10 reasons for Conservatives to be thankful

From Pajamas Media:
http://pajamasmedia.com/blog/ten-reasons-for-conservatives-to-be-thankful/2/

Thanksgiving brings time for reflection and appreciation. We all have many reasons to be grateful for the blessings in our personal lives. But in a year in which so little has gone right politically for conservatives it is good to recall ten things which should engender gratitude — and indeed rejoicing — from conservatives.

First, President-elect Barack Obama won by assuring voters he would pursue tax cuts, victory in Afghanistan, prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and go “line by line” through the federal budget to eliminate waste and unneeded programs. We can doubt his sincerity or ability to achieve these ends, but he won by recognizing and espousing center-right principles. If he pursues some or all of them, the country will be the better for it. If he doesn’t, he is unlikely to succeed or maintain the broad-based popularity needed to keep Democrats in power.

Second, Hillary Clinton, James L. Jones, and Robert Gates are on tap to fill key national security roles. This is not the crew to bug out of Iraq before the job is done, repeal FISA, rush off to meet with Ahmadinejad, or support a 25% cut in defense spending. On national security, the president-elect in essence has conceded that the Left’s vision is impractical and dangerous. To echo Ronald Reagan on the Cold War, conservatives can rightly crow to the Left in the Democratic Party: “We win, you lose.”

Third, Congressional Republicans have not been a source of pride for the GOP, but the elevation of Eric Cantor to minority whip and Mike Pence to the Republican conference slot puts two of the more articulate and attractive Republicans in the spotlight. They won’t win very many votes, but they can paint stark differences and begin to restore intellectual vigor to Republicans inside the Beltway.

Fourth, Mitch McConnell. If your numbers are down, your morale is low, and you are facing a savvy Democratic president, there is no one better situated to prevent the worst and eke out small victories. And given his toughly contested Senate race, we can look forward to an equally vigorous race against Harry Reid in 2010.

Fifth, Republican governors make up a diverse, attractive, and effective group of leaders. From the ranks of Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Jon Huntsman, Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, Tim Pawlenty, and Mark Sanford will come conservative ideas, articulate spokesmen, and a raft of contenders for 2012. If President Obama fails to bring about economic recovery with a reenactment of the New Deal, this group stands ready to present alternative plans for reviving the economy.

Sixth, the MSM has never been in lower repute. Reporters and editors from their own ranks concede their bias. The stock of major media companies is plummeting. They are in bigger trouble than the Big Three auto companies. And they show even less inclination to reform. That means the opportunity exists for conservative and new media to cultivate large audiences. If alternative media outlets continue to offer hard-nosed reporting and balance the fawning analysis of the MSM, they can become the media of choice for more and more Americans.

Seventh, there is a rich — and sometimes contentious — intellectual community on the Right in think tanks, new media, and grassroots organizations which did not exist in other moments of crisis for conservatives (e.g., post-Watergate). Yes, they sometimes devolve into acrimonious bickering. But they also provide the potential for intellectual and political rebirth. There is no shortage of ideas or voices on the Right.

Eighth, we complete seven years without a terrorist attack on American soil. Despite the many criticisms of the Bush presidency, he achieved what few thought possible — a perfect record in foiling terrorist plots which would have struck our homeland and killed more Americans. If the president-elect follows the advice of Attorney General Mukasey, a good deal of the homeland security architecture erected during this administration will remain in place and will continue to afford protection for Americans. (For example, just as he did in his final vote on extending FISA, President-elect Obama’s assessment of the Guantanamo detainee cases may lead him to the same conclusion which the Bush administration reached on an important aspect of security — we need an appropriate non-civilian legal system and a secure location for dealing with very dangerous people in an unconventional war of undetermined length.)

Ninth, President George W. Bush and General David Petraeus persevered against tremendous odds and have placed us on the verge of one of the great military turnarounds in our history. We can disagree about the wisdom of the decision to go to war in Iraq, but a victory with a stable Iraq allied with the U.S. and a humiliated al-Qaeda is now within our grasp. By avoiding defeat and empowering an Arab nation to take up arms and defeat Islamic terrorists, Bush and Petraeus furthered the security of the U.S., the region, and our allies around the world.

Tenth, Republicans in Washington and around the country will no longer have George W. Bush tied around their necks. For example, Virginia Attorney General Robert McDonnell can run for governor on his own merits — likely against Clinton operative Terry McAuliffe — without need to defend an incumbent president as did Virginia Republicans in two losing Senate races and one failing governor’s race during the Bush years. That will be duplicated in races around the country as Republicans, freed from a horribly unpopular president, can run on their own ideas and contrast themselves with their Democratic opponents. A huge weight has been lifted.

All of this may seem small comfort to conservatives who finish the year on a losing streak. But Republicans were counted out in 1964, 1976, and 1992. Their resources are greater and their ranks are larger now than at any of those times. They can be thankful as well for the truism that nothing in politics is permanent. So for all these things — as well as the many blessings in their own lives — conservatives should indeed be grateful.

It's Second Amendment Weekend in South Carolina

Welcome to South Carolina where the Second Amendment is still seen as being just as important as the First.

The people of South Carolina will not have to pay taxes on guns this holiday weekend. The State legisature added this measure onto a bill that would also include energy efficent items on the Tax-Holliday. "We are a gun-owning-tradition state, a hunting-tradition state," said Republican state Rep. Mike Pitts, a retired police officer who introduced the proposal and has promoted other pro-gun legislation."

South Carolina is the only state offering any kind of tax break to shoppers over Thanksgiving weekend, said Joe Henchman, counsel for the Washington-based Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan tax research group. Henchman is against tax hollidays.

If you think Pitts is using this tax holliday to make some sort of political point you would be right. "Pitts said he wanted to make a political statement as the U.S. Supreme Court considered the right to have guns for self-defense in the home. The justices' decision to strike down the District of Columbia's 32-year ban on handguns came in late June, one day after the South Carolina legislators overrode Sanford's veto."

"The National Rifle Association said no other states are considering a tax-free holiday on gun sales, though the group believes they should."

"Everyone is faced with tough times, and we believe, in addition to helping hunters and shooting sports enthusiasts, this will also help the local economy and merchants," said NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam. "This shows South Carolina cares about America's hunting heritage, cares about law-abiding gun owners, and other states should follow suit."

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,458225,00.html

The War on Thanksgiving!?!

We all know about the liberals war against Christmas. Now they are trying to stop Thanksgiving as well. A college English professor has taken it upon herself to end a decades long tradition at Claremont Elementry School.

"Kindergartners at Condit and Mountain View elementary schools take annual turns dressing up and visiting the other school for a Thanksgiving feast. This year, the Mountain View children would have dressed as Native Americans and walked to Condit, whose students would have dressed as Pilgrims." Now these children will not be allowed to wear the costumes that many of their parents wore when they attended the school decades ago. Apparently this custom has gone from a friendly and harmless event to beginning compared to what the Nazi's did to the Jews overnight. "It's demeaning," Michelle Raheja, the mother of a kindergartner at Condit Elementary School, wrote to her daughter's teacher. "I'm sure you can appreciate the inappropriateness of asking children to dress up like slaves (and kind slave masters), or Jews (and friendly Nazis), or members of any other racial minority group who has struggled in our nation's history."

This isn't demeaning it's fun. I'm not sure if this story is completely true, partially true, or absolutely false. However the story of Thanksgiving teaches us all a great lesson about putting our differences aside, loving our neighbors, and giving thanks to God for the blessings in our lives. I don't see how the Nazi's play into this.

Apparently several of the parents of the children agree with me. "She's not going to tell us what we can and cannot wear," said Dena Murphy, whose 5-year-old son attends Mountain View. "We're tired of [district officials] cowing down to people. It's not right." Another parent seemed to echo those remarks, Raheja is "using those children as a political platform for herself and her ideas," Constance Garabedian said as her 5-year-old Mountain View kindergartner happily practiced a song about Native Americans in the background. "I'm not a professor and I'm not a historian, but I can put the dots together."

So can I Ms. Garabedian. Professor Raheja is trying to see how far she can push her agenda. I guarantee you since the school caved into her here she will back again.

Liberals are like terrorist their never satisfied with partial concessions and will always come back asking for more once you've shown your willing to comprise your principals. The only way to defeat either is to stand up to them and fight for what you believe.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-thanksgiving25-2008nov25,0,1458033.story

If you like this story go to www.realclearpolitics.com check out the readers articles with more than ten votes and vote for this story. The more votes a story gets the longer it stays on the site and the more people that get to read the article.

On Vacation

Just wanted to let everyone know I'm going to out of town and will be without my computer for about two weeks. I may have limited access to a computer while I'm out of town visiting family. Just wanted you to know if I don't get another post up for awhile that is the reason.

Looks like you only need 1 marine for every ten terrorist in Afghanistan

From Patriot Room
http://patriotroom.com/

Looks like 250 terrorists picked the wrong day to screw with 30 U.S. Marines in Afghanistan. Frankly, is there ever a good day to screw with the Marines?

In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it. . . .

“The day started out with a 10-kilometer patrol with elements mounted and dismounted, so by the time we got to Shewan, we were pretty beat,” said a designated marksman who requested to remain unidentified. “Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”

The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions while the platoon fought house to house and trench to trench in order to clear through the enemy ambush site.

“The biggest thing to take from that day is what Marines can accomplish when they’re given the opportunity to fight,” the sniper said. “A small group of Marines met a numerically superior force and embarrassed them in their own backyard. The insurgents told the townspeople that they were stronger than the Americans, and that day we showed them they were wrong.”

And of all mistakes the terrorists made that day, the worst one was picking the patrol with this guy in it.

During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position.

“I was in my own little world,” the young corporal said. “I wasn’t even aware of a lot of the rounds impacting near my position, because I was concentrating so hard on making sure my rounds were on target.”

The most amazing thing about the battle: Not a single Marine was seriously hurt.

Hoo-rah!

Shouldn't Obama Have to Accomplish Something Before We Start Naming Things After Him, I Guess Not

At the behest of its students, an elementary school near New York City has been renamed after President-elect Barack Obama.

The six and seven year olds made us do it!

The Hempstead Union Free School District board voted unanimously Thursday night to rename Ludlum Elementary School as Barack Obama Elementary School. The change went into effect immediately, school officials said Friday.

So basically no one on that school board had the guts to be politically incorrect and say "Barack Obama isn't even President yet, don't we normally wait until someone dies or at least does something significant before we start naming things after him." Also couldn't we have at least waited, I don't know, until he actually became President.

Officials for the Long Island district say they think the school is the country's first to be named after the first black president-elect, although similar efforts to rename schools, parks and streets are under way elsewhere.

So it was a race was it? Are they going to change the name back if Obama Presidency turns out to be a disaster? Seriously if we the economy goes into a depression and there are several terrorist attacks on his watch do you think they'll change it back?

The Clear Stream Avenue School in Valley Stream, N.Y., also on Long Island, will consider a renaming resolution in December. Students at the Clark K-8 At Binnsmead school in Portland, Ore., are seeking to rename it after Obama. And the prime minister of the Caribbean nation of Antigua and Barbuda has said he wants its Boggy Peak renamed Mount Obama.

All right that's it! Shouldn't the man have to sign at least one piece of legislation before he gets a mountain named after him. By the way why are other countries naming their mountains after Obama anyway.

Most of the 466 Hempstead pupils are black or Hispanic, and Obama's election was a big source of pride, principal Jean Bligen said Friday.

Some of the children read essays about Obama and the election at the school board meeting on Thursday night. "That really was effective," Bligen said.

Translation: Some of these kids parents wrote essays for their children and made them go to the board meeting and read them.

The change will be formalized at a ceremony in December. School officials hope Gov. David Paterson, the state's first black governor and Hempstead High School graduate, will attend.

I'm sure Patterson will attend. If for no other reason than to ask why the school wasn't named after him. Since uhh you know he's actually served the citizens of New York.

Built in the 1920s, the Ludlum Elementary School was named after Dr. Charles Ludlum, a local physician who served on the school board for about 40 years.

Dr Ludlum served his community for forty years, Obama has never lived near this community and yet Dr. Ludlum's name has been replaced why exactly? Oh that's right because the six and seven year olds wanted it to be. I can't be the only one who thinks this is crazy.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,456348,00.html

Next thing you know some they'll expect to have his face on Mount Rushmore. You probably have already seen this, but it still gets the point across.

Obama's Payoff Complete, Hillary Clinton Sells Soul for Secretary of State Job

From Scott Martin
Conservatism Today
http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

In Hillary Clinton's lust to be remembered as something other than the most cheated on First Lady ever, she has made a deal with the Devil, an odd sale of her soul where she doesn't even get to be President. I guess you have to take whatever you can get for your soul nowadays, what with the post-Obama market collapse we're going through. And what she could get was a job as Secretary of State, a job that would seem perfect for the woman who guaranteed that if the phone should ever ring at 3 in the morning, she would be there to answer it.

Meanwhile, Barack Obama has answered the call the same way he always seems to. He has thrown his rhetoric of "change" under the bus, where it lies trampled next to campaign finance, his grandmother, Reverend Wright and anything else that has stood between him and his laser-like focus on gaining power.

Barack Obama can't change the way Washington DC does business by bringing back all of the Clinton's old friends. He certainly can't do so by naming a Clinton his Secretary of State. This is not change. This is buying the next eight years. Barack Obama has ensured that he will face no Democrat opposition by buying out the only people who were a danger to him. Now he just needs to avoid becoming Jimmy Carter and he's got his eight years.

If this is the change America wanted, change back to 1992, why not just vote for Clinton instead of Obama. Oh, wait. It did.

Oh, the story:

Mrs. Clinton came to her decision after additional discussion with President-elect Barack Obama about the nature of her role and his plans for foreign policy, said one of the confidants, who insisted on anonymity to discuss the situation. Mr. Obama’s office told reporters Thursday that the nomination is “on track” but Clinton associates only confirmed Friday afternoon that she has decided.

“She’s ready,” said the confidant. Mrs. Clinton was reassured after talking again with Mr. Obama because their first meeting in Chicago last week “was so general,” the confidant said. The purpose of the follow-up talk, he added, was not to extract particular concessions but “just getting comfortable” with the idea of working together.

Yeah, I could see how that could be difficult. How do you get comfortable with the thought of working for the unaccomplished, smooth talking, male, affirmative action recipient who just stole the job you've been working for your whole life? I guess a life's worth of practice makes it a little bit easier every time.

Just when I had begun to respect her. No more.

So do you think Obama will make any of his own decisions as President? It looks like Bill and Hillary picked his entire cabinet for him. We all know that Obama and Hillary have major differences on Foreign Policy. So either he was lying to get the nomination during the primary, or he's planning on throwing Hillary under that bus first chance he gets.

Hitler's back!

Same video new take
Hat Tip: Conservative Today
http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

al-Zawahri, Osama's #2, calls Obama a House Negro

So much for the terrorist not being mad at us anymore. Seems like they aren't particularly impressed with President-Elect Obama. "America has put on a new face, but its heart full of hate, mind drowning in greed, and spirit which spreads evil, murder, repression and despotism continue to be the same as always," the deputy of al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden said.

Zawahri goes on to call Obama a house negro. Ayman al-Zawahri said in the message, which appeared on militant Web sites, that Obama is "the direct opposite of honorable black Americans" like Malcolm X, the 1960s African-American rights leader.

In al-Qaida's first response to Obama's victory, al-Zawahri also called the president-elect — along with secretaries of state Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice —"house Negroes."

Well at least Zawahri was being bi-partisan

Zawahri did not threaten specific attacks, but warned Obama that he was "facing a Jihadi (holy war) awakening and renaissance which is shaking the pillars of the entire Islamic world; and this is the fact which you and your government and country refuse to recognize and pretend not to see."

I have to agree with Zawahri here. It does seem like most people here have forgotten we are fighting a war.

He said Obama's victory showed Americans acknowledged that President George W. Bush's policies were a failure and that the result was an "admission of defeat in Iraq."

Seems to me some of us were saying that electing Obama would inspire the terrorist.

However Obama's actions will have much more to do with what happens in Iraq than any statement some guy makes from a cave. Right now it looks like we'll be there until 2011, due to the status of forces agreement which President Bush and the Iraqi government just agreed on. Then we will withdrawal and let the Iraqi's defend their own country. If Obama tries to leave earlier we may have major a problem on our hands. However I don't see any reason Obama would try to leave earlier 2011 is before 2012 so he can tell everyone he kept his promise to get troops out of Iraq during his re-election campaign. The fact he had absolutely nothing to do with it won't even be mentioned most likely.

Obama has promised a surge into Afganistan during his first term as President. Al-Qaida says they will be waiting.

"Be aware that the dogs of Afghanistan have found the flesh of your soldiers to be delicious, so send thousands after thousands to them," al-Zawahri said.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_al_qaida_obama

Wanna say the pledge of Alligence, Get out of the classroom!

That is the message in the Socialist state of Vermont. Now before you say that I can't call Vermont socialist remember they have elected a socialist, Bernie Sanders to represent them in the Senate.

The school has said the children who wish to say the pledge must leave their classroom and go to the gymnasium on the second floor. A sixth grader is designated to go around to the classrooms and ask them if they want to say the pledge. The sixth grader then leads the student in the pledge.

"We don’t want to isolate children every day in their own classroom, or make them feel they’re different,” Principal Michaela Martin said. About half the students chose to participate, Martin said.

So it's OK to make the half of kids that want to say the pledge feel different. I mean their obviously freaks for wanting to recite the pledge of allegiance.

Friday, the routine changed again.

Just before 8 a.m., Martin herded all the school’s students — and several adults — into a cramped foyer that adjoins the first-floor classrooms and told sixth-grader Nathan Gilbert, 12, to lead them in the Pledge.

Most recited it; some didn’t.

I'm sure that went well.

Afterward, 10 adults streamed down the steps and outside, forming a circle around Dunlap for a heated discussion in which they pressed for an explanation of why it couldn’t be said in the classrooms.

The format is up to teachers, not administrators or parents, Dunlap said.

So it's the teachers idea to take all of their students out of their classrooms into a cramped foyer instead of staying in their classrooms. Remember some of these kids are six and seven years old. So these teaches either have some sort of mental disorder or Dunlap is full of crap. I'm going with the latter.

Tedesco a retired marine had a different take on it. “Saying the Pledge in the classroom is legal, convenient and traditional,” Tedesco said. “Asking kindergarten- through sixth-graders who want to say the Pledge to leave their classrooms to do so is neither convenient nor traditional. There’s no way a heckler’s veto should abridge the constitutional rights of the majority,”

Amen Tedesco.

http://burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20081115/NEWS/81114036

Man who defended Clinton during Impeachment named Obama's White House Council

President-Elect Barack Obama has chosen Gregory Craig has his White House Council. Craig is most known for defending President Clinton on the House Floor during impeachment hearings. However he has had more than a few controversial clients. I found this list over at Blogs for Victory:

Elian Gonzalez’s father - Craig represented the father who demanded the return of his son after his estranged wife died trying to take Elian to freedom. Most people saw this as a thinly-veiled publicity stunt from Fidel Castro, attempting to embarrass the US. The dispute got resolved when Janet Reno ordered an armed assault on the house where Elian’s family in the US provided him a home.

John Hinckley, Jr - Craig presented and won the insanity defense that allows Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin to spend weekends with his family now.

Kofi Annan - The former Secretary-General of the UN hired Craig to defend his interests in the Volcker Commission probe of the Oil-for-Food scandal, which put billions of dollars into Saddam Hussein’s pockets while providing cash for Annan’s son, his deputies, and some allege Annan himself.

Pedro Gonzalez Pinzon - A Panamanian legislator wanted for murdering an American soldier in 1992. The Dallas Morning News demanded that Obama force Craig to drop the case during the campaign, but no report of whether he did is easily available.

So Craig defended a guy who shot a Republican President then stood in defense of a Democratic President who committed perjury. This must be Obama's definition of bi-partisanship. Of course he did defend Clinton during Impeachment so maybe Obama is just getting ready for future events.

All joking aside Barack Obama should have thought more about his White House council. I don't think choosing the guy that defended the man who shot Ronald Reagan is the best way to show bi-partisanship.

How Obama got elected.

When you put this video together with the Howard Stern video from before the election. (shown below) You can't deny that the media did was completely bias in it's coverage.




This is a poll taken of Obama voters. The only thing they seemed to know was that Sarah Palin had a pregant kid and she wore expensive clothes. They also had a hard time separating Palin from Tina Fey.

Zogby Poll

512 Obama Voters 11/13/08-11/15/08 MOE +/- 4.4 points

97.1% High School Graduate or higher, 55% College Graduates

Results to 12 simple Multiple Choice Questions

57.4% could NOT correctly say which party controls congress (50/50 shot just by guessing)

81.8% could NOT correctly say Joe Biden quit a previous campaign because of plagiarism (25% chance by guessing)

82.6% could NOT correctly say that Barack Obama won his first election by getting opponents kicked off the ballot (25% chance by guessing)

88.4% could NOT correctly say that Obama said his policies would likely bankrupt the coal industry and make energy rates skyrocket (25% chance by guessing)

56.1% could NOT correctly say Obama started his political career at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground (25% chance by guessing).

And yet.....

Only 13.7% failed to identify Sarah Palin as the person on which their party spent $150,000 in clothes

Only 6.2% failed to identify Palin as the one with a pregnant teenage daughter

And 86.9 % thought that Palin said that she could see Russia from her "house," even though that was Tina Fey who said that!!

Only 2.4% got at least 11 correct.

Only .5% got all of them correct. (And we "gave" one answer that was technically not Palin, but actually Tina Fey)

Here's the deal it's everyone's right to vote. However if you don't know what party is in control of Congress, or who is the Senate Majority Leader or who's Speaker of the House just stay home. If you don't care enought to know what's going on before Election Day, don't decide to care on Election Day. We really don't need people that don't understand the issues, or that don't even know what the issues are deciding the election. Maybe in 2012 we will actually have voters that know something about what's going on before they vote.

Obama to make McCain Sec of Defense.

From Bill Dupray at http://patriotroom.com/

UPDATE: Actually, a correction. Under Arizona law, if McCain were to vacate his Senate seat, the Governor would have to appoint a replacement from the same party. The replacement would serve out the remaining two years of McCain’s term.

Thanks to Freeper Conservative From Georgia for the heads-up.

ORIGINAL POST:

Not sure what to make of this, but No Quarter has a source in Chicago that says that Obama and McCain will meet tomorrow to discuss the Secretary of Defense job.

A source in Chicago informed me earlier today that John McCain will be meeting with Obama and his handlers tomorrow in Chicago in order to discuss the possibility of a Secretary of Defense appointment. That McCain will be in Chicago tomorrow is corroborated by an article London Times published one hour ago. The Times, however, claims McCain will most probably not be appointed to a Cabinet position. But he will be consulted on topics on which he and Obama have “common ground.” This certainly does not preclude the possibility of an appointment of McCain to Secretary of Defense.

Our source maintains that McCain will visit Chicago tomorrow in order to discuss the Secretary of Defense appointment.

This would be the right move for the sake of the country. It would be a clever political move by Obie because it would allow the Democrat Governor of Arizona, Janet Napolitano, to choose a Democrat replacement for McCain’s Senate seat.

The real fun will be watching the The Great Moonbat Mutiny of 2008 when they realize that the architect of the evil surge will be in charge of ending the war, no doubt on McCain’s, not Obama’s timetable. It gives Obama cover if the draw-down goes badly, as he can blame McCain and retake the controls at any point.

I seriously doubt this would happen. If Obama were to name McCain Sec of Defense he would basically be telling all those people who voted for him, haha fooled you suckers. Not that anyone who really paid attention would be surprised that Obama was going back on a campaign promise he made. However most of the people that voted for him weren't paying attention.

I think it would be a good move for the country if McCain was named Secretary of Defense. It would also show Obama wants to be a centrist and unite the country. McCain wouldn't have to worry about a Democrat taking over his seat because a person from the same party has to be named to fill the seat according to Arizona law.

Of course this works for Obama too if something goes wrong he has a scapegoat to point the finger at. If this story is true and Obama offers McCain the job McCain needs to decide if he is willing to be thrown under the bus. Obama will throw McCain under the bus if something goes wrong. Believe it or not there's still more room under that bus.

Huckabee Kicks Off 2012 Primary Battle.

As I was waiting for some pizza I ordered I walked into a nearby business where I saw they had Red white and blue hats with the Republican elephant on them. The hats were $2.50 before the election she said, "but now that it's over their only 99 cents." I looked at her and I said, "Oh, it's never over." And so the 2012 Republican Primary has begun with the release of Mike Huckabee's new book: Do the Right Thing: Inside the Movement That's Bringing Common Sense Back to America.

"Mitt Romney, Huckabee's principal rival in Iowa, receives the roughest treatment. Huckabee writes that the former Massachusetts governor's record was "anything but conservative until he changed the light bulbs in his chandelier in time to run for president." He notes that Romney declined to make a congratulatory phone call after Huckabee beat the odds to win the Iowa caucuses, "which we took as a sign of total disrespect." He mocks Romney for suggesting, during one debate, more investment in high-yield stocks as a solution to economic woes. "Let them eat stocks!" Huckabee jokes."

Of course Romney's camp responded. "Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Mr. Romney, fired back today in a statement: “This type of pettiness is beneath Mike Huckabee. If we’re going to move the party forward, we need to offer more than personal recriminations. Unfortunately, in this book, Mike Huckabee is consumed with presumed slights, and he seems more interested in settling scores than in bringing people together.”

Huckabee and Romney if they don't hate each other are about as close as two Christians can come to hating each other.

Huckabee also takes on Fred Thompson although he is nowhere near as tough on him as he was Romney. Perhaps because he knows Fred doesn't have another run in him. Some would say he didn't even have the first run in him. "Fred Thompson never did grasp the dynamics of the race or the country, and his amazingly lackluster campaign reflected just how disconnected he was with the people, despite the anticipation and expectation that greeted his candidacy," Huckabee wrote.

However Mike Huckabee did not stop at his political opponents he also took on the Club for Growth. The organization perhaps most responsible for stopping his meteoric rise. In his chapter Faux-Cons: Worse than Liberalism," Huckabee identifies what he calls the "real threat" to the Republican Party: "libertarianism masked as conservatism. "Faux-Cons aren't interested in spirited or thoughtful debate, because such an endeavor requires accountability for the logical conclusion of their argument." Among his targets is the Club for Growth, a group that tarred Huckabee as insufficiently conservative in the primaries and ran television ads with funding from one of Huckabee's longtime Arkansas political foes, Jackson T. Stephens Jr."

But for all the sharp words Huckabee has for his fellow Republicans, score-settling is not the major thrust of the book, Huckabee's sixth. Rather, Huckabee, who now hosts a weekend show on Fox News, spends most of the pages celebrating the grass-roots success of his surprisingly successful campaign and laying out, again, his vision for the future of the Republican Party, which includes instituting a national sales tax to replace the income tax and renewed focus on health-care prevention and education. He mentions McCain only in passing, and with praise, calling him a "true statesman and a man of honor."

Good to know this book isn't just a hit job. I would've been very disappointed in Governor Huckabee if it had been.

I see four people who should be running for the nomination in 2012. Gingrich, Huckabee, Palin, and Romney. Honestly I would love if it was just Huckabee and Romney so those two could have the fight to the death they were denied by Fred Thompson allowing McCain to win the SC Primary. Thus McCain became our nominee and we all saw how that turned out. Of course I'm sure Jindal will want to jump in too. Crist might jump in, but I don't see him getting the nod. Then again Cantor and Pence might want to take a shot. All right eight, but that's it. I guess Ron Paul will probably run again so that would make nine. PLEASE MAKE IT STOP! We have even inaugurated the new President yet and the campaign for 2012 has begun.

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1859539,00.html?xid=rss-topstories

Have we won in Iraq?

This is a picture of Children playing at an Al-Anbar school. One of the many the United States military as built. This project was completed on Oct 15th 2008.

Hat tip: Common Cents



"THE WAR IS OVER AND WE WON:" Michael Yon just phoned from Baghdad, and reports that things are much better than he had expected, and he had expected things to be good. "There's nothing going on. I'm with the 10th Mountain Division, and about half of the guys I'm with haven't fired their weapons on this tour and they've been here eight months. And the place we're at, South Baghdad, used to be one of the worst places in Iraq. And now there's nothing going on. I've been walking my feet off and haven't seen anything. I've been asking Iraqis, 'do you think the violence will kick up again,' but even the Iraqi journalists are sounding optimistic now and they're usually dour." There's a little bit of violence here and there, but nothing that's a threat to the general situation. Plus, not only the Iraqi Army, but even the National Police are well thought of by the populace. Training from U.S. troops has paid off, he says, in building a rapport.

He says the big problem everybody is talking about now is corruption. But hey, we have that here, too. He'll be heading to Afghanistan next week. "Afghanistan is a bad situation, but on Iraq I can't believe things have turned out so well."

He thinks that Obama will be able to pull troops out, and send some to Afghanistan, without creating problems in Iraq. Michael will be reporting from Afghanistan soon, and sending back video, so stay tuned. Things aren't going swimmingly there.

It's ironic that we will be able to pull out some troops out of Iraq precisely due to the fact that we did not follow the democrats advice and retreat in the face of adversity. American forces have already started to pull out of many Iraqi cities and let the Iraqi millitary and police handle most of the problems. None of this is possible without the surge that Senator McCain began calling for long before anyone else even knew it was necessary. I suspect we will leave Iraq by the end of Obama's first term. Not because it is his policy but because the Iraqi's will be trained and ready to defend their country from all enemies foreign and domestic. It might not go down that way in the history books, but I will tell the next generation this is the way it was.

Things You Can't Do!

http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.
You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.
You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.
You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer.
You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.
You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.
You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.
You cannot establish security on borrowed money.
You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative
and independence.
You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could
and should do for themselves.

William Boetcker, 1873 - 1962

It's all so simple and obvious that you would think that there would be a thriving movement centered around these ideas. Oh wait. There was. Unfortunately it appears a whole new generation will have to learn these truths the hard way.

Schummer compares talk radio to pornography

Hat Tip: My aisling
http://myaisling.blogspot.com/

Schummer on Fox News here is being asked about the Fairness doctrine. He calls Conservative Talk Radio Pornography. I thought maybe I was overstating it so I listened again just to be sure. In Schummer's eyes Rush Limbaugh and Jenna Jameson are one and the same.

Democrats want government to own Auto companies.

Congressional Democrats are pushing legislation to send $25 billion in emergency loans to the beleaguered auto industry in exchange for a government ownership stake in the Big Three car companies.

There's a word for this, soviet, no that's not it. Socialism! That's the word I was trying to think of.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., hope for quick passage of the auto bailout during a postelection session that begins Monday.

Looks like Bush will have to pull that veto pen out one more time before he leaves office.

Legislation being drafted by Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Sen. Carl M. Levin, D-Mich., would dip into the $700 billion Wall Street rescue money, approved by Congress last month, for the auto aid.

Why use it for what it was meant for when we can use it to buy votes um I mean help the auto industry in Michigan?

Any effort to throw the companies a lifeline could run into GOP roadblocks that could derail it in the Senate. In that chamber, Republicans, including some who believe their votes for the Wall Street bailout hurt, and in some cases doomed, their re-election bids, are loath to agree to any new money.

Glad to see these guys finally got the message. Too bad it didn't happen until after they had their tails handed to them in two consecutive elections for the first time since the Great Depression.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday the auto sector was "critical," but that the financial industry rescue was not designed for car companies.

"Any solution has got to be leading to long-term viability" for auto companies, Paulson said.

He also suggested Congress could try to use the loan program already in place to help the companies.

Wait their is a program already in place to help and the dems want to start another loan programs why?

Democrats say those loans were designed to help automakers adapt to new fuel standards, not to stave off the financial disaster the companies now say is imminent.

You know I'm all for higher fuel efficiency vehicles, but if it's between that and saving the company I say we delay the focus on fuel efficiency until we get the industry back on it's feet.

Not to mention it's not like this happened overnight has White House Spokesperson Dana Perino pointed out. "Look at the history of these companies, decisions they've made over time that got them to where we are today."

I got it the industry should ask the UAW for some concessions so that they can stay in business. You know if the companies go out of business no one has a job right UAW? However Why would the UAW accept those terms if the government is just going to give the industry money anytime it's in trouble?

Auto executives, labor leaders and other industry proponents are mounting an intense lobbying effort for a bailout. They want an immediate $25 billion loan to keep the companies operating and a separate $25 billion to help cover future health care obligations for retirees and their dependents.

I'm all for taking care of your employees, but if the companies hadn't agreed to ridiculous contacts with the unions that they couldn't possibly afford we may not be in this situation.

Pelosi on Tuesday urged "immediate action" for the industry. Her request came less than a week after GM and Ford posted bleak third-quarter earnings reports. GM, the nation's largest automaker, posted a $2.5 billion quarterly loss Friday and warned that it may run out of money by the end of the year without government aid.

Democratic leaders will need to win over some skeptical lawmakers who question whether a bailout would cause changes in the auto industry or simply lead to more handout requests from other industries.

Hey I stupidly supported the first bailout thinking that it had to be done. Fool me once shame on you fool me twice shame on me. I say the Republicans left in congress should do everything they can to stop this bailout. Or who knows who will come knocking next?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081112/ap_on_go_co/auto_bailout

Karl Rove says Conservatism can strike back in 2010.

I'd say Mr. Rove must have been reading my blog.

Political races are about candidates and issues. But election results, in the end, are about numbers. So now that the dust is settling on the 2008 presidential race, what do the numbers tell us?

First, the predicted huge turnout surge didn't happen. The final tally is likely to show that fewer than 128.5 million people voted. That's up marginally from 122 million in 2004. But 17 million more people voted in 2004 than in 2000 (three times the change from 2004 to 2008).

I bet the press continues the myth about the turnout in this elections even now that the facts are here for them to read.

Second, a substantial victory was won by modest improvement in the Democratic share of the vote. Barack Obama received 2.1 points more in the popular vote than President Bush received in 2004, 3.1 points more than Vice President Al Gore in 2000and 4.6 points more than John Kerry in 2004. In raw numbers, the latest tally shows that Mr. Obama received 66.1 million votes, about 7.1 million more than Mr. Kerry.
Four out of five of these additional votes came from minorities. Mr. Obama got nearly 3.3 million more votes from African-Americans than did Mr. Kerry; 2.9 million of them were from younger blacks aged 18-29. A quarter of Mr. Obama's improvement among blacks -- 811,000 votes -- came from African-Americans who voted Republican in 2004. Mr. Obama also received 2.5 million more Hispanic votes than Mr. Kerry. Over a third of these votes -- 719,000 -- cast ballots for Republicans in 2004.

One of the most important shifts was Hispanic support for Democrats. John McCain got the votes of 32% of Hispanic voters. That's down from the 44% Mr. Bush won four years ago. If this trend continues, the GOP will find it difficult to regain the majority.

Hispanics are the swing vote in 2010 and 2012 for the Republican Party. Republicans need to carry 40% of the Hispanic vote to become the majority party once again.

Mr. Obama won 4.6 million more votes in the West and 1.4 million more in the Midwest than Mr. Kerry. Mr. McCain, on the other hand, got more than 2.6 million fewer votes in the Midwest than Mr. Bush. In Ohio, for example, Mr. Obama received 32,000 fewer votes than Mr. Kerry in 2004 -- but Mr. McCain got 360,000 fewer votes than Mr. Bush. That turned a 119,000 vote GOP victory in 2004 into a 206,000 vote Democratic win this year.

Then there were those who didn't show up. There were 4.1 million fewer Republicans voting this year than in 2004. Some missing Republicans had turned independent or Democratic for this election. But most simply stayed home. Ironically for a campaign that featured probably the last Vietnam veteran to run for president, 2.7 million fewer veterans voted. There were also 4.1 million fewer voters who attend religious services more than once a week. Americans aren't suddenly going to church less; something was missing from the campaign to draw out the more religiously observant.

I don't know why Veterans would not get out and vote for McCain. I'm thinking they had been convinced by the polls the election had already been decided. As far as those Republicans that just didn't think McCain was conservative enough shame on you. I admit the man wasn't the perfect candidate, but candidates like Reagan are once in a generation. Now we will suffer through four years of higher taxes and increased spending under an Obama administration. Even looking ahead to 2012 I'm not sure I see the "perfect" candidate for our party out there. If there is really such a thing.

In a sign Mr. Obama's victory may have been more personal than partisan or philosophical, Democrats picked up just 10 state senate seats (out of 1,971) and 94 state house seats (out of 5,411). By comparison, when Ronald Reagan beat Jimmy Carter in 1980, Republicans picked up 112 state senate seats (out of 1,981) and 190 state house seats (out of 5,501).

I was greatly relieved to see Obama had no trickle down effect. Especially since I was a campaign manager on one of those State House races. It looks like alot of people that voted for Obama just wanted to vote for the star and forgot he might need a cast. I'm guessing alot of the youth and first time vote that went to Obama made that mistake.

In the states this year, five chambers shifted from Republican to Democrats, while four shifted from either tied or Democratic control to Republican control. In the South, Mr. Obama had "reverse coattails." Republicans gained legislative seats across the region. In Tennessee both the house and senate now have GOP majorities for the first time since the Civil War.

This matters because the 2010 Census could allocate as many as four additional congressional districts to Texas, two each to Arizona and Florida, and one district to each of a number of (mostly) red-leaning states, while subtracting seats from (mostly) blue-leaning states like Michigan, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania and, for the first time, California. Redistricting and reapportionment could help tilt the playing field back to the GOP in Congress and the race for the White House by moving seven House seats (and electoral votes) from mostly blue to mostly red states.

History will favor Republicans in 2010. Since World War II, the out-party has gained an average of 23 seats in the U.S. House and two in the U.S. Senate in a new president's first midterm election. Other than FDR and George W. Bush, no president has gained seats in his first midterm election in both chambers.

FDR and George W. Bush were both Presidents during a major crisis. If there's a major crisis on Obama's watch it won't help him because he will have caused it.

Since 1966, the incumbent party has lost an average of 63 state senate and 262 state house seats, and six governorships, in a president's first midterm election. That 2010 is likely to see Republicans begin rebounding just before redistricting is one silver lining in an otherwise dismal year for the GOP.

In politics, good years follow bad years. Republicans and Democrats have experienced both during the past 15 years. A GOP comeback, while certainly possible, won't be self-executing and automatic. It will require Republicans to be skillful at both defense (opposing Mr. Obama on some issues) and offense (creating a compelling agenda that resonates with voters). And it will require leaders to emerge who give the right public face to the GOP. None of this will be easy. All of this will be necessary.

2010 conservatism strikes back!

Mr. Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.

Newt says he'll take the job if the RNC wants him.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Newt Gingrich has let it be known that, if Republicans want him, the former U.S House speaker is willing to serve as chairman of the national party and lead it out of the wilderness it’s blundered into.

Can you think of anyone better?

The question is whether the 168-member Republican National Committee is open to the match.

If they aren't they'll be committing suicide.

“If a majority of the RNC thought he was needed, he would accept that appointment,” said Randy Evans’ Gingrich’s close friend and legal counsel. “He fully appreciates the urgency of the moment.”

What might strike some as coyness is in fact caution. The odds are stacked against the former Georgia congressman, for several reasons.

For one thing, six days after the election of Barack Obama and substantial gains by Democrats in the House and Senate, Republicans have yet to decide whether a serious overhaul of the party is required.

Really? We've lost 20 house seats in two consecutive elections for the first time since the great depression and you don't know a serious overhaul is required.

If a revolution is in order, then there’s the small matter of which side is issued the pitchforks, and whose castle is to be stormed. Is this a fight to purge moderates, or a battle to expand the tent?

Look moderates should be in the party, but they should never control the party. We just ran a moderate for President and we got killed. We have to reach out with conservative ideas for the country.

“The RNC has to do some soul-searching and decide what level of change is necessary,” Evans said. “If that answer is bold, energetic change led by someone who has done it before, then Newt would be a good choice.”

If the party is eying a shift toward the middle, Evans added, “that isn’t Newt.”

If the Republican party moves toward the middle it will cause a third party to be born and the two parties will steal votes from each other for years to come.

Though he retains his reputation as a polarizing figure, Gingrich served as a sideline strategist for the GOP during the presidential season. He pointed McCain to the issue of offshore drilling. But Gingrich also helped generate skepticism over the Wall Street bailout — which McCain and other Senate Republicans supported.

We need a polarizing figure has head of our party. The Dems had Howard Dean and he kicked our butts. Newt has clear ideas for where he wants this country to go. You can't try to please everyone because then you end up pleasing no one.

A Gingrich chairmanship might get loud support from the GOP’s talk-radio contingent. The former House speaker has close ties to the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Neal Boortz.

But the RNC is a different, often parochial animal, made up of the top three members of the GOP establishment in every state and U.S. territory, plus the District of Columbia.

The RNC is scheduled to make its decision in January, shortly after Obama’s historic inauguration. Had John McCain made it to the White House, committee members would have deferred to his choice.

But without White House clout, past elections have shown that the RNC prefers — though is not required — to choose from within its ranks. And the 65-year-old Gingrich is not an RNC member.

Whoever the RNC chooses it must be someone already nationally known. We don't have time to let people get to know the new Chairman we have to start attacking the day our new chairman is selected.

Moreover, while President Bush still searches out new lows in popularity, the RNC is peopled with those who helped him win two elections — and many remain loyal. Yet Gingrich, seeing Bush squander the fruits of his ’94 revolution, has been ruthless in his criticism of the out-going president.

A sifting of the ashes will begin in Miami with a Wednesday meeting of the Republican Governors Association. Gingrich and other candidates will be there to buttonhole party leaders in small, private conversations.

Those interested in the job include Saul Anuzis, chairman of the Michigan GOP, and Katon Dawson, the South Carolina chairman. The current RNC chairman, Mike Duncan, also seeks another term.

Duncan seeks another term. You just presided over the worst four years for the GOP since the great depression. How dare you run for another term. Don't you care about this party at all?

“There were too many deals cut with the Democrats. We have no rudder,” Herren said. On the other hand, she said, if Gingrich really wants the GOP chairmanship, a front-porch strategy won’t cut it. She’s already been lobbied by a half-dozen candidates.

“Newt - if he wants to do it, he’ll have to start pedaling now,” Herren said.

Newt Gingrich is the Leader the RNC Needs to Take Back Congress

Scott Martin
Conservatism Today
http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

The talk of former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich heading up the Republican National Committee is the best potential news I've heard in ages. He has said he would take the post if asked. I can just see the Clinton supporters now. The Democrat Party may look pretty flush right now, but I'll take Newt's leadership in a heartbeat over Howard Dean's at the DNC.

Newt Gingrich has let it be known that, if Republicans want him, the former U.S House speaker is willing to serve as chairman of the national party and lead it out of the wilderness it’s blundered into.

The question is whether the 168-member Republican National Committee is open to the match.

“If a majority of the RNC thought he was needed, he would accept that appointment,” said Randy Evans’ Gingrich’s close friend and legal counsel. “He fully appreciates the urgency of the moment.”

Although, if we're being totally honest, I'd take Newt as head of the RNC over any living, breathing American politician. For those who don't recall, Newt Gingrich single-handedly took back Congress for the Republican Party in 1994 with his highly successful Contract With America. He then proceeded to run into problems with his abrasive attitude toward those who disagreed with him and his condescending attitude toward those who weren't as smart as him (ie, everyone). So he lost his power and left Congress. He was the most hated enemy of the left.

Since then, the smartest man in the world has rehabilitated his image. Clinton supporters will remember a man who worked together with Bill Clinton to achieve numerous reforms that improved the role of government in the country, that balanced the budget and eliminated our nation's debt. His work with American Solutions, where he reached across the aisle to anyone who had a decent idea for limiting government bureacracy and improving the way government works, has been impressive. He is the most forward-thinking conservative I know of. And he is always working on new proposals like his Contract With America, agendas composed of center-right issues that have overwhelming public approval. Ed Morrissey notes:

Some wanted Gingrich to run for President in 2008, but this role would suit him much better. Gingrich has operated best as a philosopher for the conservative movement, someone who can both capture the essence of conservatism and put it into action. Gingrich has the skill to communicate to a national audience and an emeritus status that will have people paying attention when he speaks. As RNC chair, his political baggage becomes irrelevant, allowing him to focus on party- and agenda-building instead of running for office.

Most importantly, Gingrich understands the technological tools that escaped the GOP in 2008. American Solutions has established a very impressive grassroots structure for policy, which could easily be adopted and adapted to the RNC. As Patrick Ruffini has been arguing at Rebuild the Party, the RNC needs to close the technology gap with the DNC in a hurry. Gingrich could get the GOP to a terrific start in doing just that.

Please let this happen. If so, we will be repopulating Congress with boatloads of true conservatives by 2010.

Al Franken trying to steal Minnesota Senate Seat?

From Scott Martin
http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

Former SNL cast member and current chronic liar and tax cheat Al Franken is trying his hand at election theft. It seems his campaign just keeps on finding bundles of new ballots from highly Democrat-leaning precincts. From Powerline comes a statement from Ron Coleman's campaign manager:


"Not content to allow the recount process to move forward as prescribed by law, the Franken Campaign and its supporters are attempting a campaign of undue influence. The increasing questions about unexplained and improbable shifts in vote counts, coupled with Franken Campaign antics over the past 24 hours, compelled us to seek legal action to protect the rights of Minnesota voters. We had an election. Senator Coleman won. And we now must have a legal and transparent process conducted in the light of day - and that is our goal and intent.

"Late last night, after another unexplained shift in votes occurred when the Secretary of State's Office closed, new ballots have suddenly appeared from a heavily Democratic precinct. These ballots have been unsecure since the election, yet the Franken Campaign is demanding they be stuffed into the ballot box, attempting to change a vote count that was already finished. Minnesota election laws provide specific rules for reviewing and counting ballots. Today's legal proceeding is an effort to ensure that a transparent and orderly process be in place. The Franken Campaign should be joining us in this action, not seeking to push the process outside the bounds of the law."

And now we have this, also from Powerline. 100 ballots found, all for Al Franken:

As improbable and statistically dubious chunks of votes appear and disappear, overwhelmingly benefiting Al Franken, the Coleman for Senate campaign today filed a data practices request with county auditors and the Secretary of State requesting data related to Election Night results, records related to ballot security and information relating to all revisions made to the results since being reported on Election Night.

"Minnesota has a history of fair and clean elections, and we are committed to ensuring that this election is no different. That is why it is so troubling to us that instead of the normal slight changes in vote totals one would expect during this process, we are now seeing huge chunks of votes appearing and disappearing - statistically dubious and improbable shifts that are overwhelmingly accruing to the benefit of Al Franken. And, as many of these unexplained and improbably vote swings are taking place on the Iron Range, we're asking that local and state election officials provide us with the necessary data to reassure the public that the canvassing process has not been tainted," said Cullen Sheehan, campaign manager.

It has been reported that during the night, 100 new ballots were reported to the Secretary of State's office from the Mountain Iron area. These previously unreported ballots contained 100 votes for President-elect Barack Obama and DFL candidate Al Franken.

I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me. And if not, we'll just fill out ballots for them saying that they do.

Boycott Utah Because California Banned Gay Marriage. What!?!

That's right the tolerant left is now calling Utah a "hate state" after the Mormon church pumped millions of dollars in to get Prop 8 passed in California. "The main focus is going to be going after the Utah brand," he said. "At this point, honestly, we're going to destroy the Utah brand. It is a hate state." OK so does that make California. "At this point, the Californians are the victims and the Mormons are the persecutors," he said. "We had won this until they swept in ... We need to send a message to Utah that they need to stop trying to inflict their way of life on every other state." Really? Did he really just say that? It seems to me that it must be the other way around otherwise wouldn't Prop 8 have failed. I wonder if commercials like this one run by those opposed to prop 8 actually helped to pass the legislation.



Now if gay marriage proponents wanted to boycott California because they banned gay marriage that would make sense. People in California went to the polls and voted to pass this amendment to the State Constitution. So why not boycott California? I can think of several reasons. One much better weather than Utah, come on why would anyone deprive themselves of the California sun when they can just blame the Mormons. Two, I bet none of these people have ever even been to Utah. So basically they're not suffering at all from boycotting the State. Three, most likely the people behind this hated religion before this vote. Finally four, California is a blue state and for the most part gay marriage proponents support what goes on there. Despite the fact they just rejected gay marriage. Utah is a Red State and therefore inherently evil in their minds.

So how are these hateful Mormons responding. Church spokeswoman Kim Farah said in a statement about the temple protests Friday that it is "disturbing" that the church is being singled out for exercising its right to speak up in a free election.
"While those who disagree with our position on Proposition 8 have the right to make their feelings known, it is wrong to target the Church and its sacred places of worship for being part of the democratic process," Farah said.

The church had said in a statement after Tuesday's vote that "no one on any side of the question should be vilified, intimidated, harassed or subject to erroneous information."

Let's punish those Mormons in Utah because people in California voted to ban gay marriage. Maybe I'm confused but who are the bigots again?

Who should take over has RNC chairman?

It obvious were going to need new leadership at the top of the Republican Party. The question is who? Let's take a look at some possibilities.

Newt Gingrich: The man who led the Republican Revolution in 1994 and became the first Republican speaker of the house in forty years comes back to lead another one has RNC chairman in 2010. Sounds good to me.

Mike Huckabee: If he doesn't want to run for President again this would be a great spot for him. He's "sunny side up" conservatism could help put a new face on a party that badly needs it.

Michael Steele: What better to show Americans that we are the party of opportunity for all than by making Steele the RNC Chair. He's obviously qualified. He's already chairman of GOPAC.

Chip Saltsman: Former Huckabee campaign manager also headed the Tennessee GOP before he took on that job. He came within a eyelash (three percentage points in SC to be exact) of pulling the most stunning upset in political history. Or at least since Truman beat Dewey.

Katon Dawson: The high profile chairman of the South Carolina Republican Party, organized a meeting in Myrtle Beach later this month designed to bring together Republican leaders to discuss the future of the party. Strength: Dawson is extremely aggressive, well liked by conservatives and a regular presence on national cable programs already."

Dawson's biggest downfall is he's not a nationally known figure which I think the RNC is going to need if they expect to strike back in 2010.

Go here to read more about the RNC Chairmanship fight.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2008/11/the_rnc_chair_fight_begins.html

The Future of the Republican Party

I was about to write about the GOP young guns but then I saw that Free Republic had already done it for me. However I may haved added some things I felt they missed about the candidates. I'm also putting the most interesting candidates on top. I added Huckabee myself.

Sarah Palin (44) - Alaska's Governor has made it though the initiation phase of national politics thanks to having been named John McCain's running mate. Though her star doesn't shine quite so brightly now that the campaign is over (her once stellar 80%+ approval rating in Alaska is now in the mid-60s, still very positive), she made history by being the first woman to have been nominated as the Republican Party's vice presidential nominee. She has proven herself to be tough enough, taking all the abuse the Democrats, the drive-by media, the pundits and even some of her running mate's staffers could dish out and still remain standing. In fact, Palin has done little complaining about the attacks, showing that she can weather them with remarkable grace, charm and good humor (except for the inexcusable attacks on her children, which understandably angered her). She also endured two ethics investigations in her home state, both politically motivated, and still managed to emerge from the ordeal looking good. Palin was a success on the campaign trail, drawing large, enthusiastic crowds which far surpassed those seen at Joe Biden's events or even John McCain's. She has returned to Alaska to deal with the affairs of that energy-producing state. Palin will build her resume by completing the gas pipeline deal, and she will study up on foreign affairs and other issues she will need to be able to expound upon if she wants to make a run for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012. She also needs to build her own networks, including perhaps a PAC and a campaign organization that must be ready to hit the ground running. Palin has been invited to speak at CPAC 2009.

Bobby Jindal (37) - The chief executive of Louisiana has made some history of his own as the youngest sitting governor of the United States. He won the job after serving three years in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he was a member of the conservative RSC caucus. Jindal also served in the Bush administration as the principal policy advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. An Indian-American Catholic, Jindal took his name out of contention for consideration as a potential GOP vice presidential nominee for the 2008 election, choosing to build his own resume instead. He will also be a speaker at CPAC in February. (Lifetime ACU rating: 93.33)

Michael Steele (50) - This former lieutenant governor of Maryland is also a history-maker. He was not only the first Republican to serve as lieutenant governor of his state, but also the first African American to do so. A Catholic, Steele studied for the priesthood before getting a law degree from Georgetown. He has experience as a corporate securities associate at Cleary's offices in Washington, D.C., Tokyo and London. After working for Cleary, he established Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm. Steele has served as chairman of the Prince George's County Republican Central Committee, as chairman of the Maryland Republican Party and chair of GOPAC, his current job. He delivered memorable speeches at the 2004 and 2008 GOP conventions, at the latter coining the phrase, "Drill baby, drill" - a reference to the need for offshore drilling which became a familiar chant at McCain and Palin campaign rallies.

Eric Cantor (45) - A three-term U.S. congressman from Virginia, Cantor served nine years in that state's House of Delegates before winning national office. He is currently the House's chief deputy minority whip, but is currently making a run for the position of house minority whip, which Rep. Roy Blunt has announced that he intends to vacate. During his first term in office, Cantor served as Chairman of the Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare and has also served on the House Financial Services Committee, the International Relations Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. Cantor has a law degree and an advanced degree in real estate. He is the only Jewish Republican currently serving in the House. Cantor was on Sen. John McCain's list of potential vice presidential nominees before Sarah Palin was selected. Cantor was the author of the Republican alternative to the first version of the $700 billion economic bailout bill, and he was outspoken in his criticism of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for her "tone of partisanship" during negotiations on the final version of the measure. (Lifetime ACU rating: 96.86)

Mike Pence (47) - A four-term member of the U.S. House from Indiana, Pence serves on two powerful House committees, Foreign Affairs and Judiciary. A former chair of the conservative RSC House caucus, Pence has earned a reputation as a tax-cutter and an opponent of earmark spending. He's also a social conservative who opposed late-term abortion and federal subsidies for embryonic stem cell research. Pence has described himself as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order." (Lifetime ACU rating: 99.43)

Mike Huckabee (52)
Former Governor Huckabee spent 10 years as Governor of Arkansas. He came out of nowhere to finish second in the GOP primary race. I watch him on Fox every chance I get, he was my pick in the primaries. He was against the bailout saying that "The CEO's were like little children if you give them what they want when they kick and scream they'll kick and scream more." Maybe that's not an exact quote but that was the jist. At the time I thought it was a necessary evil. Looks like I should've listen to Huck.

Duncan D. Hunter (31) - Sharing his father's name, young Hunter now has his recently retired dad's U.S. House seat for the 52nd District of California as well. Duncan worked his way to a business degree from San Diego State by creating websites and programming databases and e-commerce systems for high tech companies. The day after the 9/11 terrorist attacks of 2001, Hunter enlisted in the U.S. Marines. After graduating from the Corps' officer candidate school, the newly-commissioned lieutenant served the first of two tours of duty in Iraq. After his return, he was honorably discharged and was promoted to the rank of Captain while in the reserves. Soon after filing to run for Congress, Hunter was recalled to active duty in the Marines and was sent to Afghanistan. He returned to campaigning after his return home and was rewarded with a victory in the 2008 elections.

Paul Ryan (38) - Now serving his fifth term representing the 1st congressional district of Wisconsin in the U.S. House, Ryan is the ranking minority member of the House Budget Committee and a senior member on the House Ways and Means Committee. He has a degree in economics and political science and has worked in the private sector as an economic analyst and as president of his own consulting firm. A former legislative director for Sen. Sam Brownback, Ryan also wrote speeches for William Bennett and Jack Kemp. Ryan just won his bid for re-election and will serve a sixth House term. (Lifetime ACU rating: 92.89)

Jeff Flake (46) - Flake has served in the U.S. House since 2001. Prior to that, he served as Executive Director of the Foundation for Democracy in Namibia and as the Executive Director of the Goldwater Institute. Known as one of the more libertarian House Republicans, he is a member of the Liberty Caucus. Flake has earned a reputation as one of the most vocal critics of pork and earmark federal spending. He was designated a "taxpayer superhero" by Citizens Against Government Waste and was named by that group as the least extravagant spender in Congress. A Mormon, Flake is Flake is staunchly pro-life. (Lifetime ACU rating: 95.43)

Michelle Bachmann (52) - Bachmann just won a second term in the U.S. House from Minnesota. She is a member of the Financial Services Committee. Backman is a former attorney for the U.S. Treasury Department, and she served two terms in the Minnesota State Senate. A favorite target of Democrats and liberal interest groups for being what they call a "Christian fundamentalist," Bachmann has been active in the pro-life movement. (Lifetime ACU rating: 100)

Thad McCotter (43) - McCotter is a U.S. congressman from Michigan. After practicing law, he won a seat as a Wayne County Commissioner in 1992. McCotter was elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1998 and to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2002, where he has served three terms. He's a member of the House Financial Services Committee and serves as chairman of the Republican House Policy Committee. McCotter was the first GOP House member to oppose the Paulson bailout plan in September, labeling it "American socialism." A Catholic, the most notorious McCotter quote, according to liberals, is "No Good Government Denies God's Presence." He is also a strong supporter of the Iraq War. (Lifetime ACU rating: 87)

Jeb Hensarling (51) - having served in the U.S. House as a representative from Texas, Hensarling has an economics degree from Texas A&M ands a law degree from the University of Texas. He has worked for former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm and as executive director of the Republican Senatorial Committee. An entrepreneur and owner of two small businesses, Hensarling sits on the House Budget and Financial Services Committees. With a reputation as a spending hawk and a proponent of low taxes, Hensarling supports a one-year moratorium on all Congressional earmarks. He is a co-author of the Taxpayer Choice Act and introduced the Taxpayer Bill of Rights in the House. Hensarling has been mentioned as a possible successor to Eric Cantor as House Deputy Minority Whip. (Lifetime ACU rating: 98.33)

Adam Putnam (34) - Putnam was the youngest member of Congress when he was sworn in at the age of 26 in 2001. Now with three terms of House service on his resume, the Florida Representative has held minority leadership positions, chairing the House Republican Policy Committee and the House Republican Conference. He also has a seat on the House Financial Services Committee. Putnam acquired the nickname "The Elder Statesman" because of his rapid rise in the House Republican leadership despite his relatively tender years. (Lifetime ACU rating: 92.29)

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2127431/posts

Just so know one starts streaming at me. Mitt Romney is sixty years old. Therefore He really can't qualify as a young gun. However I expect him to be a major factor in the 2012 primaries. However anyone who says they know whose the frontrunner is right now is either a liar or a prophet. Don't be surprised if you check back here in four years and find the Republican nominee didn't even make the list.

Teacher tells student her Daddy will be in Iraq for 100 years if McCain wins

Diantha Harris, a teacher at a Asheville NC, grade school browbeats McCain supporting student, Kathy. The child becomes distressed over the teacher’s line of questioning. It looks like she's about to burst into tears when the video ends.





Isn't it great that the party of tolerance is now in power.

Dow down 443

What could be causing these massive losses in the Dow the last two days. Was there some sort of contest on Tuesday that has made businesses here in America nervous? Do they think that the new President is going to make the economy worse and cost them millions of dollars in profits. Are they worried about having to fire more workers thereby raising the unemployment rate? Could it be that they're worried
the government is going to increase spending thereby causing inflation.

YES THEY ARE!

Update: 10:13pm

I just saw this is the biggest two days drop in history. "The massive back-to-back waves of selling carved more than 900 points from the Dow, its worst two-day point decline in history." I'm sure the election had nothing to do with it.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/cisco-toyota-weigh-futures/

A Moderate Republican Party Cannot Win Elections

Scott Martin: Conservatism Today
http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

John Hawkins of Right Wing News http://rightwingnews.com/#post13372 gives 7 reasons why this is so:

1) What constitutes a "moderate" changes from person to person. That's how people like Joe Lieberman and Chuck Hagel, neither of whom would agree on just about anything, can both be considered "moderates" in their parties.

Put another way: a socially conservative, anti-abortion voter who believes in big government policies could be fairly called a moderate. On the other hand, a socially liberal, pro-abortion voter who doesn't want any new government programs could also be fairly called a moderate.

So, since what constitutes being a "moderate" changes from person to person, it's not possible to build a party around appealing to "moderates."

2) Because moderates tend to be much less ideological, less knowledgeable about politics, and less informed than liberals and conservatives, it's entirely possible that even if our candidate's views are closer to their views, they won't be capable of figuring it out (That's exactly how it worked with McCain and Obama, for example).

Go to the link for the rest. Does anyone disagree with this? Nearly all of our lost seats in Congress were moderates. Our candidate for president was a moderate. I'm convinced that voters need to be given a real choice, and that the past few decades show that most will choose a real conservative when given the option.

Karl Rove on the 2008 election

Intense and gripping, the 2008 election was also historic. The son of a Kenyan immigrant and an American mother has risen to the presidency of history's most powerful nation. Who was not moved by the sight of Jesse Jackson standing silently among strangers with tears streaming down his face as he thought of a long journey towards equality and acceptance?

So how did Barack Obama win? Some of it was fortune: He was a fresh, gifted, charismatic leader who emerged at just the moment that people yearned for something entirely new.
Some of it was circumstance: The October Surprise arrived a month early and framed the election in the best possible way for Mr. Obama (and the worst possible way for John McCain).

Some of it was thoughtful positioning: His themes of bipartisanship and a readiness to tackle the country's pressing challenges were enormously attractive, especially when delivered with hope and optimism.

And some of it was planning and execution: The Obama campaign, led by the two Davids -- Plouffe, the manager, and Axelrod, the strategist -- carefully built a powerful army of persuasion aimed at accomplishing two tasks.

A candidate can improve his party's performance by getting additional people out to vote and persuading people inclined to support the other party to cross over. The first yields an additional vote; the second is worth two, the one a candidate gets and the one he takes away from his opponent.

So the two Davids registered millions of voters in states the Obama campaign picked as battlegrounds, especially where there were many heretofore-disinterested African Americans and younger Democrats. Messrs. Plouffe and Axelrod understood that over the last 28 years only 11 of 20 eligible Americans on average cast a presidential ballot. They focused on registering and motivating the other nine who don't usually vote. This decision, perhaps more than any other, allowed Mr. Obama to win such previously red states as Virginia, Indiana, Colorado and Nevada. It forced Mr. McCain to spend most of the fall on defense, unable to take once-reliably Republican states for granted.

Second, Messrs. Plouffe and Axelrod pried away from the GOP ranks small but decisive slices of the Republican presidential coalition. We can't be precise, because for the third election in a row the exit polls were trash. The raw numbers forecast an 18-point Obama win, news organizations who underwrote the poll arbitrarily dialed it down to a 10-point Obama edge, and the actual margin was six.

But we do know President-elect Obama ran better among frequent churchgoers (perhaps getting 10 points more than John Kerry did), independents (perhaps five points more than Kerry and eight points more than Al Gore), Hispanics and white men. He even made special appeals to gun owners and sent his wife to cultivate military families. This allowed him to carry previously red states like Florida, New Mexico and Iowa.

This combination helped Senator Obama run four points better nationally than John Kerry did in 2004 and 2.5 points better than Al Gore did in 2000. These small changes on the margin meant all the difference between winning and losing.

It is a tribute to his skills that Mr. Obama, the most liberal member of the U.S. Senate, won in a country that remains center-right. Most pre-election polls and the wiggly exits indicate America remains ideologically stable, with 34% of voters saying they are conservative -- unchanged from 2004. Moderates went to 44% from 45% of the electorate, while liberals went to 22% from 21%.

Mr. Obama understood this. He downplayed calls for retreat from Iraq, instead emphasizing toughness on Afghanistan, even threatening an ally, Pakistan, if it didn't help more to exterminate al Qaeda. Mr. Obama campaigned on "a tax cut for 95% of Americans," while attacking "government-run health care" as "extreme" and his opponent's proposals as hidden tax increases.

What Mr. Obama and his team achieved was impressive. But in 75 days comes the hard part. We saw a glimpse of the challenge Tuesday night. The president-elect's speech, while graceful and at times uplifting, was light when it comes to an agenda. That may have been appropriate, but it also continued a pattern.

Many Americans were drawn to Mr. Obama because they saw in him what they wanted to see. He became a large vessel into which voters placed their hopes. This can lead to disappointment and regret. What of the woman who, in the closing days of the campaign, rejoiced that Mr. Obama would pay for her gas and take care of her mortgage, tasks that no president can shoulder?

The country voted for change Tuesday. But the precise direction of that change remains unclear. Mr. Obama's victory was personal rather than philosophical. The soaring hopes and vague incantations of "change" that have characterized the last 21 months were the poetry phase; a prosaic phase is about to begin.

This should be an interesting few years. Let every American hope for the success of the new president and the country we all love.

Mr. Rove is a former senior adviser and deputy chief of staff to President George W. Bush.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122593304225103509.html#printMode

My Day has a Republican Poll Watcher

I was planning on sleeping in on Election Day after having finished my work has a Campaign Manager on Nov 3rd. I had asked about poll watchers, but was told not to worry about it. Turns out I should've worried about it. At 9:30am my candidate gives me a call (I was still sleeping) and tells me to go to a polling place because there are reports they're not checking I.D.'s. So I get up shave, wet my hair down, throw some clothes on, and run out the door.

When I get there I find out that it's an erroneous report. However while I'm there the Democratic Party stops by to accuse me of voter intimidation tactics. At this point I had not even challenged a single vote. As a matter of fact I only challenged one vote all day, and it turned out I was wrong on that count. The elections were very well run where I was. I watched the poll workers for awhile then the polling place starts to get very slow so I decide to go vote. When I get to the place the line is out the door. I waited an hour and a half to vote for John McCain. However I should've known we were in trouble then because there were a ton of young people in line.

After I go vote my boss gives me a call and tells me his challenger is standing outside a polling place asking people to vote for him so he wants me to go there and tell people to vote for him. We can only stand there if no one makes a complaint. I always thought it was completely against the law apparently it's not until someone complains about it. While we were there someone complained and the poll worker asked us to leave. So the candidate, a democrat obviously, starts screaming about how I had one of my people go in there and make the complaint. For the record I have no people I'm the only staffer on the whole campaign. At this point were both supposed to leave, but he refuses to leave. I call my boss and my boss tells me if he's not leaving your not leaving. So I get out of my car and go tell the guy the law is he must leave. Still refuses so I grab a police officer and try to get him to ask him to leave. The officer basically said he wasn't getting involved. Now the nut job, trust me he was a nut job, starts calling his lawyer and trying to file formal complaints against me. So of course I start calling all the people I know and asking them to get someone down there. Eventually my boss got there and after talking with his opponent for a while just asked me to go to another polling place. Once I finally got in touch with someone from the Republican Party I found out there was actually nothing that guy could do.

Well I went to another polling place after that and waited for them to print out the results and called them in to the Republican Party and my candidate. Then I went home to watch what can now be fairly called our complete annihilation on the NEWS. After that was over I went to Waffle House for some comfort food and because I wanted to stay up and find out what happened in my race. At around 2am I get a phone call, WE WON! All my work paid off. Turns out it wasn't even close. Apparently a lot of people must have known our opponent was crazy. Too bad not enough realized that about Obama.

2010 Conservatism Strikes Back!

Go here to vote on the article at RCP: http://readerarticles.realclearpolitics.com/

This really helps me out with getting new vistiors

After taking a little time to think about it

You know after taking a little time to think about it, and after seeing Palin on TV as she returned home to Alaska. It occurs to be I may have been hasty in writing her off so quickly. First of all I'm assuming what is being said is true, which is usually a mistake when it comes to the media. Second of all no one has put their name to their quotes about Palin so they could be making it up or maybe they never said it at all. 2012 is a long way away and anything can happen between now and then. I'm not writing anyone off this far out. We will see how everything transpires from now until then. I wouldn't be surprised if there's a new face on the right for 2012. Remember everyone 2010 Conservatism strikes back.

Looks like I was wrong about Palin.

Wow, while I still think she was the right pick. McCain had to do something to take the spotlight off Obama. His poll numbers rose after the pick, but Palin obvisouly wasn't ready for the spotlight. Just watch the report by Carl Cameron.



I don't think she will be able to come back and run in 2012 in 2016 or 2020 who knows?

Palin appears finished

The McCain campaign is telling stories about Palin on the campaign trial that will end any chance she ever had at becoming President. It appears Palin is done with National Politics in the immediate future. Although I could still see her as a Senator or House Member from Alaska given her overwhelming popularity there. In eight or twelve years she may be back but 2012 no chance.



Hat Tip: Conservatism Today
http://www.conservatismtoday.com/my_weblog/

Thank you to all my new readers

On Nov. 3rd this site set a new record with 996 hits in a day. My hits have gone up every month since August. Last month I had 3,822 hits. This month in five days I have over 2,500. I would ask who to get involved as much as you can with this site by leaving comments. I hope I can keep your attention now that the election is over. We have a long fight ahead of us and in 2010 conservatism strikes back.

"Stand up and fight. America is worth fighting for. Nothing is inevitable here we never give up, we never quit, we make history we don't hide from history."
John McCain

If McCain had won

This is the video I was hoping to put up last night. Obvisously I had my fun making the Obama video a nuclear bomb going off. He's what I would've put up had McCain won.



I wish had the chance to play that last night. I'll might keep it on file for 2010 and 2012. It took me forever to find it. I looked at many vidoes before I settled on this one.

Obama Wins, Dow Drops 486 Points.

Let's see when McCain was gaining ground, or at least it looked like he was the stock market was going up. Now that Obama was won the Presidency it drops nearly 500 points. Think the two have anything to do with each other?

Prop 8 passes in Califorina

An Amendment to the California State Constitution defining marriage has a union between one man and one women has passed.

"People believe in the institution of marriage," Frank Schubert, co-manager of the Yes on 8 campaign said. "It's one institution that crosses ethnic divides, that crosses partisan divides. ... People have stood up because they care about marriage and they care a great deal."

Opponents of the gay marriage ban said Wednesday that one legal challenge was filed and others were being prepared.

So basically they want the courts to overturn the constitution. I don't think it's supposed to work that way.

By changing the state constitution to limit marriage to a man and a woman, Proposition 8 overturns the California Supreme Court decision that overturned the 2000 ban and legalized same-sex marriage in the state in mid-June. Since then, an estimated 18,000 gay and lesbian couples, many of them from other states, have been married.
http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/11/05/voters-decide-hot-button-issues-nationwide/

The funny thing is it I think I saw an article that said a large number of minorities that turned out to vote for Obama also voted for prop 8 giving it the boost it needed to win. Gay marriage bans also passed in Arizona and Florida. With the passing of this amendment in California it looks like most Americans are rejecting the notion of gay marriage.