The Republicans and the media have been trying to “redefine” conservatives. The problem is, they still don’t get it. A CONSERVATIVE LEADER needs to possess the following traits:

First and foremost is Honesty! I am so tired of being lied to by politicians. I want my leader to be honest to a fault. I want him (or her-please don’t hit me up on the sex of the leader-my leader can be any sex, any race, as long as they have the attributes I am looking for) to say what he means and mean what he says. I want honesty not just of word, but of deed as well.

Forthrightness—I want my leader to tell it to me straight. Political correctness and political double-speak just make me want to scream.

Respect—My leader needs to respect me the same way any employee respects their employer. The way a son should respect his parents.

Equality—Talk to me as an academic equal. I graduated from high school along with a large majority of the other voters.

Courage—I want a leader who has the moral courage to not bend with political winds. He also needs to have the courage to stand up for America and its interests in the world and not make America look weak in the eyes of our enemies. I want a leader who knows that there are many in this world that would like nothing better than to kill us and that they can’t be negotiated with. You just have to kill them because they will never give in, never stop trying to kill us.

Devotion—my leader needs to be devoted to the Constitution of the United States as it is written and to the restoration of America to a Constitutional Republic. I want him to be devoted to restoring the restrictions on government as outlined in the Constitution. There has been far too much “creative interpretation” that has distorted and corrupted the provisions of the Constitution to conform to political expediency and politically convenient abominations. There needs to be a Constitutional Convention to “reset” the laws of the land to the letter of the Constitution, clarify the provisions that have been distorted to eliminate any ambiguities and to put the Supreme Court on notice that it needs to stop making law and get back to just interpreting the law as was originally intended by our founding fathers. If any decision on any case would have the effect of creating law, the case should be immediately referred to the Congress for resolution.

The Constitution—is the supreme law of the land and is not a “living” document. It means what it says. Don’t try to use legal jargon to twist what it says. The Constitution is only applicable to citizens of the United States of America. All non-citizens (legal or illegal) only have the rights America has agreed to allow them to have in accordance with signed international treaties. If they do not have all the rights Americans have, that is an issue for them to take up with their own governments. And, PLEASE, SECURE THE BORDER!

“Enemy combatants” are just that and only fall under the Geneva Convention if they are operating as part of an organized nation’s military. In combat enemy combatants are killed because they are trying to kill us. Captive enemy combatants should be vigorously interrogated by any means necessary (what methods we use NEEDS to be a closely-held national secret-to let the enemy know our techniques in advance just gives them more power to resist) to glean as much intelligence information as possible from them. Then they should be brought before a military tribunal to decide one of two fates, life in prison or (if they have been responsible for ANY American, allied military or innocent civilian deaths) death by hanging or firing squad. The ONLY time ANY enemy combatants should be released is if it can be proven that they can no longer be a threat to the United States of America or our allies and that there is no way they can provide aid and support to others who wish to do us harm.

Freedom of Religion—allows you to worship God any way you want, or not at all. It does not give anyone, especially the government, the right to interfere with how, where or when I worship. The freedom of religion ends when religion is used to justify violating the rights of others. Religion has played an important role in establishing what America considers to be right and wrong and should be encouraged as a means of ensuring that America continues to have a society that respects the rights of others and that it continue to provide the moral compass any great society needs to long endure. Having prayer in schools or religious education programs in schools IS NOT UN-CONSTITUTIONAL!!! As long as the government passes no laws that state “the official religion of the United States of America is (fill in your favorite flavor here)” (or words to that effect), then the Constitution has not been violated. There is NO right to not be exposed to religion. Atheists live in a world where the majority of people are religious, get used to it, get over it and leave us alone. I do NOT think islam is a religion, but, that is a subject for another article.

Freedom of Speech—means all speech, printed, spoken or transmitted. There is no right to “not be offended”. One person’s freedom of speech ends where the next person’s right to not be libeled, harmed or defamed begins. I do believe, however, that there CAN be controls put on access to that free speech such as limiting foul language and pornographic materials to forums that will not allow for minors to have access. I also believe that “speech” that could bring harm to others (such as “how to build a bomb from your pantry”) or depicts others being harmed (such as child porn) CAN and SHOULD be outlawed.

Second Amendment—It’s my gun…leave it alone. My right to keep and bear any type or style arms should not be infringed or regulated in any way. I should be able to carry my firearms concealed if I want without the need of a permit and this freedom should be a universal right regardless of what state I am in or happen to drive thru. And, remember the real reason I have this right, so I can join together with my fellow citizens to throw out and government that fails to maintain the consent of the governed.

The Federal Reserve Bank—There is NO REASON why this country needs to have a PRIVATE bank in charge of our monetary policy and our currency. The profits the Federal Reserve Bank take in each year should be going into the national treasury, NOT the pockets of billionaire bankers. If the United States of America (administered by the United States Treasury) ran its own “BANK” any profits generated could be used to pay off America’s debt and then they could be used to reduce taxes. My Leader would recognize this simple solution to America’s financial woes and abolish the FED.

Taxes—the Constitution outlines the powers of the federal government. In order for the government to fulfill those obligations, it needs funds. I support a flat tax (after a personal deduction for each member of the family) for personal taxes. I would also eliminate the ceiling on SS taxable wages and would establish means testing for receiving retirement benefits. If you don’t need the money, it goes to someone who does. That is how insurance works. Business taxes would be reduced to a level that will encourage businesses to do business in America. My leader would understand this principle.

Right to Life—The Declaration of Independence tells us that every person has the God given, inalienable right to life. Life begins when the sperm cell enters the egg. No one has a “right” to end that life. Contrary to what the liberals would lead you to believe, this has nothing to do with making a choice about what happens to the woman’s body. It has EVERYTHING to do with WHEN she makes that choice. A woman needs to make that choice at the same point in the process as the man does, before the pants come off. Once the deed is done, if a new life is created, then she and her beloved need to take responsibility for their actions together. If everyone knew this up front, maybe there would be less casual sex taking place, which would be a good thing as sex should not be seen as recreation but as the accepting of responsibility for creating life that it is. My candidate would stand up for this view unapologetically.

Marriage—one man, one woman. The purpose of marriage is to bind a man and a woman together so they can breed and protect, provide for and defend their offspring. By definition, homosexuality negates the whole point.

Freedom of the Press—every country has secrets. It is the way of this world. And, if those secrets were revealed, there are those in this world who would use them to cause our country and our people harm. Anyone who knowingly reveals any information that this country has deemed to be classified is guilty of treason and should be tried, and if found guilty, should be publicly hung. This goes for news reporters especially as they should be the ones who tell law enforcement officials about the individuals they are getting their information from. The editor of any news organization that knowingly allows information that he believes might be classified to be printed or transmitted in any way without first gaining approval from the government should also be tried as an accomplice. News organization should be allies working WITH our government to help protect our secrets and reporting those who reveal them. A free press is necessary for this Republic to flourish, but, it needs to be a RESPONSIBLE, IMPARTIAL and PATRIOTIC free press.

I have said a lot here and I hope that many will see it and, hopefully, find a leader who can support these conservative values, principles and stands on the issues. I will close with the admonition attributed to Edmund Burke: All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing! Get out there and DO SOMETHING for God’s sake and for the sake of your fellow Americans!

Edward Richardson, Disabled Veteran Voter
SSGRichDAV

Edward Richardson is a Disabled American Veteran giving voice to the view that truly conservative values need to be reinstated for the good of the country. He hails from Maine, the land of the two lady RINOs, and can be contacted through his Facebook page at: Edward Richardson