Beyond Iowa

Column 438 January 19, 2024

I am not a Republican. I’m a conservative American. There’s a huge difference. Over the many decades I’ve seen way too many Republicans running for and getting into office who are everything except conservatives. Many are crooks, neocons, and/or deep state actors. In other words—they are RINOs.

Most of the Republicans who have made a run for the presidency are in the RINO ranks. I wasn’t a big fan of Nixon and that crowd. But I supported Ronald Reagan when he came on the scene. Yet afterwards I voted for candidates such as Harry Browne, Ron Paul, and Howard Phillips. Back in the day I knew all three of those men personally. Yes, with those three there was a time I could call a presidential candidate on the phone or visit with them at a conference. Obviously, I’ve been very independent over the years with a strong commitment to the Constitution, freedom, peace, small government, rule of law, sound money, balanced budgets, and the Bill of Rights.^{1 2 3}

Needless to say, the Clintons, Obama, and Biden and their associated deep state actors were/are disasters for our country. But one must not count out the Bushes and of course the Mitt Romney and John McCain types for helping them run our country into the ground. When Trump came along, I enthusiastically supported him. There’s no question that his bedside manner isn’t as polished as Reagan’s, but his businesslike approach to governance was extraordinary compared to his predecessors. He wasn’t perfect on Covid, but he was for early opening while the Pense-run Covid Task Force kept the nonsense going.

BTW, on the stump DeSantis tells us that he was a hero on the Covid nonsense. But on March 20, 2020, in accordance with the President’s “15 Days to Slow the Spread” he did issue executive orders closing down businesses, schools, and the beaches. Masking, distancing, and closures were everywhere in Florida and some people still mask up to this day. On April 29, 2020, he unveiled a plan to lift the state's stay-at-home orders that he called “safe, smart and step by step.” That plan went into effect on May 4, 2020, in every county except Dade, Palm Beach and Broward counties, where most of the state's COVID-19 cases were being reported. He certainly didn’t keep the state’s businesses open like in South Dakota. Although, he later became a champion of the anti-Fauci movement and commonsense. But I digress.^{4 5}

I’m very concerned about the direction of our country. Psychopaths among the political left are being rewarded and encouraged to undermine our freedoms and even our lives. So it has never been more important than it is now for conservatives to take over the Republican party and drive out the RINOs. As Robert Kennedy Jr. has discovered, the two-party system has a lock grip on who can even run for office. So if we let the old guard Republicans maintain power, our nation is going to follow the same path that it’s on now.⁶

This past Monday, in the worst of weather, Iowa's caucus launched the 2024 presidential race which is now in the history books. It was a resounding victory for Trump. Now the candidates are in New Hampshire where voters head to the polls on Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. The voting is being called “the first-in-the-nation presidential primary election” because it’s scheduled in defiance of the Democratic Party's attempts to overhaul the nominating calendar. But it’s not a normal primary election because of the crossover voting that’s permitted which can skew the results.⁷

I have a lot of respect for people like Victor Davis Hanson, Rand Paul, Tucker Carlson, Vivek Ramaswamy, Dick Morris, Mike Huckabee, Ted Cruz, Matt Gaetz, and many others we hear from in today’s political scene. For sure they understand the deep state and know a RINO when they see one. Recently we heard from Tucker Carlson and Rand Paul about their take on Nikki Haley. Below I’ve footnoted links to their comments about her being a RINO of the worst sort. Everyone should ponder their comments because she is being backed by Democrats, Trump haters, and the military-industrial complex. In addition, she has made proposals that absolutely violate the Constitution and Bill of Rights. In other words, if elected president she would not be the breath of fresh air of conservatism, but a radical race down the paths of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, Dick Cheney, George Bush, Lindsey Graham, Mitch McConnell, and other RINOs who have been instrumental in derailing our country in a variety of ways.^{8 9 10}

Right now Nikki Haley is calling New Hampshire a two-man race even though DeSantis beat her in Iowa. So, what is it? Well, it’s her call to Trump hating independents and Democrats to cross over and vote for her in the Republican primary. That way she might beat Trump and derail his run for the presidency. To me, this also underscores her RINO label. Inviting Democrats and independents to vote for her as a proxy to beat Trump is in essence a way to encourage voter fraud and a diminishing of the importance of free and fair elections.

Following Trump’s win in Iowa, Vivek Ramaswamy dropped out of the race and endorsed Trump. In their first appearance in New Hampshire I watched Ramaswamy’s endorsement speech. It was a terrific patriotic presentation where, in only a few minutes, he articulated what Trump wants to achieve for America. I was also pleasantly surprised when I heard Trump say "It's an honor to have his endorsement. He's gonna be working with us and he'll be working with us for a long time. Thank you."^{11 12}

As I’ve said many times, Trump may not have the best bedside manner. But as a businessman and Commander is Chief nobody in modern history has equaled. If he can surround himself with the right team and if we can get actual conservatives in majorities in Congress and the Senate, I think we’ll have a chance to turn the country around. Steve Bannon says Trump’s first 100 days “will be the equivalent of the first 100 days of FDR.” Needless to say, the country is currently so messed up, especially financially, that we’ll all have to take some bitter medicine to cure the problems. There is no easy path ahead therefore only the best in leadership will suffice.¹³

It’s time for conservatives to pull together like never before and vote for the good of America. It’s time to put America first.

To your health.

Ted Slanker

Ted Slanker has been reporting on the fundamentals of nutritional research in publications, television and radio appearances, and at conferences since 1999. He condenses complex studies into the basics required for health and well-being. His eBook, The Real Diet of Man, is available online.

For additional reading:

1. Harry Browne from Wikipedia,

2. Ron Paul from Wikipedia

3. Howard Phillips from Wikipedia

4. Governor Shuts down Beaches and Several Nonessential Businesses in Broward, Palm Beach by Ryan Nicol from Florida Politics

5. Florida Governor Announces Plan to Slowly Reopen Sunshine State on Monday after Coronavirus Shutdown by Corky Siemaszko from NBC News

6. MSNBC Hosts Denounce White Christians as Racist and Pledge to Censor Trump After Iowa Win by Jonathan Turke

7. Iowa Caucus: Trump's Landslide Victory Cements Position

8. Tucker Episode 65 “What the results in Iowa mean.”

9. Rand Paul Debuts the “Never Nikki” Movement and Explains Why Voters Shouldn’t Support Nikki Haley by Christopher Tremoglie from Washington Examiner

10. Document Reveals Identity of Donors Who Secretly Funded Nikki Haley’s Political Nonprofit by Alex Isenstadt from Politicol

11. Vivek’s Fiery Speech in New Hampshire for Trump