Corie Whalen

Originally posted at AmericanMajority.org

On the evening of January 18th, I had the pleasure of attending the inaugural meeting of the Crispus Attucks Tea Party of Houston, founded by American Majority’s own Anita MonCrief and other local leaders in the city’s black community, such as Reverend Bowie and Earl Johnson. The meeting was held at “This Is It” restaurant in Sheila Jackson Lee’s district, just down the street from her residence. Humorously, the advent of a tea party organization that seeks to reach out to the voters in her community has come on the scene just as the Congresswoman has been castigated nationally for her less-than-logically-sound comments regarding the supposed unconstitutionality of repealing ObamaCare. The Congresswoman was invited to the meeting, but not surprisingly, the organization’s outreach was declined.

On the goals of this new Tea Party:

Our primary objective is to break the cycles of dependency and decay that continue to anesthetize and hold captive too many Black families and neighborhoods. We provide a continuing series of speakers, seminars, training and practical business support services designed to help Blacks fully assimilate into and be competitive in American society. Our objective is to teach all Americans the fullness of the history of Blacks in America and to help Blacks gain control of their lives and the destiny of their children. Only by understanding our full and true history will we all of America be liberated.

The Crispus Attucks Tea Party is part of America’s rapidly growing Tea Party movement. Starting with Houston’s 3rd Ward, it will focus all of the power amassed across America by the Tea Party movement directly into targeted Black neighborhoods across America. Yes !! .. Our army operates .. “Inside The Belly Of The Beast”. The Crispus Attucks Tea Party is a non-partisan, neighborhood movement. It provides a base of operations for the descendants of Black Slavery who realize that welfare checks and government dependency are key elements of their destruction. The corresponding destructive cycles have destroyed lives, families and their neighborhoods. Government dependency holds Blacks hostage. It precludes true liberty and forever blocks full assimilation. Our mission includes building series of strong neighborhood operating bases made of business people, elected officials, Constituents and Voters, living and working in “hostile areas”.

The Crispus Attucks Tea Party promotes and fights for the founding principles originally defined by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Our core principles include personal responsibility, education, a constrained and transparent government, a balanced budget, self sufficiency, full assimilation and the development of viable Black businesses …. that create jobs.

Read the rest of this entry »

On the surface, it seems valid for conservatives to be concerned primarily with lowering taxes. After all, less taxation means that people are able to keep more of what they earn – incentivizing new wealth production, job creation, etc. Of course, it’s ideal for tax cuts to be implemented in conjunction with equal cuts in spending; a point most conservatives (at least those outside the beltway) agree on in theory. However, the focus always seems to be more on taxes than spending. Sometimes, especially within the soundbite culture of politics, it’s hard to tell if people are even distinguishing between the two extremely different matters – which is highly problematic in and of itself.

I will always agree that it’s wrong to raise taxes during a recession. There’s no doubt in my mind that doing so will cause a great deal of suffering, and eventually lead to overall less wealth for the government to tax – sending us down the inevitable path to collapse that socialist policy necessarily leads to. However, unlike many fellow right-wingers, even including good libertarian friends of mine, I can’t get behind a compromise with Democrats to extend current tax rates when the proposal contains new spending. While I wholeheartedly support the extension of current tax rates as a stand alone issue, at this point in time with a serious debt crisis looming, said extensions need to be, at the very least, deficit neutral. (And deficit neutral they would be if voted on alone).

On the politics of this matter, I agree with Ken Taylor at Red State in his analysis of the current tax rate deal, and what the GOP must do when our new elects are sworn in:

Read the rest of this entry »

I just rediscovered an incredible John Adams quote that I absolutely love.

Ambition is one of the more ungovernable passions of the human heart. The love of power is insatiable and uncontrollable. There is danger from all men. The only maxim of a free government ought to be trust no man living with power to endanger the public liberty

What a gem, huh?

The interesting thing about many of our Founders (Adams especially) was the disconnect often present between their philosophy and actions when in positions of power. Personally, I don’t think that speaks to a weakness in their character, but more so an understanding of their own lot in life; imperfect humans.

Progressive historians, like Philip Davidson and John C. Miller, who want excuses to demonize a philosophy that is antithetical to the pursuit of their agenda, often attack the individuals espousing thoughts they disagree with. I think that’s an intellectually weak and juvenile way of trying to further one’s own ideas. Sadly, it’s also something you see from today’s militantly ideological wings of both the right and the left, and it adds nothing to the political discourse.

Read the rest of this entry »

Unhappy with the fact that the Texas GOP decided to alienate the vast majority of voters with extreme anti-gay rhetoric, I contacted the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas, and ultimately helped write the following press release.

CONTACT: Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas
(512) 656-8011

AUSTIN, TX – At the state Republican convention earlier this month, Texas Republicans opted to abandon the Republican tradition of respecting the Constitution and protecting individual liberty and privacy rights by adopting a platform which includes planks attacking the civil liberties of certain Texans.
The platform advocates policies which would make it a felony to perform a same-sex marriage in Texas, which would re-criminalize sodomy and which would take away the rights of gay parents in custody cases. These proposals are contrary to the values of most Texans and run counter to the Republican tradition of vigorously defending individual liberty.

The Republican Liberty Caucus strongly opposes the Texas GOP platform’s anti-gay and anti-liberty planks. We call for the state party to take action to address this problem. While it may not be possible to repeal or change the party platform, the state leadership should issue a clear statement that the platform is non-binding and does not represent the core, shared beliefs of Texas Republicans or of our candidates.

In a year in which we are looking forward to extraordinary opportunities for a great slate of Republican candidates in Texas, it would be a terrible mistake to shackle them to a platform which will alienate many potential supporters. This platform will weaken the party at a time when a strong coalition of Republicans and independents is needed to stop the radical agenda of Democrats in both Austin and Washington.

“We need to focus on keeping the government out of our pocketbooks; especially in Texas,” said Texas RLC Chairman, Joey Dauben of Ellis County. “There are far more pressing problems for the GOP in our state to worry about. While I personally disagree with same-sex marriage from a Biblical perspective, marriage is a contract between individuals and God, not with the government. If we want government out of our wallets and our boardrooms, we should also keep government out of our churches and our bedrooms.”

The Republican Liberty Caucus believes that cutting government spending is more important than wasting our limited resources on policies that open Texas to lawsuits and treat some citizens in a different manner than other citizens. Texas RLC members believe divisive social issues should be put on the back burner and instead the focus should be on solving real problems.

We call on the state party to send a clear message to voters that the this platform does not represent the highest ideals of our party, and that as a party we support individual liberty and equal rights for all Texans.

–30—

The Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas advocates constitutionally limited government, individual liberty and traditional Republican values. It is part of a nationwide organization which shares those goals and has local organizations in almost every state. This year the RLC has endorsed hundreds of candidates nationwide, including Rand Paul (KY), John Dennis (CA), Peter Schiff (CT), Mike Lee (UT), and Nikki Haley (SC).

I’m a very independent thinker, but the label I most closely identify with is libertarian. I get a bit agitated at times, however, with purists who claim that only their position can reasonably be considered ‘libertarian’. I suppose you could say that I believe fundamentalists within any movement are by necessity out of touch with reality, but a specific spark is ignited when dealing with “my own”, so to speak.

Widely discussed this past week, was Rand Paul’s appearance on Rachel Maddow’s show after his defeat of Trey Grayson in the GOP Senate primary in Kentucky. In what in my opinion was an attempt to derail Rand’s discussion on relevant issues by putting the focus on a topic settled half a century ago, the Civil Rights Act, Maddow asked Rand what his thoughts on the mandatory service clause of the CRA were. See for yourself:

Ultimately, Paul states that he saw the need for the legislation overall, amidst stating multiple times how much he abhors discrimination. Frankly, I think it was naïve of him to trust her not to do exactly what she did, which was put words in his mouth at the end of the segment, and create a racial issue out of thin air. Frankly, I’m disgusted by the fact that she got away with it and am disappointed that Paul didn’t cut the conversation off, knowing what would happen. Predictably, and just as Maddow intended, given Paul’s hesitancy to give her a direct yes or no answer (likely because of how insufficient a one word answer would be and how irrelevant the questions were to any modern political discussion), Maddow’s audience utilized this segment to paint Paul as a racist – despite his philosophically consistent, reasonably libertarian response to Maddow’s inquiries, rooted in the defense of an individual’s right to association.

…. But unfortunately, this is where things get hairy.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Republican primary for the race that will replace retiring Senator Jim Bunning is heating up in a major way. The tension between the moderate, if not liberal GOP Establishment and Outside-The-Beltway conservatives is on full display. This is an internal fight familiar to those of us who feel we have a stake in the fate of the GOP – and it’s a battle that’s been brewing intensely since George W. Bush and the Republican Congress under his leadership governed like intellectually dishonest, somewhat muted versions of the Democrats they claimed to oppose. Ever since the GOP was relegated to super-minority status in the 2008 elections, the epic battle for the intellectual heart of the Republican Party has been playing out in an intense manner – through everything from the the grassroots Tea Party movement to the polite but pointedly political battle between Senators like the conservative Jim DeMint and Establishment lackey Mitch McConnell; two men who have come to play a major role recently in this particular race.

Long before official candidacies were declared, I’ve had my eye on the Kentucky Senate race. This is largely because I’m a big fan of Rand Paul, and knew he was considering a run. I had the pleasure of meeting him on multiple occasions in 2007, and Rand was even kind enough to come to Boston to be the keynote speaker for an event I was the principal host of at Faneuil Hall. I’ve always thought that he had the talent, principles and political savvy to take the liberty movement mainstream. Turns out I was right.

Anyone who has been following the Kentucky Senate race has likely taken note of how unconventional the politics of this particular Republican primary have been. It’s no surprise, really. It’s not everyday that the Establishment is challenged by a strong, principled, liberty-minded conservative like Rand Paul; which is what makes this race a case study for those of us interested in the battle for the GOP’s heart. As we’ve seen via endorsements of Rand’s liberal opponent, former Democrat Trey Grayson, the Old Guard of the GOP is threatened; in a big way. Why else would they get involved in a primary race in Kentucky?

Read the rest of this entry »

As I write this, a story is developing about what appears to be a thwarted attempt at setting off a car bomb in the middle of Times Square. Luckily, no one was hurt, and an NYPD bomb squad seems to have successfully diffused whatever device was in the SUV.

…. And all over my twitter feed,  there are people who feel an immediate need, having no facts whatsoever regarding who did this or what their motive was, to blame Obama and his administration for their supposed incompetence when it comes to national security issues.

This type of unfounded, politicized assumption making coming from many on the right is just as unbecoming as what I saw from the left (for example, Fire Dog Lake), regarding the horrible oil rig accident that occurred on April 20th off the Gulf Coast. The unfortunate mishap killed 11 people, and dumped 200,000 gallons of oil into the ocean; and the folks at FDL seem to think it’s perfectly appropriate to use the tragedy as an excuse to throw around anti oil company rhetoric. While it’s quite possible that they have some valid points worth considering about the merits of conservation, why offshore drilling might be a bad thing, or the shady practices of companies like BP, I can’t help but find it cheap, if not insulting, to treat tragedy as a reason to push politics.

The exact same thing can be said of the claims that the right’s foreign policy hawks are making regarding Obama’s national security incompetence. While they might put forth claims worth considering about the President’s weaknesses on the issue, doing so as an immediate reaction to a bomb plot where the motive remains a mystery seems far too blindly ideological; weakening the potential strengths of any argument that could be made in favor of the hawk’s views. (Side-note: I’m also seeing tweets about MSNBC hosts speculating that the bomb plot relates to right-wing home grown terrorism; equally as inappropriate and factually weak as hawkish assumptions that it’s a Muslim jihad).

Why do so many people feel the need to both immediately and irrationally politicize disaster?

Read the rest of this entry »

(Cross-posted at Red Mass Group)

Hi everyone,

I wanted to provide you with information about the upcoming “Post Party Summit” activist training at the Fercroft Sheraton in Danvers, May 7th – 8th. The event in our area is one in a series of many being held nationwide. Local talk radio favorites Michael Graham and Todd Feinburg will be joined by conservative commentator and author S.E. Cupp as the summit’s featured speakers. Here’s what the group primarily responsible for these summits, American Majority, has to say:

Government Has Failed You.

We are in a fascinating time. One in which rising deficits, bigger government, and the threat of new taxation when there is clearly no representation threaten to divide and ruin our country. Yet, these injustices have fueled a revival of the new conservative movement. Millions of Americans are engaging in the political process for the first time, brought to protest over the injustices in government at all levels. While protests bring us together in passion, they are not a strategy for meaningful reform. Let us take the next step together.

Now Is Your Time.

The Post-Party Summits represent the beginning of the new American Revolution, one in which we organize for liberty and take back our communities from the political class. Each event is designed to maximize your time and provide you with real-world strategies and tactics that you can apply immediately. We have brought together some of the country’s best in messaging, political organizing, leadership training, new media, etc. to offer each of you the opportunity to move beyond protest to implementing freedom. Now is your time, what will you do with it?”

Read the rest of this entry »

Note: I wrote the majority of this post last night around 2AM on my iPhone while I was in bed. Then, this afternoon I saw the following tweet from Fox News:

“Rallying Cry: Dems using Arizona immigration law to drum up support for federal action”

The concern seemed fairly obvious to me – but appeared to be lost on many conservatives, which I found disappointing.

Anyway, without further adieu – the actual post:

——————————————————————————–

My rather libertarian concerns about Arizona’s recently passed immigration bill potentially creating police state conditions aside, I have some pretty major, and I fear legitimate, concerns about the bill’s national political implications on both the federal amnesty agenda and the conservative 10th amendment movement.

A lot of conservatives are excited about this bill – and on the surface I can understand why; the claim is that finally, the problem of illegal immigration will be curbed in Arizona, because the laws will actually be enforced. (Sidenote: Endless enforcement of bad laws that don’t address the actual issue won’t help a thing. The root of the problem is the language in the 14th amendment that creates the incentive to have “anchor babies”- but that’s an entirely different discussion).

While I agree that illegal immigration is a problem and that laws, insofar as they exist, should be enforced (or changed), I don’t think it’s worth creating a police state that has the potential to result in more lawsuits than meaningful deportations – or arrests; (in which case don’t bother; they should be sent back to their home country, not be allowed to live off US taxpayer’s money). I fear that conservatives; desperate for any perceived “crackdown” on illegals, are willing to support any measure that claims to do so without thinking through the logical (or for that matter, political) implications of the policy.

…. But, like I said, the political implications are what I want to discuss, and I believe they are twofold:
Read the rest of this entry »

Honestly, after thinking it over, I don’t quite feel the sense of loss I thought I would. I’m actually excited about the fact that states are attempting to assert their rights (see Malkin’s article) . The honest truth, as much as my partisan GOP cheerleader friends don’t want to admit it, is that we’ve been on a slippery slope headed toward socialism anyway, and would’ve gotten there fully eventually – and faster than anyone wanted to admit we would have if McCain were President. Truth be told, we’ve needed something this radical to wake us up. I’d rather this pass and engage in an epic battle over state sovereignty and constitutional limits on government than to let the Republic devolve slowly into a totalitarian cesspool – which is the path we were headed down with a GOP that consistently voted to expand entitlements and engage in deficit spending.

At least now we’re engaged in a serious and active battle over what the true role of government is. Furthermore, it looks like the GOP won’t be able to get away with NOT fighting to repeal this. Even Bailout Boehner had more balls on the House floor tonight than I ever expected; and with an engaged electorate to hold his feet to the fire, maybe we can actually fight for a repeal. I won’t hold my breath – but hell, this kind of resistance is more promising than feeling helplessly subjected to the creeping socialism that’s been permeating our nation as a result of lackluster opposition to slow but steady increases in government.

Has this radicalism truly awakened a sleeping giant? Can we reverse the trend?