You are currently browsing the THE KASTLER COMMENTARY weblog archives for February, 2008.
- Abortion (6)
- Atheism (4)
- Book Reviews (3)
- Christian Living (2)
- Creationism (1)
- Current Events (2)
- Eternal Issues (10)
- False Religions (1)
- Homosexuality (4)
- Movie Reviews (2)
- Political Issues (18)
- Politicians (16)
- Theology (7)
- Uncategorized (1)
- January 2, 2009: Movie Review: John Adams
- November 5, 2008: The Election of Obama & Thoughts on Racism in America
- October 29, 2008: Like Sheep To The Slaughter............... They Go After Obama
- October 8, 2008: Thomas Sowell's Excellent (And Easy To Read) Book On Understanding The Economy
- September 10, 2008: The Audacity of HELL: Palin's Church & Biblical Christianity
- September 5, 2008: Praying For Sarah Palin: Has She Come to the Kingdom For “Such a Time As This?”
- August 23, 2008: A Flashback Blog on Joe Biden
- August 14, 2008: Obama's Support For The Murder of Newborn Children
- August 8, 2008: When The Devil Got Saved: The Christian Conversion of Nathan Bedford Forrest
- July 18, 2008: God Can Change Anyone
Archive for February 2008
J.C. Watts On “Change” in Washington
February 14, 2008 by Shane Kastler.
We need more politicians like J.C. Watts. Of course, I’m bias because Watts is a small town, conservative Christian from Oklahoma, and a former OU Sooner quarterback, but his political analysis is sharp, his character is unquestionable, and his leadership is sorely needed. Watts is an ordained Southern Baptist minister (like Mike Huckabee), who became a political star in the 1990’s, seving 8 years as U.S. Representative from Oklahoma’s 4th district. Prior to that he served as a state Corporation Commissioner from 1990-1994. As a Congressman, Watts held the title of Chairman of the Republican Conference, which made him the 4th highest ranking Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Watts is a fiscal, military, and social conservative, who also happens to be young (51) and black….making him a liberal’s worst nightmare. Once in the 1990’s he famously took on Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton by calling them “race-hustling poverty pimps” who preyed on the inner city poor. Watts was maligned by the left….but cheered by many common sense Americans, from both sides of the politcal spectrum. At the apex of his political career, J.C. Watts chose NOT to run for re-election stating his desire to spend more time with his wife and 5 children. At the time he said that his children would only be young once….and he needed to be there for them. It took tremendous humility for Watts to step out of the limelight for the sake of his family, but my hope is that perhaps he now considers it time to step back in.
Since 2002, J.C. Watts has been running several business and consulting firms, in addition to doing political commentary in both the newspaper and TV. A combination of his executive experience in business and as a former Corporation Commissioner, experience as a leading Congressman, and most importantly as a genuine man of God who is young, strong, conservative, and yes black make him an ideal candidate for political office….maybe even Vice-President of the United States. If John McCain gets the nomination, which is likely—it would serve him well to pick a young conservative to stand by him against the likely candidacy of a Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton. And speaking of Obama…..
J.C. Watts’ latest column in the Las Vegas Review Journal addresses the idea of “change” in Washington. Of course “change” is the mantra Obama keeps spouting….though he has no real plans or ideas about how to “change” Washington, it doesn’t matter. Obama is a pretty face and a good chearleader who has Oprah and Hollywood in his hip pocket. Obama isn’t going to change anything. Because as Watts points out, the current system in Washington is so overburdened by entitlement programs (welfare, etc.) that a large percentage of our tax dollars are already committed to causes that no one can really stop. Furthermore, Watts states that both Democrats and Republicans talk a pretty good game on the campaign trail, but both sides are firmly entrenched within the “Washington way” and don’t dare cross their fellow party members. Washington is corrupt and broken in many ways, and Barack Obama isn’t going to change that, nor does he really want to since he is now apart of the establishment. Obama won’t tell you the truth about Washington….but J.C. Watts will. May God give us more like J.C. Watts. Or even better…may God give us J.C. Watts back again. The country needs him. (To read Watts’ entire column on the problem with Washington, click here. For more information on Watts, I enourage you to read his memoir entitled: “What Color Is Conservative: My Life and My Politics“)
Posted in Politicians, Political Issues | Print | 2 Comments »
Huckabee Quit?…Why Should He?
February 10, 2008 by Shane Kastler.
With last week’s announcement by Mitt Romney that he was dropping out of the Republican presidential contest, many have crowned John McCain the winner and called on Mike Huckabee to step aside. But Huckabee has announced he has no plans of dropping out saying that the states that still haven’t voted “deserve an election, not a coronation.” Governor Huckabee is exactly right.
We all know why Mitt Romney dropped out. He said his love for America made it necessary for him to step aside, so we could unite to beat Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama. While Romney’s love of country is no doubt true, the fact is Mitt Romney had almost zero chance of winning after Super Tuesday, and he knew it. Furthermore, Romney had tapped into his own personal fortune to get him this far. And Romney stood to lose millions of dollars fighting a battle that was a lost cause. So, he dropped out, and is already eyeing a run for President in 2012, according to one of his senior advisors. Romney stood to lose a fortune by staying in the race. Mike Huckabee doesn’t.
Mike Huckabee doesn’t have a fortune. In fact, his campaign has pretty much existed on peanuts compared to what the other candidates are spending….and yet. On Saturday, Mike Huckabee won the states of Kansas and Louisiana. It wasn’t that if did pretty good, or got 2nd, or made a good showing…..HE WON two more states, even though he has almost no money. He has also won Iowa, Georgia, Alabama, Arkansas, and Tennessee. The fact is that Mike Huckabee has catapulted from nowhere to 2nd place on the sheer power of his personality, a lengthy record of defending life and the family as Governor of Arkansas, and a quick wit that attracts people to his side. Mike Huckabee has nothing to lose and everything to gain by staying in this race.
Even though it is highly likely that John McCain will win the Republican nomination, Mike Huckabee continues to build a name for himself, and he continues to keep the Republican race in the news. If Huckabee dropped out, the ONLY story we would be hearing in the press right now would be the Clinton-Obama race….and that’s bad for the Republicans.
Furthermore, as Huckabee continues to do well with the social conservatives that John McCain has struggled with, more and more suggestions are made about a possible McCain-Huckabee ticket. If Mike Huckabee could parlay his success in this election into achieving the number two office in the country, it would be quite a coup for him and evangelicals nationwide. Whoever ends up as McCain’s running mate will be in the driver’s seat to run for president when McCain’s time ends, if he were elected. The fact is that John McCain will be 72 years old when he’s inaugurated in 2009 and would be nearing 76 if he were to run for re-election in 2012. Factor in the 5 ½ years of torture that he endured as a prisoner of war in Vietnam that no doubt added years to his life and you begin to realize that John McCain, might just be a one term president by choice. If so, then expect his Vice President to run full throttle for the White House in 2012. And Huckabee’s only chance of being that man is to gain so much popularity now, that McCain will see his chances of winning Conservative states much better with Huckabee on the ticket.
The facts are what they are. John McCain will more than likely be the Republican nominee for President. And John McCain probably has a better chance of beating the Democrats than anyone else. But John McCain needs to solidify the Conservative base. Mike Huckabee doesn’t help him with the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity types who fawn over Mitt Romney as though he were Ronald Reagan reincarnated. But Mike Huckabee will deliver the Christian vote, and the South. And lest you think that those groups will vote Republican anyway, I might remind you that Barack Obama is extremely popular with black southerners, and could easily pick a couple of red states away in 2012 if he is the Democratic nominee. And even if Hillary Clinton is the nominee, Obama is very likely to be her Vice President.
This election season has been fun to watch. And Mike Huckabee has made it even more fun (and funnier). He’s a breath of fresh air when compared to the other politicians who ramble on with the same monotone diatribes and sound bites. I’m glad Mike Huckabee is staying in the race. As long as no candidate has reached the 1,191 delegates needed to win, the people still need a viable choice. There will be plenty of time to unite around the chosen candidate before the convention in September. Especially given the fact that the Democratic race is far from over and might not be decided when they convene in August. Kudos to Mike Huckabee. He’s the underdog, but he always has been anyway. And if he can’t win the nomination…maybe he’ll get the runner-up prize of V.P. Regardless of what happens, he’s right. The people need an election, not a coronation.
Posted in Politicians, Political Issues | Print | 4 Comments »