Who is Steve Maloney?

Stephen R. Maloney lives in Ambridge, PA (west of Pittsburgh), and works as a Communication Strategist for Republic Modern. Maloney has extensive experience as a college teacher of writing and American literature, a speechwriter for senior executives of major corporations (oil and gas, pharmaceuticals, health insurance, computer hardware, and others), and a fundraiser/advisor for conservative causes and candidates.

Politically, Maloney was an adviser to Newt Gingrich in the early 70s when Newt decided to run for the US House. More recently, he was a major player in the year-long campaign to promote Gov. Sarah Palin as a vice presidential choice for the national Republican ticket. Most recently, Maloney was cited by the Scott Brown campaign for helping to “nationalize” the race and to solicit support for Brown from activists around the country.

In the presidential election of 2008, he was a facilitator/manager for more than 200 bloggers supporting the McCain-Palin team. In addition, he works closely with 25-plus activists who have large mailing lists.

Maloney has strong relationships with some of the most important conservative bloggers in America, including Pamela Geller of AtlasShrugs2000.typepad.com, “Asia” of LogisticsMonster.com, Eric Dondero of Libertarian Republican, and Jill Rethman of “Hump Day.”
Here’s what Adam Brickley, who initiated the “Palin for VP” movement (and now has his pro-Palin blog in the Library of Congress) says about Maloney’s actions in that effort:

“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 (he had 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 [Conservatives 4 Palin] 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”

In the past year, Maloney has worked with GrasstopsUSA in soliciting contributions for conservative causes from conservative activists. He’s a specialist in the challenging area of e-mail fundraising, using a tested formula for soliciting donations.

Maloney has written extensively (for candidates and others) about how to win tough campaigns. His emphasis has been on how to overcome candidates who are better-funded . . . mainly through reliance on “free media” (including blogs and blog talk radio) and volunteer organizations, such as Tea Party and 912 groups.

In his college days, he won a prestigious New York State Regents College Teaching Fellowship and received a PhD. in English and American Literature at the University of Rochester. Maloney taught literature and writing at the College of William and Mary and the University of Georgia, where he was assistant editor of The Georgia Review.

Over the years, Maloney has published articles in Fortune, Newsweek, National Review, The American Spectator, and many other publications. He blogs regularly at www.stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com.

Maloney served as an executive speechwriter and policy developer at Phillips Petroleum, USX, Gulf Oil, Aetna, and The Hartford Insurance Group. He participated in many of the most significant corporate events in American history, including what was then the largest takeover in American history (Gulf Oil and Chevron); the dispute over the role (and pricing policies) of major pharmaceutical companies; the continuing debate over the policies of health insurance companies; and many other events.

P.S. If you're interested a great conservative, constitutionalist candidate, I highly recommend my friend Katherine Jenerette, who's running for the open seat in South Carolina's 1st District. She's one of the best candidates in this year's elections. www.jenerette.com

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.

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

Palin-Obama and Toomey-Specter

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over-and-over . . . and expecting a different result."

I've been a conservative activist since the Goldwater days. But many of my fellow conservatives who are asking us to appeal to the "base" are wildly exaggerating the size of said base. (In the 2008 election, 23% of those voters identifying themselves as "conservative" cast their ballots for . . . Barack Obama.) There may be 10 million very confused "conservatives" out there. People in denial almost always do not win elections.

Right now in my home state of Pennsylvania, the big question is whether conservative Republican U.S. Senate candidate Pat Toomey can beat "moderate" (i.e., liberal) Democrat Arlen Specter in the November 10, 2010 election.

Frankly, most careful observers wouldn't bet even their coffee money on Toomey. Consider: Incumbent Republican -- and uber-conservative -- Rick Santorum spent $26 million in 2006 - and got just over 40% of the vote. Pennsylvania is a Blue state, and it has been getting bluer.

Is there any way Toomey can win? One very thoughtful Republican analyst, Mike Avery, of the Lehigh Valley, thinks there is, and he has many suggestions (see below) for Toomey. Will Pat be wise enough to follow them?

I don't know. What I do know is that Pat is a "coat-tie-and-wing-tips" Republican in a "jeans-tee shirts-and-Reeboks" state. If he focuses laser-like on the base and peddles nothing more than the GOP's version of "old-time religion," he will get about as many votes as . . . Rick Santorum.

Mike Avery believes it doesn't have to be that way. His approach is part of the answer for Toomey, and it should work for other Republican candidates, including my particular favorite, Gov. Sarah Palin.

When the McCain Campaign decided to pull out of Michigan last October, Sarah Palin opposed the decision. She said she and Todd wanted to go into the auto plants and seek votes from the autoworkers. Frankly, she regarded them as "her people" -- something very unsual (but necessary) for a Republican candidate.

McCain thought he could win in states like Ohio and Pennsylvania with the GOP base. That proved to be a fantasy.

The rest is from Mike . . .

If the events of today, April 29, [with Specter becoming a Democrat], don't mobilize Republicans, we might as well as give the keys to the Republican party to the Democrats and get ready to become "subjects" for the rest of our lives.

James Carville has a new book entitled "40 More Years"; the premise is this: Republicans have been so stupid that the Democrats are going to be in power for the next 40 years. Do you "resemble" that remark by Carville, or do you resent it? Speak up!

Let's review today's events: Arlen Specter has become a Democrat. That's a good thing, because now we can beat him twice.

But not the way we are going. GM & Chrysler are now owned by the government and the UAW. This is the beginning of the end of our country unless we start now to fight back.

Attention Pat Toomey: Do you know that truck drivers are Republicans? When have Republican candidates ever made a trip to a truck stop in their "straight talk express" motor-homes? Never, is the answer. Another question: When have Republican candidates ever made a trip to Sturgis, SD, for biker week? Never is the answer. Did you know that bikers are Republicans? You have never thought about it, have you?

So I ask you, Pat Toomey, do you want to win the Senate seat now held by Arlen Specter? If you do, we can help that happen. Put on some jeans and sneakers, and wear a "Pat Toomey for Senate" T-shirt, get into your motor home and start going to truck stops, biker events, into the inner cities and to the outer cities, go to the Wal-Mart parking lots and to the shopping malls, to the church parking lots after services, and anywhere else "street-level" Americans live & congregate.

Right now, we are seeing a Republican Party being led by the same people doing the same thing over & over again expecting a different result each time. It's not going to happen, unless we begin to take in new people with new ideas and then implement them. Think of it this way, the Democrats are just jumping for joy seeing the same old people trying to lead the Republican party... they know it's a win-win for them. And a loss-loss for us.

So, we have nothing to lose by inviting a better class of losers [campaign advisers and activists] to give it a try for us... hey, they might even help us win.Pat, are you going to help change things? Or are you going to be satisfied with losing?

Self-serving [and self-deluding] we lose. Together we can win. -- Mike Avery

Steve adds: How much of Mike's piece do I agree with? Every word. Let's no recapitulate the failures of Rick Santorum. Instead, let's be brutally honest, figure out what's absolutely necessary to prevail . . . and then act like winners.

Obama: Constitution ISN'T "Living Document"

God must have loved Hillary Clinton Supporters, because he made so many of them. Today (Sunday) I picked an argument with one HRC backer -- this time about the false notion that the U.S. Constitution is a "living document." Supposed constitutional law "expert" Barack Obama believes it is. He's wrong, as he is about so many things. (Picture above is Obama consulting one of his key advisers on constitutional law.)

"Some people say the Constitution is a 'living document.' In fact, the Constitution is a a 'dead document." (Justice Antonin Scalia)

What Scalia meant by that statement (made on "60 Minutes") is that the Constitution is a written document, and the words in it mean what they appear to. What that means also is that Barb C., Steve Maloney, and Antonin Scalia can read the document as written and UNDERSTAND (and frankly, eventually agree on) what it means. We can consult historical dictionaries and the like to make sure certain words didn't have a different meaning in the 18th century than they do now. The problem with taking a liberal view of the Constitution is that it undermines the purpose of having such a document. If it means something different every morning when we wake up, then heaven help us. Obama takes a liberal view, where the certifiably dead document is eternally in flux."

Obama studied constitutional law at Harvard. Is he really an expert on the subject? In his adult lifetime, Obama has never written a single article on constitutional law. He hasn't even submitted a footnote. So far as we know, he's never examined or edited a piece submitted for a top law review. In fact, if he's ever made a coherent statement on the subject, I must have missed it.

That's not an impressive performance for someone who served as the first African-American "president" (not "editor" as you may have heard) of the Harvard Law Review. Would Obama, a living monument to affirmative-action, have been chosen president of that august body if he hadn't been (partly) of African-American descent? I leave that to your imagination. He proves that even a classic under-achiever can get ahead in America.

The Conscience of a Conservative

Me, Myself, and I -- very much "at home" in Beaver County, PA

A liberal reader of mine from eastern PA (I live in western PA) wrote me a long, mostly autobiographical e-mail asking why I -- living in a supposedly semi-distressed area of Beaver County -- believed generally in conservative principles. He (?) also asked me if I voted for GWB and Rick Santorum (our former Republican Senator). I replied at length, focusing mainly on why I oppose Obama and support McCain. In case you've been wondering about similar things, here's my reply:

Did I vote for GWB? Only twice. I think highly of him and his family.

Did I support Rick Santorum? I supported him when he ran the first time in 1994 against Harris Wofford, who was a man of extremely limited talents. I voted for him when he ran against Ron Klink (2000), but I always had problems with Santorum as a person. I can support individuals of various views -- I might vote for Specter in the primary and general election -- but I do want to see in any candidate signs of real affection for our diverse and sometimes irritating fellow human beings. Over the years, I started to see less and less of that in Santorum (whom I know but not really well).

Senator Bob Casey: I don't believe he is a honest man. If he's so ardently pro-life, which I don't for a minute think he is, why did he support the most pro-abortion candidate in American history: Barack Obama? This is not an issue of whether you're pro-choice or pro-life, but rather a question of basic honesty. I didn't like the Santorum-Casey choice, and I wasn't at all surprised when the electorate sent Rick on his way. My wife despises Santorum.

I believe most people can rationalize endlessly when it comes to political choices. I don't do a lot of rationalizing. For example, do you believe Rev. Wright's views really came as a surprise to Barack Obama after he spent 20 years listening to Wright's views? If your answer is "no," then of course you would have trouble voting for Obama (although you might do so).

There, I just screwed up any serenity you might have about voting for Obama. (It's what I do.)

Beaver County: I believe its future over the next generation can be very bright. There is good public transportation in the country and back-and-forth from Pittsburgh. The people here are generally wonderful. I have Black neighbors on both sides of our (modest) house -- we live right across from Ambridge H.S. Everything I need (almost) is within walking distance. It surely isn't suburban, affluent, but for our purposes it's a great place to live.

Members of my family, including two daughters, are like the many people who voted in the Primary, and thus opted for Sen. Clinton. I voted for John McCain in the Republican Primary.

The folks here in small-town Beaver County are not the "bitter" people that Obama described as clinging to religion, guns, racism, and xenophobia. (Yes, those are the people whose votes he now covets.) Obama knows nothing about the people in Beaver County or the many similar counties in PA, OH, IN.

His foreign policy adviser (Samantha Power), the one who called Hillary a "monster," also called the people of Ohio (I mean almost all of them) "obsessed." I don't know exactly what she meant, but I think it was a forerunner of the bitter comments.

Generally, I'd call the "race relations" here in this county very good. They are a whole lot better than what exists in Obama's Chicago area, such as Cicero, which MLK described as the worst he ever saw.

Philosophically, my problem with liberalism is that it preaches collective responsibility while denying the existence of individual responsibility. It's a view that makes no sense. How are we to take care of others if we can't take care of ourselves?

People who absolutely can't take care of themselves should receive help from those who can provide it. My wife has been disabled since 1991, but she does a great job of taking care of herself -- with some assistance from me and a daughter and some from Social Security/Medicare.

Many years ago I had a girlfriend in my single days. She told my mother (an artist and writer), "Oh, Mrs. Maloney, Steve and I will always take care of you." My mother said, "C, I think I'd prefer to take care of myself." The girlfriend was something of a legendary Democratic political figure in the Pittsburgh area. We eventually parted ways.

I haven't answered all your questions, but I've tried to be as candid as I can. Of course, I've also been challenging your beliefs, which is the way I conduct my life. As I suggested earlier, several of the members of my immediate family voted either for Mrs. Clinton or Sen. Obama (in various primaries).

The children are a very diverse group, and that's fine with me.

I spend a whole lot of my time "campaigning" (mostly online) for Senator McCain and others in whom I believe. I very much fear an Obama presidency because of his weakness and self-absorption. I read a while back that 20% of Democrats are rooting for the U.S. to lose the war in Iraq. I believe much of Obama's financial support comes from that group -- Moveon.org and Daily Kos types.

I am going to be writing this week about some of the comments in my "Black Conservatives" group. A big issue there is whether Obama's policies would help or hurt the Black community. I may send you one or two of the pieces I'll be using.

Sometimes policies designed to "help" people end up hurting them unintentionally. For example, the welfare policies of the Great Society ended up providing economic incentives for families to splt up. Thus, we now have twice as many single-mother Black families (percentage basis) as we did a generation ago. Obama alluded to this in his Father's Day speech but didn't seem to grasp exactly what had happened.

As bright as he appears sometimes, Obama is generally clueless about his own country.

As for me: To paraphrase Albert Camus' description of Sisyphus, "one must imagine Steve happy." I hope you and yours also are.

Steve Maloney
Ambridge, PA

Steve Maloney on Political Pistachio

Tomorrow (Monday) at 10 p.m. Eastern Time I'll be on Doug Gibbs's Political Pistachio Radio. I'll be joined by my friend Adam Brickley of Colorado Springs, the individuals who started the Draft Sarah Palin for VP Movement. We'll be discussing Gov. Palin's chances, as well as other possibilities for the V-P choices. The subject of Senator John McCain, whom I support strongly, will also come up.http://www.blogtalkradio.com/politicalpistachio. This week Doug, a fine gentleman, will have on a very important guest, Kathleen Willey, once a strong Clinton supporter and someone who was molested by President Bill Clinton in the Oval Office. Quite a timely guest. She's written a new book on her experience, and I bet it won't be coffee table material in the Clinton household.

Jack Kelly on Obama

The absolute best conservative columnist in PA is Jack Kelly of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. A former Marine, a former Special Forces soldier, and a former (one-time) candidate for Congress, Kelly is one writer who knows what he's talking about.

Please read his Sunday column, which you can find at the following: http://post-gazette.com/forum.

The subject is "The Obama Mirage," and the sub-head is: "There's no there there." Kelly is quoting Dame Edith Asquith who, when asked what she thought about Oakland, California, said, "There's no there there.'

Kelly's article begins with these words: "Texas state Senator Kirk Watson had an embarrassing momentthe night the candidate he is supporting for president won the Wisconsin primary. MSNBC's Chris Matthews asked him to name a legislative accomplishment of Sen. Barack Obama."

"'I'm not going to be able to do that tonight,' Mr. Watson replied."

Later, Kelly quotes Tom Buffenbarger, president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, a supporter of Sen. Hillary Clinton. "'Barack Obama is no Muhammed Ali. He took a walk every time there was a tough vote in the Illinois state Senate. He took a walk more than 130 times. That's what a shadow boxer does. All the right moves. All the right combinations. All the right footwork. But he never steps into the ring.'"

Buffenbarger then goes on to say: "'I've got news for all the latte-drinking, Prius-driving, Birkenstock-wearing trust fund babies crowding in to hear [Obama] speak. This guy won't last a round against the Republican attack-machine.'"

As a card carrying member of said Attack Machine, I hope he's right.