My Rant About Rush

Limbaugh that is.  

I have made no secret out of the fact that I fail to get warm fuzzies at the mention of his name or the sound of his voice.   My Mom and Dad love him (God Bless them!).   During my teenage years  I was forced (not really) to listen to his railing rancor from our kitchen radio every day.   Even then, I agreed with a lot of what he would say, but I bristled at the way he would say it.  I just knew there had to be a better way.  Twenty years later, I still believe there is a better way.

Today, certain powerful Democrats are working to paint Limbaugh as the mascot for the Republican party.  The fact of the matter is, he does speak the mind of many die-hard Republicans.  I do think he is a very smart man.  And I think that any and all attention he has garnered for himself....has been very good for him.  I do not think he is doing the Republican party any favors.  The fact that he is smart enough to know this, leads me to be suspicious of his motives.  Or maybe the ego trip is just too much, and he simply can no longer see the forest through the trees.  Who knows!?  At any rate, the combination of Limbaugh, apologetic conservatives, angry conservatives and some scoundrel Democrats are making a mockery of the Republican Party.

Why is this a problem?  It's a problem because the Republicans must be able to show themselves as relevant.  The future of the Party depends on it's ability to reach out to young people and be inclusive of diversity.  Conservatives must learn to speak the language of the younger generations or face extinction.   I don't think young people today even know what true Conservativism is.  I think Rush Limbaugh would like to tell them, but he talks so loud, you  can't hear what he is saying.  That's the problem....his personality is bigger than his message.    Not good.  Not helpful.

What's worse is this notion that he cannot be crossed by others in his own party. (Think The Godfather, for cryin' out loud).  I could rant about that for a long time, so I will wrap it up with one word.....ridiculous.

I cannot fail to point a finger at some Democrats here.  In the interest of us "all getting along", it is clear there are some top Democrats who are not at all interested.  With squinty eyes and wringing hands, Democrats such as James Carville, David Axelrod, Robert Gibbs, Rahm Emanuel and more have schemed  in portraying the  GOP  beholden to Rush Limbaugh.  And so it boils down to a game for these people.  Real tragedy is striking America.  Real dialogue needs to be happening across the political fence, and these people just want to play games.  Shame on them.

Well, it's a free country!  Let ever' one of em say what they will.....but just because somebody is  sellin'  something, doesn't mean you have to buy it.

Unaffiliated,

Kara Liechty

Yes we can.

The election is over and as much planning as I put into these blog entries (not a lot), I think I can safely say this will be my last political entry.  Since I opened my big mouth last week, it somehow feels irresponsible not to follow up with this entry.  

In short, I am neither surprised or fearful about Barack Obama winning the presidency.  

"Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.  For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God."  Romans 13:1

There you have it.  God voted for Barack Obama.  

So is it the Judgment of God, or is it that some of us were wrong about what the best thing for this country is?  Personally, I feel safer leaning towards the "I was wrong" possibility.  That's because I don't like to play God and from everything I read in the Bible....judgement belongs to Him.  I'm just not going there.  I don't think God's judgement can be mistaken for anything other than what it is, so if that's what is coming we will all know.   So let's leave the judging to Him and get on with what our response to this country's problems should be.  

The other day my friend, Paul Smith, sent out an email about what a Christian's response to the election should be starting on Nov. 5th.   The following ideas come from Mark Earley, the president of Prison Fellowship Ministries:

1.  Get involved in the political process....you may even consider for running for office yourself!

2.  Work at a pregnancy care clinic....help young women in crisis pregnancies.

3.  Volunteer in prison, bring the hope of the gospel to those there that need it and help them to transition to life on the 'outside'.

4.  Speak to lawmakers about bringing Biblical principles into the prison system.

5.  Have a monthy fund-raising party and give the money to charities that are working to heal our culture.

6.  Support attorneys that are working to protect the rights of Christians.

7.  Encourage teenagers into leadership positions such as leading Bible study or running for student council,  or mentoring young children.

8.  Donate your time and money.  The example he gave was supporting school choice by holding a pizza party where the proceeds to to a scholarship fund for poor children....even if just one child is helped out of a failing school...it's worth it!

Mark Earley ends with this:  "Besides being fun and worthwhile, these kinds of activities will help you light a candle instead of being tempted just to curse the darkness."

To this I will add that it is our civic duty to support our president.  It is our spiritual duty to pray for him.  I will be praying for Barack Obama to know the leading and guidance of God.  I am going to be praying for his safety and the safety of his family.  I am going to pray that he and his family will get into a good church and be nourished by the truth of God's word.  I will pray that he will be surrounded by good advisors with sound minds and level-headed thinking.  I will pray that he will grow in favor with both God and men.  Israel had leaders for whom these things were true , and so this is how I will pray for our president-elect.

And finally, these words from Jesus,

"You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck-measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.  

Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven."  Matthew 5: 14-16

Yes we can!

Kara

America is about to get it wrong.

The election is fast approaching.  For much of the past 18 months, I have gone from not caring at all to caring just a little about the crazy political activities of our present and future leaders.  Just when you think the media is going to give you something meaty, something of substance.....you instead find an article on your homepage investigating the merits of each candidate as determined by pet owners.  This is not a joke.  People are actually writing about that sort of thing.  

The nations are raging.  The economy is in the dump.  Gas prices are all over the map.  Our national debt is through the roof.  People are losing jobs.  People are losing their homes.  BUT....not to worry it's all going to be OK because with a little tax navigation wealth can be shared.  With some careful Supreme Court drafting, legislative loopholing and creativity, gay people can get married and abortions can be obtained with even greater ease than they are now.  I mean, these are the important things in our country's life right now, right?  Oh!  I forgot that new "Fairness Doctrine" thing where all opposing view points will HAVE to get equal airtime in the media.  Hmmm. I wonder how that will be policed and how fair such a 'doctrine' will be.   America is about to get all this and more when we elect Barack Obama as president.

Barack Obama is an intriguing figure, no doubt.  He has far more flair, charisma, smoothness and just all around like-ability than John McCain.  I wanted to like him enough to want to vote for him, but I just never could get there.  He certainly has more money to spend than McCain.  His campaign is more lavish than any I've ever seen or remembered that is for sure.  I do think it's ironic though.....you know, that it's the Democratic candidate that is throwing all this money around and is surrounded by all this glitz and glam, while the Republican candidate (who chose to keep his word) took public funds and now can't compete with Obama's media blitz.  It's not ironic that we would see the Democrat spend more....we know that is what they do and I've never met one who denied this.  What is ironic is that the Democrat is supposed to represent the little guy!   Yet the Republican here is the one that is standing ground with the little guy.  

More and more Obama comes off elitest and untouchable.  He is clearly the media darling and I dare someone to argue that point with me.  Aw shucks!  I don't really want to get into a fight about politics.  I really have kept my opinions to myself for the most part.  It's just that I've always liked McCain.  It's true, I have.  I know a lot of conservatives havn't embraced him from the get go, and are only doing so now because they feel they have no choice.  I've always liked him though.

He is more moderate than some would like, but I find it to be a good thing.  A check against corruption if you will.  That is my frustration with an Obama presidency.  More and more,  I fail to see the possibility for moderation in it.  It looks very, very leftist and not very pragmatic.   He has a lot of ideas, so many they make my head spin.....so many promises.  I wonder if people realize he will not be the saviour they are looking for.  

So why am I going to vote for John?  Well because he's a maverick of course! ;>  Sorry, I just had to throw that in.  I like John because he's sensible and he's not making promises he can't keep.  We don't have to wonder about him....he hasn't changed in 40 years.  He upholds the things that make conservatism truly conservative.  I feel confident that he is the best man for the job especially when it comes to foreign affairs.....and there is quite a bit going on in our world today regarding such affairs.  I don't think our nation's future hinges upon what Europeans think of us or our president.  Uh, have you seen what has been going on in Europe over the last century?  They have enough problems of their own thank-you-very-much.

I think he means it when he speaks of energy independence and I think he could actually help to get this done.  That would be pretty huge.  

Since the congress will be mostly Democratic, John would bring balance, but he would also be able to get things done, because he knows how to work with others and he is respected by others.  He's not giving any easy answers to really tough questions because there are no easy answers.  I appreciate that he hasn't tried to make them up.

Bottom line, he's the real deal and.....NEWS FLASH!  He is not George W. Bush.  The notion that his presidency would be a continuation of Bush's is media-spun hogwash.  

Sadly, I don't think the right guy is going to win it.  The current economic turmoil coupled with  our blatantly zombified, Obamaified media have turned too many voters away from the prudent and pragmatic John McCain.

Go vote your conscience, and remember.....God is sovereign!  

In Him we put our trust.

Kara