How Was Your Year? What Will 2012 Mean for You?

These are difficult, economic times so when someone asks you how your yearwas, the economic challenges you faced may come to mind. Maybe you or someone close to you lost their job or even their home. That’s rough. Maybe you lost a loved one or you or someone close to you had some difficult health issues.  There are all sorts of problems and they never cease to come our way while we are still on this earth. And even if the economy improves in 2012, you and I both know that the troubles will keep coming.  It’s a product of the fall of man. Or, some might say, it’s just the way things are.

Even though the troubles continue, it is also easy to be thankful for many things.  Living in the greatest nation in the history of the world, where we have the freedom to succeed or fail, is certainly one of the things we can be thankful for.  But really, I wonder what will happen in 2012? Will it be a “good year” for you and me and for our nation?

I’m certainly optimistic.

And truthfully, one of the things that makes me optimistic is the strong likelihood that our nation will get back on the right track in 2012. Did you know that in early 1980, the polls showed that Ronald Reagan trailed President Jimmy Carter by some 30 points? And, in fact, although Reagan defeated Carter in a landslide, the weekend prior to the election, the polls showed that the race was too close to call.  Ultimately, Reagan carried the Electoral College 489 to 49. Carter only carried five states and Reagan carried in with him the first Republican Senate since Eisenhower. It was a huge victory for Republicans and for America.

Don’t forget how difficult the situation was that Reagan inherited from Carter.  The Soviet Union was expanding around the globe. American respect was at a nadir. Our military had been unilaterally reduced in the face of a Soviet military buildup. Overspending, over borrowing, and over taxing had wrecked the American economy.

Due to Carter policies, inflation soared past 16%, interest rates topped 20% and unemployment was over 13%. Thanks to the misguided policies of Carter, our economy was in a shambles.

Yet Reagan’s commonsense policies were able to turn the situation around at home and around the globe. His free market approach ushered in the longest history of economic expansion in the history of the US and the Reagan Doctrine forced the Soviet Union to retreat and eventually collapse.

The Reagan victory was predictable in hindsight. After the fact, pundits refer to Carter as “incompetent”, “bumbling”, and other less-than-positive adjectives.  But that’s not what they were saying prior to the election. No, Carter was their man and they were effusive in their praise for him.  And most thought he would win. 

The fact is that there is not much difference between 1980 and 2012 in terms of the Democrats hope for a comeback from 2010 and for re-election Barack Obama. It should not be hard for the media to understand why the American people are ready for a change in leadership.

While many on the left think the American people are stupid, they are wrong.  Americans understand reality. They see the huge mess created by this President…

*    Unemployment of nearly 9%

*    Corruption like Solyndra

*    Injustice in the Department of Justice which created the Fast and Furious

*    Job destruction by a President who is unwilling to immediately create 20,000 private sector jobs in building the Keystone Pipeline

*    The creation of artificial shortages of energy which drive up the price of fuel to the highest level in the history of the US

*    Bowing and scraping to foreign dictators and potentates, combined with a worldwide apology tour

*    Out of control spending that threatens to bankrupt the United States and has already caused a downgrade in our bond ratings

*    The passage of a socialist monstrosity called Obamacare, that will ruin the best health care in the world and further restrict our freedom

*    Blocking companies like Boeing from building new plants in another state (and creating thousands of jobs) just because the unions demand it

*    Celebrating Islam at state dinners and,at the same time, attacking the faith of the founders of the Republic

*    Filing lawsuits against states for trying to protect their citizens while failing their Constitutional responsibility to secure our borders

*    Circumventing the Constitution and appointing dozens far left “czars” like self-proclaimed Communist Van Jones

*    Obama breaking his oath of office by refusing to enforce and support the law of the land, the Defense of Marriage Act

*    Ignoring the Congress and the Constitution by having the Environmental Protection Agency issue “Cap and Tax” rules that impose huge costs on our economy on the basis of unsettled science

*    Creating an imperial Presidency that spends more on personal travel for the first family than any other previous family in the White House

*    Having the EPA shut down coal mines when people need jobs and the poor need inexpensive energy

*    Working to block a huge “Fracking” breakthrough that could make America energy independent

*    Buying million dollar busses and blatantly campaigning for re-election on the taxpayer’s dime

*    Consorting with dictators like Hugo Chavez and Daniel Ortega while dissing our long ally and friend, Great Britain

*    Worrying about the rights of alien terrorists while prosecuting those at the CIA and in the Armed Forces who are trying to defend our nation from another 9/11

This list could go on and on. The Obama administration is full of crony capitalists, like General Electric, that want to “buy” special privileges and use the government to shield them from open competition in the marketplace. It is the most radical, the most left wing, the most dangerous Administration in the history of the United States.

And come Tuesday, November 6, 2012 you and I are going to send them packing! The depth and scope of the conservative victory in 2010 was never reported by the news media. We didn’t just take control of the US House of Representatives and add a few good Senators in the Senate. We won from the courthouse to the state house. It was an unheralded landslide of historic proportions and it was just a precursor to 2012.

Whoever the Republican nominee is, and I’m confident that ultimately it will be a solid conservative, we will win a big victory. If, unfortunately, we nominate another RINO like John McCain, it may be much closer than you and I would like. If, however, we select a man or woman of principle, like Ronald Reagan, it will be a landslide victory.

I believe that will happen and that we will not only maintain control of the House of Representatives, but will add to our numbers. Remember, because we control more state legislatures and more governorships than the Democrats, we also control re-districting in a majority of states. I also believe we have an opportunity to top the 60 seat majority we need in the US Senate to repeal what’s left of Obamacare once the Supreme Court has ruled the personal mandate unconstitutional.
If you doubt me, consider the fact that in Virginia, where I live, the Republicans won 69.7% of the popular vote for the State Senate in 2011 (even though they only won half of the seats due to extreme gerrymandering by the Democrats).  This took place in a state that Obama carried in 2008. The Democrats are still making noise in Virginia, but in reality, the smart politicos in the Obama campaign have written off Virginia for 2012.

We can talk about the problems of the Obama campaign in individual states, but, in reality, 2012 is going to be another wipeout. And the wipeouts will continue as far as the eye can see until this once great party of Truman and Kennedy retreats from the far left. The Democrats’ charade of being in touch with the American people and with historic American values is over.

So don’t become discouraged. With God’s blessing, you and I, and our faith in the Constitution, and the wisdom of the Founders, will carry the day. It won’t take long to get America back on track with a commonsense conservative in the White House. By cutting taxes, balancing the budget, shrinking government, reversing the onslaught of government intrusion into our lives, the economy and individual freedom will rebound. By giving companies confidence that they can spend and grow without threat of higher taxes and job destroying rules and regulations, we can prosper again. 

More than that, a big conservative victory in 2012 opens the door to rolling back decades of socialism that has all but destroyed the American dream. By introducing free market solutions to solve the Medicare crisis, and giving our young people a chance to establish their own retirement accounts, we can create an atmosphere of opportunity that has been the hallmark of the United States since the founding of our Republic. By appointing judges that believe in the original intent of the writers of the Constitution, we can roll back Roe vs. Wade, and end the war on traditional moral values. We can promote harmony between the races and make the ladder of opportunity available to all Americans, regardless of race or ethnic background. This is the America our founding fathers envisioned, and it’s the one you and I must work to preserve for our children and our grandchildren.

2012 may well usher in a new era of hope, prosperity, and American leadership around the globe. Let’s work hard and pray fervently for such an outcome. May God continue to bless America.