Wednesday, February 5, 2014

TIM DONNELLY AND THE GIANTS



By James Wilson

            Tim Donnelly is the California Assemblyman running for governor.  He thinks of himself more as Christian and conservative than Republican, but he runs – enthusiastically – under that banner.  He shared his vision with me more than a year ago; it was no secret.  His vision is simple.

            Donnelly believes maximizing personal freedom will maximize both peace and prosperity.  I don’t know him well enough to state his position on every issue, but here is how I read him.  As governor he would seek to move state government out of the way of small businesses by reducing the crush of regulations.  He would obey the laws on the books, i. e. funds gathered through cap and trade would be spent for their intended purpose of addressing environmental issues rather than diverted to the wildly unpopular bullet train.  He would likely seek to overturn the ponzi scheme that is cap and trade in the first place, and re-introduce personal choice into healthcare by resisting Obamacare – another ponzi scheme.  He would enforce existing immigration laws while seeking a way to treat foreign nationals seeking work with fairness and compassion.  He would seek repeal of laws that restrict Californians’ freedoms under the First and Second Amendments – from free exercise of faith to the right to bear personal arms.  His campaign took off like a shot last year and he knocked Republican rival Abel Maldonado out of the race with nothing but the force of his ideas, leaving Governor Brown to face him in a two-way race.

            Speaking of ponzi schemes, Donnelly has been challenged for the Republican nomination by Neel Kashkari, a political newcomer with all the backing one could ask from establishment Republican fat cats.  A ponzi scheme – by the way – is a financial fraud in which investors are promised high return on investment and – initially – see that return.  The return is actually funded by new and unknowing investors because the funds are never actually put to work; later the scheme tanks and the schemer runs with the money. Cap and trade is a ponzi scheme because the credits purchased do not reduce pollution. Obamacare is the same thing, inasmuch as people are promised universal healthcare and so far the net result is six million Americans losing the healthcare they had.  Why mention Neel Kashkari in the same sentence with ponzi scheme?

              Kashkari is a forty-year-old aerospace engineer by background who was catapulted into a vice presidency at Goldman-Sachs, and from there became the leader of the federal TARP program in 2008-9.  TARP was the federal bailout for companies like Goldman-Sachs that were considered “too big to fail” by people with vested interests like Kashkari.  He left TARP to become head of global investments for PIMCO.  His sole qualification to lead the state government is his history of funneling taxpayer money to his corporate friends.

            Compared to Donnelly he is pro-choice and pro-gay marriage while the legislator with actual legislative chops is pro-life and traditional marriage.  (Science, by the way, is all on Donnelly’s side with respect to the health and welfare-for-all consequences of their respective stands.)   Donnelly is a Christian and the happily married father of healthy children.  Kashkari is divorced and a Hindu; his religion is neither here nor there except that Hinduism             believes in a rigid caste system with Brahmans like Kashkari at the top of the heap and the rest of us lucky to get a few crumbs tossed our way.  As a Christian, Donnelly believes all men are created equal.

            Kashkari announced his candidacy in January “after spending nearly a year meeting with influential policy makers and potential donors,” according to the AP report.  Translation, he lined up the support he needed from the monied interests – the giants – before committing; his announcement means he believes the fix is in.

            Donnelly committed at the end of 2012 after prayer and consultation with his family and friends – the grassroots types who make up outfits like the Tea Party, veterans groups, and small business associations.  There is no fix here, only a man with the courage of his convictions.

            So here is my question for readers – especially those of conservative leanings.  Do the Brahmans really know best for us?  How has that been working out?  Did Arnold save us from ourselves?  How about Meg Whitman?  Jesus called blessed the man who lays down his life as a sacrifice for others, and righteous the man whose yes means yes and whose behavior reflects his rhetoric.  I would rather trust such a man than one who depends for success on lots of karma – served up for those giants well heeled enough to afford it.     

James A. Wilson is the author of Living As Ambassadors of Relationships and The Holy Spirit and the End Times – available at local bookstores or by e-mailing him at
praynorthstate@charter.net

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