You are listening to the Conservative Christian Movement Podcast, Episode 005 Titled “The Meat Grinder of Politics.”  This episode was Recorded February 17, 2018. Show Notes can be found at CCMPodcast.com or Facebook.com/CCMPodcast. Today I’ll give details on Saul Alinsky’s fourth rule for Radicals. I’ll talk about how ideas go through the meat grinder and may come out a law. I’ll finish with the latest liberal Rant.

Let’s jump right into it…

The verse of the day: Matthew 22:21 —

They say unto him, Caesar’s. Then saith he unto them, Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s; and unto God the things that are God’s.

Clearly in Biblical terms Government has a place among men (and women). We are expected to do our part to pay the cost of governing. There comes a time, however when the government taking of what is ours becomes excessive, spending exceeds what is necessary and exceeds the funds collected. The US Government has been a burden for some time now.

As I record this episode, it is the weekend of President’s Day. As the men, and someday perhaps women occupy the highest office in the land, it is important to remember one thing about this day every year. It is still President George Washington’s birthday. Let us not forget the man who became the first president, the man who delivered us a victory over British tyranny and helped us to become the nation we have become.

Making this political, there is no law which has even been passed by congress making this holiday anything but Washington’s birthday, yet the holiday is mis-named on calendars and even inside our government. Perhaps a law can be passed or better yet, an executive order making it known as George Washington’s Birthday “officially.”

Let’s jump right into it with the Fourth Rule for Radicals—

Over the past three weeks I have been presenting Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals. The first rule of making your enemy think you have more strength than you really do, and the second and third, remaining inside your skill zone while moving your opponent out of theirs. This week’s rule makes it more important than ever you live by principles and stick to them.

* The fourth rule is: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules. You can kill them with this, for they can no more obey their own rules than the Christian church can live up to Christianity.

Have you ever witnessed an example of hypocrisy? One way to lose face with anyone is to say one thing and do another. The principle of do as I say, not as I do rarely brings favor to anyone. This is the basis of Alinsky’s fourth rule for radicals. I’ll go out on a limb here and state what is obvious to me— maybe you as well. Most politicians crumble when faced with a choice to follow their principles or risk re-election. A group who want action contrary to Biblical principles can use the fourth rule against a weak politician, or one that buckles under pressure.

More than one law has begun based on a phone call from a voter, someone like you— a person with a concern for how something is happening or not happening. Our Declaration of Independence states clearly, We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed, by their Creator, with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. Isn’t it interesting how Blacks and Women continued to be treated differently for many years after we became a free nation? Why would that be? Certainly some people, lawmakers didn’t seem to read those words or take them to heart. It took a grass roots movement to bring about real change. Strong leaders within the government passed the laws and the president signed them. That is why YOU are important.

What we see today is gridlock in what makes lawmaking, just as it was back in the day, even worse. Two major parties exist. Both separated by ever increasing differences in philosophy, both hanging on, trying to save power. Most of those serving in Congress forget the foundation of our nation and the religious influence that was part of our young beginning. George Washington warned us not to lose track of morality and religion. Keep in mind there is a difference between making decisions with a moral compass based on religion and a theocracy. One yields freedom, the other steals it.

Our modern day sausage mill called government consists of several pieces. The point man is the president serving in the executive branch. A bicameral congress (The House of Representatives and the Senate) serving as legislative branch. And the Supreme Court as the Judicial Branch. Each serves a purpose to balance the powers of the others in theory.

The gridlock I spoke of rears its ugly head in so many ways. The president, regardless of the party is almost always embroiled in a bottle of wits at every turn, either because the majority party doesn’t like him or because he is just wrong. President Trump is stuck in the Russia problem not because there has been one shred of evidence against him, but because Democrats (or liberals) want to keep him off balance (recall the rules for radicals?) They will not give up on Russia ties because it keeps the Republican side of the government on the defensive and off balance.

Then the two party system is embodied in what seems to be a three tiered systems. Liberal Republicans, Liberal Democrats and Conservative Republicans. I’ll talk about the conservatives in another episode, but you can identify these people by who is criticizing them. If a Republican is tearing down a Republican, you can bet its a liberal-conservative fight. All this infighting is causing the gridlock. Can you guess what is going on in May and November this year? !00% of the house of representatives will be re-elected or thrown out this year. Yes, this alone is the basis for all that is happening politically for the next thee to nine months. Both parties want a majority in both the House and Senate. I believe the Democrats want it more. You’ll see the rules for radicals employed more and more as television ads are starting to play in April. They’ll be dirty ads you can be sure. Each year it seems record spending occurs. He with the most money to blow wins in many cases.

Laws are made in the legislative branch. The process can be simple, but can also be messy. Jimmy Stewart starred in a movie called “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” The movie set in 1939 shows a young scout master, picked to replace a recently deceased Senator. The plot shows what is ugly in politics, the lies, cheating, and power brokering which clearly occurs. I highly recommend you check it out. Laws are initiated mostly in the House of Representatives, agreed to by the Senate and signed by the president. When one bill is passed and the other chamber passes the same bill with differences, a conference works to align the two bills into one agreeable to both. At that point it goes to the president. He can sign it or veto it. Vetoed bills can be voted on again to override the veto. Remember “I’m just a bill”, the Saturday morning cartoon? They never thought about the politics we see today when that cartoon was created.

Incidentally, Obamacare was a bill passed by both chambers in different forms. What did not occur was the reconciliation process to make the bill one form agreeable to both chambers. The House of Representatives did not vote on the new version and simply “Deemed it Passed.” Technically not legal, but if no-one really objects, then no harm-no fowl.

Enter the judicial branch. The Judiciary, which includes the Supreme Court and all its subsidiary courts and the Justice Department, jumps into the political mix. Ultimately the supreme court is charged with upholding the US Constitution as are all branches of government. What has been happening these days is legislating from the bench and judge shopping by political foes. Any court case requires legal standing in order to be heard. That means you have been “injured” legally speaking. If you as a citizen want to get a law or executive order shut down by a court, just find a judge who is against it and a reason someone in his jurisdiction is harmed. They’ll stay the law or the order. it’s that simple even if wrong.

If you didn’t follow this mess, it comes as no surprise why. It really is akin to putting a bunch of ingredients into a blender and making sausage. If you watch the news for five minutes, you can see why government is ineffective. I’ll talk in future why the government is ineffective and needs to be limited in scope.

Crazy Liberals of the Week…

This has been a terrible week in our nation with the horrific shooting in a Florida high school. There have been so many of these events in the past and it’s very distressful to so many and countless people. It also serves as a launchpad for liberal rhetoric about guns.

All I will say about that is this; if you think another law to control guns will control guns and crazy people who use them to kill others, you’re crazy and clueless. With each senseless event the words “meaningful gun legislation” are spoken. We have enough gun laws. After all, killing someone is generally not a legal action, especially when pre-meditated. You could round up every AR-15 you can find, threaten to behead anyone caught with one, and flatly ban outright possession of a firearm and you will not impact violence in any way. Maybe it won’t happen at gun point, maybe it will.

Our nation turned for the worse a generation ago when my parents and likely yours de