Left Wing Thinking is Just Too Dangerous

From Mexican President Calderon’s visit to the United States, his anti-Arizona lecture on the House floor and his condemnation of U.S. Law; to Tuesday’s elections, the trillion dollar European bailout, and Cap and Trade, this week has been another incredibly packed news week. To listen to my thoughts on these issues, Click here for this week’s program.

PA-12 Special Election

Democrat Mark Critz defeated Conservative Republican Tim Burns (53% – 45%) in Tuesday’s special election to replace former Congressman John Murtha. Although I am very disappointed in the outcome (I support Tim Burns), there are several instructive takeaways from this race. In a district where Democrats outnumber Republicans by a 2 to 1 margin, Critz could not win by running on the liberal policies of Nancy Pelosi, Barack Obama, and the "progressive" left (including his former boss). Instead, Critz ran as a pro-life, pro-gun, anti-ObamaCare, and anti-Cap and Trade Democrat. He also falsely claimed that his Republican opponent supported a 23% across the board tax increase on all Americans, a claim that was discounted by factcheck.org and Critz himself. Radio and television ads ran for weeks featuring this lie – even after Critz admitted it was a lie! It says something about the integrity – or lack thereof – of a candidate and his party when he wins an election through a well funded lie.

Democrats in New Jersey, Virginia, Massachusetts, Arkansas, and Pennsylvania who have supported the current administration’s goals have lost elections. And I believe they will continue to do so. I am looking forward to the coming race between conservative Pat Toomey and liberal Joe Sestak for the PA Senate seat. Both candidates have been very clear about where they stand on the political issues (the economy, Cap and Trade, Card Check, ObamaCare, Immigration Amnesty). Pennsylvanians will have an opportunity to stand up and oppose Obama’s destructive agenda by sending Toomey to Washington D.C. November simply cannot come quickly enough.

Arizona Immigration Law

While visiting our country this week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon offered a stinging rebuke to Arizona lawmakers and all Americans by criticizing the state’s efforts to enforce Federal immigration regulations. Calderon stood on the floor of the U.S. House and called the AZ law "unjust" and "discriminatory." This rebuke was not only unprecedented, but also hypocritical, since Mexico’s immigration laws require everyone to be documented and carry appropriate paperwork. And anyone found in Mexico illegally can face imprisonment. Furthermore, Amnesty International has documented Mexico’s long history of abuse towards immigrants in its own country, turning a blind eye to the kidnapping, rape, and murder that is rampant along its southern border. We must support legal and rational immigration, and encourage individuals to come to our country who can stand on their own two feet, support themselves and their families, and make a positive contribution to the future of the United States of America. But we must also limit immigration that brings additional government dependents — people who rely on taxpayers to provide "free" healthcare, "free" food, and "free" housing. Such dependency is antithetical to our American culture and Heritage, and dangerous to the future economic viability of our country. (This is just common sense, yet when the hard left under Barack Obama is in control of Washington, it is necessary to argue and explain these basic things.)

Kagen’s belief in a flawed Constitution?

President Obama’s U.S. Supreme Court Nominee – Elena Kagen – is problematic for a multitude of reasons. First, there is little paper trail upon which to evaluate her legal positions. She never served as a judge, and has limited litigation experience. Second, she has no respect for the rule of law. While serving as Harvard Dean, she simply refused to allow military recruiters to work on campus, even though the courts ruled that such a ban was illegal since Harvard receives federal money. But Kagen is also troubling because she believes that the U.S. Constitution is flawed. This typical liberal thinking ultimately concludes that judges should have the authority to rewrite the Constitution as they see fit. This leftwing thinking is just too dangerous and must be opposed.

Crony Capitalism

This week, Maury Donahue – Manager of Regulatory and Public Affairs Communications at FedEx Corporation – joins me on the program to discuss another piece of overreaching Congressional legislation, which if passed would destroy FedEx’s successful business model. The bottom line is that FedEx’s major competitor – UPS – has been slower than FedEx to innovate and grow because they are regulated under the National Labor Relations Act. This Act encourages employees to unionize on the local level, and allows local districts to disrupt service with costly walk outs and strikes. As a result, UPS is unable to guarantee uninterrupted service and struggles to keep consumer costs in line with FedEx. But instead of freeing UPS from this broken business model, Congress wants to force the same destructive regulations onto FedEx and its 125,000 employees.

The Democrat Party majority in Congress does not care about doing the right or productive thing. They only care about politics and their own power. And one of the top contributors to Democratic political campaigns are the unions.
Cap and Trade is another destructive piece of political agenda, and in spite of the fact that the American people have rejected this policy, Democrats continue to force it through Congress. Last week, Sens. Liebermann and Kerry introduced the "American Power Act," which mimics the Cap and Trade bill passed by the House last year. The bill reduces emissions by 15% (over 2005 levels) by 2020 and 83% by 2050. Numerous independent groups have analyzed Cap and Trade and concluded that it will significantly raise the cost of electricity ($3,000 per year for a typical family of four), increase the price of gasoline (to about $7 – $9 a gallon), raise the cost of just about everything we buy, and severely damage our economy. Lisa Jackson – President Obama’s EPA Administrator – has stated that this economic pain will do nothing to reduce the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. And yet, President Obama and the liberal Democrats persist in trying to pass this legislation into law. Why?.

The bottom line is that big government, socialist policies have created an economic crisis in Greece and similar policies will also destroy our American way of life if we allow it. We have to keep resisting these policies. And we must continue to let our Senators and Representatives in Washington D.C. know that we are opposed to this "progressive" thinking. And this November, we must vote these liberals out of office. It is simply too dangerous to leave them in power.

Have a great week.
Sincerely,
Glen Meakem
Glen Meakem is a successful technology entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and conservative talk radio show host, who offers information and insights on how individuals and our nation can be more successful. Glen’s unique perspective has been shaped by his experiences as founder, chairman and CEO of the B2B internet success Freemarkets Inc – which he founded in 1995, took public in 1999, and sold to Ariba in 2004. In 2005, Glen co-founded Meakem Becker Venture Capital, a firm that invests in early stage start up companies. Concerned about the liberal political agenda that has gripped the United States and his home state of Pennsylvania, Glen launched the Glen Meakem Program in 2008. Glen served as an officer in the United States Army Reserve and is a veteran of the First Gulf War. He also earned his undergraduate degree from Harvard and his MBA from Harvard Business School. For more information about Glen and the Glen Meakem Radio Program, or to read his blog, please visit http://glenmeakem.com.