PREACHING TO THE CHOIR

Over the years I have attended many different churches. Most of them, at least the Protestant Churches, are configured the same way. You have a congregation sitting in pews in an auditorium setting. In the front is a raised stage where the pulpit stands and behind the pulpit the choir resides on tiers which are at varying elevations. When the preacher delivers his sermon, he faces the congregation with his back to the choir. It has been generally felt that the choir didn’t actually need to hear the sermon as they were already “in the flock.” From this configuration comes the term “preaching to the choir.”

That term has come to mean that people like me who write opinion pieces railing against all things liberal are writing only to people of like mind. Some of you have told me that what I write infuriates you and makes you so mad you could spit. Well I hope so. I also know there are readers who don’t necessarily fit into the term “choir.” They also get mad at what I write. But not for the same reasons.

I am not deceived. I understand. I know most of my faithful readers agree with me most of the time. Some have even told me they would get much harsher with the rhetoric if they were doing the writing. But I also appreciate those who disagree. I appreciate all who read these columns. Whether these words make you mad at the situation or just mad at the messenger, I value your readership.

For the record, I try to be informative as well as entertaining. Sometimes, however, it is difficult to be entertaining when dealing with some of the issues of the day. It has never been my objective to incite you or to anger you. But I certainly understand if you do get mad. I get mad also. My objective is to share with you my thoughts and at times some possible solutions.

I feel far too many people in this country only get their news from very limited sources and therefore only get one side. If one gets their news from the so called “elite media,” all they are going to hear is news from a very narrow left wing perspective. If your only source is Fox News, all you will hear is the right side. Bloggers like me try to offer something somewhere in the middle. Liberals think I only write right wing stuff while people on the right sometimes criticize my thoughts as being too far to the left. When this happens I feel I have accomplished my mission.

Some may wonder what I am writing about today. It is simple. I know that some of you share these columns with people on your mailing lists. I know because I hear from some of them. My hope and wish is that more of you would share these words. Quite simply, I believe the more who read them the better. I know that there are readers from all over the world because I have a service that tells me where my readers are and how many there are. Oh, and this note to the NSA. Thanks for your patronage. I hope you have learned something.

Today if you are part of the choir, bless you. If you read just to disagree, bless you too. Maybe someday you might read something that makes you think. Thank you all for visiting and I hope you will continue and bring your friends along.

Ron Scarbro

HOW TO LOSE AN ELECTION

I am sure there are hundreds of books on winning elections. But, have you ever seen anything on how to lose an election? How about this one?

If I were setting out to help any candidate lose his election bid, here are some of the things I would recommend. First I would try to flood the floor with as many candidates as I could. Let’s say maybe seventeen. These would be accomplished individuals with diverse backgrounds and experiences. The one thing they all have in common is gigantic egos. Each one of them would actually believe they have a chance of winning. Some even are convinced.

Next I would arrange for a series of forums which I would call debates. These would be televised and the television executives would be told that these forums would have excellent viewership thereby attracting big bucks from advertisers. To insure interest in these forums I would employ moderators and questioners whose sole job it would be to create an atmosphere of animosity among the candidates. Their jobs would be to start fights between former friends in order to spark interest in the “debates.” Television ratings would go up.

So skilled would these questioners be that candidates would have to defend themselves from all manner of wrongdoing real or imagined. The candidates would be bloodied up. Even the best of them would not escape the attacks. At no time would any candidate be allowed to offer any positive program to voters. They would be too busy defending themselves from salvos of attacks.

At some point, candidates would begin dropping out of the race. Their funding would dry up because their donors would also see their guy destroyed by the debates.

In the end there would be one survivor. This would be the “people’s” choice. This would be the one who, though virtually destroyed by months of attacks, managed to win the last vote for the nomination. This would be the last man standing.

Now this “people’s choice” sets out to win the general election. He is bloodied. He is all but broken. He has lost his positive message in the fog of attacks by his fellow competitors. Now the real battle begins.

The other side of this race sees a weakened candidate who can barely stand on his own two feet. All the while they have laid low and waited as their opponent has been beaten up by his fellows. They know their race just got a lot easier.

We have seen this a lot in recent elections. Republicans have beaten themselves and they are trying to do it again. It’s called snatching loss from the jaws of victory. The White House is occupied by a complete failure and the two who are trying to take over in the Democrat Party will do anything and everything in their power to continue in that failure. This shouldn’t even be a contest. The Republicans should win an overwhelming victory, but they are trying to lose.

Ronald Reagan was right when he admonished all Republicans to never speak ill of a fellow Republican. It was called the eleventh commandment. Sadly our current crop of candidates seems to have forgotten this rule.

This country and this election are too important to be destroyed by egos. Now there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court. We definitely need the adults to show up. If we fail to elect a Republican this time, I fear our country will suffer irreparable damage and harm. We only have one chance to get it right. Let’s not lose this election.

Ron Scarbro

WHO IS MY CANDIDATE?

Some of you have asked me who I will support in the next Presidential election. Today it is not a very easy answer but I will try and do my best.

My first requirement of a candidate is he or she must be electable in a national election. In other words they must appeal to people all over the political spectrum. For the Republican Party to win this election we must include all people and exclude none. That doesn’t mean we weaken our positions, it just means we teach and explain why our way is the right way. We will need the votes of the black community as well as women and Hispanics.

Secondly our candidate must not have a tarnished past or a record of lying and cheating. Let the Democrats have that candidate. Ours must be an honorable citizen with a record of accomplishment. The presidency is not an “on the job training position.” We have seen that for the last seven years and it has failed miserably.

Our candidate should have succeeded in business, or politics, or in the military, or just in life itself. I am not electing a monarch. I am not looking for a king. I am voting for someone to represent me and this country honorably.

That person’s religion or lack of it is not particularly relevant to me. I don’t care if he has Cuban parents, Italian parents, or American parents. I’m just looking for a person who looks at this country the way I do. I want someone who loves America and her people and who would defend her to the death. I want someone who will restore this great nation to her previous strength. I want someone who recognizes that the world need not love us, but they absolutely must respect or fear us.

Too often we become “single issue” voters. We automatically discard anyone who might, for example, have a different view on abortion, or same sex marriage. That single mindedness can cause some to sit out elections which guarantee that the opponents of freedom will win elections. Remember there will never be a perfect candidate.

Here is a reality. The Democrats have a built-in block of voters of about 40%. You know who they are. The Democrats are running a pathological, congenital liar and a socialist/communist. And one of them has a chance to win. Why? Because of this block of built-in voters. There is a very good reason Democrats don’t ever want voter ID required. They would lose many, many votes.

I like all of the Republicans and will support whoever the nominee is. I like Rubio. He is young, attractive, and will appeal to a variety of voters. I like Cruz for many of the same reasons. I like former or present Governors for their executive experience. I like Christie and Trump for their brashness and daring. As for my top  choice, I will wait a while and see how these candidates fare in the upcoming primaries.

When our candidate is elected however, I hope he picks someone like Trey Gowdy as Attorney General. That would be bad news for a lot of Democrats including Lois Lerner and Hillary Clinton. There could be some serious jail time for both of them. Jeb Bush would be a great Secretary of State. Other Cabinet positions would be relatively easy with the talent available to our next President.

It is also essential that we retain our majority in the Congress. Remember there will be several positions open on the Supreme Court soon. I can’t even imagine how this country would look if the Democrats were able to choose the next court.

This election is the Republicans to win or lose. Only we can decide.

Ron Scarbro

I HAVE DEVELOPED A CLOSE RELATIONSHIP WITH ARTHUR

I’m sure this has happened to you. You go to the grocery store and when you are finished you get into a checkout lane to pay and leave. Sometimes, like me, you get into the wrong lane.

Just the other day I did it again. I got into the wrong lane for checkout. Things were moving along smoothly when suddenly the line stopped. I looked and saw an elderly lady trying to pay for her groceries. She was having difficulty figuring out how to use the equipment for her credit card. Even with the cashier helping, she just couldn’t get the thing to work. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the card passed through and she was able to get her groceries and leave.

Now me, ever the patient one, stood there and waited for the ceremony to be completed so I could pay and go home. I did pay and as I went to my car I was struck by the events I had just witnessed. I was fuming and fussing about being inconvenienced when I came to realize maybe the lady probably couldn’t help what had just happened. Maybe she was doing her best. Maybe I was wrong for being impatient.

If we are fortunate enough to live to an old age, we all slow down. Our agility suffers. Our comprehension skills start to slow as well.

As for me, I have recently developed a very close and personal relationship with some of the itis cousins. My closest is Arthur. His relatives are rheumatoid, osteo, psoriatic, Cole, and countless others. If I am true to myself, I know there are probably times when youngsters wait in line behind me. When I think about it, I am embarrassed by my reaction to the elderly lady in the grocery checkout lane ahead of me. That could have just as easily been me.  

The same thing happens sometimes when driving. There are times when someone camps in the passing lane and refuses to allow traffic to get by. They want to go slower than you do. Often the driver is elderly. Many times they seem to be hanging on to the steering wheel with both hands with their attention straight ahead not being aware of anybody or anything else. It can be infuriating. Personally I also drive much slower than I did in my youth. One reason is I get much better gas mileage plus I find it easier on me not having to compete with other traffic on the highway. But I do move over to the far right lane and have traveled this way for several years.

As for us older people I think it is important that we, because we can, pick and choose our grocery shopping times as well as our travel times. I don’t want to compete for space in the grocery store or on the highway. When people have to get to work, I prefer to let them have the roads. Also I try to do my grocery shopping during the week instead of on the weekends. I don’t have to get to work and I have the time during the week for my chores. I would much prefer to be still lounging in my pjs while others are fighting rush hour traffic.

The message to all of us including me is to try and be a little more patient with older people. Believe me they would much rather be moving quicker. I remember when Mickey Mantle retired he said, “I still run as hard as I ever did, I just don’t get there as quick.” That’s probably true of me and most older people.

Ron Scarbro