Two years ago, I co-authored a book with my friends Brendan Steinhauser and Steve Bierfeldt. The book, Who is the REAL Barack Obama? For the rising generation, by the rising generation, was a warning to all voters, but especially young people to not get caught up in the hype presented by the candidacy of Barack Obama.
In the book, we demonstrated, through facts (supported by nearly 200 footnotes) that Obama would be the most radically left President we’ve ever had. Obama claimed he would be a “transpartisan” president, meaning he would transcend partisan politics. As President, he has done nothing more than chart a course as far to the Left as possible. In response, a populist movement known as the tea parties emerged and President Obama has not only not reached out to this popular (and growing) movement of Americans, but has publicly ridiculed them. Do you call this transcending partisan politics?
As a candidate, Obama claimed he would bring “change” to Washington, but again, as we correctly pointed out in our book, he would concentrate more power in Washington and exacerbate our problems further. I could go on and on and an entire new book could be written here.
Today, I hate to say it, but I was right again. More than 14 months ago, I wrote a blog post, “Oust Charlie Crist,” issuing “a clarion call to all conservatives inside and outside of Florida: let’s oust Crist from the Republican Party.” I cited several examples where Crist’s policies had been going to the Left, embracing statist policies even before he “embraced” Obama in Fort Myers that same month. His government property insurance scheme (a real “public option”), his state version of a “cap and trade” program with government mandates on energy and holding summits about “global warming.” Since then he has committed some real sins against the Right, with his active support of the stimulus which puts our nation further into debt and then his veto against his own party on the bold education reforms passed by the Republican-led Florida Legislature.
Today was no surprise for me. The winds have shifted and Charlie Crist goes wherever the winds move. Unfortunately for him the winds have shifted so much against him he now has nowhere to turn, but only to a lonely desperate road of political isolationism. The party establishment he has called himself a part of for 24 years he now refers to as “a club.” When the club embraced him, Charlie was happy to be a part of it. Now that his corrupt cronies (Jim Greer and company) have been found caught red-handed with out of control spending on the GOP donor’s dime, he no longer can use the power of the party for his own personal political ambitions. Thus, he realizes he cannot win as a Republican. Down by double-digits in the polls (in some polls more than 30 points) to Republican Marco Rubio, he now abandons the primary race to go straight to November. Desperation has set in and Charlie isn’t about to put the interests of his party in front of his own interests.
Many Republican establishment types in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. stayed with Charlie for way too long. For some, almost to the bitter end. With Rubio seen as a rising star and out to a massive lead over both Crist and Meek, these political insiders are anxious to throw jokes at Crist and jump on board the Rubio express. I’m happy to welcome them, but I now see through their own political posturing. It isn’t much different than Charlie’s. He’s simply the one in the spotlight.
Conservatives stand for the timeless principles that our founders placed in the Constitution: limited government, separation of powers, federalism, and the rule of law. They are not difficult principles to stand for if you indeed really stand for them. Barack Obama looks at these founding principles with contempt. Charlie Crist doesn’t look at them at all. Barack Obama knows what he wants to do with his power. Charlie Crist simply wants power, like a schoolboy who wants to be Class President. Both are hungry for power at the expense of hardworking Americans simply wanting government to get out of the way so they can live their lives and pursue their dreams. It’s no wonder these two embraced each other in Fort Myers, FL in February 2009. They have so much in common with each other and very little in common with average Americans.
So today, it’s tough being right. I would have preferred to be wrong about these two men. I would have embraced them had they proven me wrong. But it’s hard to escape the truth that facts employ.
So tonight I remind America that I have proved right about these two men in my own careful analysis. I am not simply a “Republican” looking to win. If that was the case, I would not have abandoned Charlie Crist 14 months ago. I would have been riding his wave when he was riding high. I look to principles and purpose. These two men don’t have it and it wasn’t that hard to tell. Instead of following them, we need to seek to place serious, hard working, thoughtful, principled men and women in office who care about upholding not their personalities, but the Constitution.
Stay tuned America. I’ll be offering more analysis and predictions in the future. You just might want to tune in. Foresight is a bitch. It’s also a burden.
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