Yes, people, let’s get a little perspective here. It was 30 years ago.

Gingrich married Marianne Ginther in 1981. Obama says that he did cocaine (and other things) in high school, which would put his drug habit the years of 1976 through 1979. So approximately 30 years ago, who exactly had the bad moral character?

And let me tell you a thing or two about ex-wives since my husband has two of them just like Callista’s husband does. You know what? They lie. They want to always appear to be the victim, the better spouse. They are always bitter, never take responsibility for their own actions and they can’t move on with their lives. I’m sure there are some ex-wives out there who don’t fit that stereotype but I haven’t run across too many of them. And if a man cleans themselves up – whether it’s through God or sobriety or a new wife, well that’s really bad for the ex-wife because he’s changed and moved on. He’s fixed his character defects. He’s in a better place and they are left behind, a pathetic shell of a person with old scores to settle and no respect for themselves. They’re jealous.

Marianne is to be pitied. Maybe she suffered through a bad married. Maybe Newt did too. But it’s a sad, pathetic woman who is drawn into the media’s house of ill-repute to be their prostitute.

And once again, did I mention that Obama was doing Cocaine?? When Newt is asked about his ex-wife in the debate tonight, his answer should be, “That’s a personal matter. And while we’re on the topic of the late 70′s/early ’80′s, do you know what Obama was doing during that time? Cocaine.”

We have a Marxist in the White House and THIS is what we have to choose from?

Really?!

Why?

Because the Conservative cowards out there won’t  put our country before themselves and run for office, that’s why. We’re all waiting to wake up from this Twilight Zone episode to see a new list of candidates.

I could come up with a list of many people far better and more acceptable than we have now – and so could you…

Marco Rubio
Paul Ryan
Jim DeMint
Liz Cheney
Sarah Palin
Bobby Jindal
Justin Amash

What we have to choose from currently is a bunch of sell-outs in various areas – illegal immigration, federalism, global warming, TARP and all the things we have definite opinions on. So we have to decide which are the greatest crimes against us. Is selling out on global warming worse than selling us out on federalism or illegal immigration? Are you serious that we have to choose from this?

And because the OTHER cowards out there – Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin and others – are too gutless to pick a candidate, the Conservative vote gets split and we end up with the head Rino at the top.

I don’t find any legitimacy in the primaries/caucuses so far because there hasn’t been a CLOSED primary. And there won’t be one until Florida, which is winner-take-all on delegates.

Open primaries, closed primaries, proportional primaries, winner take all, winner take all by district and statewide etc. The details are never explained in the media.

It’s a lot of math and a lot more complicated than the media lets on as they continue to push Romney as our candidate.

And then there are states like my own – Michigan – which looks like because their primary is too early, half of the delegates can be thrown out.

Well, if Romney doesn’t win Michigan (or South Carolina, Florida, or Arizona), how much do you want to bet that the winner will only get half of the delegates? Do you think that the national Republican party will let anyone but Romney keep them all? I don’t think so.

Face it, people. We are sunk by our own Republican party on a state-wide and national level. They have made their rules and picked their candidate so that they can keep their power base. Look at your own state. I bet you keep seeing the same names going in and out of office in different positions. They take care of each other from one Republican administration to the next.

The ONLY thing we can do is give our votes to ONE Conservative so that we can beat Romney. But I don’t think you all are willing to do that. And I don’t think any of the candidates running are willing to drop out and endorse another one of them for the GOOD OF THE COUNTRY. And that’s the sad state of affairs. At a time when our country is at one of it’s worse crisis points, we are in the middle of crapola.

The headlines tonight include “Santorum crashes back to earth” and “historic win” for Romney. Really? Who DIDN’T know that Romney, Paul and Huntsman were going to win liberal New Hampshire? And who cares?

Where are you, Tea Party? Once again, you’re been outsmarted by the liberals. They have “occupy” everything. They might not be accomplishing much but either are we. We took back the house – but Boehner took that away from us. We don’t have a unified brand. We don’t have a candidate.

Republican primaries and caucuses go through June 26th. A candidate must secure 1144 delegates. Romney has 16. Big deal. Santorum has 11.

There’s a long way to go. I am disappointed – and sick to my stomach – when I look at who’s running for the nomination – and who’s not running.

I remember another Redstate post a few weeks back – something about all the candidates suck – pick one. I second that. Unless the Santorum/Gingrich/Perry voters settle on ONE candidate, it’s over for Conservatives.

Why is there no clear consistent Republican nominee? Because we have no warriors. We have no one who has clearly shown they have the knowledge and the passion of Conservatism combined with the urgency and understanding of what is going on in our country and how close we are to total destruction.

There have been surges and disappointments. There have been “false prophets” in the image of Palin, Rubio and Cain (all of them my favorite Conservatives). Why do I call them false? Because in the end, none of them “get” it. None of them understand that our country is ultimately much more important than THEIR lives and THEIR FAMILIES. Their unwillingness to run for president is proof that they don’t understand our current situation.

I can’t imagine George Washington deciding that the state of Virginia was more important than the new union of the United States. I can’t imagine Lincoln dropping out because intrusive opponents, whether lying or telling the truth, were digging into his past.

For God’s sake, candidates, act like you love the United States and the Constitution as much as the rest of us do. And act like you know what’s going on in the country. Spend two hours a day on the internet. I don’t want to hear about your immigration policy for the 16th time. There are at least ten stories a day you can find about economic disaster, Obamacare disaster or losses in our freedoms. Talk about it in realtime. Show that you’re in the loop. It’s embarrassing when you are in a debate and I know more about what’s going on in Libya, more about baseline budgeting or more about a recent unconstitutional executive order than you do. Embarrassing for YOU, that is, and you don’t even know it’s happening. You are all OLD SCHOOL. Your voters are becoming more knowledgeable than you are. You must KEEP UP. If Congress just originated a spending bill in the Senate, talk about it. The rest of us know it’s unconstitutional. Do you? Or aren’t you paying attention in between bus rides and kissing babies?

You have a new electorate to deal with. We’re more educated about what is going on than ever before and we keep in contact with each other. A lot of us are in the Tea Party and if you hang around or are endorsed by people who ridicule us (Karl Rove, Colin Powell, etc.), we won’t be voting for you.

You FAIL to consistently paint a picture of our future with more liberalism. Obama is bad, Obama is bad. Fine. That’s old news. Tell me what Obama and the Democrats did TODAY and how it affects everyone’s lives. Tell us what you would do differently. Have a spine. Defend conservatism. Defend us. Know what you’re talking about, feel it like we do and speak well about it. You should know where you stand on issues automatically. Don’t reach for words. It’s in your heart or it isn’t. And understand your place as a president. We know what the President can do and what Congress is supposed to do. Don’t act like we’re stupid. We’ve read the Constitution. Don’t over–promise something that you have no Constitutional authority to deliver.

And one more thing…What have any of YOU really lost in all of this? Just your privacy and your time. The rest of us have lost a lot more – our jobs, our homes, our incomes, our retirement, our freedoms. Every day it gets worse. If you don’t understand that the country is more important than you are, we don’t want you. We already have someone in the Oval Office who feels that way.

Today is September 11, 2011. Everyone knows this. The TV networks and thousands of people are commemorating the 10th Anniversary of 9/11 and the deaths on that day that resulted from terrorism.

How is MSNBC commemorating the day? I turned on their network at 4:45 p.m. EST and saw them airing Rachel Maddow interviewing someone about the poor post-9/11 Muslim detainees and how badly they were treated. When I hit the button “info” on my remote control, what was the show called? It was called “911 Anniversary Coverage.”

I DON’T THINK SO, MSNBC.

Remember when George Bush said, “You’re either with us, or against us, either with freedom or not.”

MSNBC is NOT with us. That was proven today.

Bad taste.
No class.
Un-patriotic.
Un-American.

Excuse me if I offend you if you or your family happens to be in one of the following categories but I believe in personal responsibility. Has anyone read the Constitution lately? The federal government is limited in what they are supposed to do by enumerated powers. But apparently that contract with America has all gone out the window.

I am really sick of paying for everyone else’s bad decisions and lifestyles. Subsidizing the lowest common denominator is now what the federal government is all about. Gosh, how did people ever get by without unemployment money, Medicaid checks or food stamps? Did they actually have to take care of themselves or change their habits? Did they have to move – or stop drinking – or grow a garden to take care of their family?

Lowest Common Denominator 1:
The people who are not willing to take care of their own parents
Why take care of your own parents when you can stick them in a nursing home? Sure it’s $3000 a month but YOU aren’t paying for it. Medicare is. No skin off YOUR BACK. It’s like those Hoveround commercials – “at little or no cost to you.” Yes, Mr. Smith is not paying for his own Hoveround but I sure as Heck am paying for it in the column on my pay stub that says, “Medicare.”

Lowest Common Denominator 2:
The people who are not willing to do what it takes to provide for their own family
Okay, so you’ve lost your job. I feel bad for you – I really do. But if you didn’t have unemployment, what would you do? You’d have some hard choices to make. You might have to find a lower paying job; you might have to work 2 or 3 jobs for a while; your spouse might have to work; you might actually have to downsize your lifestyle and not have a cell phone, internet access or the second car; you might have to move in with relatives; you might have to start your own business or work freelance; you might even have to move to a new city or state where you can find a job. But why bother with personal responsibility when the government will deposit money into your checking account for 99 weeks? Consider it a paid vacation.

Lowest Common Denominator 3:
The people who are morally bankrupt and therefore financially bankrupting the rest of us.
In this category we have the smokers and drinkers whose health & mental problems cost everyone dearly. We have the addicts who get disability money. We have the teenagers who get pregnant out of wedlock and expect the government to pay for their bad choices. This category also includes illegal aliens who are LAWBREAKERS but still seek and are provided health care and other amenities from the government (our tax dollars).

The Sugar Daddy:
The Government
Because the government is not able to let people live with their own bad choices, they have decided that they have to use taxpayer money to make their decisions for them. Instead of letting people fall on their face or pick themselves up off the floor themselves, the government subsidizes their bad behavior, enabling them to continue on their path of sloth. I would much rather pay for my own retirement income but no, the government has to “steal” my money for a social security trust fund that doesn’t exist. If they would quit stealing my money, I would HAVE enough for my own retirement and health care. My combined tax burden of federal, state, and county tax, in addition to property taxes, sales taxes, phone taxes and about 20 more taxes I pay is over 50%. That is tyranny. The government makes sure people are dependent on them as much as possible so they can keep accumulating more money and power.

And that, my dear friends, is the state of the Union.

THE REPUBLICANS IN THE HOUSE ARE NOT SERIOUS ABOUT STOPPING THE SPENDING. Steel yourself. Look at the highlighted area in the middle of the story. They just passed a spending bill today for $30.6 billion for energy and water related programs. Don’t let them fool you. They WILL sell us out on the debt crisis. They already are.

Buried in the story below, you will see a sentence that says, “The legislation provides $30.6 billion in funding for energy- and water-related programs”

Click here for the link.

I consider those of you on Redstate to be of the "tea party" or at the very least, more conservative than most. I believe the tea party will decide who the nominee is, based on what happened in the November elections of 2010.

I believe that the polling of our candidates is flawed and purposely being distorted. The only thing that qualifies a person being questioned for a poll to be a "registered Republican" is them saying so. The only thing that qualifies a person as being a "Republican" is them saying so.

So, dear friends, if the primary for your state was being held today, would you vote for Mitt Romney? It’s that easy. Yes or no comment below please.

Former Wyoming Senator Alan Simpson, a loyal Republican used to say, "We have two political parties in this country, the Stupid Party and the Evil Party. I belong to the Stupid Party." The cowardice of our Stupid Republican party has been holding true to form lately.

With evil intentions, for the last two years, the Democrats have used bribery, unconstitutionality, threats, rule breaking and more to get their way. Along with the long reach of Obama’s executive orders and his lawless attorney general, our country has been on a runaway train in the wrong direction. Unpopular legislation, laws, ideas and comments are constantly coming out of the mouths of Obama and the Democrats with a tremendous amount of CYA help from their liberal drive-by media friends.

Gone are the days of how the president (Bush) was responsible for the high oil prices. Now it’s just something that happens in the markets and we’re more prepared to pay higher prices than in the past. High oil prices? No big deal. Gone are also the days of body counts from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Now we have the SAME two wars and no closing of Gitmo but it’s not at all on the radar of NBC, CBS and their friends because it doesn’t serve their political purposes. All the things that Obama had said he was going to do have not happened. All of the things he didn’t say he was going to do (but eagerly planned to do) HAVE happened. And we’re all the worse for it.

Americans have been forced to accept Obamacare, EPA rules over our energy policy, drilling moratoriums, suing Arizona over immigration policy, capitulating to enemies & being unsupportive of allies, CPL light bulb legislation, unstimulating stimulus slush funds, unstoppable printing of money, the takeover of GM, ridiculous new financial legislation, the continuation of corrupt govt. enterprises like Fannie & Freddie, a lack of any kind of foreign policy other than "don’t do anything," a severe lack of transparency, blatant lying to the American people about legislation and policy, extortion of the private sector during the BP oil spill and Toyota problems, trying to shut down our coal mines, paying off union buddies with green energy projects, crony capitalism with friends like GE & supporting the mosque at Ground Zero (which, by the way, is in court again ). The list, as you know, goes on and on…

So, on November 2, 2010, we got rid of as many Democrat congressmen and women as we could and we put more Republicans in control. Why? Not only to stop the Democrats and their un-American policies, but also to implement new, better legislation that represent our own ideology – and the way the country was founded.

So what has happened in the last few months to change wrong course that we are on? Little to nothing as it relates to the big ticket items like spending and Obamacare. Led by John Boehner in the House of Representatives, we have the same old Republican cowards that we always get every election cycle. They lack negotiating skills and passion about the issues; they lack a knowledge of the power position they are in; they are stuck in the fears from the past and are afraid of a government shut down; they are too afraid to tackle entitlements; they are too afraid to defund Obamacare or the EPA; they are too afraid to do their job. And so they vote to allow a continuing resolution on the budget.

Yes, we had 54 Republican patriots in the House who voted no on the continuing resolution. But with the help of the Democrats, the bill passed. The six billion dollars of cuts is about the same amount of money that we borrow every 36 hours, according to Marco Rubio when he was on the Mark Levin show the other day. BFD (my words, not Rubio’s). That’s like me not going to McDonald’s for lunch on Friday. Not really going to make a dent in my overall budget.

This is NOT why we elected these cowardly Republicans – to sit on the sidelines and pass legislation with the help of the Democrats. We didn’t vote for them to be their same old gutless selves. Will the cowardly Republicans in the Senate follow the same course and vote for the continuing resolution? I’m sure that most of them will. There are a few, like Rubio, who "get it" and will vote the right way. For the rest of you…we are ashamed, disappointed and disgusted with what you are doing – and not doing – for the American people. Don’t think for a minute that you are safe come next election time. You are totally clueless about the important problems of the country or how to solve them.

On another cowardly front and just as important, we have a list of presidential candidates (or lack of) because they are too cowardly to announce their intentions. Herman Cain is the only one with the guts and commitment to come out and say he wants the job. The rest of the cowards are waiting for Palin’s decision first. They want to know if she’s running. And if she’s not running, they want to know who she is going to support. COWARDS. The Republican nominee is going to have to challenge Obama and deal with all kinds of problems in the White House if they become president. Do we really want someone who’s afraid of Sarah Palin?

C-O-W-A-R-D-S

I would like to preface this diary by saying that I am NOT usually into conspiracy theories. However, my husband and I have been been discussing Obama’s trajectory since he became president. Our question has always been, “who is running him?” Usually, the top two candidates were: China or somebody from the Middle East. But was it a whole country or one person? Was it George Soros? What drives him – ideology, money or the redistribution of wealth to others? Knowing who all of his donors were during the election would be a good starting point for us to figure this question out but we all know we’ll never see that information.

The more pertinent lately is WHAT IS HIS END GAME?

Seems like every day, more of our wealth and freedoms are destroyed. Laws and courts are ignored by this administration. More and more, Obama and the Democrats side with our enemies and not our allies. I could link to specific words and legislation to prove my point but everyone on this site knows what I am talking about. We all have an uneasy feeling in the pit of our stomachs that Obama’s allegiances aren’t to America – or at least not to America as a whole. Sure there are certain groups in America that he panders to but even that could be disingenuous as a way to amass more wealth and power.

So what exactly does Obama hope to accomplish? Here are some ideas that I have come up with based on the last few years of suffering through the unchecked power of Obama and the Democrats…

• Is it a global monetary system?
• Is it the spread of radical Islam?
• Is it spreading wealth to the Dems and Obama’s buddies as reparations and/or payback against corporations and those they perceive to be “racist” (black farmer settlement, $$ to GE, GM bailout, etc.)
• Is it the overall diminishing of our role as a super power?
• Is it the procurement of nuclear arms in the Middle East?
• Does he just want to gain as much personal power as he can for his own future wealth or career (i.e. to be on the Supreme Court)

I sometimes wonder if maybe we need to figure out what his end game really is so that we can successfully fight against him?

What are your thoughts?

Conservatives need to get with the program concerning technology …

Okay, so the CPAC convention is not over yet but I know they had speakers on Friday. So why are there no videos published on their website? I am really disheartened when I see Conservative groups unable to keep up with technology and the needs of their followers. We’ve come a long way since 2007 when Obama used Facebook and the web to dominate us. We are all web-savvy now and I think we’re at the point where we’re getting out our message even better than he did during his campaign. As a regular Facebook user, I am not above posting a link or two about something stupid the Obama has done that day. I don’t even need to comment to my Democrat family and friends. They can see for themselves the stories that they don’t see reported on the View, David Letterman, or any of their other liberal shows. Getting out the information, the truth, is key. Communication is key.

However, even with all of our communication improvements, I still see missed opportunities quite often out there in cyberspace. We’re going to need all of our ducks in a row to take back our country. I don’t necessarily see the RNC as a unifying force for a Senate and presidential win in 2012. I think we need to find the organizations that we trust – and the candidates that we trust – and support them. Their job is to make it easier for us to do so.

This is an open thread and my pet peeve for the day…

I know there are many of you who like and support Herman Cain, or are at the very least, interested in his candidacy. I recently started a fan page called "Michigan Friends of Herman Cain."

Because Mr. Cain is more of an unknown candidate, I think the job of his supporters is to educate others about him. I find that once I am able to do that (even with Democrats), I can gain supporters for him.

I went on the Facebook site to see what the other supporters of the primary candidates are doing. There are no "Illinois Friends of Sarah Palin" or "Texas Friends of Mitt Romney."

So I may be giving away a good idea and others may start doing this too. But that’s the risk I take to let you know about this. I hope others in different states will take this idea and run with it. Post quotes, videos and appearances of Herman. Let others know about him. Let’s try to set up fan pages in all 50 states (or is it 57? Ha ha).

Now that Michigan has a choice for the GOP chairman position, I would like to ask everyone who might be voting at the Michigan GOP convention on Friday, to support Troy Rolling. He’s not part of the existing Michigan GOP party and that, my friends, is his BEST ASSET. Let me tell you a few things about the current powers-that-be in the Michigan GOP.

First of all, they ran a TERRIBLE state convention back in August of 2010. There were long lines and Delegates had trouble getting credentials to get in, food and water ran out before the convention was over, and several problems occurred during the day. The general perception among the crowd was that they didn’t care too much about the voices of the new “tea party” Republican precinct delegates.

Secondly, and probably news to all of you Michigan Republicans is the fact that YOUR party is sending their printing to Utah instead of having a Michigan company print their materials. That’s right. While Michigan suffers and its citizens need jobs, the Michigan Republican party has decided to support Utah workers instead. I haven’t been able to confirm the amount of money going out, but is it hundreds of thousands? Millions? It’s a slap in the face to our state. As the current finance chair, 2011 GOP chair nominee Robert Schostak, is part of the group that sanctioned this decision. And it wasn’t hard to verify at all. Here it is for all the world to see – as well as the other states listed who are farming out their printing:

I know there are companies in Michigan who can handle the work. So maybe the bid in Utah was better than any of the Michigan companies who submitted a bid. So what? This decision was totally disgraceful – a black eye to the party.

The current Michigan Republican Party doesn’t seem to have a clue about how to harness the energy and direction of the Conservative influx and doesn’t seem to have a clue about supporting their own state with their spending.

Which leads us to Troy Rolling. A choice – someone who’s not already in the party and hand-picked by current party members. We are NOT without a vote. Check him out and decide for yourself.

And if Robert Schostak becomes the new chair, he has to be accountable to our state. He has to make sure that companies in Michigan are the ones getting work from the Michigan GOP and not another state.

While the libs continue to blame Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh and the tea party for the shooting in Arizona, one has to come to the conclusion that Obama himself is ultimately responsible for the death of the Bush-appointed Federal Judge, using the left’s own rationale.

During June of 2008, Obama said, “if they bring a knife to a fight, we bring a gun”

In October of 2010, he said, ‘We’re gonna punish our enemies and we’re gonna reward our friends.”

Did either of these quotes lead up to the shooting? Were either of these quotes directly related to what happened in Arizona? No. Not any more than Sarah Palin’s “crosshairs on Gabrielle Giffords” was related to the shooting – but the libs never lets facts get in the way of a good smearing…

Oh, and if we want to look at Obama “targeting” people, the media has plenty to say about that…

TARGETING REPUBLICANS

TARGETING FOX NEWS

TARGETING REPUBLICANS AGAIN

OBAMA TARGETS KEY GROUPS

OBAMA TO TARGET GOP “PLEDGE TO AMERICA”

So why aren’t Obama’s quotes being used as a footnote to every story about the Arizona shooting like Sarah Palin is a part of every story? Could it be that the media is biased, hypocritical and morally repugnant?

And is this diary meant to be taken seriously? No. It points out the absurdity of the left. They are hateful, ignorant, despicable people who don’t mind lying on a continual basis to further their political agenda.

What happened in Arizona is a tragedy committed by a crazy person (or two). The political exploitation of the events from the liberal media and liberal websites is an unforgivable offense.

God bless the families of those who died and were injured that day. God bless the police, medical personnel and helicopter pilots who helped save lives. God bless our country and those who strive to make it better, and not the cesspool that the liberals want us to live in.

Now that the election is over, we need to have serious conversations about the 2012 presidential candidates. We need to vet them within our own Conservative networks and get on the same page so that another Rino doesn’t slip in like last time.

Here is my top six list of acceptable Republican candidates (in order of preference) based on how I feel they would best represent our Conservative interests:

1. Herman Cain (happy to see he’s not on the Democrat or media’s radar yet)
2. Marco Rubio
3. Sarah Palin
4. Fred Thompson
5. Jim DeMint
6. Mike Pence

My maybe’s include: Tim Pawlenty, John Thune and Rick Perry.

My definite no’s include: Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul

Please post your picks. I am curious where everyone’s head is at regarding this subject.

Is Obama REALLY taking 18.27% of our warships to India to protect himself?

My research suggests that we have 186 ships.

It would be nice for the so-called journalists to ask the pertinent questions when writing a story like this…

1. How many total warships do we have?

2. From what areas are these 34 warships being pulled?

3. How will this affect the security of the United States?

4. Is the number of ships he’s taking a standard contingent (common practice) or do you have credible evidence of a threat to our president?

My step-daughter is a journalist and she pretty much told me that journalists start off with a story in mind and ask questions/write information to complete that story. As opposed to, you know, real journalism.

Michigan winners last night included…

REPUBLICAN Rick Snyder

REPUBLICAN Attorney General Bill Schuette

REPUBLICAN Secretary of State Ruth Johnson

REPUBLICAN SUPREME COURT JUSTICES Mary Beth Kelly & Bob Young

Other highlights…

• Dr. Benishek took Bart Stupak’s seat, even with spoiler Glen Wilson trying to siphon votes away

• Ray Franz defeated water-stealer Dan Scripps. Scripps had wrote legislation to put Michigan’s water (even the ponds in our backyards) in governmental hands.

• Justin Amash was victorious. He was a tea-party favorite and those following his Facebook posts are able to see every vote he makes and why. THAT’S transparency! He’s a great example to other candidates to see how they should act while they’re in office.

And many many local races were Republican. My own county, Grand Traverse, with a few exceptions, looked to be in the neighborhood of 70-30% across the board pro-Republican. It was obvious that many just filled in “Republican” on the top of the ballot in our county. That is obvious when you see the Board of Regents, Trustees and other positions all going Republican.

And finally…Michigan Republicans regained control of the House and increased their numbers in the Senate, which will help Republican Governor Rick Snyder implement his plans to turn Michigan around. At least now we have a chance…

Yeah, I’m not rich but chocolate is ALWAYS a good reward. If my husband’s hours didn’t get cut because of Democrat policies…and if our stocks didn’t tank because of Democrat policies…you might get to win a CASE of M&M’s. Maybe in 2012.

My prediction, because I’m an optimist, is…
85 seats picked up in the House / 10 in the Senate

No, this is not closest without going over. The winner must be the first one to post the exact numbers. And yes, I can win my own contest.

And in answer to our dictator’s proclamation of “I won” in January of 2009. As soon as we take over the House tonight, be sure to yell, “You lost!” at the top of your lungs!

Dear Mr. Rove,

Are you ready to start appearing exclusively on MSNBC, CNN & the other liberal programs? If you are, then by all means, keep opening your mouth and disparaging the tea party movement. It was bad enough that you went after Christine O’Donnell instead of supporting the Republican candidate that the voters chose. Plenty of times, Conservatives have had to live with moderate choices – but we are adults, and unlike you, we accept and support the nominee that is chosen.

Your latest comment was really the last straw: “If you look underneath the surface of the tea party movement, on the other hand, you will find that it is not sophisticated.”

What do YOU know about what’s underneath the suface of the tea party movement? You are not “one of us”. You are an outsider, looking in. You are just like the Rinos and the Democrats. You are threatened by the American people who are trying to take the country back. It’s sad really. You only know how to operate in a world that’s either controlled by elite ruling class Democrats or elite ruling class Republicans. Those days are over. The Tea Party is not a fad. We are not going anywhere. Get used to it.

We are not just sign wavers who show up to rallies. We are sophisticated, networked & organized Conservatives who aren’t afraid to put in huge amounts of volunteer hours to make sure our country isn’t totally destroyed by the liberals and Rinos currently in power.

We have become precinct delegates in massive numbers and are involved in our local and state politics. We read the bylaws to familiarize ourselves with the rules of the party so that we are ready when the establishment Republicans try to railroad us into something or cheat their way through a procedure (which they attempt at every turn).

We are replacing our local county parties with Conservatives instead of leaving in the same Republicans that have been in charge of our counties for years. We want a more communicative, more principled party and are doing everything in our power to achieve that goal. We are electing better chairmen/women for our local parties who can vote for better chairmen/women for our state parties. Every step is important. Just because we are new to the game doesn’t mean we can’t play it and win.

We go to the state conventions and speak up when “the good old boys” don’t abide by their own rules. We network with like-minded Conservatives when we are there and we share information. We figure out who the snakes are and who actually cares about Republican principles.

Unlike Congress, we actually READ THE BILLS that are written so that we’re educated when we debate liberals. We support national candidates with direct donations because we know we cannot trust the national GOP, our state parties or any other “Republican” groups to do the right thing.

Those of us who are 912 members have meetings and caucuses, we share information on local and state politics, hold candidate forums and meet with our local representatives often. We take minutes at our meetings for sharing and TRANSPARENCY and allow everyone to speak and debate about topics we discuss. We form groups and subcommittees to accomplish tasks. We have vast email lists and different ways of networking between different local, state and national groups.

You have NO idea what’s going on out here in the real world of a tea partier, Karl Rove. Get a clue.

P.S. And since the word “ignoramus” might be a little too sophisticated of a word for you, here are some synonyms to help you out: simpleton, fool, dunce, know-nothing

Let me preface this diary by telling you that I am a Conservative, a precinct delegate, a tea party organizer and participant, and a 912 member. I am more Conservative than Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Sean Hannity. I am also in the “animal rescue” field, trying to find homes for homeless cats and dogs so that they aren’t killed in shelters. I don’t agree with most of the things that PETA, The American Humane Society or the Humane Society of the United States do. I think some of them are good at helping animals in disasters and a few other things but mostly they take the money of good hearted people and don’t help a whole lot of animals with the funds that they have. Animal shelters and rescue groups across the country – the ones who need the money – do not get supported by these big national groups even though they are the ones on the front lines doing the real work.

I commit my free time to helping to save cats and dogs, not cows or chickens or other animals that will end up on my dinner plate. I am not a vegetarian nor do I care about the living quarters of animals that I will eat or the condition of polar bears or whales. I am not a hunter but have no problem with people who are.

Animal rescue is one of the few issues (if not the only issue) in this country that is bi-partisan. In our city, about 80% of the rescue people are Republican. In the next city over, only about 10% of the rescue people are Republican. But we all get along great because we work for the same purpose. We have our priorities. Animals first, politics second.

That said, I was totally disgusted when I saw a story today with the headline “Missouri Tea Partiers, Joe the Plumber Joins Movement Against ‘Radical’ Anti-Puppy Mill Legislation.”

The Tea Party usually operates from a base of knowledge from which to form their opinions but in this case, they have totally lost their minds. I am assuming that there are puppy mill owners in the tea party group and that is what led this this break from reality. The members of the group need to do what they always ask Congress to do – READ THE BILL.

This bill is about COMMERCIAL breeding facilities who are breeding 10 or more dogs. It’s a bill that is going to be on the ballot for people to vote on in November and it makes the puppy mills accountable for the animals in their “care”. For years, these mills have operated without much accountability of any kind, making the dogs live in deplorable conditions. As the act says, the purpose is to prohibit the cruel and inhumane treatment of dogs in puppy mills by requiring large-scale dog breeding operations to provide each dog under their care with basic food and water, adequate shelter from the elements, necessary veterinary care, adequate space to turn around to stretch his or her limbs and regular exercise. OH, THE HORROR. Who would want any breeder to actually have to comply with such repressive rules? You label the HSUS as “radical” for wanting these rules enforced? No, sorry, YOU are radical for not wanting these rules enforced.

So by protesting against this legislation, my dear tea partiers,  I am labeling YOU as people who don’t care about the lives of cats and dogs. I am labeling YOU as people who don’t want these dogs to have food and water, shelter from bad weather, vet care, an adequate space to live in and the ability to leave their crate at least once in their lives. That’s the side of morality that YOU have decided to be on concerning this issue. If the Dems want to use that decision against you, so be it. It is what it is. Next time, educate yourself before you open your mouths.

If the puppy mills in Missouri were doing right by the animals, there would be no legislation needed. But they haven’t for years. Most people are clueless about what breeding dogs go through in those places. The dogs never leave their cage, they breed constantly, medical conditions go untreated, they live in harsh weather conditions, they stand on crates all day which are stacked on top of each other and pee on each other, not to mention many other horrors that they have to endure. It takes years sometimes for rescue groups who are able to save breeding dogs to turn them into “normal” dogs. These don’t know what grass is, stairs, toys or anything else. And they are psychologically damaged from lack of human contact for years and years.

I don’t like the government interfering with the rights of citizens either – or telling people how many dogs they can own. But these are COMMERCIAL breeding facilities that don’t give a damn about anything but making money on the puppies and when the breeding dogs can no longer make money for them, they are killed unless a rescue group is able to buy them or convince the breeders to hand them over to the rescue group to save on euthanasia fluid.

Don’t think this issue is going to do anything positive for the Missouri tea party groups or the rest of the tea party groups across the country. There are plenty of Republicans, Libertarians and Conservatives who own dogs and know that what the puppy mills are doing is disgusting. And the more information that people find out about the puppy mills, the more disgusted they will be.

Sometimes my world of politics and animals collide as it does in this case. And this Missouri Tea Party is doing the WRONG THING for both the animals AND the tea party movement. Idiotic PR move. Just idiotic. You never protest against the welfare of babies and animals.

I know you’re all thinking about the 2010 race next month and your head might not be ready for 2012 yet. However, Gallup’s latest poll showing the front runners in the Republican field for president made me laugh and inspired me to write this diary. Still showing up on the list are Romney, Huckabee and Ron Paul. Seriously, people? As my husband (who is a Conservative independent) says, we need new blood – not someone who’s already ran and lost. Not someone who hasn’t been out there 24/7 for the last two years, loudly and successfully fighting for us. Who are these Gallup people talking to exactly? Well, it turns out that they interviewed a total of 906 Republicans. Wow, Gallup. Don’t hurt yourselves by interviewing more than 18.12 people per state. And the people they interviewed weren’t even all Republicans. They were Republicans AND Republican-leaning independents (we call them Rinos at Redstate).

Here was the question that was asked…“I’m going to read a list of people who may be running in the Republican primaries for president in the 2012 election. After I read all the names, please tell me which of those candidates you would be most likely to support for the Republican nomination for President in 2012, or if you would support someone else.” (RANDOM ORDER WAS GIVEN)

So even though people were allowed to pick their own candidate, a field of nominees was offered to them from Gallup. Here were the results: (link to Gallup here)

Mitt Romney 19
Sarah Palin 16
Mike Huckabee 12
Newt Gingrich 9
Ron Paul 7
Tim Pawlenty 3
Haley Barbour 3
Rick Santorum 2
John Thune 2
Mitch Daniels 2
Mike Pence 1
Chris Christie (vol.) 1
Gary Johnson 1
Other 4
Any/all (vol.) 1
None (vol.) 7
No opinion 11

The real story here is that the top vote-getter was actually a candidate called “none/other/any/all/no opinion” That candidate got a 23 share! I call it the NOAAN candidate (sounds kinda like “no one” doesn’t it?) This is the main candidate that we have to take a look at because it’s obviously the most popular.

So who are my top pics in my own little perfect world?

1. Fred Thompson
2. Herman Cain
3. Sarah Palin
4. Jim DeMint
5. Mike Pence
6. Marco Rubio

These choices are based on loyalty to our principles, their ability to inspire and motivate the Republican base to vote, their passion to serve and my trust in their Conservatism.

Who are YOUR top picks for a (Conservative) presidential nominee for 2012?