Scott Brown for US Senate

Dear Conservative Activist Friends: As most of you know, I've been highlight the campaign of Scott Brown, a Republican who's running for the US Senate ("the Teddy Kennedy Seat") in Massachusetts.

If Brown receives support -- financial, organizational, and moral -- from thousands of activists around the country, he will win the special election to be held on Jan. 19 (less than three weeks from now).

Are my activities -- and yours -- really making a difference for Scott Brown? Two days ago I received the following message from a member of his campaign staff:

"I am the policy advisor on the Scott Brown campaign. I have been getting your emails since Sarah was announced as the VP. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me. Also how many people do generally send this email out to? We have seen an enormous surge of interest in our website.

"Thank you and happy new year." -- R.K.

When the Brown Campaign adviser sent that e-mail, she made my day -- and I hope she's doing the same for all of you who recognize the importance of making Scott the 41st Republican vote in the Senate.

Yes, it is Massachusetts, and voters in that state tend to pull the Democrat lever much the same way Pavlov's dog salivated when the bell rang. And Scott Brown is an underdog.

However, if Scott wins, it would mark the beginning of the end for not only the reign of "Nancy and Harry," but also the Obama presidency.

He's much less an underdog today than he was a few weeks ago.

Scott is in favor of limited government and low taxes, the very policies that are essential if we're ever to restore our country to economic health.

Scott's opponent is Martha Coakley, a former prosecutor. Those of you who want to Google her will find out her specialty was ferociously prosecuting people for crimes they hadn't committed. Her efforts even have a title: "The Second Salem Witch Trials."

Thus, Coakley is against "witches"; she is in favor apparently of all the big government policies promoted by Obama and Reid.

In a sane world, Scott Brown would win in a landslide. As you and I know, however, a one-vote victory in politics is just as good as a landslide.

If you visit Scott's web site -- www.brownforussenate.com -- you can find many ways to help him win on Jan. 19. They have a major effort that will enable people to call in from out-of-state.

My own emphasis in 2010 will be to spend 2,000 hours (I'm semi-retired) trying to elect outstanding candidates. On my blog -- www.stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com -- I'll be writing every day about important races . . . and practical steps we can take to win back the House of Representatives. It may take until 2012 to win back the Senate, but we're due for some big victories.

I'm hoping all of you will share campaign ideas that work. Of course, one approach that always works is to ask friends, family, and associates to join us in voting for great candidates.

Note: Please share this post with all your contacts . . . and encourage them to help Scott win.

2010: 12 Hot House Races

What are the hottest races in the House for 2010? To get answers to that question, you need to visit Stuart Rothenberg at http://www.rothenbergpoliticalreport.blogspot.com/. His December 3, 2009 column says the following about key House races:

There are two caveats that go with the list. First, there are strong arguments for including at least half a dozen other districts on the list. So, not being on this list doesn’t mean a contest is not extremely competitive. Second, since the midterm elections are still almost a year off, this list is likely to change significantly before November.

Louisiana’s 2nd: Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, the only Republican to vote for the House’s health care reform bill, had no business winning this majority-black district. He won only because of the timing of the 2008 elections and the unique problems of then-Rep. William Jefferson (D). This time, Democrats are likely to have an unindicted nominee, which should end Cao’s service in Congress at one term. Two state Representatives have already announced they are running. Expect a turnover.

Delaware’s At-Large: Rep. Mike Castle’s decision to run for Senate was great news for the National Republican Senatorial Committee but bad news for House Republicans. Former Lt. Gov. John Carney (D) was already running when Castle made his announcement, so Democrats have a serious candidate in the race. Since the state leans Democratic, Republicans will need to find a formidable nominee even to contest the seat seriously.

Louisiana’s 3rd: With Rep. Charlie Melancon (D) running for Senate, this open seat gives the GOP an excellent takeover opportunity. The district gave President Barack Obama only 37 percent of the vote in 2008, so the Republican nominee should benefit from normal midterm dynamics. Of course, with a late August primary, the race won’t shake out for months.

Virginia’s 5th: Freshman Rep. Tom Perriello (D) seems more interested in doing what he thinks is right than getting re-elected. That’s the only way to explain his votes supporting House Democrats’ cap-and-trade and health care reform bills. State Sen. Robert Hurt (R) is expected to challenge Perriello, and the Congressman is in deep, deep trouble. Obama’s 48 percent showing last year in this district understates Perriello’s challenge next year.

Maryland’s 1st: Unlike Perriello, Rep. Frank Kratovil (D) has voted as if he is trying to be re-elected. But he barely scraped by Republican Andy Harris in an open-seat contest last time, and the midterm electorate will make his re-election bid more difficult. He has a chance to win another term, but the odds aren’t in his favor. Obama drew only 40 percent of the vote in the 1st in 2008.

Kansas’ 3rd: When Rep. Dennis Moore announced his retirement last week, Democratic prospects tanked. While Obama won this district with 51 percent, it generally leans Republican, and the open seat during a midterm election looks like a juicy GOP target.

Ohio’s 1st: Rep. Steve Driehaus (D) knocked off then-Rep. Steve Chabot (R) last year, and now Chabot is trying to return the favor. Expected lower turnout among Democratic core groups, especially younger voters and blacks, places this district at great risk even though Obama won it with 55 percent.

Ohio’s 15th: Freshman Rep. Mary Jo Kilroy (D) has many of the same problems — and the same challenges — that confront Driehaus in the state’s 1st district. Unlike Driehaus, Kilroy faces a rematch against an opponent who has never won district-wide. But former state Sen. Steve Stivers (R) should be a formidable foe.

Florida’s 8th: Rep. Alan Grayson (D), another freshman, has gone out of his way to be partisan and inflammatory. That’s a good way to raise money and attract the fawning admiration of liberal activists, but it isn’t the best way to get re-elected in this Republican-leaning district that went for Obama with 52 percent. The GOP doesn’t yet have a “name” challenger, and the party may never get one. But given Grayson’s recent behavior, they may not need one to take back this district after a single term.

New Mexico’s 2nd: Rep. Harry Teague faces former Rep. Steve Pearce (R), who gave up his seat in 2008 to run for Senate. Teague has tried to vote his district, but he isn’t being helped by Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and Obama, who drew 49 percent of the district’s vote in 2008. Definitely a midterm problem for Democrats.

New Hampshire’s 2nd: The Granite State has swung strongly Democratic of late — probably too strongly considering the state’s fundamentals. This open seat, and the likely candidacy of former Rep. Charles Bass (R), should give Republicans at least an even money chance of winning back the district during the midterm elections. But attorney Ann McLane Kuster, the early favorite for the Democratic nomination and the daughter of a former liberal Republican state legislator, should be a formidable standard-bearer for her party.

New York’s 23rd: Special election winner Rep. Bill Owens won his seat with less than 50 percent of the vote, and if Republicans find a nominee who can appeal to both conservatives and moderates, Owens will find himself in trouble. His first vote was for the House health care reform bill.

Tomorrow (New Year's Day), I'll be writing (and not for the last time) about what Republicans must do to take back the House of Representatives . . . and end Nancy Pelosi's tenure as Speaker of the House.

Scott Brown: Massachusetts' January Surprise

Dear Friends: There's a "January Surprise" brewing in Massachusetts.

If John F. Kennedy were still alive, he would be a Republican. Remember his Inaugural Address where he said, "Let every nation know, whether friend or foe, that we shall bear any burden, pay any price, to ensure the survival of liberty." Can you imagine any contemporary Democrat, including Barack Obama, making a similar statement? JFK never apologized for America.

Also, confronting a serious economic slowdown, Kennedy cut taxes sharply, in order to spur economic growth and job creation. In contrast, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid are raising taxes dramatically.

The Kennedyesque candidate in the special election for a US Senate seat in Massachusetts on Jan. 19 is . . . Republican Scott Brown. If Brown wins -- when he wins -- he will be the critical 41st vote in the Senate. As such, he'd cripple the left-wing's effort to impose on us their socialist agenda.

http://www.brownforussenate.com

You may not live in Massachusetts, but you can play an important role in his electoral success. Make no mistake, the special election is one progressing under the radar. If patriots around America step up to support Scott Brown, he will become the first Republican in 40 years to win a Massachusetts Senate seat.

What can you do?

First, visit Scott's web site and sign up for e-mail updates;
Second, make a donation, either small or large;
Third, ask anyone you know in MA to support Scott;
Fourth, volunteer for the nationwide call-ins to MA (see below in
blue type)

This election will be a lot closer than the clueless MSM believes. Voters in Massachusetts, like voters in your state, are fed-up with Washington, DC's wild overspending of your money. Lifelong Democrats are reconsidering their commitment to a Party which has contempt for their values -- American values.

If you want to join the call-in effort, you can do so either be going to Scott's web site or by writing to Brad, who sent me the following:

Mr. Maloney,

We do have a mechanism [for call-ins] If you would have people contact me at brad@brownforussenate.com I can set them up with an online username and password to call from the comfort of their own homes on behalf of Scott Brown.

In the mid-1770s, Massachusetts basically launched the first American Revolution. Our forebears sacrificed everything for the causes of independence and liberty.

Now, it falls to use to rescue our beloved country from the cynics and socialists in Washington, DC. The Second American Revolution has begun.

It's up to us. Let's amaze the world be electing Scott Brown.

9/11: Two Critical Lessons

Lesson #1: never forget . . .


Lesson #2: Never forgive

Palin Offers Real Healthcare Solutions

In the Wall Street Journal on Sept. 8, Gov. Sarah Palin discussed workable solutions to America's health care problems. She confronts her Marxist opponent, Barack Obama, and basically kicks him to the curb.

By SARAH PALIN

Writing in the New York Times last month, President Barack Obama asked that Americans "talk with one another, and not over one another" as our health-care debate moves forward.
I couldn't agree more. Let's engage the other side's arguments, and let's allow Americans to decide for themselves whether the Democrats' health-care proposals should become governing law.

Some 45 years ago Ronald Reagan said that "no one in this country should be denied medical care because of a lack of funds." Each of us knows that we have an obligation to care for the old, the young and the sick. We stand strongest when we stand with the weakest among us.

We also know that our current health-care system too often burdens individuals and businesses—particularly small businesses—with crippling expenses. And we know that allowing government health-care spending to continue at current rates will only add to our ever-expanding deficit.

How can we ensure that those who need medical care receive it while also reducing health-care costs? The answers offered by Democrats in Washington all rest on one principle: that increased government involvement can solve the problem. I fundamentally disagree.

Common sense tells us that the government's attempts to solve large problems more often create new ones. Common sense also tells us that a top-down, one-size-fits-all plan will not improve the workings of a nationwide health-care system that accounts for one-sixth of our economy. And common sense tells us to be skeptical when President Obama promises that the Democrats' proposals "will provide more stability and security to every American."

With all due respect, Americans are used to this kind of sweeping promise from Washington. And we know from long experience that it's a promise Washington can't keep.

Let's talk about specifics. In his Times op-ed, the president argues that the Democrats' proposals "will finally bring skyrocketing health-care costs under control" by "cutting . . . waste and inefficiency in federal health programs like Medicare and Medicaid and in unwarranted subsidies to insurance companies . . . ."

First, ask yourself whether the government that brought us such "waste and inefficiency" and "unwarranted subsidies" in the first place can be believed when it says that this time it will get things right. The nonpartistan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) doesn't think so: Its director, Douglas Elmendorf, told the Senate Budget Committee in July that "in the legislation that has been reported we do not see the sort of fundamental changes that would be necessary to reduce the trajectory of federal health spending by a significant amount."

Now look at one way Mr. Obama wants to eliminate inefficiency and waste: He's asked Congress to create an Independent Medicare Advisory Council—an unelected, largely unaccountable group of experts charged with containing Medicare costs. In an interview with the New York Times in April, the president suggested that such a group, working outside of "normal political channels," should guide decisions regarding that "huge driver of cost . . . the chronically ill and those toward the end of their lives . . . ."

Given such statements, is it any wonder that many of the sick and elderly are concerned that the Democrats' proposals will ultimately lead to rationing of their health care by—dare I say it—death panels? Establishment voices dismissed that phrase, but it rang true for many Americans.

Working through "normal political channels," they made themselves heard, and as a result Congress will likely reject a wrong-headed proposal to authorize end-of-life counseling in this cost-cutting context. But the fact remains that the Democrats' proposals would still empower unelected bureaucrats to make decisions affecting life or death health-care matters. Such government overreaching is what we've come to expect from this administration.

Speaking of government overreaching, how will the Democrats' proposals affect the deficit? The CBO estimates that the current House proposal not only won't reduce the deficit but will actually increase it by $239 billion over 10 years. Only in Washington could a plan that adds hundreds of billions to the deficit be hailed as a cost-cutting measure.

The economic effects won't be limited to abstract deficit numbers; they'll reach the wallets of everyday Americans. Should the Democrats' proposals expand health-care coverage while failing to curb health-care inflation rates, smaller paychecks will result. A new study for Watson Wyatt Worldwide by Steven Nyce and Syl Schieber concludes that if the government expands health-care coverage while health-care inflation continues to rise "the higher costs would drive disposable wages downward across most of the earnings spectrum, although the declines would be steepest for lower-earning workers." Lower wages are the last thing Americans need in these difficult economic times.

Finally, President Obama argues in his op-ed that Democrats' proposals "will provide every American with some basic consumer protections that will finally hold insurance companies accountable." Of course consumer protection sounds like a good idea. And it's true that insurance companies can be unaccountable and unresponsive institutions—much like the federal government. That similarity makes this shift in focus seem like nothing more than an attempt to deflect attention away from the details of the Democrats' proposals—proposals that will increase our deficit, decrease our paychecks, and increase the power of unaccountable government technocrats.

Instead of poll-driven "solutions," let's talk about real health-care reform: market-oriented, patient-centered, and result-driven. As the Cato Institute's Michael Cannon and others have argued, such policies include giving all individuals the same tax benefits received by those who get coverage through their employers; providing Medicare recipients with vouchers that allow them to purchase their own coverage; reforming tort laws to potentially save billions each year in wasteful spending; and changing costly state regulations to allow people to buy insurance across state lines. Rather than another top-down government plan, let's give Americans control over their own health care.

Democrats have never seriously considered such ideas, instead rushing through their own controversial proposals. After all, they don't need Republicans to sign on: Democrats control the House, the Senate and the presidency. But if passed, the Democrats' proposals will significantly alter a large sector of our economy. They will not improve our health care. They will not save us money. And, despite what the president says, they will not "provide more stability and security to every American."

We often hear such overblown promises from Washington. With first principles in mind and with the facts in hand, tell them that this time we're not buying it.

Ms. Palin, Sen. John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election, was governor of Alaska from December 2006 to July 2009.

If Obama Can Take Vacation

To all who come here so regularly, I'll be returning with regular blogs posts on Friday, September 4. Have a great week. -- Steve Maloney

Teddy Kennedy Flirted With Treason

Thanks to Rich Johns' for the following reminder of how Teddy Kennedy favorted the Soviet Union over the US in the 1980s:


Unlikely to be much recalled this week is the fact that, in 1983, Senator Edward Kennedy offered advice to the USSR on how to defeat U.S. efforts to build up the Western nuclear deterrent in Europe; sought the assistance of the USSR in Democratic Party efforts to defeat Ronald Reagan in the election campaign of 1984; and proposed the staging of a public Kennedy visit with Yuri Andropov in Moscow to help attain these ends. Senator Kennedy's intermediary in his communications with the KGB and Yuri Andropov was John Tunney [Kennedy friend and former Senator from California].

An internal Soviet memorandum detailing Kennedy's offer of assistance to the USSR was unearthed by a Times of London reporter in the 1990s when, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the KGB files were opened.

The memorandum was written by Victor Chebrikov, who succeeded Yuri Andropov as head of the KGB when Andropov became General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Chebrikov directed the KGB from 1982 to 1988.

The full text of the Chebrikov memorandum was published in the appendix (pp. 317-320) of Paul Kengor's book, The Crusader: Ronald Reagan and the Fall of Communism.

In his book, The President, the Pope, and the Prime Minister: Three Who Changed the World, (pp. 197-198), John O'Sullivan also discussed the 1983 Kennedy overture to Andropov, noting that "Kennedy made several subsequent attempts to advise the Soviets on the best way to outwit Reagan", adding that "The only mystery is why Andropov turned down Kennedy's offer. The answer seems to be that, when it came to left-wing Western politicians hoping to assist the Kremlin's foreign policy, the Soviets were suffering from an embarrassment of riches."
Source: http://books.google.com/books?id=EnMVq0jcIUEC&pg=PA198&lpg=PA197&ots=w2uxfRTTzM&dq=Edward+Kennedy+Andropov&ie=ISO-8859-1&output=html

Conservatives4Palin: Great Web Site

Thanks so much to Adam Brickley, founder of The Sarah Palin Movement, for nominating me (on my birthday!) on Conservatives4 Palin for the Palin. I'm honored and humbled . . . and give special thanks to the Conservatives4Palin site, one I urge you to visit regularly. I'd also like to give a tip of the hat to Gov. Palin and her remarkable family.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Award Nominations

By Adam Brickley, aka "ElephantMan"


Doug Brady wrote a great post earlier proposing August 29, the anniversary of Gov. Palin's nomination as the Republican vice presidential candidate, as "Sarah Palin Day". This is a fine idea. He also nominated yours truly for some kind of award (thanks!). However, I would be remiss not to throw in a few nominations myself. I get a lot of credit for launching the original Draft Palin site, but there are definitely two or three people who did at least as much work as I did and hence deserve awards. So, I would place the following nominations for the Sarah Palin Day Award:

1. Steve Maloney - Steve was the second-ever Palin blogger, and my lonely partner in crime for most of 2007. To be honest, Steve drove some of our earliest endorsements and did a lot of heavy lifting during a time when I couldn't (retirees have more time to blog than intern/college students). No Steve, no Palin Movement - period. By the way - Steve is still involved with a large network of Palin bloggers, C4P is big, but Steve and his gang do a lot to keep together all of the little bloggers for Sarah. If you don't know him, you should.

2. Kristopher Lorelli - Started his own Palin site in early 2008, PalinForVp.com (prompting me to buy up PalinForVP.net, PalinForVP.org, and PalinForVP.info). Despite the odd name similarity, Kris was a great partner, and did even more work behind the scenes than he did with his site. From what I heard, quite a large amount of pro-Palin literature and email was sent to McCain campaign officials by Kris. He's now one of the major brains at the other team blog I contribute to - Race42012.

Commenter of the Year Award - "The Original Ted"For any hard-core, long-time Palinite who was involved in the movement before Sarah's nomination, Ted needs no introduction. If you got involved later - I'm sure many old-schoolers in the comments section will be happy to tell you about his efforts. I will leave the Ted stories to the commenters - as it seems only right that our commenter award nominee should be lauded primarily by his compatriots below the fold.

Why Parties Elites Hate Palin

Why do the elites hate Sarah Palin, why the American people generally love her?

Death Panels Exist in Oregon

Is Barack Obama just getting older -- or is he starting to look like Dr. Jack Kevorkian, also known as "Dr. Death?"

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin sounded the alarm about the death panels implicit in ObamaCare, with its emphasis on refusals to pay for lifesaving care for the elderly. (Thanks to Anne in Texas for the following.

Despite all of the denials, death panels already exist in Oregon. Here's how they work:

A woman's doctor recommends she get medical treatment. The state-run healthcare system says no and refers her to an assisted suicide specialist. The bureaucrat in charge of what amounts to a real death panel admits that the money could be better spent elsewhere, so the patient is going to have to die. It is an inevitable fact of life that the more the government outlays to keep you alive, the more your life becomes subject to a cost/benefit analysis...

Here's the video proving death panels are, in fact, real...

http://www.redstate.com/dan_mclaughlin/2009/08/20/theres-no-such-thing-as-a-death-panel-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-death-panel-theres-no-such-thing-as-a-death-panel/

How Obama Harms Black Americans

You're A Racist! The Ultimate Emotional Intimidation

by Lloyd Marcus (see http://www.lloydmarcus.

I am on the email list of a dear black friend of 20 years. He is a minister, writer and professor. He has mentored and advised me with great wisdom on numerous occasions. With me being a black conservative Republican and he a Democrat, we avoid talking politics. Since the election of Obama, my friend will talk about nothing else. He is in Baltimore. I'm in Florida. Every time he calls me, he turns the conversation into trashing all who oppose Obama's agenda. Thank God for caller ID.

I received a mass email from my friend in which he vilifies the Christian community for not chastising ministers who speak against Obama and for not attacking Sarah Palin. He said the Republicans used Palin as their "attack dog against Obama." He said watching a McCain/Palin rally was like watching a KKK lynch mob and he personally heard the crowds yelling, "kill him," referring to Obama. Folks, my dear friend is a liar.

In 2008, I traveled the U.S. attending forty rallies on the national "Stop Obama Tour" with Our Country Deserves Better PAC. Not once, did I hear any violent or racist comments. Seeing through his smooth speeches and charisma, people were simply terrified of what was to come with an Obama victory.

Behind all of my friend's intellectual yada, yada, yada, festers a deep hatred for the rich and white people. In a conversation, he said with great glee that Obama was going to "reign in Wall Street" and CEO's salaries should be limited to $500,000 per year. I thought, "Who the heck are you to dictate how much someone should be permitted to earn. This is America. The sky's the limit."
Anger caused me to write a passionate reply to my friend's hate filled email. I stated numerous reasons why Obama's agenda and the health care bills are wrong for America.

Included was abortion. Fifty percent of black babies are aborted. (www.BlackGenocide.org) Also, Obama voted three times against protecting babies who survive an abortion. So, how does my black minister friend justify supporting Obama. And why does he consider anyone opposing Obama's policies non Christian, racist or an Uncle Tom if you are black?

Ready to hit "reply all," I remembered the White House requested all emails against ObamaCare be forwarded to them. I thought, why give them more ammo to attempt to shut me up? The folks on my friend's liberal email list are all infected will Obama Brainlock Syndrome. They do not want to know the truth. In the current climate set by our "I'm gonna make you a Health Care offer you can't refuse" president, I could be setting myself up for physical attacks.

Many sincere white Americans thought by electing a black president America could never again be characterized as a "racist country." Shamefully, this characterless administration betrayed Obama voters by exploiting race, using it as a tool to implement their far left agenda.

If you don't agree with everything Obama wants, you must be a racist. Rather than the election of America's first black president bringing the races together, Obama's administration is tearing us apart. They will continue to play the tired, old and tattered geriatric "race card" as long as it is effective.

Folks, please, please, please do not fall for it. The stakes are far too high. Boldly speak the truth and stand up for what you know in your hearts to be right for America. Obama wants to redistribute wealth, punish achievers, decide who lives or dies and control as much of our lives as possible. It is just that simple. His must be stopped. Do not allow yourselves to be manipulated and intimidated for fear of being called "racist."

Ironically, "Black Racism" has blinded my long time friend as well as many other black Americans from seeing beyond Obama's skin color. MLK would not be proud.
Lloyd Marcus,

Singer/Songwriter of the “American Tea Party Anthem”.
President, NAACPC (National Association for the Advancement of Conservative People of Color) http://www.LloydMarcus.com

Why Obama Hates Sarah Palin

The Alaskans who know her love Sarah Palin. What is there not to like? Admittedly, Sarah H. Palin has almost nothing in common with Barack H. Obama, a slick-talking socialist who's been pampered ever since his teen years.

She's been a superb leader in a state mostly known for partisanship and reampant corruption. She talks the talk, and she walks the walk. I've said that people who don't like Sarah Palin (people like Letterman, Begala, Axelrod, and most Democrats) really don't like America. They don't like the kind of opportunity that's available to someone from modest origins. They don't like the fact she's a model wife and mother, mostly because they don't really believe women should be wives and mothers, apparently. They don't like her espousal of liberty, tolerance, and opportunity, because they believe in an America run by academic ideologues, like Dr. Zeke Emanuel. They don't like the fact that her son is in military, whereas their sons and daughters aren't. They hate the fact that she's an excellent athlete in a family of athletes. She's physically beautify, while they aren't. She makes them feel inferior, which they are.

Again, people who despise Sarah also despise America. It's that simple. Reportedly, Barack Obama is not a big fan of hers.

Obama Care: The Graveyard Shift

"Obama lies, Grandma dies" (a popular sign slogan at town hall meetings)

The attached is a graphic (very graphic) image of what ObamaCare will mean to grandma and grandpa. Please pass it on.Here's what Dick Morris thinks (not much) in boldface below of the removal of the end-of-life-counseling component from the Senate Finance Committee health proposal: Obama and congressional leftists have provided no answers to the questions Morris raises.

President Obama's retreat from his previous insistence on establishing a government owned insurance company to compete with private health insurers will do nothing at all to mitigate the massive rationing in medical care to the elderly his legislation will force. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, in a rare moment of profundity, said that government alternative to private health insurance is "not the essential element" of the administration's health care overhaul. How right she is.

The fundamental equation that means worse and worse medical care for our seniors remains exactly as it was before the public option was abandoned: Fifty million new patients to be treated and no extra doctors or nurses to care for them. The result will be precisely the same whether or not there is a public option -- massive rationing of medical services to the elderly.

\The legislation still plans to achieve 40% of its savings from cuts in Medicare, slicing reimbursement rates to doctors and hospitals encouraging them shortchange their elderly patients as a matter of economic necessity and shrinking further the population of doctors.

The deletion of the public insurance option is a good step. It reduces the likelihood of "socialized medicine" dominated by a single payer. But it does nothing to alter the basic equation of supply and demand which will doom medical care for the elderly.

Slogan: Obama Lies, Grandma Dies

Sarah Palin's "death panel" concept revisited:

The biggest problem with the Dem's health proposals is that they don't really try either to lower costs or to improve quality. Main point: no tort reform because the liberals are completely in bed with the trial lawyers, who extract a hundred billion-plus from our health system.

One fascinating development: hospitals in South America and India -- at least their top-tier hospitals -- are as good as MOST (not all) American hospitals. And insurance companies increasingly are flying people to New Delhi or Buenos Aires (and other sites) for operations. It turns out (rough numbers) that a heart bypass that costs $35,000 in the U.S. might cost $8,000 in India. Thus, the return flight tickets, the operation, and a short stay for recuperation can end up saving, say, $15,000 or more in costs.

The Economist had an article several months ago saying the number of Americans going to India or South America was nearly one million per year! They estimated the number could go to 10 million in the next decade or so. Start multiplying savings of $5 thousand or $10 thousand (or more) by ten million people, and the reduction in costs is immense.

If Americans see the numbers, which indicate they're not more likely to die in foreign hospitals, they are more inclined to take the trip. In some case, people are paying out of pocket (no health insurance) and saving money along with their lives appeal to them.

The Dem's health legislation is completely uncreative and basically will bring a meat-axe to medical costs. It will ration according to age and other statistical factors before it makes economic promises it will not be able to keep.

Thus, Dr. Thomas Sowell is correct: the Dems won't technically refuse care; instead, they will just refuse to pay for expensive treatments. The refusal to pay will not be a "death panel" as such, but it will have the same effects.

Palin Winning "Death Panel" Debate

My friend "WB" sent the following: "The Death Panel already exists! It was passed in the Stimulus Bill. Here is a link to American Thinker and their article on this subject":

http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/08/death_panel_is_not_in_the_bill.html

Also, take note of the following: See the USNews report on Palin's victory on "death panel": http://www.usnews.com/blogs/peter-roff/2009/8/13/score-one-for-sarah-palin-on-the-healthcare-reform-death-panels.html

The following is my take on the public relations elements of the "death panel" debate:

From a public relations standpoint -- and yeah, I have been in that business since the mid-1970s -- the most important thing you can do is to put your opponents on the defensive. (We sometimes make the mistake of allowing ourselves to be put in a defensive posture.) One goal of Sarah's "death panel" concept is to get people like Obama and Specter (and Paul Begala and other drones) saying, "No, we don't have death panels in the legislation."

Keep them mentioning the phrase "death panel" -- and then hit them hard with statements like, "Gee, won't that be the practical effect of the mandated end-of-life counselling sessions?" Or, "won't that be the practical effect of making massive cuts in Medicare?" Or, "Gee, what about Obama's key adviser, Ezekiel Emanuel, who says a teenager's life is worth a lot more than that of a senior citizen?"

Keep them sputtering and blustering about the death panels. In short, keep asking them loaded questions -- keep passing them hand grenades. Bring up the "Jane Sturm" episode, where Obama was making the case that a healthy 100-year-old woman shouldn't have received a pacemaker -- the woman is now a health 105 year old. Bring up Obama's grandmother, whom he said shouldn't have received a hip replacement. That is, tie them knots, and beat them senseless.

Palin Blocks Obama's "Death Panel"

Breaking News: Sarah Palin is back on Twitter, and you can sign up as a follower. Her new handle is: SarahPalinUSA.

Bulletin: Gov. Sarah Palin has won a fierce battle to eliminate Barack Obama's "death panel"provision in the House Energy and Commerce Committee legislation. The so-called "end-of-life" counseling mandates will be eliminated. Read the full story at Pamela Geller 's Atlas Shrugs. (Click link below.) Read the previous column on why the characterization of Obama's panel as one dedicated to death was a good one.

Palin Wins! Death Panels/End of Life Provision to Go

Barack Obama, Meet Dr. Kevorkian

Barack Obama, Say Hi to Dr. Jack Kevorkian. (President Death meets Dr. Death.)

The "Obama Health Care" plan really doesn't exist. What we have is HR 3200. Since Obama has not read a word of it, he's not real good on answering questions about it.

Is there really a death panel, as Sarah Palin charged? Yes, there is, but it will be renamed something like "Life begins at 90 panel."

Actually, it's name is The Federal Coordinating Council for Comparative Effectiveness Research. Its goal is to turn medical care from Mayo Clinic Model into the Dollar General model. Little secret: it's NOT about effectiveness. It's about reducing costs . . . and doing so at all costs.

In fact, the bill says its goal is "to slow the development of new medications and technologies in order to reduce costs." In other words, no more of those pesky (and expensive) new meds that will cure mom's breast cancer or dad's heart arrhythmia.

And then -- don't tell Barack! -- we will have a gentleman or gentlelady who will serve (with a bureaucracy in the tens of thousands) as The National Coordinator for Health Information and Technology. Sounds great, right?His (Her? Its/) job will be to "monitor treatments being delivered to make sure doctors and hospitals are strictly [key word] following government guidelines that are deemed appropriate." Notice the use of the passive voice ("are deemed"), which are always signs that bureaucrats are work, evading responsibility as they go.

What will happen to doctors and hospitals doing cutting-edge work to keep patients alive? As you might guess, those "no adhering to guidelines will face penalties," which will include hefty fines . . . and even prison terms, particularly handed out to conservative doctors who hate the Obama Plan.

Question: what about those doctors (including mine) and hospitals (some in my area) that are doing a tremendous job healing patients and saving lives? Will they be used as examples for other docs and hospitals? Surely you jest. My betting is that they will be the ones facing fines and jail times. They probably aren't following the already cockamamie government regulations and "guidelines."

Sarah Palin is being attacked in the White House, as well as on ABC, CBS, NBC, MSNBC, the Disney Channel, and CNN for describing ObamaCare as exactly what it is: an exercise in the proposition that when you can make sure people are safely dead, they don't "incur" any addional health costs. Can't argue with that. Do you really want to argue with the notion that an Obama who favors "live birth abortion" (i.e., infanticide) won't back a form of "eldercare" that includes euthanasia?

Admittedly, the death panel won't fully crank up until, say, the third term of Barack Obama, by then known as "President-for-Life." By then, we'll all be too numb to notice. Every home in America will have a super-size photo of Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel.

Town Halls: What's Really Happening

The following (below in boldface) is from my friend Elyse, who attended two town halls in New Jersey's 9th CD (congressional district). Where is it? If you're a fan of NY Giants and NY Jets football, it includes the area around the Meadowlands pro football stadium. Or if you're a fan of The Sopranos, well, you have a good image of the place, right down to Lodi, NJ, home of the fictitious "Bada Bing" strip club. The area used to be home to pig farms, gas stations, and abandoned buildings. Its smell was . . . not pleasant.

The congressman there is Steven Rothman, who votes 100% liberal and apparently is an enthusiastic participant in NJ's infamous "politics of corruption." Elyse's description of the town halls is below in boldface. Cong. Rothman, like most Democrats in the House, is totally unaware that his cluelessness is producing an explosive situation in the U.S. as his actions, along with those of other leftists, are making our country disappear as if it had all been a dream. The Rothmans of the world believe that it's all fine and good if they extract money from the relative few to buy votes from the many who sit as if they were baby birds waiting for "mom" to put worms in their mouth.s

Elyse says:

I went to two town hall meetings yesterday done in my district by Steve Rothman, have two more today. Some of the things I noticed were:

- No muscle in evidence in the afternoon session (mostly seniors) in Wallington. Crowd was civil and almost cordial (heavily Democratic town) Seniors were pretty well informed however he cut them off at the knees when they started talking about provisions in the bill by saying nobody knows what the final bill looks like because there are 3 versions that came out of committee. HR 3200 is listed on dozens of congressmen's websites however I couldn't find it on his. No one asked him why the bills that are out of committee are not available for public view.

- Muscle in evidence last night but a bit more discreet than we've seen nationwide - no identifying shirts etc. at the town hall in Palisades Park. Several people commented about the large menacing man in the meeting room itself (I could not get closer than the hallway) who would glower if the people seated didn't voice their approval. Actually told Michele from the NJ Tea Party organization that he would eject her if she didn't keep it down.

- We were unable to ask spontaneous questions - if you wanted to speak you had to fill out a form that Rothman's staff was passing through the crowd (SRO) giving your name, address, phone, email address and the question you would like to ask. There were 4 "plants" in Wallington and at least 8 last night, called on strictly for their favorable comments.

-The Congressman's remarks were even keeled until the last 20 minutes or so when the blame game started going. The debt is Bush's fault yadda yadda [or "Bada Bing, Bada Bing?"]. No opportunity for rebuttal. You got your two minutes and that was it. Stupidly drew the comparison that Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid technically were and are unconstitutional but so what???? Unreal. I couldn't believe he made such a dopey comment.

Bashed Reagan for giving amnesty to 5 million illegals besides! As if there were no objections to that action then. It was one of the biggest gaffes of Reagan's Presidency. Think he's a little desperate?

- The little Obamabot girls, those kids that answered the $11-15 an hour Craigslist ads carrying small signs that said Thank you Mr. President for Healthcare Reform...almost threw up. When I asked the one young lady if she knew what the bill was about she had absolutely NO CLUE. Just making a little extra money before school starts, how utterly capitalistic of her ;)

All in all the attendees for these town halls come prepared and angry. Very angry. I was impressed to see all age groups actively engaged, talking to their neighbors and being very clear that they do NOT want what these idiots are selling. Many did their homework, brought with them facts and were well spoken. Expect that as information regarding the parental rights built into the bill that we do have access to comes out today that the questions will get much much tougher.

Two more town halls today, this afternoon in Englewood Cliffs and tonight in Rutherford. Rutherford should be interesting, that is the hometown of my friend Vince who ran against Rothman this past election ;)Elyse

Revealing Pictures: GWB, Obama, Palin

The best way to evaluate Presidents and potential Presidents is not by words written by someone else and recited from a TelePrompter, but rather by their actions. The pictures below are worth more a 1,000 words, and they illustrate actions that tell us nearly all we need to know about the basic decency of President George W. Bush, Gov. Sarah Palin, and Barack Hussein Obama. If every American would take a good look at these pictures, it would help ensure that Obama would be a one-term President. In words and actions, BHO has shown his lack of respect for the unborn, the disabled (remember his Special Olympics "joke" on Letterman?) and the elderly. Eventually, God will judge this deeply flawed man. Soon, say 2012, the American people will get to sit in judgment on his atrocious presidency.

Obama's Health Plan Shafts Disabled

As regards children with autism, their major protector within the political world is Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. She looks at them as American citizens with special needs who deserve special protection.

Obama looks at them as non-voters and thus not one of the groups that he wishes to favor. Obama's bad taste joke on Letterman about the Special Olympics illustrates where he stands on special needs kids and adults, whom he supposedly regards as a burden to society.

Obama's "death panel," condemned by Gov. Palin, will appear as the government takes over health care almost completely. It will set "guidelines" that will separate Obama's favorite groups, such as the more militant unions, from his least favorite groups, including those with autism and Down Syndrome.

Does this sound overly cynical? In fact, it is just a statement of the way Obama, Axelrod, and Emanuel operate. Oh yes, there may be a bone tossed in the direction of the disabled, but they don't need bones. Rather, they need good health care, including physiotherapy and psychological assistance. That's precisely what they won't get.

On death panels, I urge people to read (on Wikipedia and elsewhere) about Obama's "health" advisers, including Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel and Jacob Blumenthal, as well as Princeton Professor Peter Singer, an important outside influence. Emanuel is a death-worshipper. Blumenthal thinks rigid government controls are a good way to "control costs." Singer believes that people with severe disabilities have no real right to life.

What about Obama's "advisers" on the other side? Sadly, there are none.

If there are humane, intellectually sound ways to reduce costs -- and there are, with such things as medical liability reform -- they are NOT included in the Obama Plan. Civil liability reform would offend the ambulance chasers (John Edwards is the most famous one) who contributed tens of millions of dollars to Obama's campaign. Such tort reform would save as much as a trillion dollars over the next 5-6 years, but it will never happen as long as Obama/Pelosi/Reid are in power.


My wife and I save for ourselves (and the nation) approximately $1300 a year by ordering prescriptions in bulk. Why doesn't the Obama Administration encourage such savings nationwide? Because it would anger the executives of pharmaceutical stores retailers who have embraced the Obama Plan in order not to be punished by the Administration.

We all like to engage in philosophical debates about health reform. However, if we want to know what's really going on, we need to remember an old line from Watergate: "Follow the money." Obama knows that politics and power have everything to do with money.

This gets us back to autistic and Down Syndrome children. Their contributions to the Obama Campaign (one that's endless) adds up to . . . zero. Therefore, they will get nothing from the man who is pretending to be "our president."

Obama Destroying Black Income, Families

The bad news is that, for Blacks, especially poor ones, unemployment is rising while income is falling. But the banks and other companies Obama bailed out with hundreds of billions in taxpayer money are reporting "record profits" and paying big bonuses -- reportedly one hundred million to one energy "trader.' (The energy traders are those who help artificially jack up prices for gasoline and home heating oil.)

Of course, the banks, like Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and others are the ones who "donated" all that money to the Obama Campaign. Barack Obama takes care of his "friends." He appreciates Black votes, but isn't about to do anything to earn them.

Might it be time yet to start rubbing the noses of yesterday's Obama supporters in such facts? Gee, the first mixed race president is presiding in the most precipitous drop in the standard of living -- and the quality of life -- for Black people. As Michelle Obama said (althuogh not in the way she meant it), "It's time for Black folks to wake up."

Oh, and Barack's and Michelle's combined income last year was $2.8 milion. Sasha and Malia go to a (mostly white) private school that costs $30,000 a year -- for each of them. At least one guy with some African ancestry is doing very, very well.

Obama Makes Us Miss Bush

The notion that the robotic, self-absorbed, TelePromputer aided Barack Hussein Obama is "brilliant" is comical. Read on for sayings from Chairman B-O.

If George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVD's, when Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?

If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?

If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the fourth of May (Cuatro de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?

If George W. Bush had miss-spelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potatoe as “proof” of what a dunce he is?

If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?

If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he is inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?

If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans , would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?

If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had reduced your retirement plan’s holdings of GM stock by 90% and given the unions a majority stake in Chrysler, would you have approved?

If George W. Bush had spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to take Laura Bush to a play in NYC, would you have approved?

So, tell me again, what is it about Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything?

Don't worry. He's done all this in 6 months -- so you'll have three years and six months to come up with an answer.

How are Hope and Change going for you today?

Palin Condemns Obama's Health Schemes

Sarah Palin is horrified by Obama's efforts to nationalize the U.S. health care system and have bureaucrats make life and death decisions for Americans. She wrote the following today on her Facebook page.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=113851103434

As more Americans delve into the disturbing details of the nationalized health care plan that the current administration is rushing through Congress, our collective jaw is dropping, and we’re saying not just no, but hell no!

The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost.

And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course.

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama’s “death panel” so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their “level of productivity in society,” whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Health care by definition involves life and death decisions. Human rights and human dignity must be at the center of any health care discussion.Rep. Michele Bachmann highlighted the Orwellian thinking of the president’s health care advisor, Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, the brother of the White House chief of staff, in a floor speech to the House of Representatives. I commend her for being a voice for the most precious members of our society, our children and our seniors.

We must step up and engage in this most crucial debate. Nationalizing our health care system is a point of no return for government interference in the lives of its citizens.

If we go down this path, there will be no turning back. Ronald Reagan once wrote, “Government programs, once launched, never disappear. Actually, a government bureau is the nearest thing to eternal life we’ll ever see on this earth.” Let’s stop and think and make our voices heard before it’s too late.

- Sarah Palin

Rep. Bachmann's speech can be viewed here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5CHBvKGmevI

Obamas Visiting Palin in Alaska

Pamela Geller of Atlas Shrugs broke the following story about Sarah Palin and Barack Obama

Palin: The Power of Good

Considering Obama and his operatives are beind the campaign of harassment, ethics charges and attacks on her and her children, Sarah Palin is nothing short of divine. The election is over.
It is time to repair friendships with the other party.

Gov. Sarah Palin is doing her part.

The rest of the world cannot understand how, after bitter election campaigns, American politicians can kiss and make up.

For instance, Gov. Palin has invited, to her great state of Alaska , the men who defeated her, Barack Obama and Joe Biden, along with their wives. She has set up a moose hunting trip for their enjoyment and hired three prominent experts in their field to assist them.

Dick Cheney will carry the gun, Ted Kennedy will drive them back to their cabins each evening, and Bill Clinton will entertain their wives.

Sarah is such a good sport! She thinks of everything!

These guys are evil, I hope Palin is not holding her breath waiting on the tarmac.

Palin: To Hell and Back

Sarah Palin knows that to win as election as President she must attract millions -- perhaps six million -- of the voters who once supported Hillary Clinton.

http://hillbuzz.org/2009/08/05/we-will-go-to-hell-and-back-for-sarah-palin/

We. Love. This. Woman.

Why?

Because this woman loves America. She wakes up every morning, works hard, and does her best to do what’s right each and every day. In the face of the nastiest, most misogynistic, most vile attacks from Left, she soldiers on, with grace, class, style, and charm. People call her a hillbilly, comment on her looks, talk about her marriage, attack her daughter, but she continues to put herself out there because she believes she can make a difference for this country.

And how stupid is someone to believe that Palin is “going away”. For what reason? Why resign as Governor when she would be re-elected if she wanted…if that’s what she really wanted, was to be Governor of Alaska. Why leave office now?

Because the kooks in Alaska kept The Guv from traveling, prevented her from making speeches, raising money for candidates, and doing all the things she needs to do to build a national organization for herself. With her book set to launch in 2010, these same kooks would throw a wrench in her book tour, too, and the assorted Obots assigned to filing bogus ethics complaints against The Guv would complain left and right about her TV appearances, interviews, and other obligations going forward.

Palin is a very smart woman and knows 2012 is her shot if she wants to run for President…but she could not do that as Governor of Alaska. The state’s too far away, but more important than that, the people there are of a very special breed in that they don’t seem to understand a sitting Governor can indeed travel in other states, making appearances, and raising her profile, while carrying out the constitutional duties of the state.

In “the lower 48?, Governors cross state lines every day for one reason or another (just try to come between Charlie Crist and an especially attractive taffeta sale in Georgia…or between Bobby Jindal and an exorcism just about anywhere).

But, not Sarah Palin! Hell, no, she can’t go! Make her stay in Alaska where it’s cold and no one can see her! If she leaves the state for any reason, file more ethics complaints! We must destroy this woman AT ALL COSTS!

Dr. Utopia proves that just about anyone can become President of the United States. He spent less time in the US Senate before he ran for President than Sarah Palin has spent as the Chief Executive of the nation’s largest state, with extremely more important duties than any Senator has.

The fact that liberals wailed and cried every time she left the state — declaring how important her job was — proves what great experience she has, and how well she did her job. If her leaving the state’s borders, for even a day, would seemingly trigger a complete collapse of society in Alaska and the end of life as Alaskans knew it, then it’s ludicrous to argue the woman isn’t capable at what she does.

Obama, Crowley, Gates: Revealing Image

Story by Thomas Lifson of the American Thinker
Obama's revealing body language I am stunned that the official White House Blog published this picture and that it is in the public domain. The body language is most revealing. Sergeant Crowley, the sole class act in this trio, helps the handicapped Professor Gates down the stairs, while Barack Obama, heedless of the infirmities of his friend and fellow victim of self-defined racial profiling, strides ahead on his own. So who is compassionate? And who is so self-involved and arrogant that he is oblivious?

Pamela Geller: Obama Behaved Despicably

Pamela Geller on Atlas Shrugs has a remarkable column on the often bizarre behavior of Barack H. Obama. I urge you to read it. (I'll comment more on Sunday about Pamela's revelations.)

Here's the link:http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2009/08/cnn-tells-sells-more-lies-about-palin-its-time-to-expose-the-truth-about-obama.html

Like Pamela, I've determined that the stream of baseless rumors about Gov. Sarah Palin come directly from Obama's political gurus David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel. (More about this in coming days.)

You got it: "Our" president is a scumbag. No Mt. Rushmore for him.

Sarah Palin Rejects GOP Establishment

The Aug. 1 American Thinker piece by Stuart Williamson on Sarah Palin is a remarkable essay, very much worth reading and pondering. The underlying question Sarah may have asked herself is this: Can I run for president as a Republican without losing my soul? My answer to this would be a tentative "yes." However, Williamson believes Sarah's answer at this point would be: NO. Following is the link to the piece, which I urge you to read. (Sarah's and Williamson's apparent "no" answer makes me question my own "yes.")

American Thinker: Sarah Palin: A Leader Without A Party

Here's an excerpt from Williamson's essay:

The truth is: Sarah Palin is not really a "politician". She did not get into politics to seek power or wealth. She bears no resemblance to the typical politician, who graduated in Law specifically to enter politics; or to the successful businessman who runs for office to gain profit advantage or status; or to the mediocrities who rises through nepotism or dynastic ambition like a Kennedy or a Gore. Or to any party hack out of the Chicago machine.

She has not brought herself into this fight at this point because she wants to be President...or Vice-President...or Senator....or Cabinet member. She is in this solely because she feels, deeply, that our traditional principles and values, already betrayed by both parties, are in serious jeopardy through the aggressive efforts of committed socialists. She is prepared to make a personal sacrifice in the cause of defeating them. If she succeeds, she'll be happy to just go back to Wasilla and the Alaskan way of middle class life she loves.
\
Remember, she made it clear in her resignation that she was going to remain "outside" the political fences. For she is going to turn her guns on the GOP -- big time. She wants nothing to do with the Republican National Committee, and not just because she has been reading Mark Levin's Liberty and Tyranny.

She has fought the GOP top dogs since her first days in Wasilla. When she was appointed by the Governor to chair the Oil & Gas Conservation Commission and found out the Republicans were dealing under the counter with the private companies, she resigned and blew the whistle. When her party wouldn't support her for Governor she ran on her own -- against their open opposition -- and won. And promptly attacked waste and corruption within the Republican state government.

Then she was drafted by McCain, sparking some indignation in the RNC. She promptly charged the flailing campaign with her energy and her personality, attracting huge numbers of people to GOP rallies, and most likely some new voters.

But she got no support from the sclerotic RNC managers -- and the great fighter pilot couldn't shoot straight. Then he bailed out on her after the election, and she received no thanks for her valiant effort; not only was she simply dumped, but reviled and mocked by the insiders and elitists she had worked with.

What can you do now to help Sarah Palin? Please go to one of more of the following sites and makes at least a small contribution:

http://www.thealaskafundtrust.com/donate

http://www.sarahpac.com/donate

"Blue Dogs" Are "Lap Dogs"

As expected, the "Blue Dog Democrats" have caved into Nancy Pelosi and are now ready to assume their usual position as the "Lap Dog Democrats." Please use the e-mail below (with links) to help stop the Obama/Pelosi/Reid takeover of our healthcare system.

Dear Friend:

House Democrats have cut a deal on healthcare reform with the Blue Dog Democrats.They meet this afternoon to mark up their bill and rush it through the House of Representatives.There is still time to act.

Go here, put in your zip-code, call your Congressman, and tell him to oppose the Democrats' healthcare initiative.

Call now.

Sincerely yours,
Erick Erickson Editor,
RedState.com

Sotomayor is No Sarah Palin

Many of the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee talked about Sonia Sotomayor with something approaching awe, reminding us about her "brilliance." Many of said Democrats and their media friends would not use the term "brilliant" in describing Sarah Palin, who in fact is very bright and a fast learner.

My own view of Sotomayor is that she's the woman who graduated "summa cum laude" from Princeton . . . but has no idea how to pronounce . . . summa cum laude.

Sonia Sotomayor wildly mispronounced the common legal term "sui generis." She thought the first word had one syllable -- it has two -- and the second word had two syllables -- it has three. Latina, yes. Latin? Nope. Then she kept saying "eminent" when she meant "imminent." She also talked about her "story of knowledge," when she meant "store of knowledge."

Since Sarah has resigned her day job, maybe Obama could get her out of his hair by appointing her (instead of Sonia S.) to the Supreme Court? We could do worse. We ARE doing worse.

Barack Obama's Anti-Americanism

My friend Sharin wrote a powerful piece about the growing animosity -- even disgust -- toward Barack Hussein Obama. Sharin is Jewish and very much concerned that Obama is going to throw Israel under the bus, but her concerns go deeper than that. By the way, she used to be a Democrat.

Also today for the first time, Obama's approval index (those strongly approving vs those strongly disapproving) was minus 11 at Rasmussen. His rating will probably always be higher than it should be because the majority of blacks will never admit the truth.

I think Jews might -- some of them. Sadly, some will fit the square peg into the round hole though and figure it is okay for Israel to give away part of Jerusalem -- and it works to make nice nice with Iran.

Seniors are realizing what he wants to do to their health and medicare. People are starting to understand that he is not about anything he said. When he refused to take public funding, when he has changed his mind about lobbyists, people should have already known (opensecrets.org) that as a junior senator Obama had already reached #2 on the entire contributions list after Chris Dodd from AIG, there has never been a president less transparent (maybe Nixon but not so sure).

The biggest hoax on America is that the people elected someone who really doesn't like America -- I honestly believe he really does hate America the way it is structured. He is an elitist who either doesn't know history or he wants to rewrite it in order to go with his socialist agenda. Change -- yes, he is for change -- change that scares the begeezus out of me.

FOX News Should Wake Up

I am often critical of people on FOX news. Many of their "stars," including Greta and sometimes Hannity, are mainly interested in getting viewers rather than providing solid information.

Notice Greta's continual comments on how this-or-that "is really going to raise your blood pressure . . . or get you angry." Frankly, raising the national blood pressure may cause more heart attacks, but it's not going to remove Obama from power. Organizing, calling our congressional representatives, donating money to conservative causes (e.g., www.sarahpac.com) are what will end the national nightmare.

For FOX or anyone else to suggest otherwise is just game-playing. Rush gave Greta a thumping the other night when she expressed her silly "hope" that Obama's Stimulus package, which she apparently knows nothing about, will work. Rush basically told her that a vague "hope" is for losers, and he's right.

As for Geraldo, who's a pro-illegals leftist with a history of grandstanding, he should not be on FOX or anything else. Anyone who spend one minute of his or her time watching "Geraldo" needs to find more productive things to do. There is not a conservative bone in Geraldo's body.


There are some great young people on FOX -- one is Patty Ann Browne on the Beck show, another is Greg Gutfield on their weekend late show, and others are Andrea Tantaros and S. E. Cupp -- but there many other big shots interested more in making millions than in winning the battle for America.

Rush Limbaugh: Palin's Powerful Ally

I absolutely loved what Rush Limbaugh said on Greta Friday night about Sarah Palin. She should meet with him soon and talk to him on his radio show -- perhaps for the entire three hours (is it three hours).

Yes, there are Republicans who have "problems" with Sarah Palin. Those were the people Limbaugh mentioned as the DC, NY, Boston "Republicans" (Olympia Snowe? Mitt Romney, Arlen Specter?) who have contempt for some 50 million Americans who always vote for the more conservative candidate. Half of those 50 million people listen to Rush . . . and share his views.

My Republican "friends" who dislike Palin -- or badmouth her -- rapidly become ex-friends. If you love America -- in all its complexity and sheer grittiness -- you are going to adore Sarah Heath Palin.

Rush Limbaugh is a critical ally for Sarah. His support is the way you win primaries in America . . . and his message of freedom, tolerance, love of country, and opportunity is the same as Sarah's message.

Palin v. Obama, Attitudes, Ideology

I keep asking (pleading with) everyone to get a copy of John Brady's magnificent biography of Lee Atwater. It's called "Bad Boy." Atwater engineered George H. W. Bush's unexpected victory over Michael Dukakis in 1988 and was thereafter head of the RNC. (He died in 1991 of inoperable brain cancer.)

Atwater is often looked at as a highly ideological (conservative) political figure, but that's not exactly the case. Atwater believed that people voted much more on attitudes than on ideology. Atwater saw, for example, that Baby Boomer, with all their confidence and power, also had some feelings of guilt about environmental pollution.

He believed people were still putting emphasis on doing good (making money) but there was also a growing interest in being good (in what Christians call "good stewardship" of the earth). Atwater used his own love for rock and roll (and blues music) are a political pathway to young voters. A "good ole Southern boy" in so many ways, Atwater's hero (and one of his best friends) was . . . James Brown. In politics, Atwater, a chronic philanderer, would have seen Bill Clinton (a constant philanderer) as a political adversary . . . but a kindred soul on matters sexual.

The "attitudes rather than ideas" concept from Atwater is very important but rather slippery. People might not want to set the AC at 78 degrees, but they might put a brick in the toilet tank to save water. Modern culture does a great job of all making us feel guilty about various things. ("I have so much and THEY have so little.")

On more important matters, most people may be appalled at partial birth abortion and live-birth abortion, but they really (really) don't want to outlaw abortion. Also, they may be turned off by the phrase "global warming," but they may not regard it as a hoax (I do) . . . and they occasionally feel guilty about using so much energy.

Some of Sarah Palin's "problems" deal with attitudes, especially among married women. It amazed me (it shouldn't have) that some married women I talked to were obviously jealous of Sarah Palin's success. ("Let see, she's the mother of five and is running for V-P and looks wonderful, and I'm a mother of five and my hair looks like a fright-wig.") We've all read about women with high-powered, high-paying jobs who spend most of their time feeling guilty about something-or-other.

It is okay to be ideological, but we need to recognize (at least according to the brilliant Atwater) that attitudes trump ideology.