My Top Ten Political Hopes for 2012

2011 is over.  What a year it was.

In spite of many challenges - past and present, Wisconsinites saw a vast improvement in the way Wisconsin does business and we witnessed a true return to fiscal responsibility.  (Gone is the malaise of the past years - of economical mismanagement, budget shell games,  higher taxes and fees,  and running private businesses out of town - thanks, Governor Doyle!!!)   With the election of Scott Walker, the state is much better off - and will continue to improve with each passing year.  Sadly,  the same cannot be said for the nation as a whole.

The chant of "hope and change" has been exposed for the empty rhetoric it always was.  Now, most people are "hoping" for real "change" with their opportunity in November to show President Obama the exit door.  Obama's poll numbers continue to  plummet - as they should -  and his list of positive accomplishments is nil.  People realize that Obama has played a major role in destroying  the economy, and he has been at the helm when national unemployment levels have risen to 9% and beyond for months.  Obama has turned a deaf ear to military commanders regarding national security.  (One recent example is the fact that by leaving Iraq too soon, the country will fall back into chaos (already happening)).   Aside from being the Apologizer-In-Chief when it comes to bashing America, Obama never fails to blame former President Bush for his own shortcomings.  

One thing that Obama cannot "blame Bush" for is Obamacare.  Obama alone is responsible for this massive government power grab - which the majority of Americans do not want.  All Obamacare will do is make the lives of more Americans more expensive and challenging, as well as hurting private businesses in the process.  And yet, while many Americans are out of work, private businesses are struggling, foreclosures on homes are a fairly normal occurrence, what is Barry doing?  Taking $4 million dollar vacations to Hawaii at the expense of the taxpayers.  (Maybe he'll cut back on his golf game with an election coming up... ) Think Obama really "feels our pain?"  At least Bill Clinton pretended to!  Obama doesn't even bother.  The arrogance of this President is simply incredible.  

With the upcoming political landscape, elections, and challenges our country faces, I now offer:

 MY TOP TEN POLITICAL HOPES FOR 2012

10)  The ability to recall elected officials simply because one doesn't agree with the legislation they pass should be disallowed.  There must be real legitimate reasons in place for allowing citizens to recall any elected official - the main one being criminal behavior while in office.  Others could be personal misconduct while in office,  which may not be outright criminal, but could be defined as personal behavior issues.  Political officials should conduct themselves with a level of decorum at all times and follow the rules.  If they don't, they should be allowed to be recalled if the public deems so.  Recalls should not be allowed simply because a minority of voters isn't happy with the resultsof an election.

9)  The Capitol in Madison must not continue to be Comedy Central.  If protesters wish to camp out in the Capitol, they must adhere to all the rules and pick up after themselves.  They should not harass visiting school groups and bring them in to their "sing-alongs" for a dose of leftie indoctrination.  They need to abide by the rules of not defacing the Capitol with signs, camping out, littering,  destroying the surrounding lawn area, and interfering with visitors and employees.  Otherwise, fines or possible jail time should be enforced.

8)  The Tea Party must continue to be strong.  True conservatism is on the uprise (thanks, in a large part, to the presidency of Barack Obama) and is well-represented by the Tea Party.  The Tea Party and its supporters should continue to play a major role in present and future politics.

7)  RINO's in all aspects of government must be voted out of office.  We don't need any more Olympia Snowes, Susan Collins, or Dale Schultzs.  So what if they ran as Republicans.  They are not.  They are Democrats and in essence, have lied to the people who voted them as their representative.  They need to go.  Anyone who runs as a Republican/conservative MUST live up to Republican/conservative values and vote accordingly.

6)  No more "reaching across the aisle."  Republicans and conservatives have vastly different views and beliefs than their liberal/Democrat counterparts.  Liberalism in this country only serves to perpetuate dependency upon government, grow  government, and establish less personal freedoms than ever before.  Why do we need a bunch of elite liberals who feel they know best dictating our lives, weakening national security, and insisting taxes go up to pay for every pet social cause known to man and then some?  Liberalism need to go.  The "feel good" touchy-feely aspects of liberalism are grounded in nonsense.  We've already tipped the country too far left under Obama - it needs to right itself - and SOON!  We do not need to, nor should we,  "reach across the aisle" and work hand-in-hand with socialists who wish to remake the country as they see fit.

5)  Republicans take back the Senate and add more seats in the House in Washington, D.C.  This is a very promising aspect - with several Dems seeing the writing on the wall and not wishing to run again.  An early Christmas present for Americans everywhere came when Congressman Barney Frank announced he would not seek re-election.  (Don't let the door hit you on your rear end, Barney on your way out!  Good riddance!)   Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson has announced he will not seek re-election (he probably wouldn't win anyhow, after caving and voting for Obamacare after getting a few perks for his vote...).  Wisconsin's own Herb Kohl is finally retiring, after many years of doing nothing.  Missouri's Claire McCaskill is running, but her prospects are shaky at best.   North Dakota's Kent Conrad will be gone, and North Dakota is a pretty solid Republican state.  Virginia's Democrat Jim Webb, who won his seat in 2006 with just 0.6% of the vote, is not seeking re-election either.  Republican prospects are looking pretty good across the entire country.

4)  The Governor Scott Walker recall petition signature efforts fall short of the required 540,000- plus signatures.  Right now, recall groups say they have 504,000 signatures.  Still short by 36,000 - just to reach the required amount.   (Remember when they were saying they'd have no problem getting 600,000 to 700,000  "just to be sure?").  They have until January 15th to turn in their petitions.  What's key here is the validity of ALL the signatures they have collected so far.   We have witnessed the Government Accountability Board giving the nod to fake names, an AOK to signing petitions frequently, and allowing underage people and out-of-staters to participate.  It's an easy conclusion that many signatures on the petitions are just garbage.  Will they even reach - honestly - the required amount? 

And let's not forget  the reprehensible and tasteless behaviors of many of the anti-Walker crowd (death threats, physical intimidation, terrorizing Walkers family in their home in Wauwatosa, targeting Walker's children on Facebook, etc.).  Guess there are no boundaries when such hatred for one individual runs so deep.  (Isn't it ironic that such behaviors come from the so-called "open-minded, compassionate crowd?").  In liberal-land, it is AOK for the Democrats, unionistas, and lefties to use any methods imaginable to attain their goals. Hopefully the votes of the majority of Wisconsinites that elected Walker will not be "disenfranchised" and the recall efforts will fall short.

3)  The recall efforts fail in regards to four Republican legislators.  Why in the world are these politicians up for recall?   They have done nothing wrong.   They simply voted for legislation that the minority did not like.     

2)  The principals and beliefs on which the country was founded upon are no longer ignored or sneered at by the Democrats.    We must not disregard the Constitution.  We should not forget what our nation was founded upon.  The values and beliefs of several hundred years ago cannot be allowed to be cast aside by the few socialists in charge right now.  We are not a nation of "moochers."  We should not be touting "entitlements" and "government handouts" as a means to live.  Dependency upon the government should not be encouraged - especially by our own government!  That is despicable in itself.  Rather, we must promote a return to self-respect, self-reliance, personal responsibility, and hard work.  When did we ever get to the point where many in our country feel that someone else "owes" them something for doing little or nothing?  That because someone has more, they had to take it from someone else (which is not true to begin with).  Isn't that just absurd?  Yet, the President of the United States and many of his socialist followers seem to think they can make people belief such nonsense.  They want the masses to believe that  the government is the solution to all our problems - and the government must grow bigger!  By growing bigger, the government will tell us all how to live our lives and provide for us.  Does anyone REALLY want that?

1)  President Barack Obama MUST not be re-elected this year.