17 Days Until Election Day

October 18, 2008

QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"There are very few of us who served this country with the same dedication, and honor and distinction as Sen. McCain."
Barack Obama arrogantly complimenting “us” (John McCain) at the ‘Al Smith Dinner’

MORNING UPDATE:

IT’S NOT OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER…new polls continue to come up that shows the race tightening…as expected. John McCain’s message of less government, less taxes and setting the American spirit free, to be all that we can be is resonating. We need everybody to keep making calls, continue knocking on doors, put up those signs and yes send in your checks as we fight the fight in these last few weeks.

The latest GALLUP poll…Obama 49% to McCain’s 47%…it’s a hoarse race to the finish!
There is no better “underdog” or “come back kid” than John McCain…now we all have to do our part as well!

LEADERSHIP MATTERS…and Michigan Republicans across the state are stepping up to make a difference. State Committee members, County Chairs, local candidates and motivated activists are coming up with creative ideas, mini campaigns, organizing team efforts to help Republican candidates across the board. Thanks again for all you do, this is a team effort and every day I’m pleasantly surprised by the number or truly great leaders we have across our state willing to step up and make a difference…for our state…for our country. Keep the faith!

LIVINGSTON COUNTY GOP…the Livingston County Republicans put together their own “local branding” campaign to talk about Republican successes in their county. The put up a series of billboards this last month and then “confirmed” the message with these ads that will be running on local cable shows. Great job!!!
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2008/10/livingston-coun.html

SENATOR CAMERON BROWN…discusses the challenges state legislative races face with John Stryker pouring in millions to defeat Republicans. Check out his write up and help your local candidates for the State House fight off this unprecedented challenge from the looney left. You can make a difference.
http://senatorcameronbrown.blogspot.com/2008/10/what-are-michigan-republicans-up.html

PRAYER…a friend of mine sent me this prayer via email that I want to share with you. Ours is a righteous cause and the principles that we stand by, that our country is rooted in are more important than any one person or party. I hope you don’t mind me sharing, see his prayer below…as I pass it on to each and everyone of you.

TOMORROW…HOOGENDYK v LEVIN DEBATE… Sunday, October 19, at 7pm.Hosted by WGVU and Grand Valley State University, moderated by Peter Ross. Scheduled to be broadcast live by all seven of Michigan’s PBS stations: WGVU-TV Grand Rapids/Kalamazoo, WCMU-TV Mt. Pleasant, WDCQ-TV University Center, WFUM-TV Flint/Ann Arbor, WDET-TV Detroit, WKAR-TV East Lansing, and WNMU-TV Marquette. It will also be streamed live on www.wgvu.com. A second debate will be held by the Detroit Economic Club on Monday, October 20, at noon at the Detroit Marriott. For more information contact Jack’s campaign at www.jackformichigan.com.

BEST POLITICAL LINE EVER…there is a reason they call certain movies or lines classics…here is one of the best, and most telling political lines ever.
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2008/10/best-political.html

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE…puts the skit back up on the air…the skit that pokes fun a little closer to truth then most Democrats liked, which pointed out that the Democrats and their policies created this financial crisis.
http://migop.blogs.com/blog/2008/10/snlfinancial-cr.html

GRASSROOTS VOLUNTEERS NEEDED…as we reorganize Victory Centers and Call Centers around the state, volunteers continue to make calls, knock on doors and make contributions to fight for Republican candidates up and down the ticket.  Please check this link for a Victory Center near you.  We need you now, more than ever. http://www.migop.org/inner.asp?z=113

MICHIGAN YOUTH EFFORT GROWS…COLLEGE REPUBLICANS STATEWIDE JUMP IN …our Michigan Youth Counts effort, designed to stop "the brain drain" was in Oakland County this weekend helping 7 key state and local candidates. “Team Brain Drain” to date has made over 12,500 calls, knocked over 4,500 doors, and worked 565 man hours for our Republican candidates. Next week, “Team Brain Drain” will be in Macomb County.  For more information please contract Program Director Anthony Markwort at: amarkwort@migop.org.

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REST OF THE STORY:

I have prayed for you many times in the last several weeks. My prayer usually ends up centered in the passage – Ephesians 3:14-21. It is a great prayer that St. Paul prayed for the believers in Ephesus. The parts that I have really focused on regarding you are …
 
1. That you would be strengthened in your inner man by the power of the Holy Spirit. So much is pulling at you as the leader. You become the catcher of other’s anger, fear, frustration, etc. You get the opportunity to re-shape people’s struggles. They are looking to you for hope, vision and strength. If you are truly going to change the climate around you, the strength for that must come from a deep and authentic place from within. That’s why I am praying that you would be strengthened in your inner man by the power of the Holy Spirit. God has seen fit to put you in this place at this time. I pray you would be able to find rest, real rest, knowing that God is your strength.

2. I pray that you would be rooted and grounded in love. The attack dogs both from the Dems and sadly enough, from within the party make it a challenge to stay aloof from what is the saddest part of politics – the path of personal attack and destruction. I recently read Psalm 5 and prayed it for you. God is your defense, so don’t spend too much time taking His role as Defender. Romans says to make room for His vengeance.

3. Last, God is capable of things far beyond what we can think or imagine (vs  20-21). I admire the way you work really hard and have a continual optimism. It is part of what makes you a great leader. Many are willing to follow your leadership. But there is always an X-factor for those who are rooted and grounded in God. He will do more than we can envision. Meditate on that profound divine promise and x becomes X-squared. A confidence arises because you carry a secret that God is doing something that bigger than you. I ask God to show you that in a way that makes your faith in Him come alive with new levels of confidence and joy.
 
Blessings to you and your family,

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

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

FBI investigates ACORN for voter fraud

By LARA JAKES JORDAN

WASHINGTON (AP) – The FBI is investigating whether the community activist group ACORN helped foster voter registration fraud around the nation before the presidential election. A senior law enforcement official confirmed the investigation to The Associated Press on Thursday.

A second senior law enforcement official says the FBI was looking at results of recent raids on ACORN offices in several states for any evidence of a coordinated national scam.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because Justice Department regulations forbid discussing ongoing investigations particularly so close to an election.

ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, says it has registered 1.3 million young people, minorities and poor and working-class voters – most of whom tend to be Democrats.

If the current polls hold, Barack Obama will win the White House on November 4 and Democrats will consolidate their Congressional majorities, probably with a filibuster-proof Senate or very close to it. Without the ability to filibuster, the Senate would become like the House, able to pass whatever the majority wants.

Though we doubt most Americans realize it, this would be one of the most profound political and ideological shifts in U.S. history. Liberals would dominate the entire government in a way they haven’t since 1965, or 1933. In other words, the election would mark the restoration of the activist government that fell out of public favor in the 1970s. If the U.S. really is entering a period of unchecked left-wing ascendancy, Americans at least ought to understand what they will be getting, especially with the media cheering it all on.

The nearby table shows the major bills that passed the House this year or last before being stopped by the Senate minority. Keep in mind that the most important power of the filibuster is to shape legislation, not merely to block it. The threat of 41 committed Senators can cause the House to modify its desires even before legislation comes to a vote. Without that restraining power, all of the following have very good chances of becoming law in 2009 or 2010.

Levin, Hoogendyk weigh in on US Senate issues

The Associated Press

(AP) — The Associated Press asked incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Carl Levin of Detroit and Republican challenger Jack Hoogendyk of Kalamazoo County’s Texas Township a series of questions related to key issues in the U.S. Senate race. Their written responses were edited to make the answers of comparable length.

Question: Should the federal government be bailing out the financial industry, buying out bad mortgages and other assets? If so, what conditions should apply?

HOOGENDYK: "Absolutely not. This is socialism. We need to let the market work. Cut the capital gains tax immediately. Reduce the corporate tax rate to 12 percent. Consider scrapping the tax code and replacing it with a fair tax or possibly a flat tax. Cut federal spending by 10 percent immediately. Modify the mark-to-market rule so that financial firms do not have to use market value, but rather book value."

Can Joe the Plumber Turn it Around?

By Michael Barone

Can Joe Wurzelbacher, Joe the Plumber from Ohio, change the course of this campaign? That’s one question that was raised at the third presidential debate. Wurzelbacher is the man who, in a moment caught on YouTube, confronts Barack Obama on his plan to raise taxes on people like him. Obama, sotto voce, replies that he wants to "spread the wealth around." In the third consecutive week in which the headlines of the financial crisis have prompted both candidates to denounce "Wall Street greed," the image of those whom Obama would tax higher was suddenly not an investment banker but a plumber.

The conventional wisdom going into the final debate was that the financial meltdown has pretty much finished off John McCain’s campaign and has made an Obama victory inevitable. The polls — not just the national tracking polls but those in critical states — have supported this view unequivocally. The Democratic Party entered this campaign year with impressive advantages that have been undercut by one surprising development after another — the protracted and bitter contest for the Democratic nomination, the success of the surge strategy in Iraq, $4-a-gallon gasoline, the overgrandiosity of the Obama campaign.

Yet the narrow lead that McCain had after the conventions vanished (if the tracking polls can be trusted) precisely on Sept. 18, the day that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke observed a coagulation of credit that threatened to bring down the economy and, in response, advanced the 1.0 version of their financial bailout/rescue package.

Democrats gone wild

by Matthew Continetti

It’s time to face facts. In-your-face liberalism is about to make a comeback. And this time it will be on steroids.

Next year the Democrats will control both houses of Congress, most likely with comfortable, perhaps filibuster-proof majorities. If there is a Democratic president, too, Washington will host one of the most liberal governments in American history. Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Nancy Pelosi, and Harry Reid are more than ready to make staggeringly liberal changes in the country’s economic, social, and foreign policy.

To get a sense of the Democrats’ ambitions, listen to them discuss the deficit. They spent the last eight years bemoaning the deficit, which they blamed on the Bush tax cuts. They continually lambasted the Republicans for fiscal irresponsibility. They promised to enact "pay-as-you-go" budget rules and restore accountability.

The unfairness doctrine

Paul Greenberg

There was a small but revealing moment on the final night of the editorial writers’ convention here in Little Rock not long ago.

Our distinguished guest speaker of the liberal persuasion was waxing nostalgic for the heady time when the old Fairness Doctrine ruled the airwaves and all was right with the world of broadcast opinion. For in those days impartial government bureaucrats enforced the rule that, for every opinion voiced on radio and television, equal time had to be allotted to its opposite, and all was right with the world.

It all sounds fair enough – like so many abstract doctrines – if you didn’t have to live with it. To appreciate, and apprehend, how the "Fairness" Doctrine really operated, just listen to one of my heroes in this business – Nat Hentoff, a true liberal who has seen it all in his couple of lifetimes in Medialand:

Unions shortchange teachers

By Larry Sand

Just a few weeks into the new school year, and in the midst of an important political season at the state and national level, it is an appropriate time to reflect on the relationship that the teachers unions have with their members. Much has been written about these unions, and the case has been frequently and justly made that they are anti-student because of their adamant positions on school choice, charter schools and teacher tenure. And although these unions of course claim to champion teachers, this support is conditional and often comes at the expense of teachers.

In 28 states, a teacher is essentially forced to join a costly union. A typical teacher in Southern California, where I teach, pays $922 every year to his or her local, which then sends $611 of that amount to the state affiliate, the California Teachers Assn., or CTA, and $140 to the national affiliate, the National Education Assn., or NEA. (One has to wonder, if the unions are so beneficial, why do teachers need to be forced to join and to fork over such hefty dues in most states?)

And just what are all of these forced dues spent on? Untold millions go to political causes, whether a teacher agrees with the cause or not. According to Reg Weaver, the recently retired NEA president, his union’s rank-and-file teachers are about one-third Democrat, one-third Republican and one-third independent. Yet more than 90% of NEA political spending goes to Democratic causes, according to OpenSecrets.org. Thus, if you are a Republican and have conservative values, your dues are being used to support causes and candidates you oppose.

Another ‘Deregulation’ Myth

As we’ve documented the myriad ways that Washington encouraged the housing bubble, the media and Democrats continue to search for evidence to blame it all on "deregulation."

One alleged perpetrator, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, was released without charges after the record revealed that Joe Biden voted for it and Bill Clinton signed it. More to the point, investment banks were already free, prior to the 1999 law, to invest in the same assets that have wreaked such havoc today.

Barack Obama nonetheless attacks President Bush’s policies to "strip away regulation," without mentioning a single example. In an attempt to fill out Mr. Obama’s talking points, the press corps has now fingered a 2004 change in SEC net capital rules. In fact, then-SEC Chairman William Donaldson’s reform was anything but deregulation. A regulatory failure, yes, and a cautionary tale for those who think new regulation will solve everything.