Category Candidates

Jan 26 2016

King Me, Desperate!

A lot can be discovered about one’s beliefs and convictions by the decisions we make in the crucible of passion and desperation. Our mettle is tested when we are faced with the stark realization that the burden of the beliefs we claim to treasure may preclude us from traveling down the path well trodden joining the choral swell of the populace euphoria. For all our preaching, the pomp and bluster are mere words when life’s practicum calls the bluff demanding validation of our zealous verbiage and we capitulate.

 

How we have railed against this President for trampling the Constitution. We have questioned the reasoning of those that voted for him and supported his policies. But irony always prevails, doesn’t it, and the pendulum swings both ways.

 

Eight years ago the nation was desperate for change. Unhappy with what they saw in government but not sure of what changes they wanted and what the repercussions were, the voters were ripe to be plucked by a persona with lofty well-crafted speeches with ambiguous substance trimmed in utopian promises. Now, eight years later, there is a growing bipartisan pall that has settled over our Nation as we realize that the actions of our top executive and congress has not done the good promised, but has accelerated and exacerbated the Nation’s downward spiral.

 

So, we are desperate all the more. Now, with all the bluster and blow of a circus barker, a new persona has emerged to tantalize the desperate hearts of Americans yearning for a man with the solution. Therein lies the greatest problem we face in this Nation.

 

This Republic was designed, from its foundation, to be a Nation, which found its solutions through the people of that Nation. No one man could ever have a solution for we the people were built to repel that very notion. Yet Americans, in their desperation, have in recent years begun to seek out a man, an individual to solve their problems rather than solve the problem themselves and the Republic crumbles.

 

America has weathered and recovered from disaster in the form of war, nature, and poor leadership time and time again. It is not the fallout from poor leadership that cripples our Nation; it is the causal mechanism of that fallout, which left in place, causes irreparable damage to the people. Still, in desperation, we go from bad to bad “lookin’ for love in all the wrong places.”

 

Anyone with a nominal understanding of government knows that most of Donald Trump’s grand promises cannot be accomplished without the use of Executive fiat, the very thing so many of us were appalled to see Barack Obama abuse. Yet those who claim to support an adherence to the Constitution are willing to behave like Sarah Palin and swoon at his feet like a teenage schoolgirl. And then there are the many social conservatives who have tossed aside their convictions to bask in the hope of new savior. Why such a quick change in beliefs?

 

The answer is really not that difficult. It’s simply a matter of conviction. We can toss aside the Constitution in tough times because we really don’t believe in it. We can trample the Bible as Christians because we simply don’t believe in it anymore. They are merely icons, verbiage, and a trophy we pull out to prove a point or gain an edge.

 

Our desperation exposes us. We are too impatient to wait for the Republic to fix itself like it was designed to do. So now again, to the throngs of the desperate masses a persona rises once more and cries out, “King Me, O’ desperate fool!”

Mar 3 2015

Sneaky Sneaky Hillary

News outlets are reporting revelations that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton exclusively used one of her personal emails to conduct Federal business, making it impossible for authorities to properly account for her actions as Secretary of State.  I’m sure all her years as First Lady, Senator, Secretary of State, and legal lawyer would have left her completely unaware of the proper channels a Federal Official must use to conduct official Federal business so as to give a Federal accounting to those within the Federation that she is accountable to. One of those “aww shucks, I was completely unaware” moments coming up, to be sure.

Feb 18 2014

Sponsoring Betrayal

 

 

Strange things, strange reports coming out of Augusta.  Yes, there are reports of unanimous bipartisan agreement on a bill; no, two bills in committee.  Democrats and Republicans alike found common ground to kill two bills in committee that would have increased the financial burden upon the people of Maine; more specifically, the hunters and sportsmen of Maine.

The first bill to discuss was LD 89.  This bill was put forth to establish a penalty for Mainers if they did not register their snow machines by a certain date.  The sole sponsor of the bill was Senator Doug Thomas.

If LD 89, An Act to Establish a Deadline for Snowmobile Registration, had been approved by the committee, it would have set a deadline for snow machine registration at December 31st and, if any Mainer had been so disobedient to mother government as to miss the set deadline, they would be punished with an additional $20 fine added to the registration fee.  This is just another blatant money grab by our government.  Thankfully, Paul Davis, the rest of the Republicans, and amazingly, all the Democrats on the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee voted in unison to kill the bill.  At least someone had the backs of rural Maine.

But there’s more.  Doug Thomas has co-sponsored a bill with Dennis Keschl , LD 153, that would create a comprehensive hunting and fishing license.  Sound’s like a great idea at first glance and some sportsmen’s’ blogs were in support, but, when one delves into the bones of the bill, the details reveal just another money grab.

Further, research shows that hunters will lose more than they will gain. First of all, studies show that over 70% of hunters, a strong majority, only hunt deer, so for a majority of hunters, this is a  $13 increase. Bow hunters would be excluded from further deer hunting if they harvested a deer during bow season.

The long lists of items that are excluded from the “comprehensive” license belie the title.  One thing is sure; deer hunters would be targeted for an increase.  They are getting the proverbial…antler.

Remember hunters; there was a comprehensive license at one time.  Government kept cutting specific hunts out of that license bringing us to this point today.  They would repeat that process again.  It’s always about getting more of your money.

Again, thankfully, the Republicans and Democrats voted with one voice, in the IF&W, to kill this bill.  It is amazing that a Senator who is supposed to represent the voters in the foothills of the 100 mile wilderness would sponsor bills that could penalize businesses so integral to the 2nd District: hunting and snow machining.  Senator Thomas can find some solace in the fact that he had a unifying influence in Augusta.  He sponsored and co-sponsored bills that were so egregious and punitive to the people of Maine that there was unanimous and bi-partisan consent to kill the bills in order to protect the people of Maine.

Feb 9 2014

Betrayal

 

 

When The Maine Conservative Voice was started, it was my desire to be just that, a voice.  The hope was to make political leaders, both statewide and nationally, aware that the conservative movement was not dead in Maine, but alive and well.  What a humbling experience it has been to have so many people in rural Maine shake my hand and say thank you for lending a voice to their beliefs and convictions.

The hope has always been that conservatives across Maine would unify in one force and work together to set Maine free from the tyranny of liberal and socialist agendas.  Time has passed and TMCV has been able to have some influence, along with other groups, on Maine’s political landscape.  Still, progress has been slowed and marred by competing egos and personal agendas.

My greatest fear when I began this column and blog was that eventually I would grow numb to the corruption and become a silent observer.  While there are some positions that I hold where ethics require silence, still my passion to expose unscrupulous behavior remains undaunted.  But what if the betrayal comes from leaders you have worked closely with and supported?  What then?  How could I retain the integrity of the ideals I set forth with if I remained silent?

I understand compromise and that it is a vital part of our political system.  What I do not understand is calling yourself a conservative yet forming an alliance with one of the most liberal members of your party.  I cannot comprehend campaigning across a Senate District touting your support of the Governor’s agenda to secure conservative votes and then joining political forces with the one man who has worked tirelessly to subvert the Governor’s policies and conservative ideals.  I am astounded that a man can campaign as a social conservative and then join forces with the very man who has fought to subvert everything social conservatives stand for.  But this is what we find in the latest revelations from the political soap opera that is Senator Doug Thomas.

Senator Roger Katz of Augusta recently held a fundraiser for Senator Thomas in his law office in Augusta.  For those who don’t know, Roger Katz and the Pretentious Eight, as I have dubbed them, wrote an infamous op-ed against the Governor in an attempt to undermine his leadership at the very onset of his administration.  Roger Katz has repeatedly opposed many of the initiatives the conservatives have put forth.  It was Katz that spearheaded a move by liberal Republicans to help Democrats overturn the Governor’s veto of a budget that raised taxes on the Maine people.

And Doug Thomas is breaking financial bread with him?  In political speak, fundraising for a candidate is a statement of allegiance.  There are no political favors without one in return.  Conservatives had been uncomfortable with the various sightings of Thomas and Katz at public functions, but there was no way to verify a betrayal until now.

It’s no secret the Roger Katz has been maneuvering for power in the legislature to build his campaign against the Governor.  Obviously, he has found that the “Honorable” Doug Thomas can be bought, easily.  Katz wants Thomas’s vote for leadership and rumors have a way of materializing. Doug Thomas is selling out his fellow conservatives and the Governor for money.

TMCV has worked hard in the past to support and elect Doug Thomas into office.  I have written many columns in his behalf.  That ends now.  I have grown tired of the duplicity.  I will not look the other way and be silent.

When confronted on his behavior, Senator Thomas responded that it doesn’t matter and the people don’t care.  I was told that I don’t understand how business is done. Actually, I do understand and I’m tired of business as usual.  I will not be silent.  I will be a voice for truth.  We must stand for what we believe if we truly want to Set Maine Free.