Virginia Gun Owners Forum - VGOF

President Obama was right when, at a bipartisan fiscal summit held early in 2009, he promised to cut the deficit. He “Refuse[d] to leave our children with a debt they cannot repay,” adding, “We cannot and will not sustain deficits like these without end. . . . We cannot simply spend as we please.”

Unfortunately, he could not withstand the temptation to spend. He ended 2009 with a record deficit of $1.412 trillion, followed by deficits of $1.293 trillion in 2010 and $1.299 trillion in 2011. His 2012 budget includes a deficit of over $1 trillion.

To put this profligate spending in perspective, the largest nominal budget recorded prior to the Obama administration was under $500 billion, amassed in the final year of the Bush administration.

As a grandfather and father, it clear that my children’s and grandchildren’s future is at stake in this election. We must find a candidate with the backbone to say no to spending and yes to our children’s future.

My father taught me that fiscal responsibility, including the willingness to forego present wants, is the source of lasting increase.

During the recession of the early 1980’s, I called home in desperation. My father always stood by me in times of need, so I believed he would hear my plea.

I was the father of four young children, and we were in dire economic straits. Dad listened carefully to my plight and replied, “Son I understand, but I can’t help you. You must do this on your own.”

My initial response of disappointment and anger was followed by a resolve to find a way. It was not easy, but we are so much the better for the lessons we learned.

Years later, on his deathbed, dad asked if I remembered that night. I replied, “How could I forget?”

He wept as he related that telling me “no” was one of the hardest things he ever did. My heart was full and I responded, “Thank God you loved me enough to say ‘no.’”

Now is the time for this generation to select a leader who has the courage and experience to help us say “no” today so we can say “yes” to a brighter future for our children.

President Obama has proven that he is not that person. There are four choices in the Republican Primary – Gingrich, Paul, Romney and Santorum.

All four of them, like President Obama, appear to be good men. They all have expressed a willingness to lead us in refusing to yield to the momentary temptation to spend for today’s wants and thereby compromise the future of our children.

Speaker Gingrich helped revitalize our country with his bold “Contract for America,” Senator Santorum has been a courageous leader on welfare reform and social values, and Senator Paul is an implacable advocate of liberty. They are to be praised for their legislative leadership, but we need more than that.

Romney is the only one of the candidates with executive experience building businesses by doing hard things, saving the Olympics from economic collapse, and returning a spendthrift state to solvency.

He loves the auto industry. Nevertheless, he expressed a willingness to do the hard thing and say “no” to corporate leaders and the United Auto Workers who pled for a taxpayer bailout of the industry. He had worked with many failing but worthy enterprises and understood that the industry could strengthen itself through the sacrifice required by a structured bankruptcy.

As one who knows strength that comes from saying “no” at the right time, Romney understands that our future is insecure if it is based on unbalanced budgets and ever increasing entitlements and subsidies, paid for by debts passed along to our children. While protecting the needy among us, he will call on the rest of us to sacrifice for a better tomorrow.

Our nation would have been better off had Mitt Romney been elected in 2008. We needed someone who would tirelessly face pressing economic issues and restore fiscal responsibility. We turned in another direction, selecting a candidate with little executive experience who offered the tempting message that we did not have to sacrifice our immediate wants.

I have faith that a majority of the American electorate will choose Mitt Romney, who will lead us in saying “no” today to secure a brighter future for our children tomorrow.

Rodney K. Smith, is a grandfather and a Distinguished Professor of Law at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, who previously served as Dean of the Capital University Law School in Columbus, Ohio.

ratherfish wrote:From an Obama zombie...

Who has said he would vote for him again???

Vote for Ron Paul in the VA election....even though Obummer is his man...

Feel sorry for your sorry self.

Taggure wrote:I am not trying to get anyone upset but really what are Romney’s steadfast convictions.

tursiops wrote: Hard to vote for Paul. Bad foreign policy is what got us into this horrible economic mess, and killed a lot of young men.....why would i want another President with a crappy foreign policy?