in selection of the winning design for the Arkansas quarter.
A small business owner, Rankin Anne founded Beth Anne Productions, Inc. in 1998.

Note: Once again a big thank you goes to Jim Harris for providing this press release to The Texarkana GOP!