Palin Needs to End Her PR War With Her Daughter’s Ex: Family Matters Should Be Settled Privately

I’m getting a little sick of hearing about Sarah Palin and Levi what’s his face (her daughter’s ex) exchanging insults and publicly posturing in the media.

They really need to take the media out of the equation and settle things privately, like most families do. All one has to do is pick up the phone and call the other, not get on Oprah or some other talk show and issue statements that are picked up by the mainstream media, which leads the other to call a press conference and respond.

We don’t care about the details; just settle it and keep it out of the media circus.

If Palin is serious about running for office, she really needs to wage her battles much more discreetly; she’s handing ammunition to the opposition.

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.

Democrat Specter Gets Put Into His Place: Dems Reduce His Seniority on Five Committees to Junior Status

Did Senator Specter really expect to keep his seniority when he switched from the Republican Party to the Democratic Party?

If he was, his hopes were dashed when the Senate demoted him on his committees from the top of the totem pole to the bottom on four of the committees on which he sits, and near the bottom on the fifth committee.

The Democrats did keep his seniority intact outside the committees and in the Senate, but that's all that's left.

I'm sure the Democrats are making him feel welcome, especially when he goes off the reservation like he did a few days ago when he said that the GOP might still win the open Minnesota seat currently being contested by Norm Coleman (R) and Al Franken (D). He discounted his statements as being due from switching parties and not shifting gears quickly enough.

The Democrats were said to be annoyed with the comments.

Democrats in Pennsylvania are lining up to challenge him. And his GOP rival had a 20 point lead on him when he quit the Republican Party. Specter's wish to hold onto power may be dashed by his new friends if he doesn't start parroting the new party line.

And no one seems to be sure if the Democrats are done with reducing Specter's power. But he has less to promise to his new constituents than he did when he was a Republican.

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.

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....

Conservatives Should Declare Independence from the GOP: They'd Do Better With Their Own Party

I think the time has come for the conservatives to break with the GOP. They're Democratic-Republicans anyways!

The Republicans lost because they tried to out-Democrat the Democrats. And then they became the Democrats, spending money that isn't theirs, and not agreeing with anyone (including themselves) on anything. And they tried to push the conservatives out of the way in the process.

Being a conservative is about taking a stand, and living by it, not changing a stand when the wind of public opinion starts to blow in a different direction. All one has to do is look at the global warming hubris and how McCain embraced it to win over Democratic supporters.

And now we see the consequences of trying to out-Democrat the Democrats: the GOP's butt is in a sling, the result of voter dissatisfaction with Democratic-Republicans.

Will the moderates in the GOP learn?

GOP Platform Looks Good; Few Items of Concern

The 2008 GOP platform is now complete and is available on their web site. They have a lot of good stuff in it, not the least of which are:

• Support for the First Amendment right of association that protects the Boy Scouts of America and other similar organizations who are under attack from liberals.
• Support for appointing judges with a strict view of the Constitution to the federal bench and not political activists who believe in the "living document" crap.
• Support for the 2nd Amendment to keep and bear arms.
• Support for human rights, religious freedom and economic freedom overseas.
• A strong pro-life stance in the abortion debate.
• A commitment to maintain our friendship with Israel.
• Calls for an end to earmarking.
• Calls for a balanced budget amendment, except during times of war.
• A ban on human cloning and stem cell research which involves the destruction of embryonic human life, and the creation of human embryos for research purposes.
  
• A massive expansion of stem-cell research in those areas that do not involve the destruction of embryonic human life.
• Preserving property rights.
  

I'm not in full agreement with everything in their platform.

• They still refuse to recognize habeas corpus as a right as described in the United Nations charter and is an international right, not just an American one.
• They're maintaining their support of the death penalty as a party.
• I also don't believe that the Republicans will stop runaway government spending. The moderates who hold a majority in the party will keep spending and expanding the debt unless conservatives get in control of the party. THEN we'll see dramatic reductions. Not before.
• Global warming hubris. Where exactly does the science end and the politics begin?
  

They're also debating the 2012 primary system. Looks like two states will again enjoy primacy at the expense of all others; I had hoped they would get rid of this unfair system after two states--Michigan and Florida--rebelled against this system for the 2008 primary season. I think every state in the union needs to follow Michigan's and Florida's example and hold their primaries early in 2012. This issue needs to be forced; both parties are reluctant to go there.

Here's the platform.

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?

Ridge: GOP Will Accept Pro-Choice VP Pick

Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge has been going around saying that the GOP will accept a pro-choice candidate for the VP position with John McCain.

Oh, that's what he thinks.

If Ridge is right, and McCain does choose a pro-choice running mate, that will be the deciding factor for many conservatives who will not equivocate on this point. It doesn't matter if the candidate defers to McCain, who is pro-life. If President McCain suddenly keels over and is incapacitated or dies, all of a sudden we have a pro-choice Republican running things. That's not acceptable.

Values voters will not support this idea at all. They will stay home on Election Day, or vote for someone else who is solidly pro-life.

Romney Withdrawal from Campaign is Disappointing: It's a 3-Way Liberal Race Now

Mitt Romney's decision to withdraw from the Presidential campaign was deeply disappointing. He was the last best hope for a conservative nominee to appear on the GOP ticket against Obama or Clinton.

Huckabee doesn't have enough momentum to catch up at this point; he's got 190 delegates vs. McCain's 703 delegates. A candidate needs 1,191 delegates to secure the GOP nomination. He'd have to win a ton of states.

Romney did, however, decide to hold onto his 293 delegates.

I wonder if he isn't trying to swing a deal with McCain--his delegates in exchange for the VP slot. But if Huckabee does pull off a miracle and gets close to McCain's tally, wouldn't it be something if Huckabee and Romney pooled their delegates to knock McCain out? That would be NUTS!

It looks like we're going to have a liberal Republican on the GOP side of the ticket; I'm going to have a lot of new source material.

The question now is...in the event of a McCain nomination, will conservatives fall in line to defeat Hillary in November, or will they stay home and focus on 2012?

Fred Thompson Drops Out of GOP Race: Ho Hum

Fred Thompson ended his half-campaign for the Republican nomination for President.

I don't think he ever started a real campaign. He slept through most of it, and seemed to expect victory to be handed to him. It didn't happen. It couldn't.

All of the other campaigns are campaigning full-time and are making major inroads with voters. Against that type of effort, a part-time campaign has virtually no chance of success.

I wanted to support him at first, but he became unsupportable due to his lack of a viable campaign. Five minute speeches won't cut it in a Presidential campaign. A Boy Scout doing a five minute speech to complete a merit badge would make the grade, but someone outlining his vision of the future as the next President of the United States definitely doesn't.

I also think people saw that Thompson the political candidate didn't live up to his various on-screen personas. People couldn't separate Thompson from his awesome presidential characters, which was something that Thompson really didn't try to combat. And to make matters worse, his relaxed approach to waging a campaign made people think he wasn't serious about running for President. The media pounced on that perception to great effect.

I wish that Thompson had waged an all-out aggressive campaign for core conservative values. If he had, he would have been a viable candidate who could have really gone after closet liberals McCain and Giuliani for their wrong stands. He also could have challenged Huckabee and Romney on their actual records and accomplishments while serving as governors of their respective states. At the moment, both are making claims that are overinflated and need to be poked full of holes to bring the Romney and Huckabee hype under control.

Thompson's withdrawal is more than a lost opportunity for him; it means that this dangerous cycle that has taken root in the remaining campaigns will continue to flourish unchallenged. I'm disappointed that he didn't take the other contenders to task more than he did.

Republicans Finally Spend Some Time in Michigan: Election is Tomorrow

Republican presidential hopefuls are spending a great deal of time in Michigan, courting voters for their half-powered votes ahead of tomorrow's primary vote.

It's nice to see, but I see that they're ignoring the U.P. again. There was little to no mention of the primary in U.P. news web sites today.

I hope that the eventual winner of the GOP nomination pushes the Democrats to hold at least one of the debates in Michigan. And if the Democratic nomination turns out to be anyone other than Kucinich, then they should pack the hall with P.O.'ed (and disenfranchised) voters to ask "Where were you during the primary season? And why should we vote for you now?"

It'd be fun to watch the candidate squirm.

I mentioned Kucinich because he alone campaigned in the state on the Democratic side. Good for him.

Romney Shouldn't Have to Make a Speech on His Religious Views to Appease Religious Right

It seems to me that religious Conservatives shouldn't be criticizing Mitt Romney over his religious views. If he adheres to his religious beliefs, which at it's base professes a belief in God and in Jesus Christ, then there really shouldn't be an issue.

This all sounds familiar. The arguments being made against Romney's Mormon faith are similar to what fundamentalists have made against Catholic candidates ever since the country was founded. "That religion isn't even Christian" is nothing but 18th and 19th Century Protestant propaganda. Yet it shares some of the beliefs of both Protestant and Catholic churches, despite having some major differences.

People have a narrow view of history. Since our country was started, there have been four Baptists, one Catholic, one Congregationalist, three Disciples of Christ, two Dutch Reformed, twelve Episcopals, one Jehovah's Witness (later a Presbyterian), four Methodists, five Presbyterians, two Quakers, four Unitarians, and four people who did not belong to a religious denomination (including Abraham Lincoln) or didn't have a belief in God at all, who have served as President of the United States.

People use the JFK speech on his Catholic beliefs to justify what Romney is doing now. I don't think it's necessary. Haven't we, as a nation and as an electorate, evolved beyond this?

What should be worrisome should be where Romney stands on abortion now, where he stands on seeking an eventual end to the ground war in Iraq, what kind of judges he will nominate, and where he stands on protecting the Constitution vs. "National Security."

There are aspects of the Mormon faith that I do find very troubling, but I've known enough Mormons to know that there's two sides to an issue when discussing this religion. And it seems that those who are criticizing Romney are focusing on one side exclusively (their issues with Romney's religion) versus how the man has lived his life, which is quite a bit better than some of the others on the GOP ticket that the fundamentalists themselves are supporting.

Personally, I think Huckabee and Romney would be a great GOP ticket against the eventual Democratic nominee and his/her VP choice.

"No" to Fred Thompson Too: Part-Time Campaign Won't Be Enough to Beat His Republican Rivals Now or Hillary in the General Election

Fred Thompson is not the man that conservatives were waiting for.

His part-time campaign is a joke at best. He's putting minimal preparation time in to campaigning, minimal appearances, and when Thompson chooses to appear, he delivers a five minute speech on what his vision of the country's direction will be. Five minutes??! His INTRODUCTION by a master of ceremonies takes five minutes, and Thompson's making five-minute speeches about his vision for America? A Boy Scout working on Communications Merit Badge can do THAT.

Where's the beef, Fred?

His GOP rivals are going to eat him alive if he keeps that up. And that's to say nothing of Hillary's well-oiled campaign machine waiting in the wings for whomever the GOP candidate will be. But I don't think it's going to be Fred.

GOP Field Finally Starts to Narrow: Gov. Thompson Pulls Out of Race

Former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson dropped out of the GOP race for his party's presidential nomination today, after placing sixth in the Iowa straw polls.

He's the smartest one out of all of them. I like Tommy Thompson, but he wasn't the right man in the right place at the right time. This time. He may be a Vice-Presidential candidate down the road.

There are still too many candidates. More GOP candidates should follow Thompson's example and help to clear the board. Those who weren't sure of where they stand with potential voters know now.

Results:

1) Gov. Mitt Romney 31%.
2) Gov. Mike Huckabee 18.1%
3) Sen. Sam Brownback 15.3%
4) Tom Tancredo 13.7%
5) Ron Paul 9.1%
6) Tommy Thompson 7.3%
7) Fred Thomson 1.4%
8) Rudy Giuliani 1.2%
9) Duncan Hunter 1.2%
10) John McCain <1%
11) John Cox <1%

Should be interesting to see if any of the others throw in the towel too.

Democrats Tack on Withdrawal Date to Military Spending Bill Again: Bush May Not Be Given Time for Surge to Work

Senator Levin tacked on an amendment to a new military spending bill that features a withdrawal date for troops from Iraq.

Here we go again.

This time, however, the Democrats may have support from GOP Senators Lugar, Warner and Voinovich, as well as several other GOP senators. They have said that the Administration's plan isn't working and a change in direction was needed.

It appears that Congress isn't going to wait for General Petraeus's report in September to decide what's working and what isn't. The House has already voted to withdraw troops next year.

And President Bush isn't gaining any new allies in Congress; he's losing the allies he's already got. Looks like things are going to get really nasty.

Before Too Many Republicans Tuck Tail and Run, They Need to Remember That They're Still on the Taxpayer Time Clock

Republicans like Senator Lincoln Chafee need to remember that they're STILL in office, STILL on the taxpayer time clock and BEHOLDEN to fulfill the promises that they made to those who elected them six years ago.

The new Congress isn't seated until January, so this Congress is still very much in session. There's still work for them to do.

The recent election sets a mandate for the 110th Congress and for the President to follow. But the current Congress already has a mandate from prior elections that they should honor until they recess and the new Congress takes over.

They need to get back to work, and stop wasting time.

If they decide to keep the seat warm and do nothing, they should resign immediately and get off the taxpayer time clock. We aren't paying them to keep the seat warm and vote themselves pay raises until January. There's been enough of THAT already.

Democrats Take Over House: GOP Did This To Themselves

It appears that the Democrats did very well for themselves this time around, capturing control of the U.S. House of Representatives.

How bad the GOP did is still in the air and will be for some time to come as a number of Senate races are still too close to call.

President Bush and the GOP did this to themselves by not doing what they were supposed to over the last year with regards to illegal immigration, spending, fighting corruption and improving the situation in Iraq. They allowed election year politics to interfere with doing their j-o-b-s.

In some cases, moderate Republicans were defeated by conservative Democrats. That's not an altogether bad thing.

It will be interesting to see how this shapes up in the coming weeks and months. But if the Democrats go too liberal on the issues, they may make themselves as vulnerable as the GOP was in this election for the next time around.