politics in the 21st century and the 2012 race for the whitehouse

Politics in the 21st Century and the 2012 Race For the Whitehouse

Table of Contents

1. 2010 U.S. Census, Republicans savor the population trends, as Democrats digest and despair. 2. Why the New Hampshire presidential primary will and must remain the nation's first. 3. U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann's presidential aspirations latest casualty of 'shot heardround the world'? Maybe. 4. Highly desirable (White) House for sale. Price tag: one billion, or more. Obama says, 'I'll take it!' 5. GOP desperate for a winning 2012 presidential candidate. But is it desperate enough for DonaldTrump? 6. Ex-New Mexico governor Gary Johnson declares for president. Who dat, as GOP field growssome more. 7. The resignation of Congressman Anthony Weiner, June 16, 2011. Throwing away 'the dearestthing he owed as 'twere a careless trifle.' 8. Don't like American politics? They change as fast as the weather. Just ask U.S.Representative-elect Bob Turner the apple of the Big Apple's eye. 9. Keep your mitts off America. Why they're writing songs of love, but not for Mitt Romney. 10. 'The night that I told you, those little white lies.' Egregious Herman Cain, forgotten but not gone. 11. New biography of Mitt Romney claims to deliver 'The Real Romney'... but will anyone reallycare? 12. Indiana governor Mitch Daniels February 1, 2012 signs first right-to-work law in over 10 years...the key is that it's for a crucial state in the 'rust belt'. 13. 'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion...'; the great truth assailed bythe little man from Pennsylvania, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum; John F. Kennedy's historicaddress on the matter revisited. 14. The lady from Maine laments and quits; the gentleman from Oklahoma says shoot 'em, and werevisit the savage beating -- on the Senate floor no less -- of Sen. Charles Sumner by Rep. PrestonBrooks

2010 U.S. Census, Republicans savor the population trends,as Democrats digest and despair.by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Imagine the scene on December 21, 2010

Officials of both major political parties waited impatiently as the minutes ticked far too slowly forRepublicans and Democrats alike. They were awaiting the delivery of the pivotal report of theCensus Bureau. Released every 10 years, this report contains crucial population information thatdetermines just what percentage of federal funds for every project the states get... the number ofrepresentatives for each state in the federal House of Representatives... and the number of electoralvotes each state casts for president.

The stakes for politicians and their parties couldn't be higher, and one sensed the tension as theywaited. There was palpable anxiety and sweaty palms in both party headquarters... for no one in thenation understood better than these Tadpoles and Tapers what was happening and what it wouldmean -- positive and negative -- for them.

Within minutes of report arrival, these expert crystal ball readers had hard numbers to work with.The broad outlines of the game ahead began to emerge as these practiced number cruncherscommenced work at the core of America's political establishment, work vital to every politician,little noticed or understood by the average (woefully uninformed) citizen.

The game begins

The Census Bureau's numbers, as stated above, determine how many seats each state is entitled to inthe national House of Representatives.

In the current report, two states are big winners and two states are big losers. Texas, now at thepinnacle of its steadily expanding power, gains 4 seats; Florida's sun- drenched growth alsocontinues apace, now entitled to 2 more seats.

On the flip side, both New York and Ohio lose two seats each.

6 states -- South Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Washington state add 1representative each.

8 states -- Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, andLouisiana, lose 1 representative each.

The theory, the reality

Once state politicians know the task (in Texas' case to add 4 seats), the game becomes acutely,unabashedly political, often ending in bare knuckle brawling. Remember, the stakes could not behigher.

In theory, per order and guidance of the U.S. Supreme Court, districts are to be drawn up with equityand equality solely in mind. The word "fairness" is much employed.

In reality, while giving judicious lip service to the justices directives, politicians immediately set towork with a will, determined to deliver the most seats (and benefits) to themselves while happilydishing their opponents. After all, to the victors belong the spoils, whatever the Supreme Court maythink, (though this sentiment is never uttered publicly.)

This is a great American game and tradition, with every politician involved saying one thing openly

http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com Copyright Tim Ricke - 2012 3 of 42


http://www.BizBuildersCommunity.com

This is a great American game and tradition, with every politician involved saying one thing openlyand quite another behind closed doors. To watch this is to understand how politicians really thinkand work. It is the best and most useful civics lesson of all.

"All politics is local."

This famous phrase was uttered by the late Representative Thomas O'Neill (D-Massachusetts),sometime Speaker of the House of Representatives. He knew whereof he spoke, and no where is thismore true than in the matter of implementing the district changes necessitated by the U.S. census.Let's look at just one of the affected states, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts, father of (more) presidential candidates and (occasional) presidents, will lose yetanother seat. 100 years ago this Commonwealth had 16 House seats. As a result of this census, thenumber will drop to 9. Since all Congresspersons from this state are Democrats, this most likelymeans a permanent reduction of one in potential Democratic seats and a rise of 1 in potentialRepublican seats.

This is of the utmost importance, because the census data make clear that the states losing seats areoverwhelmingly Democratic... while the states gaining seats are comfortably Republican. Thus thesechanges, helped along by more GOP governors and state legislators from the massive Republicanvictory of November, 2010, move appreciably towards the Republican objective of a permanent,structurally based majority with nothing the Democrats can do about it. This is what the censusnumbers suggest and why Republicans are so jubilant as they read them. They see, with reason, anation happily and permanently Republican, the only exceptions being those interregna broughtabout by GOP embarrassments, missteps and goofs... all of which are theirs from time to time.

Viva Hispanics

However, to (potentially) confound GOP exuberance and (potentially) save the Democrats' baconthere are the Hispanics, America's fastest-growing ethnic group. As all the political types know,these hold the key to American politics. Thus both parties are engaged in strenuous outreach toHispanics, outreach which will inevitably be increased to match its importance and historicconsequences.

Here the Democrats currently lead but not overwhelmingly so. Republicans, already popular withCuban-Americans, have every chance to improve their standing with other crucial Hispanicconstituencies. And they will do so, in my humble opinion, by becoming the first major party to putan Hispanic on the ticket, as vice president. You read it here first. Viva!

And what of once golden California, the dream of determined pioneers

No report on the 2010 census would be complete without a few words, but only a few, on the oncegolden state of California. For the first time in decades, California gains no seat, thus indicating thatthe great days of growth are gone forever. The golden gate has shifted Florida and Texas way, andthey are glad to seize the palm -- and crow. Perhaps it is fitting that the census report arrived in themidst of torrential, constant, unused to (much complained about) California rains, as if the very godsabove wept for the end to a great American dream, obliterating its proverbial sunshine.

And so the census has arrived.

Let the (inevitable) games begin... with fervor,craft, masterful lies and dissemblings, hard work anddeceit. It will all be most amusing, this set piece of American politics and democracy. I can't wait tosee how this cookie crumbles.




Why the New Hampshire presidential primary will and mustremain the nation's first. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

They're at it again.

Picking on the little guy.

Telling you you don't deserve it... trying to take away your chief claim to fame and fortune.

But this little guy is shrewd, he's been through all this before, and will, I predict and hope, remainthe little guy we want to hold the very first presidential primary every four years.

You are the State of New Hampshire... and I, for one, though from one of the big states with alackluster primary, support you and salute you for the supremely smart ways you use to retain yourcrucial #1 primary position.

Unlike the covetous folks from Florida, Michigan, even California who don't know you. I do; NewHampshire after all is only 30 minutes away from Cambridge, Massachusetts. I know just howtenacious, inventive, clever you are.... and just how much you value and love your place inAmerica's political history.

You are New Hampshire... and no one is going to take your beloved presidential primary away fromyou, though this year as always they are trying like the dickens to do just that.

Some background

The first New Hampshire presidential primary was held in 1916. On the Republican side a slate ofunpledged delegates was elected. The reigning GOP establishment ordinarily did this when therewas no sitting Republican president (like Calvin Coolidge in 1924); they could use these delegates tobargain.

The first named person to win the New Hampshire primary was President Woodrow Wilson. He thenwent on win a second term.

The primary didn't begin to take on its current significance until 1952. The Republicans had been outof power since 1932 and were desperate to get the White House back. Senator Robert Taft of Ohio("Mr. Republican"), son of President William Howard Taft, was expected to net the nomination. Buta group of Republicans, including twice defeated (1944, 1948) presidential candidate Thomas E.Dewey, were sure Taft was a loser. They wanted General Dwight David Eisenhower.

Eisenhower was what America loves, a real bona fide hero, scandal free, a household name. "I likeIke," said the famous campaign button... and everybody else did too.

So likeable, so electable, was Ike that both the Democrats and the Republicans went after him astheir preferred presidential candidate. Having simplified its ballot access rules in 1949, NewHampshire was ready to make history in 1952.

However, was Eisenhower a Democrat... or a Republican? No one, maybe even the General himself,knew.... President Truman, however, offered to forego another run in favor of Eisenhower if theDemocrats could get him. The Republicans also wanted him. Eisenhower chose the GOP; Trumanthrew his hat in again though he had spirited competition in folksy Tennessee Senator EstesKefauver. New Hampshire was poised to make history... and it did.

First Kefauver beat Truman, thereby ending the President's political career, sending him back,




First Kefauver beat Truman, thereby ending the President's political career, sending him back,embittered, to Independence, Missouri and his nagging mother- in-law, who still thought he hadn'tbeen good enough for her dowdy daughter Bess. Then Ike pulverized Taft. New Hampshire woke upto the fact that it was Important, Very, Very Important. And they have never forgotten, makinghistory over and over again; each time enraging other states... who don't like the power and glory ofthe pip-squeak.

They say, envy and jealousy unpleasantly apparent, that New Hampshire is too small to have thishonor.... its population insufficiently representative of America... its kind of personal politicsoutmoded in the age of mass media.

New Hampshire's clipped, New England response? "Nuts" (The celebrated reply of U.S. GeneralMcAuliffe when asked in 1944 to surrender.) Here is their more complete response.

On the matter of retail politics being outmoded, New Hampshire says that it provides an absolutelycrucial service for both candidates and America. Candidates, they rightly say, need time to perfecttheir message and learn how to interact with people... and run a better campaign. They learn theseskills in New Hampshire and from its citizens, who, remember, tutor the candidates every fouryears.

Folks in New Hampshire pepper the candidates with every kind of query and remark; the better toknow them, the better to educate them. Its citizens come to see and know the candidates well,weighing their merits and demerits, scrutinizing them up close and personal.

Candidates who are not known before the New Hampshire primary are able to use foot power andmeagre campaign budgets to gain adherents and become effective persuaders. They couldn't do thiselsewhere, in other states; there the logistics work against this approach.

New Hampshire, advocates of other, bigger states, aver is unrepresentative of America. Thiscriticism roils its citizens.

Have we not paid America's taxes?

Have we not fought America's wars?

Have the sons and, yes, the daughters, too, of our Granite State not died to maintain the nation?

Have we not helped America by conscientiously scrutinizing each and every candidate helping toselect the best of what this great country offers?

Is all this not enough to keep the institution we have created, protected, built?

No, these covetous, big states say, it is not enough... and never will be. You are small and weak,New Hampshire, we shall eat you and take the presidential primary you have fashioned, with all itsemoluments and perquisites, the money, the fame, the storied place in our nation's legend.

New Hampshire's ultimate weapon.

For just such states and circumstances, New Hampshire has on its books a purposeful law. This strictlaw, universally popular and supported by every Granite State citizen of whatever party, mandatesthat the New Hampshire primary must and shall be held at least one week before ANY other state'spresidential primary.

In this law, the mouse has well and truly roared.

This is why, about a year from today (or earlier if necessary to maintain its primacy) the goodcitizens of New Hampshire will trek through the snow and mud to exercise one of the chief rights of




our democracy; to advance some, to rusticate others, with grave deliberation and forethought. It isNew Hampshire's pride to do so... and they will do whatever is necessary to keep it, "Live Free orDie."




U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann's presidentialaspirations latest casualty of 'shot heard round the world'?Maybe. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota), had the uncomfortable experience March12, 2011 of opening her mouth and inserting her own stiletto heel. Ouch!

But this experience is almost a commonplace for the lady from Minnesota. She's rapidly becoming anational byword for gaffes, missteps, misinformation, and just plain old American stupidity.

And yet the lady from Minnesota still thinks she has a shot at being president of the United States!Michele, whose grasp of history is (to put it charitably) non-existent has probably never looked upthe derivation of the word "minnesota." It is from the Dakota Sioux who named the place "cloudywater". Michele's been drinking the stuff for a long time... maybe that explains the frequency and thegoofiness of her gaffes. She ought to look into that water problem... those pinko one-world typeshave probably put fluoride in it.

This time she made her faux pas de jour in New Hampshire, a place for which she's suddenlydeveloped an acute tendresse. She hopes the yokels like her unique brand of one-liners,misstatements, tough talk, and silky tresses. It worked for the folks in Minnesota's sixthcongressional district.

Problem is, Michele's tongue moves faster than her historical knowledge and accuracy. Really andtruly, I don't think that bothers Michele one bit. But it sure bothers the people she's misinforming."Really," they say "she ought to know better..."

This time she made another doozie.

March 12, 2011 in Manchester, N.H., photogenic Michelle (whose luxurious locks are worth anynumber of political accuracies) butchered the facts about one of America's signature events: the"shot heard round the world," much venerated in these parts.

"You're the state where the shot was heard round the world in Lexington and Concord," she told agroup of conservative lawmakers and students at a Manchester, N.H. school. "And you put a markerin the ground and paid with the blood of your ancestors the very first price that had to be paid tomake this the most magnificent nation that has ever arisen in the annals of man in 5,000 years ofrecorded history."

Her Gaffiness' latest muff was reported March 12 on the RealClearPolitics website. Bachmann,according to the site, gave the wrong details once; then stated them wrongly again in the samespeech. Michele doesn't dispute the facts as reported.

Given the fact that Michele is a leader in the Tea Party movement, which takes its name fromanother signature episode in American history, Michele's latest flub is not insignificant. Heraudience, hardened conservatives all, didn't bother to clue her into her mistake. After all, she lookedcute when she fluffed her hair and tossed her head. The audience no doubt appreciated the herbalessence moment and wanted more of that, not her scalp -- yet.

Facts? Who needs facts when you're a sound-bite machine?

So frequent are Michele Bachmann's gaffes that there's actually a website entitled "The UltimateCollection of Bad Michele Bachmann Quotes." She's so prolific in her faux pas that the owners of




that site are exhausted keeping up with her non-stop "What me worry?" motor mouth. It is Michel'sproud boast that she never allows mere facts to get in the way of what she's saying. She's quitesimply above accuracy. It worked for Ronald Reagan; it's sure to work for her!

On the subject of gay marriage, Michele sagely says, "(Gay marriage) is probably the biggest issuethat will impact our state and nation in the last, at least, thirty years. I am not understating that."Here Michele manages to slaughter verb tenses, grammar and factual accuracy all at the same time.Bravissima! What matter pending national bankruptcy, our many wars, the nuclear question after therecent Japanese tsunami, emigration reform etc., etc., when we have a few gays who want to marry?Good for Michele, keeping America moral, one shot from the lip at a time.

"I wish the American media would take a great look at the views of the people in Congress and findout: Are they pro-America or anti-America?" Michele's view of history (hold the facts) is highlycolored by conspiracy theories, malfeasance of the highest order at the highest levels, and alwaysthose damnable liberals who are Determined to Bring America Down. She looks for these peopleunder every bed, and if she happens to find they're gay, too, she wags a knowing finger at themiscreants, always making sure the omnipresent camera gets her best side while she's ranting.

"I want the people in Minnesota armed and dangerous on this issue of the energy tax because weneed to fight back." Michele's imagery is always violent, always predicated on the need to shootearly, shoot often. How she intends to shoot and keep her hair fluffed are not doubt amongst themany subjects in which her presidential campaign will in due course enlighten us. I can hardly waitto find out. There's more, much more:

"But we also know that the very founders that wrote those documents worked tirelessly until slaverywas no more in the United States." More of Michele's neo-history. We'd urge her to give it up, butshe looks go good talking in front of the students she's misinforming, and conservatives don't carewhat their kids are taught... so long as they get to pray in school and condemns evolution.

There's more... much, much more. But now it's time to see how Michele responds to the merereporting of her words. Instead of simply saying that she doesn't know everything, takesresponsibility for her missteps, and maybe even saying she plans to bone up on the subjects shemangles, Representative Michele Bachmann does what her Tea Party is so adept at doing: shecomes out swinging; saying that she's the victim of a media double standard that wouldn't apply ifshe were a liberal Democrat.

March 15, 2001 ABC News Radio quoted Bachmann as saying "We all know there's a doublestandard in the media... as we know all 3,400 members of the mainstream media are part of theObama press contingent."

Wow! She knocked that one out of the park. We can only admire Michele the more, the persecutedlittle lady from Minnesota. It's better than David against Goliath, because at least David had a fewbuddies. But Michele's only got her fabulous "do"... Come to think of it, that worked for Samson. Asa Bible scholar of renown, Michele no doubt knows his prowess with the jawbone of an ass. It'scertainly worked for her, too.

Michele, keep up the good work. And don't even think of cutting your hair!




Highly desirable (White) House for sale. Price tag: onebillion, or more. Obama says, 'I'll take it!'by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

To absolutely no one's surprise President Obama officially kicked off his re-election bid April 4,2011. The real story is not that he's running (since the day he was elected in the first place, he's beenrunning for the second term whose function is to validate what he's done and his place in history).

No, the story is on that most American of subjects: money, specifically the money it's going to takehim to ensure his re-election.

Yup, it's all about the money.

In 2008, Obama set the spending record, $760 million for the primary and general elections. Obama,to the astonishment of many, was unstoppable in the fund raising department. Democrats wereconflicted on the matter.

For one thing, they wanted to win... and here was a man dedicated to raising the money to makethem competitive and give them victory on a sterling silver platter.

But that unnerved many Democrats at the same time, for such people have a knee jerk tendency toregulate campaign funds and limit them; Obama was always about victory, not limits. And victory,sweet victory, historic victory they got. Such victory papers over a lot of cracks.

The president opens his campaign.

Because this is 2011 and the world is wired President Obama launched his re-election campaign bye-mail. He said his campaign will be about "coordinating millions of one-on-one conversationsbetween supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join thecause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight." The man of soaring rhetoric commenced hiscampaign with business sobriety, without a memorable word. What did that mean?

It meant, above all else, that Obama realizes he'll be the issue; that what people want is not rhetoric,not to run on hope. Been there, done that. What the people want now is demonstrated results andsensible, realistic talk about the next four years of the U.S.S. United States of America.

Where does this captain want to take us.... and how does he intend to get us there? High blownrhetoric which was the centerpiece of the 2008 campaign will be used, of course, but carefully,sparingly. The country, after all, is still seething with rages... and Obama needs to be seen as a manof deeds, not words, however thrilling.

His re-election message signifies his understanding that the "first black president" card is not goingto cut it. The high flying speeches about opening doors, too, are old hat, beside the point.

What America wants is a strong chief executive (white, brown or black) whose sole function is totackle our grab-bag of problems and use the power of the presidency, which includes marshallingthe people, to deliver results, results, results. Nothing less will satisfy the nation... and the presidentsurely knows that even results, great results, will fail to satisfy many. That is the nature of our times.

Obama knows better than anyone that keeping the White House as his house is going to take abreathtaking amount of money. And Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission came at justthe right time for him to raise it, in the historic amounts needed to make his case.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.




On January 21, 2010 the United States Supreme Court made a decision of historic proportions. Bythe thinnest of margins, 5-4, the Court struck down a provision of the McCain-Feingold Act thatprohibited all corporations, both for- profit and not-for-profit, and unions from broadcasting"electioneering communications". These were defined in McCain-Feingold as a broadcast, cable, orsatellite communication that mentioned a candidate within 60 days of a general election or thirtydays of a primary. The decision overruled Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce (1990) andpartially overruled McConnell v. Federal Election Commission (2003).

The Honorable the Justices of the Supreme Court had just made history, striking a hammer blow(albeit barely) on behalf of the First Amendment, which means, so the majority said, exactly what itsays:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably toassemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Liberal outrage.

Most every liberal in the land was enraged by this decision. Liberals, you see, specialize in tellingfolks like you and me, just what we can do, just when we can do it, just how we can do it. In thiscase, that means doing everything they can to limit your right to uninhibited electioncommunications, including spending your money freely to influence these elections.

Freedom means being able to squander your money on elections if you want to.

Personally, I have never understood the thrill of throwing money away on presidential candidates.I'm of the firm opinion that spending the hundred or two I might donate to candidates, say, on dinnerwith winsome partner would be better spent. However, I am equally clear that people, by the Bill ofRights, should have the right to waste their money, be they private citizen, union, or corporation onthe candidates they fancy.

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission reaffirmed that right, and strongly so.

President Obama, chief beneficiary, the strongest attacker.

The president is a past master in the art of having one's cake while eating it, too. This decision hesaid "gives the special interests and their lobbyists even more power in Washington -- whileundermining the influence of average Americans who make small contributions to support theirpreferred candidates." Obama later elaborated in his weekly radio address saying, "this ruling strikesat our democracy itself," and "I can't think of anything more devastating to the public interest."

Having stated, for the record, the standard liberal line... Obama set out to make the Court's rulingwork for -- him.

Every time he lamented the realities of politics and fund raising and predicted the end ofdemocracy... he was busily raising money, unparalleled amounts of money from... private citizens,corporations, and unions. If a billion will do the trick, fine; if not, he'll up the ante. For you see, he isdetermined to prove, through his re-election that America made no mistake in electing him in thefirst place.

Millions of American who voted for Obama have come to the conclusion they bought a pig in apoke; they've having second thoughts. But the president knows what money can buy. He'll raisewhatever he needs so they'll buy -- him, secretly thanking Citizens United v. Federal ElectionCommission for the favor, while criticizing it every step of the way. The White House is worth it.




GOP desperate for a winning 2012 presidential candidate.But is it desperate enough for Donald Trump? by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Donald Trump. The name conveys many things

-- open mouth, insert silver foot.

-- knows everything about everything and never hesitates to tell you.

-- braggart

-- billionaire

-- bankruptcies galore

-- women

-- more women

-- much younger women.

And now President of the United States?

He's signaling the nation he wants it, but there is not a single reputable authority in the land whobelieves he'll actually throw his oversized hat (for that oversized head) into the ring. Or that he'llever get into the Oval Office, unless he's got a visitor ticket.

Except, that is, my go-fer Aime Joseph. The other day Mr. Joseph (as we call him) let me know in nouncertain terms that Trump was his pick for president next year. Given the fact that he was rabid forObama last time round, this is a monumental change of mind.

What caused it?

Mr.Joseph's reasons were these:

-- Trump's demonstrated business acumen.

-- His knowledge and exploitation of the media, giving him near universal name recognition.

-- His money.

-- His money...

Get the picture?

More GOP presidential candidates than ever... no clear-cut leader or even early favorite amongstthem.

It has long been a given of American politics that Republicans select presidential candidates theyknow well and who have generally already run for president before, even if they've lost. Thisdescription fits Richard Nixon (defeated 1960, elected 1968); Ronald Reagan (defeated 1968,elected 1980); Robert Dole (defeated for vice president on the Gerald Ford ticket 1976, thendefeated for president 1992); John McCain defeated 2000, then defeated again 2008).

The man who fits this mold for 2012 is former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, defeated byMcCain 2008. But while he's the likeliest at this hour to become the next GOP nominee, the Grand




Old Party is not yet ready to crown him.. or Sarah Palin either, who unlike Romney, actually got onthe McCain ticket, only to go down to defeat with the man who chose her.

Which leaves the Republicans with the largest field of presidential candidates since 1964.

Here Trump sees his advantage... and with billions at the ready, he'd certainly be a strong candidate,right?

Absolutely not. Take a look at these...

1) First, the little matter of presidential manner, seriousness, temperament and demeanor. We likeour presidents to be.... well, presidential. And even a tyke in grammar school will give a reasonabledefinition of what that means. We want a president (man or woman) who without much stretch fitsthe truly gigantic shoes of George Washington and company.

For openers Trump's favorite subject is Trump. In fact, he hardly knows another. And whenattention turns to that subject, Trump is always ready with yet another egregious, bumptious,tasteless battery of arrogance and self-congratulation. America may have near universal namerecognition of the man... but we also know Trump stands for a brand of noisomeself-aggrandizement that permanently closes the door to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

2) Complete lack of suitable experience for the presidency. Americans so liked the idea of our firstblack president that it swallowed Barrack Obama despite his thin resume with national affairs. Still,he was a sitting United States senator at the time of his nomination and election.

Republicans have traditionally been sticklers for offering the nation men who had blue-ribbonresumes with plenty of valid experience. Trump offers absolutely none of that; not a single exampleof foreign policy experience and (except for specialized tax information) absolutely no experiencewith any important subject of national affairs. In addition, he has not one scintilla of experience withmembers of congress. Not a cream puff amongst them, they will soon show a putative PresidentTrump that he needs more than bombast and one-liners to deal with them.

3) A lifetime of often silly, sophomoric, ill-considered very much on-the-record remarks.

Trump is quotable alright... in spades. However, his remarks range from mean-spirited tovituperative; just plain stupid to wildly ludicrous. The media of the world love him. Voters won't.

They know the importance of the American presidency; it's the most important office in the worldand the nation won't tolerate an ignoramus in the job, for all that he's rich.

4) And while we're on the subject of the Trump billions, I reckon one very good reason The Donaldwon't run for the roses is his tax returns. He'll have to publish them of course; folks would rightlywonder at their contents if he didn't.

But is Trump willing to bet that the nation and its tax-pressed citizens will overlook any even minorinfraction that may surface? Being just the third billionaire to run for president (Nelson Rockefeller1968 and Steve Forbes 2000), you can bet your bottom dollar each and every line of every documenthe is forced to release will be examined under a microscope... forcing Trump to defend the taxes hepaid, the deductions he took... thereby pushing his campaign off message for days, weeks... or evenstopping it altogether.

5) The women.

Trump has gloried in his ability to pick up chicks, all but his first wife years younger than he is. Heshould open a museum called Trophy Wives inside one of his casinos. Inquiring minds want toknow.




The thing about collecting and discarding chicks (married or otherwise) is that the discarded oneswait a lifetime for sweet vengeance. Trump is a sitting duck. And God only knows how much of theiceberg of domestic catastrophes is known... just the tip?

As for his platform, policies, beliefs, and recommendations for a Trump- lead renaissance? He's onan odyssey around America right now inciting kooks everywhere on the matter of President Obama'sright to be president because of where or where he was not born. Yup, Trump's a "birther", despitethe fact that the State of Hawaii long ago certified Obama's birth there. It's typical Trump has leadwith an item that has no benefit for America but that ensures buckets of free media attention fromshock jocks suckled on conspiracy theories.

In short, it's petty, beside the point, trivial.

In other words, perfect for Trump in these heady days when he looks at his unkempt locks in themirror and sees a President Trump none of us looking hard can ever see at all for all that he's rich asCroesus.




Ex-New Mexico governor Gary Johnson declares forpresident. Who dat, as GOP field grows some more. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

I'm going to tell you right up front: I like Gary Johnson. He's an ultra-personable, plain-talking,gets-things-done kind of guy. But he's got a fever -- Potomac fever -- that's going to upend his lifefor the next year and more until the next Republican National Convention in 2012.

You see, Johnson wants to be president of these United States... and so he's taken his near zero namerecognition to Concord, New Hampshire where Thursday, April 21, 2011 he declared his candidacy.God help him...

Gary Johnson's my kind of guy.

Born January 1, 1953 in Minot, North Dakota (a good place to get out of), he ultimately moved toNew Mexico and graduated from the University of New Mexico in 1975. We like that school in ourfamily; my brother went there, too. Johnson and his family now live in Taos, one of the mostbeautiful places on earth.

In 1976 he had one of those "aha" moments that changes lives. Having graduated he was lookingaround for something he could do that would enable him to use his undoubted entrepreneurial skills.He decided to create a little business that would do all the fix-ups and home repairs all home ownersneed but which most of us are all-thumbs at doing. Gary had all the right stuff for business success.He was personable, "can-do" oriented, the man who told you what he would do... and then did it!That unstoppable American formula for success... where a person with a good idea and thedetermination to succeed helps others and earns big.

His first major break with his new firm -- Big J Enterprises -- was receiving a large contract fromIntel's expansion in Rio Rancho which increased Big J's revenues to $38 million. Johnson was now awealthy man, confronting one of the bedrock problems that all successful people must solve: how tofind, train, motivate and keep good employees and do everything else you have to do to succeed.Always practical, Johnson went back to school, enrolling in a time management course. This helpedhim grow Big J into a big-time business with over 1000 employees. At that point, with all the moneyhe and his family needed for life...he sold the business, so he could get started helping fix-upAmerica, which had a host of home problems.... without the skills to solve them. Big J to therescue...

"People Before Politics".

Johnson entered New Mexico politics for the first time in 1994. He approached the state RepublicanParty with the (to them) absurd idea he should run for governor, wresting the state's governmentfrom the entrenched Democratic establishment. They told him to take a hike and run for the statelegislature, the most junior of positions.

But Johnson had what you need for success: an idea he believed in, the money to support hisbelief.... and a slogan that was more than mere words: "People before Politics". It was just what NewMexico wanted to hear. Johnson became the giant-killer of New Mexico, defeating formerRepublican governor David Cargill in the Republican primary and incumbent Democratic governorBruce King in the general election. New Mexico had itself a straight-talking man who said what hemeant and meant what he said. It was a revelation to the home folks of Nuevo Mexico.

Johnson, to everybody's surprise but his own, set about reshaping and reinventing New Mexico'sgovernment. He evaluated what the state was doing by asking two sensible, "get to the bottom of it"




questions: what are we spending our money on... and what are we getting in return?

Legislators from both parties and every bureaucrat in New Mexico did what they are good at doing,protecting themselves and their interests, sabotaging everything they could. They were, after all, thehaves who took too much for the little they gave. Johnson was their worst nightmare. Mr. "Can Do"became Mr. "You Won't". He used his gubernatorial veto over and over again, vetoing more billsand appropriations than all other 49 U.S. governors combined. Yup, he meant what he said... Andthe people of New Mexico responded by re-electing him in 1998 with 55 percent of the vote. It wasan astonishing bouquet from the people he was always honest to and fair; they realized he was aboutas good a governor as they could get. Politicians of the pandering ilk take notice.

Johnson was retired because of a two-term limit. (Another indication of what a silly idea that is. Letthe people decide when to retire their officials.) This gifted, personable guy, with a resume as long asyour arm (for instance he left New Mexico with a huge surplus) was at loose ends... for a couple ofminutes.

Johnson's "Our America Initiative", Founded 2009.

Forced out of the governor's chair, he responded by creating in 2009 the "Our America Initiative" , anonprofit political advocacy committee that promotes common-sense business approaches togoverning. Gary Johnson meant to do for the people of suffering, fed-up America what he hadalready done for the long-suffering people of New Mexico...

... which is why he found himself in chill and breezy Concord, New Hampshire on this April day.

He brought with him what has always distinguished the man: practical common- sense gleaned fromproven business and high-level governing experience. More than that, he offers the kind of "let's rollup our sleeves and solve this problem together" approach that is what people crave. Our problems,we know, are not insoluble so long as we work together. A man like Gary Johnson believes he's theguy best able to work with Americans this way and so, one problem tackled after another, create thenation we want.

Frankly, this approach ought to play well in New Hampshire. The folks in the Granite State arepragmatic, "let's get it done together" folks. As Gary Johnson goes door to door doing the retailpolitics winning the primary requires, he'll find, I think, folks skeptical of course (they're that way upnorth) but friendly, curious, and increasingly receptive. In short, this bright-eyed New Mexico boy,with his unfeigned interest in the people of New Hampshire and America could be the dark horse theGOP has been looking and hoping for in a large field which has so far failed to impress and inspire.

These New Hampshire folks take very seriously their task of scrutinizing each and every candidate,doing what every civic-minded American would do given the opportunity: to look carefully, askthoughtfully, and come to their judgements independently. That is what they do and what theirfamous primary is for.

I'll be surprised if he does not do well enough to take his message to other states. So, he decided tolaunch his campaign by achieving his first New Hampshire goal. That's why he left Concordfollowing his announcement and went to climb Tuckerman Ravine, a large glacial bowl on6,288-foot Mount Washington, the tallest mountain in the Northeast.

Johnson's climbed Mount Everest; Tuckerman Ravine was a "piece of cake". He's hoping this is agood omen for the primary. It could happen. The people of New Hampshire, after all, likeastonishing the rest of us. We shall just have to wait and see...




The resignation of Congressman Anthony Weiner, June 16,2011. Throwing away 'the dearest thing he owed as 'twere acareless trifle.' By Dr. Jeffrey Lant

The resignation of Congressman Anthony Weiner, June 16, 2011. Throwing away "the dearest thinghe owed as 'twere a careless trifle."

Shakespeare, who knew a thing or two about delivering the right conclusions to move audiences,would, no doubt about it, have been underwhelmed by every aspect of U.S. Representative AnthonyWeiner's resignation yesterday.

News junkies like me were informed that, at 2 p.m. Eastern time, the man who was the butt of amillion off-color jokes for which he was completely responsible, would come before the people ofthe 9th New York district, and the world, and have his say before he went on his way.

News junkies and history buffs all know such moments can produce riveting theatre; Shakespeareknew it too... and he, like us, would have hunkered down to await a signature American momentafter which we could well and truly say (as Malcolm in "Macbeth") "Nothing in his life became himlike the leaving it".

But we were disappointed -- and irritated.

Anthony Weiner let us down... and himself, too.

Politicians know public life has many vicissitudes, that ups and downs are inevitably part of thepicture. The question is not whether there will be bad days; there will be. The question is how youhandle them so that you squeeze the utmost advantage even from the grimmest days.

Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives 7 times, Anthony Weiner became well known to hiscolleagues as a characteristic New Yorker. For those who have never been to the Big Apple anddon't know the genre, you're missing out on one of the world's most interesting political animals, forsuch people are feisty, opinionated, bare knuckle fighters who relish going mano a mano with theiropponents. New York politics is a corrida, and aficionados watch every move with a severelyjaundiced and critical eye.

Anthony Weiner was one of the best... at just 46 a man to watch. Ole'!

Planning for the end.

From June 6, 2011, when the scandal broke, it became clearer with every passing day and oneabashing revelation after another, that only a supremely gifted politician could survive a scandal thattitillated the nation. Weiner is not that gifted. He mulled over his options day by day, and theydiminished as members of his own Democratic party became ever more insistent that he get lostand, like old soldiers, just fade away.

The sinless Pharisees lead by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi made America nauseous byprating on about Weiner's duty to beat it when it was clear this self-serving crew cared only abouttheir own hides, imperiled by Weiner's train of indiscretions.

You might have thought such folks, who had once lavished superlatives on Weiner, would have saidsome remarks indicating just how truly sorry they were their brother in Congress had erred so andwas hurting. After all, Weiner had served his party and its members well until he started texting




crotch shots.

But politicians don't work that way. They are quick with compliments when such compliments costthem nothing but some of the hot air which they always have, and to spare.

However, when their dear old colleague and friend stumbles and falls, they seize the moment todemonstrate the art form hypocrisy becomes in their practiced hands... They quickly look in themirror to ensure that they are sinless and then seeing what they want to see, they cast the first stone...the second... the third... and every stone necessary to kill off and remove their once lauded friendand colleague. It's disgusting... it'd odious... it's the way they play politics the Washington way...hold your nose if you plan to venture closer to this noisome midden.

In such a situation Anthony Weiner needed to move carefully and with some of the discretion soremarkably absent from his own, about to be abbreviated career. What did he want his end toaccomplish, so that nothing so became it?

He wanted that end to keep his options open and position him for whatever he wanted to do in thefuture. These options include, but are not limited to, recapturing his seat, running for another office,or just leaving in such a way that his political reputation and legacy were secure, seen as important,valuable, worthwhile.

But did he get what he needed?

Over the last few days reports surfaced that Anthony Weiner was frail, disoriented, at sea. Nowonder. His smug, self-satisfied colleagues (their scandals not yet on the nation's lips) hit him withbrickbat after brickbat. They wanted him to disappear, and as he refused to accede to their insistentwishes, they hurt him the more. That a mere mortal should wilt in such circumstances is hardlysurprising...

He bought some time for himself by getting a two-week leave of absence from his congressionalduties, the better to seek counseling and assistance. There was at least the possibility in this that hewould use the extra time to get a breather and study his options carefully... so that he could capturethe silver lining from the thunder cloud he created for himself.

Anthony Weiner blew his Broadway moment.

I imagine but do not know that Anthony Weiner, like most U.S. politicians, is a student of Americanhistory. As such Weiner knew, or should have known, that what our countryman like is a fighter,someone who faces adversity with the full panoply of American virtues: energy, a never-say-die grit,a smile that won't quit and total focus on the American people and improvinig their lives. I sayWeiner should have known all this but one celebrated New York politician didn't.

This guy's name was Thomas E. Dewey. He was twice a candidate for president on the Republicanticket. The first time he got the nomination (1944) because of his grit and courage. FranklinRoosevelt, another New Yorker, beat him but not disgracefully so. The GOP kept the man's name onits dance card... and gave him another shot in 1948. But instead of running for president, Dewey(widely regarded as the certain winner) gave America bromides and homilies, not a decent idea or asingle indication that he believed in anything aside from winning.

Harry Truman knew America better than Dewey and knew Americans respected fighters, thefighters they were themselves. Weiner needed to go out fighting... but he didn't.

He needed not just to thank his neighbors in the 9th district. He needed to remind them why they'delected him 7 times... and, with some soaring rhetoric entirely absent from the proceedings, makethem feel the issues important to him. That man is flesh and tempted is true... but a man may sin and




sin again and still do the people's work and fight the people's battles.

I wanted to see stuffing in Anthony Weiner... and I saw nothing but platitudes delivered before theinevitable flags.

It just wasn't good enough... not for those neighbors, not for New York, not for America... and not torevive a once promising career whose last moments were interrupted by hecklers, one being a writerfor Howard Stern.

And so Anthony Weiner had his chance... and failed to turn lemons into lemonade. And when itbecame clear that he couldn't or wouldn't seize his moment and rise to the occasion... he became justanother politician who could dish out the words all right... but who didn't have the right stuff, thestuff to rouse, motivate, enthuse and excite; the right stuff Americans know and admire because it isthe best of us.




Don't like American politics? They change as fast as theweather. Just ask U.S. Representative-elect Bob Turner theapple of the Big Apple's eye.By Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. I wasn't going to write about politics today. I had everything all laid out for alaudatory article on an extraordinary woman and her important work with children. That, alas, willhave to wait because of what a 70 year old Roman Catholic named Bob Turner accomplished onSeptember 13, 2011, viz. he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election tofill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of 7 term sextexting joyboy Anthony Weiner, whohereby earned fresh execrations and maladictions. If only the Honorable Anthony had texted lessand loved his put- upon wife more...

The hot news is that Turner did it in a district comprised of Queens and Brooklyn, New York.So?........ (and here's the stink bomb for the astonished, horrified Democrats)... He did it as aREPUBLICAN in a House district which has NEVER elected a Republican. (Drum roll.)

So, who's the genius who gets the credit for this implausible, even unthinkable development?

You know him as B. Obama, president of these United States, and this morning in the Casa Blancahe didn't eat his eggs, he wore them. Oh, my.

So I'm sending El Presidente a copy of the most famous political song ever sung in NYC, "TheSidewalks of New York," lyrics and music by James W. Blake and Charles E. Lawlor. It was writtenin the 1890s but took off with the candidacy of "The Happy Warrier" Al Smith, Governor of theEmpire State, candidate for the Democratic party nomination for president (1924), Roman Catholic,defeated Democratic party candidate (1928). Find it in any search engine; it's a grand old tune and istoday being belted out for Mr. Bob Turner, retired media executive, a hero to ecstatic Republicans,"East Side, West Side, all around the town..." Don't even hum this ditty around the Oval Officetoday...

Another referendum on our de-escalating chief executive officer.

Bob Turner is a lucky man, and not merely because he was elected either. It was how he got elected.Nobody, absolutely nobody (possibly including Bob Turner) expected him to win. They just hopedhe didn't embarrass himself and the party in a district where Democrats hold an overwhelmingmajority, 3 to 1, and where his competition, a member of the New York State Assembly, DavidWeprin, was an Orthodox Jew in a district at least 40 percent Jewish. Moreover Weprin's politicalfamily was well known and respected in the district.

In the end, everything going for the Democrats -- and they had everything going for them (on paper)---, wasn't enough to counteract the toxicity of the president. From Day 1, it was 100% about him,his policies, and his descending political prospects... In New York of all the stalwart places!

So because it didn't much matter, Turner got the luxury of telling the truth as he understood it... thetruth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. And feisty New Yorkers (who so often takeunderdogs to their hearts) liked what they heard from this unlikely hero who walked the pavements,knocked on doors, and talked to everyday people about their everyday concerns even though, out ofearshot, these people thought he had a snowball's chance in Hell to be their next Congressman.

But he just kept doing the necessary... and sharing his thoughts and common sense with his fellowcountrymen, who bit by bit from the grass roots became the essential fuel for this unlikely event.




Turner talked about the punk economy and asked folks if they were happy with what they knew,what they saw, what the president and Democrats generally were doing to improve things. Heturned this election into a referendum about BO and his malodorous policies. Were they helping thefolks of his prospective district? If so, they should vote for his opponent. But if they were not, theyshould give him a chance.

Turner asked them, too, to give him the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. pledged to bringbusiness efficiency, business accountability, business standards to the notoriously chaotic andexpensive management quagmire so notoriously mismanaged by Uncle Sam. Again, this messageresonated with New Yorkers... who came to like Turner and his message... and the more they heldtheir noses about BO, their former love, the better Turner looked.

Hidden losers.

An election is never just about the candidates; rather, it is about the legions of folks whose fortunesare to a greater or lesser extent connected to those candidates. Their stock and prospects go up ordown depending on how the cat jumps.

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, now Minority Leader, Nancy Pelosi(D-California), gets a pie in the face -- again. Clearly she, although supposed to be au courant on theaffairs of her minority members, missed this boat. Pelosi is already shop worn... a couple morebumbles like this one, and she can go to work for the chocolate company on whose addictive productshe dotes... and will never be missed on Capitol Hill. In all fairness, her liberal distribution of freechocolates would be...

Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is another hidden loser, but it probably won't hurthim much. He, too, was asleep at the switch and so missed the opportunity to provide necessary lifesupport for Assemblyman Weprin. A governor of New York, any governor of New York, has aplethora of tools, resources, manpower, and, of course, money to be doled out liberally to forestallcatastrophes like this one. Had he been more alert, Mr. Turner would never have succeeded.

Cuomo should burn the midnight oil studying his mistake. You see he aims to be president in 2016and cannot afford too many rookie mistakes and oversights. It's just not what we expect from suchgovernors, or will tolerate.

Hidden winners.

Victory, it is said, has many fathers. If so, it's certainly true here, and the list of hidden winners isvery interesting indeed, including as it does former New York City mayor Ed Koch who ditched hisparty to endorse Turner. Koch gave the usual reasons, that Turrner would be good for America, etc.But the truth is Koch, as much as anyone, was glad for the chance to show Obama what he thoughtof him, which wasn't much.

New York Assemblyman Dov Hikind headed a list of well-known Orthodox Jews in this heavilyJewish district, usually reliable Democrats, who ditched their Jewish candidate Weprin and madeCatholic Turner their man. Scratch the surface here and you'll find evidence of the complicated,labyrinthine, tortured vicissitudes that make New York politics so arcane, and interesting.

One more not-so-hidden winner, Donald Trump. He backed Turner but probably just to get his namein the papers. If so, The Donald achieved his objective.

Turner, a keeper.

Prior to the election, the Assembly (controlled by Democrats) and the Senate (controlled byRepublicans) had the hot potato of eliminating two congressional seats because of the census. They




had pretty much decided to get rid of Weprin. But with Weprin's crushing loss, Republicans see achance to redistrict in such a way that Turner is protected and re-elected. Stay tuned for themachinations around this event... which won't take place on the side walks of New York. It'lldefinitely be clandestine and behind-the-scenes and so reassure us things are back to normal.




Keep your mitts off America. Why they're writing songs oflove, but not for Mitt Romney.by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. 2012 ought to be a big Republican year, not least because President Obamais perceived by almost no one as the leader we need. A good man, yes; up to the job... no way. ButObama, with all his baggage, remains, in my humble opinion, the likely winner, unless (and it's a big"unless") unemployment goes up. However, most of my commenting colleagues think a verymarginal drop is likely -- not an increase. I concur. Thus, I've selected the song "But not for me"(written by George Gershwin in 1930) to accompany this article. "They're writing songs of love"...but not for Mitt! Go to any search engine to find this much sung song. I like the Rod Stewart versionbest... Mitt, of course, won't like any version at all.... pity. It's a great number.

Dismal

With the state of the nation what it is, and what it threatens to remain -- dismal -- a guy like MittRomney ought to be riding the crest of a wave that'll deliver him in due course to 1600 PennsylvaniaAvenue with whoops of joy and the prayers of a great people.

He's brighter than bright.

A hard-working, dedicated policy wonk with a graduate student's dedication and ardor.

So rich that even he doesn't have a clue how much money he's got.

A picture-perfect family with smiles to die for.

Yes, Mitt's got it all... except for judgement, integrity and honesty. And he's got only himself toblame for this glaring lapse, so big you could drive a coach and four comfortably through it, andwhich you can see for yourself any day you like.

This is why der Mitt-ster is in trouble and why the hapless big wigs of the GOP want anyone,absolutely anyone, other than Mitt. And I understand why: as a tax- paying citizen of Massachusetts,I know how they feel. Like they want to puke, every time they think of this guy at the head of theirnext national ticket.

Thus these diligent Solons of the Great Republic have been tripping over themselves to find acandidate, their actions ham-fisted, clumsy, but telling as they have scrounged up and praised suchverifiable pygmies as Michelle Bachmann, who is next door to a moron; Rick Perry who wouldn'tknow how to spell his own name if a less challenged aide didn't hold up a cue card to remind him;Herman Cain who has never had trouble wooing les femmes, just profound difficulty rememberingwhere and when... and keeping his wife of decades up to date.

And now, wafted by the incense of New Hampshire's largest newspaper, the Manchester UnionLeader, which never met a kooky idea it didn't like, is touting Newt Gringrich, a man who woulddenounce his own mother if it got him a look-see, much less the White House. Ask his many wives,mistresses, chicks and concubines and see for yourself. It'll all come out in the wash anyway.

It would all be hysterically funny... except that we voters of America, denizens all of the GreatRepublic, are going to have to live with the results... and that's a revolting development if anythingever was.

Why are all these people working so hard for Anyone But Mitt?




"Veritas", Harvard's motto -- and Mitt's.

Let's get one thing perfectly straight, everything that Mitt says, whenever he says it is alwaysTRUTH, no matter that it is totally opposite to what he said on the subject five minutes ago. Mitt isto American politics what the Pope speaking ex cathedra infallible is to Rome, a man never wrong,with a license to reshuffle the truth that we lesser folks must adhere to. Mitt went to Harvard (allserious candidates always do)... and so "Veritas" (truth) is his motto. Luckily, he never has to worryfinding it. It's what he utters all day, every day, no matter his subject, implausible, disingenuous orinaccurate. As you can imagine, this considerably simplifies his life and labors... and makescampaign fact-checkers superfluous; around Mitt they are simply unneeded.

Governor Mitt of Massachusetts instituted a progressive health care program which was timely,needed, forward looking, a program that would have made any governor of any state proud. ButCandidate Mitt has done everything but deny he was governor at the time to get out of acceptingresponsibility and credit for what ought to be his acme.

Sometimes he's pro gay rights; sometimes he's not.

Sometimes he'll cut a deal on illegal immigrants; sometimes he won't.

Only one thing is constant: that whatever he says, to whomever he says it is the God's honest truth,cross his heart and hope to die.

In the last few days Mitt has gotten himself in at least two middens which would surely trip up andsoil any other candidate, lesser folk all.

First the Boston Globe (which takes a proprietary interest in Mitt, having helped elevate him to hiscurrent celestial status) reported that in 2006 Governor Mitt's top aides purchased their computerhard drives just before his administration ended, and the usual Democratic hacks returned to theState House's corner office. Fully 11 of Mitt's minions ponied up for their drives, something neverconsidered by previous excellencies, much less done.

Now you and I could guess what was going on, couldn't we? After all, in the real world we inhabit,people put things, all sorts of things, on their computers they don't want the world and his brother tosee. So we make sure those hard drives belong to us and nobody else. And so le tout Massachusettscame to the instant conclusion that those drives and their owners were up to no good. Purchase wasthe result... never mind that this was unprecedented... awfully suggestive... and maybe even illegal.

But remember, Mitt is not merely potentate, he is Pope. And so, after waiting days to respond toreporters' queries on the matter, he released his encyclical, explaining all, disclaiming all. All wasright, nothing wrong, why even wonder?

Why wonder, too, about Mitt and company's next faux pas; the outright lie that was his very first adagainst Obama. It shows a clip of the president saying, "If we keep talking about the economy, we'regoing to lose." Never mind that these words were Obama quoting John McCain, the GOP nomineeRomney wanted to run with last time round. The ad was not just misleading... it was a blatantdistortion...

... which Romney aide Eric Fehrnstrom, the most indiscrete and bumptious campaign counselorever, confirmed, happy in this deception. "It's all deliberate," he exulted. In other words, St. Mittknew it was a lie; authorized the lie, then told the world he was happy that he lied. Even the mostcynical were appalled.

And so the matter rests at this moment, as we await Mitt's next assault on truth, justice and theAmerican way; his next distortion, deceit, disingenuity. For make no mistake, the next one is on the




way, as Mitt plumbs the depths he expects to take him to the top. That's why you'll find me at all hiscampaign rallies selling air sickness bags, three for a buck. I'll clean up.

### Your response to this article is requested. What do you think? Let us know by posting yourcomments below.




'The night that I told you, those little white lies.' EgregiousHerman Cain, forgotten but not gone.by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. In 1930 pouty songstress Elsie Carlisle swept America with a very catchydance number entitled "Little White Lies." It is a pip of a tune about the polished and painful lieslovers use to get what they want... and then, with deliberate intention, move on to inflict more pain...on whoever may be the object of their affection right then. The tune is beautiful; the underlying truthof its lyrics by Walter Donaldson is anything but... You'll find it in any search engine; it wasrecorded by many fine artists (including Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians who made perhaps thefirst recording). They all loved its sound and lyrics as much as I do, so perfect to accompany thisarticle of prevarications, untruths, deceits and deliberate intention to hoodwink, manipulate andseduce a great nation, beguiled when...

"The moon was all aglow But heaven was in your eyes The night that you told me Those little whitelies."

Unexpected UP, roller-coaster DOWN.

Just a few days ago, a mere handful, Herman Cain looked like the unlikely savior of America, Inc.;the proverbial man on a white horse, galloping with speed, succor, savoir faire, and unmatched styleto the rescue of the nation. It was heady stuff for the man and his supporters; a man who, onlyminutes before, had "also ran" written all over his body, now the GOP's hero.

Cain was hailed as a man of uncommon sense, a man who believed in the eternal verities of God,country, and family; a man who knew what was what... and would tell it like it is. A man who wouldrun the nation's business like he ran his private (pizza) business... without fear or favor to anyone,anywhere, anytime; just doing what was necessary when it was called for, civic sense and couragealways his, and in abundance. Yes, he offered every possible topping, double pepperoni and, ofcourse, the anchovies we love so.

Oh, yes, it was heady stuff indeed.

And ex-talk meister Cain, delivered his easy-to-believe-in-message as smooth as jello. It was glib,fast-paced, uplifting... with a punch line right out of "God Bless America", an "attaboy Herman"adulation on their lips and in their hearts. Herman was their boy... Herman could do it... we wantHerman, we need Herman...

Herman's needs.

But Herman had needs, too, needs of the "cherchez la femme" variety. No Leporello chronicledCain's deeds of amorous daring.... but, as Cain's stock -- and poll numbers -- rose, the media, alwayspoised for mayhem, began to assume the role. And with the usual pure attentions of the FourthEstate, they dug... sniffed... found the filthy pay dirt they were looking for.... exhumed... dugdeeper... found more... it was just what reporters are meant to do.... and they did it with a will.

War & Peace

At one point in Tolstoy's unmatched novel, Pierre Bezuhoff, as part of his Masonic inductionceremony, is asked the nature of his besetting sin. In the lowest possible voice, eyes firmly fixed onthe floor, he responds, "women". If Mr. Cain hasn't read this classic... he ought. It is honest, searing,enlightening, discomfiting and oh so apropos.




Herman had other problems, too, other obstacles to overcome. For instance, the pith and substanceof foreign policy eluded him from first to last; there were lacunas, too, in the topics that were roilingAmerica -- immigration, defense, education, health care. These were salient topics Herman knewalmost nothing about; but he was cheerfully blissful in the face of a mountain of ignorance. His idolRonald Reagan started out equally untutored, and he had ended in the pantheon of the nation. Whyshouldn't he do as well, or even better?

A great secret he never dreamed would derail his express to the Casa Blanca.

Like all of us Cain has a rich history of doing things he'd much rather not appear on Page 1 of theNew York Times. And for the vast majority of us, they never will... whew! Our lies, while importantto us and the people we have lied to, are (though it pains us to hear so) just too unimportant tointerest anyone. And, when we think about them (as we all are sometimes forced to do) we are gladthat things are thus.

But life for presidential candidates is very different. If they have a propensity for burping orscratching themselves in unlikely places, they can be sure the august New York Times, given worldenough and time, will make public note of these venial sins and inadequacies.

And so it a measure of the distance Herman Cain traveled towards 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue thathis media coverage grew and grew and grew... as the 24 hour information whirligig wanted dataabout Cain and went happily on a treasure hunt through the vicissitudes of his life, finding thatwhich Herman never deemed important. It was salacious, smutty, deliciously off color... in thenature of a national dirty joke. And best of all... Cain stonewalled, telling anyone who would listen,that he was maligned, misunderstood, the object of a vendetta... and, anyway, his mother had lovedhim and he'd always made his bed, so what difference did it make?

He denied he'd diddled the first woman who stepped forward with lurid accusations; he didn't evenknow woman 2; woman 3 was a known liar, whilst woman 4 was sadly mistaken. And while it istrue he had given hugs, embraces and salubrious cash, why that was just ol' Herman being asmagnanimous as he surely was. America's admiration for Cain plummeted as revelations grew...until at last woman 5, with her detailed, specific, tawdry and unanswerable affidavit stepped forwardand we all knew it was The End, everyone but Herman, the unaccountable victim of the witch huntthat did him in.

He was still Innocent. Still Pure. Still the Nicest Guy in America. And nothing, absolutely nothing,would change his story, despite 5 women having stepped forward, into the glare of piercing,uncomfortable notice and inconvenience, to say otherwise. And we believed the ladies... They werechicks of Herman Cain's life who had become Chicken Littles all, bringing down his candidacy, hiscredibility and the good will and sanguine hopes of the nation.

Why had it happened?

This had happened, as so many previous scandals, because candidates think the services they havedone and might do for the nation as president, are far more important that whatever they have donebefore. Perhaps they are right... but they handle it all wrong; and here's the rub.

ALL of us are imperfect; though some are more imperfect than others. Thus, they all should starttheir campaigns not by telling ad nauseam how good they will be, but how bad they have been."Paint me warts and all," Oliver Cromwell, great Lord Protector of England, famously said. And heruled, in all his human imperfections, a great nation at a difficult time. But Cain, whether because hewas deluded, mendacious, cowardly, lacking in judgement, or any other reason, lied, lied, and liedagain, whilst a nation famous for its common sense got more incredulous with every equivocationand sinuous twist and turn.




And when the moment came (and late too) on December 3, 2011 when he should have withdrawnand at last told the truth, he waffled again, lied again, and merely "suspended" his campaign, insteadof ending it in a torrent of truth, tears, and ignominy, the fatal cocktail his shocking distortions anddeceits he had fermented. And thus he leaves his campaign, for this and any other there will neverbe, condemned to remembering his moment of glory, abbreviated, exciting, founded on falsehoodand deception.

"Who wouldn't believe those lips Who wouldn't believe those eyes...

The Devil was in your heart But Heaven was in your eyes The night that you told me Those littlewhite lies."

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New biography of Mitt Romney claims to deliver 'The RealRomney'... but will anyone really care?by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Last night, January 19, 2012, The Boston Globe, the biggest and most influential newspaper in NewEngland, pulled out all the stops for two of their best and brightest reporters; Michael Kranish,deputy chief of the Washington bureau of The Boston Globe and Scott Helman, staff writer at TheBoston Globe. The occasion was the release of their new biography of former Massachusettsgovernor Mitt Romney, the likely Republican presidential nominee.

First, my compliments to The Boston Globe. The special reception before a panel on der Mittster wasnicely done and gave us all the opportunity to meet the authors and chat with them. The helperswere all efficient, polite, unobtrusive. Perfect.

It looked like a long evening until....

I sought out Michael Kranish first; he seemed like the senior member of the team and I try to getwhat I need for my article out of the way as soon as possible, so that I can sit back and enjoy theevent. I told Kranish I had three brief questions for him.

First, would Romney ever be president? His unpromising answer: "It's possible. It could happen."This was not the incisive, insightful comment I was looking for... and suggested the possibility of avery long evening in the making, one to be ditched as soon as I'd eaten more of their fine brie.

Question 2: will Mormonism be an issue in the campaign? "In some places it could be," heanswered. OMG! It was indeed going to be a very long evening.

But I said I wanted to ask him three questions... and it wasn't over until it was over. I ventured mythird query. "What was the most unexpected thing about Romney you discovered in your research"?Then the intriguing answer, "What happened at Stanford University" when he was a student thereduring the Vietnam War, the war that derailed his father's presidential campaign. Ok, this wassomething promising... at last.

Of father brainwashed and campaign imploded.

Mitt Romney (born 1947) had as his dad a human dynamo called George Romney, celebrated as therescuer of American Motors (which gave me my push button Rambler in high school), governor ofMichigan, member of the Nixon cabinet; a man who rightly thought he had a superb shot at beingpresident of the Great Republic... until...

... he went to Vietnam, where he got star treatment and massive misinformation about how the warwas going, how we'd win, how the people loved us, and enough manure to fertilize Connecticut. Hecame back to America feeling like a fool; then shot himself through the head when he claimed themilitary had "brainwashed" him. His presidential campaign ended the minute the words were out ofhis mouth. Nobody wanted as president a man who could be controlled by the military or anyoneelse. And so George Romney's career ended... providing his son with a lifetime of lessons aboutwhat not to do... including the vital necessity to avoid the media whenever possible.

On his way back from Vietnam, Pere Romney stopped to visit Mitt at Stanford... where this devotedson got the opportunity to talk to his father about Life, War, God... of winning, losing, what'simportant and what isn't. It's the kind of conversation one has with a parent once in a lifetime... andMitt took it all in and to heart. He would, he vowed, revenge what had happened to his father... beingsure to derive all the proper lessons from this seminal event, including the absolute need in his life




for God, the God of the Mormons...

God.

To understand Mitt Romney, you must appreciate the importance and influence of his Mormonfaith. It has provided the sinews of his life while isolating him from other people; people who oftendisdained his religion, calling it a "cult" and worse. Mitt learned to be private, very private, about hisreligion...letting very few people into that side of himself. Privacy, particularly privacy about hisfaith, became an obsession... something that may have connected him with God... but most assuredlyestranged him from his fellow men, the people he'd need if he was ever to run for president.

Money.

What further separated him from the run of mankind was money... he made awesome amounts of it,largely through what are called leveraged buy-outs. This is a practice whereby investors buy acompany, with the intention of doing everything they can to make it as profitable as possible, asquickly as possible; so they can sell the whole or its parts, often for staggering return on investment.This almost always involves the firing of employees in an attempt to decrease expenses and increaseefficiency. Here Mitt Romney was king; a paragon who knew the delights that come when makingonly millions in a day was "bad" compared to the brilliant days, and plenty of them, when you madetens, even hundreds of millions lickety-split. Such days did absolutely nothing to connect him withmere mortals... and presented a problem he has still not been able to solve. Every time he got richer,Mitt got more disconnected... and less electable.

So, here we've got a candidate with a perfect marriage, 5 sons made by Disney, nary a scandal to behad... richer that God Himself... super bright... the hardest worker on the planet... but a loser for allthat, because he just cannot connect with people and their everyday concerns to save his life.

Thus as I roamed the thin crowd talking with people, who were very keen to be asked their opinionabout Mitt and his prospects, the temperature never rose above "tepid." Yes, right smack dab in themiddle of Boston, capital of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts that Mitt had reigned over asgovernor (2003-2007), he couldn't have thrown off less heat. And so, the people whom he needed sodesperately to make him president evinced absolutely no excitement at all, much less any abidingglow.

And you could see this puzzled authors Kranish and Helman because their unauthorized biography(without a single interview with Mitt), into which they had poured time, life and commitment couldonly go as far as its subject, and not an inch more. If he sailed into the White House, their book(which I made sure they both autographed) would have the legs most political books never do, but ifthe world was as lukewarm as the folks in their audience, their $30 book (praised though it was bythe usual East Coast media suspects) was DOA...

That's why they came back to this point several times: awkward and disconnected as Mitt was inpublic, he was in private something of a cut-up (of the wonk variety), a man who could tell a story,give a hug, engage... even (and this arrested my attention for sure) moon walk while singing tunesfrom the Grateful Dead, tunes like "There's Whiskey In The Jug", an odd favorite for a tea-totallingMormon:

"Mush-a ring dum-a do dum-a da Whack for my daddy-o. Whack for my daddy-o There's whiskey inthe jar."

But this, though it made me smile and nod my head in wonderment was not the highlight of theevening. That was the rapt attention and joy in Aime Joseph. You see Mr. Joseph is my driver, aHaitian by birth, obsessed with American politics, always quizzing me about political people andtheir measures. He dressed up for this event, and imbibed every word with the utmost focus and




concentration. "We have nothing like this in Haiti," he said as I gave him the present of a lifetime,an autographed copy of the book. And when he saw me about to drop it, he grabbed it from myhand, the better to ensure it did not fall; chiding me for lack of care with this valuable artifact.

And I saw so clearly what was the best part of all: the fact that this kind of forum, this kind of book,this kind of open dialogue and honest conversation still was foreign to most of the world... and thething we should be most proud of, our gift to the world and our collective future.

Now, go to any search engine and find "Whiskey in the jug," and imagine Mitt moon walking to it...If there's enough whiskey in the jug, that should be no problem.

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Indiana governor Mitch Daniels February 1, 2012 signs firstright-to-work law in over 10 years... the key is that it's for acrucial state in the 'rust belt'. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. When I was a little whippersnapper 60 years ago and more, my young fatherused to take me on his knee, his only very occasionally used guitar in hand and sing me a song that Ihadn't thought of in all these years. It's the kind of childhood memory that comes at you when you'releast expecting, bittersweet, tugging at your heart. Now I just cannot get it out of my mind...

The song is the "Wabash Cannonball" originally written in 1882 as "The Great Rock Island Route",a happy-go-lucky number credited to one J.A. Roff. In 1904 William Kindt rewrote the lyrics,changing the name of the train to the "Wabash Cannonball".

It's a pip of a tune with a chorus that makes you glad to be alive...

"Now listen to the jingle, and the rumble, and the roar, As she dashes thro' the woodland, and speedsalong the shore, See the mighty rushing engine, hear her merry bell ring out, As they speed along insafety, on the 'Wabash Cannonball'."

... named after the great American main street town of..... Wabash, Indiana, its claim to fame the factthat in 1880 it became the first electrically lighted city on Earth. It is the center of the center state ofAmerica, the state that has just tossed a stink bomb into the politics of the Great Republic with itsbrand-new right-to-work law.

Get into the spirit of this article by going to any search engine, finding one of the many excellentversions; (I prefer the one by Johnny Cash).... then let 'er rip.... because you're riding the railsthrough the great American heartland, once so prosperous, the pride of the nation, now blighted inso many disheartening ways.

Born in 1947.

In the year of our Lord 1947, at least two significant things occurred: I was born... and the Congressof the Great Republic resoundingly overrode the adamant veto of President Harry S. Truman on amatter of resolute importance to unions. The result was the Taft-Hartley Act, a haymaker by theRepublican Party that punched a gaping hole in the closed union shop, thereby providing the U.S.labor movement with an abiding grievance and red-meat for a million stump speeches and unionhalls. Here's what Taft-Hartley did to the prevailing National Labor Relations Act.

NLRA dictated that all employees at unionized workplaces must be members of the union as acondition of employment. It turned employee coercion into union power... and as such became acritical component of what transformed the disorganized, scattered Democratic Party into themajority party that ruled the Great Republic under Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman for 20years, with still major influence today.

The politics of the matter went like this: To wed the millions of laboring people to his governingcoalition, Roosevelt cut a series of deals with union leaders, including giving them the right ofintroducing the closed shop, wherein every worker -- whatever their personal views and politics --was forced to join the union... and finance it with their dues.

This gave the unions raw political power and Democrats a leg-up for local, state, and federalelections where this muscle delivered victory after victory. But it also created an outraged, seethingmenace from people who didn't like Roosevelt (and despised Truman)... patriots who vociferously




demanded to know how such coercion, the stuff of Red revolution and godless Communism, couldpossibly be justified in the Land of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln.

One side said that employee coercion, fueling union power, brought good jobs and the realization ofthe American dream... the other demanded liberty and unfettered freedom of choice. Both argumentshad valid points... which made the resulting battle bloody, bitter, protracted and internecine, a bonafide civil war... which Indiana has now re-opened, to the outrage of the unions...

The matter was further complicated because of the unconcealed contempt the leaders of each sidefelt for their opponents, dictated by the unyielding, abiding, fathomless scorn and disdain of SenatorRobert Taft (R-Ohio) (1889-1953) for President Truman. "To err is Truman," Mrs. Taft said... Thewords Senator Taft used are unprintable. No quarter asked for, no quarter given by anyone, war tothe death.

Taft-Hartley became the crucial weapon in that war.

Taft-Hartley outlawed the closed shop. The union shop rule, which required all new employees tojoin the union after a minimum period of time, is also illegal. As such, it is illegal for any employerto force an employee to join a union.

Section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act goes further and authorizes individual states (but not localgovernments such as cities and counties) to outlaw union (as well as so-called agency) shops. Underthe open shop rule, an employee cannot be compelled to join or pay the equivalent of dues to aunion, nor can the employee be fired if he joins the union. In other words, the employee has theright to work, regardless of whether or not he is a member or financial contributor to such a union.

22 states ban "forced unionism"... 27 states and the District of Columbia do not.

Proponents of right-to-work laws, based on freedom of association, went to work with a will signingup one state after another. The states they persuaded reads like the playbook of the Republican Party,including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana,Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, SouthDakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. There the great roll call of right-to-workstates stopped, until now... with the adhesion of Indiana.

Why did Indiana act now... and why does it matter?

The signature tune of the people they call Hoosiers is "Back Home Again In Indiana" (1917) ... andthere's nothing more domestic, more American, more representative of the Great Republic, thanthese sane, decent, responsible folk. They are the very salt of the Earth, the bedrock of who we areand what we believe in. And these folks in recent years have watched as the land -- and lifestylethey love -- diminish, as one job after another ends, so many shipped overseas, all gone forever. Andas the jobs left, their outrage and despair waxed.

To sustain the people, to maintain the land, there must be jobs... and so the people demanded jobs...seeing the bloated unions no longer as job providers but as menaces to their revival andreconstruction. Their representatives (in the persons of the majority Republican Party in thelegislature) heard this plea... and essentially said by their actions that Indiana, to compete again andprosper again, must be prepared to face economic facts, no matter how unpleasant. Thus, unionsmust give back, divest, rethink... instead of merely waving placards, opposing this, blocking that,fulminating, never solving. For the issue here is and always will be the welfare of the people, notmerely the welfare of the unions.

Thus the unions face the growing disbelief in towns like Wabash that they are not up to the job athand, the job of making Indiana, a key industrial state, livable again. And so as the unions argue




against their fate in Indiana, the "Wabash Cannonball" surges anew... to Ohio, Michigan, Illinois...an engine of change for a nation that needs it, the ghost of Senator Robert Taft riding in triumph.

"Oh, the Eastern states are dandy, so the Western people say Chicago, Rock Island, St. Louis by theway To the lakes of Minnesota where the rippling waters fall No changes to be taken on the WabashCannonball." All aboard...

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'Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment ofreligion...'; the great truth assailed by the little man fromPennsylvania, former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum; John F.Kennedy's historic address on the matter revisited. by Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. Religious fervor, religious metaphors, religious language, religious dispute,religious assertiveness, religious iconography, religious music all pulsate through every aspect of theGreat Republic, its life and affairs. And that is why the Founding Fathers as their first order ofbusiness and to establish the tone and substance for all that followed, wrote the First Amendment tothe Constitution. In sparse, incisive, resolute, unequivocal language they rendered their bold andwell considered opinion thus:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercisethereof, or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably toassemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances."

These sentiments were the more necessary because of the very vibrancy of religion and all of itsmanifestations in the Great Republic... for every religion, (because of its adamant belief that its wayto God is The way to God), is messianic, exclusive, intolerant, and so potentially divisive,disruptive, even dangerous.

And no one knew this better than the great and thoughtful Founding Fathers who had as their matterof high and abiding significance the preservation of the many great things rendered by religion...whilst avoiding the imperial tendencies of all religions, to uplift themselves, even unto the seizure ofthe Great Republic, whilst denigrating the rest.

The great problem set, these same Founding Fathers commenced their high business of solving it.For make no mistake about it, the objective of the Founding Fathers was not the crippling controland suppression of religion so much as it was creating an atmosphere and civic establishment inwhich religions -- all religions -- might flourish to the glory and benefit of the Great Republic theywere crafting and meant to have.

Thus I give you the occasional music for this article, and a better tune one could hardly have for thissubject: "Give Me That Old-Time Religion." It's a traditional Gospel song dating from 1873.Charles David Tillman took this song, which may have originated as a black folk song, and by hispublishing and enthusiasm for its adamant, uplifting message turned it into a staple of whitecongregations and so it has abided, a joyful manifestation of the Good News.

To get it, go now to any search engine. You'll find many fine renditions of this song; I prefer theget-up-and-praise Him version belted out by Mahalia Jackson, Hallelujah... for if it was good enoughfor my father... good enough for my mother... then it's good enough for me!

The background to the First Amendment.

To a person, the men who constituted the Founding Fathers, were men knowledgeable aboutreligion, its history, uses, practices, and tendencies. As a result, they were haunted, almost to aperson, by the damages religion could deliver, as well as its comforts. And they knew, none better,that left to its own devices religion could chill individual inquiry rather than encourage it, couldbecome the harsh means of fettering the human mind, not advancing it. And what they wanted, tothe point of obsession, was a land of liberty, not a land where uniformity of view was the order ofthe day, and was enforced by priests, pastors, and pontiffs; different in their views, the same in their




the day, and was enforced by priests, pastors, and pontiffs; different in their views, the same in theirdevices for achieving them; working each to control with bell, book, and candle.

They, too, were aware that such a land, so unfettered in its thoughts, a paradise for every believernot just one, had never existed in the history of mankind where uniformity of outlook reigned as thedesired objective. As a result the Founding Fathers, here as elsewhere, found themselves on thecutting-edge of this crucial matter of statecraft and belief.... and they gave the matter their utmostconsideration... for no question exercised them more that what they could do to place the people ofthe new republic into a proper, sustained relationship with their common Creator.

They selected a solution Erastian, latitudinarian, tolerant.

Tolerance for all, hegemony and control for none. This became their guiding light , and they foundvital sustenance for it amongst the works of Thomas Erastus, (1524-1583), a 16th century Germanphysician and theologian. He held that the punishment of all offenses should be referred to the civilpower and that holy communion was open to all. Thus should the church and its ministers be madesubservient to the officials of the government, rather than these officials of the government madesubservient to the church and its ministers.

They looked, too, to the cool reason of John Locke (1632-1704), who advocated, first and foremost,a tolerance which had, perhaps, never been seen before... a latitudinarian whose profound thoughtsonce glimpsed became the abiding vision of all sensible people, and the basis for civil peace, notinternecine strife.

From such beginnings did the idea of religious tolerance grow, until at last it was written andproclaimed in the First Amendment, as the very essence of what we stood for as a Great Republicand who we wanted to be. Thus as the Founding Fathers surveyed it, they saw their work whole...and knew it to be a great resolution to a great problem, a great policy indeed for the Great Republic.

.. and from the moment of its inception it has done its work...

JFK, admirable in Houston.

Then John Fitzgerald Kennedy ran for president... and many people worried that as a RomanCatholic he would sabotage this verity, pledging instead fealty to the Bishop of Rome, rather thanthe Great Republic. And so, he went to Houston where before the Greater Houston MinisterialAssociation he presented himself and his views. The date was September 12, 1960... and it wasperhaps his most admirable day on Earth; for on this day he stated with vehemence and resolutionthese words:

"I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute." And if, perhaps, hedid not persuade all the reverend doctors present (for some were not to be persuaded) he didpersuade the people of the Great Republic, who in their turn elected him...thus proving with theirballots the kind of inclusive, tolerant, pacific society they desired and affirmed.

It is this society, this vision, the most profound ever imagined that one little man has challenged, ina way at once crude, graphic and alarming.

"I don't believe in an America where the separation of church and state are absolute." RickSantorum, (College of Saint Mary Magdalen, Warner, New Hampshire, October 2011 andreaffirmed thereafter).

"The idea that the church can have no influence or no involvement in the operation of the state isabsolutely antithetical to the objectives and visions of our country... to say that people of faith haveno role in the public square? You bet that makes me want to throw up."




This is the statement of a zealot, a demagogue, a radical... and thus a danger to the community, thecomity, the country... and to the Great Republic itself.

The firewall called Michigan held... but barely.

The results are now counted in Michigan which Tuesday, February 28, 2012 held one of the mostimportant presidential primaries ever, and by just the smallest of margins denied Santorum and hisradical views, views that would roil the essential verities of the Great Republic and divide thepeople.

Is this the end of the war then? Alas, no. For this battle, which sensible citizens thought was settledcenturies ago by the expansive vision of the Founding Fathers, is under attack by incendiaries likeSantorum who mean to light their way to the God they arrogantly suppose they know withautos-da-fe, a ghastly light unto eternity.

That is why the rest of us must remain vigilant, for a right undefended is a right at risk... and thisright has been too hard won to be threatened, much less eviscerated and destroyed, by a man likeSantorum, for all that he fancies himself the agent of God and his Holy Will.

** What do you think? We invite your comments below.




The lady from Maine laments and quits; the gentleman fromOklahoma says shoot 'em, and we revisit the savage beating-- on the Senate floor no less -- of Sen. Charles Sumner byRep. Preston Brooksby Dr. Jeffrey Lant

Author's program note. There's a whole lot of lamenting going on in Washington, D.C. It goes likethis: once upon a time the Congress of the Great Republic was a genteel place where ladies andgentlemen put on their white gloves and best manners, taking tea while cozily arranging America'saffairs... thence home to a Dickens novel and well-earned slumber. The problem is that such a timenever existed in the Congress of these factious United States. It's the merest myth... for all that thepoor lads and lassies who represent us yearn for such a place, such a time, and such amiable,thoughtful, sympathetic colleagues on both sides of the aisle.

And so, these folks give way to frequent tears and even more frequent sighs and vapors... withlamentations loud, frequent, poignant, heart-rending -- and silly.

The most recent to give way to this "feel sorry for me" rubbish is the lady from Maine, seniorRepublican Senator Olympia Snowe. On February 28, 2012 the Honorable Olympia announced herinability to stomach the poisonous, internecine, downright nasty senatorial environment for anotherterm. And so, lamenting, petulant, self-pitying, she said "basta!"... and started packing her valiseswith the accumulated treasures and heirlooms -- not to mention the pensions and emoluments -- ofover 33 years in Congress. These will be substantial indeed.

As for me, I cannot find a single tear for the lady, rather the reverse. She says she was armed foranother campaign, had money aplenty to fight the good fight... but she clearly lacked the stomachfor so much closeness to her feisty and outspoken Mainers. Senators are revered, coddled, kowtowedto in Washington, D.C. Back home amidst the problems and bleakness of Portland, they are asked,insistently too, just what have you done for us lately, Missie... and you'd better have a detailedanswer at the ready. Demigods like Senator Olympia find such directness rude, and long for fragrantcamomile in a fragile cup of Old Worcester while aides fan her with cooling air.... unlimitedincense... and deference to every word and wish.

Ms. Olympia says she's a Greek from Spartan stock... and while that might have been true 30 yearsago in her elected salad days, it is most assuredly true no longer. She's gone Athenian, and nowdemands reverence, not the stark choice of returning with her shield -- or on it. And so she mustretire... because she is no longer able to fight the good fight for Maine, for Mainers, and for the GreatRepublic which needs visionaries, fighters, not aging voluptuaries who crave comfort, notconfrontation.

Enter Congressman John Sullivan (R-Oklahoma).

February 22, 2012 Representative Sullivan made a few red-blooded observations during one of hisregular "town hall" meetings with constituents. The subject was how to get the Senate of the GreatRepublic to get serious, I mean really serious, about balancing the out-of-control federal budget.

"I'd love to get them /the senators/ to vote for it. Boy, I'd love that, you know. But other than megoing over there with a gun and pointing it to their head and maybe killing a couple of them, I don'tfeel they're going to listen unless they get beat."

Cornered by the ever present Thought Police, Representative Sullivan, that able and forthrightmember for Tulsa, backed down. He didn't mean it....shouldn't have said it... certainly didn't




member for Tulsa, backed down. He didn't mean it....shouldn't have said it... certainly didn'timagine... and would never, ever do... You get the picture. The Honorable John was tripping overhimself, back pedaling to beat the band. But why?

After all, he is far more what we actually want in our elected representatives, even while we say weprefer the Olympia model. No, we want our reps to represent us robustly, directly, rudely, shrewdly,without limits ... because unless they do that our share of the pie -- and the extra bucks we covet --will go to others more able to bring home the bacon than our shrinking violets... and that will neverdo.

The great example of Representative Preston Brooks.

In 1856, the great issue of the day was slavery. It was a question which overshadowed all others. Itwas intractable, divisive, perhaps insoluble... certainly unavoidable. And because moderates couldnot prevail in resolving the matter, it was left to the zealots on both sides to see what they could do,using whatever means they chose to use.

And so on May 18, 1856 the Honorable Charles Sumner, the Senator from Massachusetts, arose tosee what he could do to resolve the irresolvable... his vehicle being his great speech "The CrimeAgainst Kansas" given to ensure that slavery did not encroach into the Kansas Territory and soaugment the South and the slave owners he despised.

It was a great speech in every way -- 50 single-spaced pages in length, a detailed analysis of theproblem, the most brilliant, vituperative language; language meant to insult, to scald, to enrage, witha position that absolutely no one could misunderstand, whatever side they supported.

Picture the scene. Not a cup of camomile to be seen.

Great Sumner rises sustained by sanctimony, rectitude and rage; each word is sonorous, deliveredwith venom, designed to sting, outrage, rebuke, condemn, no quarter asked, none given.

And so this man of Harvard, of Boston, of Massachusetts, this man of certainty, no doubt orhesitation rose to challenge the nation and to reshape the Great Republic.

Every eye was on the man, a mere man no longer, but the agent of a stern, implacable God, God theAvenger, majestic, awe-inspiring, I Am that I Am.

"Mr. President," he began, "You are now called to redress a great transgression."

And every word that followed in that vast torrent of words beat home this point.

There was no note of accommodation, no politics as usual, nothing less than total victory would do.

In the course of this great philippic, which ultimately saw one million copies distributed, SenatorSumner attacked Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina, not just the man or his ideas but hisstroke-impaired physique. It was brutal, it was hurtful; it was insulting... and a few days laterinspired the Senator's outraged nephew, South Carolina congressman Preston Brooks to enter theSenate Chamber and, with his gutta-percha cane with solid gold knob, beat Sumner insensate, evenwhen Sumner was comatose, lying in his puddling blood.

So did immoderate Sumner make his case...so did immoderate Brooks retaliate.

And so was the Congress of the Great Republic shortly peopled by representatives carrying devicesof every kind, guns, knives, and of course the gutta-percha sticks with gold knobs made fashionable-- or abhorrent -- by this incident which moved the Civil War appreciably closer.

That is why, Senator Snowe, your decision to leave is a bad decision. The people of Maine need




you.. the Congress needs you... the Great Republic still has great need of your services. No, it is notconvenient for you; not least because you must present yourself again to your constituents, and,being Mainers, they will question you closely, for they are no respecters of persons and so mayaffront you. What of it? You have the Great Republic's work to do. And that is far more importantand pressing than your own personal feelings or comfort. They count for nothing against what youcan do, must do and cannot abandon now.

Thus I give you this song, "John Brown's Body", a rousing tune which arose from the Americancamp meeting tradition in the early 19th century and, after many changes of words, became themarching tune for people who understood the implementation of Truth was a long, difficult, oftendangerous process. Go now to any search engine and find the rendition you like... and bookmark it,for you will have need of it in the work ahead:

"John Brown's body lies a-mouldering in the grave His soul's marching on."

And so must you, too, Senator Olympia Snowe, for your work for the people is most assuredly notfinished yet.

Dedication: The author is pleased to dedicate this work to Joshua Aaron Sumner and Roshelle ElenaSumner, descendants of the magnificent Yankee who alerted the world to "The Crime AgainstKansas," children of dear friend, Lance Sumner, fellow Internet argonaut.




ResourceAbout The Author Harvard-educated Dr. Jeffrey Lant is CEO of Worldprofit, Inc., where small andhome-based businesses learn how to profit online. Attend Dr. Lant's live webcast TODAY andreceive 50,000 free guaranteed visitors to the website of your choice! Dr. Lant is also the author of18 best-selling business books.

Republished with author's permission by Tim Ricke http://BizBuildersCommunity.com.



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