Change to what? Why Obama must be stopped

First let me begin this post by saying that I watched Barack Obama's South Carolina acceptance speech last weekend and I must admit to being moved. I liked what I saw.

Behind the victorious candidate were throngs of excited people, young and old, black and white and I assume rich and poor. I, like all good Americans, want a country that is inclusive and that offers the American dream to everyone without exception.

Obama to his credit gave what I think was one of the better political speeches I have ever witnessed. His youthful vigor, idealism, cadence and God-given talent as an exceptional orater combined with the backdrop of an enthused diverse crowd made for quite the spectacle.

Here is how he ended his speech:

So understand this, South Carolina. The choice in this election is not between regions or religions or genders. It's not about rich versus poor, young versus old, and it is not about black versus white.

(Cheers, applause.)

This election is about the past versus the future. (Cheers, applause.) It's about whether we settle for the same divisions and distractions and drama that passes for politics today or whether we reach for a politics of common sense and innovation, a politics of shared sacrifice and shared prosperity.

There are those who will continue to tell us that we can't do this, that we can't have what we're looking for, that we can't have what we want, that we're peddling false hopes. But here's what I know. I know that when people say we can't overcome all the big money and influence in Washington, I think of that elderly woman who sent me a contribution the other day, an envelope that had a money order for $3.01 -- (cheers, applause) -- along with a verse of Scripture tucked inside the envelope. So don't tell us change isn't possible. That woman knows change is possible. (Cheers, applause.)

When I hear the cynical talk that blacks and whites and Latinos can't join together and work together, I'm reminded of the Latino brothers and sisters I organized with and stood with and fought with side by side for jobs and justice on the streets of Chicago. So don't tell us change can't happen. (Cheers, applause.)

When I hear that we'll never overcome the racial divide in our politics, I think about that Republican woman who used to work for Strom Thurmond, who's now devoted to educating inner-city children, and who went out into the streets of South Carolina and knocked on doors for this campaign. Don't tell me we can't change. (Cheers, applause.)

Yes, we can. Yes, we can change.

(Chants of "Yes, We Can! Yes, We Can!")

Yes, we can.

(Continued chants of "Yes, We Can!")

Yes, we can heal this nation. Yes, we can seize our future. And as we leave this great state with a new wind at our backs, and we take this journey across this great country, a country we love, with the message we've carried from the plains of Iowa to the hills of New Hampshire, from the Nevada desert to the South Carolina coast, the same message we had when we were up and when we were down, that out of many we are one, that while we breathe we will hope, and where we are met with cynicism and doubt and fear and those who tell us that we can't, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of the American people in three simple words: Yes, we can.

Thank you, South Carolina. I love you. (Cheers, applause.)

Great stuff...and it is exceptionally powerful in a day and age where gridlock, partisanship, poor leadership and cynical and divisive politics is the status quo in the Capital of the Free World.

But after all the warm fuzzies wear off we have to ask the hard questions. As conservatives who have studied Obama we already know the answers, and it ain't pretty. As National Journal has documented, Barack Obama has the most liberal voting record in the U.S. Senate. So the "change" that Obama talks of is less of a "change" and more of a regression to the failed policies of LBJ and more recently Jimmy Carter.

The goal for conservatives is convincing the American people to see through the smoke and really examine Obama. This won't be easy in the soundbite age but it is absolutely imperative.

Many people around me came of political age when Ronald Reagan and his policies were still fresh. Reagan's ability to communicate to the American people gave him the ability to reach people who previously had no interest in politics and no real political identity. When Reagan spoke he tugged and people's heart strings. The result was an entire generation of folks who found their political identities in the Reagan era. In other words, they became conservative Republicans and helped usher in an age of conservative ascendancy in Washington.

Reagan was the last President this nation had with the ability to connect with and inspire people in this way. Now, along comes Barack Obama who has demonstrated a similar ability. The difference between Reagan and Obama of course is that the policies underlying Reagan's rhetoric all pointed toward empowering the individual at the expense of the government. Obama reverses that formulation, but connects with people nonetheless.

Here is the kicker: today we have a new generation of political neophytes and guess who is speaking to them...Obama. Conservatives cannot afford this. More importantly, the country cannot either...literally.