Please don’t miss this weekend’s radio program.  Glen will talk about economics, taxes, entrepreneurship, and the importance of choice and competition in both our school system and in our society.  Glen will also offer some additional insights on what he believes it means to be an American, and what it takes to keep America strong.  Jim Hanak (CEO of Pennsylvania Leadership Charter School) and Ed Stack (CEO of Dick’s Sporting Goods) join Glen with their thoughts on what we can do to ensure America’s future success.

This coming Monday morning, February 6, Glen will proudly stand in for Quinn and Rose as guest host for “America’s Morning Show.”  The show airs in the Pittsburgh area on FM Newstalk 104.7 from 6 AM to 10AM, as well as network affiliates around the country including XM 166. You can also listen online at www.wpgb.com. You may call 1 – 800 – 507 – 1047 if you wish to speak with Glen on the air.

Glen will again be talking about our troubled economy, enormous annual deficits, and bloated national debt as he hosts “An Evening with Glen Meakem” at Robert Morris University on February 28th, in Moon Township, Pennsylvania.

For complete information and to register, go to glenmeakem.com, or call (412) 749-9045. The cost for this event is only $45 per person. All major credit cards are accepted.

America faces serious threats, but we also have significant strengths to draw upon.  Yes, there is hope and Glen will lead a discussion on real solutions to these and other problems, as well as things you can do to help. Please come join Glen for this informative and uplifting event.

Complimentary coffee, tea and soft drinks are available starting at 6:00 pm. The program starts at 7:00 pm. There will be one break and the program will end by 9:30 pm. Coffee and tea will follow for those who want to stay and talk more.

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals, our states, 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 2006, 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 the radio program, “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 earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about the Glen Meakem on the Weekend Radio Program, or to read Glen’s blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.

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By Dr. Paul Kengor

As posted at The Center for Vision and Values

as posted at The Center for Vision and Values

On this weekend’s radio program, Glen parses President Obama’s State of the Union Speech.  Many of the themes offered by the President were simply repeated political messages from previous speeches that provided little commentary on the current state of the Union.  Glen also talks about the latest revelations concerning the XL pipeline.  Specifically, Glen comments on the fact that without a pipeline, North Dakotan oil must continue to be shipped to Texas refineries via Warren Buffet’s Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail.  This method of oil transport is less environmentally safe, more costly, and slower than pipeline transport. 

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals, our states, 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 2006, 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 the radio program, “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 earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about the Glen Meakem on the Weekend Radio Program, or to read Glen’s blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.

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The Holiday Inn Conference Center

7736 Adrienne Drive, Breinigsville 18031

Lincoln Day Breakfast

Saturday February 18^th, 2011

8-9 AM Coffee with Elected Officials

9 AM Breakfast & Program

Guest Speaker

Pat Toomey, United States Senator

Keynote Speaker

Glen Meakem

Successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative radio talk show host from “Glen Meakem on the weekend” which can be heard on New Talk 790 WAEB.

Cost

$1,000 for Platinum tickets

$600 for Gold Tickets

$65 for Silver Tickets

Platinum tickets include

• A reception with Glen Meakem on Friday Feburary 17^th from 6 till 9 pm at the LCRC Chairman’s house, located at 751 Benner Road in Allentown.
• 1 or 2 seats at a VIP table at our 2012 Lincoln Day Breakfast.

Gold Tickets include:

• A table of ten at the Lincoln Day Breakfast

Silver Tickets include:

• One individual ticket for the Lincoln Day Breakfast

Please RSVP by Tuesday Feburary 7^th to Bob Toth at bobtoth@lehighgop.com or 610-435-3322

Glen Meakem will appear at Lehigh County GOP Events – February 17-18

President Obama Fails America on the XL Pipeline

On my radio program last weekend, I talked about President Obama’s political decision to again reject the Keystone XL pipeline.  This is an unbelievably bad economic and energy policy decision.  Not only does it increase our dependence on oil from the Middle East, but it also will eventually send jobs and 830,000 barrels of oil per day to China.  With this decision, President Obama is denying the United States and our economy increased energy security, 20,000 immediate union jobs, at least another 120,000 spin off jobs, an infusion of $20 billion in private investment, and billions in local tax revenues.  In spite of liberal claims that more study is needed to insure the project is environmentally safe, $1.9 billion of private capital has already been invested into the permitting process, and the project has been studied by the U.S. government for over 3 years.  And the government’s analysis has come back in strong support of the project.  The State Department’s Environmental Impact Study shows that this project would cause zero long-term environmental damage.  Furthermore, President Obama’s own jobs council issued a report last week encouraging “more access to oil, natural gas, and coal opportunities.”  The report states further, “now more than ever, the jobs and economic and energy security benefits of these energy projects require us to tackle the issues head-on and to expeditiously, though cautiously, move forward on projects that can support hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

Unfortunately for all Americans, President Obama defied his own jobs council (just as he defied his own debt reduction committee one year ago), and views a “no” decision on the pipeline as serving his own political interest at the expense of American jobs, American energy, and the American economy.  And yet, at the same time, President Obama has no problem throwing billions of U.S. tax payer dollars away by giving it to improperly vetted “green” energy companies like Solyndra, who then declare bankruptcy.   These are amazingly stupid decisions.  We just cannot afford to have Barack Obama or any liberal Democrat remain in the White House.

Had President Obama had the courage to stand up to the irrational, environmental Left and approved this project, he not only would have been adding sorely needed union and other jobs, increasing America’s energy security, and lowering gas prices for all of us at the pump by enabling more oil to get to market. But, ironically, he also would have been helping the environment.  Why you ask?  It turns out that in addition to Canadian oil that cannot currently reach the U.S. market; this new pipeline would have transported large quantities of oil currently produced in North Dakota to refineries in Texas.  It turns out that transporting oil by pipeline is much less expensive and much less risky to the environment than transporting by truck and train.  Oil spills by trucks and trains are much more common than spills from pipelines.  So now, because of Obama’s decision, hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil from the Dakotas will continue to be moved each day all the way to refineries in Texas by truck and rail.  Oh, and who owns 75% of Burlington Northern Railroad? None other than Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway.

Given that Warren Buffet has become a national political figure by being SOOOO outspoken about both his and his secretary’s tax rates, AND that Buffet’s secretary has also become a national political figure, sitting next to Michele Obama at this week’s State of the Union address, I believe that both Warren and his secretary owe us a good long look at the last five years of their tax returns.  That’s right.  Either shut up and quit lying about your taxes or produce the documents so we can all see what is really going on.  By the way, I hear from hedge fund sources that Warren Buffet and Berkshire Hathaway employ over 200 people on Bermuda whose only job is to reduce their taxes.  Don’t you just love Barack Obama and Warren Buffet’s style of hypocrisy and crony capitalism!!

Congressman Mike Kelly (R-PA) joined me on the program to talk about the President’s XL decision, and also to talk about legislation he wrote to end electric vehicle subsidies (House Bill 3768).  Mike finds it offensive that the U.S. government is currently offering $11,000 per car in tax payer subsidies to Pennsylvanians who purchase Chevy Volts.  Even with these subsidies, the sticker price is $40,000 per vehicle and appeals primarily to people earning over $175,000 a year.

I also spoke with Clark Judge, managing director of the White House Writer’s Group and former Ronald Reagan Speech writer, about last week’s developments in the GOP Presidential primary.  Clark reinforces the fact that this race has been very volatile.  According to Clark, the question regarding who will be a stronger candidate in a head to head contest with President Obama remains unanswered.  But the longer this process plays out, the stronger the individual candidates appear to become.  They are learning from each other, the debates, and from the process as a whole.

Barack Obama will likely have access to $2 billion to fund his re election efforts.  The GOP will not come close to that figure in their fundraising efforts, and will be unable to compete with Obama in spending.  So we must compete with clarity in our message.  Right now, the candidate who appears most capable of doing that is Newt Gingrich, but Clark says that could change in the coming weeks.

The 2012 elections are upon us, and it is up to us to tell our friends and family members why President Obama and his fellow liberal Democrats must be defeated in November.  Let’s learn the facts and take back our future.

Sincerely,

Glen

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals, our states, 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 2006, 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 the radio program, “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 earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about the Glen Meakem on the Weekend Radio Program, or to read Glen’s blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.

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CNN reports on the IRS’s vindication of Newt in 1999

I will be the keynote speaker at the Lehigh County Republican Committee “2012 Lincoln Day Breakfast,” which will be held at the Holiday Inn Conference Center, 7736 Adrienne Drive, Breinigsville, Pa 18031 on Saturday February 18^th, 2011.

The event begins at 8 AM with a coffee reception, which will be attended by elected officials.  Breakfast will be served at 9 AM.  United States Senator Pat Toomey will also attend.

The cost for the breakfast and program is $65 per person with RSVP or $600 for an entire table of ten.  For more information and to register, visit LehighGOP.com.

On Tuesday, February 28, 2012, Glen Meakem will appear at Robert Morris University, in Moon Township, Pennsylvania. During the event, called “An Evening with Glen Meakem,” Glen will be talking about the state of our economy, out-of-control government spending, our national debt, and the future of programs like Social Security and Medicare. Glen will discuss these and other serious problems that face our country, propose possible solutions, and suggest ways that individuals can help bring about needed political changes.

Glen will also discuss the significant historical strengths of America. According to Glen, “we created the world’s first and longest lived constitutional republic. We sacrificed the lives of 600,000 of our young men to preserve our Union and put an end to slavery. We defeated the Nazis in World War II, saving the world from a global Holocaust. We resisted Western intellectual elites who advocated socialism in the 20th century and instead built the largest middle class, the highest living standard, and the most successful economy in history. Despite all of our current problems, we are still – as Ronald Reagan used to say – ‘the shining city on the hill’ for humanity. Our history is not perfect and we have many problems, but we also have many strengths upon which we can build.”

The event will begin with coffee, soft drinks, and snacks at 6 pm, and Glen’s remarks will follow at 7 pm. “An Evening with Glen Meakem” is open to the public. The cost is $45 per person. For more information and to register, call 412-749-9045 or visit glenmeakem.com.

by Dale McCoy

My last commentary may have seemed a little harsh on the Republican candidates. For the record, it was an unfettered and honest appraisal, not a personal attack.   More importantly, it was an assessment of the candidate’s chances to defeat Barack Obama, and an expression of my frustration with the apparent tone deafness of the Republican party.  I think Americans are fed up with political correctness, so I called it exactly the way I see it.  Having said that, I would like to clarify a few things.

First and foremost, I stand behind my previous article’s candidate list. If we can’t have Ron Paul as the Republican nominee, I’d much prefer to take my chances with Newt Gingrich. I’d choose just about anybody ahead of Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney’s candidacy is not the least bit appealing to the average man. What’s worse, it is even less appealing to the average Tea Party member. This begs a few questions:   Have the Republicans already forgotten who handed them their last victories? What exactly is their collective thought process? We must come to grips with the fact that we are not in a college debate for the mind of this country. We are in a street-fight for the survival of this country. Newt Gingrich is a better street fighter than Mitt Romney. And Newt does not have what I would call, for lack of a better term, Mitt’s “capitalist baggage”.

I’ve heard the defense of Mitt’s past business endeavors justified via the virtues of capitalism. This defense is correct, but it is of little use. The best way I can explain this situation is through an analogy:  In our current electoral climate, having an intelligent defense of Mitt’s business record is like having the right-of-way in a fatal car accident. At a time when true unemployment likely exceeds 20% and the political atmosphere is perfectly ripe for class warfare, Mitt Romney is an outright gift to the Democratic party.

Let me add just a little more food for thought. In political terms, Mitt Romney has no coattails. If the Republican’s presidential  candidate is viewed as a rich, out-of-touch elitist who has nothing in common with the average Joe, ( and this is exactly how Mitt is viewed by many ), that tone will rub off on other contests.  It is an unfortunate political reality that the average Joes have a hell of a lot more votes than the capitalism defending intellectuals do.  For these reasons, Mitt’s candidacy will help Democrats maintain control of the Senate. This means that  we’ll still be stuck with Harry Reid as Majority Leader.  Yuck.

Now on to Ron Paul.

The fact that Ron Paul does not poll well with the Tea Party is shocking to me. It makes me wonder how many people accept the pundit’s and main stream media’s opinions at face value. I know that Ron Paul is far from perfect, and I am quite aware that his debating skills are something less than stellar. But there is no other candidate that even comes close to representing  constitutional values as well as Ron Paul does.  He really is the only one talking truthfully about  protecting our borders, substantial reduction of the debt, and meaningful curtailment in the size and scope of the Federal Government.

In the last few months I’ve heard Ron Paul and his supporters described as insane, crazy, scary, rabid, paulbots, paultards, and just about every other adjective and truly improper noun one can imagine. Surely a presidential candidate whose supporters span the entire spectrum of political and social ideologies deserves a more respectful discourse than this. If we drop all of our pre-conceived notions and make an honest attempt to view the issues through a constitutional lens, Ron Paul makes an awful lot of sense.

In the interest of brevity, I’m going to touch lightly on some of Ron’s “controversial” positions. I would be more than happy to continue debating things further in the comment section after this article. Also, I  strongly encourage readers to visit Ron Paul’s website. His positions are stated quite clearly and eloquently there.

Ron Paul is against abortion and so am I. In “The Issues” section of his website, Ron has an extremely moving video that explains his objections to abortion. He makes a very powerful case by using more than just a religious argument. I could write volumes on this subject, but it should suffice to say that the government’s job is to help protect life, liberty, property, and the pursuit of happiness. If government does not protect the most innocent among us, it is failing in its most basic duty. At the very least, the issue of abortion should be left to the states and confined to instances of rape, incest, and cases where the mother’s life is truly endangered. I am convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the vast majority of abortions are done for convenience. What a sad reflection on our society.

Ron Paul  strongly supports the 2^nd amendment, secure borders, home schooling, energy independence, and lower taxes. Me too. Enough said.

Ron Paul supports a national right-to-work law and totally free trade.  Aww what the hell, nobody is perfect. Subject for another commentary.

And now down to brass tacks. Ron Paul makes a lot more sense on foreign policy than anyone else I’ve heard. The idea that our military presence in more than 130 countries  increases resentment and spawns resistance against us seems rather obvious to me. The idea that we send our young citizens off to fight “politically correct” wars is infuriating to me. We tie our soldier’s hands with rules, regulations, and red tape while the enemy is free to fight on his own terms.  I am a firm believer in the “walk softly and carry a big stick” philosophy, and I agree with the US Constitution and Ron Paul. i.e.- War must be authorized by Congress and fought swiftly and decisively. This entire subject will be covered in a future commentary. I’ll leave readers  with one final thought on the most recent perceived threat to everyone’s existence. If Iran’s closest allies are Russia and China, isn’t Iran only one overnight-delivery away from having both a nuclear warhead and the means to deliver it?

Last but not least, Ron Paul champions the cause of ending the Federal Reserve. I could not possibly agree more. In the words of Thomas Jefferson: “I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Already they have raised up a moneyed aristocracy that has set the government at defiance. The issuing power of money should be taken away from the banks and restored to the people to whom it properly belongs.” And even more compelling,  in the words of Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild “Give me control of a nation’s money and I care not who makes it’s laws.”

The idea that a private banking cartel controls our currency is as unbelievable as it is reprehensible. Due to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913,  Barrack Obama currently holds the world’s second most important job. Benjamin Shalom Bernanke holds the first.

Dale

AP/ Charles Dharapak

On my radio program this past weekend, I talked about the anti-capitalist attacks launched by GOP Presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry against Mitt Romney.  We have all come to expect these kinds of anti-liberty statements from President Obama and his cronies, but the attacks from Gingrich and Perry demonstrate that these Republican candidates either don’t understand how our free market economy works, or are willing to forget economic fundamentals in order to score a few political points.  I am pleased that the remarks backfired completely against both Gingrich and Perry, but what is most unfortunate about these remarks, is that they will be used again by Left-Wing Democrats during the 2012 general election to attack the eventual GOP nominee.

Like many other conservative Americans, I am disappointed with both Gingrich and Perry.  They should have known better, and the fact that they did not just proves that we need more of America’s successful business leaders to run for elected office.  The fact is that while at Bain Capital, Romney worked to improve failing businesses as well as support the growth of new ones.  It is true that some of the companies that Bain invested in either failed or had to downsize, causing the elimination of thousands of jobs.  However, it is also true that many of the companies in which Bain invested became successful — creating tens of thousands of jobs.  The huge success stories include Staples and Dominoes Pizza.

Our economy is dynamic with businesses succeeding and failing and private investors gaining or losing on their investments all the time.  If this were not true, then we would all still be driving horse drawn carriages and the average wage would be 50 cents per hour.  Economic growth and success is driven by creativity, ambition, and competition and these human forces create continuous change.  At any given moment, some companies and industries are succeeding even as others are failing.  Every society, every nation, that has ever tried to halt this process of economic change and development (frequently referred to as “creative destruction”) has stumbled and failed – just look at the old Soviet Union or current day North Korea.  Or, for that matter, look at France and its relative decline compared with the United States and other major countries.  Two hundred years ago, France was the single most powerful nation on Earth, but its cultural drive towards economic equality at the expense of individual economic freedom has made it under perform for many years.  This economic underperformance was one critical cause of France’s disastrous performances in World War I and especially World War II.  And even today the average standard of living in France is 30% below the average in the United States.  You read that correctly – TODAY FRANCE HAS A STANDARD OF LIVING 30% BELOW THE UNITED STATES – and don’t expect France to be able to defend itself in a real crisis.  Is this what Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry want?  I don’t think so — I think they were just so desperate to slow Mitt Romney’s momentum that they were willing to attack Romney with anything that popped into their brains.

On the contrary, virtually all of Barack Obama’s actions and statements over time indicate that relative decline is EXACTLY what he wants for America.  Many of President Obama’s supporters, including Richard Trumka and David Axelrod, have celebrated Gingrich and Perry’s comments, and promised to use them again during the general election.  But they should be careful.  As Romney said last week, “we started a number of businesses, invested in many others, and over all [we] created tens of thousands of jobs, so I’m pretty proud of that record.  And by the way, in the general election, I’ll be pointing out to the President that [he] took the reins of General Motors and Chrysler, closed factories, closed dealerships, [and] laid off thousands and thousands of workers.”  Of course, Romney is assuming that he will get the nomination, but his point is clear.  President Obama and his Democratic allies in Congress have been playing at being venture capitalists over the past few years (with no training or prior experience) by giving tax payer money to poorly managed and failing companies in fields ranging from car manufacturing through banking to “green” energy.  As a result, Americans have lost Billions of dollars, and hundreds of thousands of jobs.  The bottom line is that the Obama Administration made poor investments with our money, and failed to generate positive investment returns or create new jobs.  Wherever it is tried, government led economic development fails.  It is that simple.  If we want to succeed as a nation and be successful and strong in the future, we must return to limited government and good old fashioned American free enterprise!

On last weekend’s show, I also talked about the inappropriate but understandable actions of the U.S. Marines caught urinating on the bodies of Taliban fighters.  Today’s United States Military is held to a higher standard than any other military in history.  Our military is better trained, better equipped, better maintained, better behaved, more experienced, more powerful and all volunteer.  Our military, although populated by young volunteer citizens, is also professional, and our soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines must act that way.  The young marines who acted inappropriately should be punished within the Marine Corps at a level commensurate with the crime.  However, this is not a scandal, nor is it another Abu Ghraib.  It’s simply a case of a few young marines who, having survived lethal combat, engaged in an unprofessional act of dominance and victory.  Yes, the Marine Corps should dole out a minor punishment, but thank God we have aggressive young men like this who are willing to fight for our country and protect all of us.  People at places like NPR, MSNBC, the BBC and AL Jazeera, who have never risked their lives under fire in combat, should not say another word.  I agree with Congressman Allen West who suggests, “Give them a maximum punishment under field grade level Article 15 (non-judicial punishment), place a General Officer level letter of reprimand in their personnel files, and have them stand before their Battalion in full dress uniform to personally apologize to God, Country, and the Marine Corps.  Video tape this apology and have them conclude by singing the full US Marine Corps Hymn without a teleprompter.  As for everyone else, unless you have been shot at by the Taliban, shut your mouth.  War is hell.”

Have a great week and don’t forget to listen to my radio program this coming weekend!

Glen

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals, our states, 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 2006, 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 the radio program, “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 earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about the Glen Meakem on the Weekend Radio Program, or to read Glen’s blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.

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As posted at The American Spectator

Obama strategist David Axelrod set his sights on capitalist pig Mitt Romney long before Newt Gingrich did.

Conservatives are upset with Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry for their criticisms of Mitt Romney and his work at Bain Capital. Some of the statements smack of classic left-wing class warfare — heretofore the domain of liberals, Wall Street Occupiers, Barack Obama.

And yet, as some observers have noted, there may be a possible silver lining in this criticism: If Romney gets the GOP nomination, the harsh statements from Gingrich and Perry may be preparing him for the fusillade to come from Team Obama. This is truer than I think anyone realizes.

Here’s the reality: Not only has Obama been pushing class warfare unceasingly for three years now, but his chief strategist, David Axelrod, has been employing precisely this tactic against Romney, well before Newt and Perry said anything.

Axelrod, of course, is the Chicago-based consultant who got Obama elected. He was the chief architect of Obama ’08, right down to the very words “hope and change.” The Los Angeles Times correctly called him the “keeper” of the message in an image-based campaign in which “message is everything.” The New York Times dubbed him “Obama’s Narrator.” Axelrod honed the Obama image, got him elected president, and the changed this nation. Then, after two years as a presidential adviser, he went back to Chicago to strategize on reelecting Obama. “I have one campaign left,” Axelrod told a reporter recently, “and it is going to be to try to elect a guy who I think is a great president.”

Which dastardly Republican stands in the way? The leading candidate is Mitt Romney, who happens to be the candidate Axelrod and Obama want. Ax is slicing up Mitt for an Occupy Wall Street feast. He sees Mitt as a hunk of red meat for the Occupy movement, as the poster-boy for Wall Street greed.

This has been the plan for months.

“Obama officials intend to frame Romney as the very picture of greed in the great recession — a sort of political Gordon Gekko,” reported Ben Smith and Jonathan Martin in an August 2011 Politico piece titled, “Obama plan: Destroy Romney.” The piece quoted Axelrod: “He [Romney] was very, very good at making a profit for himself and his partners but not nearly as good [at] saving jobs for communities. He is very much the profile of what we’ve seen in the last decade on Wall Street.”

This, mind you, was still before Occupy Wall Street exploded in September and October. The Obama class campaign was already underway.

The Politico quoted what it called a “prominent Democratic strategist” close to the White House: “Unless things change and Obama can run on accomplishments, he will have to kill Romney.”

Well, Obama has no accomplishments to run on, which means Obama and Axelrod will run on Romney — tire-tracks and all.

Axelrod has steadily maintained this caricature of Romney. “He [Romney] says he represents business,” Axelrod told MSNBC in October, “but he really represents the Wall Street side of business.”

Last Sunday, Axelrod told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos that Romney is “rooting” for economic decline. He described Romney as a nefarious outsourcer of “tens of thousands of jobs,” as someone who “closed down more than 1,000 plants, stores, and offices” and “took 12 companies to bankruptcy.” As this rapacious profiteer cheerfully destroyed companies and businesses and shops and shop-owners and the poor and the meek and the downtrodden and the crippled and the lame, “he and his partners made hundreds of millions of dollars.”

“He is not a job creator,” scowled Axelrod. “He is a corporate raider.”

Axelrod frames this Romney way as the sinister “Bain mentality.”

None of this is a surprise given the roots of Axelrod and Obama. Not appreciated is that fact that Axelrod, like Obama, is the product of radical mentors with literal communist roots. Axelrod got his first major job, at the Chicago Tribune, with crucial recommendations from Don Rose and David Canter, two self-described mentors with far-left roots in Chicago politics. Canter and his father, Harry Canter, were closely monitored by (Democrat-run) Congressional committees because of their work for Moscow, with David Canter actually called to testify before Congress in heated hearings in July 1962. Their home base, Chicago, was second only to New York in communist activity; in fact, the Party was founded there in September 1919.

In the late 1940s, Harry Canter actually worked with Obama’s mentor, Frank Marshall Davis, at the communist publication, the Chicago Star. The Star was run by Davis, who was its editor-in-chief. These men were not only class-warfare specialists, but heartily believed what they preached. They were true believers.

My point isn’t that David Axelrod and Barack Obama are closet members of Communist Party USA. The point is that the class-warfare they parrot so naturally is in the marrow of their political bones and ancestry.

If Mitt Romney gets the 2012 GOP nomination, prepare yourself for a season of class warfare in America unlike anything our generation has ever heard. You’ll need to go back to the Cold War for rhetoric like this — to Chicago in the 1940s.

And if you thought the Occupy movement was worked up last fall, you haven’t seen nothing yet. If Romney is the GOP nominee, the Occupiers will go absolutely bananas this coming fall, especially if prodded by Team Obama. Wall Street might literally burn this time. The rich are going to be demonized in a frighteningly shameless way by professional agitators.

Before, Obama’s pals simply wanted the Occupy-istas to rise up against Republicans in Congress. This time, they’ll be battling for Obama’s political life — for nothing less than the revolution itself. It could get really ugly.

With Barack Obama at the helm, and David Axelrod charting the course against Mitt Romney, this nation is about to set sail into a poisonous sea of class envy and hatred. “Bain” Capital will be “Bane” Capital, as in evil. “Venture capital” will be “vulture capital.”

This November’s election might boil down to a fundamental debate between the merits of markets vs. central planning and wealth redistribution; at the least, that’s where the rhetoric is taking us.

If I were advising Mitt Romney, I’d tell him to bone up not only on the good he did at Bain Capital — explaining to Americans what venture capital is, and why someone with such economic experience is arguably perfect for the White House right now — but on Hayek, Friedman, Hazlitt, Mises, Laffer, and, most of all, Marx. He might Google the word “agitprop,” since he will be precisely such a target. And if Romney does this right, he has chance not only to win Americans’ vote but to educate them about the wondrous free-market system that has made their nation the greatest marvel in human history — and which they won’t learn about from Obama and Axelrod.

Paul Kengor is professor of political science at Grove City College. His books include The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism and the newly released Dupes: How America’s Adversaries Have Manipulated Progressives for a Century.

Glen

by Dale McCoy

I’ve been watching this perpetual petulant argument known as the republican debates with a mixture of fascination and dismay. These people are running for the world’s second most important job, during what may very well be the twilight of our republic, and they behave like children. If these candidates were third graders, we would punish them for being so childish, make them stop pointing fingers at each other, and insist that they stick to their homework. It is unfortunate, but this group represents the last great hope for the USA. God help us all.

The fact that our future depends on one of the republican candidates is inarguable. The democratic party is hopelessly corrupt and hell-bent on socialism. They are no longer the party of the working man, they are the party of the welfare man.  Since a third party candidate would simply split the vote and hand victory to the current administration, we have no choice other than to vote for the republican nominee. With this in mind, I’ve ranked the candidates (in reverse order) and added a few Blue Collar Comments. So here we go….

#8  Herman Cain. Yes, I’m aware that Herman has been out for some time now. This is the only reason that he is at the bottom of my list. He had the best chance to beat Obama, but he succumbed to chronic bimbo eruptions. Contemporary rules dictate that conservative candidates are held to the highest moral standards. Oddly, most of the current liberal progressive leaders are not encumbered with these rules.

#7  Michele Bachman. Yes, I’m aware that she’s out now too. That’s why she is second from the bottom on my list. I really liked Michele, but I eventually came to the conclusion that in today’s society she is unelectable. Contemporary rules dictate that conservative candidates who have high moral standards and strong religious beliefs are right wing radicals.  Sadly, many liberal progressive leaders lack both morals and religion.

#6  Rick Perry. Yes, I’m aware that Rick’s out now too… even if Rick isn’t aware of it yet.  Rick Perry cannot beat Barack Obama. Like it or not, President Obama is a great orator and he would eat Rick Perry alive in a debate. Contemporary rules dictate that conservative candidates be smooth and totally gaffe free. Democratic vice presidents are absolutely and entirely exempt from this rule.

#5  Mitt Romney. A good looking, wealthy, duplicitous, stereotypical member of the republican hierarchy. As if that isn’t bad enough, he’s also a charter member of the Obamacare pioneers. He masquerades as a small government conservative but his record proves otherwise. We all know that Mitt is and has been the GOP anointed candidate. Due to this fact, and much to my dismay, he will likely win the nomination, and just as likely go on to lose the general election. If he does beat Obama, it may be hard to tell the difference. Romney is McCain version 2.1 He is the consummate politician offered up precisely when Americans are begging for anything but another consummate politician.

#4  Jon Huntsman. Who? For whatever reason, Jon generates no public interest. This is not exactly a highly sought after presidential attribute.

#3  Rick Santorum. Regardless of what Rick claims these days, he is no small government conservative. And when push comes to shove, you can count on Rick Santorum to put party ahead of principle. Pennsylvanians familiar with Rick’s endorsement of snarlin’ Arlen Specter know exactly what I’m talking about. Rick lost his senate seat for that transgression…and rightfully so. I haven’t forgotten, I haven’t forgiven, and I’m willing to bet a lot of others feel the same way.

#2  Newt Gingrich. Another consummate politician, albeit an extremely smart one. Newt has the intelligence, skill, and experience to beat Obama. He also has enough bones in the closet to start a small avalanche.  It seems that most of the people who’ve been close to Newt in the past have been rendered incapable of trusting him. Given the current state of decay in Washington DC, I’m having one hell of a time deciding if this is a good thing or not. I’d be willing to take my chances with Newt…..but I don’t trust him either.

#1  Ron Paul. The media and the pundits all tell us that Ron Paul is crazy. He is just about as crazy as one of my heroes, Thomas Jefferson. Ron Paul is not the consummate politician. He is exactly what we need ; a limited government constitution abiding candidate with the guts to stand up for liberty, regardless of how politically incorrect it is. I strongly encourage tea partiers, true republicans, true democrats, libertarians, conservatives, and liberals to take a real hard look at Ron Paul. There is a reason he attracts young folks, old folks, republicans, democrats, cowboys, hippies, and myriad independent thinkers. It’s called freedom.

I’ve done my research, and I’ve come to the conclusion that Ron Paul is not crazy. Those of us who continue the same old robotic vote for establishment candidates are crazy.

I’ll elaborate on Ron Paul, and on the world’s second most important job, in next week’s commentary.

Dale

via hotair.com

Last week, President Obama made a series of “recess” appointments to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the National Labor Relations Board even though the Senate was not in recess.  Article I, Section 5, Claus 4 of the U.S. Constitution unambiguously states that “Neither House, during the Session of Congress, shall, without the consent of the other, adjourn for more than three days.”  No consent was voted on or confirmed by Congress.  Furthermore, the Clinton Justice department found in 1993 that a Senate break had to last at least three days before it could count as a recess, a finding that President Obama’s own deputy solicitor general (Neal Katyal) confirmed while arguing before the Supreme Court last year.   Finally, Democrats in the Senate, under Harry Reid’s leadership, used pro-forma sessions of Congress to block George W. Bush’s ability to recess appoint nominees in 2007 and 2008.  So no matter how the President and his lawyers try to spin it, Congress was still in session, and the President engaged in an unprecedented and blatantly unlawful action by issuing these appointments.  Even Leftist Timothy Noah wrote at The New Republic last week, “I’m having trouble understanding how the recess appointment of Cordray can possibly withstand a legal challenge…  I just don’t see how these appointments can be legal.”

We need Presidents – no matter their political party affiliation – who respect and obey the Constitution and the rule of law.  All Presidents must understand that the power of our government is and should be limited by constitutional design.  The mandated separation of powers and checks & balances implemented by our Founders were done with a view towards restraining executives in the White House who would embrace dictatorial and tyrannical control over Congress, the states, and the American people.  Unfortunately, this recent display of arrogance is just one more example of unlawful and unwise action on the part of our President.

The President also announced last week that he will make additional cuts to the military and defense budget (in addition to the cuts that Republicans already agreed to last year).  While the President says these cuts – which include a reduction of ground troops by 10%-15% -will create a leaner and meaner military, the reality is, our new military will be forced to reject 70 years of strategy since they will no longer be able to fight two wars simultaneously.  Bill Krystal of the Weekly Standard said these cuts would “decimate our military, and weaken the United States of America.”  He stated further that these cuts are “unbelievably irresponsible.”  This is another unwise decision by our President that makes us weaker as a nation, and an increasingly favorable target of our enemies.

We need a new President in January 2013.  The future of our country depends on it.

Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals, our states, 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 2006, 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 the radio program, “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 earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about the Glen Meakem on the Weekend Radio Program, or to read Glen’s blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.

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From Marco Rubio’s website…

January 6, 2012

President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Any day now, news reports suggest you will ask Congress to approve yet another increase in the debt ceiling. The expected request is another $1.2 trillion, adding to a three year debt binge that has totaled $4.5 trillion on your watch and that has enabled our overall debt to surpass $15 trillion.  Your latest request will push the federal debt limit well above $16 trillion.

This pending request will be the sixth time during your Presidency that Congress is being asked to keep allowing government and spending to grow at rates that are unsustainable. In other words, you have made it a routine part of your job to ask for more room to spend without any plan to reduce our debt.

Instead of making debt ceiling increases a routine Washington exercise, we need to make it routine to actually spend no more than we take in. Until then, I will oppose your request to continue borrowing and spending recklessly.

As I wrote in The Wall Street Journal in March 2011, I will oppose a debt ceiling increase unless such an authorization is accompanied by a real plan to tackle our debt.  Ideally, such a plan would feature both pro-growth elements and spending restraints, including fundamental tax reform, regulatory reform, meaningful cuts to discretionary spending, a balanced-budget amendment, and reforms to save Social Security and Medicare.

If we had done this in mid-2011 when we last debated the debt ceiling, we could have set America on a path to economic growth and prosperity. This would have led to more jobs and, in turn, to more duly employed taxpayers generating more growth-driven revenue to help us pay down our debt.  Instead, you failed to lead, punted the tough decisions and, in doing so, our credit rating was downgraded for the first time in our history.  It’s a tragic reality but, on your watch, more and more people have come to believe that America is becoming a deadbeat nation inevitably heading toward a European-style debt crisis.

When you served in the Senate in 2006, you called raising the debt limit “a sign of leadership failure.” Using your own standard, this request will mark your sixth “sign of leadership failure” on the debt ceiling issue alone.  Throughout our history, Americans have revered courageous leaders and celebrated them as profiles in courage. Unfortunately, the first three years of your presidency have been a profile in leadership failure.  While you may choose to run your reelection campaign against a “Do-Nothing Congress,” your insistence on doing nothing to meaningfully tackle our debt poses a direct threat to America’s exceptional character and is leading us towards a diminished future.

America deserves leaders who will stand front and center, level with the American people about our challenges and offer real solutions to solve them.  Instead of simply asking for another debt ceiling increase, I urge you to come forward with a real plan to tackle our debt in 2012.

Sincerely,

Marco Rubio

United States Senator

However, it is worth carefully considering the parallels between Lincoln and Obama.  The analysis below was emailed to me by a listener.

Glen

1. Lincoln placed his hand on the Bible for his inauguration.
Obama placed his hand on the same Bible.

2. Lincoln came from Illinois.
Obama came from Illinois.

3. Lincoln served in the Illinois Legislature.
Obama served in the Illinois Legislature.

4. Lincoln had limited managerial and executive experience before becoming President.
Obama had limited managerial and executive experience before becoming President.

14. Lincoln saved the Union.
Obama is a skinny lawyer.