Socialist Philosophy Threatens Our Liberty

Member Group : Glen Meakem

The increasingly socialist Democrat Party philosophy was on clear and alarming display last week (listen to my radio program from this past weekend by clicking here).

First, the anti-liberty, anti-religious United States Government Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate (part of Obamacare) went into effect last week forcing all employers (both for-profit and not-for-profit, including religious organizations) to pay 100% of the cost for their employees’ contraceptives, sterilization procedures, and abortion-inducing drugs. According to President Obama and his hard left allies in Congress, if an employer has a moral objection to paying for these drugs and procedures, he or she must either violate his or her conscience and the historical teachings of their religion, pay ruinous fines of $100 per day per employee, or go out of business. And that is it – no discussion, no compromise! This is a huge issue for religious institutions that are employers, large and small. Most religious employers are exempted from the new mandate until August 1, 2013, but many Christian and Orthodox Jewish schools, colleges, hospitals, shelters, and other charities (including Catholic charities) will either stop operating or move into civil disobedience by August 1, 2013, if this mandate is not defeated by the Courts or by a new Republican majority in Congress next year. Why President Obama and the Democrat Party leadership are forcing religious organizations to violate their teachings is just beyond comprehension. After all, this is still a free country (at least I think it is). If a person does not like working for a Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox Jewish organization because the organization does not provide certain specific health benefits, then that person can simply go to work for another employer (i.e. if you don’t like Catholic rules, then don’t work for a Catholic employer, or frankly pay for your own contraceptives or abortion inducing drugs!). Why should the government and taxpayers be involved in this at all??? Talk about an absurd nanny state!!

Second, Democrat Mayors from Chicago, Boston, and Washington D.C. threatened to pull business licenses from Chick-fil-A because Chic-fil-A President Dan Cathy said he supported traditional marriage based on Biblical teaching in a radio interview. Even though Cathy’s positions on traditional and gay marriages are similar to President Obama’s stated beliefs up until just 3 months ago (when Obama "evolved"), leftist Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D-Chicago) had the audacity to say that "Chic-fil-A’s values are not Chicago values." (Maybe Emmanuel knew that Cathy meant what he said while Obama was lying up until three months ago.) Anyway, the mayor of a major city in crisis — that has experienced 313 homicides so far this year — a 27% increase versus last year and 116 more deaths than the 197 Americans killed in Afghanistan so far this year — is lecturing a successful business leader, whose company does a terrific job serving ALL people, about values. INCREDIBLE! But Rahm Emanuel went even further by supporting Chicago Alderman Joe Moreno, who threatened to withhold business licenses from Chic-fil-A to keep their stores out of the city limits. Emanuel stated his reasoning behind this anti-freedom assault when he said, "if you are going to be part of the Chicago community, you should reflect the Chicago values." Shouldn’t individual Chicago consumers make this decision for themselves? Why is a governmental leader throwing his power around on this issue? Evidently, business leaders are no longer permitted to have a civil discussion of legitimate social issues in public. And I guess in the world according to Rahm Emmanuel, all people in Chicago must have the same values, regardless of their religious beliefs or backgrounds. And the attempted exercise of political power here is shocking — if business leaders don’t publicly hold to the current political positions of the Democrat Party, even if those positions have recently "evolved," then those leaders could lose their fundamental right to open and operate a business. Unfortunately, by word and deed, Rahm Emmanuel’s "Chicago values" are values more consistent with the values that were held by Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin than those held by George Washington, John Adams, or Thomas Jefferson.

And third, Americans won’t soon forget Leftist Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) as he stood on the Senate floor last week and contended that Mitt Romney "didn’t pay taxes for ten years." Reid made this charge based on no evidence whatsoever. Reid has refused to reveal his supposed source, and how this supposed source would have access to Romney’s tax returns. But in Harry Reid’s America truth and integrity are not a concern; Romney is guilty because he dares to run against his Highness, Barack Hussein Obama! It’s also important to note that Harry Reid, the majority leader of the Senate, is a complete hypocrite in that he refuses to release his own tax returns. There is nothing worse than an unethical hypocrite in high political office – unfortunately, we have too many. GIVE ME A BREAK!

Whether it’s through these alarming and confrontational displays, or through more subtle attacks, such as the multi-pronged regulatory assault upon U.S energy independence, Leftists make clear they don’t care about the freedoms guaranteed to all Americans under the Constitution. To them, "the end justifies the means." Liberals will fight with religious fervor and do whatever it takes to force their big government utopia onto everyone. Just remember what Barack Obama said to supporters back in 2010, "we will punish our enemies, and reward our friends who stand with us on issues that are important to us." And this is exactly how Obama and the Democrats are governing and one major reason the economy is hurting for ALL Americans.

I was reminded of these facts while vacationing in Massachusetts this summer. My family and I visited Jiminy Peak Mountain Resort, which proudly boasts of their "sustainable environmental initiatives" centered on their massive 1.5 MW GE windmill. This windmill is 30 stories high (which is taller than the Statue of Liberty), and its individual blades measure 123 feet. This beast, which cost more than $4 million, was placed on a beautiful remote mountain top, and required the destruction of many trees. Regular maintenance and operational costs necessitate ongoing federal subsidies. And what do local residents get in return for this massive cost? According to GE, 1.5 MW is enough electricity to power approximately 5,200 one hundred watt light bulbs, OR power twelve electric powered Toyota Camrys. That’s it – just TWELVE electric powered Toyota Camrys!!! They should call it the "12 Camry Windmill!" In this case, the costs obviously far outweigh the benefits, but I guess that GE is just one Obama friend who is being rewarded. I talked with one liberal activist recently about this absurd Statue of Liberty sized windmill atop Jiminy Peak, and when confronted privately with this case, she admitted that "yes, wind power is basically a scam."

In spite of this, President Obama and his Administration argue that so-called "renewable" sources of energy like wind and solar, are viable replacements for carbon based fuels and nuclear power. Over the past three years, President Obama has already forced the shut down of 83,000 Megawatts of coal-fired electricity and intends to shut down even more. But when you consider the huge installation and operational costs, enormous geographical foot prints including environmental destruction for both animal species and landscapes, low energy yields, and fluctuating nature of both wind and solar energy, you realize that Obama and the Democrats are attempting to focus our core energy strategy on sources of energy that are at best niche applications, and at worst "a scam."

Whether it’s supporting 1) wind and solar power as a substitute for fossil fuels and nuclear energy, 2) the redistribution of other people’s wealth, 3) a welfare system that encourages and pays people NOT to work, 4) government controlled healthcare, 5) a severely progressive tax system, or 6) a foreign policy that empowers our enemies while making us weaker (among other ideas), liberals feel they must support policies that have been proven to destroy economic growth and wealth, destroy individual strength and optimism, and destroy the pursuit of happiness. In short, liberal Democrats are supporting policies that have been proven over and over again throughout history to fail, destroying freedom and individual liberty in the process.

So why do liberals support this stuff???? I believe it is because Liberalism is new-age religion for people who have rejected traditional religions. For many conservatives, political and economic policies are truly about implementing policies that will enhance economic growth and make society better based on the facts of what we have learned from history, economics, and science, AND based on moral and ethical principles derived from Judaism and Christianity that have stood the test of time (things like the value of one man and one woman committing to each other for life and taking responsibility for raising their own children). Many liberals have rejected traditional religions and replaced them with socialist leaning philosophy, including certain political and economic policies. As a result, these liberals cannot objectively look at facts to evaluate the results of these policies. And anyone who opposes them is not an intelligent person having an honest discussion, but a heretic who must be cut down – or perhaps burned at the stake. And so they have an emotional, religious zeal to implement policies that are part of a fairy tale, socialist utopia that will never work. This is how a person can admit privately that "wind power is a scam" while still supporting Barack Obama’s energy policy. For liberals, it’s about religious dogma, not about keeping the lights on at the least possible cost while causing the least environmental impact. It’s not about efficiency, it’s about passion. And if liberals must destroy the rights of other Americans to pursue their new fangled religious passions, then so be it.

And don’t ever think that liberals want separation of religion and state. They want separation of YOUR religion and its morals from state, but they want their new fangled liberal dogmas taught with unquestioned devotion all day within public school walls. If you think I am wrong, arm your child with real facts about Earth history and climate change over time and then have them start asking questions in school. You and your child will find out quickly how acceptable it is to question the new liberal religious dogma of man-made climate change.

I don’t know about you, but after writing and re-reading all of this, I am out of breath!! But the bottom line and what everyone must understand is that the American Left, the people I like to call "Soviet Americans," are committed, passionate and far from rational. And these folks, even when they (in some cases) start from a well-intentioned place that is naïve and ignorant of the lessons of history, economics and science, pose a threat to the individual liberty and success of all Americans.

Over the past four years, the American Left, the "Soviet Americans," have shown us just where they want to lead America, and it is crystal clear that we must make a change in November – for our children, for the good of all of us.

Let’s make it happen.

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals and our nation can be more successful. Glen’s unique perspective has been shaped by his experiences as founder, chairman and CEO of the B2B internet success Freemarkets Inc – which he founded in 1995, took public in 1999, and sold to Ariba in 2004. In 2005, Glen co-founded Meakem Becker Venture Capital, a firm that invests in early stage start up companies. Concerned about the liberal political agenda that has gripped the United States and his home state of Pennsylvania, Glen launched "Glen Meakem on the Weekend" in 2008. Glen served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve and is a veteran of the First Gulf War. He also earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about Glen and his radio program, or to read his blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.
Proudly sponsored by
________________________________________
Tune in each Saturday or Sunday (Click here for stations and times), or listen any time at GlenMeakem.com. And if you enjoy the show and these updates, reply and let us know, and please forward them to your friends!
Unsubscribe: http://www.mailermailer.com/x?u=82673202L-1b611464