Why Obama & His Allies Fear States Rights

The Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution reads: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” It was added to the Bill of Rights because several of the Founding Fathers, including Patrick Henry, Samuel Adams and Thomas Jefferson, would have opposed the ratification of the Constitution without it. They feared a powerful central government that would – in brazen disregard of the US Constitution – seize ungranted powers, deny the sovereignty of the states and impose tyranny on the people.

Over the past century we have witnessed an out-of-control federal government, in both the Executive and Legislative branches, misuse the Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3) “[The Congress shall have power] To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes…” to justify regulating elements of American life, thus doing exactly the thing feared most by the Founders, who never intended an increasingly expansive, individual-liberty-crushing nanny state.

The most recent example is of course the unconstitutional federal mandate forcing citizens to purchase health insurance or face stiff fines and/or penalties. This government power-grab has resulted in many states passing legislation to reassert their sovereignty and added even more passion, energy and momentum to the burgeoning Tea Party Movement. It has also compelled some thirty states to file suit against the federal government over the constitutionality of the healthcare law.

States like Florida have passed resolutions that simply reaffirm the principles already outlined in the Tenth Amendment. Other states like Montana have passed laws exempting commodities manufactured and sold solely within their borders, (e.g. firearms), from federal regulations. Still others like Arizona have gone a step further by passing a law that mirrors an existing federal statute pertaining to illegal immigration – a law that the federal government, in dereliction of its duties – refuses to enforce.

In each instance the Obama administration and Congress have belittled the efforts of governors and state legislatures to uphold and assert state sovereignty.

While the federal government continues to whittle away at the rights of the states and the American people, they are simultaneously working to impose the will of the United Nations and International Law upon us.

The Clinton Administration signed the Law of the Sea Treaty in 1994 but to this day, the Senate has yet to ratify it. This treaty would essentially give the United Nations jurisdiction over mineral extraction from the sea floor and allow it to limit the territorial waters of nations. Further, it would also call for the redistribution of wealth from developed nations to undeveloped nations. Additionally and perhaps most disturbingly, it would also – in the opinions of many – limit the ability of the United States Navy to operate in certain areas without U.N. approval.

This week President Obama directed Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to sign the U.N. Small Arms Treaty, which could potentially lead to a ban on all privately held semi-automatic weapons in the United States. This is in clear violation of the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution which reads “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed…”

The Second Amendment was intended to prevent the American government from imposing tyranny upon the citizens of the United States. It guarantees an inalienable right, one granted to every American at birth. As George Mason put it in 1788 during Virginia’s Convention to Ratify the Constitution, "I ask, Sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effectual way to enslave them." Or as Thomas Jefferson put it, "Those who hammer their guns into plowshares will plow for those who do not."

It seems unlikely, but not impossible, that the Small Arms Treaty will be ratified by the Senate – especially in an election year. But the point is that the rights of the states and individuals are under relentless attack while the federal government continues to weaken the United States Constitution in favor of international laws. Our very liberty is in jeopardy when those who we’ve entrusted to represent us attempt to deprive us of our means of defending that liberty.

This may explain why the Obama Administration and its allies in Congress fear states rights; to their great credit, strong governors like Jan Brewer in Arizona and Chris Christie in New Jersey as well as state legislatures nationwide have refused to buckle under the assault waged against them and the Constitution.

Besides being a document that grants the enumerated powers to the federal government from the people – not the other way around – the Constitution is also a contract between the federal government, the states and the people. It is a limiting document.

As such, it is imperative that the people of our great constitutional republic elect representatives at the local, state and federal levels who understand and embrace this founding principle of our nation. We must reign in the federal government and reject all efforts to further weaken the Constitution and impose the will of the United Nations in its place.

Many Americans seem to have lost their fear of an omnipresent central government or have become so dependent on the federal government that they dare not speak or act against it. But as President Gerald Ford so wisely said, "A government big enough to give you everything you want is a government big enough to take from you everything you have”.

FROM INCOMPETENCE TO LOSS OF CONFIDENCE

It was a bad week for the Obama administration in general and Attorney General Eric Holder in particular.

President Obama scolded BP and it’s subcontractors for their handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and for playing the blame game as they continue to point fingers at each other for not being able to contain the massive spill. Then the president went on to scold the federal government for its roll, in essence scolding himself.

It seems ironic that Obama would scold some his biggest contributors and then himself, but we should be glad the president finally took at least some responsibility for something. It was refreshing to learn that something wasn’t George W. Bush’s fault for a change. However, the fact remains that the spill continues and neither the oil industry, nor the federal government seems to know how to cap the gusher, which is some 5,000 feet beneath the surface of the Gulf and apparently beyond their reach, both figuratively and literally.

The president continued to castigate Arizona for passing its new Illegal Immigration law, though he still hasn’t read the 16-page document. If he had taken time to read it, he might have realized that he has been misrepresenting what the law, which mirrors existing federal law, actually says and does.

Obama also continued his do as I say, not as I do modus operandi when he went to New York City and ordered chicken wings, fries and onion rings -followed no doubt by a Marlboro- even as he, the Congress and the First Lady move to enact nanny state legislation that will require the states to mandate that healthcare providers monitor the Body Mass Index, or BMI, of children ages 2 to 18, all in the name of stemming childhood obesity. This is an admirable goal, but as usual Democrats think that the government, not parents should be responsible. And as usual they want taxpayers to foot the bill.

But the member of the Obama administration with the most egg on his face this week has to be Attorney General Eric Holder. Holder when asked by Representative Lamar Smith of Texas whether some of those that have perpetrated acts of terrorism against the United States, “might have been incited to take the actions that they did because of radical Islam,” was unable to give a yes or no answer. Instead he said, “No, no I don’t want to say anything negative about a religion… that’s not consistent with the teachings of it” and “I certainly think that it’s possible that people who espouse a radical version of Islam have had an ability to have an impact on people like Mr. Shahzad.”

Really Mr. Holder? It’s not consistent with the teachings of a religion that calls upon it’s followers to “kill the infidels” and “bring Jihad” to unbelievers? And when those that attack us get their training from radical Islamic terror groups and yell “Allah akbar”, you can’t even bring yourself to admit that they “might have been incited” by radial Islam? Incompetent doesn’t even begin to cover holding that position, but we’ll leave it at that for now.

If the attorney general didn’t look incompetent after that exchange, his admonition to Representative Ted Poe of Texas that he had “glanced at” the Arizona Illegal Immigration law, SB 1070, but hadn’t had the chance to read it should seal the deal. Holder went on the Sunday morning talk shows on May 9th and consistently said that he and the administration were concerned about the possibility of law leading to racial profiling, as well as its constitutionality and went on to say that he and the administration might even challenge the law in court.

The realization that, as many had suspected, the attorney general hadn’t read the 16-page law is reason enough for many to wonder how he still has his job. Certainly this should lead even the most ardent supporter to question the competence of the attorney general or, at the very least, shake their confidence in him.

Incompetence Or Intent?

Three major events have occurred over the past few weeks that call into question the competence and motives of the Obama Administration.

The first was the explosion and subsequent oil spill on the British Petroleum offshore oilrig, Deepwater Horizon, in the Gulf of Mexico. The second was the failed terrorist car bombing in New York City’s Times Square, and the third was the massive and devastating flooding in Tennessee.

President Obama and his administration’s officials have been claiming that they were on top of the oil spill from “Day One”. However, the facts would seem to refute those claims, as most news reports indicate it took several days for the administration to become engaged in the crisis. I’m not one who subscribes to conspiracy theories, but I’ve found it very convenient that after decades of safe oilrig operation this disaster has occurred so soon after Obama upset his base by appearing to open up new areas off the Atlantic Coast to new oil exploration.

Many Democrats, and even some Republicans, have seized upon this oil spill as an excuse to end any talk of new exploration off America’s shores. It should be noted that Russia, China and several other nations are already planning to drill for oil in the international waters off our coasts. If we don’t go after those reserves, they will. It’s safe to say that none of those nations will be as concerned about drilling in an environmentally responsible fashion as we would be. It’s also worth noting the presence of oil rigs in much more hostile parts of the world than the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Coast of the United States, such as the North Sea. In fact, there are more than 5,000 offshore oil platforms worldwide – and all have been operating safely for decades.

Before we jump to any conclusions or react impulsively, we must determine what really happened on the Deepwater Horizon. As retired fire-rescue captain Matt Bruce reports, there are many questions about this disaster and its causes.

Then there’s the attempted terrorist attack in Times Square by Faisal Shahzad, which some have characterized as “amateurish”. CBS News has reported that Shahzad had been on the terrorist watch list between 1999 and 2008 because he entered the country with approximately $80,000 and made no less than eight trips to and from Pakistan in the past several years.

However, Shahzad was removed from the list shortly after Obama began shutting down Bush-era terrorist investigations in 2009. We were lucky his IED fizzled instead of detonating in Times Square, since the systems that should have prevented this man from becoming a naturalized citizen and getting the chance to perpetrate this attempted attack failed spectacularly. Only the quick thinking of a New York City street vendor — who noticed smoke coming from Shahzad’s SUV — the NYPD, and the NY Fire Department averted disaster.

Despite the existence of video surveillance of the suspect and the fact that the FBI was initially tracking him, Shahzad had no difficulty boarding an Emirates Airlines flight. If not for the keen eye of an immigration officer, who prevented him from successfully fleeing the country, he would’ve eluded capture. Apparently at some point during their surveillance, the FBI lost track of him.

Most remarkably, the Obama Administration — which only reluctantly acknowledges terrorism — has been touting its success in this affair. It’s also worth mentioning that the media and NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg have been contorting themselves ever since, consciously trying not to call Shahzad a Muslim terrorist, while simultaneously worrying not only about his motives, but also about “backlash” against Muslims and Pakistani-Americans.

In fact, Bloomberg initially posited the ludicrous theory that the bomber might be some “deranged person” or someone who’s unhappy with the healthcare bill. He even went so far as to use the incident to push for closing the so-called “gun show loophole”, one of this anti-Second Amendment advocate’s favorite causes.

The third and final event has gotten very little press, even though it involved the greatest loss of life and property. The floods in Tennessee have killed 23 Americans and devastated a huge swath of the “Volunteer State”. Yet we’ve heard almost nothing from President Obama on this disaster. Thousands of Americans lost their homes and suffered the worst devastation imaginable, yet the President has for the most part ignored this catastrophe and the human suffering it inflicted.

If President George W. Bush were still in office and had reacted so slowly and incompetently to these three equally newsworthy situations, the lamestream media would be savaging him relentlessly. But as per usual, they’ve given the Community Organizer-in-Chief a pass.

So what are we to conclude about Obama’s motives in the aftermath of his mishandling of these three events? Should we assume that in the case of the BP oil spill that Obama actually wanted it to become an environmental disaster, the better for him and his allies to use as an excuse to end all further talk of future offshore oil drilling? After all, if there’s one thing we do know about this administration, it’s that they never let a good crisis go to waste.

In the case of the Times Square terror attack, should we assume that the President simply doesn’t understand the threat? Or should we instead assume that he and the team he’s assembled are incompetent and incapable of fulfilling their primary responsibility of protecting the people of the United States?

As for the floods in Tennessee, should we accuse Obama of the very thing so many on the left erroneously and venomously did of President Bush after Hurricane Katrina — that he’s a reverse racist? The population of middle Tennessee is mostly white, so using the left’s logic it only stands to reason the president doesn’t care about white people.

I’ll leave the answers to these questions up to everyday Americans, but will add that giving Obama a pass on his responses to any or all of these events is simply unacceptable. Our country is at war and facing economic and military threats on a global scale; our government must respond in an appropriate matter to every catastrophe, or the consequences will be devastating and far-reaching.

The riots that have plagued Greece in the wake of its financial collapse could soon be replicated in other European nations. Subsequent bailouts by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund have forced the Greek government to make cuts in services and entitlements, inciting the entitlement population to violence. Judging by the past sixteen or so months, what we’ve witnessed in Greece could be a disturbing glimpse of our nation’s future. Yet Obama and the Congress seem hell bent on traveling this road to disaster.

There are dangerous days ahead for the United States and our allies. There are credible reports that Iran and Syria have provided Hezbollah with SCUD missiles and are planning preemptive attacks on Israel this summer; there are also reports that the Iranians have plans in place that could even lead to an attack on the United States itself. Terrorist groups are targeting us here at home, even as our troops face them overseas. There are potential threats from North Korea, Venezuela, Russia and China, just to name a few. We cannot have an administration that either is too incompetent to recognize the dangers we face, or perhaps worse, willfully negligent in its failure to protect American citizens from those it does recognize, simply for political advantage.

The Tea Party, The Grassroots & The Republican Party

There are some important things that need to be said about the “tea party” movement, the grassroots and the Republican Party. In the past 9-12 months, we have witnessed a remarkable, non-violent uprising throughout this nation – a revolution like nothing before seen in our lifetimes. It started last spring when President Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress passed the $800 billion so-called “stimulus”, a trillion dollar omnibus spending package, cap and tax legislation and few other massive, unfunded spending bills. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Obama also signed a series of executive orders before setting his sights on the implementation of a socialized healthcare plan that he cleverly attempted to sell to the American people as “healthcare reform”. All of this took place even as unemployment skyrocketed to over 8% (something the president promised wouldn’t happen if his stimulus was passed). And in response to the passionate outcry of displeasure from the American electorate, expressed via phone calls, faxes, emails and letters to their elected representatives, many members of Congress – along with a complicit media – either blatantly ignored them, or disparaged, maligned and dismissed them as angry racists, unable to get over the fact that a black man was now in the White House.

As the nation’s frustration and anger continued to rise, a CNBC anchor by the name of Rick Santelli went on an on-air rant, clearly articulating what many everyday Americans were feeling as they watched from their living rooms – exasperation at the economic illiteracy of the White House and Congress. Citizens around the country who had never protested anything in their lives got tired of yelling at their televisions and being ignored by those with whom they’d entrusted the responsibility of leadership and representation by and of the people. Thus they were compelled to get up, get out of their comfort zones and protest the out-of-control spending and taxation they’d been subjected to for far too long from both Democrats and Republicans. “Taxed Enough Already” or T.E.A. became a national slogan. And in the spirit of 1776, the modern-day TEA Party movement was born. Some may argue the order of events, or the actual individuals responsible for setting it in motion, but what is undeniable is the fact that a signification movement had been established.

“Tea Party” has now become synonymous with the preponderance of grassroots organizations that have sprung up in all 50 states, and in every corner of the country. Groups like Tea Party Express, Tea Party Patriots, 9/12 and DC Works For Us – all grassroots organizations with parallel goals – have grown and attracted like-minded, patriotic Americans, offering them a vehicle through which they can assemble peacefully to express their discontent, make their voices heard, and above all, stop the radical agenda of the Obama Administration and their ultra-left wing allies in Congress – an agenda aided and instigated by special interest groups including the labor unions; the environmental lobby; ACORN; and other far-left groups.

By way of town hall meetings, street corner protests, mass phone calling drives, emailing and faxing campaigns, social networking and of course, the million-plus person 9/12 March on Washington, D.C., Americans have repeatedly tried to get the message across to those who are supposed to represent them, that they fully reject statism and socialism – the obvious and undesired direction in which their elected leaders are moving this nation.

In response to the sincere efforts of average, hard-working, tax-paying American citizens to exercise their First Amendment right to peacefully express their grievances, the President of the United States, the U.S. Senate Majority Leader, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives promptly branded them as “racists”, “Nazis”, “tea baggers” (an especially repugnant term), “Astroturf” and even “un-American”. Members of Congress have literally laughed at the notion of reading bills that will have long-reaching and potentially devastating effects on our nation, imposing an even greater burden on already struggling people and businesses.

But in spite of the smear campaign propagated against them, freedom-loving Americans refused to be stopped; the voices of true patriots would not be silenced.

Now several months later, due to the tenacity of the American people, passage of Obamacare is still in doubt, cap and trade is stalled in the Senate and the Democrats are poised to suffer an electoral massacre in November.

However, the narrative has also changed somewhat. Many Republicans, seeing an opportunity unavailable to them since 1994, are fighting the good fight against the president’s agenda by voting against the harmful, socialist legislation Obama, Reid and Pelosi seem hell bent on passing, even at the cost of their majorities in both houses of Congress. Some, but unfortunately not all, appear to have gotten the people’s message and are heeding it, while RINOs like Lindsey Graham, John McCain and Charlie Crist continue to play footsie with progressives on things like “climate change”, “cap and trade” and amnesty for illegal immigrants.

Simultaneously, just this past week Nancy Pelosi, the same woman who once demonized everyone who opposed the radical agenda of the Democrat majority, publicly stated that when you get right down to it, she actually has “a lot in common with the Tea Party”. No doubt the speaker herself is still trying to figure out exactly what she meant, along with every member of legitimate, grassroots organizations.

Pelosi aside, there are other much more sinister, disturbing changes in the narrative of the movement. Some self-appointed “leaders” of the Tea Party have begun to enjoy the power and notoriety involved in steering and orchestrating a large group in the achievement of a shared goal. They’re no longer involved in order to save our nation from the runaway spending and relentless march towards socialism and statism, but instead to promote themselves and – in some cases – make a nice, healthy, self-serving profit (assuming their motivations were even pure to begin with). There are some that have never met a television camera, a microphone, or a reporter they didn’t like. When mugging for the camera and getting your name in print become more important than the ultimate goal of the movement, then either the movement collapses or a new one replaces it.

Some have tried to spawn a Tea Party political party, which has led to lawsuits and distracted from the basic purpose of the movement. Not all the attempts at creating a political party using the Tea Party name have come from within, however. Here in Florida for instance, it’s rumored that two Democrat lawyers filed the papers and have been suing Tea Party groups, in an effort to force them to stop using the name. Obviously, this is a concerted attempt to hurt the movement from the outside, but it’s still an unwanted distraction.

Either way, forming a third party now won’t stop the progressive agenda everyone has been valiantly fighting against. Like it or not, at its core, the Republican Party is the party of smaller government, lower taxes, strong national defense and pretty much everything else the Tea Party and companion grassroots groups hold dear. We simply have to elect Republicans who will support, uphold and fight for the ideals outlined in the party platform – Republicans who have not been corrupted by Beltway-itis. In other words: voters must take responsibility for informing themselves, and then choosing their candidates wisely.

Human nature being what it is, yet another problem has cropped up in the grassroots movement: inter-group rivalries. As Democrats, Republicans and the media have come to call every grassroots person a “tea partier”, and every group by the generic term “tea party”, some within certain Tea Party Patriot groups have expressed their disdain for members of other grassroots groups for working within our established political system to effect positive change through dialogue with party leaders. Such folks are doing everything they can possibly do to get both Republicans and Democrats to heed the will of the people – a simultaneously valid and welcome approach that should be applauded by all like-minded Americans.

Is it jealousy? Is it vanity? Is it a desire for the party to never end? Historians and citizens can be the judges of that. But what’s apparent is that there are members and true leaders who have become disenchanted with what has become of the movement and have decided to move on to other things. There is a splintering occurring – not everywhere or in every organization – but definitely within some of the most powerful and most well-known groups. So far they’ve managed to keep the disharmony quiet, but it’s becoming more pronounced and detrimental.

This writer is not a member of any aforementioned group, but is well-acquainted with many of their members, and is quite concerned by what he sees. He’s spent much of his time trying to get the Republican Party back to its fiscally conservative roots from the inside, because ultimately the genuine platform of the GOP is in line with the goals of the various grassroots organizations. All the while, he’s been supporting friends who are actively involved in their fight to let those in power know that they’ve lost the consent of the governed. When he observes the infighting, and the resulting departure of genuine grassroots leaders due to understandable disgust and frustration, he feels legitimate concern that the movement may come to a crashing halt.

Those who are in it for themselves should either get with the program or step aside. If they can’t or won’t do the right thing, then their members should either remove these selfish figureheads or move on to another group. With our very freedoms at stake, real American patriots have no room or tolerance for grandstanders and camera hogs.

SHANNON CURFMAN- “WHAT YOU’RE GETTING INTO” (CD REVIEW)

***1/2 (out of 4)

Label: Purdy Records

Singer/songwriter/guitar player Shannon Curfman’s 4th Album “What You’re Getting Into” was released on February 9th of this year and is currently #12 on the Billboard Blues Album Chart.

In 1999 Curfman released her debut album “Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions“- at the tender age of 14- to rave reviews. The impressive blues album sounded like the product of someone with far more years behind her; since then, Curfman’s stellar songs and soulful vocals have only gotten better.

”Seven years later she released the EP “Take It Like A Man”, followed quickly by “Fast Lane Addiction” which incorporated the songs from the previous CD with additional tracks to create a full-length album. With the release of these two albums, Shannon moved away from her blues roots in favor a harder rock attitude.

Curfman credits her time living in Detroit, working with members of Kid Rock’s team, and the influence of Led Zeppelin while in L.A. for inspiring her transition to hard rock-which of course was itself influenced by the blues. Other influences on Curfman’s exceptional work include: Robert Johnson, B.B. King, Jeff Healey, Jonny Lang, Jimi Hendrix, Chris Whitley and many others, including the guitar player Shannon calls her “biggest influence” Jeff Beck, with whom she’s spent much time hanging out.

With the release of “What You’re Getting Into” Shannon has returned to her blues roots while maintaining a rock edge. Her amazing cover of Eric Clapton’s “The Core” is stellar; not surprisingly, she notes that she’s been playing the song since she was about 11. Her cover of Brian May’s “Dragon Attack” is another great selection for classic rock lovers, with amazing guitar work by Stevie D of Buckcherry.

There are three cover songs and seven original songs on “What You’re Getting Into” -all of which add up to a hell of a lot of listening enjoyment. Offering pure escapism, there are no political overtones or heavy messages in Curfman’s songs. This is music designed strictly for entertainment, whether you’re with friends, driving in the car or just hanging around the house alone.

If you like the blues and classic rock, performed with passion and soul, this album and all Shannon’s music are for you. Since she’s on an independent label it’s preferable to purchase her music on her website atwww.shannoncurfman.com, where you can also see her current tour dates and purchase a copy of her original, private label version of “Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions” which has a few songs you can’t get anywhere else.

You can listen to my exclusive interview with Shannon Curfman by clicking here.

Interview w_Recording Artist Shannon Curfman_ A CRF Non-Political Special – Feb 27,2010

Florida CD-19 The Next National Race

What do the gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, the congressional race in NY-23, and the come-from-behind victory of underdog senate candidate Scott Brown in Massachusetts all have in common? Each of these local elections had national implications, sending a clear message to the Democrats in Congress and the Obama Administration, that the majority of the American People flatly reject their radical left-wing agenda.

Some people, unfortunately, are harder to reach than others, notwithstanding the boldness and clarity of the message. Rather than acknowledge voters’ legitimate concerns and change course accordingly, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama have forcefully recommitted themselves to their leftist ideology, flooring the accelerator and driving America even faster down the dead-end highway of ever-expansive government, higher taxes, socialized healthcare, Cap and Trade legislation, and foreign policy weakness in dealing with our enemies.

As disturbing as it is, this unabashed power-grab and willful disregard for Americans must serve as a motivator and a reminder that we all have an obligation to keep our focus on Washington, D.C. No matter what state we may reside in, we must look upon every race as an opportunity to relentlessly advance the message of limited government, strong national defense and individual liberty. In 2010, we will take our government back one House and Senate seat at a time.

The next step in restoring the republic is upon us. In Florida’s 19^th Congressional District, Republican nominee Edward Lynch Sr. is poised to win in a special election against Democrat Ted Deutch. Deutch is a Florida State Senator who was anointed by his predecessor, Robert Wexler, the self-described “fire-breathing liberal”. Mr. Wexler resigned in January – halfway through his seventh term – to work for a tiny Washington based think-tank. Deutch has made it clear that if he’s elected he will proudly back President Obama’s agenda one-hundred percent.

Edward Lynch, on the other hand, is a conservative Republican who opposes several of the current major pieces of legislation being considered in the Democrat-controlled Congress. Far from being simply obstructionists to a radical, left-wing agenda, Lynch will tell you with conviction that “Republicans aren’t the party of ‘no’, but the party of ‘know’” because we have common-sense solutions to the problems confronting our nation.

Unlike the majority of sitting members of Congress, Edward has actually read the healthcare bills; therefore, he understands that what they contain won’t solve our healthcare problems. On the contrary, the proposed healthcare legislation will have a devastating effect on the populace by raising rates, reducing quality and putting government bureaucrats – not patients and doctors – in control of medical decisions.

Lynch wants free-market health insurance reform that will fix the system for Americans who either can’t afford or qualify for healthcare insurance, without destroying the things that make the American healthcare system the envy of the world. His plan includes common-sense solutions like tort reform, interstate competition for insurance companies, and tax deductions for individuals and small businesses. Not only is this a viable solution to the problem, it costs the taxpayers nothing.

Lynch wants to get Americans back to work by reducing taxes on individuals and small businesses. He wants to reduce the burden of massive federal regulation on businesses and get government out of the business of picking winners and losers in the private sector.

Candidate Lynch is a strong supporter of Israel and believes in a single state solution for our best ally in the Middle East. Lynch believes that Israel has the right to self-defense and to act preemptively, just as the United States would when its citizens are threatened.

Already Bill Clinton has traveled to Florida to fundraise for Lynch’s opponent. The Democrats are scared, and they sure don’t want to lose this reliably liberal seat; therefore, they will do whatever it takes to hold onto it. Pulling out all the stops, they will pour as much money and influence into this campaign as possible. If it means dispatching the Clintons or even Obama himself, make no mistake – they will fight hard.

The stakes in this FL-19 special election are huge – not just for Florida, but for every American who is concerned about the leftward direction our elected officials are frantically steering our republic. Every time a Democrat in a “safe seat” loses, it makes every other Democrat facing reelection in November a bit more nervous about their own future, thus further impeding the crazy, runaway train that is the president’s agenda.