Archive | GOP RSS feed for this section

Mark Caserta: Republicans must support their nominee

22 Jan

mark

Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

1.22.16

As I watch members of the GOP cannibalize their own day after day, I can’t help but wonder if we might be witnessing the total collapse of the Republican Party as we’ve come to know it.

Following President Obama’s final State of the Union address last week, the Republican response was given by South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. Now, typically, the response is used to offer the GOP perspective of the state of the union, often in stark contrast with the president’s. But this address was very different.

 

A significant portion of the governor’s speech took aim at Republican leaders and their rightful ownership of the dysfunction of Washington.

“We as Republicans need to own that truth,” she added. “We need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America’s leadership. We need to accept that we’ve played a role in how and why our government is broken.”

 

Well spoken, empress of the obvious. While confession is good for the soul, only substantive solutions will change the ebb and tide of this political storm.

 

But then, and possibly for the first time ever in a state of the union response, Haley and the GOP establishment she represented proceeded to challenge the Republican presidential front-runner, Donald Trump, and his hardcore stance on immigration.

 

“Immigrants have been coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is America. They wanted better for their children than for themselves,” she said. While the immigration system must be repaired, she said, “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”

 

While I’m no fan of “the Donald,” how can the GOP be so short-sighted! Heaven forbid that Trump would indeed win the Republican nomination, but stranger things have happened. What if he’s successful at carrying this torch to his final destination? What if Americans really feel they’ve exhausted all other options? Where will Republicans be then?

It’s very telling that not only are half of Americans willing to give a neurotic liar and a professed socialist a shot at the presidency in order to perpetuate their progressive, leftist regime, a significant portion of the right are considering a paradigm shift in their conservative mentality simply to get our nation back on track. Hence, the Trump factor.

 

The one condition most Americans can surely agree upon is the state of our nation is in no way being improved by the listless group of elected officials who have lied and bamboozled their way into office only to sell their constituencies down the river. And the GOP is falling exceedingly short in presenting a unified front with real solutions to our nation’s woes.

 

And if Republicans refuse to support their party’s nominee in 2016, it may indeed be the end of the Grand Ole’ Party in the U.S.

 

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Tags: , ,

Mark Caserta: Republicans simply lied to the American people

1 Oct

Voters were betrayed

mark

Mark Caserta: Free State Patriot Editor

10.1.15

Last November, Americans sent a stern message to Barack Obama and the Democrats when they handed Congress over to the Republicans. Promises were made for GOP “guns to be a-blazin” when they controlled both legislative bodies. No doubt, these vows impacted the huge Democratic losses.

So what has our Republican-controlled Congress accomplished for the American people since gaining control? Well, it’s as though the elections never happened!

Let’s look at a few of the promises turned foul.

 BOEHNER MCCONNEL
donald

Virtually every GOP candidate running in 2014 promised to do everything possible to repeal Obamacare, beginning with its defunding. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell pledged that he, too, would support defunding and repealing the president’s signature healthcare law. A 2013 Newsmax article by Todd Beamon shares McConnell’s commentary from an exclusive interview.

“I don’t think it was a waste of time,” the Kentucky Republican said. “The American people do fully understand that still, not a single Republican in the House or Senate favors this awful new law — and if they will send us enough additional new members to get rid of it, we will.”

But when Republicans had their chances through defunding efforts, leadership buckled. McConnell and House Speaker John Boehner even criticized members of their own party who pushed the effort. A May blog in “The Hill” by columnist Brent Bozell went as far as to say “Boehner and McConnell could cost the GOP the White House in 2016”.

And as with Obamacare, the Republicans running in 2014 promised voters they would put a stop to Obama’s unconstitutional executive order granting amnesty to millions who entered the country illegally. Even now, a vast majority of voters who gave Republicans the Congress are still against Obama’s illegal actions, including 42 percent of Hispanic voters born in the United States, according to a December 2014 Gallup Poll.

But once again, Republicans sold out the American people. After a timid attempt to defund the part of the Department of Homeland Security bill that funneled taxpayer dollars to fund Obama’s illegal actions, members of the GOP argued within their own party, while Democrats stood firm. In the end, the “cromnibus” funding bill that included paying for illegal executive amnesty passed with GOP support.

GOP

 Conservative voters were also promised by Republicans in the last election to pass a ban on abortions past the 20-week mark. For the first time since the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban was enacted in 2003, there was opportunity to restrict the murder of the unborn. The bill had already passed The House once in 2013.

But at the last moment, a number of Republicans withdrew their support claiming they feared it would alienate too many Americans, especially women, even though the majority of Americans support the ban according to a 2013 CBS News poll.

So what needs to happen? Well, part of it already has. John Boehner, sensing mutiny in the GOP camp, is resigning as House Speaker. I believe Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell should be the next to go.

It’s time for honest leadership — with a backbone.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Tags: , , ,

Mark Caserta: Next president must meet these criteria

13 Aug

mark

MARK CASERTA: FREE STATE PATRIOT EDITOR

Aug. 13, 2015 @ 12:01 AM

So, which candidate do you like for president in 2016?

Usually, as the presidential election debate season begins, friends and family will begin asking me questions akin to the one above. Most of the time I’ll accommodate them with whom I believe possesses the best qualifications for the job, but this year is different. With so many qualified GOP candidates, it’s just too early to say.

gop

But from a conservative’s perspective, any candidate on stage last week at the GOP debate in Cleveland would be better than the “community organizer” we have now. As we all should be doing, I’ll simply be watching and listening the next few months to the platforms of the candidates so I’ll be prepared to make the best choice.

However, I waste no time sharing who we don’t want in office. The best the Democrats have to offer so far is a scandal-ridden Hillary Clinton and the self-declared socialist senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, who’s gaining on Hillary in some polls.

But I don’t believe the Democrat Party’s eventual nominee has yet emerged. I believe someone will have to step up to salvage the party’s 2016 chances. Perhaps, the “king of gaffe,” Joe Biden, or the great “flip flopper” John Kerry will be the one. But right now, Democrats are quaking in their boots at the thought of challenging a highfalutin Clinton for the presidency. It is, after all, her turn.

Our nation has been on a slippery slope for over 6 years. It’s imperative we choose the right candidate for our next president, for the next president surely will have hands full redressing America from Barack Obama’s “fundamental change.” These are some inherent qualifications we must demand.

Our next president must have integrity. I’m amazed at the lies we’ve been told by President Obama, yet his own party never calls him out. Remember the “If you like your healthcare plan, you can keep your healthcare plan” promise? We must demand the next president be truthful with the American people at all times!

Our next commander-in-chief must be savvy in military and foreign affairs. We must regain the respect around the globe that our inept “diplomatic” policies have destroyed. Currently, our enemies don’t fear us – and our allies don’t trust us. We should adopt Ronald Reagan’s policy of “peace through strength,” not peace through appeasement.

Jobs and the economy must be a priority. Our next president must understand business and economics. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, over 46 million people or 15 percent of the population are living in poverty. And the labor force participation rate is the lowest it’s been since 1978. Yet, Democrats continue to leverage deceptive numbers regarding both the economy and the unemployment rate. It doesn’t matter that good-paying jobs are becoming exceedingly scarce and families are hurting.

Finally, the next president for whom you vote must be a God-fearing man. Progressives are tenaciously attacking anything that remotely resembles morality and God’s Word.

They must understand it will take more than a man to return America to greatness.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Tags: , , ,

Mark Caserta: GOP must regroup and focus on 2015

25 Dec

It’s as if the mid-term elections never happened

Dec. 25, 2014 @ 12:01 AM
gop 1

Perhaps the GOP is suffering from post traumatic election syndrome, I’m not sure. But if they have any hopes of winning the White House in 2016 and sustaining a viable future for their party, they’d better learn how to deliver to the American people.

Unfortunately, as of right now, it’s as if the November mid-term elections never happened.

Senator Ted Cruz

Frankly, I’m disturbed the refocus on constitutional boundaries from those subscribing to the Tea Party has had such a divisive effect on Republicans. Exacerbating the issue is that leadership seems to lack the ability to coalesce its members around certain foundational principles.

Let me assure GOP leadership that anything less than a complete delineation from the progressive policies of the past six years will result in huge losses for the Republicans moving forward.

gop 3

The time has come for Republicans to regroup and focus on 2015.

Top priority is repealing Obamacare. Of course the president will veto the attempt, but with Harry Reid out of leadership, at least Obama will not be protected from having to sign bills that will elicit public opposition. Once Obama vetoes the bill, Republicans can then proceed with an incremental approach to repealing parts of the president’s healthcare law, some of which will likely garner some Democrat support, such as the employer mandate, the 30-hour work week and the medical device tax. Even if the president vetoes every single Obamacare repeal measure, the public will be incensed by higher costs and impending penalties.

John Boehner Holds Press Briefing At US Capitol Mitt Romney Interviews Former Running Mate Paul Ryan In Chicago

Another top priority of the new Congress must be securing the border. The GOP-controlled House of Representatives failed miserably in dealing with illegal immigration by passing the $1.1 trillion “Cromnibus” spending bill fully funding President Obama’s illegal executive order on amnesty. Failing to secure the borders is failing to protect the American people and our nation’s sovereignty.

Republicans must leverage their new majority in pursuing approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which experts say will create upward of 20,000 new jobs and bring us closer to energy independence. If Obama and Democrats attempt to stand in the way of more jobs and less expensive energy, they will surely feel the voter’s rebuke.

3 YEARS LATERU.S. Customs And Border Protection Secures Tex-Mex Border From Land, Air and Seakeystone

The new Republican-controlled Senate must now leverage the same “nuclear option” invoked by Harry Reid, allowing his Democrat-controlled Senate to pack federal courts with Obama nominees with a simple majority vote. It’s crucial that our nation has conservative judges in the federal court system. As one of the three co-equal branches of government, the federal judiciary will play a vital role in our nation’s future.

debt

And it will be political suicide for conservatives not to follow through on campaign promises to begin reducing our nation’s debt, which has climbed to nearly $18 trillion. At an average of $56,000 for every American, our country cannot continue down this path.

Returning our country to its conservative roots will take time. The debilitating disease of liberalism didn’t besiege our nation overnight.

But the process must begin with Americans who still believe in the future of our nation and the 115th Republican-led Congress.

American-Flag-Facebook-Covers-2146

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Tags:

Mark Caserta: Have Republicans again abandoned abortion message?

24 Apr

abortionApr. 24, 2014 @ 12:00 AM

It appears that once again, abortion may be missing from the national debate in an election year. And Christian conservatives have a legitimate question for GOP candidates:

Will you continue to refuse to make the issue of life or death for the most vulnerable among us table stakes for your candidacy simply for fear of alienating voters?

Please understand that while Article VI of the Constitution clearly states there shall be “no religious test” qualifying a Congressional candidate for office, this does not exempt you from certain “qualifications in principle” that Christian conservatives will refuse to compromise in November — and abortion is one of them.

And burying your pro-life position deep in your on-line profile isn’t bringing the topic to the table for discussion. It’s unacceptable that progressives have been allowed to move the standard far beyond the provisions of Roe v. Wade.

In a 7-2 opinion, the court ruled that a right to privacy under the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment guarantees a woman’s right to an abortion. The due process clause protects a broad right to privacy that is also found in the Ninth Amendment and the penumbras of the Bill of Rights. This “substantive due process” right to privacy permits a woman to terminate her pregnancy for any reason during the first trimester. However, subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester (about 3 months) the state may reasonably regulate abortions in ways related to maternal health.

Our nation has dreadfully exceeded the parameters set by the Supreme Court of the United States. In fact, according to a recent report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, the United States has one of the most permissive abortion policies in the world (7 out of 198 countries) and is one of seven countries in which late-term abortions after 20 weeks (about 5 months) are allowed.

Sadly, many studies have shown that by this stage of development, a child is capable of feeling pain and women are at a greater health risk.

Often we hear pro-choice activists espouse rape, incest, genetic disability or health of the mother as primary consideration for supporting abortion on demand. But of 1,260 women surveyed in a 2004 study by The Guttmacher Institute, only 7 percent cited health concerns as their most important reason for choosing to abort their child. The majority of women actually stated a financial or lifestyle challenge as a top reason for their choice.

Each year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention requests voluntary abortion data from across the country. While 756,651 abortions were reported in 2010, many suspect the number to be closer to 1 million babies aborted every year in the United States.

How many of God’s children who were destined to become world changers were never given the chance? How many brilliant scientists, skilled physicians or prominent leaders never escaped the womb?

Human life is a frail and precious gift of God. If GOP candidates refuse to re-introduce abortion into the discussion, then who will?

It’s time to stand up for life.

Mark Caserta is a conservative blogger, a Cabell County resident and a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.

Tags: , ,

%d bloggers like this: