America's Last Undecided Superdelegate

On my Pennsylvania blog Thursday afternoon, I put a posting about the last undecided Democrat Superdelegate in America -- Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Holden. Some compare Holden to Prince Hamlet, although I actually see a resemblance to Harpo Marx. Anyway, he's a new figure for Hillary Supporters to dislike -- and rightfully so.

The material below this italicized section is from Jean Avery of Moms for McCain. A resident of Seattle, Washington, Jean is one of the most important political operatives "you've never heard about." She's an absolute VIP when it comes to understanding women voters -- and attracting them to the cause of John McCain. Her comments on "what do women want?" apply not only to the presidential election, but also to every race for the House and Senate. Thus, this is a high stakes discussion.

On my Pennsylvania blog today, I discuss how candidates in the Keystone State can pick up major support -- including financial contributions -- from voters who were committed to the candidacy of Hillary Clinton. Come visit!


Jean Avery's comments follow: "Last week, Howard Dean and friends gave delegates to someone who wasn't even on the ballot and took half the delegates from a candidate who was. And, by the way, she was also the first woman with a serious shot at the Presidency. Suddenly millions of American women who hung their hopes on Hillary are the Desirable Voting Bloc. (Sure, Hillary had male supporters, but because many women's motives differed, their response to her rejection may differ too.)

So, what happens now for Hillary's women? Do they ride what one disgruntled Mom called the "unity pony"? Do they stay home to 'send a message'? Or do they rise up like the poetic Scorned Women of yore, uniting as "PUMAs for McCain" (party unity my....well....you can figure it out).


Gloria Steinem and friends are confident (too confident?) that the same women screwed over by their own party will come home to roost because a lefty novelist thought he heard a nasty remark or because McCain refused to pander on an 'equal pay' lawsuit bill. But I believe women voters are smart enough to look at what the remaining men have to offer as President, and can judge them on that basis. So what DOES McCain have to offer women? Here are a few thoughts.


More money in your pocket(book). Despite humorous greeting cards to the contrary, most women I know are very careful with their money. We work hard for it and when we spend and save we have priorities in mind. We are more likely to drive the gas-guzzling minivan and buy the overpriced groceries. A McCain presidency maintains tax cuts which put more money into the pockets, purses, and bank accounts of the vast majority of Americans. This is not a vague promise, this is a specific, concrete commitment from both candidates - one of them will take more of your money than the other. Figure out your family's costs under Obama here.


More safety for your country. If Obama is elected, regardless of what is happening on the ground, he has to uphold his devil's bargain with the anti-war lobby and retreat from Iraq - even if maintaining a presence makes logistical and strategic sense. John McCain's positions on the war are shaped by a lifetime of personal investment - including heroic suffering, family sacrifice, and yes, logistical hands-on experience. Hillary said it best herself, when the phone rings at 3 am, I want someone answering it who has not only experience, but is unfettered by political fears and promises when making those split-second life-and-death decisions

.Hillary herself observed that McCain was much better qualified choice than Obama on national security issues. If she can see it, so should her supporters.


Education and healthcare. The only thing worse than having a seriously sick child in the middle of the night is getting an administrative run-around at the emergency room when you bring them in. Hillary made government-led 'universal healthcare' a cornerstone of her First Ladyship and her campaign. I personally dislike any system that takes money from your pocket and your paycheck FIRST and THEN you (hopefully) have a procedure they approved done by a provider they choose in a location they deem affordable and appropriate. But for those Hillary supporters whose hearts were set on health care solutions, consider the viable, easily-implemented alternatives McCain proposes, including tax credits, drug price management, and increased portability of coverage.


Life and moral issues. Despite bellyaching to the contrary, a majority of Americans - including women - are against partial-birth abortion (sucking a baby's brains out), government funding of abortion at home and abroad, and other frightening policies espoused by Obama [like the hideous "live-birth abortion"]. If you're pro-life, McCain is your ONLY choice. But even if you're pro-choice, you should ask yourself if this is how you want your tax dollars being spent - and if you're willing to put your country in a rookie's hands over this issue. Hillary herself knew it in her heart - John McCain will make a better President than Barack Obama.

You'll note that I have fought the (substantial) urge to rant about crazy pastors, terrorist friends, etc. - because all those distractions put together are less important than what each candidate will actually DO in office.I believe women are smart voters, I believe we are capable of identifying good and bad judgment when we see it, and I believe we understand what is best for our families and for our country. To all women who are politically 'homeless,' take some time to get to know John McCain. You'll like what you see.

Steve adds: McCain needs to sell his proposals on pocketbook issues, family and community security, and moral issues in simple, compelling ways. He needs to distinguish between his straight-talk and Obama's endless blasts of hot air. He also need to attack Obama on the change issue, outlining how the Senator from Illinois is offering big government solutions that just don't work.

Overall, he must emphasize how he advocates positive change, while Obama relies exclusively on -- in McCain's word -- "platitudes."

CAN MCCAIN WIN "BATTLEGROUND STATES?"

On CNN (3:40 ET on Tuesday) Carl Berstein just said that the Clinton Campaign is portraying Obama as "an empty suit with great lungs." In this regard, John McCain can learn from Hillary -- and vice versa. Obama's "message of Hope" is a bumper sticker, not a vision for the country. Mrs. Clinton's strategy is to establish Obama not as a JFK-style visionary but rather as a windbag.

The example of New Jersey . . .

On the state blogs for McCain front, I'm managing the Pennsylvania site -- and I'd very much like so co-managers. It's not a lot of work, but it is a great deal of fun -- and it's for a very good cause, ensuring the election of John McCain.

I'm TEMPORARILY managing the Ohio and New Jersey sites until we can find full-time managers for those sites. If you'd like to volunteer or recommend someone, please do so either in the comments section or by e-mailing me at: TalkTop65@aol.com.

On the Garden State site today, I asked a fundamental question: Can McCain actually win a state like New Jersey? McCain has said he wants to pursue a 50-state strategy, competing in every one of them. I'm very much in favor of that approach.

New Jersey is a fascinating case. In 2000, George W. Bush got skunked there by Al Gore. The latter got 56% of the vote and GWB got 40%. In 2004, Kerry won the state, but only by 53% to 46%. In politics, 45% or more are the magic numbers, meaning that in a future race a state might just be winnable.The following are excerpts from what I told the New Jerseyites:

New Jersey for McCain? Here! (link to the entire piece)

Can John McCain actually win New Jersey? I sure hope so.

As some of you will remember from the 2004 election, George Bush started to get close to Kerry -- to the point that the Vice President paid a late visit to Jersey. To win in NJ, a candidate must draw many votes from Independents -- and some votes from Democrats.

The registration figures suggest that a strong Republican candidate with great appeal to Independents and Democrats -- that is, McCain -- can in fact prevail in New Jersey. Yes, there are 1,150,000 registered Democrats to just 890,000 Republicans (according to The Almanac of American Politics). However, there's an amazing 2.8 million "others," 56% of the total. (The registration percentages in New Hampshire are somewhat similar.)

If Senator McCain can win a good majority of those "others," he can carry the state. McCain is not going to be able to outspend his Democratic opponent (probably Barack Obama, but possibly Hillary Clinton). However, as his campaign so far shows, he will outwork them.

To win, he needs a massive number of voluteers around the country. You can be one of those volunteers by taking over this blog. As the old saying goes, "If you not, who? If not now, when?"

If you're interested in volunteering [for NJ or another state] or would like to suggest a name, please e-mail me at: TalkTop65@aol.com -- or leave a message in the comments section. Thanks for visiting!Note: I hope you'll visit the operating state blogs, including Oklahoma and New Mexico. Please leave comments. John McCain will win because of efforts of people who are just like you.

Note: If you live in Wisconsin or Washington State, please vote today for John McCain! (We need blog volunteers from both states.)

John Murtha: "Where's The Bacon?"

Wednesday, December 5, 2007 (This is part of a column from my other site: Scroll down a little to see the "Where's the Bacon" piece, the most important one I've ever written about John Murtha.

MURTHA: TREATING VOTERS LIKE CHILDREN
As more and more of you are learning, I'm "transitioning" from this web site to a new, permanent site at: http://stevemaloneygop.blogspot.com/. I'll be writing this month (December) about some extremely important races for the House and Senate -- Melissa Hart (R.) against Rep. Jason Altmire (D.) in the PA 4th District, Lt. Col. William Russell (R.) against John Murtha (D.) in the PA 12th District and Heather Wilson (R.) against Steve Pearce (R.) in the Republican primary for the New Mexico Senate race.Please visit my new site (you're on it now) and bookmark it.

You're always welcome here. My goal is not, unlike many other blogs, to "steal" tidbits of news from the campaigns or the MSM. Instead, I will dicuss how Republicans (moderates AND conservatives) can wage effective campaigns against tough opponents, such as John Murtha and Jason Altmire.

I will not accept "conventional wisdom," such as (erroneous) statements about how much Murtha has done for the 12th District.In short, I'm not into gossip, titillation, and nonsense. What I say about the Russell-Murtha race applies to many other districts around the country.
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In the 12th Congressional District, people in the Johnstown, PA, home of John Murtha (and of Lt. Col. William Russell) often say something like: “Yeah, ole John is something of a loudmouth and a bully, but he sure does one thing: He brings home the bacon.”

Mark Twain once said, “The problem with many people is that what they KNOW is true . . . isn’t.”

In the 12th, John Murtha has brought home something, but it doesn’t really qualify as bacon.

Here's how the wonderful Almanac of American Politics describes the 12th District:"The mountains and valleys within a 100-mile radius of Pittsburgh comprise one of America's most beautiful--and economically troubled--regions. This has been tough, hard-working country ever since Scots-Irish farmers settled here in the 1790s. Their first big product was whiskey--this was the site of the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794--but historically the most important product was bituminous coal. Discovered in the 19th century, it was the basic energy source for the production of iron and steel."

The Almanac continues: "The offspring of the original settlers were joined by immigrants from Italy, Poland and Czechoslovakia, living in little frame houses packed into the towns on interstices between hills and rivers, within walking distance of steel factories, foundries and coal mine shafts."

Now, the steel mills are mostly closed and coal mines mainly abandoned. They haven't really been replaced. And the District has more in common with traditional Appalachia than it does the pricey ‘burbs of Philly and Pittsburgh.

So, John Murtha, “where’s the beef?” And, especially, where’s your legendary bacon?

It’s nowhere, unless the bacon consists of federal handouts – “earmarks” for special projects -- that benefit the few -- and have little or no effect on the many.

In the 12th congressional district, the median household income (MHI) in the Almanac's 2006 issue was $30,600. In the inner-city mostly Black 2nd district of Philadelphia, represneted by Democrat Chakah Fattah, , the MHI is . . . $30,600. Wow.

Fattah's district is one of the two in PA that's losing population -- the other being the city of Pittsburgh district (the 18th) represented by Democrat Mike Doyle. Most areas of the 12th have also lost population, but that's balanced by strong growth south of Pittsburgh. (See the discussion below of Washington County.)

In Mike Doyle’s mainly down-at-the-hells city district, the median household income is $30,100 -- just a hair below the number in Murtha's 12th.

In contrast, look at the Pennsylvania 4th District, where I vote. Half the district consists of old mill towns, such as Aliquippa and Ambridge, where I live, as well as semi-rural areas north of Pittsburgh. However, the MHI in this district is $43,500 -- nearly $13,000 more than in the 12th.

In Republican Rep. Tim Murphy's 18th district, mostly area south of Pittsburgh, the MHI is $45,000. If Murtha lives to age 125, the 12th will not see a MHI that high.

Many people in the 12th, particularly those in Johnstown, firmly believe that "John Murtha takes care of us." If we just look at MHIs, we find they're dead wrong.

Washington County, far west of Johnstown, is largely ignored by Murtha. That County is increasingly dominated by Republicans, such as Diana Irey, and economic growth, job creation, and tax restraint are very strong. Once a Democratic bastion, Washington should go strongly for Russell.

Generally, however, the 12th is a place where young people can get a good education (at places like Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Washington & Jefferson, Pitt-Johnstown, Waynesburg College). Then, many of those college graduates say good-bye to their families and go elsewhere to get a decent job.

John Murtha's temporary infusions of taxpayer-funded jobs has no appeal to them. Yes, some people, mostly corporate executives and lobbyists, have benefited greatly from Murtha's earmarks.

He has apparently used "earmarks" to raise the compensation of some hospital surgeons from roughly $200,000 annually to $250,000 and up. And a few Johnstown lobbyists far from their corporate headquarters wait in vain for their phones to ring while they meditate on their six-figure salaries.

For the most part, the people of the 12th, particularly those in rural Greene County, have not prospered as a result of any actions by Murtha. He has abjectly failed to bring in the kind of businesses that would raise the wages and benefits of real people -- the kind that make up most of the population of the 12th. That district has MHI at or below the numbers we find in areas identified with urban poverty.

Granted, some voters in the 12th fear that, for all his faults, Murtha's leaving would make things worse. Frankly, that may not be possible.The region, as the Almanac suggests, is beautiful. The people come from sturdy stock and are willing to work hard. It’s an area that yearns for some good-paying manufacturing jobs.

So, why is Toyota be establishing a huge auto assembly plant in tiny Blue Springs, Mississippi -- and not in the 12th District? One reason may be that they don't want to deal with a congressman, John Murtha, famous for pushing people around and extorting huge campaign “contributions.”

Trust me, Toyota and other successful companies want nothing to do with "The Prince of Pork."The solution obviously is to elect a man dedicated to creating real jobs and promoting private enterprise businesses. That individual is Lt. Col. William Trower Russell.

If Murtha stays as congressman, the 12th will remain in its own version of suspended economic animation.