The well kept secret 800 pound gorilla in the room for Democrats is that the evil Bush tax cuts that gave us five years of prosperity from 2003-2007 and are set to expire next year lowered taxes for pretty much every working person in the United States. While Nancy Pelosi and her minions like to talk about the fact that rates were indeed lowered for upper income earners(the evil rich), let’s be reminded that the Bush tax cuts cut taxes significantly for everybody. Just a reminder of what will happen when the tax cuts expire next year(citing the Heritage Foundation):

Do the Democrats really believe that people are going to stand idly by and allow their taxes to be raised while they sit in Washington and squander our hard earned money? Let’s see how they finesse this fly in their ointment.

As President Obama goes around spinning and backpedaling on his healthcare plan(ideas), we get little glimpses of where he is really trying to take us. From the Washington Post,

President Obama said this week that his health care plan won’t cover illegal immigrants, but argued that’s all the more reason to legalize them and ensure they eventually do get coverage.

He also staked out a position that anyone in the country legally should be covered - a major break with the 1996 welfare reform bill, which limited most federal public assistance programs only to citizens and longtime immigrants.

“Even though I do not believe we can extend coverage to those who are here illegally, I also don’t simply believe we can simply ignore the fact that our immigration system is broken,” Mr. Obama said Wednesday evening in a speech to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. “That’s why I strongly support making sure folks who are here legally have access to affordable, quality health insurance under this plan, just like everybody else.

Mr. Obama added, “If anything, this debate underscores the necessity of passing comprehensive immigration reform and resolving the issue of 12 million undocumented people living and working in this country once and for all.”

So, let me get this straight. First, we won’t be providing free healthcare to illegals because we will make them legal first. Oh, that should make it okay.

Also, for the first time since welfare reform we are going to extend federal benefits to anyone who is in the country legally. Correct me if I’m wrong but weren’t some of the 9/11 bombers here legally, at least for part of their stays in this country? I believe they were here on student visas and such. Maybe we should assess a Taliban tax so we make sure that we stay “deficit neutral”.

OMG, we are spinning out of control. Who are these people?

Not the man. He is already dead.

We need to kill his big idea before it ruins not only the United States economy but the entire world economy. What is that big idea? That governments should spend money they don’t have in order to help their own people. Even Time magazine acknowledged this in naming Keynes one of the century’s most influential people:

“His radical idea that governments should spend money they don’t have may have saved capitalism”.

I mean, I never went to Harvard or anything, but that idea sounds kind of silly on it’s face, don’t you think? Unfortunately, it has become the prevailing economic philosophy in the world and is blindly accepted as truth in all the institutions of higher learning that pollute the minds of our would be congress critters. This, despite the fact that from Japan to Western Europe to California, the implementation of Keynes’ big idea has been an abject failure. Governments continue to spend more and more, going deeper into debt, and sooner or later, something has got to give. Wake up, America.

Make no mistake about it. Keynes was a liberal. While at Cambridge he was president of the Cambridge University Liberal Club(no, I’m not making that up) which later merged with Cambridge University Social Democrats. The group has a long history of “radical” politics dating back to the 1800s. He first gained prominence after WWI by arguing debt forgiveness for Germany:

Keynes’s analyses on the predicted damaging effects of the treaty appeared in the highly influential The Economic Consequences of the Peace, published in 1919. This work has been described as Keynes’s best book, where he was able to bring all his gifts to bear - his passion as well as his skill as an economist. In addition to economic analyses, the book contained pleas to the readers sense of compassion:

Also present was striking imagery such as “…that year by year Germany must be kept impoverished and her children starved and crippled…” 

Sounds like he might be running for Congress in Massachusetts, no? “It’s for the children….”.

Oh, and he was gay, not that there is anything wrong with that. He became an agnostic. He was part of the intellectual liberal elite of his day, palling around with Virginia Woolf and TS Eliot. While he rejected Marxist doctrine, not sure it was for the right reasons. In 1931 he wrote:

So, it wasn’t the idea of a state run economy that bothered him, it was ceding power to the boorish proletariat. Only the “intelligentsia” had the “seeds of all human achievement”. Obama would have loved this guy. Can you say elitist? Finally, even Keynes acknowledged that his own ideas were just that, ideas. He foretellingly wrote:

So true, John boy. We are now the slaves of a defunct economist.

Now, I may have only attended a meager state school, but even I know you shouldn’t spend money you don’t have. When will people realize that governments DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY. They do not produce a product or provide a service that anyone would buy unless they are forced to at the point of a gun or a threat of jail time. There are only three ways that governments get money. They either Tax, Borrow, or Print and all of them are bad.

So, instead of arguing about who will do a better job of running government, wouldn’t we be better off arguing against government in the first place? Discrediting Keynes would be a great first step.

That is my new term for the bumbling Obama administration’s apparent economic theory.

I guess the way this is supposed to work is that, by increasing the number of food stamps, unemployment benefits, and medicaid, prosperity and growth will be generated throughout the entire economy. I think Isaac Newton would have a problem with that. Making things trickle upward takes just the kind of metaphysical faith that Obama’s supporters seem to have in him. I guess we should have faith, too, other than the fact that it has failed every time it has been tried in the recorded history of mankind. Check Plymouth Rock, Cuba, and Venezuela for a few examples of collectivism economic theory results, not to mention Europe’s 40 year malaise.

I have always felt that one of the major, among many, mistakes that the Republican party has made over the last 25 years is to have not defended the whole concept of supply side economics more vigorously. Dating all the way back to George H. W. Bush labeling it as “Voodoo Economics”, Bob Dole attacking supply side in his primary bid, and even Mike Huckabee’s populist appeal in the most recent election, there seems to be a reluctance on the part of the GOP to make something that HAS worked every time it has been tried a centerpiece of their economic approach.

The feeling seems to be that “trickle down” is not appealing to working people who only sit at home and seethe at rich people. I don’t think that could be further from the truth. Ask any cabbie in NYC and I think they could provide a better explanation of economics then your average Democrat party Congress Critter. A prime example is President Obama’s recent boneheaded attack on “trips to Las Vegas” as some sort of cultural indiscretion on the part of US corporations. Anybody think that every dealer, waiter, cabbie, showgirl, and hotel worker, many of whom voted for Obama, did not cringe when they heard these unfortunate remarks? And yet our idiots seem to be afraid make the counter argument that a rising tide lifts all boats, something even GED recipients can understand. So frustrating.

So, buck up, me hearties. I think the American public is starting to get it. They know on it’s face that Obama’s proposals won’t work. We just spent $800B for nothing. There is no talk of cutting taxes and providing incentives for business and investment, things that would re-invigorate our economy. If conservatives play their cards right, collectivism will be relegated to the junk heap of history before Obama is through. Now whether our GOP politicians get it, that is another matter. I can only HOPE for CHANGE.

This is like bizarro world. We get creamed at the ballot box at the same time that the liberal statist model is crumbling from the weight of it’s unsustainability. Liberal cities and states failing. Fat unions driving their companies into bankruptcy. Nobody talking about global warming now, are they? Tax increases? Fuhgeddaboutit. Why aren’t conservatives out there saying, “It’s over. We win.”

As I type this, New York, California, and cities from Detroit to Atlanta all have their hands out saying, “Oh, please, bloated Federal government, give us billions and billions of dollars to save our failed models.”

I say, “Hell no!”. Let these poorly run states and cities who have been drunk on tax dollars for too long suffer for their sins. Why should I, who live in a conservative city and state, have to pay for the excesses of New York state? Apparently, Republican run states like South Carolina and Texas are doing just fine, thank you very much.

What I fear is that we are heading for a new Civil War. The battle will not be so much between the North and South but between those that have been paying the bills and those that haven’t. It is time for this to stop.

Meanwhile, Conservatives have already won the argument. Ask Europe.

Bailouts. Bankruptcy. Recession.

That is what we have gotten from our leaders in Congress. I am out here in the real world and I can tell you unequivocally that these Congress Critters are ridiculed and despised. If the GOP can’t take these lemons and turn them into lemonade then I have no hope for them at all. As the party leading this ship of fools the Democrats have to be called to account. There is no George Bush to blame anymore. These people need to be gotten rid of.

The first place to go is The Senate. We should lose zero. My guess is that Arlen Specter and George Voinovich might be the two most exposed because of the changing electorates in their states but there are many more opportunities for the GOP. I like our chances in my home state of Arkansas(especially if Huckabee runs), North Dakota, Nevada, Hawaii, Colorado, and Wisconsin. Every state should be in play. Even defeating Schumer in New York. People will say I am crazy but I believe there is an appetite out here for a political revolution similar to 1994. The GOP has to get energized in every state and go on offense. We need to go after the dinosaurs like Boxer, Reid, Inouye, Murray, Feingold, and Dorgan. These people can’t just wash their hands of the last 20 years.

Next, how about the so called “Blue Dog Democrats”. We all know these people are a bunch of phoney baloneys. They talk a good game during the election and then go sip chardonnay with Nancy Pelosi and Barney Frank. I would be surprised if they voted against their leadership more than 5% of the time. It totally befuddles me why the GOP can’t put up some good conservative candidates and take back some of these seats.

I am telling you, there is a lot of anger and resentment brewing in this country. Obama may have won the battle but conservatives can still win the war. Hopefully, strong leadership will emerge that can rescue this country from becoming a dependency society.

I have blogged on this subject previously but was reminded of it after listening to Governor Ritter of Colorado discuss the changing political climate in Colorado on CNBC. He was talking about how Colorado, a state that has gone for the Republican consistently for the last 40 years is shifting to the left. It is not the only one. Look at all the states that were once solidly conservative that are now either toss ups or trending Democrat. I would include New Hampshire, Virginia, Arizona, North Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, and Nevada on the list.

How does this happen? I call it the Massachusetts effect. The liberals take a state like Massachusetts and create a laboratory for their wrongheaded ideas. They take over the government by promising goodies to all their various parasitic interest groups. What follows are the predictable results. Rising taxes, increased crime, corruption, and a breakdown in family values. Those with the means to do so then leave for a better and more pleasant place to live(see New Hampshire). They then proceed to vote for the same party and the same ideas that drove them out in the first place. Listen, if they were smart, they wouldn’t have voted for these policies in the first place. Does anyone besides me not recognize the Granite State anymore? I remember in the early days of my Conservatism thinking that the libertarian ideal of New Hampshire was a shining city on a hill. Now they have sold themselves out to yuppie Red Sox fans.

To understand the spread of liberalism, look no further than the failing liberal laboratories that are already collapsing around the United States. I can think of Maryland, California, Michigan, and New York, among others. As people flee those high tax, high crime, low family values areas as real estate collapses and taxes head north, they will land inevitably in bordering states. I lived in Michigan and saw what was happening there. When we moved to Arizona, there were an inordinate number of California transplants. They were moving to the desert to escape the confiscatory taxes in Cali. But they continued to vote Democrat after getting out of town. Those that don’t learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them.

Oy vey. Gets old doesn’t it? Watching your 401K sink like a stone. Listening to the talking heads tell us that we haven’t seen anything yet. Predictions of unemployment at 7, 8, even 9, percent. George Bush’s fault, right? Fuhgeddaboutit.

Lest anyone forget, the stock market is a leading indicator. Markets are forward looking, anywhere from 6 months to 18 months, depending on who you listen to. That tells me that the markets are pricing in an Obama victory. Nobody is predicting a McCain victory, are they? I have a feeling that this has been going on since the Spring when it became apparent that McCain didn’t have much of a clue about where to take his campaign. Thanks, John.

It gets worse, though. Not only are US markets tanking but markets all over the world are headed south, as well. I think that they see what I see. What I see is that the election of Obama represents a continuing downward slide and the beginning of the end of American exceptionalism. Obama has already destroyed trillions of dollars of net worth and he hasn’t even taken office yet. Who will lead the world out of this recession? Europe? Sure. Japan? Doubt it. China? One thing people forget about China. They don’t really have alot of money. America? Frankly, I don’t see it. While we remain, by far, the richest company in the world, we have $10T in debt, soaring deficits, and we are talking about “stimulus” of extending unemployment benefits, makes me ill.

I heard an interesting fact recently. The stock market during the 30’s actually bottomed in 1934 after crashing in 1929. That means we had another 5 years of absolute malaise even after the markets bottomed. It doesn’t matter how grandly Obama fails. It will all be blamed on Bush. But make no mistake. Whatever is happening in the stock market is anticipating the outcome of the election and has been for some time.

OK, it’s on now.

I could not be more surprised. I actually think last night’s debate might become a pivot point in this election.

Not because of some stellar performance by Senator McCain. I find myself yelling at the screen when he makes his points, then telling my wife what he should have said. And not because Obama made some deadly screw up. I found him how I always find him. Boring. People have to have some pretty empty lives to be getting all excited by this guy.

No, I think the pivot point in this entire election is “Joe the Plumber”. Not because of his particular circumstance. But because he is articulating what Senator McCain hasn’t been able to. Americans kind of like America. We like freedom and free market capitalism. We don’t believe in wealth redistribution. We may want Change! but we don’t want to change into France, a once great power now mostly irrelevant. At it’s core, France is Socialist and Protectionist. That is what the Dems propose for us. It doesn’t work and could be disastrous.

OK, Mr. McCain. You have your narrative. No need to discuss Ayers, bailouts, tax plans, etc. Just say, “No Socialism!”. The American people will follow. You have 20 days.

Forget Bill Ayers.

As despicable a character as I think Ayers is, and as much as I despise the cynical Obama’s willingness to associate with the scumbag to further his own vain ambitions, this is not the issue that will win the election for the GOP. Heck, I felt Obama should be disqualified more by the anti-American comments of his ignoramus wife. But I think we, as conservatives, may overestimate the degree to which Obama’s anti-American tendencies might be playing with the electorate out there. Alot of average Americans aren’t too happy with their country, either, right now.

As John McCain well knows, a key part of any winning battle strategy is to be able to assess changing conditions on the ground and be able to react and respond appropriately. Think about it, folks. Conditions on the ground do not look anything like they did even a few short weeks ago. Parts of our economy are in free fall. The S&P 500 has dropped almost 30% since MAY! For the tens of millions of Americans that own stocks(probably 60-70% of likely voters) these are very scary times. I thought of this as I sat down with my wife to review our financial condition over the weekend. We, like many Americans have taken a significant body blow to our net worth. The numbers were a little eye popping when you really looked at them. We’re talking about adding 3-5 more years to retirement kinds of setbacks.

The last thing any investor would want to do when things are tanking is to add additional RISK. RISK is one of those words that people have an emotional reaction to. When something is new and unknown like Obama is, it can be portrayed one of two ways. It is either “fresh” or “risky”. Obama likes to portray himself as something fresh. McCain needs to let people know he is risky. And the last thing we need in troubled times is RISK.

Sarah Palin keeps teeing it up and McCain keeps whiffing. I figure he has one more chance Tuesday night. I think this is it. If he doesn’t knock Obama reeling, McCain will be toast.

I understand Mr. McCain doesn’t have the same personal appeal that Ms. Palin does. But she is showing him the way to a path to the White House and he doesn’t seem to be able to see it. Steve Schmidt is supposed to be sharp but I don’t think he gets it, either. There is so far no evidence that they have a plan for winning. If I seem a little pissed it is because I feel like we are handing the keys of our country over to the ship of fools that is Obama/Reid/Pelosi and that we are going to suffer greatly.

I have never been a McCain fan. Not conservative enough. Too willing to criticize his own team. Too anxious to have the press like him. Too willing to pass “bipartisan” legislation. But, I really solidified my views on McCain after Hurricane Katrina. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave cover to the Democrats that were trying to blame the whole thing on George Bush by criticizing the Administration. They probably deserved it. No, what bothered me was that I saw an interview with him and he was truly SHOCKED that FEMA had been so inept in responding. How can you be shocked that a bloated Federal bureaucracy that had just been folded into an even more bloated Department of Homeland Security would be ineffective in a crisis? I remember thinking at the time, “AHA, that’s it. McCain is a man of Washington”. I think he actually believes that with just better management, a little more regulation, a touch more oversight that the Federal Government can be a fine way to deliver solutions to the American people.

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OK, Senator McCain. You have 4 weeks to turn this around. Here are your talking points. Do not veer from them.

William Ayers
Tony Rezcko
Jeremiah Wright
Hamas
Most liberal voting record
No experience
No record of accomplishment
Berlin speech
Michelle Obama
Ahmadinejad
Franklin Raines
Jim Johnson
Barney Frank
Nancy Pelosi
Biden third most liberal Senator
Never led
Never Made Decision
Not Qualified

Start acting like you want to win and we will support you.

It’s simple really.

When Republicans were successful during the 90’s in getting real welfare reform passed the Dems had to find a new vehicle to keep their wealth redistribution engine churning. They found the perfect piggy bank in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Couching the scheme in lofty sounding rhetoric about the American Dream, blah, blah, blah. I do not think for one minute that the Democrat party did not know that, at some point, these loans were going to go belly up and that the “patriotic” taxpayers were going to have to bail them out. They put their friends in to run the scheme and all the politicians, even alot of Republicans, got their palms greased.

Easy credit has become the new welfare. 100%, interest only mortgages became the new way to funnel money to constituents. We have low income households with large screen TVs and $100K in “Student” loans. This bailout is going to wipe the books clean of alot of bad behavior while exacting no penalty for that same bad behavior.

The reason they are trying to rush this through is because they don’t want the people to see just how ugly this problem really is.

Isn’t it quite clear that the Dems are trying to get Bush and Congressional Republicans to give them cover for passing this half baked plan? Why should we be their lackys on this?

Wouldn’t it be better to propose a reasonable alternative and let the Bush Administration and the Democrats own this turkey? The Bush presidency is essentially over. Why let them write a $700B check on the way out the door?

I think this outline of a plan hatched by House GOP makes alot of sense. Cutting the Capital Gains and Corporate tax to zero, even temporarily, would cause a deluge of capital into our financial markets. There is plenty of cash on the sidelines to solve this problem without the government becoming a slumlord. Read an overview of what they are proposing[here]:

(http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/12288069?f=most_read)

What Mr. McCain can say is that what we really need to do is find out how this happened and he is going to put a justice department in place to identify those reponsible and bring them to justice.

No further evidence of the sinking like a (Ba)rack Obama campaign is this upcoming sit down with the don of the Dems, Bill Clinton. I started out scratching my head on this one but then the lightbulb went off and it made perfect sense.

On current course and speed Obama probably stands to lose by a Dukakisian margin. Bill has the one wild card that Obama might be able to play that could help Obama avoid a complete disaster, Hillarious. The only questions that remain and why Obama has been called in is, “What do we want and can we get it?”.

I believe the Clintons hold all the cards on this one. Barry has been exposed as a phony. Gaffe after gaffe has all the Dems in a panic. His campaign has run out of energy and Joe Biden isn’t about to provide any. He’s maxed out at 40% and is trying to fire up his base in September rather than reaching out to any “independents”. He is going to have to throw a long ball and he is going to have to do it soon. Pelosi, Reid, and other well known Dems are even more unpopular than President Bush. He really has nowhere else to turn than to his old nemesis’, the Clintons.

It could be as simple as money. Maybe Bill just wants Hillary’s campaign debts payed back. But with Barry’s money machine breaking down, maybe he isn’t as flush as he was a couple of months ago. Could it be a position in a potential Obama Administration? Listen, would it surprise anyone if Biden was asked to step down and Hillary reconsidered? Remember Bob Torricelli and Clinton’s role in making that happen? Maybe Hill wants to be Secretary of State, Attorney General, or even Defense Secretary.

Whatever it is, two things are certain. One is that the Clintons can probably get whatever they want for trying to prop BHO up. The other is desperation always makes things interesting.

Senator McCain, time to clean up Washington.

This Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae debacle goes right to the core of everything I hate about the Federal government. Sleazy money, sweetheart deals, and who you know payoffs are exactly what is wrong with the status quo. Michelle Obama gets a $315K job as a hospital bureaucrat(I sure as hell didn’t know hospitals paid that good!) and in return hubby Barack arranges for a sweet earmark for the same facility. Business as usual. Joe Biden’s lobbyist son needs a new gig while dad runs for office so they arrange a $1.2M a year stint as CEO for a hedge fund. Sure, no problem there. There are millions and millions of dirty money around the Fannie/Freddie failure and I, for one, think we should find out where all the money went. From the $20M buyout of former Clinton lackey Franklin Raines right up to all the Senators and Congress critters who got bought off and were in the bag for the GSEs.

The failure of Fannie and Freddie proves three things.

First, that the government has kept intact it’s near perfect record of screwing up everything they touch. Why anyone would even consider that throwing more government at any one of our problems just goes to show that maybe our education system isn’t working too well, either.

Second, that Washington, DC is the part of our country that is broken. It is not middle America that causes all these problems. It is the fatcats and elitists in Washington that usually drag us into the muck. I say, let’s find out who had a hand in this debacle and make sure everyone knows their names, regardless of party. Just like Ms. Palin, I am no more sympathetic to Republicans who engage in sleaze than I am with Democrats. Anyone that doesn’t think there is a clear path to politicians on this should read this article from today’s WSJ:

Here

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I have already commented that the selection of Sarah Palin by John McCain was nothing short of brilliant. It has left me wondering, “Is he really that smart?” or, “Did he just veer into something?”. I wonder, for example, when he made his decision. Did he have Sarah Palin in his pocket and wait for Obama to make the uninspired pick of Joe Biden, knowing that Obama being a hack politician would go the safe route? In any case, I believe it reveals that maybe his military training will be the difference maker in how this race plays out over the next 2 months. Even finishing 3rd from the bottom of his class, I am way sure he got more exposure to battle strategy than Mr. Obama ever did.

Now, I do not know whether they teach formally Sun Tsu’s, “The Art of War”, at the Naval Academy, but I would bet a dime to donuts that McCain has read it. Here’s a couple of great passages from Tsu:

All warfare is based on deception. Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make the enemy believe we are far away; when far away, we must make him believe we are near. Hold out baits to entice the enemy. Feign disorder, and crush him.
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

If your enemy is secure at all points, be prepared for him. If he is in superior strength, evade him. If your opponent is temperamental, seek to irritate him. Pretend to be weak, that he may grow arrogant. If he is taking his ease, give him no rest. If his forces are united, separate them. If sovereign and subject are in accord, put division between them. Attack him where he is unprepared, appear where you are not expected.
- Sun Tzu, the Art of War

OK, folks, this is it. The Dem convention is already a bust. Do not, I repeat, do not, listen to any positive analysis from the MSM that says otherwise. There is no excitement, no personality. Any time this ship of fools is out where all can see they come off looking like a bunch of children. All you have to know is that the highlight, maybe other than Hill, from last night was the goofy governor from Montana(btw, Montana GOP, what is up with you all?).

The whole thing is just boring. No matter what happens tomorrow night, BO cannot salvage this convention. Whatever oratorical flourishes and platitudes he lays out there will be outdone with this whole stadium and stage play that confirms what alot of people already don’t like about him. That he is an elitist with a messianic complex. I believe Americans still like their politicians with a little humility. Color me skeptical.

This has presented our party(I assume the GOP is still our party) with a unique opportunity. I am talking about a moment in time where we can completely change the game. I am talking about a McCain victory. I am talking about picking up House seats. And, yes, I am talking about picking up Senate seats, too. I think it is ripe for the picking. Here is a point by point playbook for how to do it.

1. Step up and defend the last 8 years- This is step one. I am so sick and tired of the Democrats talking about the last eight years as if we are a third world country. George Bush has been a solid president in difficult times. Don’t you think it is worth pointing out that we have been safe under the leadership of Mr. Bush? Grow some cajones and talk about it. I think we need to talk about Iraq as a success, if not a victory. It’s OK to acknowledge that mistakes were made but give GWB credit for rejecting the stupid recommendations of the 9/11 commission and going the surge route. This would also tee up McCain for later in the week. As for the economy, there have actually been three economies. There was the 2000-2003 economy that was already in recession when Bush came into office and then was sent into a tailspin after 9/11. Isn’t it funny that there has not been one mention of the 9/11 travesty from any Democrat, even though that was just seven short years ago? More on that later. Then there is the 2003-2007 economy. When an initial “stimulus” didn’t work, Bush went back to the drawing board and developed a much more effective approach with across the board tax breaks. By every measure the 2003-2007 economy was one of the most robust across the board economies that we have ever seen. Don’t forget that the “Bush tax cuts” were a massive tax break for the middle class the Dems are so fond of. If they are allowed to expire that will amount to huge tax increase on the middle class. Obama is saying he wants to keep those parts of the Bush cuts, but why haven’t we seen action from the Demos? Remember when Bill Clinton said, “I worked so hard to give that middle class tax cut, but…”. I think the middle class might just want to hold on to the bird they have in the hand. Finally, the 2007-2008 economy is troubled but it can’t really just be hung on the white house(who runs Congress, again? More on that later, also…) and there are solutions to the things that are ailing. Also, by historical measures such as income, unemployment, etc. the economy is not nearly as bad as Dems are making it out to be.

Bottom line- Cowboy up on the last eight years. This is key.

2.Attack, Attack, Attack the Democratic Congress- They are more unpopular than Bush and, what’s more, they are personally disliked. Make Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi the face of the Democrat party. Our economy only started going downhill when they took over Congress. What did they do? 40+ plus votes to surrender in Iraq. Meanwhile, Chris Dodd was getting a sweetheart mortgage deal from Anthony Mozzillo and they are up to their eyeballs in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lobby money. I want to make them look like crooks. They had just as much of an ability, probably more, to take steps that would have averted some of the economic pain. Make sure it is well known that Biden has been a Congress critter for over 30 years. They fought Bush every step on the way of his terror fight. Ask the American people how safe they feel with Nancy Pelosi, Barney Frank, Barbara Boxer, and Jim Mcdermott leading the way. What’s more, this could be done with a sense of humor. Ideal role for Cheney. I think Bush could be effective doing this to. Lord knows he has had to take their garbage for eight years.

Bottom line- The face of the Democratic party is a face frozen by botox.

1. Make an overt effort for the values vote- Listen, if Nancy Pelosi wants to hand us the Catholic vote, I say, let’s go ahead and pick it up. I don’t get the impression that this is McCain’s favorite area to emphasize, but, let’s face it, the guy does have a 100% pro-life voting record. I hope he sees that some of the tailwinds he has been feeling lately are the result of his performance at the Saddleback Church. I think he needs to follow that up by making values and faith a centerpiece at his convention. And, no, I am not talking about a Pat Buchanan style culture wars centerpiece but make sure that values voters, Protestants, Jews, Catholics, Muslims, and all people of faith are honored. I realize abortion is a difficult issue to talk about. But, in this cycle, I think it is a game changer. The Dem party has gotten way too far out to the left and Obama personally has views that are out of step with most Americans. I believe Catholics have been the winning constituency in like our last 12 elections(somebody can fact check me on that). The American people do not believe in Partial Birth Abortion or Same Sex marriage. Pelosi and Obama do. We need to point that out.

2. Make national security the issue- Clearly, the dems think they can ride the, “It’s the economy, stupid” train to victory, again. But, I would ask, if America is in a dangerous world, and we are, don’t we need to provide for our security first? What good is any economy if we don’t first make the world a safer place? This is a winner for us. It is a complete embarassment that they have gone through two days of their stupid convention and nothing about 9/11 has even been mentioned. Do they think people’s memories are that short? There has been no discussion of Iraq, Iran, the Middle East, the Russian incursion into Georgia, Afghanistan, or Pakistan at the Democratic convention. We have to sell our role as leader of the free world and why it benefits us. I do not believe people in our country are naive. McCain will dust Obama on foriegn affairs. We need to take on this lie that our respect is down around the world. I think George Bush’s steadfastness has got our standing at an all time high.

3. Sell the global economy- Anybody who watched the Beijing Olympics and apparently just about everybody did, that believes we can turn the clock back on being part of a global economy is kidding themselves. That train left the station along time ago. The key for the American future is to make sure it is American companies that are leading and winning around the world. Like Springsteen once wrote, “Foreman says those jobs are going, boys, and they ain’t coming back.” McCain was right when he indicated so in Michigan(please, though, Mr. McCain, don’t use the term “green jobs”…it sounds so phony). No, the answer for America is to make sure OUR companies have the resouces they need and that our people get the education they need to prosper as the global economy grows. We are, after all, the highest boat in the water. Paint Obama’s protectionism and populism as failed policies from the past. Really, I would compare Obama to Jimmy Carter. We were in similar circumstances in 1976 and alot of folks remember what happened when we elected a little known populist. We shouldn’t need to do it again.

4. Belittle Obama- Paint him as a babe in the scary woods. The netroots hate this. But, the reality is that Barack Obama is not qualified to be president. We do not know enough about him to entrust him with this job. I think the way to get to him is not attack but to disregard him, something like, “Obama, you’re kidding, right?” He and his supporters have shown that they hate this. I think McCain is onto something. When you run into someone who takes themselves so seriously, maybe the best thing to do is ignore them. Once off his teleprompter, he really seems quite ordinary. Poke him, prod him, get him off his game.

5. Make McCain the only viable choice- See number 6

Since Joe Biden seems to want to compare what gets discussed around his kitchen table to what gets discussed at any of Mr. McCain’s kitchen tables, maybe we should take him up on it.

It appears that what gets discussed at Joe Biden’s table is the nation’s business in the form of his sons’ lobbying clients interests. Either that, or how to get a $1.2M a year job at a hedge fund for which Joe’s son wasn’t qualified. Or, how to fend off a lawsuit from a disgruntled investor from the same crooked hedge fund.

I am guessing that what gets discussed at the McCain’s table is conditions in Iraq, where McCain’s son serves honorably.

Joe Biden is a hypocritical blowhard.

I like the Olympics as much as the next guy. Maybe a little more than most, probably not less. I generally root, root, root, for my team but I am not so much a homer that I won’t pull for an underdog, even against the USA, even if it is an athlete from a country that I don’t admire so much such as Venezuela or Cuba if the athlete has overcome barriers to reach the pinnacle of their sport. I am a sucker for a David vs. Goliath story.

Generally, though, I believe for most folks the Olympics serves as an every other year reminder that we all have a recognizable vein of Patriotism running through our bodies. It is hard not to be moved when you see those athletes, who have worked so hard and who have usually had the support of hundreds of their fellow citizens, stand on that podium while their national anthem is played.

I had not really thought about how it might be affecting the current body politic until Misty May and Kerri Walsh stood in front of the NBC cameras immediately after their historic 2nd consecutive gold medal in beach volleyball and thanked President Bush for coming by and offering his support. I believe it was, “Thank you, Mr. President…” or something to that effect. Can you imagine the shock the MSM must have had in hearing these two young, attractive, popular ladies thanking the evil George Bush? Isn’t the accepted paradigm that everyone hates the president?

They affirmed what alot of us conservatives have known all along. That the haters are the 20 percenters, the hate America first Daily Kos types and their willing accomplices in the media.

It doesn’t stop there. We have had a steady parade of athletes, even the precocious Kobe Bryant and the great Lebron James go before the cameras and say how proud they are to be American, prompting one MSM sycophant to pose the question, “Is it now cool to be a patriot?” I hope so. I loved the high profile basketball players going over to watch Michael Phelps, a recognition of his greatness but acknowledging that they were Americans, too.

Well, what about Obama? He was holed up in Hawaii. But, doesn’t the patriotism on display in Beijing undermine the whole premise of his candidacy? His mantra is America Sucks! Ever since he got religion about wearing his flag pin he has been trying to fool people into thinking he doesn’t come from the hate America wing of the Democrat party. But every once in awhile he lets his guard down as he did in Berlin or with the 7 year old girl in Indiana and we are reminded that Barack and Michelle would be perfectly at home sitting down and ripping America with your average Daily Kos blogger.

I hope the Beijing feeling doesn’t disappear before November.