History's Lessons

History's Lessons

Awhile ago I was reading the book Founding Brothers by Joseph J. Ellis when I came across the following about Benjamin Franklin and was amazed at the potential application to Mitt Romney’s conversion to the Pro-Life cause (and the unwillingness of some to accept his conversion). This comes from pages 109-110,


“In addition to seeming eternal, ubiquitous, protean, and endlessly quotable, Franklin had the most sophisticated sense of timing among all the prominent statesmen of the revolutionary era. His forceful presence at the defining moment of 1776 had caused most observers to forget that in truth, Franklin was a latecomer to the patriot cause, the man who had spent most of the 1760s in London attempting to obtain, of all things, a royal charter for Pennsylvania. He had actually lent his support to the Stamp Act in 1765 and lobbied for a position within the English government as late as 1771. But he had leapt back across the Atlantic and onto the American side of the imperial debate in the nick of time, a convert to the cause, who, by the dint of his international reputation, was quickly catapulted into the top echelon of the political leadership.”


After I read that I wrote this letter which the people at Evangelicals for Mitt were nice enough to post for me.

January 5, 1775
Dear Benjamin Franklin,
Sir, I write to you today with a heavy heart to inform you that after conferring with my fellow “true patriots,” you are an unacceptable convert to our most noble cause. Please do not leave England and come to America. Our cause will prosper well enough without your assistance. We see your recent pro-American positions for what they truly are; political opportunism.
How can you, with any credibility, position yourself as a patriot when your past beliefs and positions are so clear? In 1764 you left America to seek a royal charter for Pennsylvania, eventually becoming colonial agent for Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. You lent your support to the Stamp Act of 1765, affirming your belief that a tyrant has the right to choose what taxes to levy on his subjects, while denying them right to representation, making you effectively “pro-choice.” Some even insinuate that you were complicit in that act’s creation. Then in 1771 you actively sought a position in the English government promising to be “more effective for English rights than your opponent Thomas ‘Teddy Kennedy’ Hutchinson.” This is unacceptable. It is clear by your statement that “English rights” equates to the right of English troops to quarter in any house during times of peace.You say that during 1771 as you studied the effects of English trade regulations and laws on Ireland, you were “astounded and moved by the level of poverty,” and that you feared that English precedent and Roe vs. King George III had “cheapened the value of representation.” In 1773 you shifted steadily to a pro-American position. In the following years your actions have been decidedly pro-American, including your lucid writings, An Edict by the King of Prussia, and Rules by Which a Great Empire May Be Reduced to a Small One. This is too little too late though.
It is unfortunate that your conversion to the cause comes so close to the election revolution. Our position is desperate and converts to our cause are greatly needed. However, using our conservative prudence, we have decided that only life-long “true patriots” may represent us (aside from George “Reagan” Washington, former Lieutenant Colonel siding with the British in the French-Indian War, and a few others). We therefore endow you with the inescapable pejorative of “flip-flopper.”
This decision is made easier by a quick Google search, which reveals that many “true patriot” organizations oppose you. Oh yeah and what religion do you belong to?
Yours Truly,
Thomas Jefferson

It is clear the Mitt Romney is a great man with great vision for our country and uncanny leadership abilities. In addition he has great communication skills, knowledge and experience. What will be the cost to our cause if we reject our own latecomers? What might be lost?

Thomas Sowell on illegal imigration

A good illegal immigration article from Thomas Sowell
http://townhall.com/columnists/ThomasSowell/2007/06/12/bipartisan_betrayal

Running scared

Pat Buchanan agrees with Gov Romney that Iowa is a victory. http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=21055

The first case for Mitt Romney

The world is a scary place. We face challenges of enormous proportion. On the foreign policy front we face ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. A nuclear Pakistan, which with the loss of one man quickly becomes the most dangerous country on earth; Iran a someday nuclear threat and current sponsor of terrorists. No less ominous is totalitarian China, heavily investing in military systems and technology, enjoying rapid economic growth and seeking to limit American influence in Asia. The list goes on.

On the economic front we are confronted with the decline of our manufacturing base, lack of personal savings and increased competition from Asia; among many other things.

Domestically, we are an increasingly divided nation ideologically; we suffer from a lack of genial or even civil discourse. Our families suffer and continue to break apart. We also have the obligations of social security, Medicare, Medicaid and a large aging population. Again, the list goes on.

It bears repeating again, the world is a scary place. It is for this reason that I support Mitt Romney for President of the United States of America. Not because I agree with him on every position, or because he is the “true conservative” (what a fallacious argument is the idea of “a true conservative”). Not because the other candidates are horrible. Not because he has never been wrong. No, the reason I so adamantly support Mitt Romney is the fact that he is far and away the best leader on either side. That is what a President is, a leader, an executive. A president is not someone who has all the answers, but can take a team of people with competing ideas and visions, ascertain the facts and decide on a course of action. That is where Mitt Romney excels, no over-blown charges of flip-flopping or opportunism will ever change that.

Mitt Romney’s experience with business, the Olympics and governing Massachusetts, proves his leadership abilities. I implore you, no matter your personal ideology, to consider who can best lead this country through the challenging and scary times that lie ahead. Oh, and Mitt Romney would be the first to tell you that the future holds great hope and promise. I miss that kind of optimism.