Barack Obama in 2001:

...one of the, I think, tragedies of the civil rights movement was, um, because the civil rights movement became so court focused I think there was a tendency to lose track of the political and community organizing and activities on the ground that are able to put together the actual coalition of powers through which you bring about redistributive change. In some ways we still suffer from that.

If there is racism in these United States, it can be found in the overtly discriminatory doctrine of Affirmative Action. What could be more condescending, more belittling, more racist than setting up laws that require schools and corporations to admit and hire minorities because they are unable to accomplish the same ends on their own?

Affirmative Action says you are not smart enough, not athletic enough, and not skilled enough to make it in this cruel world because of your race.

Affirmative Action encourages minorities to rely on the government to place them in schools and jobs. It is more of the destructive poison of dependency. That same dependency doctrine that Obama has championed his entire life.

And we are on the cusp now of electing an Affirmative Action coup de grace.

A man who is not in any way qualified to be president. A man who has no leadership ability, no experience, and no conception of what it actually entails to lead the most powerful nation on earth, is an election away from that office.

And yet, to criticize him based on record and character is decried as racist. To oppose his candidacy is bigotry. To tell the truth about the frighting mentors and philosophies that Obama has embraced since his teenage years is unacceptable hate-mongering.

Indeed, Affirmative Action has muddled the perceptions of far too many people.

Are we so afraid that the ruling classes will cry "racism!"or will cry "foul!" that we are willing to displace all rational thought? Are we so worried that they will lament the stunted progress of "race relations" that we are ready and willing to elect the most unqualified man in history to apply for the job of President of the United States? Are we ready to give up our basic freedoms in exchange for the elite chattering classes to bypass labeling us racists? Are we willing to let the constitution be tread upon, as some sort of lamb's blood of protection to the plague of intolerance?

Are we as Americans really so easily manipulated by the deception of "diversity"?

I recently re-read Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous "I have a Dream" speech. What in that momentous display of optimism has not come to pass? Nothing. Everything Dr. King dreamed of, is today a reality in the United States. Everything.

And yet, 50 years later Barack Obama is still drumming up the guilty ghost of racism. The injustices of the past, and there were many, have been wiped out ten fold by the dignity, opportunity and equality of liberty and freedom for everybody that exists today.

If Obama gets elected he will have the Affirmative Action mindset, and the fear of being labeled a racist that he has fostered, to thank for his victory. He will win because of the color of his skin, and not for the content of his character.

And that will be the real tragedy of the civil rights movement.

"What is conservatism? Is it not adherence to the old and tried, against the new and untried?"

Is there a more apt way to describe Barack Obama than "new and untried"? There is nothing in his record that suggests competence in any leadership capacity. Nothing. He might speak well and look good and be the first African American to be this close to the presidency. But what does that really mean when, as Joe Biden predicted, this nation is tested with an "international crisis, a generated crisis"?

What good will words be when Iran launches an attack against Israel? What good will being African American do when North Korea hits Seattle with a nuclear missile? What good will high voter registration be when Russia rolls tanks into Georgia or another bordering democratic state?

History is on the side of conservatism. History is on the side of American might. American strength. American domination.

Not appeasement. Not ignorant idealism.

The reality of international politics demands action. It is simply not enough to have the ability to speak well. It is pure naivety to believe that the enemies of the United States will back off, retreat, or change a life long ideology simply because Obama will ask them to.

Now is not the time to elect the most inexperienced, most unknown, most untested presidential candidate in history.

And even Joe Biden knows that.

Ezra Taft Benson wrote:

To all who have discerning eyes, it is apparent that the republican form of government established by our noble forefathers cannot long endure once fundamental principles are abandoned. Momentum is gathering for another conflict — a repetition of the crisis of two hundred years ago. This collision of ideas is worldwide. Another monumental moment is soon to be born. The issue is the same that precipitated the great pre-mortal conflict — will men be free to determine their own course of action or must they be coerced?

Joseph Smith, the founder and first president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon) has been said to have made a statement that the "...constitution of the United States [will be] almost destroyed. It will hang like a thread as fine as silk fiber."

This statement comes in what is known in Mormon lore as "the white horse prophecy". The credibility of the account of the prophecy has been in question since the document became public, some ten years after it was supposedly given.

My intent however is not to examine the credibility or content of the prophecy. That is done very well in this document, and if the history behind the white horse statement interests you I recommend reading it.

What I do want to do is examine the theme of the Constitution "hanging by a thread". The idea of the Constitution being in peril has reoccurred throughout American, and Mormon history.

Ezra T. Benson, who served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Eisenhower, while also serving as a member of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles has written extensively about the survival of the Constitution. Much of what he has written came while he was serving as the President of the Church, (1985-1994).

He said:

I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. But it will not be saved in Washington. It will be saved by the citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church — men and women who will subscribe to and abide the principles of the Constitution.

The questions then are: how will the Constitution come to hang by a thread? And how will it be saved?

What power or influence or people will threaten the existence of the Constitution? I believe the answer comes in our individual freedoms. That is, the Constitution will be made moot when our individual rights come under fire from lawmakers or judges in Washington who set out to amend those fundamental rights under the pretense of political correctness and that devastatingly deceptive doctrine of fairness.

And perhaps more than ever the United States of America stands at the brink of surrendering the rights that our Framers fought for, argued for, and under the divine influence of a just God designed and signed into law over 200 years ago.

Barack Obama has a history of quieting personal liberty. His campaign has repeatedly sought to stop the free speech of those who do not support his world view and candidacy for President. He has sought to quell dissent among the electorate, called any criticism of his policies and voting record a "smear", and has often fallen back on the tired racists accusations that seem so common in the Democratic tactical quiver.

Obama has described what he calls a "Civilian National Security Force". He said that "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we’ve set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded.”

This reeks of a police state. A world where any dissent or resistance is quickly sought out, extinguished and punished. Some dissent, like the violent outbursts of Obama's good friend Bill Ayers ought to be punished. Ironically though, Ayers remains unpunished, and unrepentant. The very freedoms that Ayers and his ilk detest are the very powers that allowed him to object to those freedoms.

The Constitution of the United States is designed to limit government, and protect the individual. Anything beyond that is unconstitutional. Expanding the powers of the government into the private sector is unlawful. It is Un-American. It is dangerous socialism.

What Barack Obama has not had to explain is how far he is willing to go with his "spread the wealth" mentality. What rights is he willing to sacrifice so that everyone has a "piece of the pie"?

If indeed the Constitution is going to hang by a thread, how then will it be saved? Ezra T. Benson said that it will be saved by the "citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom". People willing to stand up against the coerced "patriotism" of an Obama ideology. It will be saved by people with courage to say no to redistribution of wealth. It will be saved by those who understand the personal liberties that the Constitution established and protects.

In short, the constitution will be saved by those willing to continue the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness.

One of the great speeches given during the primary season was Mitt Romney's CPAC speech. Unfortunately it was also his concession speech. Shortly after that speech I wrote my reaction to it. I recently re-read that reaction and was struck at how relevant my feelings in February are today, just 14 days from Election Day.

Below is what I wrote in February. It strikes me that the Dependency Doctrine of Barack Obama is the central issue going into the final sprint of this long election cycle. Everything Obama proposes has to do with citizens of the United States becoming more and more dependent on the Government.

America the Dependent? Feb. 7 2008

"I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them."

-Thomas Jefferson

Mitt Romney withdrew his candidacy for the republican presidential nomination today. And the media, along with Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama, breathed a sigh of relief. As Mitt finished his speech I couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of "what have we done!?" As he walked off the stage it was painfully obvious that the candidate best suited to lead our nation through the difficult choices ahead, had just been eliminated.

However, in his quitting the race, we can take hope. He used the opportunity to speak, to directly attack the speech that Barack Obama gave earlier in the morning at Tulane University. The speech was full of anti-American rhetoric, blame, and anecdotal nothingness. Obama places heavy blame on "America" for the ills in society. He does so in broad sweeping terms, conjuring up stories about poor single mothers, hungry children and worrisome fathers. He said, this morning:

"When I was down in Houston visiting evacuees a few days after Katrina, I met a woman in the Reliant Center who had long known these storms (poverty and joblessness) in her life. She told me, 'We had nothing before the hurricane. Now we got less than nothing.' We had nothing before the hurricane. Now we got less than nothing. I think about her sometimes. I think about how America left her behind. And I wonder where she is today. America failed that woman long before that failure showed up on our television screens. We failed her again during Katrina. And - tragically - we are failing her for a third time."

America is to blame for the poverty of some anonymous woman in Texas. It isn't the failings of her parents or her lack of education, it isn't her laziness or ignorance. It is our fault. Your fault and my fault that she suffers. Now, of course, I am jumping to conclusions in naming her parents or her ignorance as reasons for her failure. My point however is that in Obama's mind, there is nothing she could have done in her life to change her circumstances. She is a victim of an America that has failed her.

This anti-American, pro-dependeny doctrine is a poison that is seeping through our great nation. And it is that poison that Mitt Romney chose to spend much of his speech at CPAC today combating. I believe it was a direct response to Senator Obama's remarks today. He said:

"In the 1960s, there were welfare programs that created a culture of poverty in our country. Now, some people think we won that battle when we reformed welfare. But the liberals haven't given up. At every turn, they tried to substitute government largess for individual responsibility. They fight to strip work requirements from welfare, to put more people on Medicaid, and remove more and more people from having to pay any income tax whatsoever."

He continued,

"Dependency is death to initiative, risk-taking and opportunity. Dependency is culture killing. It's a drug. We've got to fight it like the poison it is."

Barak Obama is traveling the country spreading this poisonous doctrine of dependency. He wants the population to believe that they are not accountable for their own well-being. Obama said:

"So many of us live a life that is ordered, with comforts we can count on. Somewhere, we know, there are people who don't have a house with a sturdy roof; who have nowhere to go when they can't make rent; who don't have a car to drive to another city when a storm is coming; who can't get care when they're sick, or get the education that would give them a chance at their dreams. But too often, we lose our sense of common destiny; that understanding that we are all tied together; that when a woman has less than nothing in this country, that makes us all poorer."

The democratic vision is mired in a socialistic ideology that is neither practical nor healthy. Instead of blaming America for it's poverty, it is time for our leaders to instill a sense of possibility in our citizens. For every woman who had nothing, and less than nothing, there are stories of people who rose above the mud and water of Katrina and rebuilt their lives from the ground up. We live in a land of opportunity. And the opportunity that our Framers designed, and our soldiers have died for is not one of government handouts and dependency--but rather one of innovation and individualism.

It stung to watch Governor Romney concede this morning. But he did it with incredible class and dignity. He took one more chance to lay out his vision of America. A vision that included a people of accountability, responsibility, and with a deep appreciation of the culture that makes America, the beautiful.

"Some reason that culture is merely an accessory to America's vitality. We know that it's the source of our strength. And we will not be dissuaded by the snickers and knowing glances when we stand up for family values and morality and culture. "

That is a culture that Barack Obama is trying to weaken. The defeatism of the Left is as dangerous to our nation as the Jihadist's and their roadside bombs. An America that falls from within, an America that is dependent on its own, and other governments around the world, will never stand against outside military threats.

And so, while I felt an overwhelming sense of "What have we done!?" as Mitt Romney exited the stage, I quickly saw the message he delivered. Ahead of us we have a bitter battle. It is not a battle with Jihadist's. For their success or failure is a product of our success, or failure, in this domestic cultural war. President Hinckley admonished us many times to "stand for something". I believe that now is the time to stand for the principles and ideals that made America the great shining city. The Left will have us surrender our might, so that none may suffer. I'd rather fight for it, so that many may prosper.