Consider me old-fashioned, but why is it that Democrats always feel the need to outsource the work of elected officials to these so called "working groups"?  It's the duty of Congress to suggest, and in fact pass, legislation that would address the problems that arise, within the proper role of the federal government.  I think this tactic is far more popular on their side of the aisle due to their complete lack of confidence in their political philosophy.  If they can't sell their bogus "buy outs" to other Democrats, they put together a group of their buddies - mostly political has-beens who will do anything to make headlines again - and allow them to do the dirty work of selling it to the public.  It then gives them political cushion if the proposed solutions are enacted and fail, or if they never see the light of day.  "I followed the recommendation of experts" they say, when it's their job, and constitutional responsibility, to filter what the experts say and put it into sound public policy.  And let's not forget, it's also a way for them to do what they do best - throw money at a special interest group/traditional Democrat voting bloc.

Congress was designed as a far superior system than these informal "working groups", and if members of Congress or the Administration would like to include outside input, they should sign their own name to it. 

Eloquent Speech, Troubling Worldview

Barack Obama just gave an eloquent speech, but one that
does not address the underlying nature of Senator Obama's
beliefs. Rev. Jeremiah Wright, like Mr. Obama, believes in
a state-centered 21st century form of big-government
socialism.  This 21st century form of socialism is at the
heart of the Liberation Theology Rev. Wright preaches from
the pulpit. Today, Mr. Obama again made it clear, with all
his eloquence, that he still embraces these beliefs that
would require dismantling the free-market system that has
made our country's economy the most prosperous in all of
human history.

In contrast to Liberation Theology, the Christian
orthodoxy teaches about the nature of God, the nature of
man, the relationship between the two in this life, and
about the hereafter. Liberation Theology, on the other
hand, is a belief system about political agendas,
socialistic economic policy, and redistribution of wealth.
Proponents of Liberation Theology, like Rev. Wright, teach
that God commands us to form a government that will
supervise our economy to create government-subsidized jobs
under central-government planning; guarantee healthcare and
education by having government control both; and achieve
'economic equality' by redistributing wealth through
massive taxes on the affluent and massive government
entitlements for the poor. And it advocates replacing
governments that do not embrace this socialistic agenda.

Those are the beliefs of Liberation Theology. Those are
the offensive root beliefs underlying many of Rev. Wright's
sermons. And though Barack Obama does not embrace Mr.
Wright's offensive language, he does embrace this
government-solves-everything-through-socialism worldview.

His speech was magnificent in its elegance and rhetoric,
but today Mr. Obama reminded me yet again of his worldview
that embraces, among other things, partial-birth abortion,
military weakness, and economic socialism.   Thank God for
religious liberty, free market, and free elections!

First of all, I’d like to thank to all of my friends in the blogosphere who helped me jumpstart TomDeLay.com and give me, and activists like you, an opportunity to highlight conservative thought and to voice our common ideas and frustrations.   

When I first left Congress in 2006, I was able to pour myself into the blog, posting and commenting and meeting with other bloggers in the effort to keep online conservatism active.  As I transitioned into life in the private sector, many new opportunities arose, including writing and publicizing my first book, spending time with my wife and our foster community in Texas, and working on building my consulting firm.  But starting last summer, a new project completely consumed me, and I decided it was best to focus full time on traveling around the country, signing up conservative activists in targeted media markets, and raising funds from conservative donors.  This project, Coalition for a Conservative Majority, has been a dream of mine since I started organizing activists as a freshman member of Congress, and under the leadership of former Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell, it’s off and running with 9 media market chapters underway.  Now that CCM is in the best of hands, I have the time to kick around a few ideas with some old friends, including those here at Townhall.com.

I would like to especially thank Chuck DeFeo and Matt Lewis here at Townhall.com for giving me a new forum where I can help rally conservative activists on specific, targeted causes that will…well…just make liberals miserable.  Here you will find everything from my media appearances to columns and general thoughts on political matters.  You will also find my “Action Points” (as I like to call them) because our superior political philosophy just isn’t enough anymore.  I look forward to reading and responding to your posts and suggestions.  But please, keep it civil, and I will, too. 

Keep the Faith,

Tom DeLay