You Can Bank On It
June 8, 2006
July 17th, 1980 seems so long ago but its memories still burn brightly. On that night, Ronald Reagan delivered, “Time To Recapture Our Destiny”, his acceptance speech for the Republican nomination for the President. If there was one constant in the Reagan ideology, it was his trust in the American people and, on that night, he best conveyed it in these words:
"Trust me" government asks that we concentrate our hopes and dreams on one man; that we trust him to do what's best for us. My view of government places trust not in one person or one party, but in those values that transcend persons and parties. The trust is where it belongs--in the people. The responsibility to live up to that trust is where it belongs, in their elected leaders. That kind of relationship, between the people and their elected leaders, is a special kind of compact.
Much to the angst of the elitist media and political illuminati, Reagan proceeded to win the Presidency by a landslide and become one of the most beloved Presidents in American history because he knew that...what was “best” for the American people was what the American people knew was “best” for themselves.
Reagan loved the “Country” more than the “Office” and it’s a pity that the same can’t be said for the “Trust me” politicians now inhabiting the halls of power.
No matter what the editorial page of the New York Times or the political Party leadership tell you...common sense...your gut feeling...tells you that your government no longer trusts the American people. You are being lectured...not listened to.
After getting himself and his Party in political doo-doo for not listening to the people who elected him, President Bush tried to recapture his base with a “call upon the Congress to promptly pass...an amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting marriage as a union of man and woman as husband and wife.”
This was an insult to the intelligence of the American people. It was simple-minded condescension. It was another half-truth ploy.
Given the opportunity to reign-in spending when first elected, Bush instead “has presided over the largest overall increase in inflation-adjusted federal spending since Lyndon B. Johnson.”
So, let’s cut him some slack because Constitutionally, Congress is ultimately responsible for federal outlays.
The Republican controlled Congress, many of whom signed the Contract With America which promised “...to restore fiscal responsibility to an out- of-control Congress, requiring them to live under the same budget constraints as families and businesses” has developed amnesia...“Inflation-adjusted spending on the combined budgets of the 101 largest programs they vowed to eliminate in 1995 has grown by 27 percent.”
An April 2006 FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll asked the question, “After federal taxes are collected from the American public, do you think Congress thinks of the money more as taxpayer money to spend carefully or as their money to spend as they wish?”. Eighty percent answered that their tax dollars are spent as if they were Congress’ dollars. Yet Congress keeps buying more pork.
In a May 2006 FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll, when asked if they favor “Trying to send as many illegal immigrants back to their home countries as possible”, 55% of Americans answered YES. Yet, President Bush and the Republican-controlled Senate insist on trying to jam the legalization almost 15 million illegal immigrants down the throats of the American taxpayer (and that’s just the beginning).
Just today, a new ABC News/Washington Post poll saw President Bush's job approval rating sink to a new low of 33 percent.
And Bush’s response?
First he calls for a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage which he knew had NO chance of becoming a reality. After all the broken promises to his Conservative base, did Bush really believe that this half-hearted gesture would earn him instant redemption?
Yesterday, the Republican-controlled Senate voted the amendment idea down. Not only did the idea not receive the 2/3 majority vote required by the Constitution to pass it...it did not even receive a simple 50% majority. Yet, over 60% of Americans are consistently opposed to gay marriage.
Next, Bush decided to rally the faithful with a duplicitous “get tough” position on immigration...”He promised to ‘get this border enforced’ and warned those who enter the country illegally, ‘If you get caught, you get sent home’." Then he immediately backpedaled and said that “only an approach to immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship...will be effective.”
Bush did mention that “immigrants should have to learn American history and the English language”, but he gave no specifics about how that would be done. Geez...Bush even went running for cover when the Republican-controlled Senate voted to make English America’s “national” language instead of its “official” language. How many ways do you twist words to keep lying to the American people?
Does it seem that our leaders keep making promises they have no intention of keeping? Does it seem that our leaders tell you what you want to hear and then do what they want to do?
One of my readers emailed me with some thoughts that I believe are representative of many Americans:
Like you, I am just more dumbfounded everyday over how out of touch these folks in D.C. are -- including the President. I can't decide if they're just plain stupid or just plain contemptuous of us. It's really frightening, seriously. This is not a good situation. The survival of the country hangs by a thread ... the end of which is held by these idiots!! I fear we're doomed.
Through all of the Capital’s rhetorical fog, about the only thing you bank on is the belief that D.C. is not listening to the American people. And that can only mean that D.C. does not trust the American people.
Come November, perhaps the American people should reciprocate the kind gesture and let D.C. know how little the American people have come to trust them...both Democrat and Republican alike.
That’s a message D.C. can bank on and my only regret is that Ronald Reagan isn’t here to deliver it.
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