Are we still "We the People"

I have had enough. I have stood all I can stand. I could not be more frustrated with the current state of affairs in this great country of ours. If our current President (and the soon-to-be President) were honest, I'm not sure that they could say that the state of our union is strong. I am not a pessimist by nature, nor am I a pessimist in this situation. I'm just trying to be what the vast majority of our current crop of politicians refuse to be - honest.

I saw a couple of related stories today on foxnews.com (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/12/auto-workers-union-lashes-gop-senators-bailout-collapse/ and http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2008/12/12/white-house-considers-tapping-b-fund-auto-industry/) that are evidence of where we really are today as a country. These bailouts are literally killing what the majority of Americans know to be the truth of the American experience. In the first story linked above, we are told about a small group of "brave" Senate Republicans that stalled out the $14 billion auto industry bailout package that passed in the House earlier this week. I put brave in quotes because their counter-proposal was also a government bailout plan, it just sought deeper concessions from the United Auto Workers Union. A government bailout is a government bailout is a government bailout. The second story then tells us not to fear because President Bush, acting like a liberal Democrat, and the Treasury Department stand ready to step in and use some of the $700 billion financial bailout from earlier this fall to prop up GM, Ford and Chrysler.

What do these stories tell us? They tells us we have BIG problems on both fronts. First, those in Congress, by an overwhelming margin, seem to all agree on one thing - government bailouts are the only means by which the U.S. economy can be saved. Republicans (with some exceptions) and Democrats alike have all either bought into the lie that bailouts are the answer, or they want the bailouts to increase the size and power of government, or both. These bailouts are un-American with a capital UN. If our forefathers were witness to these socialist, nationalist actions, they would lead the fight against our government as it is currently constitued. Do not misunderstand, I am not calling for an armed revolution, but I am calling for a revolution of the mind. A revolution rooted in the beliefs shared by our Founders when they banned together and committed to one another their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. The current state of our government is so far from what was intended by the Founders, that they would likely not recognize it.

Second, the story about the UAW goes to show that if at first you succeed, when later attempts fail, just use the success from the first time to do whatever you want. Regardless of the reason, the enough of the elected representatives of We The People in the Senate voted against the $14 billion proposed bailout of the big 3 American auto manufacturers to block it from passing. That should have been the end of it, unless the issue was raised again in Congress, where it would once again, theoretically, be subject to the will of We The People. Instead, we have been told by President Bush and Treasury that they will just use some of the $700 billion financial rescue package passed a few months ago to get the $14 billion to the auto makers. What? Where are we living? That $700 billion monstrocity should never have passed, but it did, and now the government's apparent position is that it has free reign to do with that money as it sees fit, even if the uses to which the money is put have nothing to do with "rescuing" banks that are in trouble.

So I ask you, are we still We The People? Or are we merely speed bumps in the road to European-style socialism? The rights we hold dear will be taken from us (or for some freely given) unless we stand up and tell our politicians that they have gone too far. I hope by this rambling you can tell that I am a conservative. I have for as long as I can recall considered myself a Republican, but the Republican party has lost its vision, its purpose and it principles. I now consider myself a conservative only. My views align most closely with Republican candidates, but there are very few Republicans in our government that stand for conservatism - the kind of conservatism that Ronald Reagan stood for. What do you think? Are we still We the people?