Defending the American Dream Saturday Morning

Bloggers filled their den early this morning preparing for the Saturday morning session of Defending the American Dream Summit in Arlington VA. Visitors to the blogger den included Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell.


Get all the details below the fold.


First up this morning is Steve Lonegan, State Director, AFP-New Jersey. Steve related the current battle against taxation and government enslavement to the battle fought and won by the patriots at Trenton to overcome British forces who promised a no captives response to the colonial revolution.

Next up is Fred Barnes, Editor of the Weekly Standard. "I am an American for prosperity." 'The election is not over, Sarah Palin knows this, but I wish someone would tell John McCain." "There is a substantial chance we will face more substantial liberal majorities in the Congress, and a liberal president." But we don't know what the results of the election will actually be, but "the future in politics is never a straight line projection of the present."

Barnes continued that Senator Obama has never favored free trade. Organized labor has taken Senator Obama at his word and will insist that he block new free trade agreements and unilaterally reopen NAFTA. Organized labor will also insist on Card check which is also a threat to workers, eliminating the secret ballot in organizing elections. Card check operates by intimidation, and allows thugs to unionize government offices and business, reducing productivity. It is likely that section 14b of the Taft-Hartley Act permitting right to work states would also come under attack.

In closing, Barnes commented that the future of the Republican party and the conservative movement, regardless of the election results, can be described in two words, Sarah Palin.

Following Barnes is Virginia's own Attorney-General Bob McDonnell. The AG noted that we have learned in Virginia that there are three great cancers in the body of free enterprise, taxation, regulation, and litigation. It is time for government to work more like the private sector and make the tough decision. AFP can make the government deliver, with metrics, accountability, and transparency. The recipe for success in America is not hard if we follow the lead of the founders.

A wise and frugal government, which shall leave men free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor and bread it has earned - this is the sum of good government.

Next up radio host Herman Cain. Although some think prosperity is more government, more spending and more taxes. We all know the opposite. Nanci Pelosi believes that prosperity is a new direction. (Audience response: Let her pay for it.) "I have a simple message for all of the liberal kool aid drinkers in America, there is no department of happy in Washington D.C." The founding fathers knew that prosperity equals the pursuit of happiness, not a guaranty. Reflecting on the experience of his own father, Luther Cain Jr., Cain related that when my father walked off the farm at 18 with just the clothes on his back, he understood sweat equity. He used his sweat equity and his belief in the American Dream. One dream was to own a whole house for his family though working hard enough and long enough, and he reached his dream. His dad was not confused about prosperity and what it took to achieve the American Dream, he worked for it. His dad had one other dream, leaving home with just the clothes on his back, to be worth in assets a million dollars because he believed in the American Dream and he achieved this too.

Following Cain, is Steve Moore from the Wall Street Journal. Moore proposed going after each politician who took money from the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac PAC and giving it back to the American taxpayers. In this Youtube clip see Maxine Water lie about taking money from the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac Pac. Moore pointed out that we cannot breed more jobs if we tax the people who create those jobs. Moore mentioned that Senator Obama's tray table is not in the upright and locked position on this issue. Moore also thanked AFP for taking on the climate change scam noting that "we are not running out of polar bears."

Grover Norquist, Americans for Tax Reform, compared Republicans who vote for new taxes to a rat head found in a drink, harming the brand, and putting people off from buying the product.

John Fund, from the Wall Street Journal, followed Grover Norquist. Fund focused his remarks on voter fraud. Fund related that Acorn was a significant participant in the housing meltdown. Acorn is involved in voter fraud scandals in a dozen states, and is now hiring identity theft specialists to run voter registration drives.

Congressman Tom Price (R-GA6) remarked that government spending threatened any chance at limited government. The debt limited has been raised by 26% in just one year. A greater threat is a full frontal assault on free market capitalism. Senator Obama contends that a paucity of governmental control over the markets is the cause of our current economic crisis not realizing that it was governmental control and mismanagement, fraud, and cupidity that is the cause. The left preys on those who know not the consequences of big government. The solution, says Price, is stop all earmarks, remember prosperity comes from people not government, rely on the constitution and a taxpayer bill of rights and fundamental tax reform.

The final speaker is John Stossel of ABC's 20/20. Stossel said we are told that the current economic crisis is the result of lack of government regulation. This is nonsense and predictable. What if the government had cut Fannie, Freddie and AIG loose. They would have done what any other failing enterprises have done, work out a settlement with their creditors. Crisis is the friend of the state, and the states solution is more government regulation. Ultimately the engine of prosperity is economic freedom, not democracy or natural resources. When government leaves people alone and allows them to try to be prosperous they proceed. The conceit that planners know better is a big threat to America.