We Must Keep Our Eye on the Ball

Michigan State University recently placed a professor on paid leave, aka a paid vacation, for comments he made about Republicans.  (1)   In his comments, he said that if someone were to attend the Republican Convention, they would see a bunch of old white people who are shedding skin cells.  Okay, so I am a skin cell shedding Republican but I would rather shed skin cells than have a mind so open it shed brain cells.  As a Republican, I am concerned about the direction of my party and the country.  I urge the Republican leadership not to become sidetracked by issues like Syria but to keep its eye on the ball.

I love baseball and admire a major league hitter that is able to hit a 90 MPH fastball or breaking ball.  In order to hit a pitch like this is it important for the hitter to ignore the pitchers wind-up and focus on the ball.  In an effort to take the batters eye off the ball, the pitcher has a unique windup and attempts to hide the ball until just before throwing it.  In order to hit the ball, the batter must learn to ignore the distractions of the pitcher and keep his eye on the ball.    

Congress and the Senate are scheduled to come back into session this week and as usual there are a several vital issues on the table.  Syria has dominated this week’s news but we also face issue of the continuing resolution, which includes an opportunity to defund portions of Obamacare.  We also face the issue of comprehensive immigration reform and border security. 

I believe Syria is a distraction initiated by Obama in an attempt to distract the Senate and House from the liberals desire to increase their spending and grant amnesty to illegal aliens.  In an effort to keep our illustrious Republican leadership’s eye on the ball, there is a major rally scheduled for Tuesday September 10, 2013 in Washington DC.  (2)  I hope there are thousands and maybe even a million people there so we can get the message out loud and clear.  We want you to cut your wasteful spending.  We want our borders secured before any talk of amnesty or a path to citizenship.  Last, but not least, we do not want Obamacare and want you to defund it until we have a Senate and House that will vote for full repeal along with a President that will sign the repeal legislation. 

If the Government shuts down it will not be the fault of the Republicans in the House who will have voted to fund every aspect of the government except Obamacare.  Any government shutdown will be due to an arrogant President and Senate who cannot see the failure Obamacare will be. 

When Congress passed Obamacare speaker Nancy Pelosi said we had to pass it to see what was in it.  You passed it, we have seen what is in it, and we do not like it.  Speaker Boehner, you have an opportunity to undo what your predecessor did, not by voting for repeal which is DOA in the Senate, but by defunding it and stopping its implementation. 

Now let us move on to the August jobs numbers that came out on Friday.  Even though the numbers showed the addition of an estimated 169,000, there was also a plunge in the number of people working or looking for work to its lowest level since 1978.  (3)  There are now 90,473,000 people either not working or looking for work.  (4)  Hardest hit are Blacks who now have an unemployment rate of 13%.  (5)  In addition, 63,000 Hispanics have also given up looking for work during the La Raza Month of Action.  (6)  In other words, the loss of jobs in the Obama economy is wide spread. 

These dismal job numbers are the prime reason for defunding Obamacare.  As more employers look at the benefit to them of cutting employee hours to less than 30 hours or even laying people off to go under the 50 employee threshold, the job numbers will not be improving but getting worse.  Once again, I urge the Republican Leadership to keep their eye on the ball and do the right thing for we the American People instead of worrying about what the media will think about them if there is a government shutdown. 

Now a final word to the Michigan State Professor about Republicans.  There may be people in the Republican Party who are Senior Citizens but I encourage you to watch coverage of the September 10 rally.  Understand you may have to tune into Fox but you will survive.  Look over the crowd.  You will see people of all races and ages.  You may even see children that normally are not welcome to some liberal rallies. 

The Republican Party is a party that welcomes people interested in a smaller government focused on protecting each individual’s right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  It is the party where people go to who want a government that will keep them secure, protect their liberty to pursue their dreams and goals as long as they do not deprive someone else of theirs.  Since you are on paid leave, I believe this would be a constructive use of your time. 

What has made this country great is not the government but the entrepreneurial spirit and that spirit has not died.  On September 5, 2013, Virgin Galactic completed the second flight of their Spaceship Two.  (7)  Spaceship Two is the dream of Richard Branson, a business entrepreneur whose dream is to take civilians into the fringes of space.  It is people like Mr. Branson, and not the government, who create jobs and opportunities in our economy.  I wish Mr. Branson success in his endeavors.     

1. Huston, Warner Todd. GOP-BASHING MSU PROFESSOR BARRED FROM CLASSROOM ONE SEMESTER–WITH PAY. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/05/Republican-Hating-Mich-State-Prof-Suspended-Sort-Of-With-Pay.

2. Breitbart News. CONSERVATIVES RALLYING TO EXEMPT AMERICA. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/05/Conservatives-Rallying-To-Exempt-America.

3. Rampell, Catherine. Weak Jobs Report Adds to Uncertainty on Fed’s Move. mobile.nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/business/economy/us-economy-adds-169000-jobs-as-unemployment-rate-falls.html?hp=&_r=0&.

4. Jeffrey, Terence P. 90,473,000: Record Number Not in Labor Force--Up Almost 10M Under Obama. www.cnsnews.com. [Online] CNS News, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/90473000-record-number-not-labor-force-almost-10m-under-obama.

5. Nolte, John. BLACK UNEMPLOYMENT LEAPS TO 13%. www.breitbart.com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/06/Black-unemployment-leaps-to13-percent.

6. Lee, Tony. 63,000 HISPANICS GAVE UP LOOKING FOR WORK DURING LA RAZA 'MONTH OF ACTION'. www.breitbart..com. [Online] Breitbart News, September 6, 2013. [Cited: September 6, 2013.] http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/09/06/La-Raza-Had-Month-of-Action-for-Immigration-Reform-as-63K-Hispanic-Workers-Gave-Up-Looking-for-Work-in-August.

7. Knapp, Alex. An Engine's Eye View Of Virgin Galactic Spaceship Flight. www.forbes.com. [Online] Forbes, September 7, 2013. [Cited: September 7, 2013.] http://www.forbes.com/sites/alexknapp/2013/09/07/an-engines-eye-view-of-virgin-galactic-spaceship-flight/.