Category Donald Trump

Jan 31 2018

Of What Is Hallowed, Honored, or Human

 

The complete demise of civil debate in our society today is by far the greatest travesty that the modern sectarian has inflicted upon this Republic. Communication is dead and respect of the individual is crushed beneath it’s corpse. A differing opinion than that of the tolerant tyrant is treated as a cancerous plaque rather than a healthy antidote to a narrow, blinding, self-ingratiating worldview.

Coupled with this stupor is the inability to compartmentalize issues, opinions, and beliefs. This is best represented in the constant criticism of Christians for their support of the President, as if they are embracing Donald Trump as their Prophet, Priest, and Pastor rather than their President. This simply highlights a fundamental difference of perspective for government.

True conservatives do not view government as their god. There is no expectation of the Hallowed that is attached to the government of man. While scripture encourages Christians to honor their leaders, mankind must be keenly aware that infallibility is not vested in the governing institutions of our Republic. This was a strong belief of Founding Fathers and one of the main reasons for establishing this Republic.

Demanding that a politician adhere to the same high standards of morality as that of clergy or even Deity skews purity of character over qualification in much the same way as making the same demands of a carpenter. For both job descriptions, the politician and the carpenter, the Christian is more comfortable with the individual who has coupled exceptional morality with exceptional job qualification, but if, in the completion of the commission of the task at hand, the individual of less than sterling character is more qualified to complete the task than the person of impeccable morality, the most qualified must do the job.

That is not to say that a Christian should condone bad behavior nor is it saying that a Christian is condoning bad behavior by honoring a person’s qualification. As it pertains to this President, the Christian should not demand a flawed man be the shining embodiment of a hallowed saint, yet, by the same token, Christians should not dismiss his moral failings or try by some tortured strangulation of Scripture to extract virtue from blatant sin. The Biblical approach to this President is to honor him by virtue of the fact that the people chose him to be most qualified to deal with the situation our Nation finds itself in right now.

But how could Christians chose him? While I did not chose him, I am a Christian and I can explain the reasoning which is found through out scripture, if one would chose to read it. Its really not so difficult to understand.

First, Donald Trump is not God, a Minister, Priest, or Rabbi. He is our highest ranking public servant. The Christian views spiritual leaders of more importance than political leaders.

Second, the Bible is filled with stories of very flawed individuals who were raised up leadership. Moses a murderer, David an adulterer and a murderer, Jacob a conniving thief, Paul the Apostle a murderer, Peter a coward, and the list could go on. Christians know that leaders are not God but they can be used by him.

Christians believe in redemption above all things. It is the foundation of our faith. Christians are also admonished not to judge a man’s heart but his actions.

So when the President said he was sorry for past behavior, the Bible compels us to forgive as we have been forgiven. While cynics mock faith as blind allegiance, people of faith view the human leader as just that, a human. Through the prism of their faith, they decipher between his qualification and his morality. They have deemed him, however flawed, qualified to be their leader for this time, and, so far, the President has proven their calculations correct.

Dec 23 2017

The Red County Caucus’ Statement on the Passage of Tax Reform

 

The President has signed a historic tax reform into law. While Democrats claim the power of the seer akin to Nostradamus portending wild-eyed apocalyptic doom as a result of wage earners and wage payers keeping more of the fruits of their labors, in the real world of the real truth this new tax structure affords real tax relief to virtually every wage bracket in the United States. Contrary to the liberal narrative, it is not theft for Americans to keep more of their wages.

Immediately the business world has reacted to this news by infusing more money into the pockets of their employees through bonuses and investing in expansion. Maine has seen this first hand with the announcement by CIANBRO of its plan to hire 300 new employees. With the burdens of a outdated, antiquated tax structure lifted, and the roll back of onerous regulatory laws, the business world sees the promise of a bright new horizon for prosperity and is responding with a resounding charge forward.

But it is not just the corporate and business world that will see much needed relief. The threshold for non-taxable income has been significantly raised, helping low income families keep a majority of their hard earned money, raising the hope of building a better tomorrow for their loved ones. The child tax credit has been doubled, an adjustment long overdue.

With the President’s move to sign the bill into law this week, taxpayers will see almost an immediate impact to their personal economies as the new law will be in effect for the February tax season. While critics seem to struggle to wrap their intellect around the common sense doctrine that a citizenry that keeps more of its own wealth is a more wealthy citizenry, the proof of a stronger robust economy is already bearing fruit. Maine would do well to take heed.

Maine must look for ways that it can shrink the size of its overall budget. By lowering the state income tax and eliminating much of its burdensome regulatory bureaucracy, Maine can continue to move towards establishing a fiscal landscape that is both inviting and hospitable to entrepreneur and investor alike. Also of primary concern must be the reduction of the high electrical costs in our state if we wish to compete and grow our economy.

Finally, the Red County Caucus has not been quiet in it’s criticism of recent Republican Party failures. As such, we would be remiss if we did not offer our strong commendation to the Republican Party as a whole for the passage of this historic tax reform. Senator Susan Collins and Congressman Bruce Poliquin, in particular, should be praised for their support of this accomplishment, along with President Donald Trump. Once again, we the citizens of the United States have proven that, with government out of our way, there is nothing quite as powerful as the indomitable spirit of the American people.