May 14, 2008
Must Reads
This is a new daily segment that will provide links to good/interesting stories that were published today. These can be news or postings from other blogs.
Todays stories:
May 14, 2008
Gerry Connolly is Desperate
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Connolly is asking for GOTV staff through craigslist. He has hit a new low.
While applying, be sure to put in an application at the competing ads to this one. Some of these include camp counselor, a warehouse logistics specialist, oh and the casual encounters section: “Exotic Hot Wife Needs Fantasy Fulfilled“, “Any Cougars Out There?“, “Kitty, Kitty, Lick, Lick“, and “Connolly Staffers Need a Job June 11th“… (hat tip NLS)
UPDATE: The job pays $360 a week. For campaign hours, is that even minimum wage under the new standards???
-RedVirginia
May 14, 2008
Worried???
For those of you who think that everything is just peachy in the Republican Party with John McCain as the nominee, think again. Things are not good! NOT GOOD AT ALL! Take a look around. We are losing special elections, we are turning out fractions of what the Democrats are even when we had a full field of candidates in the race, and we have lost our way. When we get to this point, everyone should be saying, perhaps we should not be keeping the status quo. Perhaps we should make changes and actually run on what we believe.
For those of you who have never taken a look at the party platform please do immediately. After taking a look, please tell me why we nominate candidates that deviate so far from this platform. Also, then tell me why you are surprised that we don’t win when we deviate from the platform. And then tell me why we even have the platform if all we do is the opposite of what it says.
This year was the year that we had a chance to halt the pick ups that the Democrats were making. I think we may have lost the 2008 battle. If that is the truth, it is because the party deviated. There is yet to be a success with McCain as the nominee and I fear that much failure is ahead. I stand for the platform of this party and will continue to be an ardent advocate of the values in that platform. It is time for our party to nominate candidates that agree with the platform and stand strong and proudly for it.
-RedVirginia
BTW, a couple of interesting articles.
May 14, 2008
The Answer
Still undecided about 2008??? Well look at Bob Barr. He is seeking the nomination of the Libertarian Party and is a faithful conservative. He deserves our support!
“I’ve heard from Americans from all walks of life… they want a choice. They believe that America has more and better to offer than what the current political situation is serving up to us.
The status quo has given us the litany of problems that we’re all very familiar with. The debt, the deficit, the problems we see in the economy, the trade imbalance, and the occupation of Iraq. These are all children of the status quo.
I will be a candidate precisely to give the American people a voice and give them a meaningful choice so that they do not have to vote for the lesser of two evils.
American voters deserve better. ” - Bob Barr
He needs your help financially as well, please make a donation! Conservatives have been waiting for this day since McCain got the delegates for the nomination. Barr is a former congressman and provides a legitimate candidacy for the Libertarian Party which is better on the issues now then ever before than the Republican Party. Please join me in supporting Bob Barr.
-TJ
May 12, 2008
A Protection from Tyranny
The gun control debate has been raging once again due to the tragedies at the campus of Virginia Tech. One side believes that guns kill people and the other side believes guns protect people from killing people. The debate is often wrapped in emotions full of people who have been victims and people who have kept themselves from being victims. Republicans also tap into the hunter’s vote because they believe that the hunters have the right to hunt. The family’s of people who die from automobile accidents are just as upset, but I do not hear a call for a ban of automobiles.
The biggest part of the debate that is often forgotten is the title of this post, “A Protection from Tyranny.” We, as Americans, take pride in our “Checks and Balances” system of government. What we often forget is that there is another check and that is revolution. We checked Great Britain’s power by over throwing them in the 1700’s. Our right to bear arms is sprouted in the revolution, when we used arms to protect ourselves. This had nothing to do with shooting a buglar, only allowing the government to have arms, or even to hunt. As a matter of fact, I am sure the American Revolution would have gone very differently if we allowed Great Britain to only have arms.
Whenever this argument is faced to a pro-gun control person they often say things like, “Well, I do not think that would happen in our country.” My question is why wouldn’t it? It hasn’t even been 300 years since the American Revolution, which in human history is a blip. What has the rest of history been full of? This:
Because the government has a monopoly on violence and this happened within those 300 years! As it has been more efficient for people to do things due to technology, it has allowed government to be more efficient. But being efficient at tyranny isn’t a good thing.
This is from the November 9th 1938 New York Times, “The Berlin Police President, Count Wolf Heinrich von Helldorf, announced that as a result of a police activity in the last few weeks the entire Jewish population of Berlin had been ‘disarmed’ with the confiscation of 2,569 hand weapons, 1,702 firearms and 20,000 rounds of ammunition. Any Jews still found in possession of weapons without valid licenses are threatened with the severest punishment.”
But American is the land of the free, right? So this won’t happen to us. The Constitution is suppose to protect us from the government and instead we have belittled it to words like militia doesn’t mean guns and that militias are no longer needed.
America is the land of the free but that hasn’t stopped our government from growing. This is from our country less than 100 years ago, from most historian’s favorite President FDR:
I don’t want to hunt, or even care if I am able to stop a guy from stealing my television. I want to stop the government from bringing tyranny to the populous and murdering my family and friends.
~Barry AUH2O
May 7, 2008
Change Needed
This is just a little bit of a rant but yet again, the moderates have failed. Here we are, looking down the road to November and imagining how many seats we will lose in the House. Why is it that we continue to lose seats???
It could be the types of candidates that the GOP has been consistently nominating for the past couple of years. The candidates have to be about big government mixed with some “social liberalism” (that is regulating marriage on a federal level etc.). These candidates get slaughtered at the polls. Yet, the moderates yell that if the Conservatives were at the front then the party would be destroyed. Well, moderates take a look around and tell me how the party is not already destroyed by your own doing?
NRCC is also having a hard time. The Politico has a good story describing their current status after their recent electoral blows. The fact that the GOP lost the Louisiana House seat should send warning signals across the party. Does anyone believe that McCain can really hold all of this together???
Newt Gingrich calls for house members to promote “real change”. I don’t know about you but that sounds a lot like Obama. Newt seems to forget that he has caused a large part of the problem that the GOP is dealing with today. His reforms and initiatives will actually change nothing just as he did nothing back when he was speaker. By nothing I mean that he did not carry out the Contract with America and decrease the size of the Federal Government. It’s time for this old guard to move on and retire, Gingrich included.
It’s time for a change in leadership. The people that run this party will be the same under McCain as they were for Bush. The party will not move forward but only backward because the policies do no make sense. The ideologies do not connect with the message. It’s time to change leadership. Let’s put Conservatives in charge in the house. Let’s put Senator Tom Coburn at the front for a little while and see what happens.
-RedVirginia
May 6, 2008
Why Leave the GOP?
Barr is exactly right. The GOP has abandoned values to hold seats. I love watching people defend Tom Davis by asserting that he was the only person that could hold the seat. However, on important votes he stuck with the other party and was never a strong member of the caucus. So, how do people like that make the party better???
The GOP needs to stop worrying about winning everything and needs to start worrying about their “big tent” policy. You can’t trick people into joining your party by telling them it is whatever they want it to be - you can never achieve anything that way.
Bob Barr is gaining some traction and could take enough votes away from McCain to make him nervous - good, maybe he will act better in this case. Bob Barr is the best candidate for 2008.
-TJ
May 5, 2008
Romney VS. Huckabee
The race is still on between Romney and Huckabee. They seem to be now competing to get the second slot with McCain. Huckabee though is far less likely to grab that position than Romney. Huckabee still has a lot of negatives and he has highlighted them with his new HuckPAC where he highlights his fiscal positions. That was the one aspect that consistently haunted Huck during the campaign - he knew nothing about the economy.
Romney has the best case to make for the second slot. As well, many now tout Romney as the new leader of the Conservative Movement. He has been making a good case as well. He may not have always been an arch conservative but he is now. The movement has seen many conversions including the GOP’s famed leader Ronald Reagan.
Which brings me to this. Huck supporters consistently say that Romney could not have made a conversion and if he did, should not be trusted. These supporters are the same people who are searching for ways to revive Reagan himself. Have they forgotten that Reagan was also a convert??? It would appear that they have. Huck supporters need to be more realistic and realize that the further Government regulations that they support are not Conservative and the reason that the Conservative Movement has not embraced Huckabee.
-TJ
May 5, 2008
John McCain’s Healthcare Plan
Healthcare has obviously become one of the hot button issues of this Presidential cycle. What these candidates do to our healthcare system could change it forever. John McCain has just recently released his plan so lets take a look at it.
“John McCain Will Reform Health Care Making It Easier For Individuals And Families To Obtain Insurance. An important part of his plan is to use competition to improve the quality of health insurance with greater variety to match people’s needs, lower prices, and portability. Families should be able to purchase health insurance nationwide, across state lines.”
This will be good because the cost needs to be shifted from third party payers to consumers. Those who get the health treatments often do not feel the costs. This allows the doctors to charge as much as they want. People also do not economize when picking a doctor. They pick the closest and best. This should hopefully lower prices, but will the individual insurance be cheap enough? His answer to that is:
“John McCain Will Reform The Tax Code To Offer More Choices Beyond Employer-Based Health Insurance Coverage. While still having the option of employer-based coverage, every family will also have the option of receiving a direct refundable tax credit - effectively cash - of $2,500 for individuals and $5,000 for families to offset the cost of insurance. Families will be able to choose the insurance provider that suits them best and the money would be sent directly to the insurance provider. Those obtaining innovative insurance that costs less than the credit can deposit the remainder in expanded Health Savings Accounts.”
I usually support any tax cut or break possible so this to me is good. Obviously, he needs to be able to stop the massive spending done by Congress too.
“SMOKING: Promoting The Availability Of Smoking Cessation Programs. Most smokers would love to quit but find it hard to do so. Working with business and insurance companies to promote availability, we can improve lives and reduce chronic disease through smoking cessation programs.”
This is somewhat odd. A government program to stop smoking? Don’t we have that or is he going to try to expand it? Does he really know most people would love to quit smoking? Most smokers maybe after the first few years. This is a bad idea. We would spend a lot of money to stop people from smoking when new people would be smoking everyday. If you enjoy smoking then smoke by all means!
“MEDICAID AND MEDICARE: Reforming The Payment System To Cut Costs. We must reform the payment systems in Medicaid and Medicare to compensate providers for diagnosis, prevention and care coordination. Medicaid and Medicare should not pay for preventable medical errors or mismanagement.”
As this sounds good on paper and I would love to see Medicaid and Medicare eliminated or reformed this is some what an odd way to do it. He wants to limit payments away from preventable medical errors. What is that? Who decides that? This is just centrally planned badness.
Overall, McCain’s plan tries to do the right thing and moves the cost back on the consumer which should lower the costs. This sounds harsh but 100 years ago the idea of a 3rd party paying you health insurance was a fairy tale. This became true when FDR froze wages after World War II. Businesses then used benefits like healthcare to compete. McCain also adds in some questionable ideas. If he gets elected it will definitely interesting to see how it plays out.
~Barry AUH2O
April 28, 2008
So Chris Saxman…
Delegate Chris Saxman who was once rumored to be considering a run against Governor Jim Gilmore for the U.S. Senate has unfortunately not made an endorsement yet in the race between Gilmore and Marshall. However, he was willing to comment on the race the other day. It is important to add that Delegate Saxman said it is important to get behind the person most likely to receive the nomination in an effort to help the party. This was said in reference to the race between John McCain and the rest of the 2008 Presidential Candidates field. How come then has Delegate Saxman refused to get behind Gilmore, the likely GOP nominee? Do his standards apply to only some races and not others???
Here are his comments on the Gilmore/Marshall match up:
Graham: … the big thing for you, working with the McCain campaign, is you just need to focus on November – the McCain campaign, also Jim Gilmore, and Bob Goodlatte. I mean, there are some big things coming up this year –“
Saxman: “Well, Jim Gilmore isn’t the nominee yet.”
Graham: “He isn’t the nominee yet.
Saxman: “I think it’s going to be a very close election at the convention [the May 30-31 Republican State Convention at the Greater Richmond Convention Center].”
Graham: “Really?”
Saxman: “Oh, absolutely. Everything I’m hearing on the ground, and delegates being signed up, the life issue is very important.”
Graham: “Good, well, I’ve talked with all three of the candidates, also Bob Berry, and I know Bob Marshall as well, a few weeks – well, a few days ago. I guess it was last week we ran that podcast, and all three - especially Bob Marshall, as the top challenger there, seemed very – he had a very good message and, from what I’ve been reading, he is drawing some support, so that’s a very good point.”
Saxman: “Bob Marshall is not to be underestimated. He is strongly principled. He is affable. He is very funny; very witty. … a true gentleman, in every sense of the word. I mean, he’ll be upset with you on one moment, the next he’s making a joke with you. So, he doesn’t take shots personally. That’s a quality people want to find in a candidate.”
Graham: “I had not talked with him until last - when I did that podcast last weekend – and I found the same thing. His reputation might have been different, at least according to the media characterizations of him, but he is exactly as you say.”
Saxman: “Well, that’s what the media does. I mean, the media paints a portrait that ‘he’s controversial.’ Bob is very committed to his beliefs but he doesn’t get personal with them. …and he’s respected in the legislature, for his intelligence, for his, his in-depth knowledge of the rules of the House, and his comedy. I mean, people genuinely like Bob. They’ll disagree with him, but on many issues they do agree with him, especially on the environment, and growth issues in Northern Virginia, where he’s been one of the leaders. So you honestly do have a pro-life, pro-environmental, limited-government candidate to run against Mark Warner should he be the nominee.”
Graham: “Well, thanks for this insight. I’ll pay closer attention even than I have been in the last couple of –”
Saxman: “I think you should. What I’m hearing out of the delegate counts of some of the larger jurisdictions is, it’s going to be close.”
Sounds like Chris Saxman is willing to jump into the Presidential race but wants to sit on the sidelines of the Virginia Senate race. He does sound pretty friendly to Marshall however. I like how he points out that Gilmore is not yet the nominee, but has McCain (even though he has the necessary delegates) the official nominee of the GOP??? There has to be a convention first Delegate Saxman, and you should know that.
-RedVirginia
