Warning: Politics

If you would rather not hear about politics...stop reading right now and go read someone else's blog. Just fair warning...no offense meant or taken.

First of all, I'm sorry I've neglected my blog for so long. I really need to make a concerted effort to post more frequently. Work has been hectic and I've had a lot of outside musical activities. But I could still make time to post short notes at least. Part of what has been keeping me from posting is that I can't think of what to post about. I've just realized that what I've been thinking a lot about is what is happening with the government and media right now and how unhappy I've been about it. So, while my personal life is either mundane or insane, I realized that what is more important is my view on the world rather than my activities in it.

Before you think that I'm about to go on a wild right rant, let me assure you I'm not going to. That's actually what I'm pretty upset about. I am a Republican...there I've said it. I believe in personal responsibility, limited government, maintenance of freedom including speech, religion, movement, personal property, etc., I am also lovingly pro-life and Catholic (that means all life, cradle to grave, not just the politicized portions thereof). I also believe that we should love one another and assist where we can with people who have had misfortune in life through no fault of their own. In other words, I'm pretty much a normal person, not a fanatic. I consider myself to be a moderate conservative. I strongly believe in common sense as being the way things ought to operate.

I am very concerned about what I see as government actions which will threaten many of the principles that I hold dear and which if go forward unopposed and unmodified will adversely affect all of us and particularly our children and grandchildren. However, what I am seeing from the GOP "opposition" is almost 100% garbage. I see rants and raves and namecalling. I see jokes at the expense of the Democrats. I see little nonsensical issues (e.g. Pres. Obama going on a date with his wife) being blown all out of proportion and taking center stage when much more important things need to be addressed. The "haters" need to sit down and shut up. If the GOP wants to bring its ideas back to the fore then we need to sit down and come up with solutions to the problems that face us.

I have FINALLY seen some sign of this because John Boehner and Eric Cantor have just presented a list of programs that can be cut or consolidated to help reduce government spending. I looked at the list and think that they look REASONABLE for the most part. Not just partisan, but actual things that are duplicative or things that are "nice to have" but when the country is in a time that we need to cut back, these are things that are not essential to our existence or vital for the federal government to do. We should be spending time promoting these things and hopefully this isn't just a list that is "all or nothing." Lets negotiate...lets talk about these things - A LOT. Lets make it uncomfortable for the Democrats not to come to the table and negotiate. We are not in a position of power, we NEED to get the non-partisan people behind our ideas. Polls count in this day and age. Lets talk about the issues and refuse to get sucked into discussing plane flyovers and dates and new puppies in the White House, and whether the President shows up at a local burger joint and teleprompters. WHO CARES?????

The rhetoric needs to stop. We are not impressing the public by acting like MoveOn.org. And the public IS who we need to impress - the wide majority of independent thinkers: GOP, Democratic, and Independent, if we ever want to have our ideas and values be the ones by which the country is governed. OK, so we can be just as snipe-y as the Democrats. We need to be better than that. We need to be adults and present our ideas in an adult manner and quit showing our butts just because we know how (this means YOU Rush Limbaugh and Ann Coulter). That's how Pres. Obama got elected. He sounds like a grown up and avoided name calling by and large. He did say some things, but he used that ability very judiciously. He almost always took the "high road" when he had the chance as it made him look more statesmanlike and gracious. People like humility and grace and he has these gifts in abundance and he used them - frequently. And he still is using them, being still in "campaign mode," in case you haven't noticed.

I will stop here. My next post will be on why Pres. Obama is so scary and what I think we need to do about it - politely.