I’m excited about this political season. I think it’s going to be a huge election that once again changes the direction of our country. I think our President and the main stream media are in for a shock come November. I think “Chik-fil-a Day” was just a sneak-peek of what is coming on election day. Electing President Obama was good for America historically but disastrous economically. Not everyone will agree, but that’s fine. I’m assuming most of my readers are Right-leaning; for those who aren’t, that’s OK with me. That’s the great thing about America – we get to vote and settle things peacefully in the voting booth. I don’t mind people who disagree with me politically, and I have good friends who do. I actually enjoy spirited political conversations – the Arena of Ideas is exciting and engaging. What frustrates me to no end, though, are uninformed and disinterested citizens who either don’t vote or vote based on one issue. That is a almost a crime in my opinion. It is a waste of the lives that were sacrificed to provide the freedom to vote and participate in our political process. When people resort to insults or name calling or tearing down their opponents rather than engaging in the discussion of Ideas or Policies, America suffers. I’d have no problem with opponents who disagree but hold to ideas or principles that they sincerely believe will better America. I just wish they would honestly look at the results of those ideas when they are implemented, rather than just the good intentions of those ideas. At the end of the day, ideas must be weighed by results, not intentions. Admittedly, there are successes and failures on both sides when you engage in a genuine evaluation of results. But unfortunately, not many people are willing to engage in the Arena of Ideas. Too often, people become the focus; either that, or slogans or snippets and sound bites. The Ideas and Ideology get lost, because Ideology can’t be explained in thirty seconds. It is rare to find an American who can explain his or her political beliefs or the reason they vote for their party beyond one issue or another, and I think that is tragic for our Nation. Most political ads and most political conversations center around the candidates (like Mitt’s taxes? Who cares!) rather than their ideas or the results of their ideas, and that is unfortunate. It is the ideas that impact our nation and our lives far more than an individual’s personality or “likeability.”
But I’ll stop rambling for now…my post is about the fact that I got to MEET both Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney in the past month. I list them in that order because that is both the order I met them in, and the order in which I favor them. I intend no disrespect to Mr. Romney, I’m excited about him, and will be voting for him. However, I have been especially impressed with Mr. Ryan and his principled stands for fiscal sanity in the House in the face of incredible opposition, and I am delighted that Mitt selected him as his running mate. I successfully predicted his selection months in advance, just as I did the “surprise” selection of Palin long before anyone else even thought she was in the running four years ago. (But that’s a story for another day .)
To top off getting to meet both Mr. Paul Ryan and Mr. Mitt Romney, I was able to shake their hands and have them sign my campaign hats!
Here is a video of highlights from when I got to go see Paul Ryan in Colorado Springs!
A few weeks later, I had the opportunity to see Mitt Romney. Since I went alone, I didn’t get nearly as many photos (the video features photos from my dad and his wife as well as mine).
Afterward, I shook his hand, and he signed my hat too.
I’m excited about a Presidential candidate who is a businessman, because he understands the ways that the government is currently hindering job growth. (As a business owner, I understand this more than most.) He understands that the government cannot create jobs. (The few jobs it can create in government must be supported by tax payers, so they create a greater burden on the real job creators.) I’m excited to have a candidate who will celebrate business and reward success and who has a clear and articulated plan and a proven record of working with politicians on the other side to get things done, rather than being so ideologically rigid that Washington gets frozen. (As it is now.) I believe we will see 1983 again like Reagen after Carter, which so few American remember (or study to understand) if they are too young to remember (like me). When the private sector is unleashed and isn’t afraid of its government, then the economy booms. When businesses are afraid of their government and afraid of succeeding lest they become a target, then they hold on to their money. They don’t invest, and they don’t hire. And that is exactly what has been happening for the past four years. That could all end if Mitt and Ryan are elected in November. Let’s hope enough Americans understand the real reasons behind why the economy has been so sluggish and once again give free enterprise and small businesses a chance to flourish!
The American Dream isn’t dead, it’s just been living in a nightmare for four years.
If you’d like to hear Paul Ryan’s speech from the event I attended, I video taped it and you can watch it here. Kinda nice to get more than the sound bites you hear on the news:
