Many of our problems today come, not from any particular event or situation, but from a lack of confidence to move forward. The stock market is basically in a downward spiral because investors don't believe problems are being fixed... in fact they believe just the opposite. Banks aren't lending money... maybe because they don't have confidence in the economy the borrowers will operate in, or perhaps they feel they've been burned and lost confidence in their own ability to make good decisions and they've become overly cautious.

It appears that we don't really have an economic problem... but a confidence problem. It's not that we lack cash... the Fed is printing paper just as fast as the presses will run. We have a president with no lack of confidence in his ability to do everything short of walking on water. As we haven't discussed the matter, it may be that he believes it possible to be an aquatic pedestrian. At this point thought, his extreme confidence in himself is not shared by Wall St. or Main St. People have begun saving what money they have and stopped buying much that they really don't need. The economy is slowly grinding to a halt.

One would think that all the people who voted for the O-man would have the confidence to move the economy forward, yet even they... the bankers who received bailout money... and gave some to his campaign... don't have the confidence to start the credit flowing again. For the bankers, it's not a cash shortage, they just received billions of our money from the government, but an unwillingness to lend it out. It's hard blame them too much as they've made a couple too many bad choices with their own money... some because of government rules and intimidation.

We are told that the banks are the key to freeing up the credit that keeps our economy moving. Individuals and companies in debt up to their eyeballs don't necessarily need more debt to get them out of debt. The same could be said for governments. Somehow many in our population know this instinctively, but it somehow escapes the thinkerbrains in Washington who have no other answers for us. They tell us to have confidence in them... however more and more people aren't working, and neither are their answers... but they cost us money... they cost our children money... they cost our grandchildren money.

The truth of Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal's statement, "Who among us would ask our children for a loan, so we could spend money we do not have, on things we do not need? That is precisely what the Democrats in Congress just did. It's irresponsible..." cannot be overemphasized... and even the kool aid drinkers understand this, however they don't admit it publicly.

We are facing a crisis of confidence in our financial markets, our businesses, our government, in America... even in ourselves.

What can we believe in, that will get us moving? Perhaps it is the Christians who have confidence that goes beyond the financial institutions and government to listen to the wisdom of God and lead us forward. We are following people who have no idea what they are doing. Watching the current DC drama reminds me of a political consultant who is fond of saying, “Never assume malice when incompetence will do.” If ever there was a time for a calm word of common sense, it is now.

The solutions we are offered are massively more of the same thing that got us into this mess. Of course, they won't listen to us, just like they ignore Republican objections because, “I won!”. Perhaps we can show our fellow Americans the way out by taking care of our families and refusing to take part in the “sky is falling” rhetoric. Where there are problems, there are also opportunities. The only way to find them is to lose the panic mode and logically assess the situation. Asking for wisdom could go a long to insuring a happy outcome as well.

Someone has to lead our country out of the fix we're in. The people in charge don't have the sense to know that when you find yourself in a hole... STOP DIGGING!

Worshiping at the altar of diversity as advocated by the politically correct elites serves their purposes well, but what does it do for the rest of us? Does it help us unite to solve common problems, or does it split us into multiple camps where all we can see is our competing interests? If it is the latter, should we be viewing this politically correct article of faith as simply a well meaning error, or as a sinister attack on our country's ability to function and lead the world?

Pursuing identity politics, that is, looking at each person as a member of some small, but downtrodden group rather than as an individual, serves to promote isolation from the rest of society and focus our attention on our differences rather than our similarities. It keeps us fragmented and distracted. We face many challenges in our country today. We need to pull together, but all we hear from our government is divisive rhetoric that keeps us at each others throats. The poor are told their plight is the fault of the rich. Union members are told corporate greed keeps them from getting what they want. One racial group thinks they are being held down by another. While the other group sees their opportunities given to less qualified workers based strictly on skin color.

The left, through the Democratic party has successfully balkanized America so many people see themselves first as members of some sort of aggrieved group that needs help in redressing some real or imagined wrong. One must give them credit for forging this disparate group, with often competing interests into a coalition that keeps many of them in office... even though few of the grievances are ever resolved.

What does this do for the country? It keeps our focus on our own parochial issues and off the greater challenges facing our country. It keeps many just voting their own financial interests, often to the detriment of the country. It keeps us from really considering the implications of the fluff coming out of Washington and our state capitols. We are kept dumb and angry with the wrong people. Many are kept so stirred up by organizations like ACORN with straw man arguments that they never realize that the very people they look to for their salvation are the ones who are creating the situations that hold them in bondage.

This distraction is costly. American citizens see their jobs and their country slipping away as illegal immigrants sneak across the border and companies outsource American jobs to overseas workers who work for lower wages... all with the approval of a government that is supposed to be serving it's citizens. Yet, we are kept sufficiently fragmented that those in power from both parties proceed with their destructive policies, more concerned about offending their lobbyist supporters and contributors than the voters.

It's time to take a hard look at the concept of identity politics and recognize it for the scam that it is. It's time to reject the idea of the hyphenated American. There are no Irish-Americans, Asian-Americans or even African-Americans. We are Americans, no matter what our skin color or the source of our last name! We are all in this mess together and as Ben Franklin put it, “We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Sure there are many things going on that are not right, but if we only look at our narrow interests we will be like crabs in bucket. When one gets close to crawling out, the others just pull him back down and they all end up as someone's dinner.

Does this mean we all give up our identities? Absolutely not! It means that we face life as the individuals we were created to be, freed from confinement to group identities, freed to be the person we were designed to be from the time we were formed in our mother's womb... freed to fulfill the purpose that each of us has for the time we have been given here on earth. And freed to set aside our own narrow interests to spend ourselves on something bigger than ourselves. This is the path to greatness, both as individuals and as a nation.

We can thank the Lord, even if we can't thank our government that two former US Border Patrol Agents are back with their families. We also have to thank the public that kept up the pressure so finally the White House did a reasonable facsimile of the right thing.

Although they are still under house arrest wearing ankle bracelets, they are out of solitary confinement. They are away from the perils of prison but they are still not free to speak. Once the month long thumb twiddle leading up to their release is complete, we can hope that they will be permitted to return to a normal life.

We can also pray for their safety and the safety of their families as there are elements in our society that do not honor border patrol agents who do their job with integrity. Unfortunately, some of these elements appear to be in our own government. We have seen the Federal Prosecutor going out of his way to convince the media that these two men were more of a danger than the drug dealer they shot. In my humble, but accurate, opinion, prosecutors and other government officials who penalize these front-line warriors for doing their job and hand cuff them in their pursuit of our safety are a far greater hazard then anything these gentleman could be accused of doing.

Have we really entered the time predicted in the Bible when evil is called good and good, evil? It appears so, but we need to look into the background of the problem. Across the border, the drug lords are exerting more and more influence through bribery and intimidation. The Mexican government is fighting back... but they do not appear to be winning. It also appears that through fear and intimidation or bribery, the Mexican citizens themselves are protesting the crackdown on the border outlaws.

Back on our side of the Rio Grande, we see increasing violence from an increasingly brazen criminal army. Ranchers who defend themselves and their property are called into court. As with some of our trade agreements, it seems that the welfare of our citizens is secondary to some larger agenda. An agenda that is, perhaps, paid for by people with resources far above amounts our poor taxpayers can afford. Could this be a reflection or extension of activities on the southern side of our border?

When Phoenix has the second highest kidnapping toll in the world, those who would try to tell us that Mexico's problems are not spilling over into our country have absolutely no credibility with this writer. One must wonder if the media types pushing this view have to be seen as incompetent or downright corrupt.

For some time, many in our country have been trying to push Christian values further into the background. The more they succeed, the more of this lawless behavior expands, comes to light and is accepted. No matter how much they cry otherwise, it is for the good of all that Christians provide their salt and light in public affairs. It is not just for our own comfort and benefit but for the good of those around us. We saw Jesus as our example... he came to meet our needs, not his own benefit.

We need to get over the idea that public involvement is all about us. Standing up against evil in the public forum is no less honorable than responding cries for help from a rapists victim. For those who believe both are wrong... may God bless them and let us all hope we never have to depend on them. For the rest of us, we need to look at ourselves to see if we are going around lighting candles or merely cursing the darkness.

“We're All Socialists” declares Newsweek magazine. They came to the conclusion because free spending Republicans have joined Democrats in forsaking our founding father's vision of strength, non-intervention and individual responsibility to pursue the the false hope of the nanny state. It began creeping in years ago, but emerged full blown with the phrase “compassionate conservatism” which really meant that they wanted to be called conservatives, but they were not afraid to throw tons of federal money at hot button issues like education and drug programs while promoting greater federal intrusion in an ever expanding list of local prerogatives.

I guess it felt good to the political class to be benefactors to the downtrodden. Good grief, does that not sound like Democrat orthodoxy? It seems like the thinking was “if some is good, more is better”. Did it work? Hardly, as no matter what plan the Republicans came up with to distribute and redistribute federal funds and influence, they were always outdone by the even more expensive and intrusive schemes presented by the Democrats to whom government excesses are part of their political DNA.

We have only to ask John McCain how well this strategy worked last November. Having long rejected the conservative value of limited government, he looked like a piker compared to the high toned, ambiguous promises of his opponent. His “me too” was totally ineffective since the weak and incompetent who live for government support and direction know the Democratic penchant for taking from the productive for their own nefarious ends, and because the traditional virtues militated against frivolous waste and Republicans have no real credibility as giveaway artists.

This past week we saw liberal so-called Republicans throw their own supposed fellow party members under the bus as they sided with the other side to boost national debt further into the stratosphere and increase the giveaways that will help the Democratics stay in power and further erode our prosperity and freedom. The press calls them moderate, but there is nothing moderate about what they have done. These unprincipled Senators have become the pivot point around which all future legislation must turn.

This is a frightening thought that Washington excesses are only held in check by those with no aversion to them. What can we do?

Liberal Republicans like California's Governator tell us we need to give up on some of the traditional conservative values and become more mainstream... meaning more like the Democratics. The party has tried that – and failed miserably. The grassroots were not engaged and the feckless politicians were outmaneuvered.

Instead, we need to try something new. At least something not attempted frequently in recent years. That is come back to the virtues of God, family and country. We must do this decisively, not tolerating the wishy washy leaders and elected officials who have only brought us defeat or false hopes. This means involvement at all levels, and, at this point, the Republican Party, because the other side shows no sign of reclamation in the near future. Their wayward path has brought them too much success in the face of inadequate opposition.

It won't be easy, but no other viable alternative is in sight. The system is set up as a two party system and works against third party intruders. Those in power are loathe to change this. Then again, there is always the choice of the torches and pitchforks the peasants used in the old black and white movies.

Have you ever noticed that you never hear the term Liberal Republican? Many believe there is no such animal... that the term is oxymoronic. Actually the term is just moronic. To the press, and many others, Republicans are assumed to be conservative, by which they mean extreme. Those that don't qualify as Reaganesque are called moderates, as if there is some sort of virtue to living in the mushy middle.

I'm reminded of the line from Barry Goldwater's 1964 acceptance speech that chased the “moderates” in the New York delegation from the hall. And what awful thing did he say?
“I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue!” Apparently the “moderates” did not believe that liberty and justice should be pursued with everything we've got.

Unfortunately the actions of more and more Republicans shows that they too would run away from this statement. The most notable are the three who broke from a party just discovering the value of unity. While not from New York, it should be recognized that they are also from the northeast. What can be said of those who supported the current spending orgy coming out of the land inside the beltway?

Can they really be thought of as moderate in any way, shape or form? Can the rest of us join in their excitement at having trimmed a hundred billion dollars from an eight hundred billion dollar spending package? If you had three children, could you be happy if you convinced a kidnapper to only take one rather than all three? Would we have felt any better if only 2,000 hundred people died on 9/11 rather than 3,000?

Politics is said to be the art of compromise. However when we are faced with a choice of right or wrong, only the morally ambiguous can feel satisfied with a compromise. Suppose FDR had been able to negotiate a treaty with Adolf Hitler, whereby only 3 million Jews would have been slaughtered. Would the former paper hanger have been less of a monster?

No, there are times when, win or loose, we need to take a stand against something that is patently wrong. To compromise and give our assent to something that is plainly wrong lessens our stature among those around us and in our own eyes. When these people abandoned their core principles, or at least what they said were there core principles, they showed themselves to be untrustworthy and unreliable. They showed themselves to be something many thought did not exist. By siding with liberals, they became indistinguishable from them. They showed themselves to be Liberal Republicans.

Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins are not alone. Each just unmasked themselves one more time. Knowing there are such beasts among us should help us to be prepared to deal with them and not be afraid to root them out as soon as possible. If we don't we will be lulled into a false sense of security by simply looking at numbers. Beware – you may run into Democrats in Republican clothing. I certainly have.

In a weekend speech to the Democrat faithful and Virginia fat cats, former President Bill Clinton told the crowd “the culture war is won” as he urged his fellow party members to take advantage of this new found power to implement the various schemes that have been on hold for years. Of course the crowd cheered... but will the country? Will you?

I'm willing to concede that the election was won by the nefarious forces of the left – BUT NOT THE WAR! Before we go on, let's look at some of the changes the former prez would like to see the Obamessiah and his minions in congress pursue.

One item near and dear to the supporters of both is the ability to kill their offspring. The new president already has issued an executive order permitting use of our tax money to fund an increasing array of abortion activities. Many in future generations will not be around to thank him.

The next area to be addressed is the gay agenda where people of the same sex want not only the right to do disgusting things with each other (which they already have) but to have the rest of us accept this behavior as normal and just another option acceptable to us all. It's not clear at what point pedophilia will be added to the list of acceptable choices.

Another area we have to watch is a bill currently moving through the Senate to approve the Law Of the Sea Treaty (LOST) which would give the UN almost all control of everything about the oceans, including resources, overflights, the ocean floor and continental shelfs. They are about to put the majority of the earths surface under the control of one of the most corrupt organizations in the world.

While we are on the topic of ceding US sovereignty to people with agendas that are far removed from insuring our good, one has to wonder how long it will be until the Kyoto agreement will finally be signed by our “citizen of the world” president. Already we have heard rumblings from the environmental left and their leader Algore about all the changes that need to take place to fight the imaginary demon of “global warming” or, since they found it wasn't really warming, “climate change”.

These last two are taking place as many business are struggling just to survive. They simply cannot deal with addditional regulations and expenses. We are chasing a phantasy and leaving real problems to fester.

With the new presidents declaration that he wants to restore science to its proper place, we will be seeing experimentation on embryonic stem cells – more embryos destroyed and more dollars wasted. With Darwin Day coming up soon, do we really think it will be long before the federal government will be joining their academic supporters in driving the teaching of intelligent design even further from the public sphere.

Much more is planned along the lines of decreasing individual responsibility and increasing individual dependency. The European model is the highly touted end game of their planned secular society. This European model features such things as low single digit percentage church attendance, high – no, conficatory tax rates, limits on free speech and a sky rocketing incidence of depression.

If this sounds good to you, apparently we are not on the same page. If this doesn't sound good, but you agree that the godless left has won, it's doubtful that we are the same page either. On the other hand, if these things give you real concern, even fear, for the future of our country, then it is high time you join me and John Paul Jones in saying “I have not yet begun to fight!”

Many years ago when I worked at National Religious Broadcasters, we had our annual conventions in Washington DC. The President of the United States would usually address the assembled crowd. This was particularly exciting as this was all happening during the Reagan years.

However for me, the most memorable speaker one year, was Dr. Robert A. Cook from The King's College in Briarcliff Manor, NY. He was a delightful gentleman who had a way of putting things into perspective. He began his address by telling us that two days before, he talked to the Vice President, and just the day before, he talked to the President. Then, with a twinkle in his eye, he said. “But this morning, I talked to God.”

In his own, plain spoken way, Dr. Cook showed he understood the what was important and where the real power lay. As great a man as Ronald Reagan was, he could not walk on water... and, even though this may come as a surprise to some, neither can the man who occupies his office now.

We are told to respect our leaders and pray for those in authority. This does not mean we are to blindly follow and not speak up when we see things are amiss. They are men, only men. We are privileged to live in country where we still have the ability to raise our voices when we see the train is headed off a cliff. With this privilege comes the responsibility to do so! After all, it's not just about us. We are our brothers keeper.

As a practical matter, then, we need to stay in touch with our legislators, at all levels. We are not doing our jobs as citizens if we don't and our complaints to others just become ineffective whining... and nobody likes a whiner. We need to be respectful, but keep in mind, they don't walk on water either.

Four people high in the government, or aspiring to be, all having “missed” or “forgotten” tax payments. For the most part, payments greater than most Americans make in a year. Payments that, except for the good congressman were only considered when the prospect of high governmental offices came to light, and payments made without penalties and interest we mere mortals would be liable for.

There is no need to go into the gory details of Congressman Charlie Rangel, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, former Senator Tom Daschle who just withdrew his name from consideration for HHS Director and Nancy Kellefer, who was up for the imaginary position of Performance Czar. The important point is that for two, Congressman Rangel and the Treasury Secretary there were no real consequences. For the other two, the it actually brought an end, at least temporarily, to the dream of DC prestige and power. I guess two out of four is not too bad, especially for the party where problems of this type tend to give street cred.

One has to wonder if these are isolated cases or just the visible tip of the iceberg. There is growing concern and mounting evidence that our government and the people that run it are far removed from the concern and values of most Americans. We see these people explaining to us how we need to tighten our belts, cut back, and even be prepared to make further sacrifices to pay for their grandiose schemes, all the while congress increases its office budgets and the president raises the temperature of the oval office to tropical levels.

As if the unfairness of this is not bad enough, of even deeper concern is the lack of values exhibited by those looked up to by many and almost worshipped by some. It seems that they operate by a different set of rules than normal people. They tell us they feel our pain, then carry on with the mindset of Leona Helmsley when she said, "We don't pay taxes. Only the little people pay taxes."

It would be easy to believe it is a phenomenon that only exhibits itself in the Democratic Party. It kind of fits my predisposition, but, sorry to say, there are signs of the same thinking on the other side of the aisle... names like Ted Stevens and Duke Cunningham come to mind.

What this means is that neither party is our savior and neither party can be trusted to lead us back to the free society our founding fathers envisioned. The question becomes do we quietly conceed our country and world to the 'elites' and accept their plans for us, or will we work to take back our country from the professional politicians and media moguls?

We rightfully become upset with the likes of John McCain when he sells out his party values to make a deal with the “other side”. Yet, how many of us voted for the man as the “lesser of two evils”? Were we also not guilty of selling out our principles? Is not voting for the lesser of two evils still voting for evil? This being the case, are we not getting the government we deserve?

For years, those of us who work within the Republican Party have been patronized and marginalized. Our efforts have been solicited, but our input ignored. We have been told there was nowhere else to go... and we believed them. We have given our support to candidates who have talked the talk, but in many cases, have failed to walk the walk.

The president has told us that some people are so important to accomplishing his goals that he is not so concerned with their character. He does not understand that knowledge and skills are insufficient to outweigh moral or philosophical shortcomings. In our own way, we have agreed.

We have seen our country fall into the hands of those who share little of our values. Could it be that we have not shared these values with others? Could it be that we did not value them enough to make sure they were implemented?

As we observe the world around us, we see what seems to be a chaotic multiplicity of viewpoints and voices. However, when we look at them a little closer, we see what some proclaim to be fresh, new and exciting concepts to be variations on one or two age old themes.

Essentially there are two primary ways of viewing the world around us. C.S. Lewis called it the “Great Divide”. Do we live our lives with the recognition of the supreme being, or do we consider ourselves (man) to be the supreme being? There is even a perversion of this thinking whereby man is the supreme underbeing and Mother Earth is the deity to be worshipped… in the way these unusual people shall specify for us.

In any case, the culture war that currently engulfs our country is one in which most who would claim the God centered world view are blissfully unaware of the seriousness of the conflict. They are absorbed in their own lives and problems. They have been distracted by the small acts of goodness they can do and totally miss the bigger picture that shows the Christian viewpoint being shuffled off to the side. Many of us have been majoring in minors, as the saying goes.

Many also site II Timothy 2:4 that tells us “No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs – he wants to please his commanding officer.” We are told this as they, many with sincerity, attempt to go about the business of the Lord. The problem with this thinking is that it fails to recognize that a major part of the battle has moved into the public arena and the forces of secular humanism have been winning by default.

Many also take Paul’s admonition to heart that we need to endure hardships and the implementation of a secular based government with no concept of the creator endowed rights to “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” is just something we will have to live with.

This all well and good except they are missing the main point: IT’S NOT ABOUT US! Our convenience and ease of life are not the issue. The issue is the millions of children going through the public schools immersed in Darwinism. The issue is the millions of babies killed in the name of convenience with no concept of consequences. The issue is the gay and lesbian clubs in the same public schools that now call Christmas Vacation a Winter Break. No, it’s not about us. It’s about permitting a culture that devalues the God of the Bible and promotes the idea that our puny logic can figure out what is right and wrong based on our circumstances… and it’s about the tragic consequences to those misdirected by our culture.

An example of how one’s world view determines their actions and impact on those around them is the slavish allegiance of academic biology departments at all levels to the evolutionary thinking of Charles Darwin. They understand there are gaps in the theory, but they have faith that eventually, their knowledge will be filled. Why is this, as the facts can’t substantiate their position? To understand this, let’s go back to the basic divide in world views. One says there is a creator God and the other denies this fact.

Most academicians in their ivy covered world with inbred social and work life circles publicly proclaim that they have never been able to see or measure God, therefore, he must not exist. With this background they HAVE TO embrace Darwinism since it meshes with their world view. There is no way they can even admit Creationism is a valid alternative. They deride Intelligent Design as simply an attempt to insert religion into science.

Ben Stein showed the foolishness of this position in his film Expelled when he interviewed a distinguished professor who could accept the possibility that a superior race from another solar system could have set life in motion on earth, but could not accept that we were created by a deity. These people are people are teaching our young and we are letting them!

Books could be, and have been, written about the effect of the secular humanist philosophy on our society as a whole and on us individually. Basically it has only led to increases in crime, suicide and poverty. The secularized society has proven it is not the paradise envisioned in John Lennon’s Imagine any more than the former Soviet Union produced the workers paradise it touted around the world.

Consider your world view. Compare it to the programs and pronouncements coming out our Washington and your state capitol. Don’t just think about the impact they will have on your life. Think about what they will do to the people around you and society as a whole. Many are trying to buy you off with trinkets as they steal the soul of our country.

Suppose for a minute you have a daughter, about 11 years old, and she tells you she would like to take gymnastic lessons. Being a loving parent and wanting to do your best for her, you begin to look for a suitable instructor. Being a driven, type A personality, you also determine that being merely good is not good enough. As fortune would have it, there is such an instructor just a few blocks from your home.

You want to be sure, so you talk with the families of current and former students. Gradually a picture emerges of a man who, while skilled in his work, gets a little too friendly with his students. You want your child to be successful, so the question arises, will you put her in the hands of a pedophile to do so? Thankfully for most reasonable parents this is not an issue. They realize that the character of the people influencing their children is of greater importance than any skill they may have.

Now, suppose you are the president of the United States looking to fill your cabinet with the best possible people. You come across a bright young man who appears to be the ideal candidate for the Secretary of the Treasury position. He has a compatible economic philosophy, he has experience and he appears to be loyal to the hand that feeds him.

However as he goes through the confirmation process, some past indiscretions come to light. It becomes apparent that he has a substantial amount of unpaid taxes. Evidence is shown that this situation is not a simple mistake… that to get the funds to pay these taxes, he had to sign papers acknowledging that the taxes were due and the money was to be used to pay them. Yet this did not happen and them money was deposited in his bank account.

Yes, this is not mere supposition, Tim Geithner, Barack H. Obama’s Secretary of the Treasury not only lied on his tax return, but he lied to the public when he told us it was a simple mistake. Whether this man is really the best choice, experientially, is the subject for another day, however, the fact that he consciously disrespected the institution he is supposed to run has been well documented.

Is it possible for a man who consciously evaded taxes, but failed to suffer the consequences because of his status and connections, to run the agency that collects taxes with a fair and even hand? What we have seen is the character of Mr. Geithner ignored, because the new president and his allies in the Senate believe this man’s actions will accrue to their benefit.

How does picking a talented, but unprincipled person usually work out? There may be times when there are benefits, but I would suggest we look at the case of TO. Terrell Owens is an amazingly talented wide receiver. Several years ago, after wreaking havoc at several NFL teams, he was put on the market. The Philadelphia Eagles grabbed him thinking this premier receiver would be just the shot in the arm their passing game needed.

He teamed up with quarterback Donovan McNabb for some amazing plays, yet things never quite worked for the team as his mouth made it clear TO thought he was smarter than the coach, the quarterback and everyone else on the team. What is supposed to be a game with eleven players acting as one to move the ball down the field degenerated into a game evaluated on how often TO got the ball. Eventually coach Andy Reid, benched him for the last half of a season and once again Terrell was on the market.

The Dallas Cowboys picked him up and he did his magic there as he had done everywhere else. He made spectacular plays but destroyed team cohesion and this team with an overabundance of raw talent did not even make the playoffs this year.

What is the price for ignoring character and principle? It’s always high, it always has to be paid and almost always is higher than the benefit.

As food for thought, I would submit that it is easy for me to be critical of President Obama’s choice of a Secretary of Treasury as a dyed in the wool Republican. Only once in my life did I vote for someone without an R by their name. However, when I see the hard times that have fallen on the Republican Party and their drift from the low taxes, small government, pro-life philosophy, I have to wonder if the recent electoral failures have not come from the compromised values. Many have chosen, as the president has done, expediency over principle. The expediency of ‘big tent’ thinking is their shortcut, easier to take than not just sticking with values, but vigorously explaining, defending and promoting them.

It appears that stretching for illusory victory is more important than working for right outcomes. And victory has eluded them. This is what happens when you really know better but try to cut corners… when you value power over doing what is right. With your children, hopefully their safety and welfare is more important than any trophy or prize. It would be good for those desiring positions of power to value the common good over the power they have. After all, it’s not their power, it belongs to the people who have only loaned it to leaders.

With the entire Republican delegation finally standing firm against the most recent ‘bailout’ (read ‘pork barrel’) package one has to wonder if backbone has finally returned to the party of low taxes, smaller government and limited spending.  For some this represents no change at all.  These have been the voices crying out in the wilderness that it is immoral to try to spend our way to prosperity by expecting our children and grandchildren to foot the bill.

For others, honorable men and women, I’m sure, it was the opportunity to vote their conscience rather than playing the role of a good partisan by supporting the party or the president.  Still others, the true political types, sensed that opposing this piece of legislation was the best way for them to survive politically since the massive transfer of wealth was now proposed by the rival party and was thus, fair game.

Parties play an important role in our political system by allowing supposedly like minded people to get together and promote shared values… at least that is the theory.  Our system of government is set up to operate with a two party system, which is why it is extremely difficult for any other group to attain a major status.  We can’t expect this to change under either party leadership.

What happens when party leadership starts taking the entire structure in a new direction - one neither espoused nor supported by the rank and file party membership?  Among other things, it reveals the priorities of their members.  Do they value party over principle or principle over party?  It gets even more complicated when we factor in tradeoffs people make.  That is, conceding a point that is not so critical to accomplish something more important.  This is supposed to be the essence of politics.

Whatever the motivation, we have seen over the past four or so years an abdication of the smaller, less intrusive government direction of the Republican Party.  Officials have been listening to the media and not the people.  They have been promoting the ‘big tent’ philosophy of backing away from core beliefs so as not to offend more moderate voters who really haven’t thought things through.

How has this worked?  Has anyone ever gotten anywhere by straddling a fence?  The last two election cycles have produced the two most resounding defeats this party has seen in recent memory.  And yet we hear louder cries from some corners to further desert our ideals to win the confidence of the voters.  Think about that for a moment: people are supposed to trust and respect us more as we tell them we really don’t want to live out our principles.    

So we now see a group looking for a resurrection of credibility, perhaps too late to stop the current madness.  On the other hand, it’s never wrong to do the right thing.  It may be too late, but not wrong.  Perhaps the Republican Party is in the process of recovering its soul.  Perhaps they are beginning down path to renewed influence.

In any case, it’s helpful to look at what happens when people, in this case Congressmen and Senators, who go along to get along.  Many are former Congressmen and former Senators.  Others came closer to defeat than they ever have this past November.  Even those that survived have lost their majority, prestige and influence… not to mention self respect. 

What has happened to this country that says it honors the memory of men like John Paul Jones? We should remember his reply to demands for surrender “I have not yet begun to fight” as the Bonhomme Richard was burning and slipping under the sea.  A few hours later he stood victoriously on the British ship that had destroyed his own.  Did he win this victory by surrendering, compromising and giving up the fight?

The point is, the reasons we got into this situation lie in the past, but we should still learn that we can’t compromise on principle and expect to be successful.  The Republican majority did… and they are no longer the majority.  If the voters don’t understand the value of smaller, less controlling government, the answer is not deserting the ideal, but in better explaining why freedom is better than servitude.  Most of the people have been through the public schools which have systematically denigrated the contributions of men and women like Jones in the interest of turning out good little socialist workers.  We, including our elected representatives, have to stand up for what is right.  We may be like John the Baptist crying in the wilderness.  He did not change his message when no one was there, but when the time came, his message was heard. 

Perhaps we, Congressmen and Senators could learn something from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he said, “A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. A man dies when he refuses to stand up for justice. A man dies when he refuses to take a stand for that which is true, so we’re going to stand up right here.”