Since Reid’s Compared GOP Efforts to Block Health Care Reform to Efforts to Block the Stoppage of Slavery, Here’s A Comparison for Reid in the Same Vein

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has made some more outlandish statements about his GOP colleagues and others trying to slow down the runaway health care reform train recently. In the statement, he said that those efforts were comparable to the efforts to prevent emancipation of the slaves before, during and after the Civil War.

He left out a VERY important fact on his statement.

It was the DEMOCRATS of that era who blocked the emancipation of the slaves, and resisted the 13th Amendment. Radical REPUBLICANS pushed through those changes and ended slavery. Some progressive Democrats joined the Republicans in ending slavery.

I would like to point out that no Democrat who favored slavery back then is alive today; that was then. Not today.

It should also be noted that in the more recent civil rights era, when they were trying to pass additional civil rights legislation (the 1964 Civil Rights Act), the Democrats filibustered the legislation for 83 days, and included a 14-hour speech by Senator Robert Byrd.

For Senator Reid to say something like this is more proof that he’s in over his head, and his runaway health care train is heading for a major derailment. And WHY should the Republicans be the ones to change their minds? He can’t even get his OWN party on board his runaway train.

I’m actually enjoying watching Reid and President Obama squirm.

Liberal Democrat Insists Current Health Care Plan is Worth Losing His Seat Over: If He Insists, But if It’s Come Down to That, Why Doesn’t He Resign Immediately and Save Us the Trouble?

This Congress is so far out of control with the electorate that they don’t take the time to read the bills that are before them before casting a vote, don’t care what their voters think and are willing to lose their seats to get what they, and only they, want.

So says Democratic Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado, who thinks that the health care bill is worth losing his seat over.

It’s worth noting that his constituents did not get to express their opinions of his choices as their representative, as he did not schedule any town hall meetings during the summer break as many of his Democratic colleagues did, though he has mentioned health care in other town hall meetings. So, he’s bound and determined to vote on this bill the way that the Democratic leadership wants it, regardless of the consequences. Sounds like someone who needs to be recalled immediately, before the bill is voted on in the Senate. I don’t think he’ll step down on his own.

I’m glad he’s not my representative.

Democrats Ought to Quit Screwing Things Up Before Insisting That The Rest of Us Shut Up About It: Thought Cop Politicians Shouldn’t Try to Mandate When We Exercise Free Speech

At first, when I saw the news about the “Complaint-Free Wednesday” bill being introduced by Democratic Representative Emanuel Cleaver, I thought it was a joke.

Who would dare to assault the First Amendment like this?

Then I saw follow-up news stories that it WAS a serious attempt to curtail free speech on the day before Thanksgiving. Perhaps Rep. Cleaver should convince his colleagues in Congress to quit giving the rest of us reason TO complain about them. And he’s got the gall to point out the health benefits of not complaining as much either, which I don’t dispute, but what good is it if the Democrats cause everyone to stroke out over their bad decisions?

I see that Rep. Cleaver voted for the House health care bill, so I view this as nothing more than an attempt to stifle serious opposition to his vote, as well as other Democratic screw-ups since taking control of the government. And if they manage to pass it for one day, how about on days that Congress votes for more bad legislation, too? Or every day?

No thank you, Mr. Thought Cop. If the public has something to say, they can say it WHENEVER they want.

I sure wouldn’t be complaining as much if our government was taking us in the right direction.

House Democrats Ramrod Health Bill Through: Now We Know Who to Vote Out of Office

The following Democrats (and one Republican) voted 'yes' on Pelosi's health care bill. Following the party affiliation, it shows the state and the district number that they represent.

Neil Abercrombie (D) HI-1
Gary L. Ackerman (D) NY-5
Robert E. Andrews (D) NJ-1
Michael Arcuri (D) NY-24
Xavier Becerra (D) CA-31
Howard L. Berman (D) CA-28
Marion Berry (D) AR-1
Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D) GA-2
Earl Blumenauer (D) OR-3
Leonard L. Boswell (D) IA-3
Corrine Brown (D) FL-3
Robert A. Brady (D) PA-1
Tammy Baldwin (D) WI-2
Shelley Berkley (D) NV-1
Joe Baca (D) CA-43
Timothy H. Bishop (D) NY-1
G. K. Butterfield (D) NC-1
Melissa Bean (D) IL-8
Bruce Braley (D) IA-1
James E. Clyburn (D) SC-6
John Conyers Jr. (D) MI-14
Jim Cooper (D) TN-5
Jerry F. Costello (D) IL-12
Elijah E. Cummings (D) MD-7
Lois Capps (D) CA-23
Michael E. Capuano (D) MA-8
Joseph Crowley (D) NY-7
William Lacy Clay (D) MO-1
Dennis Cardoza (D) CA-18
Jim Costa (D) CA-20
Russ Carnahan (D) MO-3
Emanuel Cleaver II (D) MO-5
Henry Cuellar (D) TX-28
Christopher Carney (D) PA-10
Kathy Castor (D) FL-11
Yvette Clarke (D) NY-11
Steve Cohen (D) TN-9
Joe Courtney (D) CT-2
André Carson (D) IN-7
Gerald E. Connolly (D) VA-11
Anh Cao (R) LA-2
Judy Chu (D) CA-32
Danny K. Davis (D) IL-7
Peter A. DeFazio (D) OR-4
Diana DeGette (D) CO-1
Bill Delahunt (D) MA-10
Rosa DeLauro (D) CT-3
Norman D. Dicks (D) WA-6
John D. Dingell (D) MI-15
Lloyd Doggett (D) TX-25
Mike Doyle (D) PA-14
Susan A. Davis (D) CA-53
Joe Donnelly (D) IN-2
Kathy Dahlkemper (D) PA-3
Steve Driehaus (D) OH-1
Eliot L. Engel (D) NY-17
Anna G. Eshoo (D) CA-14
Bob Etheridge (D) NC-2
Keith Ellison (D) MN-5
Brad Ellsworth (D) IN-8
Donna Edwards (D) MD-4
Sam Farr (D) CA-17
Chaka Fattah (D) PA-2
Bob Filner (D) CA-51
Barney Frank (D) MA-4
Bill Foster (D) IL-14
Marcia L. Fudge (D) OH-11
Gene Green (D) TX-29
Luis V. Gutierrez (D) IL-4
Charlie Gonzalez (D) TX-20
Raúl M. Grijalva (D) AZ-7
Al Green (D) TX-9
Gabrielle Giffords (D) AZ-8
Alan Grayson (D) FL-8
John Garamendi (D) CA-10
Jane Harman (D) CA-36
Alcee L. Hastings (D) FL-23
Maurice D. Hinchey (D) NY-22
Rubén Hinojosa (D) TX-15
Steny H. Hoyer (D) MD-5
Baron P. Hill (D) IN-9
Rush Holt (D) NJ-12
Michael M. Honda (D) CA-15
Brian Higgins (D) NY-27
John Hall (D) NY-19
Phil Hare (D) IL-17
Mazie K. Hirono (D) HI-2
Paul W. Hodes (D) NH-2
Debbie Halvorson (D) IL-11
Martin Heinrich (D) NM-1
Jim Himes (D) CT-4
Jay Inslee (D) WA-1
Steve Israel (D) NY-2
Sheila Jackson-Lee (D) TX-18
Eddie Bernice Johnson (D) TX-30
Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D) IL-2
Hank Johnson (D) GA-4
Paul E. Kanjorski (D) PA-11
Marcy Kaptur (D) OH-9
Patrick J. Kennedy (D) RI-1
Dale E. Kildee (D) MI-5
Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D) MI-13
Ron Kind (D) WI-3
Steve Kagen (D) WI-8
Ron Klein (D) FL-22
Ann Kirkpatrick (D) AZ-1
Mary Jo Kilroy (D) OH-15
Sander M. Levin (D) MI-12
John Lewis (D) GA-5
Zoe Lofgren (D) CA-16
Nita M. Lowey (D) NY-18
Barbara Lee (D) CA-9
John B. Larson (D) CT-1
Jim Langevin (D) RI-2
Rick Larsen (D) WA-2
Stephen F. Lynch (D) MA-9
Daniel Lipinski (D) IL-3
Dave Loebsack (D) IA-2
Ben Ray Lujan (D) NM-3
Carolyn B. Maloney (D) NY-14
Edward J. Markey (D) MA-7
Carolyn McCarthy (D) NY-4
Jim McGovern (D) MA-3
Jim McDermott (D) WA-7
George Miller (D) CA-7
Alan B. Mollohan (D) WV-1
James P. Moran (D) VA-8
John P. Murtha (D) PA-12
Gregory W. Meeks (D) NY-6
Dennis Moore (D) KS-3
Betty McCollum (D) MN-4
Kendrick B. Meek (D) FL-17
Michael H. Michaud (D) ME-2
Brad Miller (D) NC-13
Gwen Moore (D) WI-4
Doris Matsui (D) CA-5
Jerry McNerney (D) CA-11
Harry E. Mitchell (D) AZ-5
Patrick J. Murphy (D) PA-8
Christopher S. Murphy (D) CT-5
Dan Maffei (D) NY-25
Jerrold Nadler (D) NY-8
Richard E. Neal (D) MA-2
Grace F. Napolitano (D) CA-38
James L. Oberstar (D) MN-8
David R. Obey (D) WI-7
John W. Olver (D) MA-1
Solomon P. Ortiz (D) TX-27
Bill Owens (D) NY-23
Frank Pallone (D) NJ-6
Bill Pascrell Jr. (D) NJ-8
Ed Pastor (D) AZ-4
Donald M. Payne (D) NJ-10
Nancy Pelosi (D) CA-8
Earl Pomeroy (D) ND-1
David E. Price (D) NC-4
Ed Perlmutter (D) CO-7
Gary Peters (D) MI-9
Chellie Pingree (D) ME-1
Jared Polis (D) CO-2
Tom Perriello (D) VA-5
Mike Quigley (D) IL-5
Nick J. Rahall II (D) WV-3
Charles B. Rangel (D) NY-15
Silvestre Reyes (D) TX-16
Steven R. Rothman (D) NJ-9
Lucille Roybal-Allard (D) CA-34
Bobby L. Rush (D) IL-1
Ciro D. Rodriguez (D) TX-23
C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D) MD-2
Tim Ryan (D) OH-17
Laura Richardson (D) CA-37
Loretta Sanchez (D) CA-47
Robert C. Scott (D) VA-3
José E. Serrano (D) NY-16
Brad Sherman (D) CA-27
Louise M. Slaughter (D) NY-28
Adam Smith (D) WA-9
Vic Snyder (D) AR-2
John M. Spratt Jr. (D) SC-5
Pete Stark (D) CA-13
Bart Stupak (D) MI-1
Jan Schakowsky (D) IL-9
Adam B. Schiff (D) CA-29
Linda T. Sanchez (D) CA-39
David Scott (D) GA-13
John Salazar (D) CO-3
Allyson Y. Schwartz (D) PA-13
Albio Sires (D) NJ-13
John Sarbanes (D) MD-3
Joe Sestak (D) PA-7
Carol Shea-Porter (D) NH-1
Zack Space (D) OH-18
Betty Sutton (D) OH-13
Jackie Speier (D) CA-12
Mark Schauer (D) MI-7
Kurt Schrader (D) OR-5
Bennie Thompson (D) MS-2
John F. Tierney (D) MA-6
Edolphus Towns (D) NY-10
Mike Thompson (D) CA-1
Niki Tsongas (D) MA-5
Dina Titus (D) NV-3
Paul Tonko (D) NY-21
Nydia M. Velázquez (D) NY-12
Peter J. Visclosky (D) IN-1
Chris Van Hollen (D) MD-8
Maxine Waters (D) CA-35
Melvin Watt (D) NC-12
Henry A. Waxman (D) CA-30
Robert Wexler (D) FL-19
Lynn Woolsey (D) CA-6
Anthony Weiner (D) NY-9
David Wu (D) OR-1
Diane Watson (D) CA-33
Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D) FL-20
Tim Walz (D) MN-1
Peter Welch (D) VT-1
Charlie Wilson (D) OH-6
John Yarmuth (D) KY-3

I do think that Rep. Stupak did the right thing in sponsoring an amendment that got rid of the abortion clause. But he still voted for the rest of it; I would have preferred him to become Democrat #36 who didn't vote for it because of the unresolved Constitutional violations that this bill is full of.

I do favor health care reform, but not in this form. They could have done MUCH better than they did.

I have no confidence in the above list of politicians to do their duty and follow the Constitution. They seem to have forgotten that the Constitution trumps political rubbish that politicians sometimes come up with. And this bill, in it's current form, is rubbish. And the people above voted for it.

Mark Schauer from the Michigan 7th Congressional District voted 'yes' on this rubbish; he's not up for election until 2012. Plenty of time to build up the opposition base here. Tim Walberg, whom Schauer defeated in 2008, is on-track for a rematch and has already declared his intentions to run again in 2012.

Time to show the Democrats the door. And I hope the GOP has eaten enough humble pie to return to the concept of small government; otherwise, it'll be the time of the 3rd party to shine.

One-party rule is for the birds; having one party running the House and Senate and the White House hasn't worked for the Republicans or for the Democrats. I'm hoping the elections bring balance back to Washington with the Democrats holding one house and the Republicans holding the other. It seems like the country ran better under that model.

It would prevent rubbish like the current health care bill from making it as far as it has. Something to think about.

Democrats Haven't Got the Message on Health Care Yet: They Will Pay a Heavy Voter Price if They Pass This Bill on Saturday

Congressional Democrats are so far out of touch with what the electorate wants in regards to health care reform that it isn't funny. Tuesday's election was as much about health care reform as it was a rebuke of President Obama's policies.

And if they pass Queen Nancy's health care bill on Saturday, they will pay a heavy price in terms of election developments. Recall drums are sounding already, and a lot of them will lose their seats in the 2010 elections. And just try to make conservatives pay monthly health care premiums for abortion services. Please.

Make your choice, Democrats. Those who vote 'no' on Queen Nancy's 1,990 page bill will probably save themselves a great deal of trouble in the coming months.

1,990 Page Health Care "Plan" Should Be Trimmed to 200 Pages: Current Bill is Too Big, Too Broad and is Chocked Full of CRAP Too

Nancy Pelosi and the House Democrats rolled out a 1,990-page health care proposal that makes severe changes to things like Medicaid, which the Democrats had previously said that they wouldn't change. And all Americans will have to subscribe to it too, which is opposite of what the Democrats said that they wanted. Opt out, my afterburner. There's no opting out with this bill.

The REPUBLICANS sure didn't put that crap in there.

They should take this bill, eliminate the fluff and condense it down to 200 pages. If they can't do that, then the entire thing should be scrapped. Entire federal budgets have been less than this pork-packed bill. Congress built the Social Security Administration in 1935 with a whopping 64-page bill. Compare that with Pelosi's 1,990-page monstrosity that a select few can even begin to understand.

Here's a part of the bill that CBS News web site quoted: "(a) Outpatient Hospitals – (1) In General – Section 1833(t)(3)(C)(iv) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395(t)(3)(C)(iv)) is amended – (A) in the first sentence – (i) by inserting "(which is subject to the productivity adjustment described in subclause (II) of such section)" after "1886(b)(3)(B)(iii); and (ii) by inserting "(but not below 0)" after "reduced"; and (B) in the second sentence, by inserting "and which is subject, beginning with 2010 to the productivity adjustment described in section 1886(b)(3)(B)(iii)(II)".)

1,990 pages of that horse crap??!

They should pass a bill that says the following: Congress shall pass no bill that cannot be understood by someone reading at an Eighth Grade (up to Tenth Grade) reading level. That's what most publications and newspapers do: they write to that level so that they have a large enough audience that can understand what they're saying. Congress needs to do the same thing.

In the meantime, they need to re-do this entire bill, starting with the title of it and working their way down. And if they can't say what needs to be said in plain English, and within 200 pages, then they shouldn't even consider passing this bill. There's no excuse for passing stealth legislation, which is what this bill is.

Congress should also pass no bill which they don't completely understand themselves!

GOP Is Knuckling Under on Their Beliefs in the Name of Winning the Next Election: Stand Firm and FIGHT!

"The Party of No" is a label that has been used to describe both the Republicans and the Democrats, with one major difference.

The Democrats did not compromise on their stands; the Republicans appear ready to throw their values out the window to avoid being seen as the "Party of No" and having the label used against them in the days and weeks prior to Election Day. Yet the "PoN" strategy is one that they used against the Democrats, and were given a pretty good thumping at the polls.

The Republicans need to solidify their conservative base, and they won't do that by trying to out-Democrat the Democrats. This is a theme that I keep returning to because the GOP clearly isn't receiving the message yet. It's a failed strategy on the part of the Republicans. Their ideas should stand or fall on their own merits, without concern about whether they'll win or lose an election.

I want my elected officials to stand their ground, not adjust their positions so that they're going with the flow.

Voters Should Remember How Liberal Politicians Treated Their Health Care Reform Concerns

Barnie Frank had an atrocious town hall meeting with his constituents in Massachusetts, and shoveled so much crap into the faces of the voters out there that the entire point of the meeting was lost.

He wasn't there to listen to the opinions of his constituents; he was there to stir things up.

Hopefully the voters in his Congressional district remember what was said at this meeting, and someone steps up to the plate to challenge Frank for his seat.

And the same thing goes for the others too, especially the ones who don't even hold town meetings. That includes Speaker Pelosi and Majority Leader Reid.

Looks like they're really squirming. The GOP is correct in their opposition to this health proposal. We can't afford it right now.

Powell Should Follow Specter Out the Door: If Anyone Has a Right to, He Sure Does

I do think that Colin Powell should follow Arlen Specter out the door and follow his example, by joining the Democratic Party.

But it's not for the reasons that Limbaugh has stated, which are that he endorsed Obama solely based on race.

I have no comment on that point.

No, Powell should join the Democrats because the Bush Administration royally screwed him during the build-up to the Iraq War, using Powell to press the case for military action against Iraq and sending him before the U.N. Security Council with false information. CIA did Colin Powell no favors and set him up, when they knew they didn't have the evidence that Powell was pressing for to show that Iraq possessed WMDs.

If anyone has a right to be p.o.'ed by what was done to him, it's Powell. I wouldn't blame him if he never appeared at a GOP event again. Who wouldn't be angry by being set up like Powell was by his own party and his own President?

Powell will always be remembered as the Secretary of State who sat before the Security Council and told them that Iraq had WMDs and offered proof of mobile weapons labs, which U.S. and U.K. intelligence services had already discounted but didn't tell Powell about.

On the political side, he belongs to the Democratic wing of the Republican Party. I think he's burned too many bridges to simply go back and continue on as if his endorsement never happened. His pro-choice leanings are incompatible with what has been a pro-life party. He's got more in common with the Democrats than the Republicans these days; I'm surprised he didn't switch when he endorsed Obama.

I don't know if he'll ever be able to live down his actions as Secretary of State. I'm also uncertain if he'll ever return to politics, so his switching sides won't damage the Republicans any more than they already are.

Arlen Specter Joins the Democratic Party: All Pro-Choice Republicans Do the Same Thing

Pro-choice Republicans should follow Senator Arlen Spectre out the door and join the Democratic Party.

They're closet Democrats anyways.

The only part of his defection that I disagree with is that he isn't resigning his seat and running under his new party's banner, as a few others have done in the past.

The following senators decided to switch parties and resigned before running for the same seat under their new party (and won the special election):

Wayne Morris (Oregon)
Strom Thurmond (South Carolina)

The following Representatives did the same thing:

Albert Watson (South Carolina)
Phil Gramm (Texas)

Specter was getting killed in the polls against his primary challenger, so this may be a large part of why he's doing this now. And for giving the Democrats their supermajority, they may have offered a deal to Specter in exchange for his defection.

Good riddance.

More Democratic Waste on the Way: Pelosi Says to Keep the Door Open on Second Stimulus

Not content with their fill of pork, Congressional leaders appear to be lining the little piggies up for more of the same, saying that they needed to keep the door open for a second stimulus package.

When will this utter stupidity come to an end? When the country is bankrupt from all of this garbage that they're signing off on?

Generational theft doesn't come close to covering what they're doing. It's so vile and obscene that the current English language doesn't come close to having a term to describe what the Democrats are doing, along with Republican turncoats who are supporting the Democrats.

Those who vote "NO" are doing us and themselves a favor; they'll be proven correct soon enough. And I dread the day when that prediction comes true. Money doesn't grow on trees; it has to be generated, and it won't be generated until the workforce is back on it's feet and producing, and people are buying their products.

But they're spending money that is years away from being generated by the economy. They shouldn't be gambling with money that they don't have and doesn't belong to them.

Limbaugh ISN'T In Charge of GOP: Dems Making Hay Out of Limbaugh's Telling GOP What to Do

Democratic leaders have been reacting to a speech that Limbaugh gave to the Republican political action group (CPAC) last week, saying that Limbaugh is running the GOP.

So?

Maybe he ought to.

But the fact is, that he isn't; he's giving the Republicans a much-needed kick in the seat of their pants to get them back on track.

They've been off track for quite some time now, and voters punished them. Limbaugh has been screaming bloody murder since the Republicans started trying to out-Democrat the Democrats and turned their backs on their core principles of reducing government, lowering taxes and other conservative issues.

The GOP ought to listen to Rush and keep saying "no" to socialist proposals. It may cost them in the short term, but it'll be worth it in the long run.

Stimulus is 100% Pork That Has Simply Been Repackaged: Same Thing CAN Be Done for $170 Billion

The entire stimulus bill needs to be scrapped; it's full of CRAP! The current plan has stuff in it that has NOTHING to do with providing jobs.

STD prevention, more funding for NASA, a federal tracking system for your health treatments, tax breaks for Hollywood to purchase movie film, Smithsonian funding, smoking cessation, providing public computer centers, alcohol and substance abuse reduction, Farm Service Agency computer upgrades, golf carts for golf courses and dozens of other pork projects totaling $124 BILLION, and that's the stuff that's the stuff we know about.

Pelosi & company are keeping REAL quiet about what's actually in the bill. As of 10:38pm Thursday, Congress hasn't even seen the 780 page bill that they're voting on Friday morning, and they're out securing votes for a plan that no one has even seen in it's entirety. Congress should be ashamed of itself!

Welcome to the Democratic change that President Obama was promising.

What else is in this piece of crap bill?

On a side note, I found it very interesting to read about a Congressional Blue Dog (Conservative Democrat) alternative that does what the current monstrosity of a stimulus rescue plan does, except it does it a lot cheaper and wiser.

Instead of spending nearly $800 billion on pork, which the Democratic Congress is ram-rodding through, the Blue Dogs came up with a $170 billion plan that accomplishes the intended effect of stimulating the economy and implements controls that are missing in Pelosi & Company's $800 billion stimulus plan.

And the Blue Dog plan self-terminates when the economy recovers. The Blue Dogs call it their "Strategic Targeted American Recovery and Transition Act" or START Act.

It's an interesting read.

GOP Leadership Backs Off From Comments Against Limbaugh and Steers House GOP to Reject Obama Stimulus Plan

The House GOP leadership backed away from their comments against Rush Limbaugh, saying that the comments read harsher than they were intended.

Rush seemed willing to let bygones be bygones, but pushed the leadership to be more aggressive in their attempts to stop the Obama Administration's agenda, which was also the correct thing to do.

Their conservative base will support them if they stick to their conservative principles, and don't knuckle under to the new order in Washington. The Republicans who lost their seats did a poor job of taking care of their conservative constituents, who didn't turn out to support them, or threw their votes elsewhere.

The House GOP's unanimous rejection of President Obama's stimulus bill is a very good start. I was pleased to see that. Having the Republicans get along with the Democrats is not in our nation's best interests.

Many of our problems need more than one solution, and if we get into the groupthink that the Democrats have bought into, we run the risk of restricting our choices in dealing with the economic difficulties that have put our economy into the toilet.

House GOP Leaders Buy Into Socialist Groupthink: Telling Limbaugh to Shut Up Because He's Pointing Out Where They Need to Go Won't Help Them

The GOP House leadership told Rush Limbaugh to back off his comments and that he and Sean Hannity are brick-throwers who don't have to do what is necessary for the well-being of the public.

The House GOP has bought into the socialist feel-good groupthink of the Democrats.

This is why the GOP lost so badly in November, and why they will continue to lose seats. They're alienating their own constituents. By not standing up to the Democrats now, they're proving that this is simply a continuation of 2008, where they're trying to out-Democrat the Democrats. They haven't learned this lesson yet.

Republicans need to be Republicans, and stand on their own merits, not try to cling to the coattails of the Democrats, who are about to enter a troubled time in their own party, now that all the pieces of the elected government are in place.

The Dems are about to find out that capturing power is a lot easier than maintaining it, especially with the patchwork coalition that holds their party together trying to pull in so many different (and opposite) directions. And when Obama starts to move toward the center to govern, that's when the real fireworks will begin inside the liberal Democratic Party.

The Republicans blew it when they controlled the House, Senate and White House. They didn't do what they should have done, and then lost both houses of Congress and the Presidency.

Instead of telling Limbaugh to shut up, the GOP leadership ought to listen to what he's saying and maneuver themselves into position for the next elections. They need to FIGHT against Democratic Party initiatives and propose their own, not go along weakly with the Democrats.

And if the GOP leadership is too weak and too timid to do so, then perhaps they should stand down and let someone in who WILL! Joining the Democratic attack on Limbaugh is not the sign of strong GOP leadership, that's for certain.

Still waiting for the leadership that has been sorely lacking in the GOP....

Obama Administration Mounts a PR Assault on the Military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Policy: Strategy Will Backfire

As anticipated, the Obama Administration is making noise about dismantling the military "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy toward gays. His press secretary confirmed that he wants to go to Congress to repeal the policy, but won't do so until late 2009 or 2010.

Ultimately, it won't work.

I think it will actually drive more gays out of the military and lead President Obama to hastily restore the policy--in it's current form. There are many who wouldn't mind seeing this happen.

President Clinton beat a hasty retreat on this issue and never returned to it. I think history will repeat itself with President Obama once he takes a measure of how the military feels about this issue, and how the public feels about it. In fact, he's already delayed looking at this issue until 2010.

I'm not sure that the Democrats in Congress will want to risk alienating their constituents, who have shown that they may vote their own way on issues related to gay rights, regardless of party label. Look at California and their Proposal 8 controversy. I knew that proposal would pass; voters don't like being told what to do and having the power of their votes taken away by activist judges.

Even though the Democrats control the government, I think this will be an uphill battle for them, should they choose to try. And at this stage, I'm not sure they want to go on record with their vote.

And even if they do succeed, how long will it last?

Democrats Should Keep Their 15% Approval Rating in Mind: With Fewer Republicans Around, They're in the Hot Seat

Before they get too carried away, the Democrats need to keep their approval rating in mind. As of a CBS poll from last week, Congressional job approval stands at 15%, which is half of what President Bush's is.

And with fewer Republicans around to blame, and a Democrat preparing to move into the White House on January 20th, the Dems will be squarely in the hot seat.

It will be interesting to see if they succumb to the same pressure that the Republicans did, with one-party in control of the Congress and the White House.

If anything, the Democrats are even more vulnerable, as their party is a sewn-together coalition of competing factions. There's a few triggers that we've already seen will cause the Democratic Party to splinter; remember when Pelosi and Reid decided to knuckle under to President Bush and his war budget last year? The anti-war Democrats nearly rioted in the aisles.

We'll see how this goes.

The Mainstream Media is Getting It Wrong Again: They Underestimate Conservative Turnout on Election Day

The word out in the media is that they're laughing at the GOP vice presidential nominee and consider it a joke.

GOOD.

Considering the outcomes of the last two Presidential elections, one would have thought that they had learned their lesson. Guess not. They're ignoring the effect that Governor Palin is already having on conservative voters, who have already proven that when they turn out in large numbers, their candidate wins the election.

There's some pretty silly articles out there put on by liberal pundits who have no clue as to what kind of strategy McCain is employing, including this one. The Politico article is one of the more clueless ones that I've seen so far.

It's still too early to tell if Governor Palin will be able to draw out conservatives who were sitting on the fence, waiting to see how things turn out before deciding to go vote on Election Day. But if she's successful and enough attention is turned onto Obama's time in the Senate and his super-liberal positions, the Democrats could be in deep trouble, considering that there's a statistical dead-heat going on in the polls.

The entire election will hinge on whether the conservatives turn out in force, and carry as few as two swing states that are leaning toward Obama at the current time. There's still two full months and change before Election Day, and it could go either way. But the MSM is underestimating the conservative turnout and overestimating the Democratic turnout, as they have over and over again. It'll be funny if they're dead wrong--again.

The conservatives are better at turning out voters than the Democrats and "rock the vote" are. When will the media be on the same page as reality?

GOP Loses Three Seats in Republican Districts: Voters are Rejecting MODERATE Republicans for CONSERVATIVE Democrats

The GOP is crying about losing three longtime Republican seats in recent special elections. I found it fascinating that they had fielded three moderate Republicans against three conservative Democrats, and lost all three elections. And two of the Republicans had serious issues that conservative voters were not happy with.

Is the National Republican Committee paying attention to what's happening?

Sort of. They do not appear willing to admit that their efforts to marginalize the conservative base have only made it stronger. And the conservative voters turned out for the conservative candidates, even if they were from the other party. That's a sign of things to come.

The GOP has to come to grips with this situation and field more conservative Republicans; otherwise the electoral bloodbath that many are predicting on Election Day will happen.

No Republican can survive without conservative support. The last three special elections in Louisiana, Illinois and Mississippi are the proof of that statement. If things stay as they are, the moderate Republicans are going to have a very bad day in November if they're facing conservative Democrats.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there may be more conservative Republicans left in Congress than moderate ones the day after Election Day if the GOP doesn't shift gears and get with the program.

Democratic Candidate Mike Gravel Re-Launches His Presidential Campaign as a Libertarian

Mike Gravel, who was running for the Democratic nomination for the Presidency, has decided to leave the Democratic Party and run as a Libertarian.

That may be what he should have done in the first place. He couldn't get any traction against Democratic heavyweights Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama; he captured less than 1% of the Democratic primary delegates so far.

He endorsed a Green Party candidate three weeks ago as a Democrat; now he's running as a Libertarian himself. Is he withdrawing his endorsement of the Green Party candidate too?

This move, while very interesting, will probably not have the same type of results for Gravel that it had for Joe Lieberman when Senator Lieberman got drummed out by the far left anti-war movement in his party during his re-election bid for the Senate. Lieberman switched to being an independent and handily beat both major party candidates.

I certainly won't vote for Gravel as he's too far to the left for my taste. But it will be interesting to see if he's the candidate that disenchanted Democrats flock to (if they don't go to McCain) if their preferred choice (Clinton or Obama) loses the Democratic nomination. I will be watching this with great interest.