RACE TO LEAD GOP’S FUTURE SHAPING UP

As the McCain led defeat of Republicans sets in, high hopes rise. As the race for President ended, the battle for the GOP’s future has begun.

Several days ago, I disclosed the likely contenders for Republican National Committee Chairman and some of those mentioned are beginning to fire their first shots.

One of those touted to want the job, Michigan Republican State Committee Chairman Saul Anuzis, has fired up a web site for the job .

A name that I did not list among the seven most mentioned contenders was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. I for one, don’t think that Newt has a desire to reenter the political fray. I know and appreciate that he is completely involved in the ideological fight and the battle of ideas that he relishes in the more realistic world of the free, private sector. But I do not anticipate his willingness to actually get back into the political arena.

Would his return be welcomed? That’s not a question for Democrats. They picked the leader of their party when Barack Obama became President-Elect Barack Obama. It is a question for Republicans to answer.

As a Republican myself, I would welcome Newt‘s involvement. He is an asset. He knows politics and he knows the issues. He also puts the party, as well as the nation, before himself. He demonstrated that when after Republicans lost some seats in the House of Representatives back in the late 90’s, he offered his resignation as speaker. He did so because the media made him more important than the issues he was dealing with. He felt that he was such a lightening rod, that his continued role would take away from the issues we had to deal with.

Years later, now that he is not involved in the legislative post he once held, the party leadership role might be just right for him, as well as the GOP.

Of course, the left will begin every campaign that they run in 2010 and beyond, with the name “Newt Gingrich”. They will continue the demonization process of Gingrich and the GOP as they try to put an angelic face on themselves. But, will that have a bearing on the effective direction that Newt could put the party on?

The public image that Democrats will try to create for Republicans with Newt Gingrich’s face as the RNC chairman, would have an impact on initial public perception. But would the negative impact of anti-Newt, liberal propaganda outweigh the positive effect of Gingrich’s leadership for the party?

In the long term, probably not, but this, I can’t I can’t be sure of.

I do know Newt Gingrich understands what the GOP stands for and he knows how to shape the arguments and messages that we need. He is also capable of employing the right people to help the RNC articulate that message. Additionally, he helps reaffirm the base when it comes to where the party is going. Newt represents the conservative political thinking that many feel the party has strayed from……a straying away that coincided with the decline of Republican political preeminence since his departure from the congressional stage. He could also create great cause for many disaffected libertarians to join the Republican ranks.

Right now the party needs direction. Not just organizational direction in setting a strategic plan for future elections but also direction of purpose. We need to make that which differentiates us from Democrats clear. Over the past 5 or 6 years the lines of difference have been blurred. For one thing we had an incumbent Republican President who was about as fiscally conservative as Imelda Marcos in a shoe store. For another thing, we had Republican elected officials who allowed Democrats to get the upper hand when it comes to rhetoric denouncing the wars we are in. Many Republicans backed away from their public defense of our war efforts, fearful that too many voters were questioning it’s worthiness.  The sad fact being that too many elected officials allow themselves to be fearful of perceptions and unconcerned with their convictions.  Too many lack the cojones to use their convictions and stand up to wrongly held public perceptions.  That however, is not a fault possessed by Newt Gingrich

So we need someone who can help distinguish the differences between us and Democrats.
Newt could do for us if he chose to. He could actually energize the forces and he has proven to be capable of organizing national campaigns that promote the application of conservative legislative principles.

It’s difficult to make a decision when you do not yet know all your options, so although I am inclined to embrace Newt Gingrich’s wisdom, innovation capabilities and sense of ideological conviction, I reserve my own final conclusion until I know who else is wanting the job of Chairman. I refer to the word “wanting” because there are groups seeking to recruit some names. I do not want someone who has to be convinced that they should be the chairman of the RNC. I want someone who wants it and wants it for all the right reasons. Someone who wants to do the hard work and wants to fight for our cause.

I admire some of the names out there. People like former Maryland Lt. Governor Mike Steele of GOPAC.

I agree with him on most all issues and I appreciate the messages that he uses in trying to bring the point home. Of course being African-American, if Steele is selected to be chairman, the loony, left, libs will say that his being black was the only reason we picked him, but you know what?……I really don’t care what inconsequential, liberal, loudmouths think. They will be fighting the titular leader of their party, President-Elect Obama, as they try to force him to lead from the left instead of the middle. So they have their own battle to wage. This one is between us republicans……”No Liberals Allowed”….thank you.

In any event I have no objection to Mike Steele for the spot. He is a good, loud voice but based on abilities between him and Newt, I lean towards Newt.
In either case, both of these guys, as pointed out in the Washington Times, have not gone public with their desires. They seem to be wrangling behind the scenes and hoping to create a public yearning for their expertise that makes them humbly answer some sort of call to duty. If Gingrich continues to be coy and Mike Steele makes it clear that he wants the job, he’s got my support.

Two of my favorite choices would be Mitt Romneywho has almost as much of the ideological qualities and articulation abilities that Newt Gingrich has, but without the image problem and baggage. Former Maryland Governor Bob Erhlich is also a talented favorite of mine who has the ability to help us reclaim our ideological strengths. However, neither of these two have indicated the desire to be the new chairman and as for Romney, I would rather see him gear up for a run for President in 2012 then get bogged down in partisan politics. Right now, him and Sarah Palin need to convince me which will best qualified for our presidential nomination, so both should remain focused on that.

In regards to one of those who have made their RNC leadership intentions clear, Michigan Republican State Committee Chairman Saul Anuzis has potential but so does South Carolina Republican Chair Katon Dawson Chairman and Florida’s GOP Chairman Jim Greer. But I do commend Anuzis for naot playing any games and making his intentions clear. Unlike him, Dawson has been using the slogan “Renew, Reform, Restore,” in a survey that he has mailed out to a few hundred national committee members, the members who will elect the new chairman. Greer has been on the phones and testing the water.

All of these people have produced positive Republican results in their states. Of course though, Florida and South Carolina have fairly positive atmospheres for conservative oriented causes and campaigns. Saul Anuzis is relatively successful in a state that is not quite as open and friendly to Republicans as his counterparts in the South. To me, that shows that Saul Anuzis has plenty of grit and the type of underdog tenacity that the GOP needs nationally.

All of this speculation and conjecture is nice but there exists a very crucial question that we, as a party, must answer before we select someone to lead our party. What direction do we want the party to go in? Knowing the direction we want to go in could help us decide which leader is best suited to lead us in that direction.

Part of the answer to that question lies not in the race for RNC Chairman. It lies in the Republican leadership of the house and senate.

If our elected Republicans in congress, the guys on the front line of the ideological battle in government, elect the status quo to house and senate minority leadership, than we can write off any hopes for increasing political power in the near term.

People like Eric Cantor of Virginia need to win election as the Republican whip and I for one would like to Indiana’s Mike Pence assume overall leadership of the house.

On the Senate side, South Dakota’s John Thune is a favorite of mine. He has solid credentials and great vision. Unfortunately, the senate is an institution that offers less opportunities to young guns. Seniority rules there.

The logistics of the fact that US senators are elected from an entire state causes individual senators to be less cutting edge and more moderate than their counterparts in the house, who get elected from a segment of the electorate in their home state, that may have more extreme views than do the entirety of a state. But the legislative leadership that republicans have in congress will have a lot to do with the effectiveness of whoever is chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Our leaders in the house and senate must be leading legislative efforts that are in sync with the direction and message that the party is taking. If we, as a party, are preaching spend less, drill more, reduce government intrusiveness and fight harder, it won’t be believed if congressional Republicans are approving Democrat budgets that are full of increased social welfare and government programs, limiting our abilities to exploit natural resources and accepting retreat on any front in the war on terror.

We need legislative leaders who are of the mind of those who were a part of the ‘94 Republican revolution (which was orchestrated, sponsored and led by Newt Gingrich) that took congressional control away from the liberal party. If our congressional Republicans were of that same thinking now, half the battle would be over.  Mike Pence, Eric Cantor and John Thune are just exceptional examples of that thinking and are the type of legislative leadership we need.

Ultimately, as for the chairmanship of the Republican National Committee. I would like to see a power sharing effort that involves Gingrich, Steele, Dawson, Anuzis and Romney.

Together I would like to see them hammer out the road map. Then let Gingrich shape the debate, Mike Steele deliver the message, Katon Dawson and Saul Anuzis organize the ground game and Romney raise the money. Is this likely?………Nope. But it could be ideal.

For now I would be inclined to give Dawson, Anuzis and Steele the inside track and hope that if any one of those three get the job, they will reach out and work with the team that I would like to see work together.

Don’t say this to a cop

The top 20 things not to say to a cop when he pulls you over.

20. I can’t reach my license unless you hold my beer.

19. Sorry officer, I didn’t realize my radar detector wasn’t plugged in.

18. Aren’t you the guy from the villiage people?

17. Hey, you must have been doing 125 to keep up with me, good job.

16. I thought you had to be in relatively good physical shape to be a police officer.

15. I was going to be a cop, but I decided to finish high school instead.

14. Bad cop. No donut.

13. You’re not going to check the trunk, are you?

12. Gee, that gut sure doesn’t inspire confidence.

11. Didn’t I see you get your butt kicked on cops?

10. Is it true that people become cops because they are too dumb to work at McDonalds?

9. I pay your salary

8. So uh, you on the take or what?

7. Gee officer, that’s terrific. The last officer only gave me a warning.

6. Do you know why you pulled me over? Okay, just so one of us does.

5. I was trying to keep up with traffic. Yes, I know there is no other cars around, that’s how far they are ahead of me.

4. What do you mean have I been drinking? You are the trained specialist.

3. Well, when I reached down to pick up my bag of crack, my gun fell off of my lap and got lodged between the brake and the gas pedal, forcing me to speed out of control.

2. Hey, is that a 9mm? That’s nothing compared to this 44 magnum.

1. Hey, can you give me another one of those full cavity searches?

THE NEXT 2 YEARS COULD BE CRITICAL FOR REPUBLICANS

The GOP is literally at a make or break point that could a establish a fait accompli   

As we enter into the closing year of the new millennium’s first decade, the approaching official national census process is where some, if not a large portion of the battle for our political future will take place.

After the census has been taken in 2010, every legislative district from which we elect council members in local and city governments to state legislators and members of congress will be redrawn based upon the population shifts determined by the census.

This means that once those figures have been established, during 2010, state legislatures will spend the following year redrawing new legislative districts.

Despite laws that try to regulate how legislative maps can be drawn and try to eliminate gerrymandering, redistricting is primarily a political process that is left up to the political party or parties with majority control at the time that redistricting occurs. That said, the powers that be use their majority status to creatively draw new legislative districts that favor their party. A handful of states have separatecommissions that draw the district lines.  Some of those grant veto to the states governors and some don’t.  But regardless, even those commissions, involved in those 6 or states, contain a degree of politcal leanings.

In either event, by using a range of election results from over the last 8 years or so, party leaders establish where their favorable votes come from. Using that as their basis, they draw districts that contain a plurality of population centers that favor their party.

This allows the majority political party to substantially consolidate power by creating new election districts that are likely to send more of their kind to their county seats and state capitols as well as those who we send to congress.

Regardless of the laws that are designed to take political influence out of the redistricting process and despite the various state redistricting commissions that are set up to oversee the process, it is an entirely political process. You must understand that the politicians create the new districts maps themselves or appoint the redistricting commissions regulating the process. Even when the courts have to step in, it remains a political process…….Who appoints the judges that make the rulings on this type of stuff?…..The politicians. So no matter what, it is a fact that the redistricting process is a political process. To pretend it isn’t, is a demonstration of naiveté that should prohibit one from even discussing politics. The only arguable point may be the varying degree of politicization that the process holds for one state or another.

Keeping that in mind, in one sense the census will, or could benefit, Republicans on the national level.  Having the majority in various state legislatures is key though. 

Areas such as the Northeast will see a decreased sizes in population. That will result in several Northeastern states losing congressional seats. The region has practically no congressional Republicans left. Connecticut’s Chris Shays was one of the last few holdouts and his overreaching attempts to appeal to  Democrat by essentially voting like a Democrat didn’t hack it. Republicans did not like his trying to be a liberal and liberals did not find him liberal enough so he’s out.

But the loss of seats through redistricting in the Northeast, where Republicans don’t have many seats, will favor Republicans where they are still strong….the South and West.

The census will show a strong increase in Southern population and so will the West. That means the representation lost in places like New Jersey and New York will be added to places like Florida and California, where the increased population will get increased representation. Except for California that bodes well for Republicans, but not in and of itself.

The party in power of each individual state legislature will ultimately determine the final redistricting maps. The party in charge at the time will create new districts that favor themselves and increases their own pluralities in their state capitol. They will do the same with their own states congressional delegation to washington, DC, as they draw congressional districts that favor their party as well.

So that means, if, for example, New Jersey has A Democrat Governor and a Democrat majority in the state senate and the state assembly, which they do now, Democrats will make their existing state legislative districts more favorable to electing Democrats. They will also draw congressional districts that are inclined to do the same. In fact, with the possible loss of one seat due to relatively decreased population growth, the Democrat dominated state legislature would probably emaciate one of the rare congressional districts that Republicans have held, forever, in Northern New Jersey. In the recent 2008 election, incumbent Republican Congressman Mike Fergusson retired and his seat was won by a Republican state senator named Leonard Lance. After redistricting, he and his seat will probably be gerrymandered out of existence.

This all points to the following .

• The GOP Must Act Quickly

We need to select a Republican National Chairman who has a vision of inclusiveness and a passionate command of the issues and ideological fervor that is rooted in the conservative foundation that has always been the basis of our most productive legislative sessions and our most successful election cycles. That person must also have the capacity for exceptional organizational development and cutting edge thinking that can exploit the internet and the grassroots. The new chairman must also be willing to act quickly and accept the fact that we need to prepare for the redistricting process that begins in 2010.  Any loss of time leading up to 2010 will wreak havoc on our prospects for the decade to follow. (Newt…..are you reading this?)

• A Bottom Up Strategy

The new Republican National Committee Chairman must immediately focus on and direct all resources to local and state legislative elections. This may sound out of place for the “national” committee, however, by the time the end of 2010 rolls around, it is the state level which will strongly effect our national prospects in the redistricting process that occurs at the start of the next decade.  By electing more officials on the bottom of the ballot, in stste elections, we will be better able to effect races further up the ballot.

By spending the next two years establishing strong candidates to run strong campaigns for state senate and assembly seats, we will increase control of the state legislative bodies that are ultimately responsible for the redistricting that they will undertake after the 2010 census results. With that power and opportunity we will be able to draw new congressional districts that are favorable for increasing Republican pluralities in the newly drawn seats that will be up for grabs in 2012.

Without control of the redistricting process Democrats will have the opportunity to gerrymander more Republicans out of office and make it even harder to get elected into office . That will only make the decade to come more difficult for us to increase our state legislative and congressional prospects.

The new chairman of the RNC, whoever it may be, better be willing to utilize the little time we have between now and then wisely. The once every decade redistricting process that the new chairman should prepare us for could have more of an effect on GOP prospects and our regaining majority status in congress than any of the elections that will follow

 

GOOD ANSWERS

I guess I would have voted with the majority if it was a close vote. But I agree with the arguments the minority made.
–President Bill Clinton, on the 1991 Gulf War resolution

“I’m not going to have some reporters pawing through our papers. We are the president.”
–Hillary Clinton commenting on the release of subpoenaed documents

I haven’t committed a crime. What I did was fail to comply with the law.
–David Dinkins, New York City Mayor, answering accusations that he failed to pay his taxes.

Things are more like they are now than they ever were before.
–Former U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower

The streets are safe in Philadelphia. It’s only the people who make them unsafe.
–Frank Rizzo, ex-police chief and mayor of Philadelphia

I have lied in good faith.
— Bernard Tapie, French politician accused of fixing a soccar match involving the team he owned, when his sworn alibi fell apart in court.

I don’t need bodyguards.
–Jimmy Hoffa, labor leader

Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country.
–Mayor Marion Barry, Washington, DC

The police are not here to create disorder. They’re here to preserve disorder.”
–Former Chicago mayor Daley during the infamous 1968 Democratic Party convention

China is a big country, inhabited by many Chinese.
–Former French President Charles de Gaulle

 

 

 

 

 

TRANCSCRIPT OF THE BUSH-OBAMA WHITE HOUSE MEETING?

Bush and Obama Walk To The Oval Office

 Okay, so maybe it’s not the actual transcript but I think it went something like this………..

G.W.B – Welcome to the White House Mr. President-Elect. Its a real pleasure and honor. We’re makin’ history here.  

B.H.O – Thank you. Having gone through this yourself, I’m sure you understand the emotions that the times we’re in and that this occasion brings to me. So it goes without saying that I appreciate your gracious invitation and your earnest cooperation in the transition, Mr. President.

G.W.B. – Please call me George. You and I share a lot more in common now than ya think and we’re among a very small group. Only 42 others have gone on the path that you’re about to go on and that I’ve already taken. So call me George. Ya know, I have a habit of giving people nicknames. I usually just tag ‘em with the first snappy word that comes to mind ‘cause of some obvious characteristic they’ve got. I call this one really tall guy in the White House Press Corps Stretch.

Looking at you …….

B.H.O. – How ‘bout you call me Barry…..my good friends always have.

G.W.B. – Close enough……Sounds good to me …..So, Barry, where ya wanna begin? Got any initial nagging questions?

B.H.O. – Well Mr. Presi,…ahh…George, I would like your take on what you believe will be the first, most pressing, immediate and important challenge or development to confront me after I’ve taken the oath?

G.W.B. – We all know the economy is a priority.

B.H.O. – That’s an understatement George, how’d you let it get so out of hand?

G.W.B. – Ask your friends,…… Dodd took more money from the housing folk at Fannie and Freddie than anyone else and Barney Frank was getting’ it on with one of the guys running them and as the two boys chairin’ that committee overseein’ how Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were bein’ run, they decided to let ‘em off the hook……. Wouldn’t even look into their books. So that helped start the crisis.  And so did Clinton’s homeownership initiatives.  They forced Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other loaners to hand out sub prime loans and overextend ‘emslevse to people they knew couldn’t afford to pay ‘em back.  The bill had to come due soon.  That all was just part of the problem, the part that tightened up the loaning market and started it all.

I shoulda’ seen it coming though, so I take the blame for not heading it off………

……But anyway, like I was sayin’ the economy is an obvious priority but it isn’t one that should allow you to lose focus on other stuff. You know what you wanna do so go to it. It’s your economy now. You won and your policies won the approval that gives you the right to try to put ‘em through. As for your biggest immediate challenge… Let me give you a little presidential history.

Before I came into office people were beginning to grumble, we were experiencing a mild recession as I came here to DC. So that became my priority. I focused attention on it to try an’ get support for tax cuts that we got enacted. I focused on cutting the amount of money that we taxed people so that they had the money to pump back into the economy and help prevent the recession from gettin’ rougher and lastin’ longer than it could have.

I also tried to move ahead quickly with my campaign promises…..faith based initiatives, no child left behind, ..things like that.

Then less than eight months into it, while sitting in a classroom with little kids, it all changed.

B.H.O. – I hear you George.

G.W.B. – You may hear me but you don’t understand, at least not yet Barry. But you will, in time you will.

B.H.O.- So your saying national security is my priority.

G.W.B. – What I am saying is as I sat their in that class room and Andy, my chief of staff, rushed in, leaned over and whispered in my ear that we were under attack, I felt fear and fury. The fear wasn’t for me but for the country. The fury was over the fact that this could happen. To make it worse, here I was….. sittin’ around with the most vulnerable and innocent among us, our children, our future.

With those kids faces lookin’ in my direction, that sense of anger and the fear for our people coincided with a quick feeling of failure.

I was the President that was responsible for our safety when this happened……Me!…..I was suppose to stop these things from happening to my people.  I was in a Florida classroom, tryin’ to promote an education program that would improve the education of our kids, our children,….. and while doin’ this, their nation was directly attacked. Our own people were being slaughtered in their places of work.

Barry, …..at the moment,….. I took a direct punch to the gut and then an upper cut to the chin. I was reeling from the fact that this was happening and that, as President, for whatever reasons, I did not prevent it from happening.

B.H.O.- Mr. President, no one knew…..it was not your fault and no one ever claimed it was your fault.

G.W.B.- No they didn’t….well except for a few fanatics who claim I actually orchestrated the attacks. But you’re right, no one blamed me, but I blamed myself. I am the President and it was – is, my responsibility to defend us.

Logic lets me accept that, at the time, no one could’ve known the exact threat and how bad it could be. That’s logic.  But even Presidents have feelin’s and although logic tells me one thing, my emotions still twist my guts with the fact that I was the President that unknowingly allowed this to happen.  Every death on that day weighs on my heart like a cinder block.

It was then that I vowed not to allow any suspicion to go unchallenged. No matter how minor the threat may seem, I knew then that it couldn’t be ignored. I saw the internals. Clinton saw them and knew them too. Problem is both of us did not have the wherewithal and awareness to prioritize them properly. Who actually ever thought that some lunatic, camel riding, desert rat could be as big a threat as he proved to be.

B.H.O. – I understand Mr., eh, George….the sense of responsibility for all that happens must be all consuming. I’ve already begun to establish such a feeling myself,…knowing that it’ll all be up to me soon.

G.W.B. – Well you know, my father once wrote that the answer to doing it all, and carrying on is “Family, faith, friends, do your best, try your hardest, rely on your innate good sense, kindness and understanding of the American people”*. He claimed that is where a president gets his strength. After a few months in office myself, I realized old 41 was right on that one……you will too.

B.H.O. – I’ll certainly heed that advice……

G.W.B. – Good,…… but the answer to your question about what your first challenge, when you get sworn in ‘ill be………Well, it is not what you think.

The greatest challenge you’ll first face is the same great challenge that your entire presidency ‘ill face. It’s not what you know. It’s what you don’t know. It’s the surprises that our enemies thrive on and it’s the surprises that can derail all your plans. The greatest challenge that us Presidents face are the unknown events which we don’t plan for.

B.H.O. – So what do you suggest?

G.W.B. – Develop contingency plans……. Options for everything from your economic plan to your national security intentions. Have ‘em all planned and be prepared to roll ‘em out as soon as yesterday.

That and vigilance.

And don’t just hope for the best, help to insure the best. Leave no suspicion ignored and let no potential hazard linger or allow it the chance to come to fruition. Take out threats before they take us out.

B.H.O. – I hear what you’re saying George, but if I’m hearing you right you’re telling me to continue your aggressive policies.  Andthe truth is that my campaign was based on the premise that your policies are wrong and they’re  not my policies. I promised to be different and that’s what the people wanted.

G.W.B. – Lemme tell ya something,  Barry,……….. You are going to be President, the highest office, the pinnacle of politics but ironically, once reaching that political pinnacle, politics has ta stop and the best policies have ta start. Politics won’t prevent the next attack. Politics wont make the poor rich.

Heck, I ran around the country telling everyone, in 2000, that I don’t want us in the business of nation building. And I didn’t want us doin’ that kind of stuff. I didn’ want us working on, or risking lives in, those countries with names I can’t even pronounce.

But look at me now.

I learn’d that by not involving’ ourselves an’ providing’ leadership where leadership is needed……bad things will come back to haunt ya. The wrong people ‘ill step in an’ try to provide that leadership. The type of leadership that led 19 terrorists to kill 3,000 Americans. So I may not have wanted to be doin’ what were doin’ but I learn’d quick , that we better do what we have to do or there’ll be consequences to suffer.

So what I’m telling you is this, all those promises you made,…….. well they were political and as President the leadership you must provide and the policies you gotta implement, trump politics and political promises that you made before you knew the real facts. As President you have to do what is right for the people not what you think is right to get elected. Being President is a heck of a lot different than bein’ a candidate. We all mean what we say but what we say isn’t always the means available to us.

This is it Barry,…. there’s no higher up to go than we are right now. You can’t be held back by what you thought,….. you gotta be driven by whatchya know. And as you begin to see all the classified NSR’s you’re gonna realize something. You’re gonna realize that my policies may not be aggressive enough and you’re gonna want to be even more aggressive than me.

B.H.O. – Look I intend to keep up our defenses and try to eliminate threats but I…….

G.W.B. – Barry, you’re gonna see things that’ll make you say, “why haven’t we stopped them over there” or “why have we let these guys do this or that”. Some of what you will discover will make you say” why didn’t George take care of this?” Then your Secretary of State will come in and tell you why we can’t do what seems so obvious. And your Secretary of Defense will show up and remind you that Russia is ready to surround Poland with missiles if we don’t agree to accept one thing or another or that Greece is once a’gin stirring up Macedonia and that Turkey will blow their feathers if we train troops in Kazakhstan how to shoot straight….Its endless and more twisted than Johnny Edwards relationship with that campaign girl he paid off while his wife was recouping from cancer…..twisted I tell ya…twisted.

So believe me,  I use lots of restraint, so much so that its sickening at times. But we live in a delicate world and not everything is public knowledge. Believe me, you’re gonna wanna carry out military actions that ya think are obvious and easy but you’ll realize that. for other reasons,…….. we can’t. But you’ll wanna do ’em.

B.H.O. – I don’t think so George, I mean after all, I’m not a trigger happy kind of guy and besides…..we…. we’d have a lot more resources available to combat terrorism and fight that war with more success if we………..

G.W.B. – Look! Lemme tell you where we’re at!……………

Iran wants nukes. Israel wants to blow Iran into oblivion because of that…and they have the ability to do it.

That tension, and it’s possibility of happening, destabilizes our much needed, amiable, relationships between us and the Arab states with relatively moderate foreign policies. It also helps to destabilize our relationship with Russia who is in love with the Iranians and who are reverting back to their former Soviet ways and are agin’ encroaching on parts of Europe. It also helps to rattle an openly communist China who is in the midst of their own love affair with a psychotic, North Korean, nuclear wanting, government that is playing “Weekend With Bernie” by propping up it’s dead, maniacal, communist leader and pretending that he is running the show…………

….And don’t let me begin to tell ya about Pakistan and India. Both are armed to teeth, both hate each other and every other day they are ready to fire nukes at each other. Tryin’ to maintain a friendship with them is like a cat tryin to stop two dogs from eatin’ out of the same bowl………….

……..Then there are several, known, unaccounted for, weapons of mass destructions floating around out there……who knows where….because we sure as heck don’t……..

…….I also have three dozen known, terrorist networks, somewhere out there, with shoulder launching missiles and enough fertilizer to re-produce 50 Oklahoma City-like bombings. 

We’ve got terrorists hijacking ship loads of tanks off of Somalia, arms dealers smuggling grenades out South America, missing caches of munitions from army bases, nukes missing from the Ukraine, and missing tanker trunks in Jersey! 

Imagine that…….. a whole oil tanker…..missing in New Jersey!…..for over two years now!……… Ya’d think someone could find that! 

All this, while at the same time, I have an open border that liberals don’t want disturbed by a physical barrier, as more than three thousand people, illegally, walk through, undetected, everyday, as if it were new York’s Central Park!……….

………And those wmd’s that you guys say did not exist,….well I have an undersecretary of defense, some guy named Shaw,…. who tells me that before Operation Iraqi Freedom hit the ground, Saddam shipped ‘em to Syria under the cover of humanitarian assistance after Syria got shook to high heaven by an earthquake! Imagine that….Saddam Hussien!……humanitarian assistance!…….. Yeah,… and my ma’s a Playboy bunny centerfold.

And tryin’ to get the truth out of Syria is like tryin’ to pull teeth from a shark that’s biting your arm off.

B.H.O. – Mr. President….George……That’s the problem. You’re leadership is based on fear and believing that the only way to not be full of fear is to be at war with anyone who thinks differently. My leadership is based on hope. It’s based in the faith in our ability to live without fear by eliminating the hatred that fear creates.

G.W.B. – Sounds great Barry, but your not delivering a speech to a crowd of your fans. You’re talking to me. You forget….I’ve been there and done that. You’re gonna be President and I am President….So here, between us, it’s straight talk and I don’t mean Johhny Mac’s straight talk….I mean real hard facts…….

My leadership is not based on fear, it’s based on security and trying to make sure that we don’t have to live in fear. Havin’ been blindsided once, I won’t let it happen agin’ and if it does, it won’t be because I didn’t make the right people do the right things to prevent it.

B.H.O. – So your advice is to increase our intelligence capabilities. continue your war in Iraq, and prepare for war in Iran and Russia?

G.W.B. – Don’t forget North Korea and the possibility of Syria……..

……….What I’m suggestin’ is that ya don’t let yourself think the world is safer than it is. As for Iraq…if ya go an’ pull out those troops before the Iraqis can do for themselves what we’re doin’ for ’em now….well than, you’re gonna be sending even more of our people back there. If you pull out before they’re ready to defend themselves you’ll be finding’ yourself at war with an Iran that is already trying to win the 10 year war with Iraq that they didn’t win before.

That’ll put you head to head to with Russia as well as China. That will cause the fragile house of cards that we live in to come crumbling’ down quicker than white on rice.

But hey…..you’re the man…..you’re the guy that got what ya wanted….the Presidency of the U. S. of A….

B.H.O. – Ok than……it’s clear to me what you think. But I gotta tell you, it’s sounds like the Presidency makes one real cynical …….at least its done so to you.

G.W.B. – Barry buddy, it’s not cynical….its realistic and that is the one place where politics does have a place in the presidency…………

Never let the people know how scared they should be of the dangers out there or all the stuff they’ve got ‘ta worry ‘bout. That’s our job. That’s what we’re here for……

………If the American people really knew what was going on, they’d take matters into their own hands. And you think I’m aggressive?……..If the average American knew who was aiming what at them, and what this one or that one was planning on doing to ‘em,….they’d make Dick Cheney look like Mr. Rogers………….

A’lright, nuff of that……now lemme show you the Kennedy pool. You’ll drop your jaw when I show ya the hidden sauna and playroom.

B.H.O. – I knew it! I knew there had to be some presidential society secrets to hear about.

G.W.B. – Are you kidding me…….you know those Nixon tapes?….Well wait till I show ya the Clinton tapes. He must’a accident’lly left a few behind. They’re videos and I can sure as heck tell ya’ that Monica’s blue dress wasn’t the only dress he soiled. By the way, those tapes,……… they’ll come in handy for ya’ if Hillary starts getting pushy again.

B.H.O. – Now were talkin’ the shi’…eh em…..  I mean the dirt I was lookin‘ forward to…………………………………..

Over the past eight years Bush has provided us with endless amusement. As a result of his faux pas or ‘Bushisms’ as they’ve been dubbed. Here are twenty favorites.

“Those who enter the country illegally violate the law.” – Nov. 28, 2005

“We don’t believe in planners and deciders making the decisions on behalf of Americans.” – Sept. 6, 2000

“If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.” – Dec. 19, 2000

“Well, I think if you say you’re going to do something and don’t do it, that’s trustworthiness.” – Aug. 30, 2000

“I think we agree, the past is over.” – May 10, 2000

“I understand small business growth. I was one.” – Feb. 19, 2000

“This foreign policy stuff is a little frustrating.” – April 23, 2002

“I want everybody to hear loud and clear that I’m going to be the president of everybody.” – Jan. 18, 2001

“One of the great things about books is sometimes there are some fantastic pictures.” – Jan. 3, 2000

“I was proud the other day when both Republicans and Democrats stood with me in the Rose Garden to announce their support for a clear statement of purpose: you disarm, or we will.” – Oct. 5, 2002

“I just want you to know that when we talk about war, we’re really talking about peace.” – June 18, 2002

“I’m honored to shake the hand of a brave Iraqi citizen who had his hand cut off by Saddam Hussein.” – May 25, 2004

“I firmly believe the death tax is good for people from all walks of life all throughout our society.” – Aug. 13, 2002

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee – I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee – that says, fool me once, shame on – shame on you. Fool me – you can’t get fooled again.” – Sept. 17, 2002

“The truth of that matter is, if you listen carefully, Saddam would still be in power if he were the president of the United States, and the world would be a lot better off.” – Oct. 8, 2004

“I know the human being and fish can coexist peacefully.” – Sept. 29, 2000

“Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.” – Aug. 5, 2004

“Rarely is the questioned asked: Is our children learning?” – Jan. 11, 2000

“I know how hard it is for you to put food on your family.” – Jan. 27, 2000

“They misunderestimated me.” – Nov. 6, 2000

WHO WILL LEAD REPUBLICANS BACK INTO POWER

As the GOP recovers from a drubbing at that ballot box that served them with an eviction notice at the White House and a foreclosure on many seats in the house and senate, a reorganization is in order.

Crucial to a successful reorganization is the selection of it’s next national chairman.

Florida Senator Mel Martinez

After the losses which cost them their majorities in the house and senate during the 2006 midterm elections, the powers that be, hastily installed Florida Senator Mel Martinez as the new chairman. At the same time they also elected Mike Duncan, a veteran political strategist and former Treasurer General Counselor to the RNC, to run the “day to day operations” of the national committee. In other words Duncan was actually the Chairman and Senator Martinez was to be the face of the party.

It was an arrangement that did not last long.

A few months into this arrangement, Senator Martinez stepped down and Mr. Duncan had the title all to himself. Not that it mattered. Whether it was his fault or not Republicans were outspent, out argued , outmaneuvered and voted out.

Outgoing RNC Chairman Mike Duncan

I will not blame Mike Duncan for the hemorrhaging of Republicans in this election cycle. That began before he took office, less than a year ago, and it simply continued for the time period that he was in office as chairman. It is more than likely that no individual chairman of the RNC could have prevented the losses Republicans suffered but we do know that the chairman did not help prevent them from happening.

So I do not blame Mike Duncan but I do harbor ill will to the party officials who gave up after 2006 and installed quick replacements to head up the Republican party. It was quite apparent that the party was simply trying to just get through the last two years of President Bush’s term in office. The RNC leadership were more like caretakers than leaders. They did not seek to adopt a leadership that was cutting edge and enthusiastic about revolutionizing the capabilities of the party organization and preparing us for the mother of all elections, the presidency.

It is the same complacency that helped cost Republicans their majorities in congress. Elected officials lost the anti establishment thinking that won them favor back in 1994. After becoming “the establishment” they slowly began to forget that government was there to work for the people not for the people running government.

So here we are saluting a new President-Elect, a new Democrat President-Elect. One who will be partnering with a majority of legislators who are also Democrats.

It might sound depressing to fellow Republicans but the truth is it is that for a number of reasons it is not depressing:

• Can’t Get Much Worse -We have just about bottomed out. It truly can’t get much worse so the prospects for improving our numbers in the next election are good.

 

• Liberals Gone Wild -With Democrats in total control of government, there is little to hold them back and prevent them from showing their true colors. When those true colors come out, Americans will realize that the direction they offer is too sharp a turn to the left for their tastes. The last time they had total control was in 1993 when Bill Clinton was President. After two years of liberals gone wild, Americans gave control, of both the house and senate, to Republicans for the first time in forty years. It was something that Republicans could not achieve on their own. It took the combined left leaning radicalization of today’s Democrat party to bring that about and it is about to happen again. In fact the greatest challenge that the new President will face comes from his own party. He will be struggling against them and fighting them in an effort to lead from the center rather than the left.

• The War – Although the economy helped push the war off the front burner, the changing tide of the surge in Iraq also made the war less of an issue because violence and combat was down and it was being won. The war in Iraq did not help Republicans in this election cycle but not because it was unnecessary, as democrats claim,  but, as I explain in the link referenced here*, Americans became weary and leery of the war. While the surge was delayed and the administration wavered, violence spiked as a result of a resurgence of radical Islamic terrorists in Iraq. That is when Democrats successfully exploited a declining resolve to continue an effort that people were beginning to think was becoming a quagmire. Since the increased deployment of troops into Iraq, the situation improved and there is light at the end of the tunnel. As a result, despite the cries of candidate Obama to end the war, President Obama will not be withdrawing all of our forces from Iraq anytime soon.  Now that he has seen the national security data that demonstrates the dangers of his misguided promises as a candidate, as a President he will not be so quick to screw things up. Ultimately Republicans will be proven right on the issue.

 

• The Economy – Typically our economy goes through cycles of growth and contraction every ten to fifteen years. More accurately, just about every 11 years, we encounter economic turmoil brought on by the cumulative effects of industrial shifts, world events and other related circumstances. That being said, it is how we maneuver through these cycles that determines their severity and the length of time that we endure them. The liberal propensity to raise taxes and redistribute wealth during these times does not help. Those policies simply deepen the crisis and draw out the cycle. If the knee jerk, liberal tendency towards more taxes and an expansion of government does occur, Republicans will be able to stem their losses and start increasing their numbers. The current crisis that we are experiencing is not a result of Republican economic policy. It is a result of their complacency and unwillingness to differentiate themselves from liberals when it came to spending. Our own President had no problem with cutting taxes, a good thing, but he also never cut spending and neither did fellow Republicans in congress.

All of this allows for those Republicans, who are in office, to offer alternatives to the counterproductive liberal agenda that will undoubtedly dominate national policy. To effectively achieve that, Republican members of congress need to reestablish their fiscally conservative roots and inherent sense of an offensive strategy when it comes to national security. The fact that, as Republicans, we choose to eliminate threats rather than tolerate them will be made much clearer with liberals in control and it must not be ignored.

Now that Republicans are not in control we now have the luxury that Democrats had. The luxury of not having to defend our leadership. Democrats will now have the chance to be held accountable for everything that happens. They will have to take blame for the results of increasing taxes, increasing unnecessary regulations and increasing the size and cost of government. With their leadership comes responsibility. With responsibility comes credit as well as blame. After eight years of taking blame for all that is not liked, Republicans can now luxuriate in being able to place blame on Democrats as they have done to Republicans.

But while those Republicans elected to congress do their job by providing alternatives to liberal policies and maintaining their role as the loyal opposition, our political leaders must hit the ground running.

The question now is, who is best suited to reorganize and reinvigorate Republicans? The person needed to rally Republicans must be articulate. But a good speaker is not all that we need. The person who is made the new chairman of the party must have a passionate desire to advance the cause, incredible organizational skills, the ability to delegate responsibilities to the right and most qualified people, endless energy and stamina as well as creativity and resourcefulness and a proven record of success.

The new chairman needs the same type of vision and commitment to conservative principles that the freshmen members of congress who were elected in the 1994 Republican revolution had. The new chairman must have a vision which understands that the best government is the government that gets out of the way and allows freedom to flourish by defending it at home and abroad and by insuring that opportunity is available to all.

Currently, there are seven frontrunners. They include:

Mike Steele

Michael Steele – GOPAC , former Lt. Governor of Maryland and unsuccessful candidate for US Senate in 2006.

Chuck Yob

Chuck Yob – Successful Michigan businessman, GOP fundraiser and Michigan National Committeeman

Saul Anuzis

Saul Anuzis – Chairman of the Michigan Republican State Committee

Alec Pointevint

Alec Poitevint – Georgia’s Republican National Committeeman

Katon Dawson

Katon Dawson – Republican Party Chairman of South Carolina , the state that had the best performance for Republicans during this election cycle.

Jim Greer

Jim Greer – Florida’s Republican party Chairman

Chip Saltsman

Chip Saltsman – A former Chair of Tennessee’s GOP and the former campaign manager of Mike Huckabee’s failed candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination.

Mike Huckabee

Speculation has not only Huckabee’s former campaign guru on the list, Mike Huckabee himself is rumored to be a potential contender. So is one of Huckabee’s former opponents for the GOP presidential nod, Mitt Romney.

Of all these names the one person who I believe could do the most for the Republican National Committee is Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney

Romney has been successful at every job that he has undertaken. He is passionate. He is articulate, savvy and has an eye for recruiting those who are the best at their jobs. Mitt Romney could do wonders for the party. He would be able to provide the GOP’s highly rated, get out the vote, 72 hour program with great improvements and he would create a top notch center for Republican organization, communications, fundraising and creative strategy.

Problem is that I want Mitt Romney to be able to run for President. I am looking forward to either him or Sarah Palin being our 2012 nominee. Becoming the political leader of the party does not help him establish the bipartisan image that a Presidential nominee needs. If he did as a good a job for the party as I think he would, having been the chairman of the party he rebuilds, could help him get the party’s nomination though.

However, I feel that a truly smart RNC chairman would involve Mitt Romney and utilize his expertise. Doing so would keep Romney free to expand his nonpolitical credentials while still allowing for his Midas touch to assist behind the scenes.

As for the other names mentioned, Mike Steele, Katon Dawson and Jim Greer are the only names that really interest me. Each of them have demonstrated ideological superiority to one extent or the other and have achieved outstanding results for Republicans.

Former Maryland Governor Bob Ehrlich

One name not mentioned but is at the top of my list, is former Maryland Governor Robert Erhlich. After losing reelection in the 2006 GOP sea of change, Bob Ehrlich has not been discussed much. That is a shame because he happens to be one of the best in the newer generation of conservative politics. He was the first Republican to be elected governor of Maryland in almost 60 years. Through it all Ehrlich maintained his principles and conservative ideology. Not once did he try to win favor by acting like a democrat. Instead, he successfully implemented conservative ideology into government application. He also happens to be articulate and effective in his ability to explain and deliver the conservative message.

 

Sometimes referred to as a Kempite Republican, Bob Erhlich could be just what we need to rekindle our spirit and rally the cause.

Whoever the grand poobahs of the GOP hierarchy install as chairman, it is my greatest hope that they recruit the right people to carry out the mission that is ahead.

Patrick Ruffini

People like political Internet champion Patrick Ruffini who could incorporate the most cyber savvy organization politics has ever seen and Ralph Reed who is a master at reaching out and organizing the grassroots.

Ralph Reed

Being the minority party is not a problem to be feared. Becoming the minority is what we needed to fear and now, we are there.  So the worst is over. Now we have the chance to take advantage of what Democrats took advantage of for a long time, minority status and the ability to place blame on the powers that be that comes with it.

From here we can only come back, and if we take the right steps, we can come back quickly. To do so will require that our first steps be the right steps . In this case that would be done by picking the right person to map out our future and recruit the brightest lights to help illuminate the fast track to the reinvigoration that the party is capable of.

 

Q: What’s the problem with Barack Obama jokes?

A: His followers don’t think they’re funny and other people don’t think they’re jokes.

 

 

THIS WEEK’S WINNERS and LOSERS

With the election results in,  Politics 24/7 presents to you the Winners & Losers, a weekly wrap up of the week’s luckiest and most down trodden, the best and the worst, the top and the bottom.

In this, the innaugural edition of Politics 24/7’s Winners & Losers, we feature the lucky recipeints in the election week  results.

LOSERS

1. HILLARY CLINTON –The concept of President-elect Barack Obama dashes Hillary’s hopes for  possibly 8 years by which time a presidential run for her will probably not be in the cards.
2. RICK DAVIS -The man in charge of John McCain’s presidential campaign failed to pull any rabbits out of his hat and looks for others to put the blame on. He sucked and there is no need to look any further to find blame.
3. THE MEDIA -Since they turned against Hillary during the primaries, they spent the rest of this election proving that they were in the tank for Barack Obama.  They used this election to prove that they are more biased commentators than unbiased newsbreakers.
4. ELIZABETH DOLE -Despite the anti-republican atmosphere, the North Carolina Senator was one of those few, rare republicans who could have kept her seat.  Complacency and overconfidence while in office, a poorly run campaign and a desperate last minute attempt to win that tried to exploit religion in a harsh tv ad, ended her career on a low note.
5. PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -No matter what,  he gets the blame for Republicans losing and for the poor economy that helped put the nail in the coffin of Republicans running throughout the nation. Whether it’s his fault or not, he presided over the events we experienced and the buck ( or in this economy, the 25 cents which is the the equivalent of a buck), stops with him.

 

WINNERS

1. PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA -You may disagree with him but he won and he is now our president.  Should he be?  Maybe. Maybe not, that has yet be seen, but he established a campaign that did all the right things, established an exceptional ground game that didn’t just get him elected but won him a special place in history and allowed the United States to thankfully prove that although racism may exist, we can overcome it.
2. NANCY PELOSI & HARRY REID -As the leaders of the house and senate, they accomplished nothing during the past two years that they were in power.  In fact their lackluster, liberal, leadership only helped hinder the Obama campaign.  But despite it all they are rewarded with increased majorities and now they have one of their own in the White House.  For Reid and Pelosi everyday will be Christmas for at least two years.
3. THE TWO DAVIDS –David Plouffe & David Axelrod, Barack Obama’s campaign manager and media strategists, respectively, orchestrated an effort that avoided landmines, sidelined the Clintons and made history. Their efforts may not have created the greatest and most creative presidential campaign we ever saw but it worked and achieved a first in American politics.  There’s lots of power and money in their futures right now. 
4. JOE THE BIDEN –He wasn’t going anywhere in  his own right and as he approaches the end of his long political career, second banana isn’t the worst way to do it.
5. JOHN McCAIN & SARAH PALIN -Like him or not, he ran hard for what he believes in, served the nation in many different ways and did so above and beyond the call of duty.  His campaign wasn’t very well run but that’s to be expected from a person who is less interested in politics than he is in getting good things done for the people.  As for Sarah Palin, she can either build upon her fifteen minutes of national fame and re-enter national politics in as few as 4 years or she can just continue holding statewide elected office in Alaska for as long she wants  Can you say Senator Palin?  Either way, her future is bright. 

CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT-ELECT OBAMA AND AMERICA!

Together, we must offer sincere congratulations to President-Elect Barack Obama.

When, in a few short months, he becomes our 44^th President, we must also accord to him the respect and support that an American President deserves from the American people.

Unlike many liberal elitists who have stated their desire to move to another country because a liberal did not win the White House, I do not entertain thoughts of fleeing the land that I love because Senator Obama won this election. I do not lose faith in my nation because of the conclusion that our democratic process reaches. Contrarily, I take pride in my nation’s ability to once again, participate in a peaceful change of power.

On top of that, in this particular case, there is an even greater sense of pride that I feel because of my nation’s ability to overcome long standing, wrongly held, racial biases. Unfortunately Barack Obama’s victory does not mark an end to racism but it does signal our true ability to overcome it.

In that sense, this election was a remarkable confirmation of America’s promise and for this, I am proud.

Admittedly, I may not be pleased with President-Elect Obama’s meteoric rise to power but that is not now, nor has it ever been, based on his color. Although leftists have tried to describe opposition to the Obama candidacy as something rooted in racism, the truth is that my displeasure has been based upon the diverging directions of policies that we have. Those differences will continue to actively fuel my civic duty as a responsible citizen and oppose President-Elect Obama on those initiatives that I feel are mistakes and support him on those that I believe are right and beneficial.

Despite philosophical and policy differences, his actual initiatives are to be judged, individually, and on their individual merits. Yet, regardless of those differences, I proudly embrace President-elect Obama and his future presidency.

On the foreign front, as my President, Barack Obama might be tested, as Vice President-Elect Biden mentioned. If that is so, any nation that might try to test him should know this……

Baracak Obama will be President of my nation and as such any threat against him is a threat against me. Neither President-Elect Obama or I take kindly to threats and neither do the rest of the Americans behind our soon to be President. So think carefully, very carefully, because although the face of the US presidency may have changed, the people haven’t. The American people are still the most generous, resourceful, feisty, vibrant, innovative people that you will come across and the materialization of any threat will encounter harsh and lasting consequences, sooner or later, by the American people on the ones responsible for those threats.

Domestically, despite differences on the issues , we must understand that President-Elect Obama is not the enemy and that his best interests are our best interests. The debate on taxes, energy education, immigration, and how best to defend and protect our nation may get rough but we need to recognize that the election is over and that we are one. As such we need to work as one. We should not need a 9/11 crisis to bring us together only in times of crisis. We should tackle all issues with the same unified vigilance that we have always employed during times of crisis. This does not mean we cannot disagree, it just means that we should allow the democratic process to resolve our differences the very same way that this election did, through vigorous debate of the issues and by arguing our approaches to the issues in the most convincing ways possible.

The election is over and no matter what, President-Elect Obama has won. He will be the President not of republicans or democrats, liberals or conservatives but of all of us who proudly call ourselves Americans.

The euphoria of victory for President-Elect Obama, will be short lived. Once the reality of the awesome responsibilities overtake the moment, euphoria will be replaced by burden. As with most Americans who have become President, I am sure that Barck Obama will rise to the occasion and to do so, he could use our good wishes and genuine support. It is the same type of support that one time President-Elect Bush could have used and it should not be denied to this President-Elect.

With that said, let the campaigning to determine who should lead us in the work that lies ahead come to a close and let the democratic process of governance begin.

Excelsior!

 

What Is Politics?

A little boy goes to his dad and asks, “What is politics?”

Dad says, “Well son, let me try to explain it this way: I’m the breadwinner of the family, so let’s call me capitalism. Your Mom, she’s the administrator of the money, so we’ll call her the Government. We’re here to take care of your needs, so we’ll call you the people. The nanny, we’ll consider her the Working Class. And your baby brother, we’ll call him the Future. Now, think about that and see if that makes sense,”

So the little boy goes off to bed thinking about what dad had said.

Later that night, he hears his baby brother crying, so he gets up to check on him. He finds that the baby has severely soiled his diaper. So the little boy goes to his parents’ room and finds his mother sound asleep. Not wanting to wake her, he goes to the nanny’s room. Finding the door locked, he peeks in the keyhole and sees his father in bed with the nanny. He gives up and goes back to bed. The next morning, the little boy says to his father, “Dad, I think I understand the concept of politics now.”

The father says, “Good son, tell me in your own words what you think politics is all about.”

The little boy replies, “Well, while Capitalism is screwing the Working Class, the Government is sound asleep, the People are being ignored and the Future is in deep poo.”

IS INTIMIDATION SHAPING THE ELECTION ?

ACORN offers cigarettes to register the homeless to vote multiple times. Identification is not needed to prove you are who you say you are when voting. New Yorkers register false addresses in Ohio to change that states results. Mickey Mouse is even registered to vote for Obama in Florida. Members of the National Football league are erroneously registered to vote in Nevada ……

These are just some examples of the fraud being used to put Barack Obama over the top in the 2008 and election. Examples like this are widespread. They have sparked countless federal and state investigations but now, during the final hours of our historic quadrennial election, intimidation kicks into high gear.

Confirmed reports have just been released detailing that two Black Panthers have been guarding entranceways into polling places in Philadelphia. One brandished a nightstick. When asked to remove himself from the property the Obama enforcer refused.

Philadelphia police had to escort the Black Panther away.

Random incident?

Nothing that occurs in the Obama campaign is random. Voter fraud is sponsored by the Obama/Biden campaign through coordinated activities with ACORN and so is their “Give Over Your Vote” effort.

Is there a racial component to all this? Well liberals will accuse the delivery of these facts to be racist propoganda. But when considering the facts in this case, critics of voter intimidation would say that a Black Panther guarding the entrance to a polling site has a racial component to it. The Obama enforcers refusing to leave while shouting “you can’t stop a black man from winning this election” just confirms it.

If Black Panthers with nightsticks are being used as poll workers, I can’t wait to see what type of people will be used to fill out the presidential cabinet of a Barack Obama administration.

McCAIN DEFEATS OBAMA ?

All indications are that by as early as 8:30 pm, on the east coast, we will be having to get accustomed to hearing the words “President-Elect Obama.”

The only question that seems to really remain is whether or not Obama will win by a landslide or not. It won’t make a difference how much he wins by, a win is a win, but having already baptized Barack Obama as the King of Kings, the media needs to create some kind of suspense.

Yet, despite the polls I have a feeling that polls are a bit off.

We know that all the polls have been recalibrated to make up for assumed higher democratic turnout as well as a higher than normal number of first time, younger and African-American voters. In trying to adjust their polling results for these anticipated factors, pollsters have intentionally polled more democrats than usual. That would of course account for more positive results for democrats than for republicans.

Given the current political atmosphere such tweaking of the polls probably does reflect the actual voter turnout and help to make the poll results more accurate. Probably, but not definitely. I have a feeling that many of theses polls, which already have a liberal bend to them, may have been bent toward the left much further than necessary .

If that is the case, it still does not mean that Obama is not favored in this election. He is, but I don’t think by quite as much as the polls would have us believe. I hope not anyway.

In fact “hope” is what I am really going on here. Hope and a sense that not quite everyone is convinced that Barack Obama is the great savior that liberals make him out to be. In fact I do believe that many people see Barack Obama as an unaccomplished blowhard who only has experience with running his mouth.

The hopeful sense of something not being right with the polls and that most people do not trust Obama, leads me to make a hail Mary pass and predict McCain to be the winner. This sense of hope is reached because I do not believe most people trust Obama’s experience and believe him to be sincere. I also think they do not appreciate his promise to spread the wealth through increasing the size and scope of government.

Additionally I believe that Obama has not closed the sale in these final days.

Given the undeniably negative atmosphere for republicans and the undeniable popularity of state and local democrat candidates further down the ballot, Obama should be ahead by a lot more than he actually is. Given the popularity of local democrats, Obama’s poll numbers are much lower than they should be.

So it is with more of a sixth sense than facts that leads me to predict that John McCain will win with 286 electoral votes to

This leap of faith gives McCain the most hotly contested states of Florida, Virginia, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. If he can actually win Pennsylvania and Virginia it would also indicate that other hotly contested battlegrounds states like Missouri and Nevada are also likely to trend towards McCain, so I also call them for him.

Is this likely? If you believe in some of the polls, no, its not. But I believe in miracles. I have made myself believe that even though McCain’s campaign sucked and never properly articulated our case, the right combination of people in the right number of states know that this election is less about personalities and more about ideologies. I believe that enough people know that the differences between Obama and McCain are wide. They understand that on the economy one moves to socialism and the other tries to strengthen our economy. That one wants to raise taxes and spread a small amount of wealth while the other wants to lower taxes and spread the opportunity to achieve greater wealth. I still believe that most Americans prefer the candidate who waves the American flag more than the candidate who wants America to wave the white flag of surrender.

If such sentiments do exist, maybe people are not voting as much for McCain or Obama as they are for the principles that they represent. If that is the case than I truly believe that most people support the American way over the old Soviet way. I believe most people believe more in John McCain’s way than Obama’s way.

All of this causes me to feel that we just might relive a “Dewey Defeats Truman-like episode in history.

The problem with that thinking though, is that back in 1948 polls were only taken up till the week before the election. The data that the media was basing their projections on did not include the seven days leading up to the election. They did not capture the undecided voters who broke for Truman during the closing days of that election.

Today, polls are being taken and interpreted up to the very last minute. That makes up for the mistakes that were made when The Chicago Tribune erroneously declared that Tom Dewey beat President Harry Truman. But a boy can dream, can’t he? History does repeat itself, occasionally. So maybe, just maybe we can be experiencing a little déjà vu. Maybe the apparent tightening of the polls in these closing days are being undervalued and causing pollsters to underestimate the depth of support for John McCain’s candidacy.

My heart tells me McCain does it. Logic tells me that Obama will be President. But, like millions of Americans who are voting for Obama based on his appealing to their hearts more than their heads, on this one, I am going with my heart and believing that Senator John McCain will win and spare our nation from a costly education in socialism.

Twas the Night Before Elections . . .

Twas the night before elections
And all through the town
Tempers were flaring
Emotions all up and down!

I, in my bathrobe
With a cat in my lap
Had cut off the TV
Tired of political crap.

When all of a sudden
There arose such a noise
I peered out of my window
Saw Obama and his boys

They had come for my wallet*
They wanted my pay*
To give to the others*
Who had not worked a day!*

He snatched up my money
And quick as a wink
Jumped back on his bandwagon
As I gagged from the stink

He then rallied his henchmen
Who were pulling his cart
I could tell they were out
To tear my country apart!

On Fannie, on Freddie,
On Biden and Ayers!
On Acorn, On Pelosi’
He screamed at the pairs!

They took off for his cause
And as he flew out of sight
I heard him laugh at the nation
Who wouldn’t stand up and fight!

So I leave you to think
On this one final note-
IF YOU DONT WANT SOCIALISM
GET OUT AND VOTE!!!!

 

 

DEAR MR. OBAMA, We’ve Heard You, Now Hear Us!

Dear Mr. Obama;

I have heard what you have said.

I have heard you call upon ending unfinished wars abroad while waging your own campaign of class warfare here at home.

I have heard your entire presidential campaign pit the working class against the wealthy and used the economic prosperity of some as a scapegoat for everyone else. I have listened to you suggest that the wealthy must fund a larger government bureaucracy that spreads their wealth.

I have listened to you outline plans that deal with everything except the principles of freedom that have fueled our economy and been the backbone of all that makes our nation great. In fact, in listening to your campaign rhetoric, it sounds like freedom is the enemy.

Your Robin Hood economic plan limits financial freedom while growing the size and scope of government so that the federal bureaucracy can determine all that individuals should determine.

Your education policies denounce the use of school vouchers and impair the ability of parents to exercise the freedom to educate their children in the school of their choosing.

Your energy policy invests historic amounts of government spending into achieving energy independence through alternative methods, a decade from now, while restricting the freedom to tap into the domestic natural resources available to us now.

Throughout your campaign I have heard you plot an economic plan that grows the size of a government that decides more for more people by limiting their freedom to make those decisions for themselves.

I have heard your plans to stifle the American entrepreneurial spirit and to make government replace free will by adopting a degree of socialism that more accurately reflects Cuba than our own constitution..

I have heard you promote the government doing more of what it shouldn’t at home while you advance a policy that would have the government doing less of what it should abroad.

When it comes to the international community you oppose pre-emptive actions that would reduce threats from foreign enemies. You have called the removal of Saddam Hussein “stupid” and our efforts to defend freedom “unnecessary .

I have heard you advance Nancy Pelosi’s tea with terrorist policies and your willingness to accept the unacceptable in order to negotiate with terrorist regimes.

I have listened to all your words but I have also listened to the words of others.

Others have not waged class warfare. Others have not called the cause of freedom stupid and others I have listened to have even accomplished things. They have been involved in what they speak of and some have even made sacrifices for what they believe in. In fact, out of all that I have heard from you, none of it has been as meaningful as one man who I have heard from only once in my life. His words are so profound and so poignant that I think it’s time for a change. Instead of me listening to you I want you to listen to him.

 

So, Dear Mr. Obama,

I have heard your arguments and after careful contemplation I have concluded that freedom is not the enemy and that government is not the answer to all of our problems.

I have concluded that government can however, provide the enemies of freedom with the right answers so long as our government is willing to give freedom the respect that it deserves.

I have concluded that government serves us best by allowing me and freedom to flourish and that government is best served by John McCain.

 

Obama’s plan to spread Joe the Plumber’s wealth is a plan that dilutes all of our well being and clogs up our free path to opportunity and prosperity.

STAND UP AND FIGHT!

 Unclog the crap that impedes us in Washinton, DC.Plunge Barack Obama’s plans to send the American dream down the drain. 

 

LAUTENBERG’S GOTTA GO! DICK ZIMMER FOR U.S. SENATE

New Jersey Candidate For U.S. Senate, Dick Zimmer

New Jersey is a state in crisis. A manmade crisis that has created a state that is unaffordable and a government that is inconsequential. For more than 5 years little has come out of its state capital to make much of a difference in the lives of its approximately 8,725,000 people. Yet from its lush green, rolling hills and mountainous peeks in its northwestern corner to its Victorian Painted Ladies along Cape May on its southern seaside corner, New Jerseyans are battered, burdened and brushed aside by a state legislature that is as effective as a sail boat without a sail. From it’s northern mountains to it’s southern shores and all the suburban sprawl in between, New Jersey’s citizens suffer. While most of the nation is realizing a national economic pinch, New Jerseyans are trying to cope with an economic punch.

Rising prices across the nation only compound the rising cost of living in New Jersey. Costs that have been increasing every month since the states liberal led assembly and senate went to work with disgraced former Governor Jim McGreevey and than his successor, former Goldman Sachs financial genius, Governor Jon Corzine. It is a liberal menage-a-tois that has done nothing with our state problems accept make them more expensive.

Ever since Corzine took office, all we have seen in New Jersey are new proposed taxes and rate hikes. Our Governor has proposed everything from ridiculously high, progressive, toll increases on our critical roads, to creating new tolls on roads that have not had a one before. When he first came into office he invented a whole new slew of taxes. One even took advantage of the state’s motto by implementing a tax on any landscaping or planting of shrubbery and flowers. Now that’s one way to keep the garden in “the Garden State”, isn’t it?

Despite the despair of its citizens, state government in New Jersey simply adds to the high cost of living in the state. They have done little to curb the excesses of it’s own governance or of public employee and teachers unions who hold us hostage to their whims, little to improve public transportation, public safety, education, or any quality of life issues that affect us. What they have done is cost us a lot more for a lot less and created one of, if not the most, unfriendly business environments in the nation.

But even though the state of the state is in the midst of malaise, you would never know that there was an election in New Jersey. Its liberal loving legions are undoubtedly voting for Barack Obama to become our next President.  It is so definite that neither Obama or McCain have wasted anytime or money in the state since they got their party’s nominations.  But even putting the presidential election aside, you would think that there would be some acknowledgment of the fact that we have an election for the United States Senate going on here. Yet, you would never know it.

Even though it is an election for federal, not state office, you would think the people of New Jersey might have an ounce of interest in trying to better the conditions of our state by electing someone who’s representation of us in Washington, DC could help to benefit us here in New Jersey. But such is not the case.

Instead the four term incumbent Senator Frank Lautenberg is going to be sworn in to a fifth term in office as one of the two very best New Jerseyans to represent us in Washington, DC.  It would actually be a laughable arrangement if it wasn’t so pathetically sad.

For twenty-four years Mr. Lautenberg has represented New Jersey in the federal government by promoting his own self interests. He has not made one iota of difference for the state or the nation since his first term in office. 

Over two decades ago Senator Lautenberg spearheaded efforts to eliminate smoking on airplanes. During that same first term he was instrumental in effectively raising the legal age for drinking from 18 years of age to 21, throughout the nation. Lautenberg fought hard for the passage of his legislation that linked federal funding to states for their roads to their raising the legal drinking age.   No state wanted to lose out on the federal money available to maintain and build their roads. So this resulted in a uniform legal drinking age throughout the nation and prevented teens from driving across state lines so that they could legally drink in one state and then get behind the wheel to drive back to their home state while intoxicated.  The bill may have actually saved lives.  It was a responsible and, at the time, a creative measure.

But since that first time in office, Frank Lautenberg has produced nothing. His name has joined many others on various liberal pieces of legislation but the extent of his efforts stopped after allowing a staffer to put his name on the bill.

Lautenberg has not been in the forefront of any legislative initiatives or in the lead in opposition to any legislation. Frank Lautenberg has provided no solutions to our nations problems.  For display he has simply offered a press release or sound bite in regards to issues, but little, very little, more than that.

On taxes Frank Lautenberg has never opposed an increase that has been proposed. On the budget, the only thing he has endorsed cutting is spending on our national defenses.  He has never once moved to significantly reduce government spending or it’s size.

His spending habits are perhaps best exemplified by his staff.  It is one of the three highest paid staffs in the entire US Senate.  This is odd when you realize that he is one of the least active members of the senate.  Yet his staff is occupied by countless consultants and a number of state directors.  Even though New Jersey is a relatively small state, Mr. Lautenberg requires three state directors, including a number of South Jersey directors. These are obviously patronage positions made available to help consolidate Lautenberg’s power.  South Jersey is where his greatest challenges to re-election come from.  It is where Congressman Bob Andrew comes from and where he challenged Lautenberg for the nomination from.

Even though New Jersey ranks last among all states in the amount of return on the dollar we recieve from Washington, Frank’s staff is one of the highest paid in the federal government and for what?  Two press releases a week and his seal of approval for a far left agenda?

The fact is that until this election rolled around one had to take pause and try to recall if Frank Lautenberg was still in the U.S. Senate.  The man was scarce and his accomplishment are even more scarce.  Now that he is running for re-election he has tried to demonstrate himself as a doer.  He most recently proclaimed great pride in what one ad described as his forcing homeland security money to be allocated by need rather than politics.  It might be a powerful issue if it were true.  First of all, Lautenberg, as well as his senate cohort Bob Menendez, have brought back little money from Washington to New Jersey.  In the case of homeland security money, what the state did receive was being allocated by a liberal led state legislature and governor who only gave the money to districts that were represented by Democrats.  This pattern finally and only changed after Republican lawmakers took the issue to court.  Then and only then was the allocation of homeland security dollars doled out based upon the security needs it was meant for.

The truth is that Frank has little to run on.  It is hard to have to go back more than two decades in order to demonstrate ones effectiveness.

Not that it matters. This is New Jersey. Here. where liberals rule, two plus two does not equal four. In fact, here in New Jersey, just adding two plus two together costs you 5 in new taxes and then you must subtract the total of the equation and give that amount to the union whos leader slept with Governor Corzine and negotiated contracts behind closed doors.

So common sense is not something that you find a large quantity of New Jersey.  It is something that we have to import from neighboring states and in the Northeast it is hard to find.  But it explains why Lautenberg is being rewarded with a fifth term in office.  That and the fact that the New Jersey Republican party is so unorganized and out of touch with the ability to tap into the political despair that we are in, all accounts for why one would not know that there was election for the US Senate in Jersey.

Lautenberg is the wealthy owner of ADP, the paycheck service that rakes in millions for producing the checks that many American’s receive for their livings.  So he has oodles of dough and even has the financial backing of the Democratic National Committee and the Senate Democratic Campaign Committee.

The Republican nominee does not have Frank’s wealth, nor does he have the great deal of money coming to him from the RNC or Senate Republican Campaign Committees. They’re tapped out.

On top of that Frank Lautenberg even refuses to debate the issues and will not go face to face with his opponent.

All of this makes the fact that there is a race for the United States Senate in New Jersey, a well kept secret, much like Frank Lautenberg’s accomplishments.

But there is a race and it’s one that could truly help to turn the tide of inaction and lack of solutions or innovation in this state. It could come from Dick Zimmer.

Dick Zimmer is a former 3 term Republican congressman.  While in office Congressman Zimmer brought about more productive measures in just one of his two year terms than any of Frank Lautenberg’s four, six year terms in office.

While in office Congressman Zimmer fought wasteful government spending.  When it came to his own staff budget, unlike Frank Lautenberg who uses every dime given to him to have one of the highest paid federal staffs in government, Zimmer returned money that his staff budget didn’t require, to the federal government.  He even tried to pass legislation that required unused portions of staff budgets to be returned to the federal government and applied to deficit reduction.

As a congressman, Dick Zimmer’s fiscal conservatism and legislative initiatives earned him the title of “Taxpayer Hero” by Citizens Against Government Waste each year he was in office.

Zimmer’s zealotry did not stop with economic issues though.  He proved himself to be a man of great social conscience and activism.  When a toddler in New Jersey was brutally assaulted and murdered by a convicted sex offender who recently moved into the girls neighborhood, Dick Zimmer made government work for the people and he wrote and fought for passage of the federal legislation known as Megan’s Law which mandated that parents be notified when a convicted sex offender moves into their neighborhood.

Zimmer was also responsible for no frills laws which eliminated luxuries in federal prisons for criminals who were there to be punished instead of comforted.

He did this while also never allowing the United States to roll over in the face of international opposition or belligerent enemies.  Zimmer knows that the best America is a strong America, not just militarily but economically as well as educationally.

These are but a few examples of Dick Zimmer’s active participation in government. They exemplify his ability to implement improvements into our lives through a government that he helps to make work for us, not be a burden on us.

Dick Zimmer knows that the purpose of holding elected office is not for the title or ability to hand out patronage to consolidate power.  He knows that it is an opportunity to empower the people he represents and a chance to improve lives through legislative action as opposed to putting out press release announcing that he put his name on someone’s legislation.

Frank Lautenberg on the other hand has spent about two decades proving that he knows how to make government work for him.  It finances his patronage mill and pays him well to do nothing more than repeat the words of some of his more active and innovative liberal buddies in the Senate.

Perhaps the most accurate description of Frank Lautenberg and his long, lackluster waste of time in the Senate is best exemplified by the Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Station in Secaucus, New Jersey.  Built at a cost of more than 600 million dollars the transportation committee that Lautenberg chaired invested our tax dollars in it because of the dire need to expand and improve public transportation in New Jersey.  Here in New Jersey one must drive everywhere.  You must even drive long distances to catch a train to somewhere.  So this terminal was built in Northern New Jersey where there is a need to help increase public transportation to and from neighboring New York City.

The More Than $600 Million Dollar, Empty, Frank R. Lautenberg Rail Terminal in Secaucus

Well the genius of the transportation committee, under Lautenberg’s leadership, allocated the money and after years of construction it was finally finished.  It’s a beautifully cavernous, multi leveled facility and it was humbly named after the man who designated the money for it…..Frank R. Lautenberg. Well years later it still stands but it does so empty.  With no parking made available anywhere near the facility, it is impossible for commuters to access it and so except for the occasional tourist in world famous Secaucus, New Jersey, no one uses it.

So here we have a useless, hollow monument to Senator Lautenberg that cost a lot but does little.  It’s just like it’s namesake.  Senator Lautenberg is a useless living fossil who costs taxpayers a lot but does little for them.

It’s time to retire Senator Lautenberg.  It was time for his retirement 8 years ago when he did retire only to be brought back to run for the senate when Senator Bob Toricelli was found guilty of accepting gifts and other bribes.  When it became obvious that he was not going to win re-election, state democrat leaders illegally took Torricelli off the ballot and replaced his name with Lautenberg’s.

Let’s face it folks, we have gotten all that we can we out of Lautenberg.  He was devoid of ideas and enthusiasm after his first term more than 18 years ago.  Since than we have been waiting for him to do something worth anyone’s while.  How many more terms in office does he need to provide us with something meaningful?

When all of New Jersey’s major daily newspapers, liberally biased newspapers, from the Asbury Park Press to the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Gloucester County Times to the Courier Post have endorsed Dick Zimmer, a Republican, you know that there is something wrong and that something is Frank Lautenberg.

With all the problems that are going unaddressed or worsening here in New Jersey, it is time that we shake things up.  It’s time for some new thinking and representation in Washington that can help make the federal government work better for us than our state government does. 

It’s time for Dick Zimmer.

So this Tuesday, November 4, 2008, regardless of who you cast your presidential vote for, be sure to vote for New Jersey and cast your ballot for Dick Zimmer for US Senate.

Even if his time hasn’t come, we know for sure that Frank Lautenberg’s time has gone.

Presidential Summit

There was a presidential summit and the presidents of the world were asked to propose topics to discuss about.

The president of the United States said, “I think we’d see about how to stop wars.” Everybody applauded.

The president of Somalia said, “I think we’d see about how to stop hunger.” Everybody applauded.

The president of Costa Rica stood up and said, “I think…” Everybody applauded.