Let me set the record straight from the beginning, I am proud to be an American.  There is no greater country in this world. I am proud to live in a country where an individual can freely practice his or her religious beliefs.  I am proud to live in a country where an individual has the privilege to speak freely.

Politically speaking, I am not a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Liberal.  I am a conservative, but that has not always been the case.  I was born into a Democratic family, later joined a labor union and believed that our government officials always had our interests at heart.

As a young man, much like many of our young people today, I drank the Kool-Aid of the party’s leadership.  I ate, drank and slept the ideology of the Democratic Party.  I was naïve and believed in everything they said and did because I was a loyal follower.  I endorsed all of their policy and plans without ever questioned their motives.

In the 1960’s, I began to question some of my political views.  During that period of my life, my father decided to compete in the primary election in order to obtain the democratic nomination for our city council.  My father was a very principled and honest man with very conservative views.  He would give you the shirt off his back if you were in need. He stood for truth, justice and above all he honored his word.  He, in my opinion, would have been an excellent councilman.  I began to notice some hypocrisy in the party during that campaign.  Some of my father’s views were being challenged by the leadership of the party machine.  Closed door meetings birthed many secret deals.  These types of political meetings were commonplace in that day.  Much like today’s politics, the purpose of these tactics and strategies were to insure that “their” man got on the ballot.  If you disagreed or refused to conform to their tactics, you were not going to be the “chosen one” for the party machine.  

The strategy for that primary election, as it has been ever since, was to increase the turn out at the polls to vote.  My assignment on the day of the primary was to be a driver to pick up and transport potential voters to the polls.  I was instructed to drive to the “red light district” of the city and pick up their selected prospects.  The vast majority of the people that I transported were prostitutes, drunks and other questionable characters.   The incentive that was offered to them for their cooperation included bottles of whiskey, wine and even cash.  I was instructed to stop and drop them off about a block away from their polling place location.  Once we arrived at that location, the party leaders would instruct them on how and who to vote for.  They were told where they would be taken to redeem their reward in exchange for their vote.  After they casted their vote, I transported them to the redemption location so that they could collect their reward.  After receiving their reward, I drove them back to the location where I had picked them up.  Although I never physically saw anyone receive alcohol or cash, it was obvious to me that they entered the redemption center with their hands empty and returned to the van with at least one bottle of liquor.  Even after I witnessed this criminal corruption, I convinced myself that these tactics were for the better good.  The outcome of the primary election did not go well for my father.  He lost his primary bid by less than a dozen votes.  It was many years later when that my father finally shared with me how the party leadership had betrayed him.  It seemed that the people that I had transported to the polls had been instructed to vote in favor of his opponent.  I, in fact, had actually contributed to my father’s election defeat.

Even though I had some concerns about the party tactics and policies that were being employed, I still remained a democrat until 1980.  I was a “democrat” because it was my family heritage to be one.  I was married in November of 1969, and started to have a family of my own in the early 1970’s.  In 1975, still a steadfast supporter; I became an active supporter of the national democratic presidential candidate. His name was Jimmy Carter.  Although, I had some reservations about democrats at the local level, I was not really concerned about their corruption at the national level.  Not unlike the 2008 presidential election, most of America had been experiencing an economic slow down and had grown weary of the actions and scandals of many politicians.  Jimmy Carter was not part of that political machine.  Carter was an outsider with no ties to Washington.  Carter, like Omaha, was a very personable man that offered the message of change to the American people.  After a very close election in November of 1976, Jimmy Carter’s was declared the 39^th president of the Unites States.  The change he had promised during his campaign was about to manifest in America with a vengeance.  During his four year term, the savings and loan industry crashed, the rate of unemployment soared and interest rates climbed to unbelievable levels.  Interest rates hit a high of about 21%, inflation increased to about 13.5% and unemployment reached over 7%.  The so-called “Misery Index,” which Carter used so effectively in his 1976 election campaign hit a historic high of 20.5%.  Just as we see with the current financial meltdown, countless numbers of Americans lost their jobs, homes and financial security.  Home repossession and bankruptcy filings increased dramatically during this period.   

Very few people who lived through this era would deny the amount of misery that occurred under his Carter’s watch.  I personally believe his agenda and policies were instrumental in causing irreversible damage to our freedom, democracy and the American ideal.  Among his numerous blunders was his absurd treaty decision in September 1977 to transfer the control of the American-built Panama Canal to the nation of Panama.  This decision, much like the healthcare public option of today, was bitterly opposed by the majority of American people.  The Panama Canal was a strategic defense American asset.  The construction of the Panama Canal resulted in the loss of life of nearly 30,000 men.  President Carter seemed pleased to turn this critical security asset over to a corrupt third-world military dictatorship.

During his administration, President Carter terminated the Russian wheat deal.  The purpose of this deal was to establish trade relations with USSR and thus lessen some of the present day Cold War tensions. If this situation was not bad enough in itself, the embargo of those grain exports ushered in the beginning of some tremendous financial hardships for the American farmer.  Carter never understood that stopping these exports that would directly affect the agriculture industry’s ability to keep people employed.

Probably the most tragic portion President Carter's term was his dealings with the Shah of Iran and his inept handling of the Iran Hostage Crisis.   The Iran Hostage Crisis began when Iranian militants seized the American embassy in Tehran, taking 52 Americans hostage.  His lack of wisdom, political courage and resolve paved the way for the rise of Radical Islam that now threatens the whole free world.  When political pressure mounting against him, he attempted to redeem himself by closely managing an attempt to rescue the hostages.  This attempt was another miserable failure for his administration. The only saving grace of this era was Carter's crushing defeat at the hands of Ronald Reagan in the presidential election of 1980.  Ironically, the hostages were released on January 20, 1981 just moments after Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th President of the USA. Carter's greatest achievement by far was his leaving office.

The four years of the Jimmy Carter’s leadership was devastating to the American economy.  The economic downturn was also devastating to my household budget.  The 3% (ARM) adjustable home mortgage loan rate that I had secured from my local S&L, soared to double digit levels, my high paying union job disappeared and my savings quickly evaporated.  Carter’s solution to jump starting our weak economy was to tax and spend (sound familiar).  I have heard it said that it is always the darkest before the dawn.  As the 1980 election campaign was getting geared up it became apparent that the form in which this “dawn was to come”, was a conservative actor named Ronald Reagan.  As he campaigned across the nation, his message was clear and believable.  Reagan had a way of connecting with the common man.  He spoke of restoring hope and the entrepreneur spirit.  He proposed less government interference and more tax relief.  His message was clear and compelling.  It was sometime during his campaign that I realized that I could no longer align myself with the Democratic Party.  Over the years, The Democratic Party had changed from a party of life to a party of death.  I no longer could tolerate their platform position on abortion, taxes and personal responsibility. In 1979, I changed my party affiliation to become a republican.  In November of 1980, I cast one of my most memorable votes of my lifetime as a republican for Ronald Reagan.  I personally participated in the Reagan landslide.  Reagan was a tremendous president and leader because he possessed and stood steadfast in his beliefs and principles.  Someone once asked Reagan why he had left the Democratic Party.   His answer confirmed what I had been feeling for some time.  His explained that he had not left the Party, but the Democratic Party had left him.  Although I am still a registered republican, I am first and foremost a conservative.  I will support any candidate that has exhibited conservative principles and ideals in both and deed.  

Below you will find a list of 20 principles that I personally believe as a conservative.

• I believe in following the constitution and bill of rights.
• I believe that the Supreme Court is to interpret the law, not create it.
• I believe in rights of all individuals to pursue their dreams and success.
• I believe in the personal responsibly of the individual.
• I believe that this nation was founded on the belief in God and the Bible.
• I believe in a personal commitment to faith and religion.
• I believe in a small non-invasive government.
• I believe in the free markets and Capitalism.
• I believe that the separation of Church and state is NOT in the constitution.
• I believe in a government with less taxation.
• I believe in family values and the sanctity of marriage.
• I believe in a strong national defense to protect and fight against terrorism.
• I believe in the right to life for every human being.
• I believe that life begins at conception.
• I believe in school vouchers to improve the quality of our school system
• I believe in clean water and air with realistic conservation programs.
• I believe in drilling for oil in America in order to become energy independent.
• I believe in the rights of Americans to own and bear arms.
• I believe in legal immigration.
• I believe in the strong enforcement of our borders.

Ronald Reagan Quotes

• “Entrepreneurs and their small enterprises are responsible for almost all the economic growth in the United States.”
• “Democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.”
• “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.”
• “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.”
• “Government always finds a need for whatever money it gets.”
• “Government's first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.”
• “Government does not solve problems; it subsidizes them.”
• “Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few short phrases: If it moves, tax it. If it keeps moving, regulate it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it.”
• “I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph. And there's purpose and worth to each and every life.”
• “If we ever forget that we are One Nation Under God, then we will be a nation gone under.”
• “It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.”
• “Man is not free unless government is limited.”
• “No government ever voluntarily reduces itself in size. Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we'll ever see on this earth!”
• “The problem is not that people are taxed too little, the problem is that government spends too much.”
• “There are no easy answers' but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.”
• “We might come closer to balancing the Budget if all of us lived closer to the Commandments and the Golden Rule.”
• “We must reject the idea that every time a law's broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.”
• “Within the covers of the Bible are the answers for all the problems men face.”
• “Without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure.”