September 15, 2008

MORNING UPDATE:

REFORM TEAM COMES TO MICHIGAN…GRAND RAPIDS…McCAIN & PALIN…join us Wednesday, September 17 at Grand Rapids Community College at 4:30 PM for a "Straight Talk Town Hall Meeting".  For more information and to reserve tickets click here:

DEBATE ON THE ISSUES…lets remember, it was Barack Obama who backed off, flip flopped on his statements that he would meet John McCain at Town Hall Meetings…the hypocrisy and his willingness to say "anything" to get elected should be embarrassing.  His platitudes are draining.

LAWYERS vs NON-LAWYERS…Obama and Biden are lawyers…McCain and Palin are not…another great reason to vote for McCain-Palin.

BIDEN-GRANHOLM DEBATE PREP… Governor Jennifer Granholm will soon put her acting lessons to good use, playing the role of a governor who has cut taxes, created jobs, and reformed government. It’s a role that is a far cry from the one she’s played for the last seven years. See the TV 10 news story on the debate prep.  

GRANHOLM vs PALIN…in the past month the governor that is "laser focused" on new jobs for Michigan has spent a week at the Democrat’s national convention, a week on Kwame, now taking a trip overseas and is going to spend a week pretending to be Governor Palin.  Nothing new there, she has been pretending to be our governor for 6 years.  Hopefully after she plays the role of Governor Palin maybe the role will rub off on her and she will actually be a governor that gets things done here like Palin has there.  Wishful thinking?!?

BUSH DOCTRINE…ALL FOUR OF THEM…EXPLAINED…in an article in the Washington Post Charles Krauthammer describes how Charlie Gibson’s "gotcha" moment was off base, and how her response of asking what he meant made sense.  This is what the Democrats are hanging their hat on???  Clearly, Obama is worried.

GLENN BECK…what do the top 10 cities with the highest poverty rate have in common…Democrat leadership.  See the list below.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…we are opening up new Victory Centers daily and need more and more volunteers to make phone calls, knock on doors and put up lawn signs.  The response has been overwhelming, but Michigan will be the key battleground state and we need EVERY person willing to help in anyway they can.  Thanks again for all you do!  For more info click here:

JACK HOOGENDYK FOR U.S. SENATE …to follow the latest on Jack’s campaign to defeat Carl Levin go to: http://www.jackformichigan.org/news/

CARD CHECK…Protect the workers’ right to a secret ballot. The vast majority (around 81%) of Americans believe that American workers have a right to have a secret ballot election before they are forced to join a union. Last year the House Democrats passed a bill that would strip American workers of the secret ballot. A new bill should be introduced reaffirming that right, and it should be brought up again and again until marginal Democrats are forced to vote with the American people against the union power structure.  This, coming from a Teamster.

For more information go to: http://www.unionfacts.com/cardcheck/whatIsCardcheck.cfm

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THE REST OF THE STORY:

GLENN BECK…what do the top 10 cities with the highest poverty have in common…Democrat leadership.

Detroit, MI (1st on the poverty rate list) hasn’t elected a Republican mayor since 1961; (47 years)

Buffalo, NY (2nd) hasn’t elected one since 1954; (54 years)

Cincinnati, OH (3rd)… since 1984; (24 years)

Cleveland, OH (4th)… since 1989; (19 years)

Miami, FL (5th) has NEVER had a Republican Mayor;

St. Louis, MO (6th)…. since 1949; (59 years)

El Paso, TX (7th) has NEVER had a Republican Mayor;

Milwaukee, WI (8th)… since 1908; (100 years)

Philadelphia, PA (9th)… since 1952; (56 years)

Newark, NJ (10th)… since 1907. (101 years)

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

The following stories and more are available at my Articles of Interest online.

It’s Not Just Palin – Its the Message

By Joe Trippi

There is no question that John McCain’s pick of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has changed the dynamic of the 2008 Presidential campaign, moved the current wave of polling to the GOP’s favor, and altered the terrain the rest of the election will likely be fought on. The Obama campaign’s ability to recognize the shifting ground, understand that it is real, and adjust accordingly will determine the outcome. And the outcome, for the first time, is in doubt.

The Obama campaign went into the Democratic National Convention believing that the race would be fought out on Washington experience and "more of the same" vs change. This was essentially the same frame of the race the Obama camp had sustained for the first 16 months or so of the nominating fight with New York Senator Hillary Clinton. It worked in the primaries until the Clinton campaign shifted from "35 years of experience" to a much more "woman for change" oriented message in the later stages of the fight and nearly came back to win the nomination.

Why Feminists Hate Sarah Palin

By CATHY YOUNG
September 15, 2008; Page A21

Left-wing feminists have a hard time dealing with strong, successful conservative women in politics such as Margaret Thatcher. Sarah Palin seems to have truly unhinged more than a few, eliciting a stream of vicious, often misogynist invective.

On Salon.com last week, Cintra Wilson branded her a "Christian Stepford Wife" and a "Republican blow-up doll." Wendy Doniger, religion professor at the University of Chicago Divinity School, added on the Washington Post blog, "Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman."

You’d think that, whether or not they agree with her politics, feminists would at least applaud Mrs. Palin as a living example of one of their core principles: a woman’s right to have a career and a family. Yet some feminists unabashedly suggest that her decision to seek the vice presidency makes her a bad and selfish mother. Others argue that she is bad for working mothers because she’s just too good at having it all.

A debate Obama cannot win

Sunday, September 14, 2008

His record simply does not correspond to his rhetoric.

Mr. Obama’s "new kind of politics" – which was based on telling the truth, being a principled politician and treating one’s opponents fairly – collapsed once he secured the nomination in June. He reversed course with dizzying speed on NAFTA, FISA, public financing of campaigns, whether the D.C. gun ban was constitutional, meeting with rogue leaders without preconditions and the unity of Jerusalem. He even qualified his Iraq policy by stating it would be "refined" according to "conditions on the ground." Most recently, in light of the economic downturn, Mr. Obama stated he might reconsider implementing the tax increases in his economic plan.

Mr. Obama appeared authentic during the Democratic campaign as a liberal champion: In running to the left of Hillary Clinton, he was passionate, fiery and convincing. Yet since his mad dash to the center, he appears uncomfortable: He stammers and stutters in response to questions rather than speaking forthrightly. The polished, Ivy League-educated senator now uses "folksy" expressions. This downhome speaking manner is geared toward attracting white, blue collar voters – and is not in consonance with his impeccable oratory. He is now packaged and artificial.

Records show McCain more bipartisan

Stephen Dinan
Monday, September 15, 2008

Sen. John McCain’s record of working with Democrats easily outstrips Sen. Barack Obama’s efforts with Republicans, according to an analysis by The Washington Times of their legislative records.

Whether looking at bills they have led on or bills they have signed onto, Mr. McCain has reached across the aisle far more frequently and with more members than Mr. Obama since the latter came to the Senate in 2005.

In fact, by several measures, Mr. McCain has been more likely to team up with Democrats than with members of his own party. Democrats made up 55 percent of his political partners over the last two Congresses, including on the tough issues of campaign finance and global warming. For Mr. Obama, Republicans were only 13 percent of his co-sponsors during his time in the Senate, and he had his biggest bipartisan successes on noncontroversial measures, such as issuing a postage stamp in honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks.

Joe Biden and American Charity
What his tax returns mean.

By Byron York

It has become a common practice, when a presidential candidate releases his or her tax returns, for reporters and pundits to examine how much the candidate gave to charity. In September 1992, for example, when the Washington Post reported that Al Gore, then the Democratic candidate for vice president, had released his tax returns, the second paragraph in the story noted that out of income of $183,558, Gore "donated $1,727 – less than 1 percent – to charity." Other stories about other candidates routinely included figures on charitable giving.

Last Friday, Sen. Joseph Biden, the Democratic candidate for vice president, released his tax returns for the years 1998 to 2007. The returns revealed that in one year, 1998, Biden and his wife Jill gave $120 to charity out of an adjusted gross income of $210,979. In 2005, out of an adjusted gross income of $321,379, the Bidens gave $380. In nine out of the ten years for which tax returns were released, the Bidens gave less than $400 to charity; in the tenth year, 2007, when Biden was running for president, they gave $995 out of an adjusted gross income of $319,853.

The job left undone

Monday, September 15, 2008

Leaving one’s job without finishing one’s work is an offense that will usually lead to a reprimand or firing if done repeatedly. But imagine having a job where someone can fail to complete their work every day – and that is expected. Well, that job exists and it is called being a member of Congress.

This year Congress is poised to leave town at the end of this month without passing 10 of the 13 appropriations bills, including appropriations for the District of Columbia. There will likely be some kind of "omnibus" or catch-all bill that will undoubtedly catch a lot more than it should. Omnibus bills are historically loaded with John McCain’s least favorite thing – pork. With Democrats in control, hog calling will surely reach new heights. It’s a guarantee that hundreds of needless and unwarranted earmarked appropriations to repave back alleys, create baseball fields in senior communities and spend money on other senseless federal projects will be discovered weeks if not months after the 1,000-plus-page bill has been passed – especially when one factors in the major problem that stalled the spending bills this year.

Polls looking up for GOP
Lead down to single digits

Sean Lengell
Sunday, September 14, 2008

Capitol Hill Republicans say a recent swing in polling numbers might translate into fewer losses in November elections – and maybe some unexpected victories – as they recover from massive midterm losses in 2006 that gave Democrats control of Congress.

Republican congressional candidates, who trailed Democrats by double digits in several generic polls during the past year, have drawn to within three percentage points in a recent USA Today/Gallup survey.

"There’s no ‘generic’ vote for Congress. … These congressional seats are won one at a time," said House Minority Whip Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican. "But there’s no doubt that the wind is not in our face like it’s been the last three years."

Chairman Rangel

New York Times
September 15, 2008

Mounting embarrassment for taxpayers and Congress makes it imperative that Representative Charles Rangel step aside as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee while his ethical problems are investigated. This recommendation does not come easily, considering the New York Democrat’s four decades of service in Congress. But Mr. Rangel himself has felt obliged to request three separate House ethics inquiries of his behavior. While denying serious improprieties, Mr. Rangel concedes that he has not lived up to the "higher standard" expected of members of Congress.

His latest admission is that as chief of Congress’s tax-writing committee, he was "irresponsible" in failing to disclose $75,000 in rental income and pay federal and state taxes on a villa in the Dominican Republic. His temporary yielding of the gavel is an urgent necessity for a Democratic Congress elected two years ago on promises of an ethical housecleaning. The villa dealings only add momentum to the investigations of two earlier controversies – Mr. Rangel’s favored treatment in occupying four rent-stabilized apartments in Manhattan, and his improper use of official letterheads to solicit support from charities and corporations for an academic center to memorialize his career in public service.

Worthy: Kilpatrick ‘snubbed his nose’ at the justice system

The DETROIT NEWS

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy said the plea deal reached in Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick’s felony case in the text message scandal was about "justice," not vindication for her office.

"I’m am glad people seem pleased" with the outcome, Worthy told Detroit News reporting partner WXYZ-TV (Channel 7) on the Sunday morning news program Spotlight. Worthy said her desire was to show that no one is above the law, regardless of "pedigree" or "money."

The mayor, Worthy said, "snubbed his nose at the criminal justice system" since the charges were announced on March 24 and "mocked it proudly and loudly." Kilpatrick was charged with eight felonies and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty with seven felonies related to their testimony at a police whistle-blower trial.

Deadline today for Beatty to make a deal

September 15, 2008

Today is the deadline for former mayoral aide Christine Beatty to strike a deal or else go to trial on charges of obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. Beatty, who along with Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick became embroiled in a text message scandal that led to the mayor’s resignation, will go before Judge David Groner in Wayne County Circuit Court today.

There haven’t been any talks since Thursday, when both sides met with Groner. The random selection of a trial judge has been delayed twice as prosecutors and Beatty’s lawyer Mayer Morganroth tried to reach a settlement for the seven felonies rising from a 2007 whistle-blower case.