May 24-25, 2007
May 24 01:16 Murtha's Political Machine Continues Unabated May 24 09:28 Big Mistake In Need of Tweaking May 24 13:14 Silencing the Minority May 24 13:37 Post Debate Straw Poll May 24 17:23 We Win, They Lose Petition May 25 11:02 Thompson Gets It Exactly Right May 25 18:10 Kos Isn't Buying Dems' Spin
Prior Years: 2006
Murtha's Political Machine Continues Unabated
It's impossible for me to keep a straight face when I'm reminded of Nancy Pelosi's claim that this would be "the most ethical congress in history." The latest reminder of that statement's farcical nature came in an essentially straight party line vote against reprimanding John Murtha:
House Democrats rejected a Republican bid Tuesday to reprimand Rep. John Murtha, a senior lawmaker accused of threatening legislative reprisals against a GOP member who had crossed him.This reeks of cronyism in the worst way. This is proof that Ms. Pelosi is perfectly willing to turn a blind eye towards her cronies. This vote should eliminate any doubt that Democrats weren't serious about reigning in institutional corruption from the House.
Before and after the largely party-line vote, which caused some Democrats discomfort, Republicans taunted Democratic leaders about their campaign promises to run a more ethical and open Congress.
The House voted 219-189 to kill the Republicans' motion to reprimand Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat, Iraq war foe and close ally of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Here's an excellent review of what got this started:
- Rep. Mike Rogers, a Michigan Republican, attempts to strike a $23 million earmark for the center. The effort fails.
- A week later, Rogers says, Murtha storms across the House floor and says to him: "I hope you don't have any earmarks in the defense appropriations bill, because they are gone and you will not get any earmarks now and forever." (Murtha chairs the powerful defense appropriations subcommittee.)
- Rogers introduces a motion to reprimand Murtha for threatening legislative revenge.
- The House tables the motion, effectively killing it, voting almost strictly along party lines.
That's the definition of cronyism. Welcome to the Democratic Party.
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 1:17 AM
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Big Mistake In Need of Tweaking
Tom Cole needs a different strategy than the one spotlighting 18 legislators for voting in lockstep with Nancy Pelosi. According to this article, the NRCC has purchased ad buys in 18 vulnerable House districts currently held by Democrats. Here's more of the details:
The GOP's cash-strapped campaign arm will launch a mix of radio ads and automated phone calls targeting 18 freshman Democrats for allegedly marching in lockstep with the speaker, a California Democrat who is regularly depicted by Republicans as an out-of-touch liberal.It isn't that I disagree that Ms. Pelosi isn't worthy of ridicule. It's that I don't think that's the most effective approach to take. It isn't good enough to just be against, against, against. Frankly, I think the more effective way to highlight each legislator's votes is by offering a positive alternative to each of the legislators' questionable votes. Appeal to the voters with information and logic, then get out of the way. It isn't that difficult.
Here's the Democrats' official response:
"Clearly, Republicans are running scared because Americans are responding positively to Democrats' New Direction agenda," said Jennifer Crider, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "While the NRCC is forced to rely on smear tactics, Democrats are delivering real results for the American people: raising the minimum wage, lowering gas prices and holding the president accountable for the war in Iraq."Democrats are such wonderful liars. They've caved into President Bush by now offering a 'no timelines bill' on Iraq. And frankly, I don't know what Ms. Crider is talking about when she says that "Democrats are delivering...lower gas prices." The last I looked, eight freshman Democrats have introduced windfall profits legislation. Question: How is it possible for oil companies to be reaping windfall profits while Democrats, defying the markets, lowered gas prices?
Ms. Pelosi's House is a do nothing House, which is good for American and good for Republicans. It makes justifying their majority status a difficult proposition. Ms. Crider did have a point here, though:
"Did the NRCC pass the collection plate at the conference to pay for this minuscule smoke and mirrors effort?" Crider asked.Contributions haven't rolled in because the House 'leadership' is inept and spineless for the most part. Tom Cole's statement that spending wasn't the reason for the GOP's defeat last November tells me that he's an idiot who shouldn't be in charge of anything, especially the NRCC campaign strategy.
Isn't it time that someone established a PAC that could act as a shadow NRCC?
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 9:29 AM
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Silencing the Minority
I have a question for the 'purist Republicans': How can you view this video & not do everything in your power to elect Republicans?
This video reminds me of a recent argument I had with someone who calls himself a GOP activist. His contention was essentially that there wasn't much difference between Republicans & Democrats. The basis for his contention was Gov. Pawlenty signing the statewide smoking ban legislation into law.
I told this passive activist that I didn't like the legislation either but that it didn't motivate me to stop working for the GOP because there are simply far bigger items to deal with.
Lots of activists have said, correctly, that Republicans in Washington haven't done a good enough job fighting for our priorities. I'd suggest that this video gives us proof that Minnesota House Republicans fought hard for our values. I told Gov. Pawlenty, Steve Gottwalt, Dan Severson & other legislators that I'd have their back if they fought for core conservative principles. Though they weren't flawless, I know from staying in touch with a number of legislators that they fought the good fight all session long.
Legislators like Steve, Dan, Marty Seifert, Laura Brod, Tom Emmer & others deserve our loyalty & respect & support.
Staying home like we did last year will just lead to more videos like this one. That isn't acceptable.
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 1:14 PM
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Post Debate Straw Poll
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 1:37 PM
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We Win, They Lose Petition
You need to sign this petition if you're serious about enforcing our borders.
Posted Thursday, May 24, 2007 5:23 PM
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Thompson Gets It Exactly Right
Speaking at the Prescott Bush Award dinner last night, Fred Thompson made several statements that couldn't be more right. Here's the one that jumped out most at me:
"Al-Qaida have a 100-year plan," Thompson said. "We have a plan until the next election."This should scare the sobriety back into people. It's troubling when the Senate Judiciary Committee rails against the NSA intercept program. Arlen Specter and Patrick Leahy should read the precedents on warrantless searches sometime. That type of political posturing is the type of thing that prevents us from developing a comprehensive long range plan to defeat al-Qaida.
He mostly targeted the Democratic majority, but said some Republicans are also to blame. He said the party has been making compromises on issues like immigration and the Iraq war over fear of losing more seats in Congress.The GOP has been making decisions in the hopes that the press and the Democrats will like them. It's time that we sent a few shots across the Democrats' bow and told them that they have two choices: to work with Republicans to get substantive things done or to get exposed as working against America's longterm best interests.
"I think (the American people) want our leadership," Thompson said. "What should we do? Get our own house in order. We can't make decisions (that are) not in the best interests of our country."
We can't do that until we get our house in order. We can't do that until Washington Republicans stop acting like Democrat lite. (Yes, that's a shot across Tom Cole's bow, too.)
Here's a quote from the Hartford Courant's article that I liked:
Thompson said Republicans did not lose Congress last fall over Iraq, nor should they listen to Democrats about setting a deadline for withdrawing troops. "I think it had to do more with pork barrel spending and corruption than Iraq," Thompson said of the 2006 election results. "And yet we are talking about deadlines, short deadlines."It didn't say it in the article but I'm guessing that this line got the loudest applause of the night:
"The Democrats are waiting to attack those tax cuts, and the Republicans must push back and push back hard," Thompson said.Thompson is exactly right in saying the GOP must push back hard. It's time that we sent the message that we're the ones on offense and that the Democrats will be forced into defending their ideas. Republicans have been standing still and absorbing one punch after another for at least two years. It's time that they got out of their fetal crouch and started hitting back hard.
I look forward to the day that Sen. Thompson makes it official. I suspect that that's the day he'll issue a clarion call to all Republicans to join him in going on offense.
Posted Friday, May 25, 2007 11:02 AM
Comment 1 by Bob Dale at 16-Jun-07 03:07 AM
I feel that Fred Thompson is the only choice to hang on to our American values!
Kos Isn't Buying Dems' Spin
Yes, I ventured into the world where the sky is a different color, a land more bizarre than the Twilight Zone. Yes, I visited the Daily Kos website so you don't have to. Here's one diarist's take on the Dems' latest capitulation on Iraq:
The Democrats, fresh from selling out the soldiers and marines in Iraq by handing the mad George Bush $120 billion to continue funding his war, are claiming victory.It's obvious that this diarist isn't buying Pelosi's spinning their capitulation on the war supplemental as a victory. In fact, this diarist was just getting warmed up:
Oh, they can't hide the fact that they gave up on the war issue. But they're quick to brag that they won a big one by cleverly including in the war funding supplemental bill a hike in the minimum wage, bringing the federal rate from the current $5.15/hour to $7.25. But America's long-suffering working poor better hold the champagne.
This bold stroke on their behalf by Congressional Democrats won't happen right away. Although America's lowest paid workers have been slaving away at $5.15 an hour since last September 1, they won't get the first part of the new pay increase until the end of this summer, when it will go up a whopping 13 percent to $5.85 per hour (to put that in perspective, that's $28/week more, less taxes, for someone working a 40-hour week). They'll have to wait until around this time next year before they get another boost to $6.55 an hour, and they won't get that full $7.25 an hour that the Democrats are hooting about until 2009.
And remember, we're talking about blood money here.
This was a raise paid for in the blood of American servicepeople, and the blood of tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians, many of them innocent children, something to think about this Memorial Day weekend.Unfortunately, this diarist doesn't calculate how many people would get killed if we pulled out of Iraq. It's obvious that he isn't factoring in all the people that al-Qaida would kill if we left. Nor is he factoring in how many people the Mahdi Army, funded by Iran, would kill if we weren't there to kill the jihadists and insurgents.
This is a classic case of figuring the cost of taking action but forgetting to factor in the cost of not taking action. Yes, the cost of taking action is high but the cost of not taking action is exponentially higher. That's the fatal flaw in the Nutroots' arguments.
It's also why we should do everything possible to prevent them from grabbing the levers of power.
Posted Friday, May 25, 2007 6:11 PM
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