The crisis in this country isn’t really economic.
It’s a crisis of confidence in our political leaders on both the Left and the Right.
After a decade of elections predicated on change, policies have essentially stayed the same: Central banks have enabled central governments to fuel deficit spending in pursuit of consolidating central control of society.
Perhaps the spending priorities change depending on which side of the aisle you inhabit, but one thing is certain: both Democrats and Republicans have complicity in creating the fiscal crisis that now faces the country.
Unless Republicans offer a real alternative to the big government vision and become something other than “Democrat Lite,” expect no real change in Washington.
That’s why Tea Party types are closely watching Louisiana’s jungle primary in the new 3rd Congressional district.
The new district pits Tea Party freshman Jeff Landry against establishment Republican Rep. Charles Boustany.
Boustany and Landry lead the field in the five-way contest to be decided on November 6th. Boustany has the cash advantage, but that’s about where his advantages end- if he wants the conservative vote.
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Because his record is hard for conservatives to defend, although liberals would love it.
Boustany is a poster child for much of what’s wrong with the Republican Party today.
He voted for the bank bailout.
He voted for Cash for Clunkers.
He voted for 4 debt ceiling increases that were signed into law.
He voted for over $3 billion in green energy scams.
And he voted to fund Planned Parenthood.
This congress, Boustany has voted for $5.2 trillion more in spending and debt than Landry.
Not content to just make mistakes by admission, he also made a major error of omission.
Boustany has broken his pledge to American’s for Tax Reform not to raise taxes, saying that he wants to retain “flexibility.” But what he really means is he wants to retain your money.
Landry blasted Boustany for the compromise on taxes, with the Tea Party favorite saying he would never compromise on the pledge.
Boustany apparently has also compromised himself on support for Israel, a key point for conservatives, who rightly view Israel as our best ally in the Middle East.
From Red State:
There is a pro-Palestinian lobby group, named J[ihad] Street, which tries to counter AIPAC and some of the Christian pro-Israel groups. They are so far to the left that many Democrats are unwilling to associate with them. Yet, it’s only Democrats who associate with them. That is – except for Charles Boustany. J Street is committed to defeating Pro-Israel conservatives like Joe Walsh and Allen West. Meanwhile, Charles Boustany not only attended their first annual conference, he received their endorsement for Congress.
Lately Boustany has also gotten in trouble for ads that have accused Landry of not paying his taxes on businesses he owns in Louisiana.
“Republican Rep. Jeff Landry blasted his GOP opponent Rep. Charles Boustany for running ads that claim Landry's businesses didn't pay their property taxes on time,” writes the local Fox affiliate, “a claim disputed Friday by tax offices in both parishes cited in the congressional campaign attacks.”
And the attack could cost Boustany, once the favorite, the race.
As a local blog, the Hayride, noted: “If you’re going to lie about your opponent, at least make it worth your while. Boustany seems to have bought himself negative attention for a false attack without even getting the benefit of heaping a big load of mud on Landry.”
Which brings us back to the original premise: The reason why the GOP got so beat up by Obama in 2008 was because ineffective, insincere politicians just like Boustany decided follow the false religion of big government after first making false promises to be a prophet of freedom.
It’s time to cast Boustany out.
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