Conservative Thinker

I am not sure if my title is quite the right choice of words, but please bear with me as I lay out my argument.  To pilfer means to steal or take something and usually it is of a small value.  The value of these items pilfered has no monetary value, but their value is more important in a moralistic sense.  So what exactly am I referring to? For too many years now, the GOP has pilfered the trust and faith of conservatives and evangelicals and has inevitably led us to the rise of Donald Trump.  They have consistently pandered and played to the conservative wing of the Republican Party by promising to adhere to the platform of the party and effect change in exchange for our votes.  They have used and abused that faith and trust over a good number of years now to the point where the well is dry.  By offering up a string of moderate Republican presidential candidates from Bob Dole to John McCain to Mitt Romney and diminishing any real conservative as a small m...

In 1964, Ronald Reagan eloquently gave a speech entitled, "A Time For Choosing ", in which he confronted the growing tentacles of liberalism changing this country.  Listening to the speech over 50 years later, you can't help but think his words ring even truer today.  Just change his numbers and facts he cites, updated to today, and you would be hard pressed to disagree with his logic and arguments. This speech shouts to us from history and given our current presidential campaign, it is as clear cut as ever.  There has never been a more black or white choice than this year. The stakes are very high and our constitutional republic hangs in the balance.  If you believe that the government knows what is best for you and you want a nanny state that takes care of you from cradle to grave, then Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton are your choice.  They will continue to grow government and take away more and more of your freedom and liberty for the good of the downtro...

Throughout history, there are many people who have been influential in shaping and guiding the ideals of freedom and liberty.  They have been presidents, legislators, and justices from all walks of life.  The death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is not only a loss to his family and friends, but a loss to the American people who he consistently stood up for in his many years on the court. Justice Scalia was nominated by President Reagan in 1986 and was a consistent conservative constitutionalist for the last thirty years.  A man who believed that the Constitution of the United States of America was to be followed and not reinterpreted as a living document subject to change as political expediency warrented.  He always kept in mind that our founding fathers established a constitutional republic based on free speech and that our freedoms were to be protected from any infringement.  A justice like Mr. Scalia, is quite rare indeed.  Where most try to ...

In the wake of the New Hampshire primary, I wanted to add some observations and analysis.  The prevalent opinion is that Donald Trump is the man to beat as we wind down this long campaign trail.  He is leading in the polls in most of the states and has the momentum from his win last night in New Hampshire.  As a staunch conservative thinker, I believe that most people who think like I do, find it hard to stomach Mr. Trump as the Republican nominee. The Republican Party has a dilemma and it will be very interesting to see how this plays out in the upcoming weeks.  There can be no doubt, this is really a three man contest between Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio.  I would hazard a guess that most conservatives would prefer Mr. Cruz as the nominee, and I would as well.  The knock on Cruz is that he isn't well liked in Washington DC, but I seriously find that a positive.   He most closely has stuck to conservative principles and ideals and has fought the...

If you have watched the news at any point over the last year or so you surely have seen the mass rallies in various big cities throughout America. The rallies have consistently been large and boisterous as workers cry out for an increase in the minimum wage or a decent living wage. Most have been calling for at least a $15 per hour minimum wage. That is more than double the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour. The claim from the progressive liberals is that workers just can't support a family with that paltry minimum wage. So what are the facts? According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are roughly 3.6 million workers at or below minimum wage in America. Of those workers, 31% are teens and 55% are 25 years old and below. That leaves roughly 1% of all minimum wage workers over 25 years old. So we are truly talking about a very minute fraction of the country here. The BLS reports 63% of workers who earn less than $9.50 per hour are second and third wage earne...

As we continue to navigate through numerous issues facing our republic, both domestically and internationally, we need to be aware of the elephant in the room. Clearly, Islamic terrorism and foreign policy issues are in the forefront of many these days. There is no doubt that we live in an increasingly unsafe world with numerous bad actors eager to bring harm to the United States. The Islamic State, Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia are all areas of concern and should be. But maybe our most dangerous enemy is right here in front of us and yet we either choose to ignore it or just pass it off as not really important. The enemy I speak of is our looming national debt. We currently have a $20 trillion debt and it keeps growing. Mr. Obama doubled the debt in just seven years in office, from $10 trillion when President Bush left office, to $20 trillion. The federal debt is expected to increase from $20 trillion to $92 trillion in the next 30 years. It is projected to more than q...

Our founding fathers were quite aware of the importance of free speech and thus included it as a core piece of the 1st Ammendment. They were keenly aware that limits to free speech and the press retarded the growth of ideas and allowed the government to run amok without the checks and balances needed in a legitimate constitutional republic. As George Washington aptly said, "If the freedom of speech is taken away then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter. " Now, over 200 years later, we have slowly and steadily embarked on a path to the slow death of free speech. Clearly, our country has increasingly become more polarized and divided, and especially in the eight years under President Obama. There has been a marked increase in class warfare, racial tensions, and attacks on free-market capitalism.  Our universities, once bastions of free speech and vigorous debate of ideas and thought, have become more and more intolerant of opposing thoughts and idea...