Oh Say, Can You See?

Some of the emotion that must have consumed Francis Scott Key, the night that he penned what was to become the sacred anthem of our country, has rubbed off on me. I can imagine what it must have looked like. Anybody who has ever been in the infantry knows about night time illumination and pyrotechnics. I’ve always thought it would make quite a show if it weren’t so deadly.

Francis Scott Key beholds the American flag still flying over Fort McHenry at dawn, September 14, 1814. Inspired by the sight, Key pens the "Star Spangled Banner", later to become the national anthem of the United States. Image courtesy of Library of Congress.

The British Navy, the most powerful military machine in the world, couldn’t defeat Ft. McHenry. Other accounts told of uncounted numbers of bombs, rockets and mortar shells lighting the night sky and falling on the fortress. At the height of the British bombardment, Key looked up to see our flag still flying.

We are watching the 112th Congress hit the ground running, with all, or most, of the conservative agenda plainly marked in the Republican arsenal. We have just come through our own two year Fort McHenry. The Conservative Republican banner is flying high above the Capitol once more. Don’t screw it up this time guys. An immediate vote to repeal Obamacare stands a darned good chance of passing the House, reflecting the Conservative promise to quickly illuminate lawmakers’ stances on the bill by calling for the quick vote.

Many Democrats may be reluctant to be seen supporting the health bill. With more than 60% of Americans opposing government health care it has quickly become the new third rail of American politics, right up there with the deficit. It would be a very rocky road for the repeal in the Senate but, as wacky as Senate politics can be, who knows?

Pass or not, it is but the first shot across the bow of the Marxist minority. The next move will be to choke the life out of Obamacare and some of these runaway rogue agencies and bureaucracies. Spending has got to be slashed at all levels of government.

‘Inquiries’ into the money trails from TARP and the various stimulus disasters should be undertaken, to see how much of that money can be tracked, retrieved and returned to the American people.

The Marxists will use all the usual tired assaults, but the 112th Congress need only remember one thing… be the party of No! Let them bleat and whine. Do not give an inch. We do not compromise with treason.

Semper Vigilans, Semper Fidelis

© Skip MacLure 2011