How to Get Ahead In Your Career

When you get out of high school and make the choice as to whether or not you plan to go to college, the whole idea behind it is career advancement.  We got away to college to get to travel a specific career path more quickly or we work as hard as we can – without the degree – to the do that as well.  No matter which choice you make, the idea is to climb the career ranks and get to a better station in life.  The faster we grow in our positions, the more fulfillment we’re able to achieve.

These days, we all take a lot of pride in our career paths and we make a solid effort to advance as honestly as possible.  We try to get there without stepping on the backs of our co-workers and without cutting corners.  When we get to a certain spot, we want to know that we’ve earned.  However, the really unfortunate thing about career advancement is that not many people know how to get there without hurting others or selling themselves out.  There are plenty of honest ways to climb the corporate ladder, without sacrificing your integrity.

Top Five Tips

• Be Yourself – If you’re brownnosing, your boss is going to know. Be genuine.  If you’re truly interested in an upcoming project, let your boss know, but be real with him.  Tell him what characteristics you possess that make you the best candidate for taking point on the newest assignment floating around the office.  If you agree with something your boss said, let him know and have at least three comments on hand explaining why you agree.  If you disagree and you decide to speak out, make sure you have the same amount of arguments on hand if you intend to publicly do so.
• Work Hard – A lot of people claim to work really hard, but really they’re giving maybe forty percent of their total effort at work. If you want to get ahead, do it by showing your superiors that you’re willing to give a hundred percent, one hundred percent of the time.  Come back immediately when your lunch break is over, don’t take excessive drink, smoke, or bathroom breaks, and don’t let the boss catch you surfing the internet for your child’s birthday present.  Put some elbow grease into getting ahead.
• Go Above and Beyond – If your boss asks for volunteers to run an errand or work on a special task force, volunteer. Even if it means more time in the office, sign yourself up.  Your boss will see the extra work, time, and effort you’re putting into the company and chances are, she’ll remember your name the next time something comes up.
• Be Seen – Make your name something to be remembered around the office, in a genuine way. Smile and be polite to everyone.  Participate in happy hours or work events and don’t just slouch in a corner, be seen.  At the company Christmas party, take a few spins around the dance floor, sing a few carols, and leave in a similar fashion to which you arrived.
• Be Professional – At said Christmas party, don’t down nine shots at the bar and twerk on your boss. Don’t be the office sourpuss that takes a stand against donations for birthday cakes or baby shower gifts.  If you can’t afford to contribute, politely explain that to the person spearheading the collection.  Address your boss and superiors respectfully and often.  Be recognized for the person who is polite and professional and is willing to do the work, not the person who gets “totally wrecked” at happy hours.

Getting ahead in your career isn’t going to be an easy task.  It’s going to be difficult and daunting as almost anything worth having usually is.  However, once you get there, you’ll know you truly deserve it and that type of promotion will feel amazing.

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How to Save Money This Christmas

$1000; that’s the amount of added debt people accrue because of Christmas purchases.  While that number can change from year to year, it’s still significant debt.  When paying the minimum payment on your credit cards, it can take up to ten years to pay off that kind of debt and nearly 50% off families admit they’re concerned about accumulating extensive debt this holiday season.  However, most families consider it a necessary evil to accrue debt this time of year as they want to provide a good Christmas for their kids and other family members.

There are ways to keep costs down at Christmas time and none of them involve crafting your own gifts, although that is a viable alternative.  If you have a talent, by all means, use it for your Christmas gifts.  People love to receive handmade items, especially useful items like hats, scarves, sweaters, and mittens.  However, if you don’t have a crafting bone in your body or you don’t have the extra time to create your Christmas gifts, there are still a lot of ways to make sure you’re not breaking your budget to create a great Christmas for your kids.

Tips and Tricks for Christmas Giving

• Black Friday – If you’re a Black Friday shopper, then you already know the deals that are available. One thing that they focus on when listing the items for sale is what people want.  They track stuff like that and they discount what people are shopping for.  If you want to give the hubby a new TV for Christmas, then Black Friday or Cyber Monday are the days to buy it.  Many stores offer incredible deep discounts on electronics of all kinds, so if the kids are begging for a video game system, then this is also the day.
• App Deals – If you use apps to get the best deals on a day to day basis, then keep track of what’s going on around the holidays as many stores, like Target’s Cartwheel app for example, start offering huge discounts on a random array of products. If you’re shopping for your family or simply for yourself, keep an eye on your favorite apps for the best deals.  Last year, Target put one toy a day on sale for 50% off between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Keep your eyes open, your child’s number one request just may end up on that list.
• Shop Around – Look around before you buy something and when you do, find a store that offers price matching. With a price matching program, you can get the items you want for the lowest possible price.  Did you find something you want at Walmart, but have a Best Buy credit card?  Best Buy is one of the many stores that offer price match benefits, so make sure you look around for the best deal, and when you find it, take notes.  By shopping around, you’ll not only ensure that you get the best price, but you’ll also get to see what else is out there.
• Circulars – Look at the circular ads in the local paper each week and jot down the deals on the items you’re look for. Circular deals typically last for a week and the deals tend to be great during this time of year, especially for toys, games, and electronics.  Keep an eye out for when your local stores offer stock-up and save deals on things like jammies and winter clothes and shop then for the best deals on necessities.
• Gift Cards – It’s a little too late to start this year, but if you buy a gift card with every paycheck during the year, you’ll have them during the shopping season to go toward your Christmas spending. You’ll notice the loss of money a lot less if you spread it out over the year than if you try to do it all at once.  Buy the cards for places you know you’ll be shopping for your Christmas gifts and even if it doesn’t cover the entire cost, at least it will take a good chunk out of it.  If you’re a gift card giver during the holiday season, your Christmas shopping is done after just a couple of months.

There are a lot of ways to save money during the holiday season, but the best way is to communicate with your family the reason for the season.  Don’t go overboard with gifts and rather celebrate the togetherness of your family and the joy of the holiday itself.

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Krauthammer compares the candidates’ foreign relations stances. His perspective on Trump is hilarious.

Charles Krauthammer has not been shy about classifying Donald Trump as an idiot. Following the ludicrous idea that Japan and South Korea should pay up or build their own nuclear arsenal to defend against North Korea, the pundit decided to compare the four candidates to each other as well as assign each an “analog” that closely matches their style.

For Bernie Sanders, Krauthammer compared him to George McGovern. Hillary Clinton’s was easy, of course – Bill Clinton. Ted Cruz, who Krauthammer has been only slightly less hostile towards in the past until it became clear he was the only candidate that could prevent a Trump nomination, received the positive comparison to Ronald Reagan (though strangely for the wrong reasons). For Trump, Krauthammer’s chosen spirit animal was humorous.

#NeverTrump The Final Four White House Contenders and Their Foreign Policies https://t.co/5K1g1BmGYT via @NRO

— Dennis Flynn (@flynnur) April 1, 2016

Missing from the list is John Kasich. The reason: this was supposed to be about the candidates that had a chance at their nominations.

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Did the Obama administration already walk back their ‘genocide’ designation on the Islamic State?

All of the kudos being given to the Obama administration for labeling the atrocities committed by the Islamic State as “genocide” are premature. There is no indication that anything will come from this harshly worded condemnation. Words are words. Extreme actions are the only things that can possibly make a difference in the lives of those suffering today and the first step by the administration following the designation was to declare that they’re under no obligation to do anything about it.

While most news outlets are still focused on the declaration, very few are pointing out the lack of tangible action.

Yes genocide designation is critical to protect Christians but Team Obama must do more https://t.co/abfuMUAYHo http://pic.twitter.com/RQelxnysk2

— We Heart World (@WeHeartWorld) March 19, 2016

Fox News reports:

The designation affirms that the definition of “genocide” under U.S. law has been met. Because the U.S. has ratified the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, it must now seek enforcement of the Convention.

Obama Administration officials have already asserted that “Kerry’s finding will not obligate the United States to take additional action against ISIS militants . . . .” The United States must lead the world in defending Christians from genocide, not merely pay lip service to their plight as they are slaughtered. And the United Nations needs to do its part on the world’s stage.

The irony here is that they’re declaring that there’s no obligation to take “additional action” in a situation where many conservatives have criticized them for taking no action. The upgraded air strikes against the Islamic State have yet to yield substantial fruit and the attempt to arm the “rebels” in Syria proved to be a complete waste of time, energy, and taxpayer dollars.

This administration is absolutely obligated to do something rather than waiting for the next President. It’s conspicuous that Secretary of State John Kerry and not President Obama made the declaration. He cannot be allowed to punt this terrible situation down the road. He must act now.

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When Marco Rubio loses tomorrow, he will halt his campaign

Marco Rubio was the chosen one. He was the candidate that was going to represent conservatism while bringing pragmatists over to the right wing of the party. He was the face, the voice, and the future of the Republican party. There was really nothing that could have stopped him once he demonstrated domination over his mentor Jeb Bush in the fall of 2015.

Then, Marco Rubio happened. He proved to be a lazy campaigner and an ineffective fundraiser. He received a good number of endorsements from important people, but not really because of his ability to convince them. They fell in line for the most part because he wasn’t Donald Trump or Ted Cruz. His history has been called into question and he had a penchant for missing votes in the Senate. Marco Rubio lost because of Marco Rubio.

Tomorrow is his last stand. Barring some tremendous miracle, he will end his campaign and will reluctantly support Ted Cruz for President. Chances are that he won’t outright endorse Cruz immediately. He’s finished in the Senate and his future is now in doubt. He doesn’t have a ton of money sitting in the bank so it’s not like he can pick and choose where he’s going to spend the next four to eight years plotting his comeback. He needs to work and if there’s a place in a Cruz administration for him, he’ll take it.

Rubio’s not done. He is too young and ambitious to take this as anything other than the same types of pains that past nominees like Ronald Reagan, Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney have had to endure in losing primaries. If the Republicans lose this winter, he’ll be back in four years. If they win, he’ll be back in eight to twelve. Regardless of what happens, he’ll take what he’s learned and come back stronger.

This has been such a disappointing campaign for both the Establishment’s golden boy and his supporters, but it’s not the end of Marco Rubio.

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The Republican Establishment wants Ted Cruz to bow to them

Ted Cruz hasn’t made many friends in the Senate. As of now, he has one endorsement, albeit a powerful one in Utah Senator Mike Lee. His willingness to attack his colleagues and defend the American people by fulfilling his campaign promises and staying true to the conservatism that he represents has thus far prevented him from becoming a Republican Establishment stooge. Despite the pressure, he continues to stay true to his mission.

They want an apology, but it isn’t going to happen.

WTF! #MitchMcConnell and the Est may be stuck supporting #TedCruz over #DonaldTrump so they want Cruz to apologize? https://t.co/N6TkaiNSbU

— Andrew Wilkow (@WilkowMajority) March 16, 2016

In case there was any doubt, Cruz has already stated that he’s not going to do it just for the sake of a handful of endorsements and the votes that they would bring.

.@tedcruz tells me he won't go "on bended knee, with my hat in hand" to Mitch McConnell to unify @GOP against @realDonaldTrump. #FNPolitics

— James Rosen (@JamesRosenFNC) March 16, 2016

Is it politically expedient to stick to his guns? Of course not. He could probably win the nomination outright by gathering the support of the Republican Establishment in this manner, but he’s not going to do it. It’s not that he doesn’t want their support. However, making himself beholden to their whims in exchange for the nomination is not worth it to any true conservative. This country needs real strength, not the false strongman tactics of Donald Trump. Would Trump bow if it meant an endorsement? Yes he would.

If there was any doubt that Cruz is willing to fight the Establishment, this should put all of that to rest. Cruz is fighting for the people against the Establishment. He always has. He always will.

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If John Kasich loses Michigan, he should drop out BEFORE Ohio

There’s a chance that John Kasich could win Michigan. The chances are very slim, but they exist based upon recent polling and the fact that it’s his neighboring state. It’s also moderate enough to represent his “home turf” as he likes to say on the campaign trail. With zero wins going into Super Tuesday 2, he needs to win or he needs to get out.

Some would say that he should stay in to prevent Donald Trump from getting a win in Ohio. I disagree. Granted, I support Ted Cruz so it might seem like a conflict of interests to believe that giving all of Ohio’s delegates to Trump would be a good thing, but the dynamic in all of the remaining states means that a Kasich-free primary (as well as a Rubio-free primary) would favor Cruz in every other primary outside of Ohio. Considering North Carolina, Illinois, and Missouri are still up for grabs, abandoning Ohio might be the losing battle that wins the war.

Kasich seems to be bent on the idea that he can do well in a brokered convention. This is a joke. Assuming that the RNC pulled down Rule 40b that prevents anyone without a majority of delegates in eight states from even being on the ballot, Kasich would still be third if not fourth in the Establishment’s pecking order. They’re clearly trying to open the door for either Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan to be the nominee despite protestations from the latter, which means that Kasich is still out even if he stays in and wins a couple of states.

Then, there’s the VP spot. Kasich may be angling to be the Vice President for either Trump (likely) or Cruz (unlikely). By delivering Ohio, he’d be a good choice. Unfortunately, it the becomes a question of personal ambition over what’s best for the country. Yes, he could get a spot next to Trump if he wins Ohio, but he may be dooming the party to a loss to Hillary Clinton in the process. He’s not as charismatic as Sarah Palin, so he’ll be relegated to living out his term as Ohio governor before fading into political obscurity.

IF, on the other hand, he helps Cruz get the nomination by dropping out after losing in Michigan, then he could have a bright future in a Cruz administration. Cruz would beat Clinton if he’s able to beat Trump and Kasich might be the person to make both happen. Then again, he could win Michigan If that happens, all of this logic is out the window.

My prediction: Kasich comes in third in Michigan behind a dominant Trump and a surprisingly strong Cruz. The momentum is on Cruz’s side, but it would certainly help if Kasich were to bow out and make room for the real players to duke it out head-to-head.

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My love for America supersedes my concerns about Ted Cruz

Marco Rubio. Ben Carson. Carly Fiorina. John Kasich. Bobby Jindal. In no particular order, those are the GOP candidates I would have wanted to be the nominee instead of Ted Cruz. On the other hand, Chris Christie and Donald Trump were at the bottom of my list of potential nominees, so this should be an easy choice.

It wasn’t. In fact, I’ve sweated over this for a long time knowing that my chance to vote is coming up soon. I would have loved to have seen Rubio or Kasich win more than they’ve won and make a case for being the alternative to Trump. I think either one of them would take down Hillary Clinton faster than Trump’s security team takes down protesters at his rallies, but alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Instead, we have the choice of an ethically challenged liberal crook or an ideologue who may be too conservative to win the general election…

…except that he’s not. After much research, I realize with a near certainty that the only candidate Clinton or even Bernie Sanders could possibly defeat is Trump. Cruz might be polarizing, but he’s ethically sound and has a track record of conservatism that will lead him to victory in November if he’s given the chance. That’s a big “if.” Trump is blocking his path, but it would be very easy for Cruz to overcome Trump if the real roadblocks to his nomination were to get out of the way quickly. I like Kasich. I like Rubio. Both of them have to go immediately.

They shouldn’t wait until the win or lose their own states. Despite conventional wisdom that tells us they should win their states and keep those delegates away from Trump, the reality is that winning their states would only confuse the issue and losing their states would give Trump huge momentum. The only certain way defeat Donald Trump is if Kasich and Rubio do their patriotic duty, drop out, and endorse Ted Cruz. They have time to sway the vote in his direction in their states. In fact, Rubio is barely ahead of Cruz in some polls.

The other reason they need to leave quickly is Missouri and North Carolina. While it would be bad if Trump were to win the larger delegate counts in Ohio and Florida, the chance that he could sweep all five states on the next Super Tuesday is only viable with Rubio and Kasich in the race. If they drop out, they could help deliver their states to Cruz and they would allow Cruz to win North Carolina and Missouri. Illinois would be tougher, but it’s not out of the question.

Cruz was not at the top of my list, but Trump has been at the bottom of my list for a long time. He represents the most easiest path for Clinton to be President and must be stopped at all costs. My vote is going to Ted Cruz whether Kasich and Rubio drop out or not.

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Trump can win as long as Americans don’t do math

While every latest insult and tidbit of a slogan that Donald Trump says gets tons of publicity, while immigration policies get nitpicked and either attacked or endorsed, and while the cheers of the pro-Trump crowd attempt to drown out the calls for unity by the anti-Trump crowd, one thing is getting very lost in the details. Trump’s economic plan isn’t just bad. It’s mathematically impossible to accomplish anything other than the next great financial collapse.

That’s not hyperbole. It’s not even an opinion. It is a factual statement that Donald Trump’s proposals are indefensible whether it’s to raise expenses while cutting taxes, to charge tariffs and rip apart free trade agreements, or to balance the budget while missing a few zeroes at the end of his figures. The sad part is that in public polls, Trump is often credited as being the best to solve our financial woes. This is ludicrous. It simply doesn’t add up.

His supporters will point to his riches as examples of being a great business person. Let’s put aside that the economics behind managing corporations are not related to national and world economics. IF you believe that Donald Trump is such as amazing business mind, then thinking that this will translate into being a great President is like saying that Bill Belichek would be a great head coach in the NFL. Again, that’s IF you believe he’s some sort of business genius.

He’s rich. People look up to rich people. What’s somehow missed is that he was born into an empire worth more than the vast majority of Americans will make in their entire lives. His isn’t the tale of someone who worked hard and played it smart to become a billionaire. It’s the story of a many who took over his father’s real estate empire and managed to make a handful of really good moves that overcame the horrendous choices he made in other industries. If he were a CEO, he wouldn’t be able to get a job with any major company based upon his track record. It’s his personality and the perception that he’s a winner that have driven his alleged success.

Now, let’s look at the math of his “brilliant” economic plans. Fox News finally called him out on things that have been known for a while but that have never made the light of day in mainstream media. His economic plans are so clearly bad that one might believe the mainstream media is waiting until he becomes the nominee before letting people know during the general election that his numbers simply don’t add up.

Let’s look at how Fox News handled it during the debate.

As you can see, his math is off by a zero. He plans on saving hundreds of billions by cutting tens of billions. That won’t work. If this were translated to the scale of an average family, it’s like he’s saying that he’ll be able to pay a $5,000/month mortgage with a $50,000/year job by turning off the lights and rarely eating out. No matter how you slice it, you can’t spending over 83% of your pre-tax income on a mortgage and expect to be able to stay financially stable.

There are some good ideas in his economic plan when seen individually, but when multiple components are brought together the math becomes untenable. His big government proposals will increase the budget but he plans on cutting taxes. To make up for it, he says he’s going to cut frivolous expenditures. If he were to cut 32 such programs every day, seven days a week for the length of his first term, you’d be able to get to a balanced budget. Of course, it’s nearly impossible for him to cut 32 programs in his first year, let alone every day for four years, but again the math gets hazy when you’re dealing with millions, billions, and trillions. Americans are not programmed to do those types of calculations or to explore those issues. We rely on the media to do that for us. They’ve done the math. They’re ready to expose the ludicrous nature of Trump’s financial proposals. They’re going to wait (with the exception, apparently, of Fox News) until after he’s secured the nomination. They’ll use this to help Hillary Clinton win the election.

One does not have to be an economist to see how impossible Trump’s economic proposals are. Unfortunately, he was born rich and has been very good at real estate so obviously he can solve the country’s financial woes… at least that’s the argument by his supporters.

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I like Rubio, but the only candidate that can stop Donald Trump is Ted Cruz

Mainstream media and Republican Establishment bias strongly favor Marco Rubio. There are articles coming out that have this race somehow situated between Rubio and Donald Trump, as if Ted Cruz isn’t in the equation. This is the type of Saul Alinsky propaganda that’s designed to discourage and misinform voters with one of two end goals: a Trump nomination or a brokered convention. Either would result in a Democratic victory in November.

From the media’s perspective, they’re foaming at the mouth at the opportunity to have Donald Trump being their Democratic cronies’ opponent. For the Republican Establishment, it’s the same broken mentality of denial that we haven’t seen since 1980 when they tried to pull the same tricks on Ronald Reagan. Since Reagan left office, they’ve maintained an iron grip on the GOP nomination process, but this year they have no control. That’s not stopping them from throwing up a hail mary and hoping that Rubio comes down with the ball in the final moments of the game. The problem with this mentality is that they’re down by three touchdowns; even if they can prop up Rubio, he has no pathway to the nomination.

Those who are with the Establishment in holding out hope for a brokered convention should realize that, paradoxically, they should still be supporting Cruz at least simultaneously if not wholeheartedly. With the SEC Primary, Cruz is the only candidate positioned to prevent Trump from getting the delegates required to win the nomination outright. Even if someone is opposed to both Trump and Cruz, their attacks should go squarely towards Trump. Taking down Cruz will not help Rubio get his contested convention. If Cruz doesn’t stop Trump from getting enough delegates, nobody will.

This has been clear since New Hampshire, but now that Rubio is so far behind in Florida it’s even more clear. Rubio was my original choice with Cruz as my third choice behind Ben Carson, but now that the race is shaping up to be Trump’s to lose, we have to be pragmatic about this. Supporting and voting for Rubio will not do anything to keep Trump out of the nomination or the Democrats out of the White House.

A vote for Marco Rubio is a vote for Donald Trump. There’s no universe in which Marco Rubio can go through the entire month of March without winning a single state, including his home state, and somehow win the nomination. Ted Cruz is the only anti-Trump vote that counts.

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Trump could have his tax returns released in hours… and does so regularly

Donald Trump lies. Everyone but his supporters realizes this. The latest lie is that his tax returns are “too complex” to release in a timely manner. His supporters are buying into it because he’s rich and his tax returns probably fill a room, right? It’s arguably the dumbest thing his supporters have bought into since his claim that Mexico is going to pay for the wall.

That’s simply not how tax returns work. It doesn’t matter how rich you are or how many businesses you own. An individual’s tax returns, once completed, are placed in files both digitally and in paper backups. The difference between how average Joe America keeps his tax returns and how Donald J. Trump keeps his is that Trump’s team of accountants make certain that everything is in order, quickly retrievable, and readily available to send to the government or to any of the dozen Wall Street bankers that need them in order to loan him money for his hotels and casinos.

Filing the taxes for Donald Trump is definitely a complex process, but nobody’s asking for his current filings. We’re asking for his tax returns, something that anyone of his fiscal stature files away properly. In fact, he can probably supply his tax returns faster than your average American because he’s accustomed to releasing them regularly. As he has stated, he’s audited every year. More importantly, he takes out very large loans on a regular basis. When borrowing huge sums of money from an entity like Deutsche Bank, which he did three times in recent years, he has to supply his tax returns. When requested, he releases them instantly.

As Mitt Romnney, a rich man who released his own taxes for his 2012 Presidential run, pointed out yesterday, “The fact that he’s so aggressive in avoiding any discussion of his taxes…  suggests there’s something in there he doesn’t want us to see.”

Watch the full @MittRomney interview with Neil today on 'Your World': https://t.co/Xrkn6KLci0 http://pic.twitter.com/rp4mQMeUwh

— Neil Cavuto (@TeamCavuto) February 24, 2016

There is absolutely, positively something in his tax returns that he doesn’t want anyone to see. Otherwise, he wouldn’t make such a blatant lie about them being too complex to release quickly. He would just release them and defend his tax decisions like Romney did. It didn’t destroy Romney’s nomination when he released them in January, 2012, so why does Trump think his taxes are too dangerous to his campaign to release before it’s too late for Republican voters? It’s conspicuous that he says he’ll “consider” releasing them in a “couple of months.” The nomination will be locked up by the time he “considers” releasing them.

When Deutsche Bank needed his tax returns for any of his three huge loans in 2011 and 2012, he supplied them the same day. When We the People ask for them, suddenly they’re too complex. It’s a blatant lie. We will find out on March 1 if voters are as gullible as he hopes.

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Marco Rubio’s real problem with Gang of Eight: SHATTERED campaign promises

The debate about Marco Rubio’s stance on immigration has always centered around his involvement with the Gang of Eight immigration bill in 2013. Today, things are different and many voters are taking that at face value which is their prerogative. However, what’s more disturbing about Rubio is how quickly he absolutely abandoned the promises he made on the campaign trail for the sake of political expediency.

In an election cycle that has every GOP candidate lying about the others, trust has been brought up as an important factor. As voters, we can’t put too much weight on whether they’re lying about each other since they’re all doing it. However, we should put a lot of focus on when the candidates are lying to “We the People.” In this regard, Rubio’s complete disregard of the promises that earned him a spot in the Senate takes the cake.

#Rubio will say what it takes to get elected.. Then the real Rubio appears. #CruzCrew #p2 #tcot #ImmigrationReformhttps://t.co/slCtcyvb3k

— Conservative (@LeftistBasher) February 19, 2016

This wasn’t a subtle shift over time on an unimportant subject. He completely disregarded his campaign promises as a Tea Party candidate and lurched to the left. He thought it would help him in his eventual run for the Presidency. There are enough lies in the world of politics. There’s no need to compound the issue by betraying the promises that got him where he is. What does that say about the promises he’s making today on the campaign trail?

To get elected, Marco Rubio swore against ever supporting amnesty. Once elected, he turned right around a year later and embraced it. Politicians are allowed to change their minds, but this type of rapid-fire promise-breaking should terrify Republican voters.

Perhaps it’s best summed up by this headline that was written while everything was happening in the Senate with Rubio:

Marco Rubio: I Was Against Amnesty Before I Was For It But I'm Against It Again https://t.co/YcEjumi8Q4

— Connor Q Livingston (@cqlivingston) February 22, 2016

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Let’s dispel once and for all with this fiction that Marco Rubio is not the Establishment

Those who are okay with another Republican Establishment candidate like Bob Dole, John McCain, and Mitt Romney can stop reading now. Marco Rubio is your guy. To conservatives, Libertarians, and any Republican who holds to the notion that we need another leader like Ronald Reagan rather than the milquetoast Neocons that have been forced upon us as the Republican nominee for nearly three decades, it’s time to have a clear understanding that Marco Rubio is not our guy. In fact, he’s definitely more aligned with the Establishment than Romney was and an argument can be made that he’s worse than even Dole and McCain.

Since 1988, we’ve been fed a steady diet of conformist candidates. George H. W. Bush, like him or not (I do), may have been the most digestible Establishment President of our time, but he still followed the tired trend of broken promises and false conservatism. George W. Bush was fiscally irresponsible (aka liberal) and remarkably similar to Rubio with his cut-taxes-but-raise-expenditures philosophy that did economic harm to the country. It may be acceptable today for some pundits and at least one GOP candidate to tarnish the legacies of Bush 41 and 43, but I believe they were what the country needed at the time. However, they also damaged the country’s economy and pushed us further into insurmountable debt despite being recipients of strong economies from their predecessors.

That’s the scariest part. Rubio mimics their economic policies but he’s not inheriting a vibrant financial situation. If Bush 41, 43, or Rubio had inherited the Jimmy Carter economy in 1980, their policies would have been disastrous. It took a conservative like Reagan to correct the errors of Carter. President Obama is leaving the country in even worse shape, making the need greater for a true conservative to come in and fix it.

Is Rubio the conservative we need?

No, Rubio is Not the Right Conservative

It’s important to keep in mind that conservatism is not static. On many issues, Marco Rubio is definitely conservative. The problem is that the areas where he’s not conservative are the areas where conservatism is most vitally needed for the country to recover.

There’s a myth that the Republican Establishment hates conservatism. There are two times when they do not: on the campaign trail and when it pertains to gaining social credibility with Evangelicals. Both are forms of conservatism for the sake of “defending the turf” rather than the type of practical conservatism we need right now. Rubio is conservative on social issues and a hawkish type of conservative on the military, but his vision of lightly reducing taxes, keeping them progressive rather than flat, and eliminated the capital gains tax are not the type of economic stimuli that we need. They economy must grow while and the balance must be balanced in order for us to steer off the destructive path we’re on. Rubio is the type of big government Republican that falls squarely in line with the crony capitalists that keep the Republican Establishment in power.

In other words, he represents the financial status quo that is absolutely not what we need today.

No, Rubio is Not a Consistent Conservative

There’s something scary about the Gang of Eight. It isn’t just Rubio’s on-again, off-again love affair with citizenship and/or amnesty for illegal immigrants. That is still a concern even if his campaign says otherwise about his evolving views.

The truly scary thing about him is the ease in which he was swayed for political expediency. He didn’t join the Senate with an amnesty agenda in mind. He was manipulated. He was malleable. He was sold a dream by McCain and Chuck Schumer and he abandoned the principles that earned him Tea Party support during his campaign in order to play with the cool kids on a national stage with the Gang of Eight. He made a pledge on national radio to never support amnesty and he broke that promise 14-months later.

This was by design. He’s not stupid. He knew he would be called out by his supporters, but it was a calculated risk. The Gang of Eight represented one thing and one thing only for Rubio. It was his announcement that he was a future Presidential contender in the Establishment lane. At the time, he didn’t anticipate the swelling of outsider love that this election has revealed. At that point, it was the Establishment that determined the nominee, so he needed to build up his Establishment bona fides. It was the smart political move. Unfortunately for him, this isn’t the Establishment’s year.

Every candidate waffles. They all flip-flop at one point or another. However, when a candidate abandons one or more core values in order to be a smart politician, it means that they’re willing to do anything even if it means breaking promises. This is a deep representation of the Establishment and it’s not what the country needs today. We need values. We need principles. We need a solid core. Rubio chose to abandon all three traits to further his career.

You’ll see it through endorsements. You’ll hear it in his responses to questions. Despite having some social conservative values, his heart and his policies are now the property of the Establishment. To recover from Obama’s disastrous Presidency, we need an anti-establishment nominee like Ronald Reagan. We can’t afford a Rubio nomination.

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After 8 Years of a Secular White House, Can We Afford Another Secular President?

First things first: this is not an attack on Trump’s faith. He claims to be a Christian and that’s between him and his Creator. However, everything he’s said and done indicates that he is a secular person; his worldview is clearly not driven by Biblical doctrine. That is indisputable as his claims to never ask for forgiveness and statements that he’s a “great Christian” are clear indicators that he’s not Bible-driven. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad person nor does it mean that he’s not a Christian. It simply means he looks at the world through a lens that doesn’t include the Bible. He’s secular and he doesn’t claim otherwise.

With that understood, let’s look at the importance of a Biblical worldview. Those who do not actively practice Christian faith will likely immediately jump to the conclusion that we’re promoting a theocracy. On the contrary, we aren’t insinuating any such thing. However, it is clear that the founding fathers and most Presidents through Ronald Reagan were active in their faith, revered their Savior Jesus Christ, and held a Biblical worldview. This means something in a world that is so opposed to Christian doctrine. It means something in a country that has grown much more secular through President Obama’s terms.

When the Bible is at the center of one’s worldview, the decisions that person makes are better. That’s not to say that every decision is a good one. However, the natural human tendency to err on the side of evil is the cloud that can only be overcome through the power of the Holy Spirit. We’re all sinners. None of us are good – no, not one. Secular people can do good things and Biblical people can do bad things. However, when important decisions need to be made, the clarity that is granted to a repentant Christian is invariably superior to the shroud that secularism places before a non-believer’s eyes.

For example, Marco Rubio seems to hold a Biblical worldview. He was guided to reject amnesty throughout his Senatorial campaign and into his first year in the Senate. Despite the clarity that he was originally given, he allowed the haze of secularism to redefine his logic and to paint amnesty through a perspective that was guided by political expediency. It made sense to him because he abandoned his initial calling to follow the logic of his peers that he respected such as John McCain and Chuck Schumer. Despite his Biblical worldview, he went in the other direction.

Even those with a Biblical worldview can go astray. They simply have a better chance of staying the course and fighting the good fight. It’s for this reason that we’re adamantly opposed to Donald Trump. We do not doubt that in his heart he wants to make America great again. We also do not doubt that he’s had some huge successes in his life. Lastly, we look at some of his policy proposals and we see positives. However, his lack of discernment has also manifested multiple times throughout his life. He has no core outside of himself. This gives him strength in certain situations such as when talking to a crowd. Nobody delivers a better sales pitch than Donald Trump. Unfortunately, it’s the type of core that cause people to live secular lives. He made a fortune by taking advantage of people’s gambling weaknesses. He claims to have slept with hundreds of women, many of whom he says were married. He has gone through three marriages himself. He makes decisions based upon a secular worldview.

This lack of a core also causes divergence in perspectives. It’s the only way to explain his transformation from abortion-protecting, gun-hating, Clinton-loving liberal to suddenly espousing Republican ideals. It’s also a scary prospect; anyone who can change so many of their beliefs so quickly should never be trusted to lead this country. It wasn’t a positive thing the other day when he said, “I’m very capable of changing to anything I want to change to.”

Nobody is perfect and we’re not calling for the condemnation of Donald Trump. We’re all sinners. Just because most with a Christian worldview would not open strip clubs to cultivate more sin doesn’t mean that we’re any better than Trump. With that said, it should give any Christian pause when looking at Trump. He’s a “strongman.” What we need in the White House is a strong man… of faith.

Being that nobody’s perfect, I won’t even try to convince anyone that Ted Cruz is righteous. He isn’t. Nobody is. What we do know is that he’s demonstrated consistency and principles that align with the Biblical worldview. That’s precisely what America needs after two terms of President Obama.

Now more than ever, the country needs a Biblical worldview to return to the Oval Office. Since Reagan, it’s been missing, but it has never been as bad as it has been under Obama. We cannot put someone else who treats the Bible even more frivolously than Obama in the White House in 2017.

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Palin invokes Justin Bieber to defend Trump’s abortion views

Like him or not, CNN’s Jake Tapper has built a reputation for handling interviews with the proper demeanor necessary as a reporter covering American politics. He tries not to be part of the story, a feat that requires the ability to hide surprise or confusion based upon a politician’s answer. When listening to Sarah Palin give a ludicrous response, Tapper couldn’t help but appear a little dumbfounded.

The question was about Donald Trump’s 180-degree flip-flop on abortion. He was “very pro-choice” to the point of supporting partial-birth abortion. Now, he’s pro-life. Fair question, considering that the vast majority of people barely move their abortion views a little throughout a lifetime, let alone completely waffling as Trump has.

Palin’s defense: Justin Bieber. She likened Trump’s political views on abortion to the lukewarm change-of-heart by a then-16-year-old pop star. Solid.

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Marco Rubio needs to take on Donald Trump directly to have a chance in South Carolina

“Pundits put too much emphasis on the early states.” That’s the complaint that is always rendered when discussing Presidential elections and claims that this candidate is going to win or this candidate is going to lose based upon early primaries and caucuses. To see this in action, one need only to look at 1996 when Bob Dole lost five of the first six voting events before sweeping the rest.

2016 is different. News travels faster. Momentum ups and downs last longer. Buzz is no longer relegated to the talking points set forth to mainstream media by the Republican Establishment. I would contend that if the internet were more prominent and social media existed back in 1996, Pat Buchanan would have been the nominee and Steve Forbes would have come in second and likely been his running mate.

Marco Rubio needs a win. Even the best spindoctors in the world couldn’t position a second or third place finish as a positive for him because this is supposed to be his state. He’s evangelical, supports the military, and has endorsements from two of the most powerful politicians in the state: Trey Gowdy and Tim Scott. His strategy of 3-2-1 (3rd in Iowa, 2nd in New Hampshire, 1st in South Carolina) hit a stumbling block with his abysmal 5th place finish in New Hampshire, but if he can deliver on the third leg of his plan, he’s back in the race and suddenly the new frontrunner for the nomination.

It’s a big if. Right now, he’s a close third to Ted Cruz in most polls, but both are far off from Donald Trump. A Trump victory would eliminate all but Cruz even if Rubio comes in second. A Cruz victory nearly eliminates all but Trump, though Rubio would still have some life if he came in second to Cruz and dropped Trump to third. South Carolina will determine the race going forward.

The best bet for Rubio is to take on Trump directly. He’s been focused lately on Jeb Bush and John Kasich, the other two remaining “Establishment” candidates, but that’s not going to work in South Carolina. He needs to play his hand as if he’s the only real choice to take on Cruz and Trump. In a way, he needs to pretend like Bush and Kasich don’t exist. Given this dynamic, he needs to go after Trump hard. He’s already gone after Cruz in the past with limited results. More importantly, we learned in Iowa that Trump’s supporters can fall to Rubio if he makes his case as ideologically superior.

It’s a scary prospect for any candidate. Trump is the attack dog. If he feels threatened, he attacks back hard as Bush, Ben Carson, Rick Perry, and Scott Walker have learned. Things are different now, though, since Trump’s support seems to have plateaued while Rubio’s and Cruz’s seem to be on the rise. Rather than fighting Cruz for the anti-Trump vote today, he needs to take directly from Trump and focus on beating Cruz when the winner-take-all bluer states come up in the voting cycle. If he allows Trump to win South Carolina, his campaign is kaput.

Rubio can survive a Cruz victory if he’s able to push Trump down to third, but if Trump wins, Rubio will no longer be a viable alternative. This will truly be a two-man race.

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Trump’s proposed budget increases make his tax plan ludicrous

There’s a major contradiction between Donald Trump’s love for bigger government and his tax plan. He’s proposing infrastructure, defense, and immigration cost increases that require Clintonesque increases in tax revenues, but his tax plan calls for a $9.5 trillion reduction in those revenues.

In other words, he plans on spending much more while bringing in much less. It’s mathematically impossible for the two plans to coexist.

This represents the biggest problem with the populist movement that Trump embraces. He promises the best of both worlds because he knows that the average American voter will never look at the actual numbers behind his proposals. This cannot be stressed enough: neither Trump nor any human being alive can improve the economy quickly enough or substantially enough to make his tax plan and his spending plans reconcile. To put it into perspective, he would need to triple the export revenue across the board within his first six months in office and somehow sustain it throughout his first term in order to make his plans work together. This is, of course, impossible considering that export revenues move up by small percentage points annually. Instead of the average 4.2% increase in annual export revenue, Trump’s plan would require over a 300% increase in the first six months.

Since most Americans won’t dive into the numbers, let’s look at a sports analogy. Say that the United States is an NBA team. The players are the economic factors that influence revenues such as trade deficits, oil prices, the stock market, etc. For his plan to work, he will need all of his “players” to average 30 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists per game while keeping the other teams scoring at half their average. Why? Because his tax plan reduces revenues so dramatically that we are starting each game with a 40-point handicap. In other words, at tipoff the score is 0-40. Then, achieve his plans, his NBA team would have to win every single game throughout the season. A single loss would be catastrophic and the economy would collapse.

I know it’s a clumsy analogy but the point is to highlight the impossibility of what Trump is proposing. As the Tax Policy Center noted in their analysis of his plan, the tax portion would encourage growth but that growth would be offset unless its accompanied by “very large spending cuts.” Otherwise, the national debt would rise faster than it has under the Obama administration and every ounce of economic stability that we’ve been able to precariously maintain since the recession would be abolished.

He has to make major cuts but his proposals on the other side of the fence speak of big government and increased spending. He wouldn’t just need to get Mexico to build his wall. For his proposals to reconcile with his tax plan, he’d need Mexico to pay for the wall, roads, dams, bridges, Social Security, Medicare, and a good chunk of the US military.

It’s just not possible.

His supporters will say, “he’s rich and a winner and he knows better than everyone else how to run a business and make America great again.” They don’t realize two things: (1) He’s rich because he was born into an empire and did a good job of maintaining it, and (2) The country’s economic structure is exponentially more complex than building a real estate company and a reality TV show.

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It’s time for Republicans to unite behind Ted Cruz before we get stuck with Donald Trump

Conventional thinking dictates that this early in the race, it’s still anyone’s ballgame. Looking at the election flow, campaign statuses, primary matchups, and voter sentiment, the GOP is already faced with a two-man race.

Before going into detail about why Ted Cruz is the only candidate with a real chance of defeating Donald Trump, let’s look at the other candidates to understand their current and future situations.

Marco Rubio had his chance with a strong third place finish in Iowa but fell to a dismal fifth in New Hampshire. The “RoboRubio” concept is going to stick with him through the remainder of the campaign.

John Kasich spent six times more money in New Hampshire than he has remaining in the bank. With under $3 million cash on hand (less than Carly Fiorina or Ben Carson), he will need a massive influx of dollars in the next two weeks just to stay afloat until Ohio in five weeks. Barring fundraising numbers higher in the next two weeks than he’s had in the past six months combined, that’s not going to happen.

Jeb Bush and his super PACs have spent nearly as much as all of the other campaigns combined. The fact that he has a lot of cash on hand (though less than Cruz) and the presence of his super PACs will not be enough to overcome his personality challenges with the electorate. You know it’s bad when his biggest claim to fame so far is that he beat Rubio in New Hampshire by placing fourth.

Chris Christie will likely be out of the race by the time you read this. Despite claims otherwise, Carly Fiorina is in the middle of a job interview for VP, a cabinet position, or a cozy ambassadorship. Ben Carson is preparing for post-campaign life by building up a massive contacts and email list to fuel his future endeavors in case he’s not picked to be a VP or Surgeon General.

This leaves Cruz and Trump.

Cruz Would Win the General Election

The first notion that needs to be dispelled is the idea Ted Cruz couldn’t win the general election. These rumors have been tied to concepts that he’s unlikable, too polarizing, not malleable, and too detached from the Republican Establishment. Those who are old enough to remember may recognize these exact complaints about another candidate that was deemed likely to ruin the party: Ronald Reagan in 1980. In fact, some of the same players attacking Reagan back then such as Bob Dole and President Bush are saying the exact same things about Cruz today.

He has the ethical fortitude, strong moral values, and a history of keeping promises that run in stark contrast to Hillary Clinton. Her reputation of poor ethics makes Cruz the ideal candidate against her. If it turns out that Bernie Sanders is the nominee, Cruz is the ideological opposite of the socialist Democrat. Again, Cruz is the ideal foil to his liberal antics.

To those who have somehow fallen for the idea that moderates win general elections, it should be noted that the Democrats learned this wasn’t the case two elections ago while the Republicans still promote the concept. If you look at every election since the 1970s, the winner is almost always the one who runs the furthest to the right or left. Barack Obama was further to the left than Mitt Romney or John McCain were to the right. George W. Bush ran a campaign that was further to the right (though he turned out to not be a fiscal conservative) than John Kerry or Al Gore ran to the left. Bill Clinton was more extreme than Bob Dole or George H. W. Bush. The one exception to this rule is the elder Bush who beat a more extreme Michael Dukakis, but this had less to do with his stances than the idea of a third Reagan term.

As far as beating Donald Trump, Cruz needs Republicans to comprehend the apocalyptic demise of the GOP if Trump is the nominee. Today, the media is taking it easy on Trump. Mainstream media is the left-wing PR team for the Democrats. They have plenty of “juice” they’ll be able to use against Trump, but they dare not unveil any of it until he has secured the nomination. Once he does, they will unleash hell. They will roll out investigative reports that paint Trump as a dirty, greedy tyrant. They will run interview after interview with women, minorities, former business partners, and anyone else who hates him and who will make him seem like evil incarnate. If he gets the nomination, they will make the attacks against Romney in 2012 or Bush in 2004 seem like firecrackers compared to the napalm they’ll drop on Trump.

From the mainstream media’s perspective, Trump is their only hope of getting a sleazy politician like Clinton or an insane socialist like Sanders into the White House. That’s their ultimate goal. That’s why they’re barely scratching Trump’s surface. They hate him, but they’re saving their big guns for the general election.

Cruz vs Trump for the Nomination

Looking at the primary and caucus schedule, Cruz is the only candidate who has a chance of taking down Trump. Rubio had a chance, but there’s a reason why no GOP candidate in decades has lost Iowa and New Hampshire only to come back and win the nomination. Rubio needed the momentum in Iowa to carry over to a first or second place finish in New Hampshire so he could win or come in second in South Carolina. That’s not going to happen anymore.

Cruz has a much more clear path. If he does well in South Carolina and Nevada, he can take the lead during the “SEC Primaries” on March 1. They include Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and other states that would favor Cruz if he has support from the other candidates’ supporters. The other candidates have no chance of winning in most of these states, which means that continuing to support them is essentially handing them to Trump.

If Trump isn’t stopped on March 1, he’s pretty much guaranteed the nomination. The only person who has a chance of stopping him is Ted Cruz. With the support of Republicans who currently prefer other candidates, Cruz’s chance of stopping Trump becomes a likelihood.

If Republicans don’t unite behind Ted Cruz, Donald Trump will be the GOP nominee and either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders WILL win the White House. The other candidates simply do not have what it takes to defeat him. Only Cruz has the principles, infrastructure, ground game, and cash on hand to defeat Trump and return the Presidency to the Republicans.

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Dear New Hampshire: Donald Trump is an authoritarian. You’ve always hated authoritarians.

There’s a reason that Ron Paul did so well in New Hampshire in 2012. It’s why Mitt Romney won the state and why Jon Huntsman got more votes there than the rest of the states combined. New Hampshire is a state that values liberty, small government, and individual freedoms. These known preferences are the reason that the huge amount of polling support for Donald Trump is so perplexing.

In essence, Donald Trump represents the exact opposite of what New Hampshire primary voters have traditionally embraced. Outside of his immigration policy, he goes squarely against the principles that have made New Hampshire the enigma of the Northeast for years. It could be that immigration is the most important topic for New Hampshire voters this year, but even then his actual stance is more liberal than some of the candidates, Ted Cruz in particular. Trump’s “touchback amnesty” plan simply doesn’t seem like the type that fits in a New Hampshire voter’s preferences.

Small government definitely cannot be as important to many New Hampshire voters as it once was. Trump has never promised to reduce the federal government’s size or scope. In fact, his policy proposals demand an expansion of federal government intervention over the states and a dramatic increase in spending to make his plans for socialized medicine, increased military spending, infrastructure upgrades, and of course his famous wall (though that will allegedly be free since he’ll make Mexico forgive our debt to them and pay for the wall that they don’t want).

New Hampshire has never been a state that embraces the authoritarian style of government that Trump has proposed. Throughout the state’s history, the people have rebelled against oppressive federal government intrusions. What’s changed? What has compelled the state to reverse it’s desire for small-government conservatives in four short years?

There are two working theories being tossed back and forth among some of the pundits, particularly on talk radio…

Trump’s Sales Pitch is Confusing

The standard theory is that Trump has mesmerized his audience with a sales pitch that promotes concepts of strength rather than strong conservative concepts. Voters in New Hampshire are embracing the anti-establishment rhetoric without realizing how embedded within the establishment that Trump really is.

He has a pseudo-conservative immigration plan to appeal to the right-wing voters in the state while supporting moderate/liberal ideas such as affirmative action, a progressive tax plan, socialized medicine, and entitlements. He doesn’t align with his supporters on the issues because he doesn’t need their alignment. He needs them to embrace him as a winner who wins. He needs them to latch onto their inner authoritarian to embrace a strong talker telling them what to do and how to think.

In other words, he has his supporters seeing what they want to see in him. If they’re conservative, he wants them to see him as a conservative (which, of course, he’s absolutely not).

Trump's An #Opportunist, Not A #Conservative https://t.co/F1NVo7kgts#NHprimary#TCOT#TLOT#WakeUpAmerica http://pic.twitter.com/fQsgR5IQXF

— JD Rucker (@0boy) February 7, 2016

If a supporter is a moderate, he wants them to see him as a moderate and to forgive his more extreme views.

Somehow, it doesn’t add up. New Hampshire, the state that launched the Ronald Reagan Revolution in 1980 and that came relatively close to giving Ron Paul the oomph he needed in 2012, just doesn’t seem like the type of state that would embrace an anti-Reagan, anti-Paul candidate like Trump regardless of how good his sales pitch was. That’s why I’m personally leaning towards theory #2…

Liberal Independents are Tipping the Scale

Bernie Sanders is going to win New Hampshire. That’s pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point. This leaves the savvy, highly organized liberal vote manipulating machine in New Hampshire to pick their opponent. They’ve chosen Trump.

It’s hard for Republicans to hear this, but they have to face reality. Knowing that around 40% of the voters are Independents that can vote in either primary, liberals will be using their vote to tip the scale towards the candidate they’d most desire for the Democrat to face in the general election. Outside of Trump’s own supporters, he is considered to be the easiest GOP candidate for either Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders to beat. With a net favorability rating lower than any nominee in history and much lower than any of his GOP competitors, the liberals realize that Trump would lose handily to either Democratic candidate.

https://t.co/OWJIQlRbp1 @realDonaldTrump IsThe Most Unfavorable #GOP Candidate In A National Election in History According To All Polling.

— @towman883 (@9a1e6c8a99984e2) February 2, 2016

Liberals and their mainstream media puppets are hoping beyond all hope that they can manipulate the New Hampshire primary to make Trump the GOP winner. Moderates have several choices and conservatives have a much better choice. The real question is whether or not liberal independents will help boost their opponent of choice, Trump, for a general election loss.

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Taxes, Security, and Liberty: Why New Hampshire Must Embrace Ted Cruz

For years, the shifting status of partisan politics has made New Hampshire one of the most tumultuous states in the country. Since it’s a swing state in the northeast, it has been incorrectly labeled as moderate territory. Those in the state realize that very conservative and very liberal values have been clashing instead of the standard narrative that voters prefer to sit in the moderate mushy middle.

Donald Trump’s lead in the state should signal the real driving force for the New Hampshire Republican Party: anger. Just because they aren’t in the Bible belt doesn’t mean that New Hampshire Republicans aren’t concerned about evangelical strongholds like immigration and gun rights. If anything, the state is a pinnacle of liberty that the rest of the country should emulate.

There’s a problem that’s being played out in the state prior to the primary. The issues have been skewed based upon the ineffectiveness of the Republican Congress. Rather than diving deeply into the backgrounds and policies of the candidates, many have latched onto Trump’s proclamations of strength and prosperity. If they looked more closely, they would realize that both Trump and Marco Rubio have policy proposals that go squarely against New Hampshire Republicans’ views on taxes, security, and liberty.

Those who are truly moderate should be looking at John Kasich, Jeb Bush, or Chris Christie. At least they are true moderates. Rubio’s push to the evangelical conservative right played nicely in Iowa, but it shouldn’t be appealing to those who are truly aligned with moderate Republican ideals.

Those who are true conservatives should be voting for Ted Cruz. In fact, a case can be made that Cruz’s perspectives are better aligned to address New Hampshire moderate Republican hot buttons than even the four Establishment candidates.

Let’s take a look at three of those hot buttons and compare Cruz, Trump, and Rubio.

Progressive Tax vs Flat Tax

There isn’t a state in the country that should embrace a flat tax more than New Hampshire. The very concept of an oppressive progressive tax plan like the ones that both Trump and Rubio have laid out goes against everything that New Hampshire Republicans have achieved over the last several years.

The Cruz flat tax plan is designated by the Tax Foundation as the best growth model for the economy, yet it cuts taxes more than either of his main competitors. Rubio has an advantage in the primaries by proposing the elimination of the capital gains tax, but this is also his Achilles’ Heel in the general election. Whether it’s Hillary Clinton or Bernie Sanders, they’ll zoom in on Rubio’s “rich-person-friendly” elimination of the capital gains tax to demonstrate that he is opposed to the lower- and middle-class. He included it in his tax plan for one reason: to draw in high-end donors. He’ll get campaign cash and endorsements as a result, but it will be his kiss of death in the general election. Remember, President Obama won with a promise to raise the capital gains tax. The majority of Americans would rather see lower income taxes and a standardized capital gains tax rather than higher taxes for them and the elimination of a tax paid by the wealthy.

Security at the Borders and Against Terrorism

Whether it’s securing the borders or stopping the Islamic State, the issue of security is important in New Hampshire. On the surface, Rubio seems like the hawk on national security and Trump seems like the stalwart on border security.

The problem with these surface assessments is that the deeper dive reveals the problems with both assertions. Rubio is definitely a hawk, but his belief in worldwide interventionism goes against the Ronald Reagan style of foreign relations. One does not have to send troops everywhere to demonstrate strength, but Rubio seems bent on the Clinton/Bush styles of Neocon muscle-flexing and nation building. Moreover, as Rand Paul pointed out, Rubio’s insistence on spreading the military around the world will increase expenses massively.

At one of the debates, Paul asked, “How are you going to pay for it all, Marco?” He actually asked it repeatedly and never received a valid response.

As far as border security goes, Trump and Cruz have very similar plans. Build a wall. Enforce the law. Deport illegal immigrants (though Cruz has an actual plan while Trump just calls for his unrealistic “Deportation Force”). Halt and assess the visa programs. Install E-Verify. Employ biometrics. The two are mostly aligned, but there are two distinct differences.

Trump has the simplistic and easy-to-evade idea of halting all Muslim immigrants for a while. With his plan, two things will happen. First, Muslim extremists simply have to claim a different religion to bypass Trump’s safeguards. Second, it negates Trump’s ability to negotiate with many of the countries whose help we need in order to destroy the Islamic State.

By contrast, Cruz’s plan to halt immigration from countries that are greatly influenced by terrorist organizations cuts out the loopholes and allows cooperation with countries willing to help against the Islamic State. The countries that would be affected by the immigration hold would be the ones who wouldn’t help us anyway. It’s a much more prudent plan and again aligns very closely with what Senator Paul proposed.

The second distinction between Cruz and Trump is that only one of them is promoting the concept of touchback amnesty. If you were to listen to mainstream media, they’d probably say that Trump is the harshest when it comes to illegal immigration, but examining their actual plans shows Trump’s current support for old legislation that grants an expensive variation of amnesty to all non-criminal illegal immigrants. In many ways, Trump’s plan is actually more liberal than Rubio’s Gang of Eight debacle.

With Cruz, there’s no amnesty in any form.

Cruz is the conservative that has the right plan to truly secure the borders and protect the country without raising taxes or borrowing money to pay for it. It’s not just more conservative, though. Even a moderate Republican who cares about security against terrorism and at the borders can see the Cruz plans make much more sense.

New Hampshire and Liberty

Since the dawn of the country, New Hampshire has been the paragon of liberty. It’s the beacon of freedom that believes in strength while favoring the rights of the individual American. It’s in this area that Cruz is the only choice.

Rubio is a Patriot Act promoter. He doesn’t just want the return of the obtuse tactics enabled through the Patriot Act. He wants them expanded. His policy proposals are beyond hawkish. When it comes to individual rights, he chants the standard argument that if you aren’t doing anything wrong, you have nothing to fear.

This is a false sentiment. The rise of an oppressive style of government is less than a generation away. It wouldn’t take much for the Rubio ideals to take a deadly turn away from liberty in the name of the greater good.

Then, there’s Trump. He exudes strength, but it’s not the Reaganesque strength that many in New Hampshire crave. It’s the authoritarian strength that calls for increased management of and by the Washington DC rather than the conservative principle of reducing the size and scope of the federal government. He is completely against states’ rights to govern; if something’s going to happen under his administration, it will be decreed by the White House. From his perspective, the states are there to support the federal government, not the other way around as it should be.

Supporting Rubio almost makes sense since New Hampshire voters are known for being pragmatic, but the vast support for Donald Trump in the polls is utter insanity. The Republicans of New Hampshire should be viewing Trump as the worst-case scenario as a nominee. His sales pitch is powerful, but one would expect the kind of discernment that gave Reagan 50% of the vote in 1980. Instead, it seems the Trump magic spell is working. This is a tragedy and if you’re one in New Hampshire that can influence a single Trump voter, you must do what you can to educate them rather than letting them fall for his false charms.

In 1980, New Hampshire launched the Reagan revolution. Voters have the power to do it again in 2016 by supporting the man that truly represents New Hampshire’s righteous values regarding taxation, security, and individual liberty. That man is Ted Cruz.

The post Taxes, Security, and Liberty: Why New Hampshire Must Embrace Ted Cruz appeared first on We Heart World.

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