The End of the Beginning

Two years ago, I began writing this column in response to the fear that the policies of our government were undermining our (now partly) capitalistic economic system with strongly socialist policies. My initial concern was that a false narrative was developing regarding the cause of the financial crisis that engulfed the world in 2008, one which focused on an alleged lack of regulation, poor compensation practices by financial institutions, and exotic financial instruments such as derivatives. This led to TARP, bail outs for the auto industry, an explosion of government spending, healthcare legislation that would lead us to a European-style social democracy, efforts to regulate carbon, and looming crushing tax increases.

In short, the capitalist system that produced the greatest economic growth in the history of the world, which has occurred in America for over 400 years since the founding of Jamestown, was at risk of being overturn.

My column was my response to this erosion of our founding principles as articulated in the Declaration of Independence. As it turns out, millions of Americans felt similarly about the situation, and a grass roots effort arose throughout the country to oppose this assault on freedom sprang up. The Tea Party movement was a major, although by no means only, part of this effort.

Remarkably, further assault on our system was stopped with this week's election that produced a stunning defeat for Barack Obama and the Democratic party. Republican control of the House, and sufficient Senate numbers to lead a filibuster, ensure that new legislative efforts such as cap-and-trade are dead.

The election represents the end of the beginning of the effort to stop the socialist policies we have suffered these past two years. But there remains a great deal to do to get our economy growing again and creating jobs, to significantly reducing government spending and debt, to reform the housing market and Fannie/Freddie, to abolish ObamaCare, to reform the compensation and retirement policies of federal, state, and local governments to avoid the crushing financial burdens those policies have produced.

And we can't lose sight of the need to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons, even if it means using military force to do so, and destroying terrorist networks and preventing states from using terrorism to advance their interests.

And so the struggle for freedom continues.