Thanks to Barack Obama last night, I think I am finally going to change my ways. I now realize that as a republican, I am against working class families that can’t afford food. I am against senior citizens rightfully claiming their retirement benefits. I am against health care for ailing mothers. I am against the growth of the middle class. I want prescription drugs to sky rocket and bankrupt families. I am against a good education. I want kids to grow up illiterate and rob 7 11’s to make ends meet. Perhaps no one said it better than Howard Dean. "The difference between us and the republicans is that we don't want kids to go to bed hungry at night." Yup, this is what I have stood for my entire adult life. I can't believe I was so evil and blind. I never realized this until last night, and now I am a “changed” man, thanks to the messiah, Barack Obama.

At what point will the outrage begin? At what point will the right began to anoint leaders that can articulate our message in such a way that doesn’t allow a political candidate to depict struggling families as his argument for being elected. Did that last paragraph make any sense to you? Do you really believe that I and every republican politician want to bankrupt American families to line the pockets of CEO’s and corrupt politicians? If so, I don’t see how you could vote for anyone other then Barack Obama. If I felt that way about the other side of the isle, I would share the emotional contempt that democrats hold for republicans. If the right does not become outraged by the lack of will on part of the republican party to defend itself, then it will have to separate itself from the party all together. Democrats have created a world that if you are against government solutions , then you are against solutions in general. Instead of blaming the tragedies of life on the natural scarcity of resources, and human’s inability to allocate those resources, democrats have blamed all tragedies on republicans. If only republicans cared more, and shared their emotional commitment to helping the poor, America would prosper once again. So just for clarification’s sake, let me give you the arguments that no republican has been able to articulate to the American people.

I am not against health care for everyone. It is my position, right or wrong, that the skyrocketing health costs in America are due to the current overreaching hand of Government in American health care. I believe, that Obama’s plan to subsidize and then price fix prescription drugs, will lead to a collapse of the health care industry. I believe it will create the types of scarcity and long lines that they have in Canada, and across Europe. Lack of profit means lack of investment in new drugs. It’s harder to make the public cry over thousands of people that die every year from diseases that might have cures if we freed up markets. Those people’s stories,however, are no less tragic then the ones Obama shines a light on. It is my love and compassion for people that causes me to be against Obama’s health care plan. I will not tolerate being labeled as careless and greedy because I oppose third party decision making in the health care industry. I don’t mind that Obama disagrees with me, but I do mind that my position is slandered in public.

I am not against the growth of the middle class. I believe the growth of the middle class in America is not due to FDR’s new deal, or Johnson’s Great Society. I believe the hard work of individuals created the middle class because they worked their way out of poverty. Joe Biden complains that 1% of the population holds 21% of the wealth in America, the highest since 1920. According the national association of income gap management (that’s a joke for you democrats reading), this is too much. What he didn’t say was that the same 1% pays 37% of the total federal tax bill. That’s not enough in his opinion. They don’t pay their fair share. "Oil companies won't mind a tax raise" Says Obama. "They will get by". Someone please just point out that raising taxes on oil companies will raise the price of gas at the pump, as with all inelastic products. Americans will pay one way or the other. Giving politicians the right and ability to close income gaps with the force of a gun creates corruption, greed, and eventually the disintegration of the middle class. Large corporations have as much power as Americans want them to have. They are slaves to consumers. If you want to shut down Wal-Mart, stop going. They will close up shop sometime next week. I want to keep that power in the hands of the people, not the government. It is my belief that the middle class grows without the hand of government to help them out. Agree or disagree with me if you want, but don’t say I stand against the middle class. No republican should tolerate being told that they do.

Last but not least, everyone in America wants peace. Peace is a not a means. It’s an end. There are two sides in America. One believes that humans are born evil and must be raised in such a way that makes them civil. The other believes that humans are born morally good, and must be isolated from the evils of the world to remain that way. The latter is the “peace” movement. They believe in the humanity of most people on earth. They believe that if we don’t bother them, they won’t bother us. They are gravely mistaken. I have a far more tragic vision of the world, and understand that the peace of the world relies on killing evil people and ideas. Agree or disagree with me if you like. I believe my way leads to more “peace.” It is my hatred of war and violence that causes me to support our aggressive war fronts in the world today. Fine enough if you disagree. We can argue all night if you want. It obviously gets more complicated, with different conflicts yielding different opinions. However, this “peace” movement crowd needs to go home and grow up. To his credit, Obama does acknowledge that in his book. I saw a bumper sticker today with Obama/Biden engraved into a peace symbol. These people are going to be very disappointed if Obama takes office.

The right has a choice. It can continue to pander to its “base” on sidebar issues while ignoring the beating they are taking in the media or it can respond with vigor and resilience on the issues that brought us to this side to begin with. I feel there are a handful of people in public life that do this articulately and honorably, but unfortunately, they are too smart to run for public office and have their lives dismantled and destroyed. I am not optimistic about the future. I am not optimistic about the waves of people that are inspired for no good reason. When Obama says he is going to diminish America’s skepticism for its government , I believe he can do it, and that scares the hell out of me. My skepticism will remain here on this page, 20 light years away from public life, lost in cyber space, but it will remain. As Mark Steyn says “If Obama wants my skepticism, (add English accent for effect) he is going to have to pry it from my dead lifeless grip.”

As a side bar, on September 3rd, notice I predicted 3 things in my kevindurkin.blogspot.com account. Osama Bin Laden caught, A McCain victory, and a Phillies World Series victory. One down two to go as of last night!! As long as we are revisiting old blogs, do you think that if Obama wins, Microsoft word will stop spell checking his name as Osama? Just a thought.