Good Riddance Vic Snyder!

Representative. This seemingly simple word has taken on a whole new meaning since 1997 when Vic Snyder became the Representative for Arkansas’s second congressional district. The new meaning is the exact opposite of it’s actual dictionary definition.

While Vic seems like a nice enough guy personally and is a dedicated family man, his political leanings have been anything but “nice” to the majority of central Arkansans. He votes for higher taxes and more government waste every time he gets a chance. This truth found its culmination in his support for Obama-care which raises taxes, creates another wasteful government bureaucracy, and defies the wishes of around 70% of Arkansans according to recent polling data.

You may ask, “If Vic Snyder doesn’t represent Arkansas well, then how does he keep getting re-elected?”. There are three reasons that jump out at me.

Dumb voters coupled with the power of the incumbency make for a powerful combination and that is the number one reason an elected official of Snyder’s caliber is re-elected time and time again. I will discuss why voters are dumb in later in this post, but just let me state that by “dumb”, I mean un-educated and/or ignorant and not the inability to speak.

Secondly, money in the form of campaign cash plays a major role. Once a party gets its candidate into a national office like the Democrats did Snyder, they are quite reluctant to give up that candidate’s seat without a fight. So they pour money into that candidate’s campaign to help secure that seat so they don’t lose a seat that counts toward their possible majority status, or at least toward their minority’s abiity to filibuster.

Thirdly, Arkansans are steeped in the dumb tradition of electing Democrats to state and local offices. This has been a pattern since the Civil War days when Arkansas was a part of the Confederacy and has carried on through the present day. There obviously have been exceptions and the tide is finally turning, but we are traditionally a Democratic state.

But the reason I call this dumb (besides the fact that I am a conservative and think that most of the Democratic Party’s ideas are dumb) is that Arkansas usually votes (by a wide margin) for the Republican Presidential candidate. Also, Arkansans tend to be conservative in the way they think and live their lives.

The tradition of electing Democrats has resulted in many counties in the state being basically microcosms of single party rule where elections are decided in the primaries without an opponent in the general election from the Republican Party, even though many of the candidates themselves would be considered conservative in their political leanings and would likely be Republicans in other states where the two-party system is stronger.

Vic Snyder, the previously firmly ensconced Democratic Second District Congressman, announced Friday that he will not be running for re-election, citing the desire to spend more time with his wife and four young sons. This probably did play a large part in his decision, but I believe that he has seen the polling data showing any of three virtually unknown Republican candidates giving him a run for his money and understanding that his vote for Obama-care was the last nail in his political coffin.

I offer my best wishes for Mr. Snyder’s personal life and retirement, but politcally speaking, I say, “Good riddance!”. It’s the end of an error (sic).

Help for Haiti

I would like to call on everyone to pray for Haiti, but there is a a more tangible way to help those in need. Send a text message to 90999 with the word “Haiti” as the message. This will charge $10 to your cell phone bill and will donate that $10 to the Red Cross which is a reputable organization.

You can also go to any of the following links and donate. These are reputable organizations that are helping in Haiti.

Food for the Hungry

Samaritan’s Purse

Hands and Feet Project

World Vision

World Concern

Compassion International

Red Cross

Salvation Army

My Hope for Change in 2010

I don’t know about you, but I sure would like to see 2010 turn out better than 2009 for America. Liberals are on a fast-track to destroy this nation and something must be done before it’s too late. It’s up to us, the citizens to get the stupidity out of Congress in November. Vote for common sense conservatism in the primaries and in the general election. And don’t feel like you’re all alone. A recent Gallup Poll showed that conservatism is on the rise in America and more people identify themselves as conservatives than any other ideological group. This means that if we stand up as one on election day, we’ll have a tremendous impact on the future of this nation.

You may wonder what Conservatives stand for. Simply put, we believe in life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, just like our Founding Fathers. We stand for life for all people from the unborn to the elderly and everyone in between. We stand for liberty to live our lives without an oppressive and inefficient big government whose favorite things to do are tax, spend and regulate. We stand for the right of individuals to pursue happiness, as long as their pursuit doesn’t infringe upon anyone else’s rights or break any laws.

We believe in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and believe the rights spelled out in the Bill of Rights come from God and not government. Knowing that government didn’t give us our rights, we don’t believe government can take them away either. Surprisingly, the right to health care and abortion on demand are not in the constitution. Maybe I just missed it somewhere.

We hate political correctness. If political correctness is allowed to continue and grow unchallenged, it will ultimately destroy our nation.

We believe common sense needs to be common again.

We believe in fiscal responsibility and restraint. Congress and the President should balance the budget, get us out of debt and keep us on solid ground financially.

We believe in capitalism. Government interference in the marketplace hinders economic growth and causes job loss.

We believe in a strong national defense. Preemptive military force should only be used when our national security is being threatened. When we do go to war, we should go full-force, win decisively and then bring the troops home.

We believe in American Exceptionalism. We don’t believe that our citizens are genetically or intellectually superior to other people in the world, but we believe our form of government as instituted by our Founding Fathers has allowed America to become one of the greatest forces for good on planet Earth. We have advanced more than any country in world history technologically, agriculturally, economically, culturally, industrially, and in any other way you can think of because of two things: GOD’S BLESSINGS and FREEDOM!

We believe in personal responsibility.

We believe that generosity should be voluntary and that the government should not be in charge of caring for the poor. The sad fact is that government waste in the area of entitlements is going to break us. Let churches and charities take care of the less fortunate. They would be more than willing if government would get out the charity business. Government was never meant to be a sugar-daddy and is very inefficient in this area.

We believe in patriotism and loyalty to the cause of freedom.

This is by no means an exhaustive list of conservative ideals, but it’s a good start.

Begin talking about these things with those you see every day and you may be surprised to find that there are more with us than there are against us.

I’m Back!

Due to the economic slowdown that began last year, particularly around September, I had to lay myself off from the blog. Now that we’re on firm financial footing again, I will be starting back part-time!

Pray for the Victims of Hurricane Gustav

Please pray for the victims of Hurricane Gustav. While this has not been nearly as bad as Katrina, there is still considerable damage in the Gulf of Mexico coastal areas in other countries and in the U.S. Pray for those who have lost their homes or have suffered other damage, injury, or loss of loved ones.

McCain’s Pick for V.P.

Well, I’m back from summer vacation and just in time to write a quick post about something that actually excites me about the McCain campaign: His choice for Vice-President, Governor Sarah Palin of Alaska. Sarah Palin has conservative credentials that make the vote for McCain much more exciting for me. Don’t get me wrong, I would never consider voting for Obama and have always planned to vote for McCain (while possibly holding my nose), but his campaign has taken a turn toward the political right that is quite appealing to right-wing extremists like me. Those of us who cling to God and guns are tickled to have Sarah Palin on the ticket. Plus, she’s a good looking gal which is badly needed in this race .

What are her positions? She’s solidly pro-life, pro-family values, pro-traditional marriage, pro-gun, pro-drilling any and everywhere, pro-tax cuts, anti-corruption, and a committed Christian. She’s not so committed to the Republican Party that she won’t take them on when they’re in the wrong and she doesn’t cower to special interest groups. She’s not convinced that global warming is man-made and she doesn’t believe that polar bears should be on the endangered species list (they’re at their largest population in 30 years) to satisfy some environmental alarmists that believe anything Algore says. She’s the governor of our largest state (in land mass) and presides over an economy which includes an energy industry that is the largest producer of oil in the U.S. She has the highest approval rating of any governor in the country and isn’t part of the Washington, D.C. establishment. She’s from an average background and not the heir to someone else’s political fortunes.

There are a lot of naysayers out there on the left and in the mainstream media that say that nearly two years as a governor isn’t enough experience to be a heartbeat away from the presidency. These same people would have you believe that Barack Obama does have enough experience because of his 142 actual working days in the Senate (he’s been running for President the rest of the time) and his brief days as a state senator from Illinois. And he’s #1 on the Democratic ticket, not the V. P. If you really want to get technical, she has more executive experience than John McCain, Joe Biden or Barack Obama. I say make her #1 on the Republican ticket and put McCain at #2. But, I find it quite hypocritical of those making light of her experience when their PRESIDENTIAL candidate is as “green” as they come. True enough, Sarah might not have the years of stirring up trouble on the streets of Chicago like Obama has, but I believe running a state and meeting the constitutional requirements of age and citizenship more than qualify her to be V.P.

Memorial Day Celebration

Today, we would like to honor the memories of those who have paid the ultimate price for our country and celebrate their accomplishments and the freedom that we all hold so dear. God bless the families of those who have lost their lives in service to our great nation. We are in eternal debt to you. I would also like to take this time to remember our soldiers serving at home and abroad to keep our country safe and secure. Continue to fight the good fight ladies and gentlemen and we look forward to your safe return home. Thank you so much for all that you do!

Please watch this special video in honor of our soldiers.

Please Pray for Senator Edward Kennedy

In case you haven’t heard, Senator Edward Kennedy has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The Senator and I hardly agree about anything politically, but he has a long, distinguished career in leadership and is deserving of our respect and our prayers. We here at Simply Fab wish him our best and pray that he would receive healing and that his family will be strengthened during this trying time. My prayer is that they would find God nearby during the treatments and that the doctors would be amazed at how quickly the cancer disappears. God bless you, Senator and may the healing virtue of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ touch you powerfully!

Liberalism Seeks to Weaken Our National Sovereignty

2. Liberalism seeks to weaken our national sovereignty. While I am in favor of having allies in like-minded nations that are pursuing liberty, capitalism, and common security goals, I am not in favor of backing away from protecting America if someone in another country doesn’t agree with our position.

Take the Iraqi war, for instance. President George W. Bush (who I don’t always agree with) was acting in the interest of our country and the world when he sent troops into Iraq to topple Saddam Hussein. Many liberals say the war wasn’t a good idea because we couldn’t get France, Germany, and Russia to go along with us. As it turns out, these countries were caught up in the Oil-for-Food scandal. This far reaching scandal involved high officials from all of these governments and the son of the Secretary General of the United Nations (a worthless organization to say the least).

Basically, this is what was happening: The U.N. was allowing Iraq to sell oil to these countries to buy food for Iraqis that were starving under the rule of the ruthless dictator, Saddam Hussein who was even under U.N. sanctions for an illegal weapons program, thus preventing the import of many food goods for the Iraqi people. What actually happened rather than the U.N.’s “good intentions” was that the oil was given at a discount, along with some cash, to the leaders in these nations as insurance of their vote against war in the Security Council of the U.N. Saddam then pocketed the discounted proceeds that was meant for humanitarian relief and further built his weapons program instead.

So where are the weapons of mass destruction? This is the liberal question that blows my mind. Saddam knew months in advance of the invasion that we were planning war with him, so he had plenty of time to rid Iraq of WMD’s by way of Syria and other allies. He would’ve been stupid not to get rid of them. But there is no doubt that he had them. Not only did every bit of available intelligence information in the world indicate that he had such weapons, but he used them against his own people. Tens of thousands of Kurds died at the hand of Saddam and many mass graves were uncovered after Iraq’s liberation.

Oh, and on a side-note, you may not know this because the media doesn’t talk about it, but the Secret Service uncovered a plot by Saddam Hussein to assassinate the first President Bush (41) as revenge for Operation Desert Storm. War (or at least a regime change) was justified for numerous reasons, but liberals think we should have gotten the O.K. from France (who was bribed into opposing the war) first. This is bad for America.

Liberals Do Not Respect the Right to Life

As I said in my previous post, I am explaining my positions concerning liberalism one post at a time so I can be thorough, but not so lengthy that you fall asleep. Now for #1’s explanation.

1. Liberalism lacks respect and in many cases opposes the most basic of human rights: life. Abortion, assisted suicide, euthanasia and the like have no better friends in this country than liberals. Not only is this a moral issue (which is an entire post in and of itself), but it is an issue that strikes at the very heart of what it originally meant to be an American. Our very Declaration of Independence states that:

“…they are endowed, by their CREATOR, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness–That to secure these Rights, Governments are instituted among Men,….”

The very reason for the existence of government in the U.S., according to this quote, is to secure the right to life rather than destroy it. Liberals want to give people the right to destroy life when it is inconvenient, no matter how innocent. They foster a culture of death rather than life. This is bad for America.