By C. A. Bamford
Imagine a world without America. Imagine a world where there is no one to stand proudly and boldly in defense of liberty. To whom will those suffering under oppression or need turn for help? As Ronald Reagan so famously said, “If we lose freedom here, there is no place to escape to. This is the last stand on earth.”
Our nation is at a crucial crossroad. The presidential election of 2012 will be one of the most important in the history of our Republic. Our choice will determine our future, our children’s future, and that of the United States of America. Never have the stakes been so high. Never has the choice been so clearly defined. We face experience and accomplishment vs. empty rhetoric and unfulfilled promises; American exceptionalism vs. apologetic mediocrity. Will we remain the Greatest Nation on Earth, or will we become just one of many managed and regulated units in a homogenized, global community working for the good of a few and the freedom of none?
First, let us define what is meant by American Exceptionalism. It does not mean we think that we are better than everyone else. It is a statement that America is different than all other nations because of where we came from, who we are, and what we stand for. Our Founders believed that we were brought together on this continent by Providence. They believed that God had a hand in bringing together the people who made this nation. It is faith in the idea that in this nation, people of all races and creeds can unite around a universal belief in opportunity, shared values, and our natural rights and responsibilities under God.
As Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and the rest of our Founders knew, American exceptionalism is about human freedom and holding yourself to the highest standard of which you are capable. No other country on earth has ever tried such an experiment as this representative democracy governing the independent states according to the Constitution; the Constitution, which was openly and contentiously debated, and painstakingly crafted by the founders in order to protect our new country and to ensure the individual rights of all. America was indeed founded as, and has endured as an exceptional nation.
But if we mistakenly demand that the rewards of the sacrifice of blood, toil, and treasure that created this exceptional nation be given to all without regard; if we demand that shared wealth regardless of participation, not shared opportunity, is the right of all, then we will no longer be exceptional. If we cease to hold ourselves to the highest standards of which we are capable, then we will cease to be an exceptional nation and we will become no more than any other country, be it Greece, Venezuela or Iran.
Over the past two and a half years, the inept and incomprehensible policies of the current administration have brought us to the brink of disaster and have eroded and threatened to destroy those things we once held dear…self-reliance, honor, and freedom.
We know that Governor Sarah Palin believes we are an exceptional nation. President Obama has told us he believes that America is no more exceptional than Greece, Iran, or any other nation in the world. Governor Palin has proven that she is willing to sacrifice much of what she holds dear for this exceptional nation. President Obama has asked us to sacrifice for his vision of a fundamentally changed country; one that is no longer an exceptional nation. The difference in their vision for America is clear. Let us now compare their experience and leadership.
Experience and Accomplishments: Governor Palin
Private sector experience: Sarah Palin worked at local businesses, on fishing boats and canneries to pay her way through college. She and her husband, Todd Palin, own and operate an Alaskan commercial fishing business. Palin has written two books, both #1 NY Times Bestsellers which sold over 2 million copies. She is a political commentator for FOX News and hosted a highly rated TV series about Alaska on the Learning Channel. Palin is an in demand international speaker.
1992-1996 - Palin was elected by wide margins and served two terms on the City Council of Wasilla, Alaska
1996—2002 - Elected in 1996 with 75% of the vote in a 3-way race, Palin served two successful 3-year terms as Mayor of Wasilla. Under her stewardship, infrastructure was improved, property taxes cut.
Her policies to attract business into the area were so successful that the tiny town of Wasilla became the fasting growing city in the nation.Tens of thousands flock to Wasilla to shop in the stores Palin brought to town, thanks to her positive, pro growth policies.
1999-2002 - Mayor Palin was elected President of Alaska Conference of Mayors by her peers. She led dozens of other mayors in dealing with statewide issues, such as municipal revenue sharing, and advocating for local government control of important local issues.
2003-2004 - Appointed to and named Chair and Ethics Supervisor of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
2003-2005 - Palin served as one of three Director of Senator Steven’s Excellence in Public Service group devoted to advancing women in conservative politics.
2007 Assumed Chairmanship of Interstate Oil and Gas Compact
2006-2009 - Palin was elected Governor of Alaska, the second most powerful gubernatorial office in the country. Governor Palin, the youngest person and first woman to be elected governor of Alaska, earned bipartisan approval ratings of over 90% making her the most popular governor in America.
She co-wrote and signed into law the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act (AGIA), negotiated with Canada on building a natural gas line from Alaska to the lower 48 states (an achievement that prior governors had attempted but failed to achieve for over 30 years), passed landmark bi-bipartisan ethics reform, cut billions in spending from the budget and put $5 billion into the state’s rainy day savings fund, and left her state with a $12 billion budget surplus.
She successfully fulfilled every one of her campaign promises, both as Mayor and as Governor. Her fiscally conservative policies earned Alaska a Aaa rating, the highest rating given.
As governor, she served as Commander in Chief of the Alaska National Guard, the only National Guard on 24-hour standby. Alaska's unique role as the first line of defense means as Governor, Sarah Palin has a top level national security clearance, and received regular briefings. Though never discussed, Palin's level of security is reportedly as high as ranking members of Congress' national security council membership, second only to the President.
She was also Commander-in-Chief of the Alaska Defense Force, a reserve military and police force that is a recognized militia by Homeland Security. It was the ADF that bravely defended Alaska during World War II, when the Japanese invaded the territory.
Governor Palin was a frugal budgeter as the Governor of Alaska. During her tenure, she cut spending 9.5% while also vetoing nearly half a billion dollars in spending, and she wisely did this during strong economic times.
Whitney Pitcher spells it all out here.
Governor Palin has nine years of Executive Experience, more than three times as much as President Obama. Twenty years of public service in total.
Experience and Accomplishments: President Obama
Private sector experience - Barack Obama’s education was funded by federal programs and unknown donors. He has published two best-selling books, and one unsuccessful children’s book. He has no other known private sector business experience other than a reported part time job at an ice cream shop during his teen years.
1992-96 - Lectured at the U of Chicago Law School.
From April-Oct 1992 Obama also directed ACORN's Illinois Project Vote, a voter registration drive that achieved its goal of 400,000 registered African Americans.
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He and Michelle spent several months in Bali in 1992 working in vain to finish a book, which was later published in 1995 with the help of domestic terrorist Bill Ayers, who reportedly ghost wrote much of it.
1993-96 - Obama joined a law firm specializing in civil rights litigation, as an associate.
1995-1999- Chairman of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge, a "foundation" created and guided by terrorist Bill Ayers.
1996-2004 - Obama was a senior lecturer at U of Chicago, teaching courses in due process and equal protection, voting rights, and racism and law. He published no legal scholarship, and turned down tenured positions
1995-2004 - Obama announced his candidacy for the Illinois Senate in 95, and served eight years (97-04) while continuing to work part time at the university, He proposed no major legislation and voted “Present” 130 times.
1996-2004 - Was counsel from 96-04, with his law license becoming inactive in 2002. During the four years Obama worked as a full time lawyer at the firm, he was involved in 30 cases. He also continued to work part time for the university and as a State Senator.
2004-2008 - Was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate in 2004, and began his fulltime campaign for the presidency in 2006. Introduced no significant legislation.
2009 - Obama elected President of United States. He began his campaign for re-election shortly thereafter. Under his administration, debt has tripled, the deficit widened, unsustainable spending, record unemployment has crippled the US economy.
Our AAA credit rating has been downgraded for the first time in our history. Onerous regulations have hampered energy exploration and development and are destroying our jobs creators, small businesses throughout the country. Government has become a bloated, uncontrolled entity that no longer answers to the people, but seeks instead to control and use them. Under his administration we have become a nation divided.
At the end of the 1970s, after three years of Jimmy Carter, America could not wait to vote for someone else. That someone turned out to be the greatest president of the 20th century. Ronald Reagan knew what he believed, was passionate about expressing it, and once in office, carried through with the goals he had articulated during the 1980 campaign.
When the history of the 2012 presidential election is written, what will we remember? That a conservative Republican challenged a socialist nightmare for the leadership of the country — and won? Or that the Republican Party nominated another squish who allowed the worst president in our history to follow through on his promise to "fundamentally transform the United States of America."
~Doug Patton
History will record whether we had to courage and wisdom to choose a leader who is passionate about America, and who has proven herself to be a fearless and effective fiscal reformer and advocate for the people she serves, or if we choose to continue to blindly follow those who are destroying our nation. America is indeed a blessed and exceptional nation.
It is now up to us to ensure that it remains so. One may again quote one of our greatest presidents:
You and I have a rendezvous with destiny. We'll preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or we'll sentence them to take the last step into a thousand years of darkness.
~ Ronald Reagan
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