Fighting Back

Joe Sheffat is a "retired from active service" Marine who writes a stirring article today in the American Thinker entitled Fighting Back. Some choice words:

I have determined to never to cease to be amazed that, from a dirt parking lot in Arizona, I can talk to my son who is visiting London. Some smart person with a vision and the smarts to realize his vision started a chain reaction that involved a bunch of other smart people who eventually made this luxury available to me.


I have survived brain cancer thanks to the spirited individuals who have advanced the technology of the MRI, the discipline of neurosurgery, the precision of radiation therapy and the mystery of the chemotherapy that saved my body by burning it.


America thrives and shines as a beacon through the heft of a freedom that unleashes the individual human spirit to create goods and services of equity, refreshment, and wonder.


So, why is it that we, the American beneficiaries of freedom and the equity that comes of it, have turned the keys over to a cabal of slick, unaccountable, loose thinking masters of vaguery who cater to the free lunch crowd while condemning individuals who design, develop, and deliver the products that we so much enjoy?


How do we prevent a bloodless coup by nitwit socialists bent on a hunger for policies that would neuter the majesty of a freedom that unleashes the human spirit to succeed by diligence and imagination?

Mr. Sheffat goes on to discuss his frustrating experience trying to make his voice heard by his Congressional "representative." If it wasn't so tragic, and if the stakes weren't so high, it might seem funny. But of course, it isn't funny at all.

So, I send faxes, I contribute money, and I speak with congressional interns who promise to pass along my message to my congressman. This is rock star insulation. Protests worked against the Harriet Miers thing and they worked against the John McCain Border Surrender thing. Yet, on this the far worse ObamaCare, protests don't seem to work. The shadow of ObamaCare only looms longer.

Go read the whole thing, if only to get your blood stirring.

We have done this, you know. The Republican party put up a tired statist as a candidate who had poked conservatives and libertarians in the eye one time too many. For those who believe in keeping their oaths, McCain was a candidate they could not support after the McCain-Feingold debacle became law. It would be useful and instructive for someone to write a tome on just who made the decisions that finally put McCain up. I suspect though, that the entire field, except for Paul, was not made up of committed conservates anyway. I also suspect that Hilary will be seen in the future as a red herring candidate who kept the GOP's attention on herself until it was too late.

In any case, many principled conservatives voted for Ron Paul instead, or refused to vote for anyone. Certainly Paul was not the perfect candidate either. Quite a few stayed home and also didn't vote for a Senatorial or House representative as well not voting for a presidential candidate. That was a mistake. Add to that, Obama had built up one of the most impressive machines in the history of the Republic, and we now find ourselves with a Marxist/Fascist as president, and an overwhelming number of people from his party in the House and Senate who feel beholden to him because of his long coat tails.

This is why "the shadow of ObamaCare only looms longer." The president has been furiously campaigning for this bill since last month. He owns it now, and if it fails, its failure will define his presidency. So Obama is no doubt using some of his "Chicago Way" techniques on wavering Democrats, figuratively threatening them with concrete galoshes if they don't vote his way. Furthermore, the man has shown an ability to raise mountains of cash, which they will need to get elected in 2010. So, right now Democrats are weighing the strength of the opposition to ObamaCare against the wad of cash in Obama's pockets. Judging from Joe Sheffat's experience, it must be a lot of cash.