Webb: America’s todays and tomorrows

It is surreal to me how the past can become our present. Consider this quote made famous by Sir Winston Churchill: “Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

Or this, from Ronald Reagan, on Oct. 28, 1980, in his famed debate with Jimmy Carter: “Ask yourself, are you better off now than you were four years ago? Is it easier for you to go and buy things in the stores than it was four years ago? Is there more or less unemployment in the country than there was four years ago? Is America as respected throughout the world as it was?”

{mosads}These quotes may be from the past, but they show that we should be concerned about the present and what possible futures it projects based on the choices we make today. Often in politics we can identify the cause but are forced to live the effects in real time, and it’s up to future historians to write the story.

The past, in this instance, is Nov. 6, 2012.

My question is simple. How are you doing today after you didn’t vote to defeat Barack Obama? Are you having trouble paying your bills? Are you not advancing in your personal and professional life? Does the future look dimmer than it did yesterday?

In that election you either voted for Obama, voted for Mitt Romney, voted for some other candidate or stayed home and did not vote. Now, this is not about surrendering principles or making bad compromises — in politics, it’s a numbers game, and the No. 1 position goes to the office of the presidency.

What did you expect when as a nation we hired an Illinois state senator who often voted present while attending Jeremiah Wright’s church, a U.S. senator rated to the left of Ted Kennedy who said before being elected POTUS that he wanted to “fundamentally transform” America? Barack Obama never hid his ideals, but many Americans apparently ignored reality.

The decision or indecision by a majority of Americans at the ballot box will be highlighted on April 15, 2014. In six days, law-abiding Americans will either pay their taxes or file an extension hoping for some temporary relief before the bill is finally due.

One thing is certain, the IRS and state tax offices will eventually collect.

Well, “Mr. Tea Party Gentleman,” as my Hill colleague from the other side of the political aisle James Carville once called me, is here to tell you that the independent Tea Party movement and I were correct, and we’re sick of the whining. Now it’s time to put aside differences, identify common objectives and forge ahead with a healthy dose of rational solutions. In the coming turmoil of this political season, Tea Partyers and fiscal conservatives of any and all sorts will rage against the government tax-and-spend machine at the local, state and federal levels.

We have a liberal progressive president who is rudderless on foreign policy, disengaged on economic policy and disconnected from what historically results in success in America. One simple example is his refusal to proceed on the Keystone XL oil pipeline and the exploitation of American energy resources — this affects our national security posture, engages many engines of our economy and can grant success to Americans willing to get their fingernails dirty.

Another important date will be Nov. 4, 2014, when America votes to either continue or begin reversing course on the decades of apathy and cynicism that have fueled repeated political malfeasance at the state and federal levels. Will you choose to begin and participate in the hard work of putting this ship of state on a decidedly uncertain course toward a better future?

Citizen participation is how it works in a representative republic. Do not let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The future beyond Nov. 4 is yet to be written.

Webb is host of “The David Webb Show” on SiriusXM Patriot 125, a Fox News contributor and has appeared frequently on television as a commentator. Webb co-founded TeaParty365 in New York City, and is a spokesman for the National Tea Party Federation. His column will appear twice a month in The Hill.