JUST WHEN I THOUGHT…

The United States of America that we know, love, and in which we grew up was gone forever; we’re now beginning the journey to take back our country.

Several months ago, I was watching as the American people let their thoughts be known regarding healthcare reform, a major project for the current president. Healthcare reform, while popular shortly after the current president took office, has seen its popularity decline as the American people learned more and more about what was being put in the legislation.

Despite its obvious unpopularity with the American people, our country’s leaders did everything they possibly could to ram healthcare reform down our throats, including the implementation of the Cornhusker Kickback and the Louisiana Purchase.

In addition to healthcare reform, the House had passed the Cap & Trade act, severely limiting carbon emissions, in the name of “saving the plant” from global warming. As some point I listened to a speech that the current president was delivering where he indicated that we could no longer set our thermostats where we wanted to set them and therefore be comfortable in our own homes. Instead, we would have to make sacrifices for the greater good. He also told us that we would not be able to drive the large, comfortable vehicles that we once did; nor would we be able to drive those cool little sports cars that we enjoy so much. Instead, we would be driving hybrids, electric cars, and other fuel-efficient vehicles that not only are uncomfortable, but also lack the power that many of us have enjoyed in our motor vehicles. The current president further assured us that the government would be taking more of our hard-earned dollars to pay for things like cap and trade, and healthcare reform. Speaking of healthcare, we would be giving up our good healthcare plans that we have worked so hard to provide for ourselves and our families; trading these plans in for some third rate government sponsored programs. This would mean additional physical suffering and perhaps premature death as a result of not being able to get treatment in a timely manner. Again, this is a sacrifice the American people should be willing to make in order to provide healthcare for those that are uninsured. In other words, the current president was advocating that we would all have to make sacrifices for the greater good. WHOA! This is communism, isn’t it? “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.” Well, maybe that goes a bit too far, but what the current president is advocating certainly reeks of European socialism.

It amazed me how our country’s leaders, particularly Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid, have persisted in cramming their unpopular socialist agendas down our throats. But you know, we’re still a republic and still able to vote these folks out of office. That’s true; but will we be able to un-do all of the damage they did while in office? The answer is probably not. Once we socialize healthcare and implement the Cap and Trade policies, reversal will be next to impossible. As a result, it appeared to me that the democrats were going to ride roughshod over the will of the American people in order to implement their agendas.

Not much to look forward to, is there? Sitting in your home either sweating or shivering. Maybe you’re sick and can’t get an appointment with a doctor for six weeks. A thick juicy steak with a bottle of good red wine sounds good. However, you don’t have the extra funds for such things because your taxes are so high. Forget a trip to the beach. What used to be a half-day drive now takes much longer because your hybrid can only go up to 45mph. You couldn’t afford the gas anyway, even though the hybrid doesn’t use much. Besides, driving is not fun anymore.

Well, when Massachusetts Senator John Kerry was running for president, the other Massachusetts senator, Edward Kennedy, was concerned that should Kerry win, Republican Governor Mitt Romney could appoint a republican senator to take Kerry’s place. So, old Ted got the ball rolling that resulted in Massachusetts passing legislation preventing a governor from making such appointments. Instead, a special election would be held to elect a replacement. As we all know, Senator Kennedy became gravely ill and passed away just months ago. Before his death, the senator suggested that the rules be changed again so that the current Massachusetts governor, a democrat, could be allowed to appoint his replacement. Even the democrats, who loathe the American people and think we’re too stupid to get out of the rain, knew that this wouldn’t fly. They would just have to live with the current laws. Besides, this is Massachusetts, “ain’t no republican gonna get elected”.

Excuse me! What did you say about Massachusetts electing a republican? Enter Senator Scott Brown and not a minute too soon. While republicans are still in the minority, the super majority the democrats hold in the Senate is gone. With Senator Brown, the democrats don’t have the votes to stop a filibuster. Cap and Trade is now dead in the water. With a little luck, healthcare reform will be joining it. Now the republicans should be able to stop any and all noxious pieces of legislature that our country’s leaders are trying to cram down our throats.

Of course, I have to comment on the irony of it all. Ted Kennedy spent a major portion of his political career advocating healthcare reform and passed away before he could cast a vote. With the senator’s memory, the democrats were set to elect a democrat to fill the seat vacated by the late Senator Kennedy. The new senator would ultimately cast a vote to pass Ted’s dream of healthcare reform.

But wait, republican Scott Brown was elected by the people of Massachusetts to fill the senate seat that was left vacant when Senator Kennedy died. The new senator from Massachusetts has indicated that he will vote against the current healthcare proposals. Also, he will give the republicans the one vote they need to kill healthcare reform and any other proposed legislation by filibuster in the Senate.

Again the only thing that republicans can do in tandem is filibuster a bill to death in the Senate. They are still a minority party. Will they be able to take over the House and Senate with the November 2010 elections? We’ll have to wait and see. Never-the-less, the power is now there to stop anything this country’s leaders, including the current president, may try to force on us in their quest to restructure this country in the image of a European socialist nation.

I recently made a comment on Facebook that you reap what you sow. Because he was scared that the republican governor of Massachusetts would have a chance to appoint someone to fill a possibly vacated senate seat, he took steps to change the Massachusetts laws so that a special election would be required to fill a vacated senate seat as opposed to the governor appointing someone. Had old Ted not done this, the current Massachusetts governor, who is a democrat, would have had the responsibility of making an appointment to fill the open seat created by his death. The appointment would surely have been a democrat and Ted’s dream of healthcare reform would have been realized. That didn’t happen, though. Ted’s actions led to a special election in Massachusetts where Republican Scott Brown was elected. Senator Brown has the power to stop the proposed current healthcare legislation that was old Ted’s dream. How ironic.

When you resort to trickery and chicanery, making deals in smoky back rooms, doing things that are generally dishonest and designed to get you what you want in the short run without taking into consideration the long term effects, it usually comes back to haunt. Thank God in this instance it did.