If you queried the normal American you might receives responses like “the war in Washington is between the Democrats and the Republicans.” Others might speculate that the war is between the liberals and the conservatives; or the Tea Party and the Progressives, while others will say the war is between Wall Street and Main Street; the rich and the poor.
I will concede that these are the combatants but the differences that exist between these competing ideas are not the reasons we face this internal struggle. We have seen intense battles over government spending. One side argues the government spends too much and that government spending needs to be curtailed; while many on the other side of the battle field will counter by saying the government needs to spend more. Journalist Paul Krugman and Fox News Contributor Alan Colmes repeatedly suggest the government’s stimulus was too small and would have been more effective if the government spent more money. So are we at war over government spending? No!
Then we must be at war over taxes. How many times have both sides evoked the tax argument for all that ails this country? The right keeps fighting to cut taxes on corporations, small business and the American people claiming reduced taxes will stimulate jobs and economic growth; while the left believes taxes are too low and that is why federal revenues are trailing so far behind government spending. Reduced revenues, it is argued, is the reason government cannot invest more in education, infra-structure and research. So the war must be over taxes? Wrong again!
Unfortunately, the thought process about this issue continues to attack the symptoms underlying the war and not the actual reason for the war. A very good analogy would be to look at the medical profession. Doctors continually look at symptoms as a guide towards treating the underlying cause of disease. But if a patient has a stomach ache and the doctor simply prescribes an antacid how long will the patient live when in reality their appendix has ruptured. If you do not get to the root cause of the problem the problem will fester and eventually kill the patient.
The same thing is going on in Washington among our politicians. They keep battling the symptoms but refuse to acknowledge and fight the disease. We saw the Congress of the United States spend the better part of one year fighting over healthcare. The left wants a single-payer, government controlled health care system but the right insists that the cost of healthcare is the problem and not healthcare coverage. The right wants free market competition to drive the health care industry.
We have seen battles rage over the entitlement programs where one side insists that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid must be reformed but the other side fights on by saying benefits to the seniors and disabled will never be cut. Both sides continue to exchange gunfire over regulatory policy such as the directives being handed down by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and the newly formed Healthcare Advisory Board; one side defending the moves as needed protections while the other side believing these regulatory reforms are killing capital investment, jobs and economic growth.
These individual battles will continue to be fought with no clear winner from either side as long as the battles being fought are merely attacking the symptoms. The real war will never be won until the underlying principles are finally laid bare for all to see and understand. At that time, and only then, will the real battle be fought to its final and decisive conclusion.
So, what is the real underlying cause of the war that is continuing to fuel these skirmishes and battles? The real war being fought in Washington is between freedom/liberty and Social Justice; between free-market capitalism and oppressive government interference; between the U.S. Constitution and European-style socialism; and between the United States being a strong, independent global leader or a co-inhabitant within a New World Order.
During the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama campaigned on the notion that he will “fundamentally change this nation;” that he will instill a “change that we can believe in” based on the premise of “hope and change.” Do you think Obama was saying he was going to rein in out-of-control Bush spending? Do you think he was suggesting he was going to reinstate the United States to global prominence? No, Mr. Obama was saying he was going to fundamentally change this country into a third world nation by redistributing the wealth, destroying capitalism, nationalizing our free enterprise system and growing the scope and influence of government.
Each and every battle that I previously laid out is directly related to these “fundamental changes.” Do you think Obama allowed the federal debt to balloon into the multiple trillions because he is incompetent? Do you think Obama’s insistence on a balanced approach that includes tax increases to balance the budget is merely a misguided notion? Do you think that Obama’s plan to take over the healthcare system, the mortgage industry, the student loan industry, banks, insurance companies and the automobile industry were done to grow the economy, create jobs and make us a stronger country? Do you think Obama’s undying support for union control over right-to-work incentives is an accident?
We kept hearing during the debt ceiling debate that “the President has no plan!” Regrettably, he does have a plan and a strong, viable free-market capitalistic economy driven by low taxes and reduced government spending is not part of his plan; those are his targets. When he said he is going to “fundamentally change this nation” he meant it but not in ways we imagined. His plan is to simply drag the United States into that “black hole” of social failure under the guise of Social Justice and a New World Order.
Now it is time to expose the Obama plan and let the American people decide if they want to be led into a New World Order driven by Social Justice and an oppressive government, or do they want to be free to live and grow and achieve the American dream based on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness? This is the real war being fought today. Once the outcome has been decided then all of the other battles will no longer be fought. If the American people choose Social Justice and a New World Order then we are all screwed and the United States as we know it will cease to exist. If the American people choose freedom and liberty then the question about lowering taxes, reducing government spending, eliminating regulatory disincentives, overturning Obamacare, reforming entitlement programs and repealing burdensome capital killing legislation will face very little opposition.
The economy will grow at rates never seen before; jobs will be created to levels that will require an increase in legal immigration to fill them all; we will finally become a nation that is energy independent; Standard & Poor’s will reinstate our triple-A bond rating; and the United States of America will, once again, reclaim its role as leader of the free world and the envy of every nation on earth. The final chapter of this war journal has yet to be written; the ultimate battle has yet to be fought. I hope the American people choose wisely.
The "war" is between people who accept responsibility for their short and long term actions (read entitlements if you wish) and those who do not.
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