I had hoped that my 300th post on this blog would be more positive than this, but things being what they are, it's taking every bit of resolve I have not to crumple into a fetal ball of flesh and pour my eyes out over the re-election of the most corrupt and dangerous president this country has ever had. I could beat around the bush and rationalize away the loss, but that wouldn't be fair to you, my readers, and it wouldn't be honest, either. I'm despairing right now. I'm truly afraid for the loss we suffered tonight. After the 2010 midterms it would appear that our side got over confident about our chances, which contributed to our loss tonight. Over the last few hours I've scoured the internet for even a sliver of a silver lining, but I've been as yet unable to find it. Sure, republicans are in control of the House, but that just means four more years of the status quo since we failed to capture the senate and the presidency, as was required in order to begin rolling back the progressive cancer that has been slowly infecting us for over a century. Alas, for whatever reason, it appears that's not the case, even though allegations of voter fraud are being clung to as a last hope for turning the election around.
Regardless of whether or not voter fraud helped win this election for Obama, it means little to nothing if Romney's team doesn't challenge these votes as illegitimate and take the case before the high courts, as Bush did in 2000. I doubt he'll do it. His concession speech, by all accounts, tells me that no, he will not contest the vote. He has already given up the ghost and will now go on to do whatever it is that failed presidential candidates do. Paul Ryan, at least, will be returning to his seat in the House, so someone with a voice of reason will be there, though he'll still have to deal with John Boehner, and that will be a trial in and of itself. This being the case, I have decided to accept the reality I see before me, and prepare for four more years with President Barack Obama in the White House.
That being said, I thought long and hard for these last hours about where to go from here, and I've decided to continue to, as I've said on occasion, fight the good fight. I wanted to give up. Wanted to believe that we were done. Both as a nation and as a voice for freedom and conservatism. I was ready to pack it up and call it a day, much as Hack Wilson has done. I thought for certain that there was nothing more to be done. The monster we know as Obamacare will now stand even less chance of being repealed, and electing a true conservative to the office in 2016 may be a pipe dream in the making. Yet what else can I do but fight on?
Which brings me to the title of this post. In the tumultuous days between 1776 and 1789, America was fighting a different, more conventional war. We were fighting against the largest military the world had ever seen, the best trained, and the best funded as well. Theirs was a battle of bayonets and bullets, yet it was no more or less trying than our battle being fought today, for our enemy was the same: Tyranny. The more brazen tyranny of King George was more prevalent, of course, but it was no less insidious. Another George was at the head of that fight on our side, one George Washington. And he was losing badly. So badly, in fact, that many among the Continental Army were feeling that desertion and reconciliation with Great Britain was the only route to saving their own lives. This continued for the majority of the first half of the war, until Washington and his men reached the frozen Hell of Valley Forge. Washington's army was broken and dispirited. His undisciplined rabble of farmers and craftsmen were on the verge of defeat. With nowhere else to go, Washington looked to the one being who could see them through: The Father Above.
The famous painting of Washington praying at Valley Forge has always been one of my favorites. It now has become a necessary reminder that we are not the first generation, nor the last, to face a tyrannical regime. These next four years will be long and hard, especially if Obama manages to dodge impeachment for Solyndra, Benghazi, and all the rest of the scandals that have plagued his administration. The one bright spot I see regarding Obama is the fact that he has now inherited HIS OWN mess rather than someone else's. Not that that will stop the Blame Bush crowd. Why should they quit? Obama asked for a mulligan and the American people gave it to him. Now he has carte blanche to continue his statist agenda and only our Representatives in the House and the half of the country that didn't vote for Obama stand in the way. In light of these revelations, I have decided after serious thought to call this our Valley Forge Moment. We are at the precipice of defeat, but we haven't been beaten yet. We have to form ranks, ready muskets and bayonets, and charge once more into the field of battle. After all, as George S. Patton said, you're never beaten until you admit it.
Regardless of whether or not voter fraud helped win this election for Obama, it means little to nothing if Romney's team doesn't challenge these votes as illegitimate and take the case before the high courts, as Bush did in 2000. I doubt he'll do it. His concession speech, by all accounts, tells me that no, he will not contest the vote. He has already given up the ghost and will now go on to do whatever it is that failed presidential candidates do. Paul Ryan, at least, will be returning to his seat in the House, so someone with a voice of reason will be there, though he'll still have to deal with John Boehner, and that will be a trial in and of itself. This being the case, I have decided to accept the reality I see before me, and prepare for four more years with President Barack Obama in the White House.
That being said, I thought long and hard for these last hours about where to go from here, and I've decided to continue to, as I've said on occasion, fight the good fight. I wanted to give up. Wanted to believe that we were done. Both as a nation and as a voice for freedom and conservatism. I was ready to pack it up and call it a day, much as Hack Wilson has done. I thought for certain that there was nothing more to be done. The monster we know as Obamacare will now stand even less chance of being repealed, and electing a true conservative to the office in 2016 may be a pipe dream in the making. Yet what else can I do but fight on?
Which brings me to the title of this post. In the tumultuous days between 1776 and 1789, America was fighting a different, more conventional war. We were fighting against the largest military the world had ever seen, the best trained, and the best funded as well. Theirs was a battle of bayonets and bullets, yet it was no more or less trying than our battle being fought today, for our enemy was the same: Tyranny. The more brazen tyranny of King George was more prevalent, of course, but it was no less insidious. Another George was at the head of that fight on our side, one George Washington. And he was losing badly. So badly, in fact, that many among the Continental Army were feeling that desertion and reconciliation with Great Britain was the only route to saving their own lives. This continued for the majority of the first half of the war, until Washington and his men reached the frozen Hell of Valley Forge. Washington's army was broken and dispirited. His undisciplined rabble of farmers and craftsmen were on the verge of defeat. With nowhere else to go, Washington looked to the one being who could see them through: The Father Above.
The famous painting of Washington praying at Valley Forge has always been one of my favorites. It now has become a necessary reminder that we are not the first generation, nor the last, to face a tyrannical regime. These next four years will be long and hard, especially if Obama manages to dodge impeachment for Solyndra, Benghazi, and all the rest of the scandals that have plagued his administration. The one bright spot I see regarding Obama is the fact that he has now inherited HIS OWN mess rather than someone else's. Not that that will stop the Blame Bush crowd. Why should they quit? Obama asked for a mulligan and the American people gave it to him. Now he has carte blanche to continue his statist agenda and only our Representatives in the House and the half of the country that didn't vote for Obama stand in the way. In light of these revelations, I have decided after serious thought to call this our Valley Forge Moment. We are at the precipice of defeat, but we haven't been beaten yet. We have to form ranks, ready muskets and bayonets, and charge once more into the field of battle. After all, as George S. Patton said, you're never beaten until you admit it.
