Commentary

At the risk of being esoteric, I want to address something that we will need to develop over a series of posts on this website.  At the most basic level, one must recognize that there are differences between how conservatives see the world and how progressives—and others—pursue power to transform society.  In essence, that is the difference between conservatism and progressivism.  Conservatives live by a set of principles where prudence is the hallmark.  They see each of us as individuals, independent, free and able to pursue the life we choose based on our unique set of talents.  Progressives, on the other hand, wish to pursue a perfected, “progressing” society.  They believe that man can be perfected, but there are only a few who can or should guide the transformation of society to that heightened state.  Of course, such perfection means that everyone must be the same, so the core belief of progressives is that all must be treated to equal outcomes.  This, as we know, is not possible in a free society.

The progressive movement is based on a deception.  That deception is that what they purport to seek is not possible in a free society.  Thus, progressives must insidiously enslave the society in order to change it to their design.  The enslavement can be one shrouded in a sense of well-being, because progressives wish to provide for all our needs.  The state becomes the ultimate authority in our lives, and we will bend to the state or we will be cast aside.  As the state can punish as easily as it can reward, to resist will end badly for the individual citizen.

This has been a heck of a month, and we still have a week to go.  Santorum suspended his campaign, we have had movement in the Martin case, we had one of the largest "coffees" ever and yesterday, we were in Fort Dodge, IA, for the 4th Congressional District GOP district convention.  All in all, a lot to digest.

Yesterday was perhaps the most interesting.  I was asked to be the permanent chair of the district convention.  Chris Mason, the temporary chair, got us through the prliminary stuff in good shape, but when it came to electing the permanent chair (me), we got our first taste of what was to be the trend for the early part of the meeting--constant interruptions on parliamentary procedure and attempts to dominate the floor debate.  I did not have any opposition, but I was not unanimously elected either.  This was a harbinger of other votes to follow.  To make a long story short, we took over an hour to get past a debate on the rules of the convention, but things worked out OK.  I will say that I got a lot of input from well-intentioned people, but I didn't get much output from a lot of folks who seemed to think they were actually in charge.  Of course, as the day wore on, things seemed to smooth out.  I had some great friends there, and they made things a lot easier.

Our elected officials were to be limited in the time they could speak, but I was not about to cut off the governor, our congressman, one of our senators, the secretary of state, or our national committee people.  So, things went a little long.  At the end of the day, however, we were only about an hour over what we had projected.  All in all, a really good experience.

Just wanted to post some notes to get everyone caught up with what is going on with IMPACT and Serious Civics.  The show is going gang busters with the quality hopefully improving every day.  We will be having a lot of guests on during the next several weeks as we have several primaries on the republican side in the local area.  In the spirit of letting the people decide, we will be giving everyone access to the program to get their thoughts and ideas out there.  I am excited about this process as it really does get the best candidates into the general election.

In Iowa this weekend, the GOP will be holding its district conventions.  From these conventions, the various GOPers will be building a state platform, electing committee members and most importantly starting the process to select national delegates to the convention.  Also, there will be several people wanting to be on the state central committee.  Bubbling under the surface, however, is the persistent rumor that certain elements in the party will be agitating and even disrupting proceedings.  I am hoping this will be a tempest in a teapot, but if representatives of certain campaigns want to make things tough for everyone, then I suppose they can.  I am holding out that they will be respectful and will follow procedures.  If it goes south, however, we can make sure things get put on hold until such time as eveyone realizes that we are after the same goal, and that is making Barack Obama a one term president.

Senator Rick Santorum suspended his campaign with grace, humility and character.  Of course, that is the guy I know and admire.  His speech may have been one of his best ever.  I am hoping he will have a strong role in the campaign and a strong position in the administration of the next president.  He has done so much for the party by sticking to the conservative principles he so heartily embraces.

Our Serious Civics programs are going great.  We seem to get more people involved all the time, which is just fabulous.  I have a great group of friends who are supporting everything I want to do.  One cannot do this alone.

Many more announcements about some exciting opportunities are coming up this summer and this fall.  Keep watching this website for notifications.  One final note--we are approaching 5,000 downloads from the podcasts.  This is pretty remarkable for a small station, a one hour program and a year's worth of postings.  Thanks to all of you, we are flourishing.

When I first saw Rick Santorum give a speech in person, I thought that he was testing the waters for a run at the presidency.  His pitch was not that great, but a year later, he took the stage at Emma's Event Center in Sioux City and showed a passion that I found particularly appealing.  I told him that night that if he needed any help with his campaign, I would be glad to do what I could.  Over the next several months, he became a better candidate and I got to be a bigger supporter.  Finally, in December of last year, right before the caucuses, I endorsed him on my radio program.  I was proud to do it.

I had the chance to campaign with Senator Santorum and found that what he delivered on the stage was the same guy off stage.  He is a good father and husband.  He is, above all else, a courageous, committed and tenacious conservative.  He has grit, as they say, and I am proud to be a supporter.

Rick gave some of the most moving speeches I have ever heard.  The reason these speeches were so powerful is because they came from the heart.  He knows his stuff and he believes in what he is doing.  Right now, he is doing what is best for his family, but I can assure you, he will be out on the campaign trail very soon helping get conservatives elected across the country.  He will be a hot ticket for the rest of the campaign season--and rightfully so.

I hope I get the chance to work with him again.  He has so much to offer the country.  He has a vision of where we ought to be going and he uses the Constitution as the very roadmap to how we get there.  To him and his family, I wish the very best.  God Bless.