Friday, May 20, 2016

What do you believe?

This post is meant to challenge you to examine what you believe, in a political sense.

A Survey of Beliefs

Question 1: Do you believe that we are endowed with certain unalienable rights, among which are the rights of Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness? 

Follow up: Where do those rights come from? 

Question 2: What should the role of government in your life be?

Follow up: What role does government play in your life now?

Question 3: What economic system best suits you?

Follow up: What economic system do we live under now?

Question 4: What about our country do you appreciate?

Follow up: What don't you appreciate?

Question 5: Do you attend religious services regularly?

Follow up: Explain why you answered the way you did?

Question 6: Do you believe that the Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the land?

Follow up: Explain? Should the Constitution be the supreme law of the land?

Question 7: Should an Article 5 Convention of the States be called to propose new Amendments to reign in the federal leviathan?

Follow up: Do you know what an Article 5 Convention is?

Question 8: Do you support federal congressional term limits?

Follow up: Explain your answer.

Final Question: Why do you believe what you believe?

Print these out and answer them or copy and paste them into a document, answer them and send them to the email address linked at the end of this blog post. You will find my answers to the above questions below.

 My Answers

1. I believe that our rights are not derived from any statute or from any other man made decree but come from God, who created us, our Creator, and as those rights are derived from the benevolence of a Supreme Being, they can no longer be taken away by man than can the air we breathe. When man acts to limit our God given rights, we are being subjected to the will of man and that is an affront to a Holy God. Civil government is ordained in the bible but it must not serve to limit God or His wishes for His people. Once government becomes oppressive of our natural rights, we must act to throw off such government. 

2. Government's current role is vast and sweeping, and as such, it forms a statist system that seeks to substitute its will for the consent of the governed. Many people are seeking a ruler to vanquish their perceived iniquities. Many want government to solve their problems. It can never do that because government is just a group of people and when we give that group of people the power to solve our problems, the inherent nature of the people comes to the forefront and government grows out of being a useful servant and becomes the master. Government's role should be to provide for our defense against enemies foreign and domestic. Execute the laws as outlined by the Constitution. Wage war against our enemies and negotiate the peace once we win. That's about it.

3. The economic system that suits me best is a free market system where people are free to buy and sell what they wish, with a small network of regulations(decided at the local and state level) and the only thing the federal government should do is keep states from imposing tariffs on one another. Our current system is a quasi Marxist system where the government, through regulation and force, imposes the will of a few moneyed donors and lobbyists on the rest of the country. There should be no federal regulatory state. I don't even think that most state regulations need to exist. If I want to buy my milk from my friends who happen to own a dairy before that milk is sent to a factory to be processed, why should the government care. I would be buying the milk with the foreknowledge that the milk had not been processed. It should be none of the government's business. No subsidies for any good or service should be provided. All businesses should pay one level tax rate and the only break should be a deduction for capital investment.

4. I appreciate our religious liberty, our freedom of speech, assembly, press and our ability to address our representatives for a redress of our grievances. I appreciate that I, as a Christian, am free to preach the Gospel, if I so choose(or at least I was appreciative of that). I appreciate that our country was founded on an idea that man should be free because our Constitution limited what government could do to usurp our God given rights.
I don't appreciate what we've become. We've become a country of selfish people who think that the government should solve their own pet problems. We've become hostile toward truth. We've become hostile toward our fellow man. We treat government as a charity, all the while forgetting that compelling someone into charity(taxation) is just institutionalized theft. We must give back those responsibilities to groups that actually care about the souls of people, not just their votes every two or four years.

5. This one has made the biggest difference in my life. I attend church services 3 times per week, if I can. I am so blessed to be in a bible believing, bible preaching church. A church shouldn't be a museum of saints, it should be a hospital for sinners. I had moved away from the church because I was repelled at what mainstream American churches had become. Not until I was asked to come to my current church did I reacquaint myself with the value of a body of believers supporting one another and keeping one another accountable to the words and teachings of God through the Bible.

6. I do believe the Constitution of the United States is the Supreme Law of the land and should be used as the measuring stick for all civil and criminal statutes. The Constitution must be the chains that bind the mischief of government. Our courts should heed the words written in our Constitution and subsequent amendments as the basis of all law under their jurisdiction. In order for that to happen, words must mean what words mean or we cease being a nation of laws and we become a nation of men. That is a recipe for tyranny. We see the slide toward tyranny right now. 

7. An Article 5 Convention of States should must be called. There is a movement under way in several states to do just that. We must reign in the federal government. Congress and the Courts have failed in their responsibility to hold the line on budget issues, on Constitutional issues and on issues surrounding the defense of our country. The only way to bind government is to reacquaint them with the citizenry they are supposed to be subordinate to. As such, a Convention of States must be called to propose several amendments, including a balanced budget amendment, a Congressional pay and benefits restructuring amendment, an amendment to limit the number of years spent in Congress(see below), an amendment to pull the Supreme Court back into compliance with the original intent of the founders and an amendment to make the Supreme Court subject to its own term limits(I propose one 20 year term, unless a term would expire during the last year of a lame duck presidency). Even ratifying just a few of these proposed amendments would go a great distance toward binding the hands of government so that they may no longer do mischief against the American people.

8. I think Congressional term limits are the single most important legislative reform that an Article 5 Convention must push through. We CANNOT and MUST NOT(sorry for yelling) allow elected representatives to keep making careers out of being in the House of Representatives or Senate. Our representatives were intended to be of the people, not above the people. Don't get me wrong, I want the best and brightest to run and make up our government, but they must do that with a servant's heart and the knowledge that their time in DC is limited. We currently have Senators in Washington, DC who have been in the Senate for over 30 years!(I don't use exclamation points often, and when I do, I mean it.) This cannot be allowed to continue. My proposal(feel free to send me your own, either by commenting or emailing me) is for term limits of a total of 12 years in both houses of Congress. 6 terms in the House. 2 terms in the Senate or any combination where the total doesn't exceed 12 years as an elected legislator in our nation's government. 12 years is three presidential terms. No more time in Washington is needed. 

To answer the final question, I believe what I believe because I'm a Christian Constitutionalist and I'm an American. My overriding belief is in the virgin birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. I know I couldn't enter heaven without calling on Jesus to save me and to be born again in my belief in His grace. And for all that God has bestowed on me, I am thankful. 

Rather than the trite line that many speeches are closed with, I close with this; God, have mercy on America. We, as a nation and a people, have turned away from your Word and from You. Please, have mercy on Your remnant. Amen.

Email me with longer responses or comment below. Share this post with your friends and use this as a tool for discussion. We need to keep dialogue alive. 

Monday, May 16, 2016

Blessings

With the craziness of this presidential campaign almost totally behind me (the 2020 campaign starts in just a few months), I have had a chance to evaluate the blessings in my life. In the past, I didn't pause to do this. I was looking forward to see what was next and I didn't stop to give thanks for what I had. Now, I give thanks everyday.

I must thank God for blessing me with each and every day. I don't think most Americans stop to do this every day. I know I didn't do this for the longest time. For that, I ask God's forgiveness. I should never look past the gift of life and all that is included in that.

I give thanks for the people God has placed in my life. I used to think that I was better off being on my own and not having to worry about anyone else. I was so wrong. After my experiences of the past 9 months, I have come to the realization that we all need a group of people to call on when we have a need, whether that need is just a need for someone to talk to or a need for someone to pray for you. I can attest to the power of prayer because I have seen prayer work in my life and knowing that there are people praying for you is a powerful reminder of God's goodness and His grace through His Son.

A few people come to the forefront in my mind. One is my pastor. Joseph Brown has been a blessing to me. His counsel has meant a great deal to me. His preaching has changed my life. Too many churches are legalistic and don't welcome every sinner through the door. Joseph is not that man. He wants to share the Good News, so that no man may perish. Another is Marlin Bontrager. I had never had an actual male role model growing up. Marlin is that role model for me now. He is a good father and a good witness for Jesus and biblical values. I'm glad I can call both of these men my friends. I must also acknowledge Allison Bontrager. All of her siblings mean a great deal to me, but it has been Allison who has been there at God appointed moments to offer a word of encouragement or a kernel of wisdom. She has a strong personality that rises above the muck and mire of today's self centered culture. She has a servant's heart for God and she serves as a light to other young women. When my confidence in the Lord could have been shaken, she acted as a clarion call to turn and seek God's face, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I also want to acknowledge a few more church members. Wilson Leppert has become a good friend and someone whom I can bounce ideas off of. We share similar outlooks on life and he is a good guy to talk to. Pete Schaeffer has been a light, as well. He is another man whom I can look up to(or down, if we're talking about height. I had to go there, Pete.) He is always ready to make someone laugh and I need that. He and his wife are bedrocks in the foundation of Marion Avenue Baptist Church. I don't think anyone at church is more synonymous with Marion Avenue(outside of the Brown family) than Pete. Just ask any one of the thousands of people every year who attend the Live Animal Christmas Play.

I am blessed to be in a church that is active in evangelism and outreach. I am so thankful and blessed to be a part of something that is much greater than me.

Lastly, I want to thank my mom from putting up with me for so long. I know I was a pain, from time to time. She endured so much for my sister and me. She didn't have the greatest example of a mother to draw from and yet, she has done her best in raising my sister and me. My mom has been a blessing, even if she worries too much(trust God and you won't need to worry, mom).

In closing, I want to leave you with a quote from one of the people I acknowledged above, "Don't forget to put on the armor of God every day (Eph. 6). And remember, it is not about being strong. God wants to be strong through us when we are weak. And if you don't feel equipped for what He is calling you to do, "He doesn't call the equipped, He equips the call." Go to Him in prayer and fasting when the way is dark and He will illuminate your path. One more thing- we serve a Savior who loves us at our worst. He breaks us to re make us- a more whole vessel than before." All I'll say to that is, Amen.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Where does America go from here?

Ask God to forgive our nation.
What I considered the most important election of my life time has now become a contest of two liars. I will sit this one out. I can no more vote for the lying Comb Over than I can vote for Monica's ex-boyfriend's wife. In this case, life didn't give us lemons to make lemonade out of. We've been given rotten cabbage and now both remaining candidates expect us to make lemonade out of that. Frankly(h/t CB and AB), it's impossible, folks. Lousy sauerkraut will never be lemonade.

My efforts will focus on reforming tearing down the current GOP power structure. When I have a hard time telling many GOP Representatives and Senators from the Democrats, there are issues. If you have a representative with no record of standing for smaller government and the Constitution, push that person out. Every Senator or House Rep should fear the voters, not take them for granted.

My involvement in this campaign season has given me access to many elected officials. They are just human beings, the same as any other. There is no reason to treat them any differently. They are subject to the same worldly pushes and pulls as any other person might be. Being elected doesn't make them "special". Because of their position of power, they must be held to higher standards. They chose to run for public office and they must answer to the voters.

The following are just a few of the ways I think we could help reform our country. Will it be easy? Nope. Do I think these ideas and points need to be brought to the forefront? Most definitely.

Another overriding issue is the lack of basic education amongst the electorate. My experience of canvassing all over the country has been quite telling. So many people that vote are incredibly misinformed or they are just plain stupid. Some are both. Many of these people have college degrees and couldn't think or reason their way out of a wet paper bag. There is no other way to put it. Our horrible public education system has failed to educate people in civics and constitutional government. The home schooled kids I know are so far ahead of their public and even parochial school peers, if a parent can do it, I see no other way to educate your kids. I know the government hates home schoolers because they don't control what these kids learn. I have never had constitutional discussions with public school students in the way I have with home schooled kids. I remember going to College Republican meetings at the University of Iowa to represent the Cruz Campaign and coming away scratching my head at the abject ignorance of the students involved with that organization. I know a home schooled 14 year old who is smarter than any College Republican I know. The same goes for his brothers and sisters too. The college students were only involved for resume enhancement rather than furthering the ideas of smaller government and liberty. When I posed small government ideas to them, their eyes glazed over. It really was frustrating.

The solution for our country's ignorant electorate will have to come from parents, not government. Government wants children to be compliant to socialism and politically correct speech. Parents will have to make the sacrifice to choose their children over vacations, cars and expensive houses. I know I might make some "liberated" people mad, but if you have children, everything else must come second. Don't get me started on people who think their pets are just as important as any child. There is no animal worth the future of a child.

Another issue that needs addressing is the new found easy voting trend in this country. Why do we have a month of early voting, or in some states, an all mail in ballot election? Donald Trump does say he loves the uneducated masses because they love him(I'll attest to that fact). Stupid people are compliant. Rather that making it easy to vote, I would love to see a caucus system instituted in every state. It encourages citizens to get involved. If you actually have to show up and listen to arguments from candidate representatives, you actually learn something about those candidates. If a candidate can't energize the actual grassroots voters, they will lose. Is it so bad to ask that people involved with choosing the direction of this country actually have to make an effort to do so?

There are many political issues that would be remedied by my above solutions. The ingrained governmental maladies that plague our nation are institutional and must be addressed in another way. The Constitution provides for an avenue to address these issues. The Constitution was intended to be the tie that bound the hands of government. It has since been left by the wayside. The only way that government will be reigned in will be an Article Five Convention of States to propose and ratify new Constitutional Amendments. There are many naysayers but those naysayers are highly invested in big government for one reason or another.

I only have a few issues to address with new amendments.

The first has to be term limits and compensation reforms for Congress. I have no problem with the yearly pay of a lawmaker. My issues arise with the compensation after they leave office. If there were no pensions after office, the decision to run for that office would be much more contemplative and lawmakers would have to go back to the private sector like our founders intended. Also, I firmly believe in a total term limit of 12 years in Congress. Whether that is two Senate terms or 6 house terms or any combination of the two, it makes no difference to me. Legislators must not enter into public service for a career. It should be a sacrifice. I don't care if Congressmen and Senators are forced to share old apartments in Washington, DC or not.

Secondly, I believe we must have an amendment doing away with baseline budgeting. Every dollar must be accounted for every year. Each federal department must be kept to a strict budget and waste must be eliminated. I believe we could fully fund our Department of Defense with our current level of funding if all the waste and fraud was eliminated from the federal budget process. A budget cut must be a budget cut, not just reduction in the rate of increase.

The same amendment dealing with baseline budgeting could also include a section to require a balanced budget to be passed every year except in times of Congressionally declared war.

I believe that these two Constitutional Amendments would solve nearly every institutional issue with the federal government. Others could be debated but these would be a good start toward restoring constitutional order in the federal government.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the Church must return to Biblical preaching and teaching. I'm talking about the whole Body of Believers. I wrote about this just before Easter of this year. Find the post here. The Bible must be the center of preaching and teaching in the church for true revival to take place. This would solve nearly every cultural problem in this country.

If you believe as I do, I urge you to connect with like minded Christian patriots in your area. Form friendships with those people that share your ideals. We must band together to defeat the radical anti-Christian left and the progressive statists, supposedly on our own side of aisle.

Email me to find out how to be involved.

#AlwaysCruz #NeverTrump

Wednesday, May 4, 2016

A Sincere Thank You

I was shocked when Ted Cruz suspended his campaign, our campaign, tonight. I have been reflective over the last few hours. 

While I am incredibly worried for our country, I must also thank Ted Cruz for actually running on issues and principles. It is clear that a large plurality of the electorate in the GOP and the whole electorate on the Democrat side don't care about those things any longer. That is too bad. Our nation will be judged by a just God.

Because of Ted's principled campaign, he attracted a large number of amazing people. The ones I've grown to be friends with here in Iowa and across the nation have impacted my life and for that, I will never be able to repay Ted Cruz. 

I now have a huge network of people that I know share my faith in Jesus, my ideals about Constitutional government and will be there should I need an ear to bend. 

I was so glad I was with my friends this evening when the news came in. We shared a meal and watched the results. There was a quietness about the first part of the evening at the Dutch Country Inn in Kalona as we watched and ate. I sat with Marlin Bontrager as Ted announced the suspension of his campaign. I was at peace because I knew that Jesus was and still is on the throne. I can say that easily to anyone I meet now because Marlin asked me to come to his church back on October 8th, 2015. Marion Avenue Baptist Church is my home away from home. As we adjourned to the Bontrager house for another of the desserts made from scratch that I've come to know and love(I think Chelsy made this one. Her rhubarb muffins and Allison's no bake cookies are my favorite foods in the world...I'm not kidding), we rehashed what had just happened. We laughed and we also discussed how Christian conservatives can move forward. I felt a sense of peace as I left around 10PM. Perhaps the most painful part of the evening was seeing the look on Taylor's face as he found out the news. Liz and Hudson were so looking forward to going to Nebraska with us to campaign this weekend too. I also got a text from Becky as she was in New York seeing her father. She sent an impassioned text to me and her family asking for clarity on why Ted had suspended his campaign. It took me quite awhile to come up with a response that I thought was satisfactory. I know she is a prayer warrior, like her daughters, and she will be in prayer for our nation. We all should be.

I want to thank Marlin, Becky, Chelsy, Mitchell, Allison, Carson, Joshua, Denver, Taylor, Elizabeth, Hudson and Rebecca for being the best kind of friends a person could ever have. I also need to acknowledge so many others. Pastor Joseph Brown and his family, Lyndsey Blagrave, Bethany, Ben, Tyler and Mary Dorin, Kaylee Morris, Philip Palmer, Wilson Leppert, Jeff King, Cecil Steinmetz, Daniel Bradshaw, Linda Stickle, Alex Seavey, Michael Keefer and Bryan English are just a few of the people that I now know as friends. I know I am missing so many more. 

The Iowa Cruz Team is the all star team of the campaign, if you ask me. There were reasons we were the ones in demand all across the country. We knew what we were doing and we also know Ted Cruz better than nearly anyone outside of his campaign team in Texas. 

I urge all lovers of liberty to stay close and keep in touch. We must all stay networked in order to respond to the pull of progressive populism and progressive socialism. Both seek to destroy Constitutional government and limit the individual. I will never bend to those ways of thinking.

I, for one, am done with the Republican Party. Not just sort of done. I mean done done. I will advocate for Christian conservative candidates. I will actively campaign against Donald Trump. The Iowa Republican Party offices all over the state will see me outside picketing against Donald Trump this fall. I will also advocate for an Article 5 Convention of States to reign in the federal government. It must be done.

For the locals in the area, I will be resigning from the Central Committee and I will be removing my name from the roles of the Republican party after I vote in the local election for Iowa State House. Royce Phillips is a good Christian man and I will vote for him.

Lastly, I ask all of you reading this to drop to your knees and pray to Almighty God. Our land will face very hard times in the next 4 years and we will need His mercy more than ever. We don't deserve a speck of what God gives us but because He loved us enough to send His Son to die for us and wipe our sins away, we can take solace in the fact that once we call upon His name He will save us.


Here are some of my photo memories from the campaign.


Daniel Bradshaw, Alex Seavey and me

Bryan English talking to a volunteer in South Carolina




At the South Carolina office in February

Dinner with Pastor Rafael

Jessica Ali, Chelsy, Taylor and Josh Bontrager and me after a day spent in Fairfield, IA

Iowa has a great Congressman in Steve King

The Urbandale, IA Cruz headquarters


The Bontrager Family Singers performing at a rally in Winterset, IA in January 2016

Josh, Allison and Mitchell telling people about Ted Cruz

One of the many debate parties at the Dutch Country Inn in Kalona



Talking to the press. I guess they had a knack for finding me.



Louie Gohmert is a national treasure.


Daniel Bradshaw's pie for the Marion Avenue Baptist Church Pie Auction benefiting the Live Animal Christmas Play 

Daniel Bradshaw, Cris Bontrager and me doing what we do.

Lyndsey and Alex

With Pastor Rafael Cruz

Lyndsey Blagrave(Smile Bryan)

Alex Seavey

Blue Hybner


Presenting Ted Cruz with a pen my step dad, Bill Belitz made by hand. 




At the Iowa Religious Liberty Rally in August.

I didn't know any of these people yet. This is where it all started.



Monday, May 2, 2016

The Indiana Primary

I spent the weekend working on the ground in suburban Indianapolis for the Cruz Campaign. I love this work. It was the most personally meaningful weekend of campaign work that I have ever done. More on that later.
An Indiana roadside strategy meeting of Cruz Crew members from all over the USA.

My seat of the pants assessments have been correct, so far. After working in Wisconsin, I felt confident and we won. After working a day or two in Kansas, I knew we would win and we Cruzed (I had to go there). I was confident in Iowa too but I knew half of the crew of thousands of volunteers and all of the staff in the state, so my internal gut check poll was spot on. On the contrary, after experiencing the hate and bigotry of the south, I was confident that they would ride the wave of unprincipled Trump support. I was correct in that assessment too. 

This all leads me to Indiana. My seat of the pants estimate is similar to Wisconsin. The poll numbers are all over the place. I'm not entirely sure what good those polls do. Some have Cruz up big, some show the same for Trump and one puts the race in a statistical tie. Put them in a blender and you come out with a tie. I think this is where our vaunted ground game comes in. We have what no other Republican has ever had. A true nationwide network of people that will drop everything and go anywhere to help Ted Cruz advance principles of limited government, strong national security, economic growth and personal freedom. Jobs, Freedom and Security. 
Proper literature placement is critical

The addition of Carly Fiorina to our campaign has energized many younger voters and was met with a good results when talking to most voters on the ground. She seems to do well among younger women especially and among people who actually pay attention to the direction of the country and want to fix what's wrong generally. Those who just want to tear things down(read Donald Trump supporters) couldn't care less.

It has become clear to me that the majority of Trump's support is not rooted in anything but moral bankruptcy. There is a general malaise in the country that Trump tapped into. I understand that part. This is where I may make some people mad. I think many people are leading such morally bankrupt lives that Trump makes them feel OK about their own situations. They see Trump as being this vulgar but strong figure that will push away any vestiges of moral society, thereby allowing them to continue in their sin filled ways without feeling any judgement or justice. It truly is a cult. No amount of evidence presented matters to them because they don't care about evidence or facts. Only Trump can solve. (I almost broke my own fingers as punishment for typing that last sentence).

Yesterday, in my Adult Bible Fellowship class in church, we talked about compromise. Compromise is a tool of the devil. I've known that in my core for many years. It has taken this election cycle to hone that knowledge to the point where I had to use it to cut through the mess that is the Trump cult. To compromise on deeply held, bible backed principles is sin. To engage in moral equivocation is sin. To let morally bankrupt people lead you astray is not biblical. Trump supporters must be called out. If I was being led astray, I would hope one of my friends would step in and steer me back in the right direction. I know my pastor would. 

When talking to Trump supporters, I always try to ask them why they support the con man Donald. Many respond with trite things that are more akin to what a cultist might respond with when defending their cult leader. When challenged to defend themselves in a meaningful way, they lash out with physical actions like door slamming, threats, vile language or lies. There is a manifest evil that has crept in. I know that the word evil is rarely used in modern society because it conveys something that is not talked about much but it must be applied in the case of TrumpCult.

Perhaps the greatest evidence of this evil showed up this weekend. I have a 14 year old friend who was a part of the group that I was door knocking with that distilled Trumpers, as he calls them, to their essence. He walked up to me after a particularly rude and hateful Trump supporter slammed a door in his face and said this, "Why are they so evil? Why are they so wicked?". I wish I could give him a concrete answer. His answer was correct. He said. "They need Jesus." To that, I can only add an Amen.

Indiana, you can be a firewall for liberty and decency. Stand up to the Trump cultists. Stand for what is right. Choose the light over the dark. Choose moral uprightness over moral bankruptcy. Choose good over evil. Choose Ted Cruz over Donald Trump. 

PS: I want to thank Marlin, Mitchell, Denver and Taylor Bontrager for all of their hard work over the weekend. It didn't seem like work to me because I was doing it with people that I've grown to care about and that share the same spiritual and patriotic goals as I do. Here's to another weekend on the campaign trail with friends.
At the taping of the Cruz/Fiorina Townhall in Indianapolis(to my left, your right, were Taylor, Denver and Marlin Bontrager)

Mitchell was in line to ask a question but they ran out of time




#NeverTrump #OnlyCruz #INPrimary #Indiana