You Decide

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by Herman Cain

SOURCE Townhall.com

"Flies at a picnic have no greater agenda than to disrupt our sunny day and try to spoil the potato salad. Fortunately, the annoying pests can be sent on their way with a little repellant. Congressional liberals, similarly devoid of a stated economic agenda, are exhibiting the same behavior as picnic flies. Our repellant against these nuisances is to persistently tell the facts.

The positive metrics of the current economy are undeniable. Gross Domestic Product exceeded three percent growth for all of 2005, and has grown for sixteen straight quarters. U.S. businesses created over two million new jobs last year. Hourly wage rates increased over three percent in 2005 to an average of over $16 an hour. The unemployment rate stands at a historically low rate of five percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed 11,000 this week for the first time since 2001. But U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is insisting that the economy is spoiled.

Pelosi stated in a January 6 press release,

“The President claims he has created a strong economy, but working Americans are telling a different story. They feel the American dream slipping further from their grasp and they know the reality is that this economy is not delivering for middle-class families.”

Why does Pelosi contend that this economy has failed so-called middle-class Americans, when all the metrics continually prove her wrong? First, she and her fellow liberals have carved out a position on every issue – including the economy, and the war on terrorism – that defines success for their party only if the economy and our efforts in fighting terrorism fail.

Second, in the face of record economic growth, Pelosi and her liberal flies must resort to class warfare tactics to divide America into phantom groups of haves and have-nots. Currently 50% of all taxpayers, starting with a taxable income of approximately $29,000 or higher, pay 97% of all personal income taxes. The truth is there is no definition of “middle-class,” and liberals will never provide a definition. The term “middle-class,” like “working Americans” and “the rich,” has value only in its ability to create class envy among Americans who perceive themselves as victims. The liberal flies are only too willing to encourage class envy when they have lost the war on facts and results.

Congresswoman Pelosi is not alone in her denial of the facts, but due to her elected position and seniority she is the face and mouthpiece of lies and deception. When she proclaims that the potato salad is bad, the other flies show up if they can get a reporter, radio show, or camera to listen to them. The media’s story is not that the sun is shining and USA-Americans are enjoying the picnic, but that a few flies are trying to ruin it.

When liberal media outlets do not fall for the deception, Pelosi and her posse resort to distraction. They challenge and criticize President Bush’s authority to use whatever means necessary to protect our nation from further terrorist attacks. Four years and four months ago Islamic terrorists attacked the U.S. on our own soil, but we have not been attacked since. The liberal flies refuse to believe that the Bush administration is effectively prosecuting the war on terrorism. They need to get over their hatred for the president and start placing national security over their pipe dreams of power. The war on terrorism goes through Afghanistan, Iraq, Europe, Asia and the U.S. The attacks on U.S. soil so vivid in our minds are not going unanswered, despite the liberals’ best efforts to deny a victory over the terrorists who want to kill all of us.

The people of this great nation deserve the truth on the economy and the war on terrorism based on the undeniable facts. USA-Americans also deserve integrity and honesty from their elected officials, no matter what political party or ideology they represent.

National security and the economy are our two most important issues. One of our greatest concerns should be the extent to which professional politicians will lie about these issues to promote their political agendas and their next election. A professional politician who places her political career and the leftist ideology over economic freedom and a secure homeland for all Americans is no longer a fly bothering our picnic on a sunny day. As General Douglas MacArthur once stated, “I am concerned for the security of our great nation; not so much because of any threat from without, but because of the insidious forces working from within.”

Herman Cain is host of the nationally syndicated radio talk show The Bottom Line with Herman Cain and a contributing columnist on Townhall.com.

http://www.townhall.com/opinion/columns/HermanCain/2006/01/13/182214.html