“I respect Congressman Berry’s decision to retire and applaud his many years of public service. I will continue to run a strong campaign based on creating jobs, reducing the deficit, and representing Arkansas values. We can’t afford Obama’s liberal agenda and I am ready to go to Washington to be a check and balance on the liberal Congress.”
An Inconvenient Truth
Christmas Day of this year will go down as a day that defined this Administration’s position on national security and the war on terror. Christmas Day will also be noted as the day that American’s realized that no matter who is in the White House, Al Qaeda and its surrogates are determined to kill Americans and to destroy all that we stand for. All of this shows an inconvenient truth for Barack Obama — you can not be weak in the face of those who want to destroy America.
We have all witnessed the President’s apology tour earlier this year. The President demonstrated that he believed by simply being apologetic and not being George W. Bush he would win us friends and allies in the Islamic world. It’s that naïve approach and complete disregard for what history has taught us that has put our national security in a position to where there is no security at all.
In an op-ed piece in USA Today, Janet Napolitano states, “The administration is determined to find and fix the vulnerabilities in our systems that allowed this breach to happen.” I find this incredibly appalling. The Department of Homeland Security was established “to secure the nation from the many threats we face.” And with this comment, it would appear that since this incident has taken place, suddenly Homeland Security will begin to look for where the lapse occurred. This is a reactive approach to securing our nation rather than a proactive approach.
Al Qaeda wants to see our nation fall. They want to see our way of life — our governing model, our economy, and our religious freedoms — eliminated. Our President seems to be naïve or conveniently, to him, oblivious to what history has taught us about this vicious enemy. And even in the last few months, there have been other steps our President has taken that have further eroded our national security. These are very worrisome to me and should be to every person in this country.
During his campaign, candidate Obama promised the closure of Guantanimo Bay. Gitmo serves a very important role in how we detain those who play a critical role in their attempts to attack our nation and our nation’s interests. While there have been numerous attempts this year to treat these enemy combatants the same way we do American citizens – the reading of their Miranda rights once captured – this leaves me stunned and amazed at how national security for many in this administration has become what appears as an afterthought. Our enemies want to kill Americans and destroy our way of life. The President’s decision to close Gitmo will not change that view no matter how much he tries to sell it as such or appease those who hate us. The closing of Gitmo will not change the enemy’s resolve.
If these terrorists are allowed to be imprisoned in American jails and detention facilities, it would be naïve to think they would not convert other prisoners to the same extreme views. Do we need another attack like the one in Little Rock where Abdul Hakim Mujahid Muhammad, a prison convert to extremist Islamic beliefs, murdered Private William Long to realize how they can do even more damage?
Just last week President Obama signed an executive order giving Interpol all the same immunities of foreign powers. What does this mean? Since Interpol is governed by the United Nations, they can now investigate our law enforcement agencies (FBI, CIA, Federal, State, and local law enforcement agencies) and subject our actions and efforts to the International Criminal Court system and other international efforts that would limit our abilities to secure and defend our nation. Interpol will now not be subject to FOIA requests and its actions will now be concealed. They will be able to investigate all that we do and we will never know about it. Who does the ICC investigate? Those who prosecute, investigate, and otherwise protect us from the likes of Osama Bin Laden, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist organizations. American sovereignty just took a backseat to the United Nations and eventually the International Criminal Court. And for what? So the United States will look better in the world? The only conclusion that can be drawn is that our President does not regard our sovereignty as an important issue to uphold and protect.
Non-citizens should be afforded no moral equivalent to rights of American citizens. This administration wants to equate the rights of American citizens to those of terrorists who want to destroy America and her people. This administration is putting national security at significant risk, and putting the American people last and terrorists first. This administration is unwilling to do what is necessary to protect our country. They are also subjecting our country to the international community in a way that has never been done before. This administration is eroding our national security in the interests of reputation. America, our national security, our interests, and our future come before anything else in this world.
As your next Congressman from the First District, I will do everything I can to ensure the security of every American citizen. I will work diligently to ensure that we operate by the Constitution as well as all legal parameters that will protect us as much as possible from those who want to kill us and ruin our nation. I will also work to ensure that this nation answers to no international court, agency, or government. America answers to no one other than its people and the system of governance that we have in place. That is my pledge to you as your next Congressman.
Statement on Pearl Harbor Day and Arraignment of Navy SEALs
“Today we remember one of the most horrific attacks against America. The attack at Pearl Harbor resulted in the death of thousands of servicemen and women as well as civilians. As a result of this attack, the United States entered World War II. Not only should we remember those who died on this day in 1941, but we should also remember the response of those who fought for their country during World War II and the response of the American people who showed a similar spirit of determination, dedication, and support.
Today we will also witness a travesty in the arraignment of three Navy SEALs who are accused of assaulting an enemy detainee. Navy SEALs are some of the most elite special forces in our nation’s military and in the world. The apologetic attitude that is pervasive in our federal government only paralyzes these elite forces from protecting our freedom and our country. The interests of other nations come second to those of the American people and the United States of America.”
When Is A Blue Dog Really A Blue Dog?
When is a Blue Dog really a Blue Dog? That question begs to be asked following the recent actions by Congressman Marion Berry.
First — a little background on the origins of the term Blue Dog.
The Blue Dog Coalition was formed in 1994 in the wake of the mid-term elections in which Republicans took back the majority in the House of Representatives. The Blue Dog Coalition gave the more conservative members from the Democratic Party a unified voice in the wake of these elections.
The Blue Dog Coalition states that a “…top priority will be to focus Congress on balancing the budget and ridding taxpayers of the burden the debt places on them.” But votes just this year by Marion Berry calls in to question this very important tenant of the Blue Dog Coalition and should cause individuals in the First District to ask, “When is a Blue Dog really a Blue Dog?” Here is the evidence:
- October 3rd, 2008: Marion Berry voted for TARP I ($350 Billion Dollars)
- January 21st, 2009: Marion Berry Voted for TARP II ($350 Billion Dollars)
- January 28th, 2009: Marion Berry voted for the Obama Stimulus Package ($787 Billion Dollars)
- February 24th, 2009: Marion Berry issued a press release where he stated that “eight years of fiscal recklessness by the Bush Administration” created “unsustainable deficits” for our country.
- November 7th, 2009: Marion Berry voted for Healthcare Reform ($894 Billion Dollars)
- Total Costs of these four votes: $2,381,000,000,000 Dollars. That is 2.3 trillion dollars! That is $8,460 for every single person in the First District, or over $5 billion dollars in debt for the entire First District, not including interest!
The above votes are extremely revealing in comparison to the comment by Marion Berry just this week. After President Obama proposed an increase in troops being sent to Afghanistan, Marion Berry was quoted as saying, “I don’t remember him saying anything about how we’re going to pay for this.” Berry said after the president’s address at West Point, “I just think it’s got to be paid for.”
In October, lawmakers diverted $2.6 billion dollars from funds in a defense spending bill to pet projects. You can read about those projects and how those funds were diverted here.
Marion Berry, along with his Blue Dog colleagues in both the House and Senate need to ask themselves, “When is a Blue Dog really a Blue Dog”? The votes previously outlined paint a picture of anything but fiscal responsibility. Instead the votes increasingly and excessively burden taxpayers. Indeed, the votes tell quite the opposite story – one of being a Lap Dog for Nancy Pelosi, not a Blue Dog representing the people of the First District. Marion Berry’s conscious-come-lately of fiscal responsibility does not hold water with the people of the First District.
We need someone who will go to Washington who is a fiscal conservative before arrival. We need someone who is willing to cast votes against spending bills when we do not have the money to support them. We need to send someone to Washington who will cut taxes and lower our deficits in a way that is fiscally conservative and responsible without having a coalition determining when those times are.
I want to go to Washington and be your conservative voice and vote accordingly so that families in the First District do not have to worry about soaring deficits, out of control spending, and the liberal Obama-Pelosi-Berry agenda that will bankrupt our country. It is time we send Marion Berry home to Gillete and send someone to Washington who will be a conservative vote, voice, and leader.
($2,381,000,000,000 divided by the total number of Americans in the 2000 census (281,421,906) equals $8,460. $8,460 multiplied by the population of the First District at the time of the 2000 Census (668,360) equals $5,654,325,600.00)
Getting Our Economy Back
What it will take to get our economy back
A major concern of my campaign is for people of the First District to have jobs that pay well. Right now, people are concerned about losing jobs, finding jobs, knowing whether the paycheck will continue. American business is under heavy assault.
It puzzles me why the Obama Administration, along with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, attack businesses mercilessly. They do this in both rhetoric and legislation, ignoring the fact that we need businesses to be in business so people across the country can work to support their families.
I believe Washington wants the greatest possible number of people to be dependent on government support. I do not believe most Americans share that vision. In fact, I think the large majority of Americans want to support themselves and their families. I believe the majority want the Federal government out of their back pockets.
If elected, I will work with other legislators to enact some simple measures that will spur economic growth and promote jobs that pay well. At the same time these jobs will not cost taxpayers a single dime.
- King Dollar: We must enact fiscal policy that keeps our dollar strong. This means more than just keeping the American Dollar atop the list of reserve currencies. It would mean that our currency, and economy, are strong and the value of the investment of foreign countries will pay off and help to keep our economy growing and thriving.
- Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR): For future generations to enjoy an America that has a sound underpinning financially, we have to put the brakes on federal spending. No family in America can afford to spend more money than it has. The same goes for any successful business. The Federal Government should also spend no more than it collects. With a Taxpayer Bill of Rights, I would work to limit federal spending growth to the percentage in population growth plus the rate of inflation. I would also work to provide taxpayers the option of filing a post-card sized return using a low, flat tax rate of 15%.
- Empower American Businesses: In a time of economic strife, a company looks to cut costs in order to maintain profitability and in most cases, to preserve employment. But, in the current economic environment overhead has to be cut just to keep the doors open. Something that would almost instantly cut costs for businesses is to cut their tax burden. I would work with other legislators to slash corporate tax rates to 15% and eliminate the capital gains tax altogether. Doing so would mean companies would have more money to hire again. More jobs would be created, more people would be employed. Eliminating the capital gains tax would also help drive business investment by allowing people and companies both to realize income they earned and keep it out of the hands of the federal government. Currently under President Obama’s budget announced earlier this year, he is calling for the capital gains tax to increase to 20%.
The fallacy in Washington is that somehow the economy, and the profits realized, belongs to Washington and its spending priorities. In reality, our economy belongs to the people of this great nation. The people of our great country work hard and should be rewarded with the fruits of their labor. Government meddling in and overtaking the private sector stifles incentive and American ingenuity is lost.
The Washington elites seem to believe they know how to spend our money better than we do. As a conservative small business owner, I believe that I know how to spend my money better, as well as manage it better, than the federal government.
It is time we take our economy back and put our trust in the hard working Americans who brought our great nation to this point with their skill, their abilities, and their hard work