November 15-18, 2009
Nov 15 11:43 Mr. President, Do Your Job Nov 15 18:24 Vikes Win behind Rice, Favre, Peterson, Stingy Defense Nov 16 01:41 Bachmann, Emmer Bullish On 2010 Nov 17 03:06 The OTHER Minnesota Miracle? Nov 17 14:01 The Thugging Has Already Started Nov 18 03:18 Rep. Bachmann Exposes Corrupt House Rules Nov 18 09:12 Five Years and Getting Stronger Nov 18 14:15 Too-Clever-By-Half Trickery Nov 18 18:54 Proof That God Loves Conservatives
Prior Months: Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct
Mr. President, Do Your Job
When I read about this poll , I tried thinking what this poll is telling President Obama. I believe what it's telling him is (a) he'd better start putting pro-growth policies in place and (b) his stimulus bill is an outright failure. Here's the polling I'm refering to:
Forty-five percent (45%) of U.S. voters now give President Obama poor marks for his handling of the economy, the highest level of disapproval this year.When I first read it, I reread it because I wanted to make sure it said 45 percent of those polled said President Obama's handling of the economy was poor, not 45 percent said it was poor or fair. Let's refer to this group as the evidence-based group. Let's refer to this group as the Hopey-Changey Group:
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 39% believe the president is doing a good or excellent job on the economy following the announcement last week that unemployment in October rose to 10.2 percent, the highest level in 26 years.How can unemployment have by almost 3 points, how can 3,000,000 jobs be lost and these people poll say that President Obama is doing a good or excellent job? The only thing that jumps to mind is that most of the people in this group are hardcore Obama supporters who think he can't do wrong no matter what the proof tells them.
If things don't change dramatically in the next 11 months, Democrats will get tied to the disastrous economy, which is justified. It's justified because they voted for President Obama's economic blueprint. It's justified because they voted for Cap and Tax. It's justified because they've just voted for a health care bill that will hurt the economy with $729,000,000,000 in new taxes.
Let's remember that Ms. Pelosi became Speaker in January, 2007. America isn't better off now than they were in 2007. It's far worse off now.
This poll, coupled with the TEA parties, carries a message: We screwed up in 2006 and 2008. It's time we fixed it.
The people aren't yet saying that Republicans should be rewarded because they were less disastrous than the Democrats. Still, we're heading in a pro-GOP direction, mostly because they're viewed as more sane than the Democrats and also because Republicans aren't ignoring the people. They're actually listening to them. That's why this will be a very good year for the GOP.
State legislatures will flip back to GOP control. The GOP will experience a net gain in governor seats. More importantly, they'll win back alot of House seats, possibly enough to make John Boehner the Speaker. Democrats will lose at least 3 seats in the Senate, starting with Harry Reid, Chris Dodd, Blanche Lincoln and possibly the Burris and Gillibrand seats.
President Obama should treat this poll as a warning shot from the American people that they aren't happy with his economic policies. It's their way of saying that they're tired of rising unemployment, unprecedented deficits and almost-nonexistent economic growth. If President Obama continues his stay-the-course path, he'll earn the distrust of more and more independents.
If Democrats think that they won't pay a price for their arrogance, they'll find out that they're wrong. Poor policies, lousy results, a liberal sprinkling of arrogance and the Democrats' unwillingness to listen will take a toll on the Democrats, a toll which will be blatantly obvious on Election Night, 2010.
Posted Sunday, November 15, 2009 11:47 AM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 15-Nov-09 03:51 PM
Maybe one other thing I'll contribue this to Gary. During the campaign Obama said he will go through the budget and remove wasteful spending. That obvioulsy drew votes of people who understand that if your income is $40,000 per year you can't spend $60,000 per year.
People have heard budget numbers that never came up during the Bush administration. And lets remember that George Bush could've delivered a balance budget despite the Iraq and other wars if didn't allow for the explosion in domestic spending.
That's a big factor since a lot of parents don't want to pass a horrible national debt to their children.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Vikes Win behind Rice, Favre, Peterson, Stingy Defense
The Vikings lifted their record to 8-1 thanks to a monster game by Sidney Rice, another stellar game by Brett Favre and Adrian Peterson's 133 yards rushing and his 2 touchdowns.
The bad news for Vikings fans is that this was a sloppy game from multiple perspectives. The Vikings took too many penalties, stopping themselves far too often. AP had 2 fumbles, though his fumble at the end of a long run was more the result of Philip Buchanon's making a great play than on AP's sloppiness.
The coaching staff needs to clean some things up, too. Adrian's fumbled exchange on a reverse with Percy Harvin shouldn't have happened because the play never should've gotten called. The playcalling on 4th-and-1 at the 12 was pretty stupid, too. Instead of handing the ball to AP or keeping the ball in Favre's hand, the call was for Jeff Dugan to run right at Grady Jackson.
What's becoming obvious, though, is that the Vikings have a ton of weapons on offense. Brett Favre went 20 for 29 for 344 yards and he wasn't the best player on the field. That honor went to Sidney Rice, who had 7 catches for 201 yards, which figures out to being a 28.7 per catch average.
Two of Sidney's catches were the type that you expect only guys like Andre Johnson, Randy Moss or Larry Fitzgerald to make. One of his acrobatic catches went for 43 yards, the other acrobatic catch went for 56 yards.
Defensively, the Vikings secondary played better this week tackling-wise. They also played a physical game, hitting or hurrying Matthew Stafford over 30 times. Jared Allen played well, Kevin Williams got his 6th sack of the season but the dominant defensive player today was Ray Edwards. Edwards harassed Stafford continuously, sacking him twice. This might've been his best game as a pro.
While today's game might've been Edward's best game, it undoubtedly was Sidney Rice's best game as a pro. Rice has 2 catches of 43 yards each, with his other long pass going for 56 yards. Each of those catches were Pro Bowl-caliber catches.
The Vikings still havne't played their best game. They've still got things that they need to clean up. It's obvious that the Saints and Vikings are the only elite teams in the NFC. If the Vikings clean things up, they can definitely play with the Saints.
The Vikings now have a stranglehold on the NFC North. It's possible this race could be wrapped up with half of December left.
Posted Sunday, November 15, 2009 6:24 PM
Comment 1 by walter hanson at 15-Nov-09 09:21 PM
Gary I think it's going to be sooner than that. Detroit can't win the divison (tie breaker)Assuming the Vikings win their next three games (Seattle, Bears, and Arizona) that will make it virtually impossible for the Packers to win assuming they win their last seven games. The Bears will be knocked out by the combination of their record and the Vikings tie breaker edge.
The big question will be over the last seven games if the Saints will lose a game or more and depending upon who beats them how that affects the tie breaker to host what could be an NFC championship game.
Yes Rice was great, but the easiest catch of the game for him to make was the record setting yards by a Viking receiver which he dropped.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 2 by Gary Gross at 16-Nov-09 01:43 AM
Walter, that last catch wouldn't have got him the record. It would've left him 2 yards short.
Comment 3 by Walter Hanson at 16-Nov-09 04:39 PM
I thought he was beyond the firsr yard marker and he only need 9 yards to break the record. Besides with the trouble Detroit had knocking him down he easily could've gotten those yards if he didn't have them already if he had caught (isn't it ironic the worst thing we can argue about is a team record not being broken)
Walter hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 4 by eric z. at 16-Nov-09 05:52 PM
Enough to make you want to spend tax money to buy Zygi a super tricked out stadium; roof or no roof; or Zygi thinks so.
Bachmann, Emmer Bullish On 2010
Saturday, I attended an event in Big Lake sponsored by the SD-16 GOP BPOU. SD-16 BPOU Chairman Jim Newberger emceed the event, which was held at The Friendly Buffalo just west off Highway 10. (Yes, that's a plug. The owner of the Friendly Buffalo is a loyal conservative.)
The first speaker called to the micrphone was HD-16B Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer. Mary reminded the activists gathered there that the district was once a liberal district, reminding them that it started to turn with her husband Ralph's election in the 80's. Mary said that with hard work, SD-16 would reject Lisa Fobbe after her half-term in office. Na7turally, that got a nice round of applause from the activists gathered there.
After talking about taking back Betsy Wergin's seat, Rep. Kiffmeyer then talked about the different tax increases that Gov. Pawlenty vetoed and that the House GOP sustained. She then talked about the tax credits that Ann Lenczewski's tax bill would've eliminated , including the charitable contributions, the mortgage interest tax deduction and the property tax deduction for homeowners. Mary noted that those deductions would've been eliminated under Rep. Lenzcewski's bill.
GOP gubernatorial candidates Marty Seifert and Tom Emmer both gave brief presentations, followed by a brief Q and A session. Both candidates' presentations were pleasing to conservatives' ears as both talked about their plans to create jobs.
The one point that stood out to me came when Marty said that he'd veto a bill if it didn't include a voter ID provision. When it was Tom's turn, he said that he was optimistic that we wouldn't have to rely on vetoes but that we could be the majority party if we got our message out.
It wouldn't be fair to characterize Marty's attitude as defeatist but there was a significant difference in his response compared with Tom's response. I'd also question whether it's smart to veto bills if it'll lead to a special session.The DFL would love making it difficult by insisting on leaving out the voter ID provision.
At that point, a GOP governor would have to decide whether it's best to veto a bill, thereby causing a special session, then possibly a government shutdown, which the DFL and their media allies would blame on Republicans.
Regardless, the night's highlight was Michele Bachmann's presentation, which she followed up with a Q and A session. Michele said that she really didn't know what to expect in terms of attendance for the Emergency House Call event. She said that it started on Hannity's TV show the Friday night before the House vote on Pelosicare.
She said that people like Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Glenn Beck got the word out through their shows. She said that the thing that made her beleive that it might get big was a phone call she got at home the Saturday before the event.
Jon Voight called and asked her if it'd be alright to fly to DC "to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with" people standing up for what's right. When Thursday's event rolled around, there was Jon Voight, standing with Michele, Levin, John Ratzenberger (Cliff Claven of Cheers) and a host of others.
Michele said that Pelosi walked Democrats off the plank by forcing them to vote for the Pelosicare bill. She said that Pelosi and the Democrats haven't listened to the American people, which has sparked the TEA Party movement. Finally, she said that a wave is building and DC doesn't think it's real; they think it's astroturf or overhyped, etc.
It's my opinion that they'll find out the hard way that their policies aren't popular. They'll find out that people aren't in the mood to have their taxes raised when 1 in 6 people are unemployed or underemployed. They'll find out that they aren't popular after voting for economic policies that are making the economy worse and that are making deficits astronomical.
Saturday's event was well-attended, with about 100-125 people attending.
Posted Monday, November 16, 2009 1:41 AM
Comment 1 by Al at 16-Nov-09 07:53 AM
Did Kiffmeyer talk about the bank she's president of--you know, Jesus Savings and Loan, the one the FDIC just took over because it's insolvent?
Comment 2 by J. Ewing at 16-Nov-09 08:57 AM
The GOP is on the verge of having a "good year" next year, but it is a monumental undertaking and may not be good enogh. Just the small differences between Emmer and Seifert are enough to swing the balance, IMHO. Marty was taking a pragmatic but principled position; Tom was being cautiously optimistic.
Comment 3 by Gary Gross at 16-Nov-09 09:34 AM
Jerry, There was NO INDICATION that Marty had even thought about life in the majority.
Yes, it'll take alot of work to retake the majorities. Yes, we might fall short. Yes, we still set our sights high because anything less says that our priorities aren't winning priorities.
Comment 4 by J. Ewing at 16-Nov-09 02:30 PM
I can assure you that Marty HAS thought about it, and has actually taken steps to help make it so. But that wasn't my point. My point was that there is a difference in style or tone (and very little of principle) between the two men and that it may make the difference between a new majority and ongoing minority status for Republicans.
Comment 5 by Gary Gross at 16-Nov-09 02:34 PM
Jerry, If Marty has thought about creating a conservative majority, then I'd say that this was just posturing as the ONLY MAN who'd veto bills he didn't like.
Comment 6 by J. Ewing at 16-Nov-09 04:39 PM
You are entitled to your opinion of both men and about what they said, or didn't say, or implied, and on the way they did or didn't say what they did or should have said. That's what makes a horse race.
If Marty said exactly that, he is wrong in a couple of ways (and must have misspoken; he knows better). First, all of the candidates are, AFAIK, good conservatives of one stripe or another. Second, vetoing things they don't like is the absolute perogative and duty of any governor. Third, sometimes the best man for the job is a woman, and I wouldn't discount Pat Anderson in this race.
Comment 7 by Walter Hanson at 16-Nov-09 04:47 PM
Gary:
One thing to keep in mind we will need a year bigger than the Minnesota massacre for the governor not to worry about veto's.
On the house which in theory can be won we still have to gain 23 plus seats and in the senate we need over 10 seats.
It's easy that at least one chamber won't be controlled by Republicans and the democrats will continue to try to be the dominant party in budget issues.
Walter Hanson
Minneapolis, MN
Comment 8 by eric z. at 16-Nov-09 05:50 PM
Sounds like a '60s love-in. Flowers and candles, and a smoke-filled house. Did they talk of the wars? Each is something Obama inherited. Did Michele talk about all she's done in Congress to get jobs in the District? Housing and commercial real estate, credit, things that died three months or earlier before the start of 2009? Did Kiffmeyer propose any legislative agenda, priorities, things of that kind?
With the economy as it is, voter ID is a real timely issue.
Comment 9 by J. Ewing at 16-Nov-09 09:37 PM
Well, yes, voter ID is an issue. Thanks to our POS SOS we have a situation where ACORN and its ilk can steal any election they want to, just by having more people cast ballots than actually walked through a polling place. Heck, we can find ballots in a car trunk a week later and still have them count. Then we simply throw out any absentee ballots we don't like and Voila! Democrat victory!
And don't pull that old "inherited recession" crap. Obama PROMISED, with real numbers and tons of "experts," that if the stimulus passed unemployment would not get above 8%, but that without it, unemployment would likely peak just above 9%. Now that it is over 10% and climbing, it is obvious that what Obama did was WORSE THAN NOTHING! You can't blame that on Bush. The Obamacle owns this mess. All Republicans have to do is to say, "We can't possibly screw up any worse," an they can get elected. If they offer a truly believable positive alternative, Katy bar the door.
The OTHER Minnesota Miracle?
Who would've thought that the Second Minnesota Miracle would've been the Obama administration's gift to us? Apparently, the stimulus created a bunch of new congressional districts. According to Recovery.gov's Minnesota page , Minnesota no longer has eight congressional districts.
We now have 19 congressional districts: the 9th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, the 20th, the 22nd, the 27th, the 42nd, the 57th and last but least the 00th district. There have been 50.3 jobs saved or created in those new districts. That doesn't seem like a great deal, though, since it cost $7,519,152 to create or save those 50.3 jobs. According to my calculator, that's $149,486.12 per job created or saved.
Each month, either Vice President Biden or Robert Gibbs tells us how many jobs were created or saved. Their schtick isn't persuasive. Too many states are reporting how inaccurate the reporting is.
Minnesota isn't the only state that's experienced this miracle growth either. ABCNews is reporting that 30 jobs were supposedly created or saved in Arizona's 9th district. The bad news is that Arizona only has 8 congressional districts.
If the government is this ill-prepared to keep track of congressional districts, why should people think it's prepared to keep track of all the moving parts involved in providing health care?
Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 3:06 AM
Comment 1 by J. Ewing at 17-Nov-09 08:42 AM
Apparently California has 101 Congressional Districts, and a similarly dismal record of producing jobs in them.
Comment 2 by eric z. at 17-Nov-09 08:53 AM
Gary, look at all the jobs created putting up and maintaining that website. It is astounding.
And you get to the Minnesota listings.
Starting here, the "A" recipients.
Page 1: http://www.recovery.gov/pages/TextViewProjSummary.aspx?data=recipientAwardsList&State=MN&Agency=ALL&Amount=ALL&AwardType=ALL&RenderData=ALL&PageNumber=1
Ending here, the "Y-Z" ones.
Page 170: http://www.recovery.gov/pages/TextViewProjSummary.aspx?data=recipientAwardsList&State=MN&Agency=ALL&Amount=ALL&AwardType=ALL&RenderData=ALL&PageNumber=170
And you can do a page by page review from either end - but not an alphabetical search.
Who are these idiots? You have discovered something, Gary.
You should get together on this hummer with Harold Hamilton, Anoka County Watchdog:
http://anokacountywatchdog.com/general_pages/hamilton.htm
I did want to see, middle of the alphabet, Harold's company, Micro Control Company, being where he is on the political spectrum whether his workforce had any benefit. It's an intemediary, making and selling equipment for other manufacturing, state-side or foreign, whoever buys the product. But it's jobs helping downstream jobs, so is it helped or ignored?
So, hey, there's a search box. Great, eh? Put in the box the firm's name: Micro Control Company,
Get this: http://www.recovery.gov/espsearch/Pages/default.aspx?k=Micro+Control+Company
Try the name in quotation marks (all lower case), get this:
http://www.recovery.gov/espsearch/Pages/default.aspx?k=%22micro+control+company%22
Perhaps you and Harold can teach me how to locate an answer to that question, this website.
It sure looks as if they did not create enough jobs to engineer and run the site; or somehow there were wrong hires. Kinship trumping talent perhaps?
This site is shameful.
If a site is difficult and unintuitive to search, and you've no trust in the search returns, you have to ask what intentions going in were among site sponsors and designers, and why.
You have found something, Gary.
Good post.
Comment 3 by eric z. at 17-Nov-09 08:59 AM
Gary, they have a contact us page. I opened it, and the comment box was a link to your post.
The link to the post should be sent to both senators and each rep.
It is government at its worse.
Comment 4 by Eric Heins at 17-Nov-09 10:28 AM
One thing not reported yet,
Was the money claimed to be spent in non-existant Cong districts actually spent? IF so, who got it? Transparency ... accountability.
I'm hoping this turns out to simply be a matter of mislabeling State legislative districts as Federal congressional districts. I hope it has that simple of an explanation. I doubt that's the case, but even the rentseekers can't be THIS stupid.
Comment 5 by Lady Logician at 17-Nov-09 11:39 AM
It's not just MN - I wrote about the "new" Congressional Districts in Utah (4th, 23rd, 68th AND 00) and I have seen other blogs from other states who are reporting the same thing in each of their states! It is the rampant incompetence of the federal bureaucracy that you are seeing here....
AND THESE PEOPLE WANT TO RUN OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM!!!!!
LL
Comment 6 by Lady Logician at 17-Nov-09 11:44 AM
Eric H - I suspect that the mislabeling is as you suggest - confusing HD's with CD's however that still does not explain CD 00.
Again - it is the incompetence of the bureaucracy (that Congress wants to put in charge of health care) that can't even figure out how to put together a website that can't figure that out. I would think that it would be a fairly simple calculation to plug in.
For example - if the person filling out the paperwork puts down that the job created was in MN HD35 would be in MN CD 2 or a job created in Utah HD23 would actually be in Utah 1.
LL
Comment 7 by Gary Gross at 17-Nov-09 01:05 PM
The Obama administration is now blaming this on the states, saying that they sent unreliable information. I'm not buying that. The administration initially gave us bad information & got caught at it.
They then announced that they would "scrub" the website. Isn't it logical that they'd verify the information as part of that scrubbing?
I'm betting that this administration just deleted the embarrassing information & that they didn't verify the data they'd received.
Cindy brings up an important point that there's no explaining CD-00, whether it's found in Minnesota or anywhere.
Comment 8 by eric z. at 17-Nov-09 02:23 PM
Gary, we got a double zero. Michele.
Response 8.1 by Gary Gross at 17-Nov-09 02:53 PM
That isn't very nice. Just because you don't agree with her doesn't mean you should insult her.
Comment 9 by J. Ewing at 17-Nov-09 03:01 PM
I think the ready explanation is that the recipient of the money is required to fill out some voluminous and confusing (is there another kind?) government paperwork. Most folks don't know the number of their Congressional district, so they enter "00" or some other number, just to get the Obamanuts off their back and collect their check. If this were the extent of the confusion, it wouldn't be so bad, but it extends through the whole reporting process, and the pressure is to inflate the numbers to anything you think the Obamanuts will buy. So, you get people reporting 2600 new jobs created, when their total workforce is 300 people, and that's just one example.
It's just like health care. The whole idea of the stimulus is so flawed that, like the Defcon computer says, "the only way to win is not to play." The stimulus spending should be stopped immediately and any funds possible retrieved. I don't care if it DOES cost us 35.3 non-existent jobs in a non-existent place.
The Thugging Has Already Started
Dr. Paul Hsieh's op-ed in this morning's Washington Examiner paints a rather grim picture of the future of the American health care system:
Suppose the mafia came to your town and forced everyone to purchase all their meals at mob-approved restaurants. The mafia would also select the menu items.The sad part is that past presidents and past congresses already have forced their wishes upon us. They're called mandates. Minnesota has 68 of them that they impose on insurers and health care providers. Still, this is a beefier mandate than anything Minnesota has passed.
If you liked broccoli but their vegetable choice was spinach, then tough luck. Everyone would also have to purchase dessert, whether they wanted it or not. And if some customers couldn't afford the high-priced meals, the mafia would force you to "contribute" to cover their bills.
Most Americans would be outraged at such violations of their basic rights. But this is precisely what the president and Congress want to do with health insurance.
This is Chicago machine-style politics at its worst, with the SEIU thugs, not the police, providing this administration's enforcement. This is what's at stake:
Under any system of mandatory insurance, the government must necessarily determine what constitutes an "acceptable" plan. Hence, this creates a magnet for special interests seeking to include their pet benefits on the required insurance menu.In addition to being unconstitutional, this legislation tells families and doctors that the government knows best, that doctors and families won't act in their financial and health care best interests. That's arrogance at its worst. That type of behavior can't be tolerated. This legislation must be defeated ASAP because our liberty is truly at stake.
Massachusetts residents must purchase numerous benefits that they may neither need nor want, such as in vitro fertilization, drug abuse therapy and chiropractor services. If you'd rather purchase low-cost catastrophic-only insurance without those options, tough luck. Mandatory insurance thus violates the individual's right to spend his own money for his benefit according to his best judgment.
Posted Tuesday, November 17, 2009 2:06 PM
Comment 1 by apathyboy at 18-Nov-09 08:59 AM
"Massachusetts residents must purchase numerous benefits that they may neither need nor want, such as in vitro fertilization, drug abuse therapy and chiropractor services."
This seems to imply that in MA, the government can force you to procreate against your will.
Maybe Romney has a secret plan to create enough supporters to take the Presidency in about 18 years.
Response 1.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Nov-09 09:18 AM
Considering how pi$$ed off Commonwealth residents are with him, there's a better chance they'd grow up & punch him.
Rep. Bachmann Exposes Corrupt House Rules
Thanks to this post on Huffington Post , Michele Bachmann's Emergency House Call event is helping to expose the corrupt House rules. First a little background is required.
CREW is asking for an investigation into whether the event violated this House rule:
In a letter sent to the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), CREW contends that Bachmann violated House rules by using her official member's website to garner "grassroots lobbying" for the health care protest in question.Think about what this rule asks. This rule is a violation of Congress's First Amendment rights. Furthermore, this rule restricts or prohibits representatives' ability to tell people to petition their representatives. That's the epitome of arrogance.
The Members' Handbook specifies : The content of a Member's Website...[may] not include grassroots lobbying or solicit support for a Member's position." CREW argues that Bachmann broke this rule.
Earlier this year, the House and Senate tried prohibiting members from blogging, using YouTube, FaceBook and Twitter. Only our activism prevented that. Still, Speaker Pelosi slipped this rule in with the intent of restricting spontaneous outbursts of We The People.
What's the purpose of this rule if not censorship? Speaker Pelosi and her tyrant minions have a history of trying to silence their opponents. It isn't surprising that they've instituted a rule that attempts to limit Congress's free speech rights.
Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 3:24 AM
Comment 1 by Anna at 18-Nov-09 11:09 AM
"What's the purpose of this rule if not censorship?"
I think the purpose is to limit the official legislative site to being informational, and not political.
Taxpayer money is used to fund the official websites, so I'm guessing the taxpayers want these sites to be information-driven (not ideology-driven) and not be turned into campaign sites for each rep (the representatives generally have separate campaign websites, funded by their campaigns).
It's the same as the "official" mailings that come from reps. Those are also taxpayer funded. Generally I want those to be informational (updates on legislation moving through Congress, for example), and not the member's ideological position or a lobbying attempt (to get me to come to a protest rally).
I don't feel that Bachmann's free speech rights have been threatened. She has more rights than any of the rest of us . . . nobody invites me to go on Fox every week to express my opinions to millions of viewers, for example. Bachmann seems to speak very freely and has platforms that the rest of us can only dream of to spread her views.
I don't feel she's a victim here. The rules are meant to use taxpayer money for informational updates, not campaign promotion, and the rules apply to all reps so they are fair.
Try again to defend her, with a different angle. This one doesn't pass muster.
Comment 2 by eric z at 18-Nov-09 05:41 PM
Gary I cannot believe you'd have wanted Wellstone to have used his official Senate website to hustle reelection next cycle.
Come on Gary, tell me I am wrong on the Wellstone thought, AND that you're fine with Ellison were he to start using his House website to post about the beauty of the Muslim faith. Or about his wanting a rally orgnaized to advocate shutting down private health insurers and establishing single payer, and that he would push the thing on the House website. Or that he'd be fine with you if he posted on the official website that Col. Kline is an a**h**e, since that's his speech rights at issue, his right to do that. Decorum has no place.
Without a rule against commingling electioneering with job-related politicking, it would be that, for every incumbent. And if it were done skillfully enough there'd never be an incumbent losing an election and taxpayers would pick up the tab.
Gary, you cannot be standing for that.
Look, Gary, how badly Bachmann's abused the franking privilege, and she's not the first to have done that. Think how she'd act if there were no website restraints. Worse than she did, in breaking the clear and well grounded rule that she knew of or should have known of. Either way, it's wrong and excessive.
The rules are too lax, not too tight. The franking privilege should be eliminated - the playing field should be level, not biased in favor of incumbency. Only incumbents get the website and franking privileges, it's not a right but a privilege, and there are rules that too often are winked at, but they are there to curb gross misuse. Of a privilege.
Five Years and Getting Stronger
Today marks the fifth anniversary of me starting blogging. It's understatement to say that it's been a great experience. During those years, I've watched history being made, starting with the elections in Afghanistan, then Ukraine's Orange Revolution (that's how I first learned about King), followed by Iraq's Purple Finger election on Jan. 31, 2005, immediately followed by the Cedar Revolution in Lebanon.
The Cedar Revolution was started when Syrian thugs assassinated Rafiq Harriri, the popular leader of Lebanon.
Over time, LFR evolved into a mostly political blog. Thanks to Final Word, I got interested in state level politics. On that front, the best is yet to come. There will be exciting news coming on that front soon. I'll just say that it's about putting a common sense blueprint for winning in 2010.
As always, this isn't about just saying whatever to attract people. This is about putting together a set of priorities that employ time-tested conservative principles in winning. We've seen how well that worked in Virginia and with Sarah Palin.
Many challenges lie ahead for the conservative movement. We need to do a better job with messaging. That doesn't mean just using Twitter or Facebook. It means telling people how conservative policies will positively affect their wallets, their kids' future, their retirement and their health.
When President Obama won last year's election, lefty pundits heralded the 'fact' that we'd become a center-left nation. I didn't buy that and neither did you. Now we're seeing proof of that. Had a real transformation happened, popular support for the Democrats' health care reform legislation would've been overwhelming, President Obama's job approval rating would be in the mid-50's and Democrats would have a comfortable margin in the generic ballot question polling.
As you know, none of those things are reality today. Support for the Democrats' health care legislation is mostly confined to the leftist elements of K Street and to uberliberal parts of the country. President Obama's job approval rating keeps sinking. Republicans have held a nice lead in the generic ballot question since late August.
It's time we started trusting in conservative principles. It's time we remembered that people are conservative by nature. 2010 will give us proof of that and I'll be around to chronicle the strengthening of conservative movement. Our job, which we should accept with enthusiasm, should be to tell 'conservatives-in-waiting' why their future will be brighter with limited government and the liberty to make our own decisions.
Our goal, which I'm confident we'll choose, is to put in place policies that (a)liberate us financially, (b) reduce the regulatory burden on us and (c) keep protecting us from future terrorist attacks.
LET FREEDOM RING!!!
Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 9:12 AM
Comment 1 by R-Five at 18-Nov-09 09:41 AM
Congratulations / Happy Blogiversary!
Comment 2 by ewj at 18-Nov-09 02:39 PM
I have only commented once before but have read a lot of your stuff. I have yet to find much of which we agree. Except - Freedom is important.
A couple of examples:
You stated that pundits said this is a center-left country after Obama was elected. Actually, most stated then and now this is a center-right country and most conservatives and many Republicans are at the extremes.
The Health care bill is supported by 47% with 49% against according to Rasmussen. http://bit.ly/10xWdc This shows the problem with uber-conservatives; they deem 47% of Americans to be uber-liberal and out of touch.
I congratulate you on five years, Let Freedom and Truth Ring.
Response 2.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Nov-09 02:46 PM
Actually, here's the rest of the story on health care:
Since July, support has generally remained between 41% and 46%. Last week, the effort was supported by 45% of voters. Two weeks ago, it was supported by 42%.For weeks & weeks, support was 41-43 percent. Conservative I am but I don't deem 41-43 percent a majority.
Comment 3 by Jim Hoft at 18-Nov-09 03:56 PM
Gary- Congratulations!
Thank you for your efforts for freedom. May the next 5 years bring you even more success.
Response 3.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Nov-09 05:25 PM
Jim, Thanks for the compliment. I'm working on something that'll have a direct impact on that. I'll keep you posted along the way but it's something that has the potential to change my little corner of the world.
Comment 4 by eric z at 18-Nov-09 05:30 PM
Gary - time goes fast when you're having fun.
Rather than congrats on the longevity, I again commend your highlighting that recovery.gov mess.
Pointing it out to not merely criticize but to note something needing to be fixed is a highlight.
Again, good post.
Response 4.1 by Gary Gross at 18-Nov-09 06:22 PM
Eric, Thanks for the compliments on the recovery.gov post. That's a total no-brainer. That could be fraud!!! I'll report that 100 times out of 100 times.
Comment 5 by Lady Logician at 19-Nov-09 10:15 AM
Happy Blogoversary old friend!
LL
Too-Clever-By-Half Trickery
Sen. Jim Demint's op-ed at RedState is today's must reading. Here's the important part of Sen. Demint's op-ed:
Yesterday, Democrat leaders announced they may soon bring Harry Reid's new health care bill to the Senate floor in an effort to grant the President's wish for a government takeover of our nation's health care by Christmas. This is in spite of the fact that 99 senators have never seen Reid's new bill that was written in secret. Reid even hinted he may rush to a vote before the bill's been public for 72 hours, as even Democrats have demanded.One thing that motivates TEA Party activists, whether they're conservatives or independents, is when DC politicians try playing 'too-clever-by-half' tricks. This certainly qualifies as a 'too-clever-by-half' trick. The result is the same. The only way to stop this bill is to prevent the bill from getting debated.
To begin debate on this new version of Obamacare, Reid will play a shell game. He needs 60 senators to "vote to proceed" to an unrelated piece of legislation, and once he clears that hurdle he will strike that bill's text and insert his new health care bill. But don't be fooled by senators that will say they oppose a government takeover but just wanted to allow debate on health care, they are not being honest.
The simple fact is this: Any senator that votes to proceed to the Reid-Obama bill is voting for a government takeover of health care.
Why? Because, President Obama and Harry Reid cannot pass a government takeover without clearing 60 vote procedural hurdles in the Senate - but they also know that vulnerable Democrats likely cannot win reelection if they vote for this unpopular bill. So they want all Democrats to stick together on the vote to proceed, then some Democrats will vote against final passage of the bill and claim they tried to stop it.
Senators who say they just want to allow for debate are trying to deceive their voters while giving President Obama the crucial votes he needs to pass a government takeover of health care.
It's time that we told our senators that their vote for any part of this bill or their voting to let debate start on this bill is the end of their political career. This isn't just a vote on an appropriations bill or a tax increase. It's a bill that will destroy the health care and health insurance industries.
Other than a vote for sending troops to war, this is the most important vote any of these senators will ever cast.
If Ben Nelson tries justifying voting to let the bill to proceed, then our question to him must ask how letting the bill proceed will help American health care shoppers.
This bill won't lower insurance premiums without a federal subsidy. Those subsidies will require tax increases to prevent the deficit from getting worse than it already is. Government control will increase, meaning doctors won't have the choices that they currently have.
That's before we start talking about the $300,000,000,000 doctor fix that they're hoping to ram through in the dark of night.
The Democrats' bill isn't about improving the health care system. It's about controlling lives. Any senator voting to let the bill proceed is voting to let the federal government control your life. That isn't the 'too-clever-by-half' spin.
It's just the truth. Hold them accountable.
Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 2:23 PM
Comment 1 by apathyboy at 18-Nov-09 04:09 PM
"The Democrats' bill isn't about improving the health care system. It's about controlling lives."
This is a little dramatic. What comes next, microchip implants?
To imply that the Democrats are intentionally trying to enslave the American people is more ridiculous, its dishonest and spiteful.
Proof That God Loves Conservatives
If ever conservatives needed proof that God loved them, I'd submit that this WSJ article is proof positive. Here's what I'm basing my opinion on:
Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would put off debate on a big climate-change bill until spring, in a sign of weakening political will to tackle a long-term environmental issue at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.Bringing up Cap And Trade next spring is perfect for Republicans. They couldn't script it better than this. With the dollar weakening and with gas prices rising steadily, bringing up a bill that President Obama said would cause energy prices to "necessarily skyrockocket" doesn't seem like a bright move if you're looking for career longevity. (QUESTION: which senator isn't looking for longevity?)
Legislation on health care, overhauling financial markets and job creation will be considered before the Senate takes up a measure to cap emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to climate change, Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday.
Climate legislation will be taken up "some time in the spring," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Tuesday after a Democratic caucus meeting.
Usually, gas prices drop once they switch from processing boutique fuels but they're expected to keep rising because of the weak dollar. The good news is that, according to my go-to guy on energy (Rep. Mike Beard), the good news is that those of us who heat with natural gas will see our heating bills stay mostly unchanged. Mike said that people heating with heating oil will likely see a rise in prices.
What this means is that, if Sen. Reid rolls this bill out according to his announced time, he'll be trotting it out while gas prices are high. The public opposes the bill, mostly because they think it's based on junk science, but also because it'll cost them fistfuls of money.
In the spirit of bipartisanship, I hope Sen. Reid follows through on this and that 55-58 Democratic senators vote for cloture on this.
That would be proof indeed that God loves conservatives.
Posted Wednesday, November 18, 2009 6:57 PM
Comment 1 by eric z. at 19-Nov-09 09:07 AM
Proof, one way or the other, awaits the next ballot box.
