Dancing with Democracy

Recently I was reading Glenn Beck's Common Sense and found it an excellent read. The book is full of sound reasoning as he made a case for liberty and limited government. In it, however, he discusses the virtues of democracy and how that force will restore our government.

Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio host who saved the AM dial and made that radio band the hot property it is today has a section of his website and a recurring feature on his program in which he refers to himself as "The Doctor of Democracy."

The late Jack Kemp wrote in his excellent book, An American Renaissance that "bad mouthing democracy" was becoming an occupational hazard of Republicans and that they should embrace that form of government rather than distance them from it. The book was excellent, but like all other things I have read and enjoyed, I certainly do not agree with everything in it. Democracy is an extreme form of government that inevitably we lead to totalitarianism. The US has democratic institutions that are checked by the restraints of republican form of government. In these confusing times, "democrat" and "republican" have nothing to do with parties, but philosophies in this article.

The Founders warned of the excesses of democracy and spoke passionately about limited government:

John Adams: "Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself."

Benjamin Franklin: "Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well-armed lamb contesting the vote!"

Fisher Aimes: "The known propensity of a democracy is to licentiousness which the ambitious call, and ignorant believe to be liberty."

Even Thomas Jefferson, considered by most of his contemporaries to be the most sympathetic of democracy, was quoted as saying: “A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”

When I traveled to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union following the fall of Communism, there were often protests because the people were seeking a quicker pace of reforms. You would find signs, in English to get the message to the United States via TV, that would say "Democracy equals Freedom" and similar themes. Ironically, the first free elections in Germany’s history were in 1932 and led to the rise of Adolph Hitler, whose party enjoyed a mandate. Democracy leads to mob rule and mobs behave in a most destructive fashion riddled with socialism and financial ruin.

We need writers, radio hosts, TV personalities and more to discuss the virtues of republican government, which is found in rule by law. Government should only do those things the people cannot do for themselves. It must be based on law and confined, in our country’s place, to the 17 powers listed in the Constitution. This is why I say that the term "conservative" is a misnomer. There is little liberty left to conserve. The proper term is restore. We must restore liberty, limited government, private property, and free market economics. It needs to become "cool" again to point out the virtues of republican government and to dismiss and to discredit the extremes of pure democracy.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Rush Limbaugh and "I Hope Obama Fails"

Obama is under scrutiny like many on the Right never imagined and it is beginning to show in the President's declining poll numbers. Some in the mainstream media are beginning to have buyers remorse, even as the news continues to operate as a propaganda machine to defend itself as ones who moved from the role of "witnesses of history" to makers of it. If Obama fails, the media fails with him they fear. They served as a sophisticated PR tool to get the Illinois Senator in the White House.

Conservatives are up in arms in a way that I have never seen. Even at the height of the Clinton impeachment trials Conservatives were not as vocal. Barack Obama has created an alarm among every day Americans for many good reasons. Obama hates free enterprise, limited government, and those other elements that have made us free. Furthermore, he is developing a shadow government within his White House designed to keep him free from Congressional accountability.

So serious is this Administration's radical actions, even one of his strongest allies, Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV) has warned about the establishment of "White House Czars." His policies are radical -- socializing health care, eliminating what little local control is left in education, and the government's far reaching control of energy. These policies may pale in comparison to what Obama plans on doing with the political process. From his hostility towards criticism seen in the removal of reporters from his plane that represented newspapers which endorsed his opponent to his lust for political power by moving the Census (which is used to determine Congressional Districts among other things) to the White House all point to a man who is more interested in the "Cubaization" of the United States and not the mere "Europization" that so many talk about it.

Enter Rush Limbaugh, the long time voice of grassroot conservatives regardless of who was in power. In light of the dangerous times being brought on by the Obama Administration, Limbaugh and other Conservatives feel forced to take off the gloves. Recently, a major publication asked Rush Limbaugh (as well as many other political and media leaders) the media giant's hopes with the dawn of a new Administration. Following a summary of the radical and socialist policies being pursued by the new president, Limbaugh simply said four words, "I hope Obama fails." This is a statement that will not go away and Limbaugh is also not shying away from it either.

A recent Newsweek Magazine has a picture of Limbaugh with (what appears to be) tape over his mouth and the title "Why Rush is Wrong" and it is the reflections of a Conservative journalist who is trying to take the radio host to task. It is interesting that the only Conservative they could find to take Rush on is David Frum, a man described as a "Canadian conservative" who is most identified with the neoconservative wing and has served as a speechwriter to President Bush. His strongest links to the Conservative movement are with the National Review, he is an ardent critic of Sarah Palin, and a huge fan of Michael Steele. In other words, he represents that wing of the "Conservative movement" that most people on the right have largely disregarded. Newsweek, in its desperate efforts to try to create division in the Conservative movement when it comes to Obama, had to go outside of the country and really, outside of the movement, to find a critic. It shows you how pathetic the mainstream media has become.

Could Limbaugh have handled his criticism of Obama better? I think so and with greater effectiveness as well. As an Obama critic who has studied history and economics for years, I know Obama well fail. That is fact, not speculation. It has nothing to do with "hope," but mere reality. Socialism has failed, government isn't the answer, freedom is all that works. Limbaugh should have spoke of Obama's failure as fact, not hope. So if I had been asked to make a statement of what I would "hope" with the inauguration of this new Administration, I would have to say four words like Limbaugh too: I hope America survives.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am). Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business and says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com.

Jackson is Furious and Limbaugh is Confused by Obama's Choices

Barack Obama is about to announce the make up of his economic team as Wall Street, Main Street, and the media pundits hold their collective breath. His choices appear to be very surprising. This is not because they are very radical, but surprisingly conventional. They are the type of choices that will likely relieve Wall Street and infuriate the radical base that brought him to power. Furthermore, all of those who wished Clinton had gotten elected, don't worry, your favorite members of that team are showing up for an encore. What is most surprising of all is that Obama seems to be drawing on the more pragmatic and technocratic wing of the Democratic Party. Limbaugh and Hannity might go crazy over how boring these choices are.

Don't get me wrong, this team is liberal. But it is not the rampant ideologues that had many on the Right worried. On the other hand, they could also be the ultimate collective Trojan Horse, creating a sense of complacency that may make it possible for Obama to pursue the far reaching agenda he campaigned on.

The following is a breakdown of two of his most prominent team members:

• Timothy Geithner will be nominated as the new Secretary of Treasury. Geithner has worked in government almost his entire adult life with positions that have included Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Monetary and Financial Policy (1995-1996), Senior Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs (1996-1997), and Assistant Secretary of Treasury for International Affairs (1997–1998). In 2003 he was appointed the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He has been a foot soldier of Bush's recovery efforts on Wall Street and was there when the disaster happened, which should raise questions as to why he would be a good Secretary of Treasury. However, I think he is a safe bet, since Democrats will want to make Obama look as strong as possible and Republicans will be pleased by such a "moderate" choice.


• Lawrence Summers, who was Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton, will be appointed to head the National Economic Council. Summers is the poster child of technocrats. Under Obama, Summers will actually be the architect of the new administration's economic policies. Considering Summers' faux paux while President of Harvard in which he claimed that women were not as capable as men in performing the hard sciences, I was surprised to see him in politics again so soon. Not only did it leave to his quick departure as Ivy League administrator, I thought it would see him exit the political scene entirely. However, it appears Democrats can say things that are politically incorrect without consequence. Summers will be perceived moderate by the political powers that be and should enjoy confirmation without incidence.

In the end, what we learn, is that Obama is actually was quite impressed by the accomplishments of Bill Clinton, as we see the former President's influence in virtually every area of policy in the new President's appointments. It is safe to assume that the radicals that drove Obama to the White House are going to feel like they are in the out house, if the new President continues to make such safe appointments. They have to be patient for a while, but I am sure Jesse Jackson is already sharpening his verbal sword. Finally, conservative pundits must be at a lost trying to figure out what kind of President Obama will in fact be. I don't have any doubt what Obama would like to do. His radical up bringing and the course he took to power makes that obvious. However, he may be shrewed enough to know that his agenda will have to be pursued with caution and such is reflected in his team.

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Conservative Bloggers Fight Back

The conservative movement has successfully dominated the radio air waves since the 1980s. While much of the country had written off the AM dial, talking heads like Rush Limbaugh were just about to fire those dying stations up during the Reagan years. The result is Right wing dominance of this media. Talk radio's success and value to conservatives was driven by the fact that the mainstream media had largely become elite and hostile to conservative values. Talk radio was listener driven (through callers) and changed the way people got their information.

Fast forward fifteen years ago and you have a new player on the media scene, which is blogging and it is starting to dominate its industry. For some reason, liberals embraced this vehicle as a tool for change and for quite some time they have been the leader. Conservatives have found themselves limping along. I'm sure that there are multiple more liberal bloggers for each Conservative.

The problem isn't merely in numbers, but infrastructure. The left has developed support mechanisms, liberal organizations recognized bloggers as media long before conservatives, and their web platforms are far more numerous and sophisticated.

Positive changes are on the way, however, and are seen on a micro level at the 2008 Texas Republican Convention. For one thing, the party itself made it easier to for bloggers to get media credentials than in any time in the past. Unfortunately those credentials may become devalued over time if "anyone" can get them. I am sure more vetting will need to take place over time as the number of bloggers grow, but erring on the side of generosity of credentials simply makes sense at this time.

More exciting than a friendly environment for bloggers is the efforts of the Texas office of Americans for Prosperity in developing RightOnline.com. This will be more than another blog, because its unique state focus will help bloggers fight their battles on several government levels. The site and project are early in their progress, but I hope that it breaks down categories in a way RedState.com does, but includes a section for states and even regions. In addition to that, the organization created a "media room" at the recent convention (actually a very elaborate booth) where boggers were provided wired work stations surrounding an attractive stage where elected officials and candidates could be interviewed by the bloggers. It included an excellent PA system, video cameras and the videos from the conferences will show up on YouTube.com. A large screen TV makes it for an even more "polished" event. I will have a slide show about it in the next few days.

The organization is planning an event for conservative bloggers that is designed to help them improve their craft in Austin, Texas on July 18th and 19th and its list of speakers is most impressive. The event seems to be designed to be both informational and inspirational and speakers include conservative writer Michelle Malkin, former Maryland Republican Governer Michael Steele, Erick Erickson of Redstate.com, and many others. You can get more information about it at RightOnline.com.

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Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.