RNC Chairman and Co-Chairman Sharon Day Message Commemorating Presidents Day

WASHINGTON – Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Reince Priebus and Co-Chairman Sharon Day released the following message commemorating Presidents Day:

 

“This Presidents Day, we pay tribute to the men who have served as America’s Commander-in-Chief for their leadership and their sacrifice,” said RNC Chairman Reince Priebus. “We honor especially the two pillars of the American presidency: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, whose birthdays we celebrate this month. Under George Washington’s command, our nation was born. Through Lincoln’s perseverance, our republic was saved.

 

“February is also the birth month of President Ronald Reagan, the conservative visionary who saved America from economic stagnation. Today, America is once again mired in a difficult economy. With families hurting and businesses struggling, it is time we embrace the principles of Ronald Reagan once again.”

 

“Reagan understood that a thriving free market offers opportunity to all Americans,” said RNC Co-Chairman Sharon Day. “He also understood the dangers of a heavy-handed federal government, famously observing that ‘government is not a solution to our problem; government is the problem.’

 

“When Americans go to the polls in November, they will be looking for a president who ensures government exists to preserve and protect freedom and opportunity. They will seek an individual who, like Lincoln and Washington, will serve selflessly and in the interests of all Americans. I’m confident that, like Reagan, our Republican candidate will do exactly that.”

Libertarian Party: End Dangerous Sanctions Now; Peace Through Free Trade

WASHINGTON - Libertarian National Committee Chair, Mark Hinkle, released the following statement today:

 

"As relations with Iran deteriorate, President Barrack Obama and the Bipartisan Senate Committee are making things worse: inciting yet another war in the Middle East through economic sanctions.

 

"On February 2nd,  2012 the Senate Banking Committee unanimously approved increased sanctions against Iran. Not willing to wait for a full Senate vote, President Obama increased sanctions by executive order on February 6th.

 

"The United States must stop meddling and return to our traditional libertarian foreign policy of free trade in order to give peace a chance in the Middle East.

 

"Trade sanctions are proven failures. In the 1990s, Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton enforced trade sanctions against Iraq which led to the deaths of more than 100,000 innocent men, women and children.

 

"Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, in an appearance on 60 Minutes in 1996, was asked about the child deaths from sanctions, and replied "I think this a very hard choice, but the price - we think the price is worth it." Albright's willingness to sacrifice Arab children to achieve US policy goals was broadcast throughout the Arab world and was cited by Osama Bin Laden as a key motivation for the 9/11 attacks.

 

"Now the US government is doing the same thing to Iran, a country that not only has never attacked the United States, but has attacked no other country in over 200 years.

 

"Sanctions don't work. They unite the people of a country behind their political leaders, no matter how bad that leader may be. By meddling in foreign affairs, U.S. politicians turn foreign citizens - who support the United States - against us.

 

"Rather than repeat failed policies of past presidents, we must use the successful policies of those who kept us out of war.  Presidents George Washington and Thomas Jefferson kept the United States out of the bloody French Revolution and allowed us to make peace with our archenemy, the British, by pursuing Free Trade and a noninterventionist foreign policy.

 

"The Libertarian Party calls for removing all restrictions on trade. Free Trade is the best way to foster peace in the Middle East.

In anticipation of tonight's debate...

In anticipation of tonight’s Republican Debate, all readers are encouraged to see this previously unpublished article responding to the candidates’ behavior in the CNN/Western Debate.

 
Presidential Politics in the Wild Wild West: A Brief Commentary
By Zach Foster
 
Last Tuesday’s CNN/Western Republican debate was nothing short on entertaining, though it was a far cry from what audiences actually expected to see from Presidential candidates.  Nonetheless, the idea that in 2011 Americans have the audacity to expect only candidates that deserve to be taken seriously and who conduct themselves with decency and integrity renders that same American populace a pack of happy-go-lucky idealists, a group which this author was also audaciously a part of.  While more than half of the eight candidates on stage managed to be civil, if not full of substance, there were a select few candidates who dragged Presidential politics and the art of public debating into a regression to elementary school sandbox mentality.

The three offenders were Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney, and Rick Perry.  The first political shout fest of the night came between Santorum and Romney.   Santorum was correct in his assertion that Romney has no credibility in repealing “ObamaCare,” which was indeed the model after which the Obama administration crafted their titanic Health Care Reform Act.  Romney was either delusional or blatantly lying when he denied that he would impose such a standard as he crafted in Massachusetts on a national level and he asserted how he has said on television that he would not impose such a program.  The evidence to the contrary is overwhelming and blatantly suggests that, had Romney become President in 2008, what the Republican Party and the Tea Party Patriots so vehemently hate today would have been RomneyCare rather than ObamaCare     (a rose by any other name…).  The massive backtracking Romney has done upon realizing that many, if not most, Americans hate the Health Care Reform Act, either for the right-leaning view of it being socialism or the left-leaning view of government subsidizing the big evil capitalistic corporations, furthered by Romney’s vehement denial of what Americans now know to be true, added upon by his removal of certain unfavorable passages from the latest edition of his campaign book, make him the classical embodiment of a FLIP FLOPPER of the snake-in-the-grass deceptive variety.

 
While Santorum was correct to force Romney to account for the inconsistencies in his platform (and statements) between 2008 and 2011, Santorum lost much respect for interrupting another candidate and robbing him of his speaking time by inciting a shout fest.  Santorum, who has been a bottom-tier candidate since the beginning of the 2012 campaign, partially attributed to his relative obscurity since he lost his Senate seat in the 2006 election, has attempted to compensate for being a bottom-tier candidate by interrupting and shouting at other candidates (namely Romney, Paul, and Cain) during their speaking turns.
 
Rick Perry, desperate to regain credibility in the race after perceived poor performances in previous debates, namely much stuttering and difficulty answering pressing questions, went for broke by attacking Romney’s immigration record.  Perry made the false allegation that Romney knowingly hired illegal immigrants to tend to the gardening at his home.  The truth is that the company Romney contracted to do the gardening was the party that hired illegal immigrants, not Romney.  In no way did Romney know that this company employed illegal immigrants at the time of initiating his contract with them.  Being fully aware of this while continuing to assert that Romney hired illegal immigrants and had no credibility regarding immigration reform (this from the man who approved in-state tuition rates for undocumented university students in Texas), Perry can be portrayed as both a liar and opportunist for knowingly asserting something that was contrary to the truth and for the sake of saving face after prior poor debate performances.
 
Despite his defense made by this author, by no means is Romney a saint, nor are his transgressions to be forgotten.  Romney continued to pay the company for gardening services for months after knowing they employed illegal immigrants.  Given the comment he made when recounting how he terminated the contract, “…I’m running for office, for Pete’s sake!” one can safely conclude that he terminated the contract with the company not necessarily because they violated the law, but rather to save his image as a candidate for office.
 
Herman Cain was attacked at the beginning of the debate for his 9-9-9 plan, and each candidate seemed to have a fresh angle of criticism for why the plan wouldn’t work.  The common consensus, despite Cain’s fervent insistence that none of the other candidates understood the plan and they were “mixing apples and oranges,” was the correct observation that 9-9-9 includes a 9% national sales tax.  Despite it offering a slight refuge from some higher state sales tax rates, this plan is a federalist attack on a state’s right to govern itself by nullifying the state tax codes set by state legislatures.  While a 9% sales tax would appear as relief for states paying 10% sales taxes, it would become a tremendous burden to the states that pay either less than 9% sales tax or even no sales tax at all.  Furthermore, the 9% individual tax (income tax) would be a tax hike for those at the poverty level who pay no income taxes, as well as to those who pay no income taxes due to legitimate write offs, usually excessive living expenses or extensive charitable contributions.  9-9-9 is a tax hike despite Cain’s denial.  On top of that, his assertion that the other candidates are mixing apples and oranges is incorrect; what the other candidates did by pointing out the plan’s flaws was point out how Cain himself is mixing apples with oranges and expecting the result to be uniform in substance.
 
Ron Paul, though not given nearly as many questions or as much time as Romney and Perry, explained his positions articulately and adequately got his message across.  Many of his opponents (non-supporters) within the GOP admit that they like Ron Paul’s ideas and policies except for foreign policy.  They are encouraged to re-examine their approach to his foreign policy by listening to Jack Hunter’s editorial “I Like Ron Paul Except on Foreign Policy,” which will definitely challenge their thinking.  The same people should also consult chapter 2 of Paul's book The Revolution: A Manifesto, in which he defends his foreign policy by proving it to be parallel to that of George Washington and other Founding Fathers.

Images courtesy of Revolution PAC press releases

VIDEO: Ron Paul Unelectable???

Political Spectrum Publishing is pleased to present to its readers the slide show audio version of the article "Ron Paul Unelectable?" by Zach Foster.  The article can be read and commented on here.  Be sure to subscribe to Political Spectrum Publishing on YouTube!

Ron Paul Unelectable?

By Zach Foster

In February, Fox News’ Bill O’Reilly was incredibly critical of Congressman Ron Paul’s ability to win.[1]  He mentioned briefly how Donald Trump was booed at the CPAC 2011 meeting by the crowd, as O’Reilly says, “because of Ron Paul.”  What O’Reilly failed to mention in that creatively worded statement is how the audience at CPAC was overwhelmingly favorable towards Ron Paul and highly disagreed with The Donald’s arrogant statement that Ron Paul cannot be elected.  Paul, after all, won the CPAC straw poll for the best possible Republican Presidential Candidate.  O’Reilly also compared Congressman Paul to a number of nearly nameless third party candidates who were unable to garnish massive support in the past, Ralph Nader being one of them.

John Stossel, educated not only in the arena of politics but also in economics, spoke in favor of Congressman Paul.  The interesting thing about O’Reilly’s statements is that they seemed to flip-flop between undermining Congressman Paul’s ability to win and then calling upon him to run because he’s an interesting candidate and will be able to challenge the front runners, whom O’Reilly had already decided were Bachmann, Romney, and Perry.  What O’Reilly apparently didn’t seem to consider was the possibility that not only would Paul be able to challenge the O’Reilly-crowned “front runners” but also stump them while they merely pay lip service to the Constitution and actually present himself to the American people as a better candidate.

O’Reilly’s main problem with Ron Paul is that he’s “too radical” and “isolationist.”  He seems to be unaware that Paul’s foreign policy is based on the Constitution and the guidance of the Founding Fathers.  If a foreign policy based on the Constitution and the guidance of the national founders is considered to be too radical for America, then America has obviously lost its way and needs to turn around and retrace her steps.

In his 2008 book The Revolution, Congressman Paul quotes several early statesmen at length, including George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Henry Clay who were overwhelmingly in favor of avoiding foreign entanglements, to defend his Constitutional foreign policy.  He even quotes at length the non-interventionist platform that George W. Bush ran on and was elected on in 2000 and eventually betrayed.

This idea was popular when George W. Bush ran on it, but eleven years later it’s all of a sudden too radical.  Ron Paul is not a radical for seeking a policy of noninterventionism.  He says:

“I myself have never been an isolationist.  I favor the very opposite of isolation: diplomacy, free trade, and freedom of travel.  The real isolationists are those who impose sanctions and embargoes on countries and peoples across the globe because they disagree with the internal and foreign policies of their leaders.  The real isolationists are those who choose to use force overseas to promote democracy, rather than seeking change through diplomacy, engagement, and by setting a positive example.  The real isolationists are those who isolate their country in the court of world opinion by pursuing needless belligerence and war that have nothing to do with legitimate national security concerns.”[2]

O’Reilly was even willing to make a bet against Stossel, the stakes being $1,000 for wounded warriors, that Congressman Paul won’t win a single primary election in 2012.  Many anti-Paul Republicans today, as in February, love to [falsely] cite Paul’s alleged un-electability.  When they do so, they ignore the fact that he is the leading candidate.  While on Monday a USA Today Gallup Poll showed Ron Paul in third place, a telephone survey of Iowa’s likely caucus participants revealed:

“Overall, just 28% of potential Iowa Caucus participants are absolutely certain of how they will vote, while the rest could change their mind. Among those who are certain of their vote, Ron Paul is on top at 27%.”[3]

The article on Info Wars making the above quotation also stated that “With this kind of showing, Ron Paul’s candidacy can no longer be accurately characterized as a long shot.”

Following yesterday’s (August 11) debate in Iowa, Congressman Paul overwhelmingly won the Iowa Online Straw Poll, claiming 44% of the overall vote and leaving the other seven candidates to divide the remaining 56%.  The distant second in that poll was Herman Cain with 16%.[4]

Even Fox News, many of whose anchors have been falsely and dishonestly proclaiming Romney as the frontrunner, admits that Ron Paul won the debate, receiving over 20,000 of the total 36,000 votes (Gingrich came in second place with 5,000~).[5]  Another Fox News online poll, at the time of this writing, confirmed Paul as the winner with over 14,000 of 37,000 total votes, raking in 38% of the total vote.[6]

MSNBC’s online poll, riddled with user comments bashing the Republican Party, showed Ron Paul leading with nearly 11,000 (36%) of the total 29,500 votes.  The category with the second most votes (23%) was “no clear winner.[7]  The Red Dog Report showed Ron Paul pulling in 78% of total votes, with Gingrich at a distant second with 7%.[8]  In the last Republican debate in June, Ron Paul won all three Fox News online polls as well as CNN’s poll (83%).[9]

Clearly Ron Paul is not such a radical after all if he is receiving such massive support from both within and without the Republican Party.  As much as O’Reilly may lack faith in him, Congressman Ron Paul is not unelectable.  He is clearly the people’s choice for the most qualified candidate to run against President Obama in 2012, and he will do so on a platform whose solid foundation is the Constitution, and his guiding lights will be his faith in God and the written guidance of the Founding Fathers and great statesmen throughout the ages.

---

[1] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmFjEA4vj9M

[2] The Revolution, chapter 2, pp. 10-11

[3] http://www.infowars.com/top-tier-ron-paul-polls-3rd-in-iowa-and-nationally/

[4] http://www.kcautv.com/story/15255706/ron-paul-wins-online-straw-poll

[5] http://www.topix.com/issue/fox/gop-debate-aug11

[6] http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2011/08/11/who-won-gop-debate/

[7] http://politics.newsvine.com/_news/2011/08/11/7350500-who-do-you-think-won-the-gop-presidential-candidates-debate

[8] http://reddogreport.com/2011/08/who-won-the-iowa-republican-debate/

[9] http://runronpaul.com/polls/post-debate-polls-vote-for-ron-paul/

Weekly Update From Rep. Jeff Denham

Dear Friend,

 

Before I update you on my week, I want to ask you all to join me this Memorial Day weekend in remembering the courageous individuals who have lost their lives defending our great country. Our brave service members remind us that freedom is not free and we owe our country's safety and its liberties to their courage. This Memorial Day we not only honor the sacrifices they made, but we are also reminded of the importance of our commitment to our fallen service members.  As Presidents Washington and Lincoln stated, taking care of our service members who fought to defend our country should rank among the highest of national priorities.  

I was pleased to bring our community together last week in Modesto for a Veterans Roundtable meeting to discuss the regulatory obstacles service members face every day.  I am proud to say this week that I voted on four pieces of legislation on the House Floor to improve and expand the care we provide our Veterans.  All bills passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and now head to the Senate for consideration. To learn more about the bills click here. 

We also voted in the House this week on the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, H.R. 1540.  In this time of grave economic uncertainty, every department and agency must closely and prudently scrutinize its expenditures. My colleagues on the Armed Services Committee undertook the considerable task of analyzing possible savings from the DoD, and H.R. 1540 presents not only a strong, but efficient plan to keep America safe.  I will continue to support legislation that takes care of our troops, makes our nation safer, and reduces the regulations and inefficiencies in our government. The 2012 National Defense Authorization Act is a positive step in this direction.

Last week, I received praise in the district for my new bill, the Civilian Property Realignment Act (H.R. 1734). I'm happy to report that the bill passed my Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management by a voice vote on Wednesday.  The legislation would establish an independent commission, similar to the BRAC commission, to review our federal assets and develop recommendations that will allow us to maximize real savings and efficiencies. Watch my remarks explaining how the bill, by employing a BRAC-like process to civilian properties, will reduce the federal footprint and save taxpayers billions of dollars. Keep up with me on facebook and twitter throughout the week for updates. 

While the week was full of votes and a lot of committee activity, the main focus was on the importance of job creation.  I know the only way to grow the economy and provide long-term stability is fostering an environment where businesses small and large can succeed. At several small business listening sessions in Fresno and Modesto  last week, I talked with small business owners about how burdensome regulations and taxes are inhibiting their business and as a result, the growth of the local economies. 

Concerns about burdensome federal regulations harming the economy and hindering job growth are being voiced all across the country. That is why House Republicans are including regulatory reform in the Republican Plan for America's Job Creators which will make it easier for businesses to grow and create jobs.

You sent me to Washington to get our fiscal house in order, grow the nation's economy and put Californians back to work. The Republican plan for job creators and economic growth does exactly this. In the short time I have been in office, Republicans have already changed the culture of spending in Washington. However, I know that we must also grow the economy through small businesses and entrepreneurs across the country. There are 3.2 million small businesses in California alone and we need to create an environment where these job creators can start hiring again.

Want to keep up with me throughout the week? There are many ways to stay up to date with my activity: you can "like" my facebook page, follow me on twitter, visit my website and sign up for this weekly update! 

This Memorial Day weekend I encourage all Americans across the nation to find a way to remember all of our fallen service members and join me in honoring the extraordinary sacrifice they have made for our great country. Let us always keep those service members fighting overseas today and pray for their safe return. 

 

I look forward to seeing you soon.

Sincerely,

JEFF DENHAM

United States Representative

Allegory of the Cave and American Politics, part 3

By Zach Foster
Continued from Part 2

If simple mayors can simultaneously strip their indifferent constituents of freedom and make themselves rich, what is stopping members of Congress—who have multibillion dollar special interest groups throwing money and favors at them—from going down the same crooked route?  In the last decade alone, over a dozen members of the U.S. Congress were caught in some sort of scandal that cost them their position and whose actions harmed people.  This is only members of Congress, only those who got caught, not counting Legislative Branch employees, federal judges, Executive Branch officials, and administration officials.  While many American elected officials work hard to both make life better for their constituents and preserve freedoms against legislation and government action that would strip freedoms, there are those who are in politics only for themselves.  Several things motivate them, chiefly the money and perks coupled with the general indifference and willful ignorance of a population.  Where are the watchdogs?  Why are people not vigilant towards their elected officials?  Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Franklin, and other national founders universally stressed that the preservation of liberty comes by dissent and a vigilant watchful eye.  Yet nowadays, not only do public officials go corrupt and unnoticed by a population hypnotized by Party propaganda or some social network, but corrupt people run and get elected!

The author fears that this trend will continue in the 2012 Presidential election.  The Democratic Party will be endorsing the incumbent President Obama, who has a strong likelihood of being reelected.  Of the forty-four U.S. Presidents, only twelve have served a single term—thirty two served more than one.  Furthermore, Obama has not completely alienated his supporters, and despite disillusionment over his continued waging of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, his supporters still cling to him because of the passage of the Health Care Reform Act.  The Democratic Party is strong and united behind Barack Obama while the Republican Party is weak in its disunity.  See the article “Why Barack Obama Will Be Reelected” for further and in-depth reasons for his coming reelection.

There is no one candidate that Republicans are rallying behind.  The current popular front runner for the Republican nomination is Donald Trump.  Upon first learning of his popularity with Republicans, the author thought it was literally a joke.  Yet the frightening reality has set in that Republicans see him as the Messiah who will defeat the Muslim Stalin and restore Zion, bringing about the second coming of Ronald Reagan.  This could remind many of how so many Americans overwhelmingly placed quasi-Messianic hopes on Obama in 2008.  Try to recall the closing of the polls on November 4, 2008.  Recall Oprah Winfrey and Jesse Jackson crying tears of joy, Chris Matthews rambling ecstatically, college students everywhere falling over weeping with happiness, Keith Olberman actually having something positive to say…  The underlying motivation for such belief and emotion was pure utopian idealism from the American Left and much of the Center.  They bought completely into his propaganda of hope and change.  On the Right, Obama has been viewed as nothing but a Marxist-Leninist Al Qaeda-sympathizing non-citizen who is out to destroy America and the free world.  They too have bought into partisan propaganda.

All over the political spectrum Americans are willfully chaining themselves to the cavern wall and choosing to believe that the shadows on the wall represent the real world.  One of their fellow prisoners escaped and saw the real world, and returned to open their eyes to the truth—yet they don’t recognize his voice and they see only the shadows on the cavern wall.  For some, the shadows are the hope and change, the low gas prices, the stable economy with a plethora of available jobs, and the immediate end of the Iraq War which were promised in 2008.  For others, the shadows are whatever hateful propaganda Fox News has spouted—any network that endorses the idea of Donald Trump running for President is deceitful, dishonest, and a remorseless propaganda machine.  To endorse a man who is an openly imperialist extortionist and one of the CEOs whose foolish too-big-to-fail policies brought about the financial recession to take the helm of the party of financial responsibility and the party that best represents the working class is the equivalent of chaining one’s self to the cave, chaining another person to the cave, and making that person join in watching the shadows.  Again, for elaboration on Trump's poor qualifications, see the above-recommended article.  Many Conservatives—especially ultraconservatives—love to laugh and point at the Leftists for their delusions while ignoring their own indoctrination as they lock-step march to the tune of the Party, hijacked by extremists, ultraconservatives, and ultranationalists.  This is a classic example of the pot calling the kettle black—of the prisoner laughing at his cave-bound brother for being in bondage.

Continued in Part 4: Barack Obama, Donald Trump, Herman Cain, and Ron Paul

Observing President’s Day: Lincoln

By Zach Foster

It’s no mystery that President’s Day is yet another symbolic American holiday degraded to becoming an excuse to sell cars, mattresses, and throw barbeques.  Many Americans can’t even grasp a rough idea of what the holiday represents.  This phenomenon of ignorance is not uncommon in today’s society.  Let us explore this holiday and the meaning behind it.

President’s Day was originally observed as George Washington’s birthday and became a federal holiday via an 1880 act of Congress.  It was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday (February 22) until the mid twentieth century, when the observance of the holiday changed to the third Monday of February, making it easier for the country to rest and observe the holiday on a weekday, much like Memorial Day and Thanksgiving.  Over time, people also began to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday since he was also born in February (February 9).  Let us take a moment to observe the contributions theat Abraham Lincoln made for the United States.

Abraham Lincoln was born to a very poor Kentucky family.  Much of his education was self taught, and the few books he had around in his youth included the Holy Bible and Aesop’s Fables.  He moved to Illinois where he practiced law and eventually practiced politics.  His political tenure included several terms in the Illinois State Legislature, one term in Congress, and a failed bid for the Senate.  In 1832 he was elected to serve as an officer in the Illinois militia during the Black Hawk War (part of the Indian Wars).  Over the years his popularity as a statesman and orator grew. 

He joined the fledgling Republican Party in 1856 and ended up becoming one of its leaders.  He was elected President in 1860, resulting in the secession of the Southern states.  Though opposed to slavery, he was prepared to allow it to continue if it would prevent the dissolution of the Union.  Lincoln led the United States through its greatest military, political, and moral crisis: the American Civil War.

During his tenure he also set the stage for the emancipation of Southern slaves and the eventual demise of the system of slavery in America.  Though still regarded as a controversial and unpopular figure by many Southerners today, Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction was minimally punitive and all-inclusive in rebuilding the country.  Unfortunately, he was murdered by John Wilkes Booth toward the close of the war.  His corrupt Vice President Andrew Johnson assumed the Presidency, and infighting between him and Congress led to the hard-line Radical Republicans imposing a highly punitive and exclusive Reconstruction, heightening postwar tensions and giving rise to corrupt black and pro-North militias, militant violent hate groups like the Ku Klux Klan, and the eventual institution of the Jim Crow system.  Though his plans for a harmonious rebuilding of America were shredded by radicals, Lincoln is remembered for his kindness, his courage, and his ability to lead.

Observing President’s Day: Washington

By Zach Foster

It’s no mystery that President’s Day is yet another symbolic American holiday degraded to becoming an excuse to sell cars, mattresses, and throw barbeques.  Many Americans can’t even grasp a rough idea of what the holiday represents.  This phenomenon of ignorance is not uncommon in today’s society.  Let us explore this holiday and the meaning behind it.

President’s Day was originally observed as George Washington’s birthday and became a federal holiday via an 1880 act of Congress.  It was celebrated on Washington’s actual birthday (February 22) until the mid twentieth century, when the observance of the holiday changed to the third Monday of February, making it easier for the country to rest and observe the holiday on a weekday, much like Memorial Day and Thanksgiving.  Over time, people also began to celebrate Abraham Lincoln’s birthday since he was also born in February (February 9).  Let us take a moment to observe the contributions that George Washington made for the United States.

George Washington was born to wealthy Virginia plantation owners. In his youth he grew close to the Fairfax family who helped him enter his career as a soldier in the Virginia militia.  Though his rash actions as a military surveyor helped spark the French and Indian War (known in Europe as the Seven Years’ War), his ability to learn, adapt, and lead soon paid off for the British Army and Colonial militias in battle.  After the war he retired to his plantation and was known as a skilled businessman (and his continually being ripped off by British corporations planted his seed of resentment against Great Britain).  His reputation as a military hero gave the Continental Congress confidence in his military leadership ability, landing him the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army when the Revolutionary War began.

When the idea of crowning George Washington became popular after the war, he retired from the military and enjoyed a private life rather than seek power.  However, as a statesman he presided over the Constitutional Convention, subscribing to the popular belief that the Articles of Confederation were too weak to be the law of the land.  During his tenure as the First President of the United States, he managed to uphold U.S. neutrality in the British-French conflicts and presided over a free market economy.  He promoted the use of the national government for improving infrastructure and opening the western frontier to the American people.  He also promoted nationalism, saying that the name of ‘American’ must override any local attachments.  Though he agreed with the programs of the Federalist Party, he never joined a political party, believing that political parties were the basis of civil strife and division.  He believed that no President should serve more than two terms, prompting British King George III to say, “If he twice gives up power, he is the greatest man alive.”  He did.  He passed away at the age of sixty-seven.  To this day he is known as the Father of Our Country.  In 1976 President Gerald Ford posthumously promoted Washington to six-star general so that no twentieth century five-star general would outrank the Father of Our Country.