Bret Hrbek

hrbek@politicalusa.com


Alex Aichinger
Kirsten Andersen
Brent Barksdale
Jim Couture
Andrew Downey
Natalie Farr
Joe Giardiello
Bret Hrbek
Sang Mi Kim
Ramesh Ponnuru
Tom Scerbo
Dorothy Seese
Jason Soter



Senate Candidate Bob Franks of New Jersey



Myriam Marquez is a columnist for the Orlando Sentinel

John Galt, We're Calling

Bumper stickers are great. They take a major idea and derive it down to its core. They tell you something about the car's owner.

"Hate is Not a Family Value" translates to "I'll Support Your Right to Think Freely As Long As You Agree With Me." (I always wanted to put that sticker on my car right next to "Buchanan for President" and see whom I could piss off.)

The "Pro-Family/Pro-Child/Pro-Choice" bumper sticker tells you that the individual is confused.

The one that talks about the military having a bake sale instead of the local elementary school screams ignorance of the role of a constitutional government.

And the rainbow sticker, well, we all know what that means.

And we all have our favorites. "I Love Animals-They Taste Great," "Vote Democrat, It's Easier than Getting a Job" and "Re-Elect Nobody" top my list.

My current sticker, though, reads, "John Galt is Coming." I'm not sure if it's a threat or a promise or, perhaps, prophetic. If you must ask, "Who is John Galt?", I would advise you to read Atlas Shrugged. John Galt is to businessmen and men of the mind what Jesus is to Christians. He is the Messiah of Capitalism. And it would seem that we need a John Galt right about now.

Each day you and I abdicate our right to live free to a government corrupted by over 70 years of socialism. We have bought into the idea that those of us who have owe those of us who have not. We have accepted programs like welfare, Social Security and federally funded public education as givens. We do not challenge them based on their violation of the right to own the products of our work (or their lack of constitutional foundation). We accept them because we have adopted this socialistic mentality that those who produce owe those who do not.

How else can you explain our disdain and attempt to destroy, arguably, the most well-known and successful capitalist in the United States, Bill Gates? Or America's desire to return Elian Gonzalez to slavery? Or our acceptance of a tax structure that taxes success and redistributes the money to constituents loyal to Big Government? What section of the Bill of Rights will we relinquish next?

We have given up our right to own weapons, be free of religious discrimination and personal privacy. And now we are surrendering our right to free speech to the socialists wrapped in politically correct (synthetic-don't harm the animals!) cloth who try to retain power by discouraging America's ability to participate in the political process.

Tuesday night, under cover of darkness, the U.S. House of Representatives once again moved to violate the U.S. Constitution's restriction on the government's power. They overwhelmingly passed a bill to require non-profit, tax-exempt organizations that engage in political action to disclose their sources of income.

Proponents argue they want to end corruption in politics. Secret organizations don't have a role in a democracy. The public must know who is supporting political causes before making an informed decision. Nonsense. They want power.

Since when is it anyone's business how I spend my money? It is my right to spend money that I earn on whatever I choose so long as I'm not violating the property rights of my fellow Americans. If I'm bribing public officials, I should be punished. But, if I'm supporting a cause I believe in, it should be my decision to make the donation public or private. T

his bill would allow the Internal Revenue Service (you know the now customer-friendly agency which steals money from your paycheck every two weeks?) to know which groups I donate. And if they don't like it, oops, I'm up for audit. Coincidence? Or when the candidate I financially support loses, do I really want the winner to know that I opposed him? He has the power now.

Does anyone really believe that the civil rights legislation of the 1960s (like them or not) would have been passed if the government, the public or employers knew who was financially supporting the lobby effort? Just one more freedom I once had-the freedom to spend my money privately and support causes I like-gone. Score one more for the socialists.

America needs a wake-up call. We will soon wake up from our publicly funded daze and realize we have forfeited our right to anything because we were so worried about offending anybody. Capitalism cannot survive without the right to property and speech and the other constitutionally protected rights. Without them, capitalism will become extinct. Socialists understand this. America must too.

John Galt we need you more than ever.




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