While this poll has potential 2012 ramification, it also has significance for the current battles with Obama/Pelosi/Reid and the 2010 elections.

The conventional wisdom is that Sarah Palin is a *polarizing* figure who has no appeal outside of the very limited radical right-wing base. But check out this paragraph from the above-referenced poll article:

President Obama recently stated that he “probably won’t” read Sarah Palin’s new book. But his possible opponent in the 2012 elections trails him in personal favorability by only seven points (54 percent to 47 percent). Among the critical segment of independent voters, they are virtually even (Obama at 50 percent; Palin at 49 percent).

I report this result not to toot Palin’s horn or say how great she is (as much as I might like to!), but just to highlight a possibly fatal flaw in the conventional wisdom. And her interview performances to date have been pretty decent, so these numbers might be even better a few weeks from now.

And on an anecdotal note: I don’t personally know a lot of people who voted for Obama. I tend to hang out with good conservatives (Boy Scouts, work, church). But I have talked to no fewer than four acquaintances this week who all voted for Obama, now regret it, and voluntarily told me that they watched Palin’s Oprah and/or Baba Wawa interview and now have a completely different opinion of Sarah. It’s a small sample and not quantitative, but I have a gut feeling that this kind of thing is creeping into the national psyche.

Whether you like her or not, she may be in a position soon to play a big role in accelerating the conservative resurgence. Time will tell…

The Obama administration continues to treat dissenters with disdain and put-downs. We’ve been called mobsters, right-wing extremists, domestic terrorists, and even silly. So now today, Baghdad Bob Gibbs likens us to Bluto and his buddies from Animal House for being concerned about Obama’s school speech tomorrow.

You would think by now that Obama, being as brilliantly gifted as he is, might have figured out that putting down half or more of the voters in the country would be politically, well, stupid! But now, he’s really screwed up. Everyone loves the Delta House buddies: Bluto, Pinto, Boon, Otter, Flounder, D-Day, Stork, etc. They are fun-loving and stand up against the evil administration.

Now, Obama and Gibbs have put themselves directly on the side of the Omega’s, the snobby, rich, elitist bunch that everyone hates. So I hope they now enjoy being thought of as Barack ‘Niedermeyer’ Obama, Joe ‘Marmalard’ Biden, and Bobby ‘Diller’ Gibbs. So, to Obama and his administration full of Socialists, Commies, and other assorted political misfits, I say “EAT ME“!

Consider this a holiday open thread and a request to $peciallist and 6eorge Jetson to come up with some really cool photoshops along this theme!

One year ago today, August 29, 2008, political life in America (and my life) underwent a sea change.  On that day, in a basketball arena in Dayton, Ohio, John McCain announced that Sarah Palin would be his running mate for the 2008 Presidential election.

Now, this is not a diary to pronounce how Sarah Palin gave birth to her fifth child at the top of Mount Everest while closing up the hole in the ozone layer.  Rather, it is just a personal reflection on that day and what Sarah’s nomination meant to me, and my interpretation of what that has meant, and will continue to mean, to the American body politic.

I first became aware of Sarah Palin in early 2008.  Matt Drudge had a link near the bottom of his page that said something like “Hottie for VP”.  Being a normal American male, I of course followed the link, which led me to Adam Brickley’s now famous (and enshrined in the Library of Congress historical archives) “Draft Sarah Palin for Vice-President” blog.  I immediately began researching Gov. Palin and liked what I saw and read.  I watched every interview with her that I could find.  I even watched clips from the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial debates.  I became convinced that she was the only potential running mate for McCain that would help close the enthusiasm gap between him and Obama, and his best bet for winning the White House.

I spent the next 7 or 8 months pushing this idea to everyone I knew, including commenting on every news article I could find on McCain’s VP choices.  Adam’s blog became a daily fixture for me.  But even as late as August 28, the prospect of a Palin candidacy was just a fringe possibility that very few people gave much credence to.  Two days before the announcement, for the first time in my life (despite being a longtime political activist), I actually prayed to God for a specific political outcome.  I had become disheartened by the media’s love affair with Barack Obama and the minimal prospect of beating him in November.  I so wanted John McCain to do something, anything, to inspire me.  As I went to bed on Thursday night, Drudge had several articles highlighting Tim Pawlenty on his site.  I went to bed hopeful, but somewhat resigned to the likelihood of a disappointing announcement and an unenthusiastic, doomed, Presidential campaign.

When I awoke on Friday morning, I slowly trod to the computer and pulled up the Drudge Report.  To my utter astonishment, there was the McCain/Palin button graphic that I also had on my computer desktop!  The headline said, “And the mate is?”.  I could hardly contain my excitement as I read the articles about the mysterious plane from Alaska to Ohio and watched Fox News speculate on whether or not it was Palin.  When they finally announced that it was official, my family and I were ecstatic.

Now, we all know the story, the ups and downs, that have followed since that fateful day.  We have many disagreements about Sarah Palin: Should she have resigned or not?  Does she have any prospects for future national office, or not?  Is her limited term as Governor an impossible obstacle to future office? And so on, and so on…

But what we are missing in these disagreements, is this.  McCain’s nomination of Sarah Palin, and her subsequent introduction speech electrified a moribund conservative movement like nothing else did, or even could have, at that point in our history.  We were largely a demoralized movement by 2008, worn down by the disappointing presidency of George W. Bush.  While he did keep us safe after 9/11, he betrayed conservatives on very many domestic fronts.  Had he sold himself originally as a moderate Republican, we could have used his failures to energize our movement.  But since he had suckered us in by proclaiming himself a “compassionate conservative”, conservatives now were stuck with the blame for his big government, big spending ways.  The voters had taken note, and wanted nothing to do with conservative politicians.  They were unhappy with the last 8 years, even to the point of backing an unknown, radically leftist, Chicago thug politician with absolutely zero experience running anything.

Sarah Palin’s ascension changed the conservative nation overnight.  Millions of people who had zero (or even negative) enthusiasm about politics and the 2008 campaign suddenly showed up at Republican Headquarters around the country.  The volunteer ranks exploded overnight, and suddenly there were McCain-Palin signs everywhere where previously there were only Obama and “Change We Can Believe In” signs.  The conservative movement had received a transfusion of energy, enthusiasm, and optimism that we had lacked for a long, long time.  From a personal perspective, though I had grown up in an activist Republican family, I had not been involved in party politics for a long time.  I immediately signed up to be a Precinct Committeeman, and now am very active in my county GOP.  I bought a button maker and made almost 2000 buttons for the 2008 campaign, most of which were either given or sold for cost to my county GOP HQ.  They flew off the shelves as fast as I could make them.  We had 10,000 people on our town square for John McCain’s midnight rally on election eve.

Now, of course, the election did not turn out like we had hoped.  My high hopes for a Sarah Palin vice-presidency (and subsequent presidency) now yield sharp pangs of disappointment when I think about them. I haven’t lost my enthusiasm for her, though, and I sincerely believe she will be a player on the national scene for years to come, perhaps even as a national candidate.

But the main point of this diary is not to argue Sarah Palin’s future one way or the other.  It is simply to make the point, on this anniversary date of her debut on the national stage, that McCain’s act of nominating her (and of course her magnificent performance at the GOP National Convention) provided the jolt of electricity that restarted the heart of the conservative movement.  Barack Obama has been a catalyst with his reckless, dangerous, socialist agenda.  But I truly believe that had it not been for Sarah Palin’s nomination, we would not have the effective opposition movement we have today.  Perhaps we would still have a Tea Party movement.  Perhaps we would still be arguing against nationalized health care at congressional town hall meetings.  But the crowds would be much smaller, less effective, and likely less mainstream.  Barack Obama may have gotten us off our butts and out on the streets fighting to restore the America the founders intended, but it was Sarah Palin who woke us up and made sure we were awake to see the threat.

Thanks Sarah!  Happy Anniversary today, both on your marriage and on your selection.  I wish you the best and hope to see many great things from you in the years ahead.

Conservatives, continue to fight the good fight!  We can, and will, save our nation.

I’m certain that Erick and others will have nice things to say about Ted Kennedy come the morning, but being a west coaster (time zone anyway), I’ll throw out a late night open thread in his honor.

First, I offer my condolences to the entire Kennedy family.  Cancer is a brutal killer, and having lost my father-in-law in the last year the same way, I feel for what they have all gone through.  Although I disagreed with Senator Kennedy (and unlike Barbara Boxer, he REALLY DID earn that title) on virtually every issue, I had great respect for his commitment to his principles.  While I considered him an adversary, he was one who fought hard and fair, and who truly believed in what he stood for.  And while he had numerous and legendary personal foibles, he seemed to have straightened that aspect of his life out in recent years.  I do believe that he had personal faith and is likely in Heaven now, hopefully unbearing his long burden by finally apologizing to Mary Jo Kopechne.

In Sen. Kennedy’s honor, here is my personal list of the 5 most effective political speeches I have ever seen.  This list is not based on ideology, but on sheer power of the text, the delivery, and its effect on America’s political discourse.  Feel free to agree or disagree or offer your own candidates.  They are presented in chronological order, as it is difficult to rank them against each other. (I am limiting this list to speeches given in my lifetime, though a couple of them I did not see live.)

1. Martin Luther King, Jr. - “I Have a Dream” speech - 1963 - While not a political speech, per se, its impact was clearly political.  In retrospect, while the Civil Rights battle continues to some extent today, this speech began the end of the bulk of racial prejudice in this country.  Without this one particular speech, I truly believe we would still be waiting for our first President of color.
2. Ronald Reagan - 1964 televised address in support of Barry Goldwater - “A Time For Choosing” - Incredibly effective speech that launched the career of a political superstar, the bookend to FDR as giants of 20th century American politics. 
3.  Ted Kennedy - 1980 Democratic National Convention - “The Dream Will Never Die” - The first speech on my list that I witnessed live.  While I disagreed with virtually every topical aspect of this speech, I was markedly moved by the delivery and the sincere commitment to its central theme exhibited by the Senator.  There is no doubt that, if they could have suspended the delegate rules at that moment, Kennedy would have ousted Carter by a landslide for the nomination.
4. Ronald Reagan - 1987 Brandenburg Gate, Berlin - “Tear Down This Wall” - If I expanded this list to my Top 10, Reagan would probably occupy at least 5 of the spots, if not more.  I saw his 1981 Inaugural Address live and in person and am inclined to include it in the Top 5.  But in all honesty, a speech which presaged the end of the Cold War is more worthy of that spot.  My mind may be a little slow this late at night, but I am hard pressed to think of any speech in human history which had this much impact on the security of the world.
5. Sarah Palin - 2008 Republican National Convention - Barack Obama had just had his coronation in Denver.  John McCain shocked the nation with his selection of a VP candidate, but over 5 days, her opponents and the media (not that there is a difference between the two) had savaged her.  And her daughter’s condition added fuel to that fire.  McCain’s candidacy teetered on the abyss to what could easily have become a McGovern-type loss.  Enter Sarah Palin onto that Minnesota stage.  She delivered an address that not only electrified the audience there, but exuded such poise and effectiveness that it single-handedly revived the McCain campaign.  Without the subsequent mishandling of her by the McCain campaign staff and the financial meltdown, this speech may well have launched one of the greatest political upsets in American history.  As of this date, Sarah Palin’s future political achievements are unknown, but whatever future she has is owed to this speech.

You may have noticed a conspicuous absence on my list of a particular U.S. President who is touted as a great orator.  I have seen a number of Obama’s speeches, including his coronation speech in Denver.  While he has a smooth voice and apparently reads very well, I have not found any speech of his to be particularly memorable or effective.  Other than the words “hope”, “change”, and “yes we can”, I have never heard even any of his fans able to recall any particular portion of his speeches by even the next day.  I am convinced that his reputation as a great orator is largely a modern mythology.  This reputation was very effectively astroturfed by David Axelrod and a willing media into a political movement based on a person, not principles or even words.  At least that’s my opinion.

Again, my prayers and thoughts to the Kennedy family on their loss.

ColdWarrior keeps pushing and pushing us RedState folks to become Precinct Committeepersons (PC’s), continuing Martin Knight’s drumbeat. Listen to him! That is how we will change and reinvigorate the Republican party.

Here’s my story:
After Sarah Palin’s selection last year, I got charged up and and finally submitted a PC application with my county GOP. Since all PC slots in my precinct were vacant (this is not at all unusual), it was just a matter of getting appointed by my County GOP Chair (and then approved by the County Board of Supervisors). I made about 1500 buttons for the campaign, went door-to-door on election day, attended some meetings, etc, enough that some party folks got to know my name and face. When we moved about 2 months ago, I got in touch to change my address and my precinct. Again, all 5 PC slots in my new precinct were vacant, so I just got moved over to the new precinct. The Chair asked me at that time if I wanted to get more involved in the party. Easy answer on that one.

Today, she called me and said the executive committee had elected me as the Youth Group coordinator for the county at their last meeting. It is essentially a new position, so they want to talk to me about what can be done to get ratcheted up before 2010. Basically, I’ll oversee any Young Republican, College Republican, High School Republican, etc groups in the county and try to get more started where they don’t exist already. Basically, I’ll be in charge of outreach to the “younger generation” (like Amy Miller and Jake W!).

All this because I filled out a one-page PC app (and I’ll point out, also too , that none of this would have happened if McCain hadn’t picked Palin, which I had been rooting for for almost a year before it happened thanks to Adam Brickley’s now famous blog!). So if there are any of you that aren’t already PC’s (or other position in your local party), get out there and sign up now! Talk to your conservative friends and get them to do the same. We can electrify this party in time for a huge victory in 2010!

P.S. I might add that my county GOP is already pretty conservative, so there’s no coup necessary here! Just want lots of fresh blood.

Last year, Barack Obama’s campaign brought literally millions into the political arena that were never activated before. Now, his disastrous policies are bringing millions of conservative-minded folks into the world of political activism that were never inclined to do so. This is a great thing!!! I would guess that there are literally thousands who have discovered RedState in the last 6-9 months (heck, I only joined officially a little over 9 months ago myself). There are probably many more readers than those who have actually registered and commented/posted. There are probably an increasing number who show up for the first time each day to just read the posts. This is a great opportunity to educate folks and to inspire them into action.

However, many of them are not as “educated” in conservative doctrine as are many regular RedState posters. Like many of the folks Obama brought into the process, many of our newbies know only how they “feel” about certain issues or people. Many of these folks have gotten active because they fell in love with Sarah Palin. Many of them just have a gut-level distaste for Barack Obama, making them more inclined to believe the birth certificate conspiracy arguments. (I mention these two issues primarily because they have been the biggest controversial topics of late. There are any number of other issues that will crop up that will be similar emotional catalysts.)

If we want our conservative arguments to prevail, we need a big army! In this army will be officers and enlisted folks, planners and fighters, charge-leaders and back-room dealers. There is a need and room for many. And there will be many disagreements, some of which we’ve already seen. We must be careful not to alienate or chase away these new folks!!!!! Let me make this clear, I am 100% in favor of factual arguments. You think Sarah Palin has made mistakes or is finished with electoral politics, fine. Make that argument. You think she’s great, make that argument. You think Obama’s not eligible to be POTUS, fine, make that argument. You think the whole birth certificate issue has nowhere to go, great. Make that argument. (Full disclosure: I remain a huge Sarah Palin fan; and I believe that Obama was born in Hawaii.)

But RedState should not be an elitist site!! We want a big army, we need a big army. If we call Palin fans, especially those who are new and whose opinions are still largely “feelings-based”, names (e.g. Palinbots) and ridicule them, they will leave our site (and likely political activism) for good. If we make fun of the folks who genuinely believe that Obama has not proven his eligibility (and believe me, I’ve met a good number of them, and they are a completely different, and more normal, group than the Paulites) and make cracks about “tinfoil hats”, we will lose them as well. And believe me, every person who leaves RedState feeling put down or unwelcome will let their like-minded friends know how they were treated or how welcoming our site is.

So please, Redstaters, let’s keep the conversation at this site thoughtful, incisive, witty, and fun. But please dispense with any third-grade name-calling. If I want that, I will go read HuffPo or some other such site.

Ta-ta for now, and see many of you in Atlanta!

So 8 Vichy Republicans have turned coat on their party and their nation by providing the key votes to pass the cap and tradetax debacle. So we need to thank them for their treasonous behavior.

So please go to Barnes and Noble or Amazon and order a copy of Jean Fritz’s Traitor: The Case of Benedict Arnold for as many of these turncoats as you can. The book only costs about six dollars, so it’s plenty affordable to send a copy to all 8!

Here are the Washington office addresses for the ‘gang of 8′:

Mary Bono Mack (CA-45)
104 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Mike Castle (DE)
1233 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Mark Kirk (IL-10)
1030 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Leonard Lance (NJ-7)
114 Cannon HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Frank LoBiondo (NJ-2)
2427 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

John McHugh (NY-23)
2366 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Dave Reichert
1730 Longworth HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Chris Smith (NJ-4)
2373 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515

Seems like a nice topic for a Friday afternoon.

Over the last 8 years, the lefties (in AND out of the press) succeeded immensely in painting caricatures of the key members of the Bush administration. They did this often by associating certain characteristics (true or not!) with each person and ALWAYS including these characteristics whenever they discussed these folks.

For example, President Bush was rarely mentioned without some synonym of the word ’stupid’ (dunce, village idiot, clueless, etc) and VP Cheney was rarely mentioned without a synonym of ‘dangerous’. This has been a liberal tactic for decades.

Conservatives have, I guess, been more reluctant to get involved in this type of name calling, preferring instead to focus on issues. But this is a very effective tactic. It helps to shape the opinions of those who don’t follow politics closely. Only the strength of conservative principles has been able to occasionally trump this word association trick. I am proposing that we, as conservatives and members of the RS Army, start using this tactic. For example, we could make sure that every time Barack Obama is discussed, that he is associated with the word ‘arrogant’. This is not truly name calling if you choose descriptive and accurate terms rather than inflammatory names.

So consider this an open thread for you to suggest words to associate with different members of the Obamadministration. Here’s just a couple ideas to start with:

Barack Obama: arrogant
Joe Biden: flibbertigibbet, or our foot-in-mouth VP
Rahm Emanuel: partisan, or master manipulator, something like that
Robert Gibbs: bumbling
Nancy Pelosi: geez, can’t think of anything non-inflammatory here

anyway, you get the idea.

P.S. Rush and Hannity already have some terms that they repeat often, like ‘Dingey’ Harry Reid, Rahm ‘Dead Fish’ Emmanuel, etc. We can continue to use those terms or make up some more. The idea is to be consistent as possible in associating these terms with their ‘owners’.

[This is a re-print of a Commentary I had published in the Virginia Tech Collegiate Times on December 3, 1993. It is a spoof of Hillarycare, which was being thrust on us at the time. Now, over 15 years later, we're about to get something similar shoved down our throats, through Reconciliation, by the Obama administration. To update the column, I have changed the word Clinton to Obama. Enjoy.]

If Grocery Shopping Were Just Like Health Care

Before we all get caught up in the feel-good ‘big-government-savior’ rhetoric being sold to us by the Obama administration regarding health care reform, we must realize the absurdity of this plan. Solving the problems in the existing health care system by creating a sweeping new bureaucracy is inefficient overkill.

To illustrate the absurdity of this solution, let’s draw an analogy: consider the problem of hunger in this country.

Clearly, the best way to solve the hunger problem is to help those who are not able to obtain the means to do so.

But using the Obama health care reform as a blueprint, here is how one would envision their solution to hunger. Everything in this plan is taken directly from the current health care debate.

The problem: Americans are spending more and more of their hard-earned money on food. Millions of Americans are hungry due to a lack of food. Americans who lose their jobs may be unable to afford to buy food.

The current food distribution is unequal; some have plenty to eat, some have too little. Many grocery stores turn people away who cannot afford to buy food. This is a crisis. We cannot be competitive for the 21st century unless all Americans are secure in their food!

The premise: Food is a right. Everyone needs food to survive, therefore we must see that it is provided to all Americans. We should not be denied food because we cannot afford it. We should not lose our food because we change jobs or lose our jobs.

The Food Security Plan: Each state will form Regional Food Alliances. These alliances will select a limited number of grocery stores from which food may be obtained.
Every American must choose which grocery store plan they wish to join in their alliance. They may only shop at the store for that plan.

States may also elect a Single Payer Food system. This would mean that all residents of that state could only buy their food at the state food store.

The Regional Food Alliances will place limits on the amount a farmer or food company may charge a Grocery Plan for a particular type of food.

It will be illegal for Americans to go outside the Food Security Plan and use ‘bribes or gratuities to influence the delivery’ of food service.

All employers will be required to provide 80 percent of their employees’ Grocery Plan premiums. The individuals will be responsible for the remaining 20 percent.

Your premiums will be based on a regionally averaged food premium. Thus, people who need less food will pay the same as people who need more food.

Employers who decide to save money by administering their own Employee Food Plans will be taxed 50 percent on the amount of money they save by not joining the Regional Alliance.

Unemployed persons or persons below the poverty level will have their Food Plan premiums supplemented by the federal government.

This plan will not cost any additional government money. It will be financed entirely by savings in other government food programs, such as school lunches, and by a 75 cent per bar tax on candy bars.

The Cost: President Obama’s Task Force on Food has spent literally months researching the food industry and estimating costs. Only 25 percent of Americans will pay more for their food under the Obama Plan - wait, actually 40 percent. No, we mean 15 percent - wait, it’s really 40 percent. But let’s stop this nonsense about who pays more and who pays less! People who pay more will also be buying Food Security, and that’s something money can’t buy!

Sound absurd? Watch out, I wouldn’t put this past the Obamabots. If you don’t believe me, let me ask you this. Have you ever gone two months without going to the doctor? You have. Have you ever gone two months without food?

So which is more important…which should be a fundamental right?

I had an epiphany today…OK, maybe it’s just end-of-the-semester sleep deprivation. Who knows? But I thought I’d share it for what it’s worth on a Friday night when there are fewer folks posting diaries.

I teach engineering at a small campus of a rather unusual university. Our student body, and faculty for that matter, are significantly less liberal than most institutions of higher learning. About 20 percent of our student body are ROTC, and virtually all our students are interested in getting into the aerospace and aviation industry. In the last three POTUS elections, I have run a mock election in all my classes. In 2000, George W. Bush got the votes of about 90% of the students. Algore actually ran in third place behind Nader! In 2004, the result was very similar, though Kerry did manage to capture second place with around 10 percent of the vote. However, in the 2008 version, McCain got only one more vote than Obama out of the roughly 100 votes cast in my three classes. I seriously don’t think that our student body has changed that much since 2000 or 2004, it just reflects the general appeal that Obama had to the younger voters. But it was a significant shift.

We at Redstate have engaged in a number of post-election debates about the challenge to Conservatism. Should we moderate our message? Should we go back to first principles, a la Reagan? Should Sarah Palin be our spokesperson? Is she what her fans (full disclosure: myself included) think she is? Should it be Jindal, Sanford, Gingrich, etc? Should we support gay marriage? Should we kick out the “squishy” moderates or open the tent more?

I love these debates. I have my definite opinions, and I love hearing the opinions of all of you at RedState. But something happened today in a couple of classes that actually caused me to have a ‘aha’ moment in regards to the challenges we face as Conservatives.

Read More →

A recent diary about Kay Bailey Hutchison dissing Sarah Palin in an advertisement brought out a number of negative comments regarding Gov. Rick Perry (R-Tx). I stayed quiet through these as most were from Texas conservatives, who I figured knew Perry better than I. I’m predisposed to liking Gov. Perry as I am a Scoutmaster in the Boy Scouts whose son is nearing the Eagle rank, and Gov. Perry recently published On My Honor, a book about Eagle Scouts (of which Perry is one).

Now, it appears that Gov. Perry, for whatever he may have done in the past that upset TX conservatives, is on the right side of things. From the featured story on Drudge:

WAKE UP CALL: TEXAS GOV. BACK RESOLUTION AFFIRMING SOVEREIGNTY
Tue Apr 14 2009 08:44:54 ET

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry joined state Rep. Brandon Creighton and sponsors of House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 50 in support of states’ rights under the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

“I believe that our federal government has become oppressive in its size, its intrusion into the lives of our citizens, and its interference with the affairs of our state,” Gov. Perry said. “That is why I am here today to express my unwavering support for efforts all across our country to reaffirm the states’ rights affirmed by the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. I believe that returning to the letter and spirit of the U.S. Constitution and its essential 10th Amendment will free our state from undue regulations, and ultimately strengthen our Union.”

Perry continued: “Millions of Texans are tired of Washington, DC trying to come down here to tell us how to run Texas.”

A number of recent federal proposals are not within the scope of the federal government’s constitutionally designated powers and impede the states’ right to govern themselves. HCR 50 affirms that Texas claims sovereignty under the 10th Amendment over all powers not otherwise granted to the federal government.

It also designates that all compulsory federal legislation that requires states to comply under threat of civil or criminal penalties, or that requires states to pass legislation or lose federal funding, be prohibited or repealed.

Developing…

Now, I don’t know if this will pass or not and what effect it will have in practice, but as a symbolic act it is certainly a nice start. I look forward to hearing responses from you TX folks as to how significant this story may or may not be.
And a message to The One: “The Eyes of Texas are Upon You!!”

P.S. And a message to Texas and Gov. Perry from one in Arizona: “I Second That Emotion”!

Jeez, just heard this on Rush. Here’s a part of the transcript from last night’s (4/2) Larry King Live. Guests were Penn Jillette, James Carville, Terry Holt, and Stephanie Miller.

KING: If [Obama's] programs, Penn, brought about health insurance that pleased all, taxes that pleased most, a better way of life for a lot of people, then that’s the kind of success you would think you’d like.

JILLETTE: I would think that if you please everybody on anything, you’re doing something wrong. But, luckily, there’s no chance of that. I just think that individuals are more important than a whole kind of group thing and that individuals can do more than a top down kind of thinking. I don’t think the government can solve all of our problems or should try.

HOLT: Amen

KING: OK. But, Terry, we do have 300 million people, Terry.

CARVILLE: Right. Yes.

HOLT: Well, and…

KING: And you can be individuals as much as you like.

HOLT: We do…

KING: Somebody has got to think for the masses.

(Emphasis added)
Wow, that about sums up the liberal thought process, doesn’t it. Terry Holt (Bush-Cheney 2004 spokesman) then responded nicely to King, but watch what King says after!

HOLT: We do. But we — but the government shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers. Penn’s right. We should all be in a system of liberty where people can succeed and fail and where merit plays a certain role. If you’re going to help everybody, then what about the guy that worked hard enough — I mean, in some cases, in this — in this budget that Barack Obama is promoting, the small businessman who succeeds, grows the business, hires people, is going to get slapped with the highest tax in the country.

MILLER: No…

HOLT: In other words, because he succeeded, he’s going to be punished. And there’s something wrong with that kind of policy.

KING: Well, you might have that wrong.

(Again, emphasis added.)

Next time some idiot like Larry King says these kinds of stupid things, I wish someone would say:

American slaves pre-Civil War had:

• Free housing
• Free food
• Guaranteed jobs for life
• No need to save for retirement
• Zero taxes
• A “leader” to think for them

Sounds like a statist’s utopia, doesn’t it? (end sarcasm)
Wish just once, someone would throw that up in Larry King’s face!

(Ok, if this is not really a diary-worthy topic, I apologize in advance.  But it made an impact on me, and if it helps even one of you feel the way I did, it will be worth getting scolded for posting as a diary! ).

If you’re like me, and I know a lot of you are, you’ve been feeling pretty down lately about the direction that the socialists in the White House and Congress are bent on taking this country.  Every day, it seems that the news gets worse and worse.  Our new president is clearly not up to tackling the real problems the country faces, and seems intent on doing nothing but trying to cement his own (& his party’s) power.  It seems sometimes like there are SO many people who just don’t want to see what’s going on.

I’ve been encouraged a little recently by things like Glenn Beck’s 912 project and the tea parties, but it still feels like we’re pulling against the tide.

Tonight, I was up late doing some laundry.  The wife and kids are in bed, it was midnight, and I had several loads of clothes to fold.  So I decided to turn on the tube for some background while I folded.  Nothing good was on the regular movie channels, but I saw an interesting-looking 2004 TV movie on the Disney Channel called ‘Tiger Cruise’.  It starred Bill Pullman as the XO on an aircraft carrier which was taking a bunch of family members (including a bunch of kids) on a short cruise to show them what happens onboard.  Hayden Panatierre played Pullman’s daughter, who went along hoping to convince Pullman’s character to retire so he would be home more.

To make a long story short (and not to be too much of a spoiler), 9/11 happens while they are at sea.  The movie isn’t Academy-award material, and it’s a bit unrealistic in its portrayal of the freedom that the kids seem to have to roam about the ship at will.  However, the message that is brought home is one of duty, honor, and country.  The performances by both Pullman and Panatierre, and several other cast members, are moving and authentic.  It really brought back to me the feeling of 9/12 that Glenn Beck is trying to promote with the 912 project.  Not only did it move me to remember the feelings of patriotism and unity that we ALL felt that fateful week, but it also recharged my spirits to work even harder to fight what is happening now.

Our families, children (mine are 17, 10 and 8), and grandchildren are too important for us to sit back and watch Harry Obamelosi destroy everything that this country was founded on and has stood for for 230+ years.  We must stand up and work to protect the values and principles for which those long-ago patriots, and millions of men and women in and out of uniform since, fought.  Never give up!

If you need a recharge like I did, consider getting your family together and renting or watching ‘Tiger Cruise’.  If it’s on TV, record it and pass it to your friends.  If you find it on DVD, buy or rent it.  You’ll be glad you did.

I just started reading Russell Kirk’s “Rights and Duties”. Very early in the book (pages 6-7!), Kirk quotes a letter that Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay sent to Henry S. Randall in 1857. Randall was an American biographer of Thomas Jefferson. Macaulay was warning that Jeffersonianism would destroy the U.S. The passage from Macaulay’s letter says:

It is quite plain that your government will never be able to restrain a distressed and discontented majority. For with you the majority is the government, and has the rich, who are always a minority, absolutely at its mercy. The day will come when, in the State of New York, a multitude of people, none of whom has had more than half a breakfast, or expects to have more than half a dinner, will choose a Legislature. Is it possible to doubt what sort of a Legislature will be chosen?

To this point, Macaulay’s argument sounds like a typically elitist view against citizen participation in republican government. But his point is somewhat deeper than that superficial analysis would indicate.

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According to Hannity’s count, Obama used the words “crisis” or “catastrophe” no less than 24 times during his mortgage crisis speech today here in Arizona. And we’ve all heard “the worst economy since the Great Depression” enough times to go “postal” if we hear it one more time! (My apologies to you faithful postal workers here!).
Thanks to www.miseryindex.us, it takes only a few seconds to easily refute Obama’s fearmongering. A simple look at a plot of the Misery Index (unemployment + inflation) for 1948 through the end of 2008 makes it clear that this is all folly (click on plot to access image file):

The current Misery Index is substantially lower than it was during the recessions of the 70’s and early 80’s.
Now, if you argue that the Misery Index doesn’t tell the full story due to the currently low inflation rates, you can also look at the historical unemployment trends:

You can see the recent spike in unemployment. But it is clear that this is not a unique event, and that we are still lower than the peaks of the 70’s and 80’s. Also, notice that there is an unemployment spike, almost like clockwork, every 4-6 years. The only exceptions to this are in the late 60’s (Vietnam), the mid-80’s (Reagan’s tax cuts), and the mid-90’s (tech boom).
I haven’t put the plot together, but one could easily do the same thing with GDP growth and show the same conclusion.
I am an engineer, not an economist. But an engineer’s view of this data clearly indicates NOTHING remarkable about the current situation. Certainly nothing worthy of being called a “crisis”. All of this is based on government data that is easily obtained and reported in the MSM regularly. Any reporter without an agenda could easily look at this data and look at Obama’s rhetoric more skeptically. So clearly, not that it’s any surprise to anyone here at Redstate, the media agenda is overriding any essence of truth.

Lord President Obama just landed in Phoenix a couple hours ago and will be speaking at a school tomorrow.  KFYI radio personalities Bruce Jacobs and (former Congressman) J.D. Hayworth have organized a mock demonstration against the stimulus porkulus package in conjunction with Obama’s appearance.  If you live in the Phoenix area, you may want to attend.  Find details here.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) says Obama’s plan will hurt the economy in the long haul (like we didn’t already know that!).

President Obama’s economic recovery package will actually hurt the economy more in the long run than if he were to do nothing, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday.

CBO, the official scorekeepers for legislation, said the House and Senate bills will help in the short term but result in so much government debt that within a few years they would crowd out private investment, actually leading to a lower Gross Domestic Product over the next 10 years than if the government had done nothing.

CBO estimates that by 2019 the Senate legislation would reduce GDP by 0.1 percent to 0.3 percent on net.

So where is this story in the mainstream media?? This ought to be the big news of the day along with the jobs report. If there were a lick of integrity in the Democratic party or their willing accomplices in the ’slobbering’ media, this would result in an immediate halt on the progress of the bill and a rework. But Obama’s continuing rush to push this bill through indicates VERY clearly that it is NOT about helping the economy, rather it is about helping the Democratic Party by aiding their worn-out liberal causes.

Where are you when we need you? Your TRUE Hope and Optimism and Conservative message live on!

HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN?

Name: Rahm Emmanuel
Born: 11/29/59
Date last seen: Approximately 12/20/08
Occupation: Named The One’s Chief of Staff, report to duty 1/20/09
Former occupations:
Congressman, Illinois 5th District
Senior Advisor, President Bill Clinton
Ballerina

If anyone has seen or knows of his whereabouts, please post links below. Can include links to cell-phone video. Casey Anthony’s parents can be dispatched to check into any potential sightings.

It has been posted previously that Gov. Janet Napolitano will be resigning once she is confirmed as The One’s Secretary of Homeland Security, and that Republican Sec. of State Jan Brewer will take over as Governor.

Soon-to-be Gov. Brewer has chosen former State Sen. Ken Bennett of Prescott to succeed her as SoS. Bennett was the former GOP President of the AZ Senate, and was mentioned as a possible Congressional candidate and as a potential opponent for Napolitano last time around. He was term limited out of office. This puts him in a statewide position for which he will likely run for (re-)election in 2010. Depending on how long Brewer wants to stay in office, Bennett would then have statewide name recognition and be a viable candidate to succeed her as Governor.

It’s even within the realm of possibility that he could oppose McCain in the 2010 primary, but I don’t see that as likely. McCain’s a tough guy to beat in the AZ GOP; it would take a serious suck-up to the Obama administration for McCain to tick off the GOP enough to be vulnerable. However, he seems to be trying to go that way so far. Hmmm….