Category Archives: Republicans

by Barry Kelly | October 6, 2016 · 11:00 am

The Professor and Political Realities

“Before I give you a short lecture on what I call ‘political realities,’ here is your assignment for our next class. Now that you are divided into two groups, each supporting either the conservative side or liberal side, each group must prepare a ten-minute speech and a TV ad. The group’s representative will deliver the speech. Visual aids are allowed, but it is the effectiveness of the message that counts.

“We have political parties because people want, or believe they want, something different from what they have now, while others want to defend and develop the existing way of governing. When you view politics for this perspective, you can identify basic issues and beliefs. I haven’t found many people to agree with my analysis, but I believe it to be accurate. You, of course, may disagree, but you must be able to defend your group’s position.

“I believe the drive toward centralization of nearly everything is rooted in the DNA of civilization. The motive of this need to seek centralization would probably be a good thing, if the process had some limit. But it does not. It continues until centralization reaches the breaking point where constant centralization creates an unmanageable entity. The need to have or, at least, to believe the process has created a controllable management structure where a small group of elites can create a better life for all by reaching the point where management is responsible to the will of the people sounds like a very desirable outcome.

“Unfortunately, it is not. The Department of Homeland Security is a good example. After the terrorist attack on 9/11, in a laudable intent to secure future safety by improving management accountability and effectiveness, several organizations that were already too big for effective management were combined. However, I think only the priests of centralization believe the head of DHS can or is improving security. The more likely result is that most of his time and energy are expended in trying to find out what is going on in his empire and how to satisfy the requirements of the president and Congress. Nevertheless, now that one person is in charge, the pushers of centralization believe improvements in security will routinely occur even with the almost weekly examples of bumbling by the managers of airport security. From the time of unwritten history, the Roman Empire’s rise and fall, to the present day, the process of centralization continues, modified only by the undeniable failure of a society, civilization, or a national government. This process can be found behind the constant failure of socialist nations.

“Behind the scenes battle the ‘founders and the guardians.’ This theme is easier to explain because it can be observed in both the public and private sector. The keywords are founders and guardians. Organizations in the beginning of their histories can point to the people who were the founders. With maturation, nearly all organizations slowly, but inexorably, move into the control of the guardians. These well-meaning, good people use the power of process to protect and perpetuate the organization they inherited. Process expertise does not involve the understanding or the furtherance of the founder’s mission, it is solely concerned with the way the mission is accomplished. You have all seen them. They are the enablers of the units who focus on personnel management, accounting, logistics, communications, and finance. Good people all and their skills are needed and respected.

But they should not supplant the line mission leaders. The downside is the effect of their process requirements on the effectiveness and direction of the line mission of the unit. Seldom can a person with process skills actually lead people engaged in the primary mission of the organization they serve. Yet this process affects all organizations, private and public.

My third theme is the most important. The Constitution, the Bill of Rights, our founders, the separations of powers, and the blood and sweat of our ancestors all combine to make America a very special place. All of these elements rest on the ‘rule of law.’ When an administration like President Obama’s disregards the rule of law, they are trashing the very core of America’s existence.

The rule of law doesn’t provide total equality for all people. Slogans spouting sound bytes such as “a fair shot for everyone,” “equal opportunity for all,” and “everyone deserves a fair share” are the false promises that permeate socialist speeches. The rule of law does, however, provide equal protection under the law from the arbitrary excesses of government and the protection of life and property by the government. This protection must be provided equally to all citizens, all the time, regardless of wealth, economic stature, race, religion, or political position. Justice must be blind in its application to all. When it is not, our society will begin to unravel, for the rule of law is what holds our nation together. It is what finally triumphed over evils like slavery, racial and religious discrimination, and inequality of opportunity to be all you can be. This is unique to America. It did not arrive here with our waves of immigrants. Instead, it is what brought them to take the risks of moving to a new land.

“Ponder these three themes. Use them or develop your own. But you must be able to identify what is behind the sound bytes of our political parties. Class is over. See you all next week.”

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Filed under Barry Kelly, centralization, complexity, Conservative views, Intelligence & Politics, management theory, political solutions, Republicans, trump

Tagged as Progressive, socialism

by Barry Kelly | September 27, 2016 · 2:40 pm

The Professor and The Debate

The first Presidential debate of 2016 had just finished and the spin rooms were already active with talking heads. Professor Clark shut off the wide-screen TV that dominated his home office. He said, “It is a pleasure to have this class in my home for this historic debate. There is no question that this is the most important election period in my lifetime. There are serious issues at stake. Many have been postponed for years. The very direction of the nation is being decided. The kind of world you will live in for the rest of your lives is being debated now throughout the nation. To verge on the sensational for a moment, I don’t think it is a stretch to say the very existence of this unique nation could be a casualty of the election.

“I know it is late and the sleep time hard-working students get is precious, but I want to go around the room and get some one-liners from you. Alison, let’s start with you.”

Alison said, “Secretary Clinton stayed on message and showed very good debate discipline, but I don’t think she scored many points. Her poll numbers will remain relatively constant.”

“Robert, you’re next.”

“It’s hard to pick a clear winner. Trump missed several opportunities to score but he did as well as he needed to. The moderator was clearly helping Hillary and that will resonate with his followers.”

“Carlos, what’s your take?”

“I agree with Alison and Robert. The debate was a draw or close to it. Secretary Clinton had the worst hand, having to run on the direction Obama put this nation on when the people are screaming for change.”

“Katrisha, comments?”

“I saw the debate nearly the same as my colleagues, but was struck by the body language. Hillary was ‘smirky,’ stiff and her voice was too high-pitched. Trump showed anger and some petulance. He couldn’t get over his ‘counter-punching’ instincts. As a result, he let his opponent direct the substance of the debate.”

The Professor nodded at Paul and said, “Go.”

“I thought at a presidential debate even a moderator from NBC would play it fairly straight. It could have been worse, but his frequent interruptions of Trump, the selective fact checking and the avoiding of any questions on e-mails, illegal servers, BenGhazi, the Clinton Foundation and many others showed a clear network biases.”

“Barbara you’re on.”

“I was struck by the fact the contestants seemed to be unconsciously addressing different audiences. Hillary’s comments, I believe, were directed to the wonks and the Washington establishment. Trump seemed to be ignoring that audience and speaking to the people outside the handpicked inside audience. His pitch should have resonated with mainstream America. Especially the working people and those who are having difficult times just feeding and housing their families.”

“Edward, comment?”

“Yes. Irrespective of the judgments coming out of the spin rooms, the wonks and talking heads have been wrong about nearly everything associated with this campaign. And they have been wrong because they dislike the Republican candidate deep in their core. Trump is not of them, he doesn’t look like them. He doesn’t share their beliefs and perhaps worst of all, he is not an ideologically pure right-wing conservative Republican. The Conservative establishment class, including those in Congress and the feckless national security crowd, are giving, at best, very tepid support to the Trump campaign. The entire Bush crowd is an example of these political correct Brahmans.”

“Not exactly a one-liner but then the one-liners have been growing with each speaker. Alice, it is up to you to wrap this up.’

“I’ve enjoyed the comments and have to admit some of them surprised me. Indicating that while we all witnessed the debate, we saw different things. This is not a traditional presidential campaign. Maybe this is closer to a revolution than an election. Maybe, just maybe, in most countries these issues would now be being fought in the streets.”

“Excellent comments. This is a remarkable class. Go get some sleep and we will pick up these threads in our next class. Thank you.”

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Capitalism, Clinton, Conservative views, democrats, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, political solutions, Presidential Debate, Republicans, trump

by Barry Kelly | September 13, 2016 · 1:41 pm

The Professor: Class Begins

Setting: Picture a 5,000-student liberal arts college on the Eastern Coast. It has a strong political science program and attracts students from all over the United States and a few other nations. Professor Mike Clark is the head of the Political Science Department and teaches a twice-weekly meeting of select political science honor students.

Professor Clark came out of an active retirement two years ago after the college offered him the opportunity to teach without the burden and distraction of administrative chores and attending functions. His ground rules before accepting the job stated he would be given no curriculum or college goals to meet and that he would have a number two who would handle the day-to-day operations of the department. He made it clear that his intent would be to help his students learn to think, and current events — whatever they are — would provide topics for discussion.

Seventy-five percent of the graduates who took his courses after his first two years back landed top jobs at successful law firms and Fortune 500 companies. The college was happy, the students were excited, the Political Science Department was over scribed, and the parents of his students wrote glowing letters with checks to match to the school.

As another year got ready to begin, Professor Clark was pleased with the eight students he had selected to take his political science honors course. There were no published pre-requisites for his course, nor could students just sign up to take it. He personally selected the participants from a stack of 25 files three young assistant professors sent to his desk. Students he selected were sent an invitation to enroll, and his invitations had never been declined.

This would be his first meeting with his new class of honor students.

The students filed in and selected seats at the polished cherry wood oval table near the palladium window looking out over the Bay. The room was not large and a normal speaking voice could be clearly heard. Professor Clark waited until the room had settled and said, “Good morning. Welcome. Some of the ground rules here are different from those you have learned in the past or that might be in place in some of your other classes. Here, you will be expected to play the role of several different officials, both domestic and foreign. To do that, you must keep up with current events, without me giving you a formal assignment. There is no room in this class for neutrality. One of Russia’s Cold War Premiers, Nikita Khrushchev, said that while nations might be neutral, there are no neutral men. You must be able to explain and defend the position you take on any issue.In the presentation of your positions, you must not degrade the value and integrity of your word. Once your peers lose trust in your word, it may never be regained.

“Grading will be simple. You either pass or you don’t. There will be no repeat courses or extra credit. I will pass out a general reading list. It is far from a complete list. You must understand the Constitution and how it was developed, the impact that slavery has had and still has our nation, and the doctrine of the separation of powers. There will be no tests on what you have read. The extent of your reading is up to you.

“You must have noticed all our classes are schedule as the last period before lunch. That is so we can run over the normal class period when we need more time. You can eat anytime.

“We are in the midst of a very important national election. The future of our nation will be changed by the result, maybe beyond return. I cannot imagine a better forum to bring political science alive than a class during this critical period in our nation’s history. The subject for Thursday’s class will be the role of the President as Commander-in-Chief and which candidate you support and why? You each will have ten minutes to defend your position. You will spend the rest of today’s class reading and studying global current events so that you are not only knowledgeable about what interests you and molds your opinions, but what also interests others and is shaping their opinions. You must know both sides of an argument to debate it well.”

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Filed under Conservative views, Intelligence & Politics, political solutions, Politics, Progressives, Republicans

by Barry Kelly | July 11, 2016 · 2:01 pm

INSIGHTS 269:HILLARY LAND

cbsnews.com

Let’s fast forward to January 2017. The election is over, the Inauguration is over and the process of a new president taking over the running of America has begun. Enough Republicans stayed home during the November voting period and too many independents decided no change was better than a wholesale turnover of the Obama government to Donald Trump. The election was close but the Obama electoral coalition held together and the voters gave the Progressives four more years to transform America.

President Clinton staffed her cabinet with proven left-wing Progressives. Her coattails were strong enough to pull in a majority of Senate Members and produce a nearly equal number of Progressive Democrats in the House. In short order Obamacare, now called Hillary care by the media, became the law of the land. A “single payer” system removed all doubt that America now had a true socialized medicine system. Some tenets of her medical care plan that she proposed under her husband’s presidency such as making it a felony for a doctor or patient to participate in providing or receiving medical treatment outside the government medical system were included. Cost savings were introduced by severely limiting medical treatment for all Americans over 72 years of age.

Taxes on wealthy Americans with incomes in excess of $100,000 and corporations were increased. The minimum hourly wage was increased to $20.00 and unemployment benefits were extended to four years. The resulting loss of income due to falling tax revenues and rising unemployment was offset by further drastic cuts in military spending. An easy path to citizenship was extended to all illegal or “undocumented” immigrants. The nation’s borders were virtually open, both to the South and the North. The nation’s health care and unemployment benefits as well as the food stamp program were expanded and extended to everyone residing in the United States. Residents and voters not contributing to the national revenue greatly outnumbered the tax payers.

Large infra structure programs were being pushed through Congress to provide jobs for the unemployed. Over runs of the budget were predicted. To manage the economy, various bills were proposed that would nationalize the large banks and credit institutions. A minority of Americans spoke and wrote of the dangers of a one-party system of government. The White House was lobbying for small changes to the Constitution that would allow national gun control, limit media outlets, including the internet, from political criticism of the government and provide more Government control over the curriculum of both public and private educational institutions. Many of these measures carried felony penalties for individuals and institutions that met the criteria defining prosecutable violations of the limits of free speech.

Pay attention! We cannot let this happen!

My latest novel, The Sub Rosa Manuscript by Barry Kelly gives, I believe, a clear understandable account of the steady erosion of the personal and economic freedom we inherited from the sacrifices of those who went before us. It is now our turn to protect our inheritance by rejecting the empty promises of progressivism.

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Filed under Barry Kelly, Clinton, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, Obamacare, Politics, Progressives, Republicans, trump

by Barry Kelly | June 28, 2016 · 3:22 pm

INSIGHTS 267: Revolutions Trump Transformations

Is there any doubt that a people’s revolt is pushing through the barricades of the entrenched bureaucracies, both in Europe and America? Bureaucracies of the elites are systemically taking away choices from the people. In America, the elites in both political parties and the massive expansion of government by the Obama progressive process of Transformation are moving toward Socialism. In Europe, the increasing centralization of economic and political power by the EU in Brussels was moving steadily toward globalism. The British people successfully revolted against the erosion of their sovereignty.

What is happening in America? Our dominate political parties have the same names, but they are unrecognizable using any yardstick from our history. The Democratic party under the leadership of President Obama and the Clinton’s has move so far left, staunch party leaders from the past three or four decades would not recognize today’s Democratic Party. The Republican party has been captured by an elite of theoretical conservatives who are not interested in governing, only in pursuing a shining goal of pure conservatism with the zeal of a medieval priesthood. Both party leaders natter on with religious zealousness while the people suffer. Neither elite is worthy of any of our loyalty.

Both of these ideological driven elites have sponsored a corrupt primary election process to ensure they can select leaders who sound like them and worship at the same ideological altars. The Republican elites have rallied around defeating the candidate that overwhelming defeated all opponents. They would sooner give the leadership of the nation to the opposing party rather than support the candidate the people selected. This elite blinded by their inability to recognize what the nation is calling for, whine about not going to the Republican Convention in Cleveland unless they can figure out some way to overthrow Donald Trump for a more controllable candidate who worships at the same altar with the same conservative chant. Some other ideological Republican elites swear they won’t support the candidate, or even vote for him. Instead they announce they are leaving the party. Good. No one needs or wants them. Including past presidents and National candidates. The nation needs to dump them. Their day is over. We need leaders who put the nation and its people first. Leaders who can solve huge problems, not seek ideological purity.

The Revolution now gathering impetus in America will sweep away the vestiges of the Transformation pushed by the Progressives for the last seven plus years, if it can find leadership committed to addressing real issues instead of raving about some purist ideology. None of our great leaders, including President Reagan was a rigid ideologue. They put the nation’s needs first and that is what is needed today.