They ask this question because I’m heavily embedded in the formation of the Federalist Party, which means they want to know what political chops I bring to the table. It’s important for me as well as the party that I never allow delusions of grandeur to creep into my psyche. I truly am nobody, or more accurately, I’m just like hundreds of millions of Americans who are disenfranchised with the way government intrudes on our lives. I’m among those who realize small government, the type that can fit within the boundaries of the Constitution, is the only way to go. The only difference between me and so many is that I’m no longer willing to wait. I tried the GOP, then tried to help fix the GOP through the Tea Party. I’ve looked at third parties, and while some have great ideas they lack in strategy; they simply don’t know how to win.

I needed to do something about it and found that there are a ton more people like me. Every day, people are raising their hands and declaring they’re Federalists. It’s been wonderful.

The last couple of weeks have been a bit of a whirlwind. As I write this, I’m watching over my son who was born less than two weeks ago. He was born with a long list of challenges with his heart. His aorta and pulmonary artery were switched. There was a hole in the wall between his ventricles. His aortic arch was off. The poor little guy had problems. By the grace of God, we were led to a wonderful doctor and hospital and the prognosis is great. Lord willing, he’ll be in great shape and ready to go home in the next few weeks.

While all of this was happening, I sold my half of my company to my partner. He knew my situation and the fact that I’d need to dedicate a ton of time to family and politics so he made me a fair offer and released me. It happened at the exact right moment as medical bills were on the verge of breaking us.

Meanwhile, The New Americana, my other project in conjunction with the Federalist Party, has accepted new editorial leadership. Again, the timing couldn’t have been better. Steve Berman came on board and has been running the day-to-day since Jacob was born. Amazing how the timing has worked so perfectly thus far. Praise God!

Now that everything seems to be heading in the right direction, I’m working my way back into the mix with the party. Things are moving so quickly on all fronts in the political world that every moment counts. The team has been very supportive and all have filled the gap from my absence nicely. Now, it’s time to hit the ground running once again.

My requests: pray for Jacob, help support the party, and help support The New Americana. Steve’s going to be doing this full-time as soon as I’m able to pay him.

Thank you all for your patience. I can’t wait to get even more involved in everything as time goes on.

“Wait for the facts.”

“Don’t assume it’s terrorism.”

“Stop jumping to conclusions.”

Let’s put aside the fact that the vast majority of these incidents turn out to be terrorist attacks. Let’s also ignore (for now) the fact that the vast majority of terrorist attacks are perpetrated by radical Islamic terrorists. Even if we take away these facts, there’s still a very valid reason to jump to conclusions first and fix the record later.

It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Tonight’s attacks in London were the latest in a rash of “Ramadan incidents.” It’s not a coincidence that the Islamic State and other organizations have been calling for attacks on western targets during their holy month. It’s also not bigoted to point that out. The terrorists don’t play the politically correct game. They aren’t worried about how the world will view them if they’re associated with Islam. They’re proud that they’re representing what they believe to be the true fulfillment of their religious beliefs.

That’s not to say that Islam is to blame or Muslims are bad, but we have to address the issue with our eyes open.

The media and everyone playing the politically correct game are quick to crank up the rhetoric. They either willfully ignore the facts or are too blind to see that it’s no coincidence the vast majority of terrorist attacks are perpetrated by people claiming the mantle of Islam. If one out of every 10,000 Muslims are potential terrorists, that’s still nearly 200,000 people worldwide. This can’t be brushed away as politically inconvenient to the left’s narrative.

We need to handle every situation like this as if it’s a terrorist attack. There’s a difference between a drunk driver swerving into a group of people and what took place on London Bridge. When it appears that an attack is willful, we need to put our guard up. There’s no harm that comes from doing so if we’re wrong. On the other hand, if we “wait for the facts” before taking on a defensive posture, the results can be deadly.

The left is so worried about hate speech. Such speech should not be condoned whether there’s a terrorist attack or not. However, we cannot let fear of hate speech prevent us from being aware and diligent. The terrorists want to kill or subjugate all of us. Their greatest ally is a weakness propped up by fear. We cannot give them that.

This will be hard for many to read, but it’s important to be clear about something. Defunding Planned Parenthood will most likely NOT save lives. In fact, it will strengthen the organization. To understand this, we have to look at the situation with clarity.

When we’re able to defund Planned Parenthood, they will not see a single penny less. They will see more money. Why? Because they will use their defunding to build the most powerful liberal fundraising apparatus the nation has ever seen. They will raise more liberal dollars than anyone other than the Democratic nominee for President. Defunding them will give them more money and power than they have today.

This is indisputable by anyone who knows how these things work.

If this is the case, why must we defund them? Wouldn’t it make more sense to not empower them through defunding? No. We must look at the two important elements from a moral perspective and one important element from a strategic perspective.

Morally, it is wrong for the nation to allow abortion to be funded by taxpayers. Some would argue that it is therefore wrong to fund the military for similar moral reasons; killing is killing, right? No. The national government has within its enumerated powers the necessity for national defense. It does not have the power over health care (despite what we’ve seen with Obamacare and Trumpcare). Since it’s the left’s argument that abortion is a health care issue, it doesn’t make sense for the federal government to participate at all in the matter.

The second moral reason comes down to choice. As Americans, we are forced to pay taxes. We can get into a discussion about whether or not that should be acceptable, but for today’s argument let’s assume that we all have to pay. When those tax dollars go to pay for something that could easily be paid for through choice (donations to Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers) it is wrong for tax dollars to be redirected when the private sector could fund it better. If people choose to fund it, so be it. Those of us who would choose not to fund it deserve to keep our tax dollars from going in their direction.

From a strategic perspective, any dollar given by the left to Planned Parenthood is a dollar that may have gone to fund other projects or candidates. By defunding and pushing them to fully fund themselves through donations and other means, we’re preventing those dollars from going elsewhere.

My point isn’t to bring up some moral debate or ethical quandary about whether it makes sense to continue to fund Planned Parenthood. It’s important that we recognize the stakes of the fight. In the end, the political and cultural battles against abortion have very little to do with Planned Parenthood. When we recognize this, we can discern how to focus our efforts in the real battle.

Reince Priebus: Should we wake him?

Jared Kushner: I don’t know. I just don’t know.

Ivanka Trump: It’s pretty bad. I mean, he sounds like a bigger idiot than normal.

Kushner: People are going to think he had a stroke or something.

Priebus: We should wake him.

Ivanka: Go ahead.

Priebus: No way. You’re his daughter. He told me never to wake him unless Bannon says it’s okay.

Kushner: Well, Bannon’s not in charge anymore. Somebody’s got to make the call.

Ivanka: Go ahead.

Kushner: He’s already mad at me and Reince. It should be you.

Priebus: Agreed.

Ivanka: Forget that. The last time I tried to wake him up was awkward.

Kushner: What hap…

Ivanka: I don’t want to talk about it. Someone call Kellyanne.

Priebus: She’s not really up for this anymore.

Kushner: Try Spicer. He’s already getting canned soon. What does he have to lose?

Ivanka: Where’s Steve?

Priebus: Bannon? Haha, nope. The last thing he’d do is get involved with this crap.

Ivanka: Well, we have to do something. We can’t just leave it up on Twitter overnight. He’s going to ask why the heck we didn’t wake him up.

Kushner: And if we tell him it’s because he said never wake him up, he’s going to freak.

Ivanka: If we wake him up, he’ll freak.

Priebus: Rock and a hard place. I’ve been here before. It doesn’t end well.

Corey Lewandowski walks in: Hey guys, did you read that…

Priebus, Kushner, and Ivanka: Yes

Lewandowski: So, wake him up.

Priebus: It should be you who wakes him up, Corey.

Kushner: You’ve already felt his wrath. You’re used to it.

Lewandowski: I just worked my way back in.

Ivanka: Yes, as crisis management. Well, this is a crisis.

Lewandowski: This isn’t a crisis. It’s a cluster. I’ve never dealt with this sort of thing before. Nobody has. What the heck’s a covfefe anyway?

Steve Bannon walks in: Hey guys, did you read that…

Priebus, Kushner, Ivanka, and Lewandowski: Yes

Bannon: Let me guess. You’re all trying to convince each other that they should be the one to wake him up.

Kushner: Actually, we decided that you should be the one.

Bannon: No need. Let it be. Tell him that it has over 100K retweets and the people love it. They’re really digging it. Everybody’s saying it. Somebody even bought the URL and turned it into a covfefe store.

Kushner: Can we trademark it?

Bannon: Probably.

After some thought, the group agrees. Let’s make America covfefe again.

No, the real reason I refuse to go there is because it’s counterproductive. My cause is for America and the way that I’m giving to this cause is through the Federalist Party. It may behoove us politically to point out every misstep, idiotic idea, or destructive policy the Republicans and Democrats give us, but we have to look at it through the lens of productivity.

In other words, we can’t waste our time complaining about things without consequence.

The latest example is the President’s call to change Senate rules and eliminate the legislative filibuster:

The U.S. Senate should switch to 51 votes, immediately, and get Healthcare and TAX CUTS approved, fast and easy. Dems would do it, no doubt!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 30, 2017

My first reaction was to instantly hop on the party’s website and write up a piece about how horrible this idea would be both short-term and long-term. The importance of keeping the House and Senate separate in form and function shouldn’t need to be stated. The consequences of allowing for pure single-party rule to hasten action would be disastrous. I could even point out the idiocy of a President who apparently doesn’t realize the path of budget reconciliation the GOP is currently taking with the AHCA; they can repeal and replace (well, technically, tweak and rebrand) Obamacare with a majority.

Before diving into this endeavor, I decided to see if this silly Tweet would have consequences. Then, I recalled earlier in the month when Mitch McConnell said he wouldn’t be ending the legislative filibuster. I’m not so naive as to believe much of what McConnell says, but in this particular case I believe it’s credible. Ending the filibuster would spark enough panic and give so much fodder for the Democrats that it would ensure a reversal of fortunes for the GOP in Congress as early as 2018.

In a world with Trump as the President of the United States, we can’t jump on every Tweet. It’s a waste of time and effort. Let Trump do Trump things and attempt to discern what will actually happen based upon all factors. Otherwise, most journalists will find themselves going insane before the end of his term.

Update: Ironically, his latest Tweet posted around the time I was writing this sort of reaffirms my stance. Then again, it may debunk it as well.

For decades, this is a tool that most in the GOP have chosen to not employ. It’s like force lightning in the Star Wars universe. Aficionados can debate whether it’s canon that only dark side force users can shoot lightening bolts from their hands, but either way it’s generally accepted that they shouldn’t just as it’s been assumed for a while that the victim card should be left to liberals.

President Trump has reversed this completely. He doesn’t just play the victim card from time to time. It’s become his go-to tactic. He plays it first and he plays it often. He’s become so adept at painting himself as the victim of “fake news” that anything printed about him will be challenged by the White House and supporters will usually just nod their heads. Let’s look at him portraying himself as the victim (and by extension allowing his minions and supporters to play the card as well) since returning from his overseas trip:

The Fake News Media works hard at disparaging & demeaning my use of social media because they don't want America to hear the real story!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 29, 2017

Does anyone notice how the Montana Congressional race was such a big deal to Dems & Fake News until the Republican won? V was poorly covered

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017

….it is very possible that those sources don't exist but are made up by fake news writers. #FakeNews is the enemy!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017

It is my opinion that many of the leaks coming out of the White House are fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 28, 2017

As regular readers are well aware, I’m sort of a mainstream media skeptic hipster; I’ve been very much opposed to the lies of the media since before it was cool. However, I also recognize that there’s a difference between improper spin or loose facts used by mainstream media and the current narrative from the White House that pretty much anything you hear on the news about Trump and his administration is fake. It’s not all fake and saying so is a contradiction.

Trump-friendly Breitbart recently reported that there are at least three White House leak sources who are about to be fired and could face legal action. This doesn’t seem to jibe with the notion that many leaks coming from the White House are “fabricated lies made up by the #FakeNews media,” but that’s the point. It doesn’t have to jibe. It only has to yield very muddy waters. If you combine the two narratives – leakers are getting caught and many leaks are fabrications by the media – the result is that Republicans are empowered to pick and choose what news should be addressed and what can be dismissed. Today, the leaning is towards the latter. This is by design.

I’m not condemning Trump for this. When there’s already so much controversy surrounding his decisions, connections, and liberal policies, the best line of defense is to muddy the waters. Give people a reason to suspend disbelief in his plan for America. It’s painful to watch, but it’s also potentially brilliant. Then again, what other move could he be making at this point?

My biggest problem isn’t that the White House is playing the victim card. It’s that the GOP is not only allowing it but embracing it. What happened to the high road? When did the conservative philosophy get traded in for this new brand of liberal-lite? This isn’t the GOP we once knew. It’s just another reason I’ve put my efforts into building the small-government Federalist Party.

Here’s a great one that highlights the way many Americans feel today. It’s challenging when, on one hand, we love our country immensely but on the other hand we feel our leaders have failed us. The betrayals from the Democratic-Republicans in recent years have made the formation of the Federalist Party necessary.

“Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and your government when it deserves it.”

J. Cal Davenport posted a story titled, “No Party Is Serious And I Feel Politically Homeless.” As a conservative, he feels like the Republican Party is losing its core, the Democratic Party continues to embrace a miserable ideology, and all other parties are failing and/or irrelevant.

I can appreciate this because it’s exactly where I was around this time last year. The GOP had been leaving me for a long time but I was just coming around to accepting it. The Democrats are… Democrats. I spent months looking into the other parties small and large and realized they all missed one major component: good strategy. That’s what prompted me to pursue building a new party. It’s what drove me to call people I respect to get counsel and rally support. In the end, this angst drove me to realize objectively we have a reason for hope.

The idea of a perfect storm has materialized. If I looked into building a new party three years ago, I’m fairly certain I would have concluded that we need to fix the GOP from within. If I waited a year or two before looking into it, I may have decided that getting into the political world would be fruitless. Whatever it was that pushed me to explore the possibilities at this moment in time, I count it as a blessing. What I’m seeing is a groundswell of support driven by an increasing number of people disenfranchised with their current political homes. Many conservatives are seeing their Grand Ol’ Party acting more like 90s-era Democrats while many evangelicals are quickly learning that values, ethics, and principles are negotiable within the modern Republican Party.

The Democrats are facing a similar dilemma. Contrary to popular belief on the right, there are plenty of Democrats who would never embrace socialism. There are Democrats who are pro-life. There are even Democrats who don’t believe in growing government. I know this for certain because I talk to them every day; over 20% of those inquiring about the party are current or former Democrats. It’s not just frustration with the leftward push towards communism their party seems to be making. Many, particularly minorities like me, say they were raised Democrat and could never allow themselves to become Republicans, but they love what they’re hearing from us about getting the government out of their lives.

As for other parties, our appeal is our strategy. From “boots and bytes” for growth to our focus on local elections first to our plan for holding representatives accountable, we’re opening eyes of many third-party enthusiasts. We’ve been told we seem to have a better grasp of how to move forward five-months since our formation than their parties have been able to muster after a quarter-century of failure.

I’d love to say with certainty that we’ll be successful, but certainty isn’t a luxury anyone has in this political atmosphere. I’d love to say we’re coming in at the right time since it seems like things are falling into place nicely, but it’s impossible to know if the nation can be set on the right course in time. All I can say for sure is that good things are happening and every effort is being put into this to give us the best chance possible. I’m not promising victory. I’m simply saying there are good reasons to not give up hope.

The sacred rights of mankind are not to be rummaged for among old parchments or musty records. They are written, as with a sunbeam, in the whole volume of human nature, by the hand of the divinity itself; and can never be erased.

When we first started down the road of forming a new party, the majority of early adopters were over 35-years-old. Our message of reining in DC, defending freedoms, and protecting life were once associated with the Republican Party, but over the last few years it’s become more apparent that the party only invoked these ideas when they were campaigning. We knew we needed to craft a strong message to appeal to the younger generation. What we didn’t anticipate is that the message that resonated with long-time Republicans would also hit the mark with younger voters.

Today, nearly half of our new members are millennials.

According to Kristen Soltis Anderson, this isn’t the same old shift away from the GOP:

It’s been reported often and for many years that Republicans are losing younger people, but what is most shocking about the Pew study is the narrow window in which this wave of defections occurred. In the relatively short time frame of December 2015 to March 2017, nearly half of all young Republicans left their party at some point, with roughly a quarter bidding the GOP adieu for good.

No other group, by age or party, wavered so much or defected in such substantial numbers.

The Federalist Party represents a promise that the GOP has always made. The difference is that Republican leaders in recent years have debunked themselves by failing to keep these promises. They say things in opposition to Democrats during campaign season, then embrace big government ideas when they’re given control. Young (and old) people who want laser-focus on shrinking government are joining the Federalist Party en masse.

To understand why this is the case, we have to put aside certain stereotypes. Media is quick to point out when college students protest conservative speakers, but they hide the fact that there’s a strong counter-insurgency of small-government-minded students. They might not riot. They may have more respect for free speech than their left-wing counterparts, but their numbers are strong and their passions are often stronger. Moreover, the angst that many millennials are feeling stems from an emerging understanding that the federal government causes many of the problems they claim to fix. The internet and social media have allowed failures and political debacles to take on lives of their own. The realization that we need less government is why people like Ron Paul, Ted Cruz, and Ben Sasse have been so appealing to millennials.

Most Americans, when presented with the facts, can come to the conclusion that less interference from the federal government yields much better results. It’s nearly universal; returning power to the states, communities, and individuals solves problems much better than relying on overarching mandates, cumbersome regulations, and offensive laws decreed by DC. The rise of the Federalist Party is coming at the exact right moment in history.