Information

Here are some websites with information you can use to arm yourself for townhall meetings with your Congressmen or conversations with your friends and family:

• GOP.gov > “Reading Guide – Democratic Health ‘Reform’“
• The Obama Experiment > “Health Care Talking Points“
• Heritage Foundation > “Analysis of the July 15 draft of The American Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009,” “Rapid Response: Obama Health Care Plan,” “A Federal Health Insurance Exchange Combined with a Public Plan: The House and Senate Bills,” “Micromanaging Americans’ Health Insurance: The Impact of House and Senate Bills,” “Employer Health Care Mandates: Taxing Low-Income Workers to Pay for Health Care,” “Medicaid Expansion: The Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills,” and “New Taxpayer Subsidies: The Impact of the House and Senate Health Bills“
• Christian Coalition of America > “Health Care Action Center“
• Independence Institute: Patient Power > “Real reform:  free markets” (includes responses to common arguments for government-run health care)
• Fix Health Care Policy > “Senate Health Bill” and “House Health Bill” (among other documents)
• Pacific Research Institute > “The Top 10 Myths of American Health Care: A Citizen’s Guide“
• Americans for Free Choice in Medicine > “American Health Care:  Essential Principles and Common Fallacies“
• Freedom and Individual Rights in Medicine
• John David Lewis, PhD > “HR3200 Health Care Bill: What Does it Say, in more detail?” and “HR3200 Heallth Care Bill: 2 Page Flyer“
• Common Sense from a Common Man > “The HC Monstrosity-All 1,018 Pages” and “Politifact Checks a Chain Email, I Check Politifact“
• Newsmax.com > “Fact-checking Obama on Healthcare“

Tips:

Here are some other things to keep in mind:

Rush Limbaugh has recommended that you ask about specifics at townhall meetings, and Mark Levin has strongly suggested recording the meetings.

The Heritage Foundation has provided a list of five questions to ask about health care at town halls (Go to that page for information about what is in the bill regarding these points):

1. Can you promise me that I will not lose my current plan and doctor?
2. Can you promise that you and your family will enroll in the public plan?
3. Can you promise that Obamacare will not lead to higher deficits in the long term?
4. Can you promise that government bureaucrats will not ration health care for patients on the public plan?
5. Can you promise me that my tax dollars will not fund abortions?

Rocky Mountain Right has posted these questions, which should be “should be asked in townhall meetings, letters to members of Congress, speeches, TV appearances and in conversations with your friends and acquaintances”:

1. Do you think one person or one company can manage 20% of the American economy fairly and honestly?
2. When you get a big NO, ask, do you trust any politician or the 535 members of Congress to skillfully, honestly and fairly to run health care in a way that is good for anybody but their campaign contributors and favorite lobbyists?
3. Then ask, do you think Congress and the President could radically change 20% of the economy, the health care markets, and get it right? Ever?
4. Are you prepared to see Washington’s careerist politicians turn your health insurance and health care into another mismanaged, corrupt Katrina, California, New York , Illinois or New Jersey?
5. Do you realize that on a per person basis, Medicare is more expensive to administer than private health insurance and that nothing Washington will do will cut administrative costs?
6. Do you want government-run health care that favors the rich and powerful as well as the political class who will take care of their friends and themselves regardless of how it hurts you?
7. Will you support changes in health care insurance laws and regulations that won’t put the employes of large and small businesses out of work?
8. And, finally, are you ready for some minor changes in state and federal insurance laws that will let private health insurers sell and administer policies that don’t discriminate based on your medical history, can’t be cancelled when you get sick, can’t be made more expensive after you submit major claims and make it possible to take your insurance with you when you change jobs?

Videos of Rush’s monologue from June 8, 2009, on how Obama is destroying the economy:

• “Part 1 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 2 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 3 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 4 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 5 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 6 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 7 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 8 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 9 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“
• “Part 10 Rush Limbaugh: Obama is Destroying the Economy“

EIBNetRocks’ YouTube Channel

This week Sean Hannity interviewed Rush Limbaugh on his (Sean’s) TV show:

• “‘Hannity’ Exclusive” (“Part 1: Rush Limbaugh on being the liberals’ ‘demon’ and Obama’s worldview “)
• “Rush Limbaugh” (“Part 2: Conservative king blasts Colin Powell and Sonia Sotomayor “)
• “Rush to Judgment” (“Talk show king on what President Obama will nationalize next “)
• “GOP Kingmaker” (“Rush Limbaugh reveals his replacement as ‘head’ of the Republican Party “)

I recently ran across a quote attributed to Leonardo da Vinci: “I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.” I’ve had a couple of exchanges on Twitter along these lines, and I’d like to paraphrase the Renaissance genius for contemporary conservatives:

Listening to talk shows is not enough; we must study.

You can learn a lot from listening to, watching, and reading Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Laura Ingraham, and other talk show hosts about current events and issues; I have. However, if you want to really understand issues and be able to support your views, you need to study history, philosophy, economics, and specific issues in depth. That probably means reading. (Horrors!)

Obviously, you should start with the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, and the Federalist Papers.

After that, you can find books (and websites) on various issues on the Information on Issues for Conservatives wiki, and I plan to add to this wiki in the future. I would also recommend Penn Pfiffner’s Freedom Reading List on the Free People Free Markets Ning site. Glenn Beck has some history books listed on the 912 Project website, and last week he spoke to the authors of the following books on an episode of his show titled “Destined To Repeat(?)”:

• Robert Gellately, Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler: The Age of Social Catastrophe
• Ronald. J. Pestritto, Woodrow Wilson and the Roots of Modern Liberalism
• Amity Shlaes, The Forgotten Man: A New History of the Great Depression
• Johan Goldberg, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left, From Mussolini to the Politics of Change

Complaining is not enough; we must teach.

Start with your family, especially children and college/university students, and friends.  Join the online conversation with a Twitter account or a blog.  (If you need help, I’m working on a series of lessons on Social Media for Conservatives.)  Explain to them what you’ve learned in your studies.  Discuss the issues in a reasoned and polite manner.

Protesting is not enough; we must lead.

Contact your elected representatives and let them know what you think about the issues they’re considering.  Volunteer for a conservative official or candidate.  Serve in your community on a city or county board or commission or with a non-profit organization.  Run for office.

Whatever you do, stick to your conservative principles.

Books:

• Tom Tancredo, In Mortal Danger:  The Battle for America’s Border and Security (at Amazon.com)
• J. D. Hayworth, Whatever It Takes: Illegal Immigration, Border Security and the War on Terror (at Amazon.com)
• Michelle Malkin, Invasion: How America Still Welcomes Terrorists, Criminals, and Other Foreign Menaces to Our Shores (at Amazon.com)
• Jim Gilchrist, Jerome Corsi, and Tom Tancredo, Minutemen: The Battle to Secure America’s Borders (at Amazon.com)
• Daniel Sheehy, Fighting Immigration Anarchy (at Amazon.com)
• Patrick J. Buchanan, State of Emergency: The Third World Invasion and Conquest of America (at Amazon.com)
• Dick Morris and Eileen McGann, Outrage: How Illegal Immigration, the United Nations, Congressional Ripoffs, Student Loan Overcharges, Tobacco Companies, Trade Protection, and Drug Companies Are Ripping Us Off . . . and (at Amazon.com)

Websites:

• American Patrol Report
• LimitsToGrowth.org
• ImmigrationsHumanCost.org

Organizations:

• Minuteman Project
• Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR)
• Team America PAC
• Federal Immigration Reform and Enforcement (F.I.R.E.) Coalition
• Americans for Legal Immigration
• American Border Patrol

Studies:

• Heritage Foundation > Issues > Immigration, Citizenship & Border Security
• Center for Immigration Studies
• “Illegal Immigration across the U.S. – Mexico Border“

Videos:

• Minuteman Project’s YouTube Channel
• FAIR’s YouTube Channel
• Center for Immigration Studies’ YouTube Channel
• “Limbaugh Laws“
• “Border Security and Illegal Immigration – Newt Gingrich“
• “Tom Tancredo – Immigration and ‘Cultural Assimilation’“
• “Cost of Illegal Immigration“
• “Glenn Beck – Illegal Immigration – Feb 7, 2007“
• “Glenn Beck on Mexico and Illegal Immigration(9/4/07)“
• “Glenn Beck on Illegal Immigration (9/26/07)”
• “Michelle Malkin on the Illegal Immigration debate and race“

I’m also posting this information on the Information on Issues for Conservatives (II4Cons) wiki.  Please let me know if there are resources I should add by commenting on this post or sending me a message on Twitter.

Barack Obama used Saul Alinsky’s Rules for Radicals when he trained community organizers for Project Vote, a branch of ACORN (“How Obama oganized America:  Alinsky-style“).  I heard Rush Limbaugh mention on his show today that Obama is trying to use Rule 12 on him.

We should learn what those rules are, so we know when they’re being followed.  Here’s one list I found:

1. Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.
2. Never go outside the expertise of your people.
3. Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.
4. Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
5. Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.
6. A good tactic is one your people enjoy.
7. A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
8. Keep the pressure on.  Never let up.
9. The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.
10. If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.
11. The price of a successful attack is a constructive alternative.
12. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it.  (Miyamoto)

We might also try these ourselves.  How about Rule 5?!

“Rush Limbaugh on Hannity: Does Rush Want Obama to Succeed, Part 1“

“Rush Limbaugh on Hannity Part 2 The Future of Conservatism“