Sunday, June 25, 2017

Had a baby, sold a company, committed to a party: My busy two weeks

When people ask me on radio interviews, “Who is JD Rucker?” my standard reply is the honest truth. I’m nobody. I’m a Christian, husband, and father.

They ask this question because I’m heavily embedded in the formation of the Federalist Party, which means they want to know what political chops I bring to the table. It’s important for me as well as the party that I never allow delusions of grandeur to creep into my psyche. I truly am nobody, or more accurately, I’m just like hundreds of millions of Americans who are disenfranchised with the way government intrudes on our lives. I’m among those who realize small government, the type that can fit within the boundaries of the Constitution, is the only way to go. The only difference between me and so many is that I’m no longer willing to wait. I tried the GOP, then tried to help fix the GOP through the Tea Party. I’ve looked at third parties, and while some have great ideas they lack in strategy; they simply don’t know how to win.

I needed to do something about it and found that there are a ton more people like me. Every day, people are raising their hands and declaring they’re Federalists. It’s been wonderful.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. As I write this, I’m watching over my son who was born less than two weeks ago. He was born with a long list of challenges with his heart. His aorta and pulmonary artery were switched. There was a hole in the wall between his ventricles. His aortic arch was off. The poor little guy had problems. By the grace of God, we were led to a wonderful doctor and hospital and the prognosis is great. Lord willing, he’ll be in great shape and ready to go home in the next few weeks.

While all of this was happening, I sold my half of my company to my partner. He knew my situation and the fact that I’d need to dedicate a ton of time to family and politics so he made me a fair offer and released me. It happened at the exact right moment as medical bills were on the verge of breaking us.

Meanwhile, The New Americana, my other project in conjunction with the Federalist Party, has accepted new editorial leadership. Again, the timing couldn’t have been better. Steve Berman came on board and has been running the day-to-day since Jacob was born. Amazing how the timing has worked so perfectly thus far. Praise God!

Now that everything seems to be heading in the right direction, I’m working my way back into the mix with the party. Things are moving so quickly on all fronts in the political world that every moment counts. The team has been very supportive and all have filled the gap from my absence nicely. Now, it’s time to hit the ground running once again.

My requests: pray for Jacob, help support the party, and help support The New Americana. Steve’s going to be doing this full-time as soon as I’m able to pay him.

Thank you all for your patience. I can’t wait to get even more involved in everything as time goes on.



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Monday, June 19, 2017

Thursday, June 15, 2017

Saturday, June 3, 2017

When it comes to terrorism, yes, jump to conclusions

Whenever a vehicle/gun/bomb/knife attack hits a western nation, the left and their media cohorts are quick to drag out their broken record, better known as “the narrative.”

“Wait for the facts.”

“Don’t assume it’s terrorism.”

“Stop jumping to conclusions.”

Let’s put aside the fact that the vast majority of these incidents turn out to be terrorist attacks. Let’s also ignore (for now) the fact that the vast majority of terrorist attacks are perpetrated by radical Islamic terrorists. Even if we take away these facts, there’s still a very valid reason to jump to conclusions first and fix the record later.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Tonight’s attacks in London were the latest in a rash of “Ramadan incidents.” It’s not a coincidence that the Islamic State and other organizations have been calling for attacks on western targets during their holy month. It’s also not bigoted to point that out. The terrorists don’t play the politically correct game. They aren’t worried about how the world will view them if they’re associated with Islam. They’re proud that they’re representing what they believe to be the true fulfillment of their religious beliefs.

That’s not to say that Islam is to blame or Muslims are bad, but we have to address the issue with our eyes open.

The media and everyone playing the politically correct game are quick to crank up the rhetoric. They either willfully ignore the facts or are too blind to see that it’s no coincidence the vast majority of terrorist attacks are perpetrated by people claiming the mantle of Islam. If one out of every 10,000 Muslims are potential terrorists, that’s still nearly 200,000 people worldwide. This can’t be brushed away as politically inconvenient to the left’s narrative.

We need to handle every situation like this as if it’s a terrorist attack. There’s a difference between a drunk driver swerving into a group of people and what took place on London Bridge. When it appears that an attack is willful, we need to put our guard up. There’s no harm that comes from doing so if we’re wrong. On the other hand, if we “wait for the facts” before taking on a defensive posture, the results can be deadly.

The left is so worried about hate speech. Such speech should not be condoned whether there’s a terrorist attack or not. However, we cannot let fear of hate speech prevent us from being aware and diligent. The terrorists want to kill or subjugate all of us. Their greatest ally is a weakness propped up by fear. We cannot give them that.



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Friday, June 2, 2017

Daughter texted me that she had a disaster on her way to school. It's finals week so I feared the worst. I wasn't prepared. It was even worse than I imagined.


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We must defund Planned Parenthood, but let’s see the reality of the situation first

I am pro-life. There are two very clear cases that can be made. Politically, our understanding of modern science combined with the tenets of both the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence make it easy to see for anyone not indoctrinated to believe that it’s just a clump of “potential” life in the womb. Culturally, our Judeo-Christian values based upon the teachings of the Bible leave no doubt. Defunding Planned Parenthood has nothing to do with either of these arguments.

This will be hard for many to read, but it’s important to be clear about something. Defunding Planned Parenthood will most likely NOT save lives. In fact, it will strengthen the organization. To understand this, we have to look at the situation with clarity.

When we’re able to defund Planned Parenthood, they will not see a single penny less. They will see more money. Why? Because they will use their defunding to build the most powerful liberal fundraising apparatus the nation has ever seen. They will raise more liberal dollars than anyone other than the Democratic nominee for President. Defunding them will give them more money and power than they have today.

This is indisputable by anyone who knows how these things work.

If this is the case, why must we defund them? Wouldn’t it make more sense to not empower them through defunding? No. We must look at the two important elements from a moral perspective and one important element from a strategic perspective.

Morally, it is wrong for the nation to allow abortion to be funded by taxpayers. Some would argue that it is therefore wrong to fund the military for similar moral reasons; killing is killing, right? No. The national government has within its enumerated powers the necessity for national defense. It does not have the power over health care (despite what we’ve seen with Obamacare and Trumpcare). Since it’s the left’s argument that abortion is a health care issue, it doesn’t make sense for the federal government to participate at all in the matter.

The second moral reason comes down to choice. As Americans, we are forced to pay taxes. We can get into a discussion about whether or not that should be acceptable, but for today’s argument let’s assume that we all have to pay. When those tax dollars go to pay for something that could easily be paid for through choice (donations to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers) it is wrong for tax dollars to be redirected when the private sector could fund it better. If people choose to fund it, so be it. Those of us who would choose not to fund it deserve to keep our tax dollars from going in their direction.

From a strategic perspective, any dollar given by the left to Planned Parenthood is a dollar that may have gone to fund other projects or candidates. By defunding and pushing them to fully fund themselves through donations and other means, we’re preventing those dollars from going elsewhere.

My point isn’t to bring up some moral debate or ethical quandary about whether it makes sense to continue to fund Planned Parenthood. It’s important that we recognize the stakes of the fight. In the end, the political and cultural battles against abortion have very little to do with Planned Parenthood. When we recognize this, we can discern how to focus our efforts in the real battle.



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