Category Politics

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!”

Dec 30 2015

Nottingham Returns

It’s perplexing, at best, to find that a villain so reviled and mocked throughout history has gained such an ardent admirer here in the State of Maine. The sheriff of Nottingham, fact or fiction, remains a source of some debate for those who wish to bother. Still the fact remains that the sheriff of Nottingham, fable or no, has long invoked metaphorical images of the pompous, indifferent politician who’s every detached existence is made possible through taxes culled from the hard labors and bent backs of a people long siphoned and beaten beyond any hope of returned independence or prosperity. Yes, that is all one sentence and I’m sure I offended the syntax gods somewhere in there, but let’s move on.

Last election cycle, Emily Cain and her running mate Blaine Richardson, were defeated by Bruce Poliquin. Poliquin had just barely finished arranging the furniture in his office in Washington D.C. when he was informed that Emily Cain had announced her candidacy for the office he had just finished dusting. (You do realize the office needed a lot of dusting, as Mike Michaud preferred to stay hidden in the closet and rarely used the desk for anything. Incidentally, Emily Cain has not announced whether she will allow Blaine Richardson to tag along as her running mate this time around…we all wait with bated breath, but I digress…) There was much consternation and head scratching as to why Ms. Cain needed to announce immediately if not sooner her intention to run for office. It’s really not that confusing.

Emily Cain was afforded a great opportunity after her defeat. She could have entered the private sector and got a job, establish some “street cred” if you will. She must have quickly realized that she was in the party of fat cats, trust fund brats, and all around tax sponges. The Democrat Party greatly discourages their politicians against entering the private workforce and risking having candidates with dangerous amounts of commonsense accrued. So she’s followed a time honored Democrat tradition, suckle up to the teat of public tax funds.

Yes, the Sheriff of Nottingham has been reincarnated in a much more likable, effusive, and feminine persona, but still demands your taxes to fund her very existence. Since graduating college, Emily Cain has not held one private sector job. Everything she has done, everything she has accomplished has been funded by tax dollars. When provided an opportunity to move into the world of the self-made, entrepreneurs, businesses, and the workforce, she chose to stay in her sheltered gilded world wrapped in walls built up to shield her from the very people whose hard earned dollars were taxed away to build them.

While it’s more than ironic that she wishes to represent a people whose lives she cannot comprehend or identify with, it’s the hypocritical attacks on Representative Poliquin that reek with the cloud of stupefaction that blankets the Democrat Party. Her claims that the self-made millionaire has somehow cheated the public would be laughable if they were bits in a cheap sitcom, but instead are a sad commentary on how completely detached from reality she is. Perhaps it is the term “self-made” that she cannot grasp.

Along with her Party, Emily Cain has spent so much time living off the accomplishments of others that she cannot comprehend that anyone can create their own wealth by using their own talents, own initiative, and own hard-work to carve their own slice of the American dream. Remember this is the Party that has told American innovators and business owners “they didn’t build that.” It’s the stuff of socialism that says everything belongs to the collective and only the elite can live off it.

Everything Emily Cain has is funded by taxes. All her salaries have come from the wallets of taxpayers. Her clothes, her food, her fancies, her empire, her very existence are all a product of tax dollars. It can’t help but invoke images of the fabled Sheriff dining in opulence by the fire while his minions scour the shire of Nottingham pounding on battered hovel doors demanding new taxes to fund the sheriff’s lifestyle whims. Perhaps Emily Cain should take an honest look at who she is instead of trying to smear her opponents with the very lifestyle she has embraced.

Jul 22 2015

The Bully in the Playhouse

The Maine State Legislature has moved to its summer recess and now the cleanup crews have moved in to scrap the residue of food fights, tantrums, rock throwing, and all around juvenile behavior off the walls of the respective legislative chambers and the Governor’s office. It’s been a sight to behold and not a pretty one. Let’s recap the sordid details.

For clarity, it should be stated that much of the untoward behavior has revolved around the Augusta soap opera we all call “As the Budget Churns”. The Governor started things off on the wrong foot by crafting a budget behind closed doors excluding any input from the legislature including the leadership of his own Party and fellow Conservatives. When the budget was presented, Republican leadership expressed their frustration with the process and portions of the budget.

Governor LePage responded by threatening members of his own Party. He publicly promised to run a primary candidate against any Republican who voted against his budget. Now there’s a swell way to build bridges…

As you can imagine, this first of what would be a litany of bluffs and threats from the Executive office, culminating with a threat to resign as Governor if his budget wasn’t passed, did not invoke warm and fuzzy feelings from the Republican legislative caucus. Yes, they pushed back. The melee ensued. This has left Maine residents shaking their heads in disbelief and embarrassment.

But the push back from the legislature seemed more rooted in wounded egos and political payback then a corrective message to the Governor. Eventually, the Republican leadership would join forces with Democrat leadership to craft a budget with no fiscal benefit to the people of Maine. It’s pages read more like an “In-Yo-Face” budget than a plan to strengthen Maine’s economy.

The Maine Conservative Voice would like to respectfully remind the Governor and Republican leadership that they all campaigned on putting Maine people before politics. With the amount of rock throwing that has typified this last legislative session, I’m not sure anyone wants to get before your politics. It’s a good way for Maine taxpayers to get hurt.

Maine deserves better than to have to watch their elected officials turn Augusta into some dark version of Romper Room. All the bullying and hoarding of toys in the playhouse has got to stop. Maine is tired of the mess.

The people I associate with on a daily basis in my workday no longer call LePage “Our Governor”. They simply shake their heads in shame. They are also confused to why a Republican led Senate could not accomplish any of its campaign promises and why they still are playing the doormat to the Democrats. With election season looming on the horizon and only one more session to make amends, the Republicans need to take heed to their business and tuck their egos away or the Democrats, whose symbol is the Biblical term for a donkey, will continue to make Republicans look just like that Democrat party symbol.

Apr 18 2015

Saturday’s Synopsis

House Votes to Repeal Death Tax 

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill to repeal the “death tax” and now it is on to the U.S. Senate.

Maine State Senator Amy Volk  Proposes Bill to Lengthen Senate Term

Senator Amy Volk has introduced a bill that would lengthen the Senate term to four years.  TMCV in the past has proposed lengthening the Senate term to six years, in keeping with the Federal term. At the State level all legislative offices are open at the same time and can be overwhelming for voters and political operatives come campaign season. TMCV, at this point, supports this bill.

IRS Goes Before Congress Hand Out Begging For More Money

Yes, you read right.   After completely misappropriating the exorbitant amount of money they confiscate from taxpayers every year, the IRS wants more because it doesn’t have enough to operate…maybe….it shouldn’t….operate….ever thought of that….

Maine State Senator David Burns Withdraws Religious Freedom Bill

After increasing pressure from LGBT groups and lack of support within his own Party, although legislative leaders voiced their support, Senator Burns has withdrawn his Religious Freedom Bill.  Republican Party officials tell TMCV that the timing was not right.  Is the timing ever right for courage and conviction?

Governor LePage Calls For Elimination of State Income Tax

Facing strong opposition from both Parties on portions of his budget, Governor LePage remains resolute in his belief that the State Income Tax should be eliminated.  LePage believes that if the legislature will not vote to repeal income tax the people will.

Hillary Announces Candidacy, Visits “Ordinary Iowans”, Uses Staged Iowans

Hillary Clinton announced her bid to be President of the United States this week then promptly traveled to Iowa to see “everyday Iowans”, locked everyday college students in their classrooms so they wouldn’t bother her, parked her campaign van in an everyday handicap spot, and staged her very own”everyday Iowans” meeting with some “everyday Iowan actors”-a whole three of them.

Veterans Administration is Scorched By Latest Report

A scathing report just released by the Inspector General in its latest investigation calls in to question whether the VA has any interest at all in reforming its battered image.  The latest findings of the IG detail a litany of abuse, misuse, and corruption including workers being forced to work in a rat infested building.

The “Fix” is In

The so-called “Doc Fix” has been sent to the Presidents desk for his signature.  This bill is an attempt to protect Medicare patients who would have had to absorb a 21% cut in services.