Why I am supporting Dustin Curtis for Virginia House of Delegates – District 54

Written by:  Scott Cooper

   

We are at a point in our history where our priorities need to be analyzed and re-set. 

       
Over the last two decades we have seen the expansion of government at every level.  In Virginia, over the last twelve years, we have seen state and local revenue increase 8 out of 11 years, including the last two years.  During the same time period, Virginia dependency on the Federal Government has also grown.  According to Clifton, Larson and Allen, in most categories, Virginia ranks in the top five states most financially dependent on the Federal Government, which as we know is sustaining itself through the printing of money and borrowing 40 cents of every dollar it spends.  If you want enlightening reading, peruse the Clifton, Larson and Allen report, especially pages 12 - 16!

This past legislative session, while facing pending sequestration cuts from the Federal Government, and in the midst of one of the worst recessions since the great depression, our Republican House of Delegates and Senate passed the largest tax increase in Virginia history.  It is expected Republican Governor Bob McDonnell will sign that tax increase. 

Delegate Bobby Orrock, who has served Spotsylvania and the 54^th House district for 23 years voted for that tax increase.  My understanding is Republican Speaker William Howell of Stafford, who has served for 25 years, in an effort to get the tax increase passed, pledged his war-chest to protect any Republican who would support the tax increase.  That is speculation – all we can do is watch his expenditures toward contested republican races during the upcoming campaign season to see if it is valid.

I firmly believe it is time for new representation at the Virginia House of Delegates.  I believe that very few individuals who have served in elected office for over 2 decades, unless they have a strong track record of speaking against and preventing the expansion of government – which has led to our current financial predicament, need to remain in office.  This is not personal.  I personally like both of the Delegates I mentioned above, both of whom are in their third decade of holding the public trust.  I simply believe they are too close to the expansion that has taken place to adequately address the problems we face.

Why Dustin Curtis:

I have known and observed Dustin Curtis for over two years now.  Here are a few things I can tell you about Dustin:

·       Dustin is an articulate and passionate individual who has thoroughly studied the issues. 

·       Dustin not only talks about the problems we face, he has thoughtfully researched and can articulate solutions.

·       Dustin understands what it takes to win – he is a graduate of The Leadership Institute and has worked with We R Virginia and on multiple campaigns.

·       Dustin has served in leadership roles as Chairman of The Fredericksburg, VA Patriots, and with We R Virginia and Campaign for Liberty.  In leadership, especially in civic organizations, there are always difficult situations.  I have witnessed Dustin handle difficult people and situations with tact, grace and decisiveness.

·       Dustin has surrounded himself with fantastic mentors.  In my opinion, this is an important thing for anyone in leadership – especially in elected office.

·       Dustin comes from the generation that will pay the heaviest burden for our collective financial irresponsibility.  There will be some who say his youth is a detractor from his candidacy.  I view it as very positive.  We need individuals of Dustin’s caliber, in his demographic, who understand the severity of the financial situation we are in, who are willing to take the bull by the horns to fix our problems.  Dustin is such an individual.

Please take a few minutes to review Dustin’s web-site.  If you agree with me, that we need Republican leadership in Richmond who are willing to draw a line in the sand, and re-prioritize our spending – who will say enough is enough on the tax increases – don’t just vote for Dustin in the primary this summer – please support him with your financial contribution. 

Bobby Orrock currently has $ 170,000 in his campaign account, and Speaker Howell has pledged to protect the Republicans who voted for the largest tax increase in Virginia History with his war chest, which currently sits at half a million dollars. 

If we really want new elected leadership in Richmond, each of us need to contribute, and we can make that a reality.  Please consider $ 25, $ 50, $ 100, $ 250 or whatever you can to this very important race. 

 

Thank you,

 

Scott Cooper

There Will Be No Draft

Written by: Scott Cooper
                           

The difference between our grandparents generation – The Greatest Generation who fought off tyranny abroad and OUR generation which must fight off tyranny ON OUR SHORES is our grandparents had the draft and our country was led by individuals, who while progressive, were unwilling to see evil triumph.

Our generation will not face a draft.  We will not be REQUIRED to serve.  We must individually recognize that evil is triumphing within our borders, and WE MUST INDIVIDUALLY decide, will we stand up and do something, or will we remain silent? 

Is our heritage, our values and our way of life so important that we will decide OURSELVES to do everything we can to prevent its demise.  Or are we so complacent, so in love with our things, our personal time, our vacations, our sports “brackets”, and watching “Desperate Housewives” and reality T.V. that we will not invest the time required to turn the evil tide in our society.

“Silence in the face of evil is evil.  God will not hold us blameless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act is to act.”  Dietrich Bonhoeffer  

The good news is: history shows it only takes 20 % of society to chart a new course.  The radicals which control our academia, our media and our government at all levels are a far smaller minority.  It only takes 20 % - “an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men” who will turn the tide of history. 

Where will we as individuals sit, with the 5 – 10 % of the population who are radical leftists, will we help grow the freedom lovers who will invest their time and resources for the cause of liberty to 20 %, or will we stay with the 70 – 75 % who remain silent?

There will be no draft.  The choice is yours.  Kind of like God’s Grace – he provides us a choice – and does not mandate the Liberty of His Grace.  Also, kind of like God’s Grace – there will be consequences for our action or inaction.

Something I wrote about the NEXT greatest generation in August of 2011.

 

South Carolina Tea Party Focuses on National Security

Written by:  Scott Cooper

                   

 

It was an honor to play a minor role in the South Carolina State Tea Party Convention last weekend. 

 

Joe Dugan, SC State Coordinator with Tea Party Patriots, as well as the director of the MyrtleBeach Tea Party put together an event that brought together international experts on all the major issues facing our republic, most of which are not being addressed by our elected officials in Washington.

Because of my interest in National Security, my role was to help organize the National Security Panel, which of course dealt with the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood, The existential threat of Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP), and the reality of International Law being implemented in our country.  The panel consisted of my father, Hank Cooper, Chairman of High Frontier; Frank Gaffney, President of The Center for Security Policy, Tom Trento, Director of United West and Decorated Navy Seal.  Each had about 20 minutes to speak, which was followed by a brief panel discussion of the issues they addressed.

 

I want to lead with what was a real honor for me, to have the opportunity to introduce one of my hero’s, a true Patriot, my father, Ambassador Henry Cooper, who spoke about EMP:
 



As you know, I am very engaged in educating the American Citizenry about the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood into our republic.  Last October, I had the opportunity to host Frank Gaffney in Fredericksburg, VA, where he and Christopher Holton of Center for Security Policy spoke on State Legislative Solutions to the Infiltration of The Muslim Brotherhood in America.  This past Saturday, in Myrtle Beach, Frank gave, as always, an exceptional explanation of the challenges we face.  Unfortunately, the video for that presentation has been taken down; however I would recommend checking out www.MuslimBrotherhoodInAmerica.com to hear his entire course.
 

Mr. Tom Trento provided a motivational speech, referring back to the battle of Trenton, just over 237 years ago, and then he spoke about the threat of International Law:

 

Following Mr. Trento, decorated Navy Seal Benjamin Smith gave an exceptional talk, which was followed by a panel discussion on National Security Issues, by all four speakers:
 

 

The entire Conference was exceptional and Joe Dugan and the entire team deserve to be commended.  I highly recommend watching the entire conference in its entirety, which can be done by CLICKING THIS LINK!

I am working at the state level, with High Frontier to help protect us from these national secuirty threats.  If you would like to help us with this effort, PLEASE CLICK HERE TO DONATE. 

 

$ 100, $ 50, $ 25 or even $ 10 a month will go a long way in helping us.

 



 

 



 

               

 

 



Have You Had Your “Pearl Harbor Moment” Yet? What Will You Do With It?

Written by: Scott Cooper

                 

                  

“December 7, 1941, a day which will live in infamy” are famous words delivered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a joint session of Congress the day following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, 71 years ago today.

Those who were 18 years old that day, if they are still alive, are 89 years old now.  The result being, very few Americans personally know or understand the sacrifice that generation of Americans made to stop tyranny.  Over 60 million individuals or 2.5 % of the world’s population died in that war.  Over 418,000 Americans died.  Great Britain lost over 450,000.  As a percentage of population, Great Britain lost twice as many citizens as The United States.

Until December 7^th, 1941 most American’s were oblivious to the world at war.  Many who understood did their best to ignore it and encouraged their neighbors to do the same.  The attitude in Great Britain was similar, until September 1939.  This was despite numerous warnings from statesman Winston Churchill, who lost his seat in Parliament almost a decade before being called back to lead the war effort, in part because his vision was ahead of the people he represented.  Please read a tribute I wrote to statesman Winston Churchill, on his birthday last week!

Today we face threats to our liberty and freedom which are more significant than tyrannical governments outside our borders, like those we fought after the attack on Pearl Harbor.  Indeed our enemy is within our borders.  Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, known for his military efforts in the mid-19^th century, is noted for stating “We have seen the enemy and they are ours….”  Often paraphrased, “we have met the enemy, and it is US!”

                                                                      

This morning, as I reflected on what took place 71 years ago, two thoughts came to mind. 

1. First, most of our citizens, especially the youth have no grasp of our history, not only about this date but about the foundational principles and the price that was paid for these principles to become a reality in the republic of the United States.
2. We are being destroyed from within, in such a way that if we do not wake up soon, when our next Pearl Harbor takes place (and it will happen – think September 11, 2001), we will be unable to get back up.

I believe we each need to have our own “Pearl Harbor Moment,” but in our own lives.  The key is, once we have that moment, we need to get up from the dinner table, where we have been gorging on the bounty of past generations fight for liberty for far too long, and engage the culture and civic arena to take back what so many of our ancestors bled and died for. 

These “Pearl Harbor Moments” aren’t where planes blow up ships.  These “Pearl Harbor Moments” are more like epiphanies in our own minds where we realize: “Houston, we have a problem!” 

Then, like the scientists who gathered to fix an impossible problem during the Apollo 13 flight, we need to build our own networks where we will impact change to help steer the ship right. 

This repair job will not happen if “We the People” remain at the table eating the dwindling inheritance our forefathers gave to us. 

We need to begin building an inheritance for our kids and grandkids!  One they can be proud of.  The inheritance I refer to is the blessings of Liberty and Freedom.  These blessings were purchased at a great price.  What are you willing to personally do to ensure we bequeath the same inheritance to our children that previous generations bequeathed to us?  Or will you sit back and allow their inheritance to be used up in your lifetime?

I used Apollo 13 as an example, because it is a real story of hope and redemption.  All odds were against bringing our astronaut’s home, yet not once did Gene Krantz and the team he assembled give up hope.  Against all odds, they accomplished an impossible task.

I know many individuals have given up hope.  Folks who believe America’s best days are behind her.  There are individuals who are actually abandoning their businesses or reducing the sizes of their businesses, because our government has simply made it impossible to remain in business.  The reason may be due to religious conscious issues, or outrageous regulations.  Some individuals have left the country and every day more consider it.

What will be your “Pearl Harbor Moment?”  Let me share a few of mine:

• U.S. Debt Crisis:  In college, in the late 1980’s, I thought a lot about US deficit spending.  As a Political Science major, I remember giving a speech about it in Public Speaking Class, when our total debt was a mere $ 2.8 Trillion!  I was infuriated back then at the irresponsibility of our government.  I did think about how I could get engaged in the effort to restrain government spending.  From 1987 – 1991, the years I was in college total U.S. Debt grew by $ 1.3 Trillion.  After a brief internship on Capitol Hill in 1990, it was obvious to me that the majority of those in power at the time did not take this issue seriously, so I decided to pursue business opportunities, rather than seek employment in Washington.  From 2009 to today, the years my 21 year oldest son has been out of high school, total U.S. Debt grew by over $ 5 Trillion.  Many of those in Washington during my internship in 1990 are still there.  In fact, they are now in leadership.  Speaker John Boehner has been in Washington for 21 years.  Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has been in office since 1985.  Pearl Harbor Moments!  First during my 1990 Internship.  Reinforced daily since 2008 when George Bush announced, “I have decided to abandon the free market system, in order to save the free market system!  Here we are a generation later, and our rate of debt growth is 400 % faster than when I graduated from college.

• Work Ethic Crisis:  Working in Operations Management in the service or retail industry for the majority of my career, I have seen first hand the declining work ethic of our citizenry, especially the youth.  It breaks my heart to say that, in my opinion, the generation that responded to Pearl Harbor, the children from the depression era, would be ashamed to see many of their great grandchildren today.  I could speak about it from my experiences running car wash or mechanic shops during my time in the rental car industry.  I could share my experiences running logistics in the big box retail industry.  Simply put, the idea that we need immigrants to do work American’s won’t do, is in large part because we have bred a generation to believe there is a certain level of work which is beneath them.  This is perpetuated by an entitlement structure (government run) and parents who give their children so much that the concept of starting at the bottom and working your way up is no longer noble.  Pearl Harbor Moment! 

• Immigration Crisis:  I know this issue will come up politically in the near future.  Personally, I don’t believe we can have serious immigration reform without serious entitlement reform.  This is extremely complicated but PART of the problem is for the reasons listed above, businesses seek migrant labor.  It isn’t because they don’t want to hire Americans to do decent jobs.  It is because they can’t hire Americans, even those who have been unemployed for months.  I have two friends who run farms.  Both friends for over a decade had the same migrant workers come each year to help during the season.  In 2009 due to high unemployment, our government placed restrictions on their ability to have their migrant workers return.  They were required to attempt to hire American’s in multiple states prior to having their seasonal workers return from Latin America.  After investment of time and thousands of dollars, they were unable to hire Americans to do these tasks, all during a time period that government dependency has increased.  I am reminded of Ben Franklin’s comment, “I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.”  Honestly, I don’t think that is a hateful comment, but it is an understanding that when you consistently provide basic needs for people, they become dependent upon it and unwilling to do for themselves what God gave them the capacity to do.  Pearl Harbor Moment!

• Muslim Brotherhood Crisis:  There is a “Silent Conquest” (please watch video for details) taking place in our republic, and just like our leaders have failed to deal with our debt crisis, our entitlement crisis, and our securing the border crisis, they are unwilling to deal with this crisis.  Pearl Harbor Moment!

• Energy Dependence Crisis:  The Department of Energy was created by Jimmy Carter in 1977 with the purpose of becoming Energy Independent.  We are 35 years removed, and we are still dependent on our energy supply from the very individuals mentioned in my bullet point above!  Pearl Harbor Moment!

• Growth of Government Crisis:  One of the tasks in Operations Management has been to complete annual competitive wage survey’s, to ensure our compensation packages were in line with the market.  This is not a poke at the thousands of outstanding government workers, but the reality is, the private sector funds the public sector.  The sector that receives its funding from the private sector has compensation packages that for the most part far exceeds the compensation packages of majority of the private sector.  So much so, thousands of citizens are more motivated to “Public Service” rather than building businesses.  Reflect on that some, as our private sector decreases and public sector increases!  Pearl Harbor Moment!

Have you had your “Pearl Harbor Moment” yet?  What are you going to do with it?  

Our children and our grandchildren will receive an inheritance.  The Bible states in Proverbs 13:22 “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children, and the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous” (NASB).

Our fathers and grandfathers who fought in WWII, who we remember today on Pearl Harbor Day, were children during the depression era.  They came back from hard times and left us a tremendous inheritance.  We owe it to them to do the same for our children.

Have you had your “Pearl Harbor Moment” yet?  What are you going to do with it?

Today’s Senate Vote on U. N. Treaty Is a Reminder for Grassroots in VA to Begin Preparing for 2014 Now

Written by:  Scott Cooper
                   

Today at 12:06 P.M., The United States Senate voted on the ratification of the U.N. Treaty, The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.  The treaty was rejected by a vote of 61-38-1.  It required 66 votes to be ratified, and only 61 yea votes were received.  Thank God!  

For the long list of reasons highlighted in the video at the end of this post, this treaty goes against U.S. sovereignty and the individual rights of our citizens for a whole host of reasons.  It is not surprising that Democrats would vote for this treaty.  What is surprising is that of the 46 Republicans in the U.S. Senate, 8 Republican Senators voted to yield our sovereignty and our citizens rights to an international body, and 1 Republican Senator chose not to vote.  The Republican Senators who voted for this treaty are:

Senator Kelly A. Ayotte (R-NH)

Senator John Anthony Barrasso (R-WY)

Senator Scott P. Brown (R-MA)

Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME)
Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN)

Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)

Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-ME)

Republican Senator Steven Kirk from Illinois was the only Senator who did not vote.

I believe this vote has significance to the grassroots of Virginia as we begin to prepare for the 2014 U.S. Senate race, and here is why:

When we look at two things:

1.  It is the job of the U.S. Senate to ratify treaties.  Our sovereignty is under attack through international treaties such as the one that was voted on today.  There are a multitude of additional treaties in the pipeline.  We know how Senators Warner, Webb and Senator-elect Kaine will vote.

2.  The United States Senate has not passed a budget in over three years.  Our current Virginia Senators have not attempted to rectify this situation, and I doubt Senator-elect Kaine will do anything to challenge Harry Reid.

Virginia U.S. Senator Warner (D), who is up for re-election in 2014 voted yes for this treaty.  What is disappointing is his willingness to ignore his constituency.  Speaking with his Legislative Aide (LA) yesterday at 3 PM, I am confident that Senator Warner knows the majority of his constituents were opposed to this treaty.  After explaining to Senator Warner’s LA that U.S. disability law is superior to most nations in the U.N., including most of the Security Council nations, she could not articulate why the Senator would be in favor of subjugating American Citizens to this treaty.  She also told me that his decision was not made yet, which simply could not have been true. 

It is imperative Conservatives regain control of the Senate in 2014.  If Virginia is to play a role in defending our national sovereignty and protecting individual liberty in the U.S. Senate, Conservatives and Republicans in Virginia need to do better in 2014.  Clearly our strategy for the last 6 years has not worked. 

Let’s look at a brief history of RPV’s success rate at state wide races for the last 6 years:

Republican George Allen lost our U.S. Senate seat to Democrat Jim Webb, a political novice, in 2006.  George Allen lost the same seat again to Democrat Tim Kaine in 2012.  In 2008, Republican John Warner retired, and a seat which had been held by Republicans for 36 years (held by Republican William Lloyd Scott for 6 years prior to John Warner’s 3 decade reign) was lost by Jim Gilmore to Mark Warner in a vote of 65 % to 33.7 %.  Since 2006 RPV has lost 3 U.S. Senate races and two Presidential races.  What is interesting is there is a lot of blame these days being tossed toward the Tea Party, which didn’t even exist until 2009.  Go Figure.

Let’s look at some trends:

This week U.S. House Republican leadership are doing everything possible to purge Conservatives from leadership positions.  Tactics were used this summer to shut conservatives out of the process at the GOP National Convention, as well as at state conventions across the country.  The result: it helped Democrats across the country get elected, including the Presidential and Senate races in Virginia.  While there is an effort among establishment Republicans to blame the Tea Party, the reality is, it is GOP establishment behavior that is leading to the demise of the party.

 Lessons for 2014:

1.  The Grassroots needs to consolidate behind a conservative candidate for U.S. Senate early on so there is a bold candidate going against Mark Warner.  We struggled doing this in 2012.  It would be nice to think that candidates would see the need to self-consolidate, but there are too many forces working against that idealistic thinking.

2.  The Central Committee of RPV needs to vote to have conventions for the 2014 candidate selection process.  Here is a great piece on why Conventions are better than Primaries. 

      3.  RPV needs to embrace the conservatives who want to help our party abide by our written principles, rather than attempt to exclude them.

There is a tremendous amount of energy in the Conservative movement.  The question is, will the Republicans follow the tactics of the past, or when you look at the U.S. House leadership this week the present, or will they chart a new course? 

My hope lies with the people, not the party.

P.S.  Here is the video with point as to why this was a bad treaty.  This was presented by Michael Farris, Founder of ParentalRights.org, Home School Legal Defense Fund and Chancellor of Patrick Henry College, Senator Mike Lee and Former Senator Rick Santorum.

Happy Black Friday Day!

Written by Scott Cooper

I am grateful for the many friends, family, and politicians (many who are friends) who sent messages yesterday on Thanksgiving Day.  We do indeed have much to be thankful for.  I chose not to send a Thanksgiving message, not because I am not thankful – I am.  I am thankful for many, many, things.  My wife, my two sons, my extended family, for the education and experiences I have been blessed with, for many material blessings and for the fact I have had the privilege to grow up in the freest and most prosperous republic in the history of the world.

While I am thankful for all those things and more, yesterday I continued to struggle with deep sadness and exhaustion.  My sadness has not to do with the November 6 election, as some might suspect, but the loss of culture, virtue and the Judeo-Christian values that enabled our republic to be the freest and most prosperous republic in history.

My exhaustion is not because I have not had adequate time for sleep or even that I have not slept well these past several weeks.  I have.  At one point in the last several weeks, to the amazement of my wife, I slept through a violent storm, evidence that I am sleeping in peace!  I believe my feeling of exhaustion is because I recognize the amount of the work required to restore our society back to the values that made it so exceptional, and the apathy of so many standing in the way of this restoration.  Again, I am not speaking of elections I am speaking of values.  Without Divine Providence, which our republic’s founders relied so heavily upon, we will not see the restoration of these values. 

Please take a minute to read George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation. (Linked)

Click the link above to read the entire text.  I want to highlight the third paragraph of George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation:

“And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best. “

Clearly, George Washington understood that our blessings came from above.  He also understood and promoted that in order to secure continued blessings; we must collectively possess certain traits:

1.      Seek forgiveness of transgressions, both private and public. (Humility)

2.      Perform our individual and collective duties properly and punctually. (Personal Responsibility)

3.      Ensure a government of wise, just and constitutional laws – to be faithfully executed and obeyed. (Accountability)

4.      To bless sovereigns with good government, peace and concord. (Honesty)

5.      To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue.

Using Mr. Washington’s standards, do we deserve continued blessings?  Without a restoration of these values and principles, I believe we do not.  We are reaping what we have sowed.  It is easy to say that our politicians are to blame, but the reality is, We the People Are To Blame! (Link to previous writing)

Today, on Black Friday 2012, our republic is in a downward spiral.  Many think we can solve our financial woes by opening the stores earlier.  Others, who foster covetousness, (link to previous writing) have called for labor strikes on retail businesses to promote greater equality of results between the rich and the poor.  Personally, I don’t believe the solution lies in either course of action!  We as a nation are sick and we need to review George Washington’s 1789 Thanksgiving Proclamation in depth, especially the third paragraph!

What we need more than anything this Thanksgiving and Christmas season is not an economic revival, but a Spiritual Awakening!  In my opinion, Mr. Washington’s Thanksgiving proclamation actually points us in that direction.  He gave us the recipe.  He did not speak of economic prosperity being achieved through “shopping for the holidays,” through “spreading the wealth”, or “social justice.”  Mr. Washington encouraged seeking forgiveness of sins, personal responsibility, accountability, honesty and the promotion of true religion and virtue.

Please consider spending this season praying for new leadership which is being developed at the local and state level around our country.  Pray for the men and women who are starting to stand in the gates of their local and state communities to say that our collective financial tragedy and potential future economic prosperity are rooted in moral principles.  Continuing to stray from these principles will continue our path of decline.  Returning toward these principles will lead us toward renewed strength as a nation.  These men and women, if they take the required stand in their local and state communities, I believe will one day take the reins of leadership away from those at the Federal level who we have allowed to lead us to the brink we currently face.

Happy Black Friday Day?  Well, that was an interesting title!

May God bless you and your family during the next 32 days – the time period between Black Friday 2012 and Christmas Day!  Remember – Wise Men Still Seek Him!

A Time For Compromise

A Time For Compromise

Written by: Scott Cooper

Last week after the election, I was engaged in a discussion on a blog with a good friend and mentor who has lived in Europe for the last 25 years.  He cautioned me and my friends within the Tea Party, stating now is the time for compromise, that the election was over.  Quoting Ecclesiastes 3:8 “There is a time for war, and a time for peace” Now is the time for The Tea Party to compromise and make peace, he cautioned.

To follow was my response:

First, since you quoted Ecclesiastes, allow me to share 1:9-11 “So, there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one might say, “see this, it is new?” Already it has existed for ages which were before us. There is no remembrance of earlier things; and also of the later things which will occur. There will be for them no remembrance among those who will come later still.”

Let me share my perspective. I am angry. I believe it is ok to be angry. Ephesians 4:6 says “Be angry and sin not.” I believe there is such a thing as righteous anger. Now is a time for righteous anger. Allow me to share someone else’s review of a book on this subject, which I find helpful.  Click here to read that review!

Two Thoughts on moving forward in a compromising way, following the election:

First, while President Obama did win re-election, he barely won the popular vote. He clearly does not have a mandate. His election was more about style and likability, and I dare say that since 93 % of blacks voted for him, race. He was also helped by the GOP, whose efforts to shut out Liberty and Tea Party Grassroots activists at State and National Conventions this year caused many conservative individuals to either not vote, or actually oppose Mitt Romney with their vote. The point is, Barack Obama’s ideology did not win – his personality and his political machine did. This was aided by GOP incompetence. The compromises you are asking us to make are based in ideology and worldview, and our republic is clearly divided on these ideologies and worldviews.

Second, our extremely wise founding founders established a divided government because they wanted to limit extreme changes from taking place. They understood the tyranny of a centralized government, and they knew that someday we would be fighting the battles we are fighting. We must utilize the systems in place, which they wisely set up for us, to do everything we can to limit the further expansion of Government, which inevitably reduces individual liberty and personal responsibility. Remember, our republic was founded on the principles of individual liberty, not centralized government or collective results.

I am not willing to compromise on giving our Federal Government one more cent of revenue, whether the measurement is a percentage of GDP or as a dollar per citizen – you choose the matrix. I have yet to see them be wise stewards of my financial contributions, and I am angered by their waste. We have seen the GOP consistently compromise on our principles of fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, constitutional limited government and personal charity for the last 100 years, and it has led us to the brink of our republic’s impending financial demise.

We could confiscate 100 % of all the millionaires and billionaires wealth and we would still be in an unmanageable financial hole due to previous compromises.  Therefore, taxing the rich is not a solution. We must learn to live within our means. The riots and demonstrations which are taking place throughout Europe this week due to their required austerity measures should be all we need to see we must wake up and grow up.

While the current administration, which was just re-elected, is what helped to wake up the individuals that comprise The Tea Party, the one’s you say that must compromise now, our anger is not directed at this Administration, but at the GOP, which has peacefully compromised our liberties for decades.  It was George W. Bush who “Abandoned the free market in order to save the free market.”  We will retreat on our liberties no further – in order to attain immediate security. I am reminded of Benjamin Franklin who stated: “they who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

While we diligently work to restrain the growth of government, our struggle going forward is to educate our citizenry on the worldviews at stake. This election shows that the majority of youth 18 – 29 are ok with Socialism, which is in opposition to our form of government. The Pollsters are consistently speaking out about different races and classes. We need to educate that our ideas of limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility and private charity are not respecters of persons – they work for all races and creeds. I am so sick of our leaders dividing us up to win elections – our ideas win across all the lines, if we can articulate them well enough – which obviously, we need to improve on.

Some specific worldview items I will not compromise on, which we must do a better job in educating on are:

1.  Fiscal Responsibility. We need to have a budget. It needs to be tied to something measurable, like GDP. It needs to be balanced. This democratically controlled Administration and Senate has not passed a budget in 3 years. Why should we compromise on anything before this is accomplished – seriously – why?

2. Our President breeds Covetousness – and I am sick of it.  Please click here to read my writting on this subject.

3. Our President stands against life – As a State Senator he supported 3rd trimester abortions, right down to the last minute – and now wants enforce mandated healthcare that requires birth control, up to and including abortions. This is against our First Amendment Religious rights.

4. Our President stands against free speech – We are in a clash of worldviews with Radical Islam, and when our Ambassador is assassinated, President Obama attacked the First Amendment free speech rights of a film maker instead of addressing those who attacked our consulate – or better yet – did his job and ensured that attack didn’t take place!

I could write more, but I am done for now. I am going to go back to the question I started with: Where specifically do you want to see compromise, and what principles dictate that compromise or retreat?

 Here are some additional thoughts I have had since writing those words on November 15^th:

Those who seek Fiscal Responsibility, Constitutionally Limited Government and Free Markets – as laid out in our Constitution are hated not only by the Democrats, but by the establishment GOP as well.  Indeed if you listen carefully to many GOP leaders, they are posturing themselves so as to blame the Tea Party for any inability to reach a compromise. 

The reality is the party, which in writing states they hold to the values of the Tea Party, has compromised repeatedly on their written values for decades, and that is why the United States is facing the fiscal demise we face.  Now that there is growing momentum to hold the GOP party accountable, they are doing what every party with power does – clinging to their dwindling power, making every attempt distance themselves from those who are holding them accountable, which are actually the silent majority.  Rather than seeing the Tea Party as the reinforcements they need to hold to their principles, they will make every effort to blame the Tea Party, a movement which began only four years ago, for their long history of principled failings.  Just like they did in state wide and the national convention this summer, they will continue striving to shut and marginalize the Tea Party.

For many idealistic Tea Party members, it has been painful learning to be hated by those we want to help reinforce their principles.  The Tea Party movement however has learned, it is not here to be loved by the GOP.  We The People are here to restore our republic to the principles we hold so dear.  At a recent national conference of Tea Party leaders, we reflected multiple times on Winston Churchill, who left London in defeat in the early 1930’s; only to be called back to lead his country through the chaos of WWII. 

Financial Chaos is coming.  Its seeds were sowed a long time ago, prior to the inception of the Tea Party in 2008.  The Tea Party is not going away.  It is girding its loins, getting thick skinned and focusing locally where it has a greater impact. It will be ready when wisdom and common sense prevails at the Federal Level – which clearly is not yet!