News and Views

I am voting for John McCain for President on November 4 for reasons of character and economics. Having served long, hard and honorably in the military, Senator McCain has demonstrated the core of his character is truly “country before self”. He will use his experience to continue to serve this country selflessly. He has a record of working with both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to build consensus for what’s best for this country. He has a long record for Americans to review; we know what he believes in and who he associates with. He is a man of good character and has the best of plans for all Americans.

Especially important is his belief that each of us knows better than the government how to save and spend our hard-earned dollars. He will keep the income tax cuts that we all benefit from, yes even the wealthy…many of whom are hard-working as well and use their incomes to donate to charities and communities and schools and to build businesses that hire other folks. It’s not trickle-down, it’s neighbor helping neighbor and that’s the kind of Americans we are. I hope John McCain will also earn your vote on November 4.

Laura Condon is a member of the Bedford Republican Committee.

I would like to offer up my lucky thirteen reasons for voting Republican on November 4th for the consideration of Bedford voters.
 
1. Barack Obama, as president would, in effect, sign a taxpayer-funded blank check over to the Democrat-controlled Congress.  Make no mistake; your taxes will go up.
2. Jeanne Shaheen was a tax-and-spend governor and she gives no reason for us to think she would be any different as a senator.
3. Paul Hodes and Carol Shea-Porter have voted with liberal Nancy Pelosi 97% of the time in the unpopular, solve-nothing, Democratic-led House of Representatives.
4. The seeds of the sub-prime mortgage fiasco were planted by Democratic presidents and legislators and liberal policies, yet warnings by John McCain and John Sununu were ignored.
5. The Democrat-controlled New Hampshire legislature and Governor Lynch have spent this state into a huge shortfall and are now intent on spending us into an income tax.
6. Republicans are pushing an “all of the above” energy policy that includes new drilling, wind, nuclear, natural gas and solar.  Democrats have no plan other than to block the Republican plan.
7. Barack Obama has had many opportunities to vote “no” on pork barrel spending and has never done so.
8. The Democratic project known as Nationalized or Universal healthcare when undertaken in other countries has resulted in severe drops in quality and the rationing of care.  Think it can’t happen here?  Look at the substandard health care our government has given to the bravest among us, our veterans. 
9. Sitting down unconditionally with irrational dictators does nothing but strengthen the tyrant and weaken our hand.  Witnessed by the fact that the UN has gotten nowhere in negotiations with Iran.
10. Nancy Pelosi’s vow to clean up corruption in the House has resulted in her failure to not stop corruption within her own party, nor discipline the perpetrators (see Charlie Rangel D-NY, William Jefferson D-LA).
11. Supreme Court justices favored by Democrats look to international law when interpreting our sacred U.S. Constitution.  Two sitting justices are ready to retire.
12. Whether you are a fan of talk radio or not, the suppression of free political speech is coming with a Democratic reinstatement of the Fairness Doctrine.  This should worry all civil libertarians.
13. How can a tax cut be for 95% of Americans when more than 30% of Americans pay zero taxes?  For those individuals who pay no taxes, it amounts to a welfare check paid for by you and me.

Stephen Poschmann is a member of the Bedford Republican Committee.

We need proven leadership at all levels. But how can you tell who is, and who isn’t, a proven, effective leader?

Here’s the first thing you want to look for: Proven leaders have a documented history of authoring and ensuring positive change. Not just talking about positive change, but a trail littered with positive results. ‘Positive’ is the first key word because history and our current society are full of leadership examples that have led to negative results. ‘Results’ is the second key word because promises and happy-talk are only words. Leadership is action, not position, preaching, or puffery. Leadership is achievement, not glad-handing and photo ops.

What makes this discernment of positive results difficult is that much of the media has its biases and doesn’t clearly articulate the positive from the negative and the results from the promises. We’re left with an incomplete or inaccurate picture of a leader’s effectiveness.

So, aside from positive results, what should you look for or how should you differentiate the effective leaders from the ineffective ones?

Look for people who stepped forward where decisions needed to be made; where goals needed to be decided; where an organization needed to be held on course or vitalized; where a team was sputtering or stalled; where a setback had occurred; where there was an opportunity to pursue; where a just cause was languishing. Then look for the results, the deliverables! John McCain and Sarah Palin pass that test! John Sununu passes that test! Joe Kenney passes that test!

In addition, look for these behaviors: There’s an unmistakable boldness. There’s a high level of self-awareness—they know who and what they are, and they are accepting of those facts. They are demanding—but fair at the same time. They have high expectations. They exhibit strong principles and faith—an abundance of moral fortitude. They say tough things that we may not want to hear, but say them in a way we can understand and accept. They define reality, the future, and their plans in terms we can understand, very often with stories. They are dependable. They are not self-absorbed. They are not about to be easily buffaloed by anyone—especially so-called elites. And they respect us, the voters. Again, John McCain and Sarah Palin pass that test! John Sununu passes that test! Joe Kenney passes that test!

I admire people like John McCain, Sarah Palin, John Sununu, and Joe Kenney who exhibit universally admired leadership behaviors and who can point to a trail of positive results. In today’s dangerous and complex world the implications of not having proven leadership in place is frightening and unacceptable.

John Cebrowski is a member of the Bedford Republican Committee and was recently elected to the House of Representatives for the 2009-2010 session.