Our new President is out there somewhere

[FCTP]

My husband and I lived in Houston, Texas during the oil crisis in the late 70's and early 80’s.  We were a young married couple living the good life.  We had just purchased our first home and our first baby was on her way. 

 

We finally had enough money to also purchase a second car.  We were excited and looked forward to a new chapter in our marriage.  We had been married five years and felt ready to take on the parental challenge.

 

Shortly after we bought our home and the second car, something happened in the economy.  We had not paid much attention to politics and all that stuff that affects your everyday life.  Why?  Because life was good and we were doing fine.  The grocery prices were rising but it hadn’t hurt too badly – Yet.

 

Then all of a sudden – and it seemed it came without warning – we watched as everything escalated in costs.  I vividly remember watching a gas station clerk make a poster board with the $1 on it.  Gas was finally hitting a dollar and the gas stations were not prepared for a three-digit number on their signs!  That was 1979.

 

Panic was setting in and people were losing hope.  Jimmy Carter was President and he seemed unable to neither fix the rising costs nor strongly address the world issues that played on the nightly news.  People were uneasy and fearful without a strong leader.  For the first time in my life, I realized the importance of leadership and how it can affect a business and a country.

 

Houston was especially hit hard and we watched as one by one our friends left to find work elsewhere and some walked away from their homes.  Houston was becoming a ghost town and houses were For Sale in every area of the city.  My husband worried about his job as we heard that layoffs for the first time in the history of the company would occur. 

 

At a time in our life when we should have been excited about the birth of our first baby, we were instead wondering if next Friday would be the Pink Slip Friday for him.  

 

In November of 1980, Ronald Reagan was elected President and one month later our first baby was born.  We felt a little more at ease BUT President Reagan had his work cut out for him.  He went to work and brought a renewed hope to a hopeless and leaderless society.

 

The economy took a while to turn around.  We had another baby 18 months later and the costs of diapers, food, gas and everyday living was still high and salaries were not increasing to match the costs.  The gas stations put up new permanent signage with three spots for gas prices.  We knew then, the days of gas under a dollar were gone for good.  We adjusted to paying more for everything.

 

My husband was recruited to a new position and we returned to North Florida in 1983.  We left our Houston house with a For Sale sign in the front yard and a few months later sold it at a loss.  We were happy to find a buyer and to get out without too much out of pocket. 

 

Thirty years later – here we are:

• Jobs are scarce and Pink Slip Fridays are common place.
• Gas prices are now nearing $5 a gallon and will settle down to $3.50 according to Economists.  Gas Prices Rising
• People are edgy and feeling “poor” because of the rising costs 
• Homes are selling at a loss or people are walking away from them 
• The price of food and other commodities are rising higher each week 
• The world stage is scary and the nightly news is still filled with wars, killings and acts of terrorism 
• Our President is weak and he provides no hope – only changes that we don’t want 

History is repeating itself.  I had hoped to never experience those times again yet here we are. It was tough to live through it then and this time around – it is even harder.

 

It’s harder because although Jimmy Carter was a weak leader, he seemed to love America.  He didn’t have the necessary skills to be our leader and we suffered for it.

 

This time around our President gives us great concern about his patriotism and love of American values. He is haughty and mean-spirited.  He has used bullying tactics to get his agenda accomplished and the people surrounding him are bullies too.

 

These are trying times and our souls are thirsty for a leader who:

• Is filled with compassion for his fellow man
• Can bring parties together for the good of country
• Believes in personal responsibility and helping others achieve through giving them a hand up – not out
• Will stand up to evil influences
• Will stand with our allies
• Can continue the fight for liberty no matter how tough it gets
• Has a sense of humor
• Will choose the best people possible to offset his/her weaknesses
• Never, ever, ever gives up
• Remains true to his core principles which should match those of our culture and heritage

It was a great day for the American people when we watched Jimmy Carter wave good-bye and Ronald Reagan take his place.  The world’s attitude towards us changed when Ronald Reagan became President.  The world once again looked to us for leadership and the American people were energized and passionate about life again.  (See more about Ronald Reagan’s Presidency here:  http://www.reaganfoundation.org/the-presidency.aspx)

 

It’s time again to send another President packing.   Barack Obama has done to this country what no other President has done since the beginning of America.  He has spent more money than we can print.  He has created hostilities between our fellow men.  He has made fun of us.  He has mocked us.  He has pushed down policies that do not match our heritage or culture.  He has belittled our founding fathers and our documents.  He has embarrassed us.  He has created a culture of hopelessness after running on one of hope.

 

Jimmy Carter and other weak, misguided Presidents created chaos and problems for the American people.  Ronald Reagan and other great American Presidents stepped up to the plate to fix these misguided Presidents’ messes.   

 

We’ve been here before BUT this time is different.  The financial chaos is so huge that it will take a man or woman with wisdom, courage and a “butt-kicking” attitude to fix this.  The people are bruised and hurt from this economy and businesses are barely holding on after years of regulatory abuse and a poor economy.  We have no time to waste with politics – or politicians - as usual. 

 

There is a leader who has been called to this time and he/she needs to step up now.  Too bad if he doesn’t want to do it – no great leader ever does.  A new leader is coming and a restoration of our country will follow. 

 

Ronald Reagan said, “The future doesn’t belong to the faint-hearted, it belongs to the brave.”  May we all be brave as we face the future and pray for “that leader” to show up soon and heed his call to serve.

[amanda choate]

Who among the Republican candidates has these qualities? I guess it will take the primaries to reveal these qualities. frankly, were it me who possessed all of these traits, the last theing inthe world I would do to my family is subject them to a presidential campaign. The horrible things said by, about and to candidates makes it very unappealing. Kudos to anyone who is willing to subject themself and their family to this process. It is a messy thing.

[Jim Ryan]

 Billie Tucker is one of the leaders and coordinator's of the First Coast
Tea Party in Jacksonville, Florida.  She and others like her in Tea Parties
across the country are excoriated by liberal media pundits who describe her and
all tea party members as irrational, meanspirited and extremist right wing idiots.

Why?  Because of course, Tea Party members don't see things the way they do
and they don't share the liberal TV network and Hollywood point of view of what
America is, what America stands for, where America is heading, and the type of
leadership and skills it takes to accomplish those goals.

Like other bully pulpit "Bullies" the media, both TV news, print, and
entertainment rely not on the total composition of the Tea Party concerns,
vision and issues but select single or isolated issues and in many cases grossly
exaggerate or completely fabricate those thoughts and slam them
unmercifully.

That is why you hear them all make the same "talking points" every weekend
on the news shows.

They all get the "fax" on Friday, study it all day Saturday as to what
victim to choose and what drum to beat and they all go out and and spread their
messages.  There position of course is "if everyone says it is so, it must be so".  Then they condescendingly pontificate that they are "all smarter than you."   Of course the people who run the shows are also in on the scam and should the talking point guest lose their place the host has
in reserve the question / statements which slams at the Tea Party target and
allows for the Washington insider to simply acknowledge and agree.  

How do we attempt to "spread our message" and continue to grow?   Most of
us have friends and relatives who do not live in Jacksonville.  Billie's blog
today is a message which will resonate across the country and needs to be
forwarded.  Our greatest strength is and always will be "our message and the
facts."  Since we have no control and influence over the media and its
biased reporting we only have word of mouth and the Internet.  Forward these
messages and the comments of your fellow tea party members who add so much to
the dialog with their intelligent and well thought out contributions regarding what the tea party is, the principals we stand for, the honor of our intentions, and our love for our
Country.  I know I do.  I feel it is my patriotic duty to do so. 

The liberals cannot win if confronted with the facts and we cannot prevail unless the facts are

are distributed in a saturating overwhelming dominate means.  If the lie becomes the new truth and the norm we will lose.

There are roughly 7000 FCTP members.   I will assume you all have 20 email contacts.  Those 20 will have 20 more, who will have 20 more, who will have 20 more.  Lets do the math: 20 X 20 = 400

400 X20 = 8000.  8000 X 20 = 160,000.  160,000 = 3,200,000.  3,200,000 X 20 = 64,000,000.

 So within 5 iterations we will have reached 64,000,00 million potential voters.  If we had 6,000,000 more we would have had more of the popular vote than Obama.  

[Carol Griesbaum]

Thanks for the "memories" Billie. We added a third daughter to our family in 79 and my husband had a good job as General Manager of a car dealership in Illinois. I remember the high interest rates on housing, etc. We thought we "learned" when electing Reagan but as they say "history tends to repeat itself" or something like that. It will be tough but we are tougher.

[w. lee dungan jr.]

like Rush says, right on, right on, right on.

[Tom Wing]

The question still remains -  What are we going to do about it today?  2011

How do we affect the changes in the existing political scenario to bring about the changes necessary for a

Reganesque figure to take control?

 

[Robert H. Formby]

Thanks for telling it like it is Billie. We definitely need another Ronald Reagan, but we will have to fight to get him/her.

I believe Ben Franklin said it best when he designed what he wished to be the first seal of our country. On it was depicted Moses leading Israel across the Red Sea. Above them was a pillar of fire which was holding off the Egyptions. And around the seal was written these words "REBELLION TO TYRANTS IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD".. it is not the British we are fighting now, it is our own government. The fight is the same but the opponents are different.

[Theresa Pletcher]

At the time I was a future Air Force wife and Reagan changed the Rules of Engagement and the United States became a Superpower once again!  God Please Bless America and Americans.  Amen!

[Sharon Glass]

Great article Billie, very inspiring and truthful. As a single mom (their dad died 11 years before) my  life also changed in 1979, I had moved my boys to NW Florida from Central Florida in 1978 for a great job, which ended one year later due to change of ownership. There I was away from family and friends and I had to start all over again. I had lost my car, my house but never my faith. Jobs were few and I was often told I was "over qualifed" for positions, then someone gave me a chance and although it was a struggle because I had lost my large salary and had to work below my experience level, I was grateful. I remember the Reagan days well and I was able to recover a few years later. We do need another cowboy/cowgirl to ride up on their white horse and rescue our country. We need to be prepared for what is coming before all of that happens. I am often thankful for what I went through during those hard times because it has prepared me for more hard times. Thanks again for your article, I needed that! Sharon