I know, I'm sounding like the ultimate conspiracy theorist, but think about it.. cap and tax is almost dead, healthcare is less likely to pass as the details of the Senate plan see the light of day.  So, could it be that the left is tossing one major item on their agenda to distract us?  That’s how little trust I have for the people running our government.  It is known that John Holdren, Obama’s Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, has close ties with the whole group of elite scientists who have preached these false findings for the better part of thirty years; and are the ones whose emails were hacked.  The timing of all of this is so curious.  Our representatives have just travelled home to millions of livid constituents over the healthcare votes.  This is the week that the grassroots movements need to come together and hammer them over healthcare, and suddenly we get confirmation of something we have all known for many years….that the likes of Al Gore and his cronies who have made millions of dollars advancing this rubbish have been lying to us.  I am outraged, as everyone should be, but I’m scared this outrage will dilute the outrage over healthcare.  This healthcare bill, if passed, will forever change the well being of our population.  As proof of planned rationing comes to light our arguments get stronger and stronger.  We can’t allow ourselves to be distracted.  Everyone knows that even with the hacked emails, the left will attempt to ignore the damage, but there is no question that any climate legislation is probably DOA.  Let’s stay focused and do the same to healthcare.  Then, it’s on to 2010 and the firing of Nancy Pelosi!

It’s been a little over a year since Sarah Palin burst onto the scene as John McCain’s virtually unknown running mate in the 2008 Presidential race.  What a wild ride it has been for her and her family!  As I watched her interview on Wednesday night with Sean Hannity I thought to myself, what an incredibly strong woman.  I try to put myself in her shoes and wonder how I would have reacted to the petty attacks that she has faced on a daily basis for over a year.  The people who hate her would not even let her return to the serenity of the “job she loved” (her words) in Alaska.  The constant attacks and ridicule became a costly distraction and she was forced to resign for the good of the Alaskan people and the good of her family.  What would I have done?  I must admit that it probably would have broken me.  I would have gone back to Alaska and tried to live my life in resentful obscurity, looking at the lower forty-eight with a distain that would have eaten me alive.  Like her or not, anyone who doesn’t think there is something very special about this woman has their head buried in sand.   She still exudes an amazing confidence in her convictions.   What it does for me as a conservative woman in 2009; it empowers me!  For so many years conservative women have been made to feel like we have somehow “left the reservation”; that we aren’t “real” women because we believe in traditional values and limited government.  I have loved watching the massive following she has accumulated as she has travelled the country promoting her new book.  At the same time, the left (and the elite right) have whipped themselves into quite a frenzy over all of it.  How could this idiot simpleton be so popular?  Well the answer to that is Sarah Palin is about as far from being an idiot simpleton as Nancy Pelosi is from being an honest, intelligent politician.  What really perplexes these people is the fact that she defines herself so clearly.  She has no need to look at polls or to see which way the political winds are blowing.  She has a set of principles that she stands by.  The attempts her opponents have made to somehow belittle or embarrass her are in some cases comical.  I think Chris Mathews of MSNBC has to take the “booby prize”.  This guy has an unhealthy obsession with Palin.  He actually sent a correspondent to one of her book signings to count how many African Americans showed up.  What’s up with that Chris – you “nut job”?  The one that really disappointed me though was an interview I saw last night with Geraldine Ferraro.  Apparently, the ever-gracious Palin sent Ferraro a copy of her book with an inscription that read “You inspired me”.  Ferraro was visibly touched by the gesture, but then she ruined it.  She went on to say that Palin’s book would alienate her base (the right) because she said in it that she benefited from Title IX when it came time to go to college…HUH???  Hey Geraldine…Buy a vowel!  Most women of our generation (conservative and liberal) who played any kind of sport benefitted from Title IX.  If that’s the best you can do, then I’d say Palin’s book passes the test.

Palin’s future is still unclear, and she has no reason to show her cards at this time.  If she does have future political aspirations my guess is that she will dive into policy as soon as she is finished promoting the book.  There is no question that she alone controls her destiny.  The next few years will be fun to watch, simply because she has this way of making her enemies act like total idiots.  What better way to keep them distracted.  Yep, I’d say Sarah is definitely getting the last laugh.

For many years I have been a good and faithful Republican.  Each year I have religiously voted in every election, and with few exceptions I have voted for the candidate with the (R) next to his or her name.  The 1994 election was an especially proud time for me because I believed that finally a majority the people in Washington espoused my same beliefs that limited government and lower taxes are what make our economy the best in the entire world.  However, for the past ten years something very bad has happened to the “Grand Ole Party”, and I like many others buried my head in the sand refusing to admit that the power corruption that infects almost everyone who works in Washington had seeped its way into my beloved GOP.  To all of you who are just starting to realize there is something wrong I offer you the “Good Republican’s Twelve Step Program”, because the problem cannot be fixed until there is full acceptance of it:

1.       Honesty – First and foremost, we must be honest with ourselves.  Our party has lost its way and in recent years has become nothing but a democrat party that happens to be a little stronger in national defense.  Republicans are just as much to blame for the massive spending, and endless earmarks that all of us have become so sick of hearing about.

2.       Faith – We now must have faith that we the people outside of the beltway can be the agents of change and can fix this thing.  It’s not the time to give up and say Washington will never change.  The tea-parties and marches on Washington should be evidence enough to know that many others are unhappy with the old ways of doing the peoples’ business.  Now is the time to push for real change; not the “Chicago-Way” change we got a year ago.

3.       Surrender – It is very difficult to adopt a new way of doing things when practically everyone in the “mainstream media” is telling you that what you are trying to do will destroy, rather than fix, your party.  Real change will probably involve “firing” some party giants.  Keeping them around just serves to provide cover to moderate democrats who are being forced to vote for unpopular legislation by an increasingly left-wing leadership.  A bad vote is much easier to explain to constituents when there are republicans on board.

4.       Soul Searching – Look within yourselves and make sure you haven’t been part of the problem.  Are you one of those who say everyone else’s guy is causing the problems?  My guy is OK.  Are you gratefully accepting the ”pork” he’s bringing home to you?

5.       Integrity – We must have the integrity to stick with the plan no matter what.   Our population has become “soft” in our reliance on government to fix everything.  If we personally fall on bad times, let’s stop asking for a handout from the government.  Once the government is out of the business of being the nation’s number one charitable organization I’m certain we will once again see a surge of private charitable giving because that’s what is great about our people.

6.       Acceptance – We must accept the good with the bad.  For many years there has been an attempt to sell to us the government Utopia.  The only person who can create a Utopia for you; is you.  The degree to which you want to pursue your personal Utopia is the degree to which you will attain it.

7.       Humility – We must do this with cool heads and full hearts.  The discourse in Washington has become increasingly nasty, which is another major turn-off to the average American.  Let’s be respectful, but strong in our resolve.

8.       Willingness to Make Amends – There are those in our party who may have lost their way, yet they may want to join our effort to turn things around.  Let’s forgive and give them the benefit of the doubt.  However “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice..YOU’RE FIRED”.

9.       Forgiveness – Though there are those who have lost their way and must be removed from office.  In the spirit of our new way, let’s thank them for their service and let go of our anger toward them.  Life is too short to harbor resentment.

10.   Maintenance – Recent history will tell us that in order to maintain the system as we want it, we must stay engaged.  Never again become apathetic about what is happening in your government.  The minute we take our eyes off the ball, they will revert to old ways.  The power is just too intoxicating.

11.   Making contact – Write your representative often!  Remind them who they work for!

12.   Service – Get involved!  Go to your local or state office and find out how you can participate in this wonderful process.

There you have it.  If we all stick to the “Twelve Step Program” we just might have a chance to save our party.

When is the Obama administration going to learn that that this “war on terror” that they choose to call “a man caused disaster” is very real and the people in the middle east that want to kill all of us aren’t going to like us any better if we give our prisoners all the rights accorded by our judicial system.   If the five men who have already confessed to being part of the 9/11 plot are not enemy combatants, then I don’t know who would fit that bill.  These men should be brought before the military tribunal and hanged.  Instead, “let the circus begin”.  Doesn’t anyone remember The first World Trade Center trial in 1993?  The civilian lawyers who want to make a name for themselves, ala OJ's Dream Team”, will use every tactic available to them to get as much face time as possible.  Meanwhile, the spectacle will do nothing but antagonize the thousands of jihadists who are looking for the opportunity to take out as many western capitalists as possible.

Along the same lines is the President’s insistence on delaying his decision on the course for Afghanistan.  Our troops are risking their lives every day wondering whether what they are fighting for is even on Obama’s radar as a top priority.  I swear it’s hard to pinpoint where this President is being most negligent.  The economy is in the dumps and every action he has taken has done nothing but slow down the long term recovery.  Anyone who has taken Economics 101 can tell you that the stimulus and bail-outs were bad ideas from the very beginning.  Then to add insult to injury his two trademark initiatives, Cap and Trade and Healthcare, will do nothing but destroy this great economy as we know it.

And they say Sarah Palin wasn’t ready to be President??  Bring her on!  She would clean this guy’s clock!

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve been able to force myself to sit down and put into words my thoughts about the many events that are happening to this great country of ours.  Some good, most not so good.  The only word that can come close to describing my reaction to this economy, and our government’s refusal to do the things that will improve it; the passage of the colossal healthcare bill in Congress; and finally the assault on this country’s finest last Thursday at Fort Hood; is despair.  How is it that in one short year the state of this union could be in such total disarray?  Well my friends, the saying holds true; elections have consequences.  In this case – Dire consequences. 

I have always considered myself to be an optimist; especially when it comes to the ability of the people of this great country to ultimately do the right thing.  Something or someone always seems to help us turn things around when all hope is lost.  It’s been in our most desperate times that our greatest leaders have emerged; Washington, Lincoln and my personal favorite, Reagan.  Due to world events when Roosevelt emerged, he could have easily been a part of that fraternity of greatness.  However, he chose, as so many after him, to put his faith in government solutions as opposed to “people” solutions. The result was the beginning of the end of a society of strong self-reliant individuals; the beginning of the “nanny state”.  This past year seems to be the culmination of the incremental encroachment of the federal government into every aspect of our lives.  If a healthcare bill anything near to the one that was passed in the house ends up becoming law, it will be the end of our country as we know it.  As the eternal optimist, I look at the mood of the people in this country.  Not the Washington elite, but everyday hardworking American people.  It’s almost as if a giant is awakening after decades of apathy and non-attention to the matters of government.  We sent our representatives to Washington and we went about the jobs of supporting our families and raising our kids.  What it got us was a government full of power hungry, money spending beasts who could care less about anything but their own interests; ie being able to stay in that cool town, with their cool jobs, spending other people’s money.  Friends, I was in Washington last Thursday for the rally against Obamacare.  I felt an energy in that crowd that was overwhelming.  It was a definite, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it anymore”!  This, along with Tuesday’s phenomenal election results, has given me real hope.  If we can fight hard to avoid any unfixable healthcare results, the new emerging leaders may be all of us.  I feel certain that the “Waking Giant” is going to clean up its house in November 2010.  Tom Perriello and Gerry Connolly are in my sights first and foremost for trading allegiance to their constituents for the allegiance to the Princess Pelosi.  I will be actively campaigning for their opponents in 2010 whoever they may be.  A warning to Senators Webb and Warner, “listen to Virginia, we have spoken”!

Let’s use the events of the past year as “our kick in the pants” and fight like hell to put an end to this insanity once and for all.