By Daniel Bobinski
Hear me clearly, for I am calling Ralph Northam’s patriotism into question. Some will say, “How dare you?” I will answer, “I dare just fine.”
I’m tired of being bullied into not speaking the truth. We have elites on both sides of the aisle – although predominantly on the Left – who have chosen not to align with the principles upon which our Constitution was written. Instead, their philosophical ideologies align with globalists, Marxists, socialists, and/or fascists. Therefore, they cannot be called patriots.
As a side note, the group that calls themselves, “anti-fascist” are themselves the fascists, but that’s a topic for a different column.
Back to Mr. Northam. Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “Just because you’re born in an oven, it doesn’t make you a biscuit,” or “Just because you’re born in a garage, it doesn’t make you a car.” In the same way, just because Ralph Northam was born in America, it doesn’t make him a patriot.
Yes, I know Northam served in the United States Army, but again, that doesn’t make him a patriot. Patriots are those who believe in the principles upon which our founders stood when they created our country.
Some of those principles are:
1) Rights come from God, not the government
2) Political power comes from the will of the governed
3) Our government should be a representative republic
4) Our government should have only limited power
5) Citizens’ rights cannot be taken away by the government
6) Our laws should be established in writing, as determined by the people
Many in public office fake their patriotism by quoting the Constitution and standing in front of American flags, but if these people are not in alignment with these principles, they’re not patriots. After all, Satan quotes the Bible, but it doesn’t make him a Follower of Jesus.
Northam the Virtue Signaler
By his own words and deeds, Mr. Northam has demonstrated that he is not a patriot. Want some evidence? Let’s consider his lack of support for 8 U.S. Code § 1325, which says,
Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both.
Back in 2007, Northam supported efforts to fight illegal immigration. At that time, Nancy Pelosi did, too. And so did Chuck Schumer. And Hillary Clinton. And Barack Obama.
But now, just like Pelosi, Schumer, and so many other socialists who fake their patriotism, Northam seeks to gain supporters by virtue signaling. In a 2017 interview, Northam said, “We will stand up against ICE. We will do everything we can to make sure immigrants are comfortable living here.”
Big words, Mr. Northam, but patriots see through you. What you’re looking for is votes, and our education system and the legacy media have created a block of voters who support candidates who care. Patriotism be damned. It’s more important that people believe you care, right? The twisted mindset works like this:
- Orange man bad.
- Orange man wants ICE to do its job.
- Therefore, ICE is bad.
- Therefore, you won’t support ICE.
To this kind of virtue signaling, I say,
“Dear Mr. Northam – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has the unenviable job of working to keep our country secure by enforcing immigration laws, yet you state you want do everything you can to keep lawbreakers comfortable. You did the same virtue signaling when you restored voting rights to 22,000 convicted felons. Just like other non-patriots, you coddle law-breakers so that they’ll vote for you.”
“It’s okay Ralph. We get it. You care. And people will love you because you care. But guess what? Caring in ways the enable bad behavior does not make you a patriot.”
In America, losing one’s rights for being convicted of a felony has always been a deterrent to committing a crime. Sadly, Northam says he was proud to use his “executive clemency power” in restoring rights to felons. So not only is the deterrent gone, now convicted felons can vote, run for office, and sit on a jury!
I’m guessing Northam didn’t think about his own state’s report on recidivism – if he read it at all. According to data compiled by Virginia’s Department of Corrections, Northam’s state has a consistent 10+ year track record of more than 55 percent of people released from incarceration getting re-arrested within three years. More than 48 percent of people released are re-convicted, and more than 22 percent are re-incarcerated.
These are people Northam wants voting, running for office, and sitting on juries. He cares, right? Obviously, as a non-patriot, Northam doesn’t care much about the negative consequences these people may have on the culture, so long as they vote “D” in the ballot box the first Tuesday each November.
Northam and the Hegelian Dialectic
The Left’s encroachment on our founding principles has occurred by using the Hegelian dialectic – two steps forward, one step back. And Northam is doing exactly that.
Using the dialectic, non-patriots propose a crazy idea to which patriots say, “No.” Then the non-patriots say, “Okay, well then you need to compromise with us, or you’re mean and un-American.”
And what have patriots done for decades? Not wanting to appear mean or un-American, they’ve compromised.
This is exactly what Northam is trying to do with his announced gun grab.
- He proposed a wild piece of legislation
- He had other non-patriots suggest they would bring in the United Nations to enforce their gun grab
- Naturally, the patriots said, “No,” and they are planning a demonstration at Virginia’s statehouse to show their opposition to an idea that does align with American principles
So, practicing good fearmongering, the governor declared a state of emergency, stating the protesters will be dangerous. The governor said there would be “hate groups” in attendance and he was concerned for everyone’s safety.
Governor, your words and actions are following a predictable pattern. The problem for you is that patriots are openly talking about your methodology, because many are aware of your intentions:
- There will be a rally in Richmond
- You will continue your fearmongering, painting the attendees as dangerous
- The Marxist / Socialist / Democrat Propaganda Machine known as the legacy media will dutifully report what you say, stirring up division
- You and/or your cohorts may even plant people in the crowd to purposefully cause violence or otherwise stir up trouble. We already know the Left does this
- You will then demand a compromise, expecting patriots to give up ground and accept a portion of your legislation to avoid being labeled mean or un-American
It’s the Hegelian dialectic: two steps forward, one step back.
But guess what, gov? Patriots are on to your game, and they are no longer playing. The answer will be, “No.”
Patriots are no longer afraid of being called mean. They are no longer afraid of being called un-American. They are no longer letting people like you define who they are, because they know that people like you, sir, are not patriots.
Governor, there’s no need to be afraid of anything from the rallying patriots except a loud chorus of, “We are not compromising anymore.” If any violence occurs during the rally, I’ll bet dollars to donuts it will be Leftists planted in the crowd who are causing it. The Left has done this numerous times before, so to put it bluntly, we wouldn’t put it past you.
No More Compromising
In closing, back in the 1770’s our colonies saw patriots standing up against the loyalists. In today’s Cold Civil War, we have patriots standing up against the globalists, Marxists, and socialists.
If Virginia’s governor wants to be considered a patriot, he can change his stance and align himself with the principles that were used to establish this country.
There's no telling whether the governor will do that, but this is known for sure: patriots are through compromising, and they're tired of not speaking the truth just to appease Leftists (who don’t care about American principles anyway). Therefore, just in case I haven’t made it clear by now, let me state it unequivocally. It is obvious that Virginia’s governor Ralph Northam, as shown by both his words and deeds, does not support the principles upon which our country was founded, and is therefore not a patriot.
How dare I say such a thing? I dare just fine.
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Daniel Bobinski, M.Ed. is a certified behavioral analyst, best-selling author, columnist, corporate trainer, and keynote speaker. In addition to working with teams and individuals achieve workplace excellence through improving their emotional intelligence and improving the way they do training, he’s also a veteran and a Christian Libertarian who believes in the principles of free market capitalism – while standing firmly against crony capitalism. Daniel writes on both workplace issues and political issues for multiple publications, but in his ideal world he’d be a speechwriter for President Trump. Reach Daniel for help with your workplace through his website, MyWorkplaceExcellence.com. For things political, use @newbookofdaniel on Twitter. © Shadowtrail Media, LLC
