Whirled Views with Dan Burrell

The Gun Control hue is increasing rapidly.

Some are now specifically calling for confiscation.

If you say this can’t happen or it can’t happen quickly– I have one word for you: Obamacare.

They keep saying, “Hunter’s don’t need ‘assault’ rifles.” That’s like saying, “Writer’s don’t need to be able to draw political cartoons.”

That is not the point of the 1st Amendment and hunting is not the point of the 2nd Amendment. The 2nd Amendment is not about our right to hunt. It is about our right to protect ourselves from Tyranny. If the 1st Amendment can be construed to protect pornography and lying about your military service awards (both upheld by the SCOTUS), then the 2nd Amendment must be interpreted to protect types of guns that some might find “offensive”.

The NRA needs to step back out of the shadows and get front and center about this NOW. This is not a time for weakness or fear of being unpopular. What if Obama/Holder decide to do by Executive Order what they may not be able to do legislatively with gun control? With each power grab, this President looks more and more like Hugo Chavez and remember, he has been popularly elected by the poor and ignorant over and over again.

Obama is polarizing this country so deeply and quickly that conversations about secession and even the potential for Civil War are now being held in previously polite circles. If the American public thought that what happened on December 14th was a massacre, how much more of a massacre should be expected should they try to take the guns of 60 million determined and ticked-off gun owners by force? But in the words of Rahm Emmanuel, this administration is not going to “waste a good crisis” in order to advance their agenda at the expense of our liberties. They keep drawing the line deeper, clearer and more deeply on OUR side of the Constitution. These are dangerous days of shocking change. We must be vigilant in educating others.

Never under-estimate the tenacity with which extremist liberals and socialists and their media machine are prepared to exercise their power in order to get their way.

The family of Judge Robert Bork released news of his death this morning.  Bork was an intellectual giant and would have arguably been one of the greatest Supreme Court Justices in American history.   But like a promiseing military officer cut down in an early battle of a long war, Bork was never allowed to display his brilliance.  It is widely thought that his intellect would have even over-shadowed the current reputation of Antonin Scalia who is often regarded as the conservative “heavy” on the court. One of the greatest travesties of the 20th century was the hatchet job that Teddy Kennedy did on the brilliant Bork.  So vile was the attack, a new verb was coined to describe an unfair political assault on an individual - “borking”.  (In March 2002, the Oxford English Dictionary added an entry for the verb Bork as U.S. political slang, with this definition: “To defame or vilify (a person) systematically, esp. in the mass media, usually with the aim of preventing his or her appointment to public office; to obstruct or thwart (a person) in this way.)

The unusually partisan battle over his nomination plagues nominees to this day as character assassination and political one-upmanship are now modus operendi — particularly for conservative nominees.  Feminist Florence Kennedy used the term “borking” to describe what she was attempting to do when Clarence Thomas was nominated to the Court.  Another legacy of this political assassination has been that anyone nominated to the Supreme Court from that day to this one, know better than to clearly state his/her opinions or philosophy during the confirmation hearings.  Today’s nominees must be nearly stealth candidates who know how to hide their records and their opinions until they are sworn in. 

Ronald Reagan nominated Anthony Kennedy after Bork was voted down (he refused to withdraw his name even when he knew he would be defeated as a show of defiance to what was happening) rather than to choose another strong conservative.  To this day, Kennedy is a squishy conservative at best, often playing the role of deciding vote on many cases. 

Bork would later write a book in 2003 entitled, “Slouching Toward Gomorrah” which was prophetic tome that remains a must read for thinking conservatives in my opinion. 

America is poorer today because he never served on the Supreme Court and sadly, while the immoral Kennedy was celebrated as a hero upon his death, few will genuinely reflect on what might have been now that Bork has passed.

I’ve got tons of people asking me for my thoughts and predictions — such as they are which isn’t much — as we face Election Day tomorrow.  Without any sense of order, decorum or priority, here I go….

1. I am absolutely baffled as to how this is going to turn out.  I used to like to tell myself that I have a ’sixth sense’ for how these things are going and I have routinely correctly predicted the outcome of elections going back to the 1980’s with a few exceptions.  But this one I can’t just get my finger on.  I see two very real and possible scenarios:  The first one is that it REALLY IS this close.  I suspect it might be this situation.  If it is truly this within-a-couple-of-percentage-points horse race the polls are predicting, watch Ohio.  (Unless Romney loses Virginia or Florida.  If he loses one of those states, go to bed early and dream of Obamacare.) Ohio will likely decide the next President.  The other scenario is that the pollsters have overly estimated the number of Democrats who will vote.  (I almost said who are alive and voting, but….nevermind.)  If they have, then a 4-6 point Romney win is quite likely.  However, it will be potentially hard on the country.  Millions of people who favor Obama will be shocked….SHOCKED.  The shock will then turn to outrage.  The outrage will turn to accusations of voter fraud.  I’ll not describe a worst-case scenario as to what “could” happen, but it isn’t pretty.

2. If it is super close, ties usually go to the incumbents or the political party which controls the election process in that state/city.  But there’s also the potential that multiple states may be too close to call until days or weeks after this Tuesday.  The Democrats are not going to tolerate another Election 2000.  Expect everything from prolonged recounts, to legal challenges, to street protests.  It. Will Be. Ugly.

3. If it is a squeaker,  expect the Dems to hold the Senate.  If the spread is 5-6 points for Romney, expect a 51-49 or 50-50 (VP casts the deciding vote) Republican majority.  On the House side — regardless, I think the Republicans will strengthen their majority by 3-5 seats.

4. Unless the Republicans win the White House and the Senate, expect 4 more years of deadlock.  Every other plausible scenario = deadlock, except for a Republican sweep.

5.  The biggest outcome to this election is not about who sits in the White House or Congress.  It is about who will be appointed/approved to sit on the Supreme Court.

6. If Obama prevails tomorrow, I believe we have seen the last conservative elected to the White House.  Ever.  The numbers simply are not there.  No matter who wins, we are a DEEPLY DIVIDED nation and that doesn’t bode well for the future.

7. By and large, I have great confidence that the majority of the American population votes on matters of style and personal pocketbook (in that order), than on philosophy and principle.  Yep, that’s a cynical perspective and I own it.

8. You can like it, lump it, hate me, love me, de-friend me or ignore me, but I cannot, for the life of me, understand how an evangelical Christian, Catholic or anyone with two cents worth of compassion can vote for a party or person who is as coldly pro-abortion as the Democrat party and its leadership.  Tell me I’m narrow-minded, a sheeple, a one-issue stooge, a litmus test holder and anything else — for me, THIS ONE ISSUE, impacts my vote more than any other.  I will never, not ever, vote for anyone for an office that has the power to impact the Right to Life, who is not Pro-Life.  Anyone who knows me, knows what my first four reasons for that position are.

9. I will miss all the political adds exactly zero.

10. The actual voting process is broken and we need to fix it.  It is ridiculous to have some states voting a month in advance and others with no early voting.  These long voting periods are rife with the potential for fraud, mistakes, lost ballots and more.  In addition, this business of not having to register or prove identity is just wrong and ridiculous and any honest liberal should admit it.  I’m constantly having to show ID to do the most mundane tasks.  It is not a hardship.  It’s just life.  Why would we treat something as sacred as voting for our leadership less seriously than buying cold medication, a beer or get on an airplane?  We need a reasonable voter identity law and let’s do a Friday/Saturday election for 36 hours.  People who are out of town should get an absentee ballot just like they did for a dozen decades.  Make it uniform across the country lest something happen and we lose confidence in the process.

11. While I’m at it — the Electoral College is a good idea and wee shouldn’t tinker with it.  I will say that on Wednesday even if Obama loses the popular vote while winning the electoral vote.  There is HUGE wisdom in it and we shouldn’t think ourselves smarter than the Founders on this.  It ain’t broke.  Don’t fix it.

12. I lay much of the blame of this country’s toxic political dialogue at the feet of MSNBC and FNC.  It is a constant frustration for me to find some outlet that actually DOES let me decide without the shrill demagoguery of the Hannity’s and Matthew’s and O’Reilly’s and Maddow’s of this world.  It is uncivil and unreasonably partisan and it is contagious.  I love sarcasm, rhetorical feints and parlays and strong opinions with a side of irony.  A lot.  But when it impacts our ability to interact with reasonableness with our neighbors and colleagues because we parrot the same attitude in our real lives as we see demonstrated in the out-of-perspective world of those in the kleiglights of the Mainstream Media (and oh yeah, when will we stop calling NBC/ABC/CBS “mainstream”?  Fox now controls almost half of the cable news audience — that makes them pretty mainstream), we need to step back, draw a few deep breaths and calm down.  We’re better than this.  I hope.

13. As I posted on my Facebook wall last night: “May each of us have such a spiritual mind and high view of the sovereignty of God that we have not one bit more or one bit less joy, peace or hope Wednesday than we do right now.”  I really mean that.  I am at perfect peace already at how this election will conclude even though I have no earthly idea what that will look like.  Wednesday is going to be a great day.  I’m already looking forward to it.  I will not be irrationally optimistic if the candidate who was my third-to-the-last choice for President happens to win and I will not be devastated if the current administration is given another four years.  It’s just politics.  None of us will give one care about it in 100 years.  My confidence is not in this political system or its rulers.  My citizenship is in heaven.  So, I’ll not let a silly political election steal one second of my joy or peace come Wednesday.

Of course, I will still have strong opinions and will voice them regularly and at times shamefully obnoxiously.  I will continue to follow politics, because for me it like following my favorite sport.  It’s truly interesting to me — but it does not define me and I’d make a horrible “player” if given the chance.  I’m quite content sitting up in the stands with my coke and hotdog yelling at the coaches down on the field.

So until Wednesday…….

As always, the views in this post are mine and mine alone and should not reflect on anyone else from my momma to my future grandchild.

Getting quite a few questions on my view of the final Presidential debate.  Here’s my assessment….

I think it was probably Obama on perceived experience though he distorted his record and Mitt’s continually.  I think however that whatever Obama gained on points, he lost on condescension and snarkiness.  He really showed stunning contempt for Romney and that didn’t go down well with a lot of folks and I think particularly with Women who now only prefer Obama by 8% which is a huge shift from 2008. 

My personal opinion – if the election was today, Obama wins in a squeaker.  However, momentum is on Mitt’s side.  The next 48 hours will show whether or not momentum is slowed, stopped or reversed – in the event any of those happen – it’s edge to Obama in a cliffhanger.  If it isn’t, then Mitt wins – but I have no idea how big. 

I can’t figure out what is going on with the polls.  Gallup – historically liberal – has Romney up by 6-7 every day.  If that is accurate – Romney wins comfortably.  All the other polls – even the conservative Rasmussen Poll – has it as a tie.  Tie goes to Obama because of the electoral college.  It’s quite possible/probable that Romney wins the popular vote while Obama wins the electoral vote. 

90% chance of whoever wins Ohio becomes the next Prez.  If Obama takes Ohio, Romney must thread a needle with a very small eye – having to win NH, IA, CO and WI to get to 270 (assuming he wins Virginia and Florida.) 

Anyway you look at it – we’re going to have a VERY divided country on November 7^th. 

And THAT’S today’s political report…..Now back to the real world!  LOL. J

You can always tell how bad an election is going for them when the conservatives and Republicans start trying to keep hope alive by critiquing the polls and how they are constructed.  Whiney little cry babies. Soon, Dick Morris will be all over the place predicting a Romney win with his fail-safe inside information and that will pretty much be the kiss of death.   Relying on “poll questionning” to encourage your base is like talking about the virtues of the Titanic’s design after the iceberg has been hit.  Romney and the Republicans are in BIG trouble.  He is losing ground, he has no clear message, many report very little “get out the vote” effort on the ground, donations are declining and there appears to be no sense of urgency at all in him or the campaign.  This at a time when any REAL challenger should be ahead by 15-20 points. 

Of course, this is what happens when the Republicans select a “moderate” (Exhibit A: Bob Dole; Exhibit B: John McCain; Exhibit C: Post-Tax Increase GB the elder.)  I’m as pessimistic as I can be about getting Obama out of the White House.  I believe this is the beginning of the end.  It’s so bad, that I haven’t told anyone to “save the date” on election night to come over to my house for a “returns party”.  I’m predicting to my fellow political junkies that Obama wins, the Dems keep the Senate by 2 seats and the Republicans lose 15-20 seats in the house.  Within four years, the Supreme Court will be significantly left-leaning for the next generation or more.  We will not see another conservative President elected in my lifetime.  Yep, it’s THAT bad.

The only small strand of hope I have right now is the debates and I don’t think Romney can out-charm Obama.  In fact, it could be a blood bath.  When the Republicans cannot produce an electable candidate in an economy like this, when a majority are still nominally pro-life, when a majority wants Obamacare killed, when the Middle East is on fire, when liberals are OPENLY talking about higher taxes, when liberals are OPENLY trying to limit our freedoms from the size of cokes we can drink to the top of food our kids can have at school, when the Democrats haven’t been able to pass a budget in years…..then, why, oh, why would we think that we can “get ‘em” in 2016.  They are whistling past the graveyard.  The war has been lost.

It’s not just spite that motivates me to say this next thing.  I mean it.  I hope that if Obama gets re-elected that they find a way to tax everything that moves.  I mean it.  Raise the tax on the rich, on business, on the middle class, on cokes, on candy bars.  Do it.  If that’s what this country wants, then go for it.  Pile on those regulations.  Tell us what we can eat, drive, wear and do for a living.  Bring back the Fairness Doctrine.  Do away with Capital Punishment.  Legalize drugs.  Give Civil Rights protections to gays and then inact additional hate laws to boot.  Fill the courts with radical leftists.  Regulate homeschools and take away the tax exemptions for churchs, charitable giving and home mortgages.  Subsidize everything that is failing and tax everything that is flourishing.  Let’s just do it.

We’ll find out who the real believers are.  We’ll find out where the bottom is and if there is still a core or a foundation.  We’ll find out if there’s anything worth saving.

Then….maybe then….the American people will wake up. 

Bring on the second American Revolution.

You simply HAVE to take a minute and watch these interviews from the recent Democrat National Convention held in my hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina.  The issue of Abortion is a very important and very personal issue for me and I frankly do not care if someone is offended by my discussion of it from any angle.  This video shows you the lack of intellectual integrity the “pro-choicers” have when it comes to the slaughter of innocent children in their mother’s womb.  It would be humorous were we not talking about racist, xenophobic genocide.

View it HERE.

Had I been watching the Democrat National Convention, I would not have been surprised.  They have years of experience in grooming the extreme left that makes California, and more specifically, Hollywood, their home.  Every convention and in every occupancy of the White House by Democrats, you can anticipate a constant stream of starlets and stud-muffins “gracing” the people’s house with their glamor and celebrity.  I’d expect no less.

But, the longer I think about the Republicans giving Clint Eastwood a prime-time spot last night, the angrier I get.

Forget the fact that he gave one of the most incoherent and ridiculous “speeches” in the history of party conventions, there’s more.  In fact, inviting him for such a prime time slot just embodies much of what is wrong with American politics in general and in this case, the Republicans specifically.

Clint Eastwood is a reprehensible person.  For all his talent in which he pretends to be people that never existed in stories that never happened, his moral character makes Obama’s look like a Pope (or should I say an Oman”).  Rubio’s speech included the line that said, “It’s not that Obama is not a good person; it’s that he’s not a good President.”  Well, Mr. Eastwood isn’t a good person.

I’m not sure how many times he’s been married, but in an industry where philandering is common place, Eastwood is legendary.  He’s been married more times than I can recall.  He’s fathered 9 children by at least 5 different women and 2 of those were murdered in the womb.  Many of my FB friends went on and on about his “wonderful” movies.  I’m not sure whether or not he’s all that as an actor because I don’t generally attend R-Rated movies which is what the majority of his are.  Before you call me a legalist — Let me ask if you’d take your kids to see “Dirty Harry” or most any other movie in which he is the star?  Not if you’re a good parent.  He’s not pro-life, he’s not pro-family, he’s not family values friendly, he’s not known for being a moral example, an entrepreneur, a patriot, a war hero or a statesman.  He’s most certainly NOT a standup comedian.

He’s a Libertarian, not a Conservative — at best.  (You aren’t going to believe I’m typing this next line.) If they wanted a Libertarian to speak, why didn’t they let someone who is at least a person of morality, a good example, a family man, an intellectual, consistent and at least pretended to be a Republican for a while — someone, like, well…..Ron Paul? (And I’m a renowned Paul critic.)  At least he “earned” a spot on the podium.

No, the reason that Eastwood was invited is because of one word — Celebrity.  That’s it.  He’s famous.  He uttered a famous line or two that people found “catchy” and worked their way into the cultural lexicon.  Whoopee.  What is with our national obsession with Hollywood and the entertainment industry?  What makes us bow and scrape before their alleged talents?  Why are we so quick to genuflect before their worthless opinions?  Why are they not held to any level of scrutiny, accountability or apparently vetting?  Ironically and justly,. the Republicans had it all blow up in their faces.  It was a travesty.  It was silliness.  It lowered the ambient IQ in the room by 20 points.  It was childish.  At times it was unintelligible.  AND it revealed the shallowness of the leadership of too many politicians….again.

The worst job in the house last night was Marco Rubio’s, who had to follow that dog and pony show.  Like the class act that he is, Rubio ignored what had preceded him and went right on to deliver what was arguably one of the best speeches of the conventions — nearly over-shadowing the candidate’s and making more than one conservative say under his breath, “We’ve nominated the wrong man.”

I doubt that anything will change in the future.  Both sides of the aisle are enamored with the superficiality of the Eastwoods, Moores, Depps, Clooney’s, Streisands, and Goldbergs of the industry that pollutes our culture, morality and reputation around the world.

But it is what it is.

I’m sure some will disagree.

To those I simply say, “Go ahead.  Make my day.”

I’m getting texts and messages asking what I think of the selection of Paul Ryan by Mitt Romney to be his running mate.  So here are my condensed thoughts.  (Well, as condensed as I ever get, which isn’t very condensed.)

I like Ryan in general.  He obviously a family guy, talks the conservative talk, understands sound economic policy, is extremely smart and will be able to eviscerate Biden in the debates on a level that has the potential to as epic as it will be historic.

That said, in typical establishment Republican fashion, Romney blew a great opportunity in his selection.  Here’s why I think so…

1. Could you find two MORE stereotypical Republicans to run in a country that is teeming with diversity?  As some predicted, Romney played it safe and picked a boring white guy.  No real risk, not even a nod toward minorities, not one step out of his whitebread box.

2. Can you think of anyone, ANYONE who is more likely to vote for Romney because he selected Ryan to run with him?  Face it, he brings nothing to the ticket except he won’t be an embarrassment and he’s smart.  But so are a lot of other of the front-runners he was allegedly considering (except for Christie who is a loose cannon.)

3. Ryan is not going to be of any significant help in any of the swing states and he’s likely to impact the Florida race negatively as the scorched-earth, thuggery of Obama’s campaign paint him as dumping Senior Citizens over the cliff (they already have the commercial.)  The retired condo commandos of South Florida are going to be so worked up by the rhetoric that they will be waiting in line for the polls to open like junior high girls at a Justin Beiber concert.  Republicans cannot win the White House unless they carry Florida, Ohio and Virginia –Romney is behind in all three states and Ryan’s name on the ticket isn’t going to move the meter forward and likely down in Florida.

4. Ryan would be misplaced in the Vice-Presidency.  What do VP’s do?  Mostly go to funerals, make speeches and stay in the shadows (unless your name is Joe Biden, then you got to strut around in full pomposity saying things so stupid that the only thing preventing the main-stream media from turning him into Dan Quayle’s younger brother is the sheer weight of their pro-Obama bias.)  Ryan would have been an EXCELLENT choice for Budget Director or Secretary of the Treasury or Chief of Staff or Secretary of Commerce.  He will be wasted in the VP’s office.

There are a few more minor reasons I would add if I had more time, but that is enough to explain my lack of enthusiasm.  For months I’ve been handicapping the race at 60/40 Obama wins reelection.  Ryan does nothing to chain that number in MY mind.

Who would I have chosen?  Marco Rubio.  At least he’s likely to be the Republican nominee is 2016 if my prediction is correct and Romney loses.  But by then, there may not be a country left.  (Yep, Obama’s THAT bad.)

Folks who know me know that I follow politics like people from Boston follow the Red Sox.  It totally fascinates me from myriad angles.  So I can’t let yesterday’s election results without at least a quick analysis.

Yesterday’s results — extrapolated nationally — should be a wake-up call to Republicans in general and Conservatives, specifically.  The Elephant of the GOP is drowning.  Someone had better wake up!

Let me note five key election results as the foundation for my warning:

Ohio — In a devastating defeat, Ohio voters knocked down conservative Republican Governor Kasisch’s effort to rein in the ridiculous power of the public sector unions and returned various activities including collective bargaining for retirement and other benefits to the union bosses.  In effect, the thugs won and the average tax-paying citizen lost.

Mississippi — A highly-publicized effort to define life as beginning at the moment of conception was soundly defeated.  There were actually some problems with this effort that divided some conservatives that are interested in In-Vitro issues and some forms of birth control and those problems negated the conservative vote and the issue failed.  Note to Republicans: when you split the conservative base, you lose the election.

Kentucky — Democratic Governor Steve Beshear waltzed to an easy re-election in a state that is traditionally conservative and generally Republican.

Maine — Voters overturned a new law which required voters to actually register 48 hours ahead of an election to demonstrate that they indeed eligible to participate.  Generally opposed by liberals, this undercuts the Democrat machine’s ability to register vagrants and vagabonds at the poll in exchange for a bus ride and lunch.  Another strike against conservative reform

Arizona — the state representative that introduced Arizona’s tough and controversial immigration policy was booted out of office by voters.  While replaced by another Republican, his defeat is notable.

And then one local race I want to mention…

Charlotte, NC — in the future location of the next Democratic Convention, Charlotte continued its march to become the next Char-troit as Democratic Mayor Anthony Fox smashed his opponent, a leading Republican on the city commission was sent to the showers and was replaced by a leftist, lesbian activist.

Those are just five I want to mention.  There were more conservative defeats (including a loss of a Republican seat in the House of Reps for New Jersey) and a few status quo and pick-up races that benefited conservatives.  But all in all, if conservatives will be honest, it was a bad night at the polls.

This is why conservatives should be concerned.  Many times, conservatives think that what they listen to on Talk Radio or read on Hugh Hewitt or the Drudge Report is representative of where the country is politically.  Nope.  What you are doing is listening to the echo of your own opinions if that’s where you are getting your assessment that Obama is a “one and done” President.  Not on your life.

Obama is a fund-raising machine.  The unions are ticked off, empowered and fat and sassy from loads of Obama-assigned government largess — they will be MAJOR players for the next 12 months.  The conservative base of the GOP cannot find a suitable candidate around which they can coalesce as the sound of the Cain campaign collapsing into shambles is finally starting to rumble.  Public opinion has shifted dramatically on core conservative red-meat issues like traditional marriage and even abortion.  Unless by some miracle, Newt or Santorum experience a resurrection, the Repubs will nominate yet another candidate in the tradition of Bush, Sr, Dole and McCain and the result will be no different.  Conservatives will either find a third-party alternative like Ron Paul (God help us) or simply sit home in lethargy.  Obama will get relected in a closer election, but will get four more years during which he will get to appoint at least 2, perhaps 3 extremist liberal justices to the Supreme Court and then it will be Katy-Bar-the-Door on America as we have known it.  If Romney were to be elected, he knows it won’t be because he was enthusiastically embraced by real conservatives so he will be under no obligation to embrace their agenda — though there is little chance that he would do that even if elected due to the endorsement of Roger Ailes himself.

So, I’m pessimistic.  Truly pessimistic.  I would not bet against Obama and the Dems and the Unions and the mindless millions of minions who suck from the teats of government aid.  This election could be lost, not because of the appeal of Obama and his liberal/socialist agenda, but because the Republicans are so totally inept at finding a candidate who actually knows what conservative ideals look like and can articulate them in a semi-coherent way.

Feel differently?  Sound off…I’m interested in what you might say.

Swimming Elephant Photo attribution to © Olivier Blaise: http://www.fontainebleau-photo.com/