President Reagan would have been 100 years old this weekend. I wished so much that he was still alive and still the same ol’ Great Communicator giving his inspirational speeches and witty one-liners. I’m not ashamed to admit that I cried like a baby when he died seven years ago. The things that made him such a great man go way beyond his political views. President Reagan was the epitome of humility and modesty in a public servant. He was also a very godly man who set an example of how to stand up for your convictions while at the same time being respectful and not engaging in personal attacks against people who disagree with you. Politically, President Reagan brought many conservative views into the mainstream of American politics. It was Reagan who made the abortion issue and the pro-life movement an integral part of Presidential politics. It was Reagan who championed bringing prayer back into public schools. It was Reagan who educated the masses about the benefits of cutting taxes to stimulate the economy. It was Reagan who brought down the Soviet Union without firing a single shot. It was Reagan who stopped (at least temporarily) the progressive march of big government liberalism in its tracks. Without a doubt, my favorite Reagan quote was the famous quip from his inaugural address in 1981: “Government is not the solution to the problem, government IS the problem. ” Its not an understatement to say that Ronald Reagan spawned an entire generation of conservatives and his views are still as relevant and poignant as they were back in the 1960′s when he first came on the national scene espousing his limited government conservative viewpoints.

I was only nine years old when he first got elected President but I can still remember it to this day. All seemed right in the world during his eight years in office. There is no political figure in my lifetime who has had the influence on me the way he did. It was more than just politics. I think we can all learn something from him about how to conduct ourselves in public especially with those who have different views than we have. I really miss you President Reagan. I pray that God sends us more public servants that emulate not only your policy ideas but also your gentle spirit and your character. God rest your soul.

Most Americans probably don’t realize it, but the retirement of Justice John Paul Stevens is a good day in our country. He has been the most liberal judge on the Supreme Court for the last 20 years and one of the most liberal judges ever on the Court. He often finds himself as a lone ranger on the Court offering very liberal dissenting opinions even finding it difficult at times to get some of the other liberal Justices to concur with those opinions. He is the epitome of judges who interject their own feelings and personal political biases into their judgements which is exactly what judges are not supposed to do. He frequently ignores the plain text of the Constitution on clearly stated rights such as the right to bear arms while completely inventing “rights” out of thin air that are not in the Constitution such as the “right” to an abortion. While Conservatives certainly would prefer to replace him under a Republican President, the fact of the matter is that Obama will find it hard to replace him with someone as liberal as Justice Stevens is even with 59 Democrat Senators. Conservatives have made a lot of ground in demonizing liberal judicial philosophies in the public arena of ideas even forcing Obama’s last pick for the Court to public denounce the concept of judges having “empathy” in their opinions. Obama’s best approach would probably be to try to sneak a very liberal judge in disguise but even that might prove difficult in an election year. In all likelihood, even with a judge like Steven Breyer appointed as Stevens’ replacement, the Supreme Court will move, if ever so slightly, to the right. And the politics of this could not be worse for the Democrats in this political environment. Who knows, maybe Obama can nominate someone who gets defeated in the long run and this drags into next year with a dramatically more conservative Congress. But the more likely scenario is that he is forced to appoint someone who is not as liberal as Justice Stevens and that is a good thing for our country.

Looking at the bigger picture for the Democrats on health care reform, this might really be their last chance for a very long time to attempt a government takeover of health care. At this point in the election cycle, 2010 is looking like a very pro-Republican election as voters likely will express their displeasure with the Obama, Pelosi, and Reid agenda in a very demonstrable way next November. I don’t think anyone would be surprised if Republicans re-take the House in 2010 and make substantial gains in the Senate. In Larry Sabato’s latest 2010 crystal ball projections (http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/article.php?id=LJS2009111901), he has 12 Senate seats categorized as “toss-up”. Thats 4 “R” seats and 8 “D” seats. So the potential is certainly there for Republican (hopefully conservative) pickups in next years election. Add to that the fact that 2012 and 2014 should also be very difficult years for the Dems as far as Senate races go (they are defending 44 seats total in those two elections while the Republicans are defending 22 fairly safe seats that survived the onslaught of 2006 and 2008) and the future is not too bright for getting a controversial liberal health care bill through the Senate anytime after next years elections. In addition to the dreary prospects in the Senate for the Democrats, there’s also the long term political fallout for pushing this ridiculous piece of legislation that should forbid the Democrats from attempting this approach once again. So lets hope the health care bill being pushed at the moment dies somewhere along the way because this could be the last stand for the Dems on this issue for a very long time.