Madison Project

Would that more taxpayers would do more of this to their elected officials. After being elected in 2009, Suttle, a Democrat, “announced plans to raise property taxes, charge a fee on restaurant tabs and increase a vehicle tax to combat a projected $11 million shortfall for 2011, largely because of policies by his predecessors.” He may have survived the recall, but he is now on notice.

This, folks is news. Rahm is off the ballot in the Chicago mayoral race. How this plays out over the next few days is going to be interesting. Chicago will be the HQ for Obama’s 2012 re-election. What his guy doesn’t win (much less make the ballot) in the mayor’s race?!

ABC News seems to think so. If there was one state that encapsulated the 2010 tidal wave, it was Wisconsin. I think this is going to be the story we look at again and again leading up to 2012-the tea party created the wave, put the Republicans into power all over the United States-how will the Republicans respond? Continue to do things as they have been the last few years? Or create real change?

I think it is great that the House GOP has pledged budget cuts, but I think the Politico is correct in saying that the Achilles Heel on this pledge will be farm subsidies. There are some Republicans that are soft on this issue-it remains to be seen if they pass the test.

There is a lot of chatter lately on who the Republican standard bearer will be in 2012. I happen to think the Republicans are in need of a fresh face, not the usual suspects.

Has anyone else looked at the list of potentials for the Republicans (Romney, Huckabee, Pawlenty, etc) and thought, “Wait, didn’t we try this in 2008?” And among the three I just mentioned, there are serious issues. For Romney, RomneyCare. For Huckabee, his pro-life Statism. For Pawlenty, sans the fact that his book cannot crack 5k in sales, is the fact that he worked closely with the Democrats in MN on a host of issues that were neither conservative nor advanced the free market.

Then comes the question of how comprehensive are these would be standard bearers. Is Romney really pro-life? Is Huckabee a fiscal conservative (I don’t buy the “I am wrapping myself in the Fair Tax and that will wipe the slate clean” schtick)? And for Pawlenty, who has more charisma when he speaks-the podium or him?
And then there are Haley Barbour, Bobby Jindal, Rick Santorum, John Thune, Sarah Palin and others I am sure I have missed.

Let me rattle through a few things quickly. Barbour-strong on life, but are we really ready to nail the flag to the mast with a heavy set, white male with a thick Southern drawl who has made his money lobbying for earmarks? Jindal-very solid on a host of issues. I like him and his team. But has he recovered from his State of the Union rebuttal debacle? Santorum-you can’t lose a Senate race and jump up to try and win the Presidency (I won’t even go into his support of Specter in 2004 and other issues). Thune-Nice guy. I like him. What has he done in 6 years in the Senate? Palin-good for the movement and I love her brash, outspoken nature. She will not win the primary.

Which brings me to why I like Mike (Pence). Charismatic, fiscally conservative with impeccable credentials amongst social conservatives, he is a man, as Jennifer Rubin with the Washington Post points out, that bridges the gap. When House Republicans crumbled under pressure from the Bush Administration on Medicare Part D, Mike was one of 25 that stood firm and voted against it. In 2007, when the Bush Administration put forward a travesty of an immigration “reform” bill, Mike put out a tough, comprehensive bill as if to tell the leaders in his own party, “This is what real reform looks like.” Need someone who can clearly communicate the conservative message? As a former radio host, Mike is your man. Some are going to say, “Can he run from the House and win?” If President Obama can run from the Illinois state Senate and win (which is in essence what he did), Mike Pence can run from the United States House and win. If 2010 proved anything, it is that America is desperate for leadership. The tea party movement, leading that charge for change, is eager to embrace someone to lead the fight against Team Obama in 2012.

Can Mike raise money? Yes. Can he build infrastructure quickly in the early 2012 states? Yes. Will the tea party movement embrace him? Undoubtedly.

The decision is his and I know that by the end of the month he has to decide. My hope is that he decides to run for President. And I can say with confidence, there are a host of reasons millions of Americans will stand with me and say, “I like Mike!”

Recently, my brother Ned shared the story of his youngest, Charlotte, on RedState. I have shared, in part, the story of our youngest, Lily Kate, on this blog and elsewhere.

There is a reason the Ryun boys are pro-life, that the candidates we endorse with the Madison Project, must be pro-life. It is a cornerstone of classical liberalism, the worldview that believes in life, liberty, the right to own property, the pursuit of happiness and the power of the free market and the free enterprise system.

How you view human beings and measure their worth as beings created by the Creator is a key indicator as to how you view the rest of the world and deal with a plethora of issues. I believe how we view the issue of life is fundamental to our ideology.

There is, however, nothing like being faced with putting your beliefs into action. As I tell people these days, “I am pro-life by upbringing and experience.”

Life is filled with milestones, those distinct moments etched in memory for years to come. Such was the day in April 2008 for my wife, Becca, and me as we sat in the pediatric cardiologist’s office. We knew something was wrong. Just a few days before, our first ultrasound of Bec’s second pregnancy, had turned from routine to a three hour ordeal and we were sent to the cardiologist. After hours of testing, we knew something was seriously wrong. As we sat with the doctor, the first thing out of her mouth was, “Your baby has a very serious heart defect. She is 21 weeks and inside the date for us to be able to terminate the pregnancy-would you like to do that?”

My wife and I never even looked at each other-”No.”

To her credit, the doctor smiled and said, “Good. We believe that through a series of open heart surgeries, your baby’s defect can be corrected and she will live the chance to live a normal life.”

Lily Kate Ryun was born August 26, 2008. I slept by her bed that night at DC Children’s as Becca had to stay at INOVA in Alexandria (where Lily had been born). Three days later was the first surgery, the Norwood. We were the second surgery slot that day and the first surgery had not gone well. Separated only by a thin screen, we listened as the surgeons explained to the parents the problems they had encountered during surgery. Almost at that moment, our pastor walked in and as we huddled in prayer, a distinct presence of peace came. I knew right then and there, Lily was going to be fine. And she was, passing the first surgery with flying colors.

4 months later came the Glenn procedure and last April, the Fontan-all open heart surgeries. Lily today is one of the happiest, wonderful two year olds one could know. She is walking, running, talking, loves to be read to and loves to putt golf balls on the carpet.

While I have been working on the catechism with her older sister, Skye, I have taken the time to start Lily on her catechism as well. We are three Q/A deep.

Q: “Lily, who made you?”
A: “God”

Q: “Lily, what else did God make?”
A: “All things.”

Q: “Why did God make you and all things?”
A: “For His own glory.”

How true that last answer rings for me. It has not been an easy road, but it has been a journey filled with the miraculous and because of that, I believe. I believe that God uses all things for His own glory as we have the belief to take His outstretched hand. I also believe in the individual worth of each human being, born and unborn, because I believe they have been created by a Creator.

This, in the end, is why I am pro-life.

Just recently, 3 out of 4 GOP chair races were won in various states by tea party leaders. I for one am curious to see how this plays out. Will the ultimate outsiders become insiders? Or will they transform the system from within?

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