The Tucson, Arison shooting yesterday was one of the most tragic pieces of news to hit the wires in years.  Mentally unstable twenty two year old Jared Loughner shot Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, a blue dog Democrat from Arizona’s eighth district at point blank range.  She was awake after surgery and responding to questions, a good first step in the long road she has to recovery.    

            Six people were killed, fourteen more injured.  Among those killed were Chief district judge John Roll, a conservative Republican, and a nine-year old girl.  The news grows harder to read the more it goes on. 

            This disturbed young man was denied entry into the military because he failed a drug test.  He was removed from a community college because of disturbing comments and behavior he made.  He listed his favorite books as The Communist Manifesto and Mein Kampf, hardly the works of a right wing extremist.  His YouTube videos were unintelligible ramblings showing paranoia and confusion.

            You have to take the bad with the good.  We have freedom of speech, but that comes with the understanding that we have to put up with those who would say harmful things.  We have an open government, set up in a way so the public can discuss their concerns with their elected representatives.  Like freedom of speech, it comes with the risk that someone could be hurt when out amongst to the public.  The job of our representatives is to listen to the constituents in their districts and states.  They are not supposed to use a tragedy to advance their own agenda, or grandstand for the camera, like Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik did in press conferences the day of the shooting, as well as the next.    

            It only took a few hours for the accusations to start flying.  Fox News, Sarah Palin Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and all the rest of the usual suspects were and blamed.  Sarah Palin’s ‘reload’ comment, Glenn Becks’ conspiracy theories, and many more were cited as proof positive that the far right had gone too far, and now it was leading to deaths.  The same argument was used in 1995 when Tim McVeigh destroyed the Oklahoma City federal building.  People on the left rallied against Rush Limbaugh, claiming that his ‘hateful’ rhetoric had pushed people like McVeigh over the edge.  Now we are find ourselves hearing same thing because of the disgusting and hateful actions of another paranoid and disturbed person.

            On the Sunday morning shows, Congressmen and Senators about how Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck might have said just the right things to influence a mentally unstable individual.  Florida Democrat congresswoman Debbie Wasserman-Schultz blamed ‘shock jocks’ and the Tea Party on MSNBC’s Meet The Press.  South Carolina Democratic congressman James Clyburn brought up former Republican Arizona senate candidate Sharron Angle while appearing on Fox News Sunday.  Democratic senator Richard Durbin of Illinois blamed Palin and the other Republicans on CNN’s State Of The Union.

            It is too easy to let oneself be swept up in anger and blame everyone else.  Jared Loughner should never have had access to a firearm, and instead should have been someplace where he could have received help.  All of the warning signs were there.  The same thing can be said for Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold of Columbine, as well as such tragic incidents as the Virginia Tech and Fort Hood shootings.

            Major Nidal Malik Hassan ran through Fort Hood while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar” while shooting American soldiers.  If the left wanted to ignore any potential ties to radical Islam, then they should not be so quick to attach the label of right wing extremist or tea partier to Jared Loughner.  First someone will suggest we need to be more civil.  Then they will want the fairness doctrine reinstated.

Hateful rhetoric does sometimes come from the fringes on both sides of the aisle, but we must not forget that it also can come out of nowhere.  Rather than the blame game, we should mourn those lost and make sure that tragedies such as these do not divide us further.     

Okay, I’ve had it with this whole let’s get in there with Obama and compromise now that we have a majority thing.  Excuse me?  Who in history who was ever a victor ever was the one to make concessions?  Did the allies reach over to the Nazi’s at the conclusion of WWII and ask them “what can we do for you?”  When Obama won in 2008 and the Democrats increased their majorities, did they ask what Republican ideals they could institute?  They did ask but they didn’t mean it, and they didn’t take any that were offered.

A few Republican senators today crying Boo because the Republicans did not win a majority or tie in the Senate.  “Ohh!  Ohh!  If the were no Tea Party candidates, if we had let the rino’s go unchallenged by more conservative candidates, those candidates could have won!”  Really?

Christine O’Donnell in Delaware beat rino Republican Mike Castle, but lost to Chris Coons.  “Mike Castle could have won!”  Well, pardon me for correcting, but most exit polls in the extremely blue states said that even Castle would have lost.  Christine O’Donnell was a little kooky and a little inexperienced, but at least held conservative values.  Castle would have voted for big spending, Cap n Trade, pro-abortion legislation and possibly to enforce the health care law.  Why not just elect the Democrat?  Better to loose on principle than to elect another big spender who does not listen to the public. 

Does this mean that people who hold a few moderate views aren’t welcome within the GOP?  Course not.  They should however realize that more often than not they will make a weak candidate. 

Time and time again we have been told as Republicans to run candidates who can get elected.  In 2008 we were told that Romney was too conservative.  We needed McCain because ‘he could win.’  McCain picked Sarah Palin as his VP choice because he was such a compromising and liberal leaning Republican that the base was not fired up about him.  Palin on the other hand, conservative on every issue you can think of, and fired up the base.  “But McCain can win.  He can get the independents.”  Well, how did that work out for you?

We needed to support Charlie Crist because “he was a moderate, who could win.”  He was absolutely crushed by the more conservative Marco Rubio.  In California we needed to support moderates Meg Whitman and Carly Fiorina, because ‘they could win in California.’  How did that work out for us?  Lisa Murkowski in Alaska who lost the primary to the more conservative Joe Miller, mounted a write-in candidacy.  She may win, but is a large spender, a supporter of pork and earmarks, and does not fully support the repeal of the health care law.  The Murkowski family is a dynasty in Alaska, which is why she might win during the final count.  There is also rumor she may stay independent and caucus with the Democrats.  Great.  It speaks a lot to someone’s character, when they ignore the will of the people and of their party, and do not show enough class to support the primary victor. 

New England Republicans Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins have broke with Republican ranks and voted for Health Care.  Liberal Republican senator Lindsey Graham is willing to break rank and support Cap and Trade, and so is his buddy, John McCain.  Even incoming West Virginia Democrat Joe Manchin is willing to torpedo Cap and Trade, which would decimate his home states workforce.  (As well as the energy production in the country in general.)

Lets cut the garbage out.  While some of the tea party candidates lost due to being in blue states and being outspent, a larger majority of them won.  Allan West, Marco Rubio, Susana Martinez, Nikki Haley, John Kasich, Rick Scott, Kristi Noem, Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Tim Scott, the list goes on and on.  All conservative candidates, all victorious, all determined to reduce spending, block the unconstitutional health care legislation, all listening to the public.

(Side note – I would only retract this in one case – I would not support Congressman Ron Paul, who is conservative, but I believe does not want to win, and knew he wouldn’t in 2008.  He wanted to make a point, and damn it all if his people sat home on Election Day.  He doesn’t care if he sinks the whole system as long as he makes his point just like another rigid Texan, Ross Perot.)

Here’s another reason to defend ideological rigidness.  Democrats won large majorities with a coalition of ‘blue dog’ Democrats, in part to the strategy of Rahm Emanuel, capitalizing against voter anger against Bush.  These were conservative leaning Democrats who won in conservative districts.  A majority of these blue dogs were wiped out on Tuesday.  The Democrat minority that remains in the House and the slim majority in the Senate is more liberal overall.  People like Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi did survived, while their more conservative Dems were destroyed.  Mostly because Frank and Pelosi hail from extremely liberal districts where they have never had much of a real challenge.

The country is fundamentally right of center.  The misreading of their landslides in 2006 and 2008 by Democrats was in their assuming the country was now a left of center country.  At its core, the United States is still a fairly conservative nation.  Gay marriage is defeated at the ballot box again and again.  If abortion was to be decided in a popular vote, most pollsters conclude it would lose.  A ballot initiative to recognize Sharia law in Oklahoma on Tuesday was crushed and Americans are largely appalled by the idea of a Mosque near ground zero.

There is a clear mandate against the Obama/Pelosi/Reid agenda and its radical intrusion and spending.  Now as the majority party in the House, we have to be careful.  People panicked when John Boehner said he would ‘work’ with the Democrats.  Don’t worry.  The man who has never taken an earmark for his district won’t compromise on the health care bill.  He has vowed to repeal it or gut it beyond recognition.  In the Senate, Mitch McConnell has promised the same thing.

What we must not do is fight amongst ourselves between conservatives.  People in the Republican party who might have Presidential aspirations like Michele Bachmann and Mike Pence (both of which I like, don’t get me wrong) might try and score further Tea Party points by making Boehner out to be the soft fighter if he says something that sounds wrong, even if he means the opposite. 

Boehner stood up on the eve of the health care vote and shouted ‘Hell no you can’t’ to the Democrats, after repeatedly asking them if they’ve read the bill, if it was done with transparency, and accountability.  This man has been the biggest leader and charge against the President and Pelosi.  We cannot forget it. 

Even GOP Chairman Michael Steele deserves credit.  After a rocky start as chairman, he got it together, embraced the Tea Party candidates, and campaigned in a nation-wide bus tour to fire Pelosi.

We as conservatives cannot let bitterness ruin what we have achieved.  We cannot be so suspicious and divide our fighting force.  We threw out dozens of Rinos, and voted out over 80 Democrats in both houses of congress and Governor contests.  We need to ignore the idiot ‘GOP insiders’ who post on the Politico.com and say they will campaign to stop Palin.  We need to listen now to our elected leaders, who have started listening to us.  Ignore divisive insiders who don’t even have the guts to print their names in an accusatory article.  Ignore those who beat up the image of Marco Rubio and Nikki Haley, and who rip on Mitt Romney’s religion.  Screw these people.  When you hear the likes of Rudy Giuliani embracing the growing conservative wing and saying “shame on you” to the bitter establishment, you have something there…

Lets reflect on a few things…

- In 1976 Gerald Ford was the more moderate Republican, retaining the nomination and losing to Jimmy Carter.

- In 1996, Bob Dole ran as a deal making moderate, and lost to Clinton.

- In 2008, John McCain campaigned as a moderate and ran a gentle campaign.  He lost in an electoral landslide. 

- In 1968 and 1972 Richard Nixon won by landslides (the latter capturing 49 states) campaigning on conservative issues foreign and domestic.

- In 1980 and 1984, Ronald Reagan won by 46 and 49 states respectively, campaigning on conservative values across the board.

- In 1988 George H.W. Bush won by large numbers campaigning to keep the Principles of Ronald Reagan going.

-In 1994 Republicans led by Newt Gingrich captured the House and Senate, winning over 50 seats by campaigning on the conservative ‘Contract With America.’  It was the first time the GOP held the house in 40 years.

- In 2004 George W. Bush won an electoral landslide campaigning on conservative social issues and a strong foreign policy.

- In 2010 the Republicans captured the House by turning over more than 60 seats, leveled the playing field in the Senate and captured a majority of Governorships and State houses, by promising to restore constitutional conservatism, reign in spending and repeal the universal health care bill.

How many times do you have to win and win big with a certain set of principles before you realize it’s a formula that works and withstands the test of time?  How many times do you have to loose and loose royally with a moderate message before you learn that it does not work?  If the GOP sticks to their promises held in the new “Pledge to America,” and makes a strong stand in Congress, they will continue to be victorious.

It’s all about numbers in an election cycle.  Polling results, spending cash, how many seats you can win for your party, the list of numbers goes on and on, and tuesdays midterm elections are no different.

I had the pleasure of going to a campaign fundraiser lunch last week for my congressman last week.  While I was there, the Republican who previously held his seat before retiring gave a brief speech.  It was not full of the typical talking points, stump lines and posturing.  It was a speech I believe that many people within the various tea party and GOP rebranding movements would be proud of.  The man told us to bear in mind three numbers:  40, 12, 4.

40 was the number of years it took Republicans to win the house.

12 was the number of years Republicans to loose it.

4 is the number its taken for the opportunity to win it back.

Republicans won landslide victories with the contract for America and the leadership of Newt Gingrich.  The last time they held majorities was forty years prior, in 1954.  Twelve years later in 2006, the Democrats re-took the congress.  In the four years since 2006, they are now poised to repeat their electoral performance in 1994.

One thing to note is that for two of the past four years, there was a Republican administration in the white house, that of George W. Bush.  The country, very dissatisfied with his second term and wearied from the Iraq war, voted against him even though his name was not on the ballot.  Barack Obama won an electoral landside and claimed a mandate with his victory in taking the white house (The Democrats also increased their majorities to super-majorities in both houses of congress) 

The economy was tanking, and people often will look to the party of easy social program money when economic times are tough.  Obama and his party had two of three branches of government wrapped up, a media in their corner and a majority of Democrats and independent swing-voters eager to see him succeed.  I’d like to throw out another number in addition to the 40, 12, and 4 trio.

2.

Two years is all it took for Obama, Pelosi and Reid to take their majority, self-proclaimed mandate and blow it.  The entire country, as well as cheering sections in half the world were waiting anxiously for this set of ‘miracle workers’ to come in and recede the oceans, and they blew it.  Congress’s approval ratings are down in the low teens.  The President’s approval rating is hovering around the high thirties/low forties, depending on which poll you read.  (It took Bush nearly six years to get to that point)  There are several reasons for it.

Spending has increased tenfold since the democrats took control of congress in 2006.  Bush was a big check-signer, but it is congress that controls the purse strings, and the Pelosi congress has not even pretended to cut spending.  A trillion-dollar health care plan was passed at midnight on a Sunday while the American public soundly was against it.  Nearly 900 billion in a stimulus package with minimal impact, and now talks of a second one on the way 

The attitude of elitism and knowing better what the American public needs than they do.  Nationalizing banks and auto companies.  A snide media that constantly insulted the American public as they objected to Obama’s policy’s.  A slow and sloppy response to the Gulf oil spill that made George W. Bush's response to Hurricane Katrina seem hyperactive.  An American public tired of being called racists because they disagree with the administration.

Apologizing for Americans terror war.  Tolerating America bashing at the United Nations, touring Europe apologizing constantly, ignoring the plight of the Iranians who wanted a fair and free election and were arrested and beaten in the streets.  It goes on and on…

Many people are skeptical of the incoming Republicans, assuring themselves that they will be just like the Bush era group.  Adopting this attitude is the worst thing we as conservatives can do.  It is the first step towards permanently resigning in bitter-hell-land for the rest of your life.  It’s how you wind up hateful, overly cynical and inevitably give up.

So many Republicans who will come into to congress will be riding on the populist movement of the Tea Party.  Some senior members seem to have gotten them memo.  John Boehner, Michele Bachmann, Eric Cantor, Mike Pence, Paul Ryan and others are all getting on board and stepping in line.  Even GOP Chairman Michael Steele, who started off his term with a series of gaffes, has been exceptional while on his ‘Fire Pelosi’ Bus tour, which he has been on since September 15^th. 

If the Republicans win control of the congress, you are poised to see John Boehner as the new Speaker, and Eric Cantor as the new majority leader.  Michele Bachmann will continue to make inroads with her newly created Tea Party caucus.   The new Pledge to America promises not to pass any bill without validating its constitutionality.  Spending will be pulled back, and there will be a serious attempted to repeal or cripple Obamacare.  Serious attention will be given to our exhausted military, and the criminal neglect of our mounting deficit and debt. 

Either way it goes, I’m glad to see members of the GOP seem to be getting the message.  Michael Steele this week on Sean Hannity’s show that he knew the Republicans were being voted in while on probation.  I for one believe that a lot of them won’t take it for granted.  Some predicted that the Tea Party was a cancer that would eat the GOP alive.  I think it's more akin to a shower, cleaning it off.  Even if a Christine O'Donnell doesn't win, at least they got rid of another RINO.

One final note - For all the talk of the mean racist sexist Republicans, lets take a look at how it could turn out: 

Bobby Jindal – Indian American governor of Lousiana

Michael Steele – African American RNC Chairman

Nikki Haley – Indian American likely to be elected Governor of South Carolina

Sharron Angle – in position to dethrone and defeat Harry Reid.

Susana Martinez – Hispanic American poised to win the governorship of New Mexico.

Allan West – African American house candidate from Florida.

Marco Rubio – Cuban American Florida senatorial candidate.

Ryan Frazier – African American house candidate from Colorado.

Sarah Palin – The GOP’s main endorser and arguably the most powerful woman in politics, even while not holding office.

Mitt Romney – Nearly 2008 nominee, possible 2012 nominee, and a devout Mormon.

I could go on and on… 

Maybe they just disagree with socialist-policies.  Or maybe they’re all racists too, like the rest of us supposedly are.

Remember November…

-JD

I normally consider myself above posts like this.  Maybe this week is just stressing me out with my classes, or perhaps it is an annoyance that has been building up like a bad itch you can’t scratch.  I normally would consider myself against getting personal with anyone, or resulting to character attacks and smear tactics.  Perhaps I’m just grumpy…

I cannot stand any of this “Ron Paul” crap anymore…

Ron Paul was recently voted in a popular conservative publication as one of the top two most unpopular members of congress.  (The other was Ohio rep Dennis Kucinich)  Now, there is no doubt that congressman Paul is a smart man, and he is pretty conservative.  In 1988 he ran as the Libertarian candidate for president.  He ran for president in the 2008 election as the champion of the constitution.  Young people found his message appealing and he was actually able to raise a fair amount of money for a 100-to-1 shot candidate.

The only problem I saw was, Ron Paul did not want to win.  He ran to screw the system, and show what he believed to be flaws in the system.  Like a screaming kid who does not want to go with his parents to grandma’s house, he makes a loud noise and will only accept impossible solutions.  The most recent comparison of any consequence is H. Ross Perot.  Perot didn’t want to win either.  He was a disenfranchised angry old man who knew how to exploit a niche audience and make a big name for himself.

I don’t see Ron Paul as a self-righteous champion of all that is noble and good.  He wants limited government yes, but he wants it so limited that I question that there would be enough police to protect us in the streets of major cities.  He wants to disband the CIA, ignoring the thousands of cyber attacks and plots against this countries government and people.  He wants to withdraw all US military from abroad, ignoring the countless civil wars that could break out and numerous fledgling democracies that could be instantly overrun.  

Some people say it’s not our problem, citing Teddy Roosevelt and his doctrine of ‘looking out for the helpless little people’ in places like Cuba and the Philippines.  But I am not proposing that we raise the natives and teach them English.  Tell me that if our base were withdrawn from South Korea, North Korean would not be steamrolling over the border the next day.  The last time we had such blatant isolationism being preached, Adolf Hitler was allowed to come to power.

Just as a side note, I wonder how many people will read this and automatically compare me to Kathleen Parker..."Hey!  JD's not a conservative!  He's just masquerading as one!  He's ripping on real conservatives!  Just like when Kathleen Parker ripped on Palin!!"  Gag me.

I also have a big tendency to roll my eyes at his fans.  Many of them are young angry college kids who hear his crotchety angry message and hear something that stirs the rebellious urge in them.  Others are 9/11 ‘Truthers.’  Almost all of them are New World Order conspiracy theorists, and the rest are just impossible to get along with. 

They believe that he started and is the role model of the Tea Party movement.  In reality, the person most directly responsible with starting it is Glenn Beck, and their biggest political role model would probably be Sarah Palin.

Most of his fans hate someone as conservative as Sarah Palin.  They have targeted her for supporting McCain (even though she is fulfilling a promise, and backing VERY conservative candidates nationwide, such as Ron Paul’s son Rand Paul) His fans take his anti-establishment message to extreme lengths.  I believe that most of them are the type that would look in their fridge, and see that about 40% of the food is not spoiled.  Just out of bitterness towards the food that is spoiled, they throw out everything, edible food and all.

Ironically, the Tea Party movement is now challenging Ron Paul in a primary for his seat.  They say he has brought it upon himself, by spending too much time running for president and ignoring his constituents.  He has become so hard to get along with in congress that no one will deal with him, making him obsolete in trying to hammer out legislation.

Now I’m not going to trash the man entirely.  I do agree with him that we should have properly declared war in Iraq, and the IRS and Federal Reserve should be audited.  And yes I love the constitution.  That’s about it.

People will call me a ‘establishment Republican,’ a John McCain, a Big Government Liberal, a Progressive.  Good lord.  NOTHING could be further from the truth.  This is a label given to you now by some hard-liners, just like the liberals call you a ‘non-believer’ or a ‘doubter’ if you are a skeptic of global warming.

Less government is a good thing, but Ron Paul is one step removed from Anarchy.  He has taking the belief in minding ones own business to the extreme of ignoring those in need because they are outside our borders. 

Like Ross Perot, he wanted to make a political point.  He did not want to win.  He wanted to rally support for what he believed was a serious problem.  While doing it on the campaign trail he target almost all Republicans instead of targeting Democrats.  Not every Republican needs to be recalled, and not everyone sounding the call of small government is a savior. 

Ron Paul knew he could never win the nomination, let alone the general election.  Instead, he turned to the people in his party, screaming like an angry child on the playground.  He had his hand wrapped in hair, and was taking someone down with him.  I believe he ended up souring so many conservatives that he might have cost us more votes that we deserved to loose in 2008.

These are my thoughts, and I whole-heartedly endorse them.  If you don’t agree, don’t read.  I know there are some conservatives who consider the man a constitutional godsend, and as I’d said before, he’s not all wrong.  He just will never get anything done. I want to believe that he wants to fix things.  It is just very hard when he acts like all he wants to do is burn it all down.

So this round goes to the boys in red!  They’re now calling it the Massachusetts Miracle!  What started out as the tale of 4 to 1 underdog republican running in the bluest of blue states, he overcame a massive deficit in the polls to not only win, but win big! 

Cue the Rocky music. 

The finger pointing has already begun, predictably.  Last night as I watched the coverage, I flipped around to some of the ‘other’ cable news networks to catch the reaction.  I saw Keith Olberman, Rachel Maddow and Chris Matthews engaging in a circle, sitting Indian-style, acoustic guitars a plenty, crying. 

They were all trying to say that this was because the Democrats did not force health care through faster.  They believed it to be a referendum on how long it was taking.  I don’t mind confessing that I was actually laughing out loud while hearing this come out of their mouths.

 I’m going to do something that a lot of conservatives don’t want to do right now, and that’s give some credit to RNC Chairman Michael Steele.  A lot of people aren’t happy with Mr. Steele, and that’s because they’re still bitter against the Republican party for ‘betraying them.’  I understand that.  The party moderated a bit in the early middle part of the last decade.  They spent way more than anyone would have expected, and tried one too many times to play nice and let the Democrats pound their points home too much.  I understand that frustration.

People do however need to learn to forgive and learn what we are doing right now.  This is not the GOP of November 2008.  Or 2009.  This is the GOP of today, and today there are some good things going on.  I’m willing to bet that the only reason people are polling the GOP lower than the Dems at this point is because they still are wary of giving their trust back – but lets look at the results:

 Michael Steele has been given a lot of flack for the “Resolution on Reagan’s Unity Principle For Support of Candidates.”  People are crying on the left, people are crying on the right.  They would like people to agree with at least 8 out of the 10 criteria on this list.  Ronald Reagan once said that someone who agreed with him 80% of the time was not his enemy.  Here is the list:

(1) Smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill?

(2) Market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run healthcare;?

(3) Market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;?

(4) Workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check?(

5) Legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;?

(6) Victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;?

(7) Containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat?

(8) Retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;?

(9) Protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion;

(10) The right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership 

Personally, the things I didn’t think that needed to be on the list were the bits about Iran and North Korea.  That can all be decided with common sense when the time comes.  I also don’t care about the Defense of Marriage Act, because I believe it to be a states issue.  For the rest of it I have to pretty much ask, what the hell is wrong with it?

 Do we as conservatives want someone in who will vote for health care, screw the free market, alienate our troops in the field, allow Iran to get the bomb, and sign away our right to guns?  I can understand that people might think that this is a bad idea because it will scare away moderates. 

Here is one thing I will say – Michael Steele didn’t write this, and his name is not on the sponsors list.  The sponsor of this proposed RNC Resolution is James Bopp Jr.

The resolutions co-sponsors are Donna Cain, Cindy Costa, Demetra Demonte, Peggy Lambert, Carolyn McLarty, Pete Rickets, Steve Scheffler, Helen Van Etten and Soloman Yue.  Nowhere have I been able to find anything that says Steele wrote or signed onto this.

Now, lets give credit where credit is due.  We all felt the election heard round the world this week.  Reports were coming out of how Scott Brown was disenfranchised with the GOP because they ignored him.  Michael Steele and the RNC funneled half a million dollars into his candidacy. 

- In the last year alone the GOP has raised 80 million dollars, 14 million of which was spent on two governors races in Virginia and New Jersey. (Both victories)

- Six million dollars were spent last year for infrastructure in state parties to help win special elections.  While the NY-23 election was not a victory for a conservative candidate, the Steele and the GOP did win more special elections than the Dems last year, by far.  They won special elections for legislative and state level seats all across the country, which is where much party building always begins.

-There has been a major mobilization to re-vamp the GOP to launch a cyber-war for the next round of campaigning and elections, which Steele was a strong proponent of, and something that really hurt conservatives in 2006 and 2008. 

Michael Steele’s biggest critics are DC Republican insiders who don’t like him personally.  He is a polarizing figure, and has been very blunt with the ‘Fire me or shut up’ speech.  I respect that, even if I do find him a tad moderate and sometimes disagree with him.  I’d sure rather have him in the RNC chairman spot than Newt Gingrich. 

Right now the GOP is raising money hand over fist.  In the carry-over from 2005 to 2006 when the Democrats re-took the house, they had a little over five million dollars.  The GOP heading into 2010 had 8.7 million and they’ve got momentum.  Steele has broken 7 RNC records for fundraising the past year.  A major party chairman’s job has two components:  Raise money and win elections.  We’ve won three biggies and a slew of smaller ones, and it’s only January. 

I do think that there needs to be more ‘conservatives’ in the party of course.  And I’d have rather seen Doug Hoffman win NY-23.  If there had been a primary, I’m sure he would have trounced Dede Scozzafava soundly.  I would love to see a re-taking of the GOP a-la Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan.

I like Chairman Steele personally but sometimes have disagreed with his policies.  I don’t think that he personally will care much about this 10 point GOP purity test, despite rumors floating around that it is his.  A lot of old school Republicans didn’t vote for him to become the party chairman because he has always had the tendency to openly rip a critic apart in front of the camera, and he doesn’t follow orders well.  He’s a lot harder to control and influence than say, another Mel Martinez would have been.  (And I like Mel personally too.)

I’m not saying he’s a godsend, or that he is the RNC’s savior.  What I am saying is, lets not shoot ourselves in the foot by being the infighting morons that the Democrats usually are.  He’s raising money and funneling it into campaigns across the country.  People rip on him because he is the fundamental head of the GOP and they still have bitter memories about George W. Bush and the 2004 Republican controlled Congress.  

It’s time to move on and win this fight.  That part of conservative history sucks, and I don’t like it anymore than anyone else.  But we can do better, and it’s time to realize that there are a lot of people in the GOP who are hearing the message of the Tea Partiers (the 912 Group for you sticklers out there J ) and other angry conservatives and independents.  Chairman Steele has spoken to the groups, so have congressmen Michele Bachmann, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and others. 

As Bruce Wayne said in ‘Batman Begins’ to the bad guy Ra’s Al Ghul, “Gotham’s not beyond saving…give me more time.”

The good news is, it won’t take years.  It’ll take till November.  We’ve spoken, and at least some of them in Washingon have heard us.  The ones that haven’t are out in 2010.  The ones that have will stay in.  We can win this, if we stay focused and unite.

Now like I said, cue the Rocky music!!

They say that the first instinct of any organism is to survive.  I would say that there is one exception to that rule.  If that organism cares for another, than its first instinct is to protect that which it cares for most.  In the animal kingdom a mother will protect their babies from a predator even if it costs them their own life.

I used to live next to a Golden Retriever breeder.  If a dumb kid (like myself) went clumsily toward her newborn pups, she would growl at you.  Some people will say it is simply instinct to ensure the survival of one’s genes for the next generation.  If anyone has ever been near a puppy and its mother, then they will argue that they do know love.  I never understood this fully until I became involved with my girlfriend.  No one thing or person had ever taught me such feelings like she has.  I find myself like the dog caring for it’s young, the epitome of love and affection.  I’d lay down my own life to protect hers.  I understand that feeling now when I never could have before in my life.

If someone cares for one person then I expect that person to be protective.  If they care over a few, I would guess them to be even more so.  If someone cares for an entire nation, then I would expect to see the ultimate in passionate resolve.  I am still waiting for that quality to emerge in President Obama.

He is always so calm and collected.  When I heard the old clips of President Roosevelt talk about the bombing of Pearl Harbor, you could hear it in his voice, the anger.  It seeped through his expressions and his voice.  When President Reagan talked about the bombings in Lebanon that took the lives of hundreds of American Marines, you could hear the sorrow and anger in his voice. President Bush was not a good public speaker, but when he spoke at the still smoldering wreckage of Ground Zero in New York City, you could hear the hurt and passion in his voice.

When Obama spoke at West Point, it was his moment to lead the charge.  It fell flat, and there was not one excited face in the house.  When he addressed the nation this past Wednesday the 6^th, he spoke about breaches in Intelligence and protection of American lives, he tried his best to sound stern, but it was hard to believe that he believed himself.

I want a leader who will move me, and one you know is truly in it to win it.  When I hear Governor Palin speak, I know that she is personally involved, both as someone who loves America, and as a military mom.  Am I saying Obama loves America any less?  No, of course not.  But I am saying that I get the distinct sense that he may not find much of America worth defending.

Isn’t it possible that this tone he takes is because of a deep seeded belief that American is a ‘downright mean country?’  Maybe its possible, that he believes America deserves to tuck tail and retreat this time.  He goes around the world, bowing to dictators and apologizing for everything we have done for the last one hundred years.  People twice my age have never seen a president do such things. 

I want a president that will stand up and proudly protect what they love, even at the risk of turning off some in their own political party.  I love this country, just like my girlfriend, and I will fight every day to protect them both.  I see that in potential presidents like Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney. 

I want a leader who, when the nation is knocked down, they will rally the nation to turn death into a fighting chance to live.  (Hat tip to Star Trek III)  I’m still waiting to see that in President Obama. 

So Mr. President, what do you think?  Is it still we win, and they loose?  Is this country and it’s citizens still worth protecting at all costs?

So here we are once again, with a terrorist threat nearly thwarted by the expert skill of those in charge.  Those elected and appointed to safeguard the lives of American citizens foiled the man who is now known as ‘the underwear bomber.’  Umar Farouk AbdulMutallab, hid explosive powder in his underwear and an explosive gel alone his legs.  With a blanket covering his lower body, he began to mix the two together.  Thankfully though, he was stopped.

That would all be well and good if it was true.  While the part about the explosives is true, the part about our government saving the day was not.  Those two compounds needed to be mixed and settle for a half an hour before they were ignited.  He waited twenty minutes.  If he had waited another 10 minutes, there would have been a huge explosion, and three hundred or more lives would have been lost.  The airliner would have gone up and the damage on the tarmac and airport would have been unimaginable. 

AbdulMutallab’s father, Alhaji Umaru Mutallab is one of his countries wealthiest bankers.  He was so disturbed by the radicalization of his son that he went to the officials of his country, who them took him to the American embassy and local CIA officials.  He claimed that his son had been radicalized by Islamic militants in Yemen, and told them all that he had learned from his son.  Reports were sent to the CIA headquarters in Langley, VA. 

AbdulMutallab’s name was added to a list of half a million suspects with suspected terrorist ties.  They did not place his name on the country’s no-fly list, and they did not contact Yemeni intelligence officials, according to the Yemen government.  The ball was completely dropped.  It could have been a lazy bureaucrat who didn’t file the case report quickly or thoroughly enough.  It’s more likely however, that through political correctness has so engulfed and strangled our intelligence apparatus that we simply have forgotten how to get into the fight and protect ourselves.

Israel has not has had an airline attack in decades, because they profile those who are a danger to them.  Those with bombs and guns are searched, and arrested.  I’ll make the point very bluntly:  Safeguarding the lives of innocents is more important than potentially inconveniencing a foreigner or two.  If they are on a list of any kind, they should have to go through extra screening to enter the United States.  We should not care about their inconvenience and feelings.  Why should we risk our way of life? 

Janet Napolitano’s greatest contribution to the Department of Homeland Security was her memo on profiling conservatives in the country as possible homegrown terrorists, but not Muslims.  So terrified of the ACLU and the Daily Kos they have become that those in charge with our security would allow a would-be terrorist into our borders in order to seem ‘nice.’

President Obama said that there would be an investigation.  He gave off a speech that said led the impression that heads would soon roll.  However, I know that Obama shares the same ideology as Napolitano, Pelosi, and all the rest of them.  He may want to plug a hole in security because it reflects poorly on him, happening on his watch.  I doubt he would try AbdulMutallab under a military tribunal, or consider any solution, which did not immediately make it more difficult to prevent further things like this from happening.  It is more likely that a far greater number of heads would roll if someone had not read this terrorist his rights and afforded him constitutional protection and a fresh latte.

Mr. President, let the CIA and FBI talk to each other.  Tear down the politically correct veil that had blinded us to threats and tied our hands.  Let us profile those who are on lists and considered a threat.  Lets stop giving Visas to people on watch lists, or revoke them once they are placed on said list.

Why should we risk our way of life?

One of the beautiful things about college is it often gives you a chance to vent.  My final project for my Poly Sci class was a Domestic Policy Memo, which I chose to write to RNC Chairman Michael Steel.  Here it is for your viewing pleasure, complete with sources.  Now lets just hope I get a decent grade :)

To: Chairman Michael Steele 

From: JD Merkel          

Re: The Perfect Storm

            During the past two years we have witnessed two major changes in America’s political landscape.  The first of these was the popular support swinging towards a relatively unknown candidate because of an unpopular outgoing Republican President. This was coupled with the still recent memory of a Republican Congress that overspent and grew government way beyond what anyone would expect from a conservative party. Despite a Democrat-controlled congress with approval ratings in the low thirties, all they did for two years was repeatedly hammer home every mistake that the Republicans had made for five years. The distraction tactic worked remarkably well for them. 

            Throw in a young and charismatic tailor-made presidential candidate, and you have a perfect storm. Barack Obama campaigned first and foremost on not being George W. Bush. With George W. Bush’s sinking popularity, two unpopular wars, and a sudden crash in the economy, this tactic helped him clean house, as we all remember.

            Now there is a second perfect storm brewing. As Obama has instituted one policy after another, his popularity has slowly dropped. The more facts that are known about the proposed Health Care plan, Cap and Trade, and the pork projects that went into the Stimulus Bill, the more people see the president’s true liberal colors. This is still a center-right country, and the newest polls show a trend in your favor.

            Meet the changing people: A new Gallup poll shows that for the first time since 2004, conservatives outnumber moderates. A full 40% of Americans call their political views conservative, while only 36% now say they are moderates. Only 20% of people call themselves liberal. This shift is due largely to independents, 35% of which are now identifying as conservative. That number is up 6% from last year.[1]

            The Tea Party movements and massive surge in conservatives is your perfect storm, Mr. Chairman. You need to openly embrace these people who are organizing and protesting the President’s policies. Despite the media’s best attempt to paint these concerned citizens as extremists and loons, their numbers consider to grow. Something needs to be done to publicly embrace them.

            You need to encourage people like Michele Bachman, John Boehner, and Mitch McConnell to get out there and meet these people, and it needs to be shown at every opportunity to the public. The printed word as well as photographs can still go a long way. You can send the best of the GOP’s vanguard to meet and greet these people. This would do a great deal for combating the stereotype that all congressmen and senators are untouchable and elite. Too many people are out there clamoring that everyone on Capitol Hill are too high and mighty to talk to the average American. Many congressmen and senators did not return the calls of people who were concerned about Health Care this past August. Now is the time to show that not everyone is alike in Washington.

            Embrace your celebrities: It would be a great idea to put out the faces that people truly want to see. The GOP is filled with conservative rock stars that can draw a crowd. Whether it is a video announcement on the RNC’s official website, or a major function, people need to be out there that can deliver the message. They do not necessarily need to be holding office either. Some of the GOP’s biggest stars do not currently serve in public office, but are some of its most respected members who did amazing things while in office. 

            Right now there is a major star on a book tour that is hitting battleground cities and states, attracting major crowds and selling over a million and a half books. Sarah Palin is a bona fide Republican superstar. She draws the biggest crowds of anyone in the GOP and you would do well to openly embrace her. How wonderful a rebuke of the mainstream media and the Democrat party it would be if for a Republican response to one of President Obama’s speeches, Sarah Palin appeared on TV and began speaking. 

            You have other stars as well at your fingertips. Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani would probably jump at the chance to turn the screws of the progressive Democrats while showing the rest of the country that Republicans will not apologize for being conservatives. Having a big tent is fine, and attracting independents and moderates is fine, but sooner or later you need to appeal to your actual base. 

            One of the reasons that the Democrats won two national elections in a row was that the general public began to see the lines blurred between the two parties. Putting the faces out there that belong to more conservative and successful party members would show that the Republican party is finally ready to stop apologizing for being what it is.            

            I would also sideline Newt Gingrich for a while. Not only does he represent the older guard of the GOP, but also people are still sore over him endorsing liberal Republican Dede Scozzafava in the recent NY-23 special congressional election. While it is a good policy that the GOP does not meddle in the local elections of the states like the Democrats do, the people don’t want to hear it. They want out with the old and in with the new.

            Call a spade a spade, bluntly: When unpopular topics come up that could be used to hammer the president, hammer away. You should have video blogs, commercials and mass e-mails all solely with the expressed purpose of letting the people know what to expect from these disaster-in-the-making policies. A recent Rasmussen Poll showed that an overwhelming 80% of Americans oppose Health Care for illegal immigrants in any form of the proposed public option.[2]

            Dean Heller, a Republican Congressman from Nevada penned an amendment that would have prevented illegal immigrants from receiving the public option. The House’s Ways and Means committee defeated the Heller amendment in a party-line vote.[3] This should have been e-mailed to everyone the second it became known. People want transparency in government. Remember, one of President Obama’s campaign promises was to have a new sense of transparency and availability for new legislation. It’s your job now to make sure they get it. The Democrats have not been giving it to them, so it’s up to you and your brand to pick up the slack.

            Another hot-button issue is climate change. This will be the defining issue in the next few weeks. Not only is global warming an unproven science, but it was just recently discredited by a whistleblower. You should publicly be commending this whistleblower. Whether some Republicans buy into global warming or not, science is supposed to be the pursuit of truth. If the truth is that people have been lying to the entire world on their scientific reports, then the world has a right to know about it! The bully pulpit is a powerful tool. People will listen to you and this is something you could turn to your advantage very easily. Very rarely has an opposition-party Chairman had so much ammo so early into a President’s first term. 

            At the heart of the Copenhagen Treaty is something that we cannot afford. It is a socialist-based transfer of wealth. The wealthiest countries will have to transfer unprecedented amounts of wealth to the poorer and underdeveloped countries. One hundred and ninety-two countries will be meeting in Copenhagen this week, and many people would love to see the rich sign off their wealth to the poor. At a minimum they want one hundred billion to be shelled out per year, otherwise the poorer of these nations could walk out of the talks.[4] 

            It’s time for you to take the platform of ‘let them.’

            This massive transfer of wealth on an unproven and discredited theory is a socialist ideal in action. It is against everything you and your party claim to believe in. You need to call on the President to not sign the treaty. President Obama is still going to Copenhagen and is ignoring the leaked e-mails. Let the country know everything. Tell them that the President and his fellow Democrats have blinders on. 

            Attack everything: President Obama’s approvals have been dropping steadily ever since he signed the Stimulus bill. You have been good so far in criticizing the President’s policies. It is now time to attack the man. People have been reluctant to attack the President because his personal likeability has remained fairly high. According to Rasmussen’s presidential tracking poll, back in the beginning of March the President had an approval rating of 55%. Today as of December 6^th, that number is at 44%.[5] Gallup Polling is no better, showing that as of December 6^th the President has an approval rating of 47%, and a disapproval rating of 46%.[6] He is bleeding support and votes. When a shark smells blood in the water, it knows it’s the perfect time to strike.

The Democrats have had no problem getting personal. I do not advocate sinking to their level, but call them like you see them. Use the Internet, the microphone and every chance in front of a TV camera. Forget political correctness, or the threat of being called a racist. As the leader of the GOP it’s your job to lead the charge. Hit them hard and hit them often Mr. Chairman. Your party will thank you for it when the voters thank them in 2010 and 2012. 

What is amazing to me is how often people do NOT learn from history.  It can be recent or ancient, and they never learn.

A recent Rasmussen Poll says that a ‘Tea Party’ candidate beats Republicans in a national election, but still loose to the Democrats.  People are whipped up in a fury about the insane expansion of government and they are actually buying that a third party candidate could win.  Now lets think about what the poll said.  A Tea Party candidate could beat the Republican, but not the Democrat. 

Well, that’s all well and good if the Republican was the current incumbent and there was no such thing as a Democrat party.  Lets review some history.  In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt broke away from the Republicans to form the Progressive, or Bull Moose party.  The Republicans lost.  What was worse was that the Republican in the race, William Taft was already the incumbent.  It ushered in the beginning of the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, a progressive liberal democrat who supported such things as eugenics and isolationism.  Great.

Woodrow Wilson carried 40 states.  Teddy Roosevelt carried 6 states and Taft carried two.  As expected, many Republicans broke off to follow Roosevelt, but their numbers were two small, and it ushered in a 435 electoral-vote landslide for Wilson.

Lets zoom ahead to 1992, shall we?  Conservative independent (some said progressive, but his fiscal policies were very conservative) Ross Perot ran as an independent against the Incumbent Republican George H.W. Bush, and Democrat Bill Clinton.  Clinton won with a popular vote of over 44 million.  Bush won just over 39 million, and Perot clocked in with nearly 20 million votes.  Examine that carefully.  Twenty million votes could have gone to Bush and easily put him over the top.  Perot did not carry a single state, but he bled enough votes away for Clinton to march to victory.

Conservatives vote for the candidate that they believe is more conservative.  If that doesn’t fall on a major party line, so be it.  Liberals overwhelmingly vote for the Democrat candidate, because they know it will win.  You have socialist party and green party candidates who throw their hat into the ring, but they can never garner strong support.  None of them ever even came CLOSE to getting nearly 20 million votes!

We must come back to our senses people.  First of all, there is no ‘Tea Party.’  The Tea Party groups have a de facto political leader, and her name is Sarah Palin.  But if Sarah Palin ran as a member of a third party, I would not support her, despite how much I admire her.  I know that conservatives will divide our numbers, and the democrats will not.  This time around we do not even have the incumbent advantage.  It will be reminiscent of Reagan defeating Mondale, 49 to 1.

This is not what we want, and not what we need.  I have been to these tea parties.  I support them and find the people are all great people.  They have a great message.  Their fundamental flaw is that they would rather take down the whole system than hijack a party, just like the liberals did with the Democrats decades ago.  If Sarah Palin or Mitt Romney ran as a Republican, I think they would have a solid chance at beating President Obama.  You could run Jesus Christ as a third party candidate in this country and he would loose in a landslide. 

If we as conservatives ever hope to stop the Democrats, we need to unite.  The Republican party is not going anywhere, and only if it did would there be room for a third party, which of course would then be the new second party.  We must not divide our numbers.  We must stand united.  Trust me, they want a third party.  The Democrats in power would love to see a Tea Party organize and run against the Republicans, because they sure as heck would not be running against the Democrats.  It would be no contest.  Trust me, that bitter reality makes me sick. 

If Palin or Romney would enter the race head on, nothing would make me happier.  As a Republican with tea party support, they could probably do it.  The Democrats are not exactly on any favorite lists of Americans, save those in NYC or LA.  The biggest flaw the Republican Party is making, is not embracing these outsiders.  We’ve had enough of Gingrich, boys.  Bring in Sarah. 

United we can win it all.  If we divide our forces, we’ll end up dying by friendly fire. 

I was fortunate enough to live in a city that was on the list of stops for Governor Palin’s book tour.  Of all the cities and areas in upstate NY, I didn’t expect it to be mine!  However as an organizer for 2012 Draft Sarah Committee, I was happy that I could potentially get my book signed and meet the governor.  I ended up walking out with a signed copy of 'Going Rogue,' a signed t-shirt (that my awesome girlfriend made for me) and an awesome experience under my belt! 

There were people from all walks of life.  Some were your average blue-collar working class Americans.  Some looked like they came from a little bit of money.  Some had been there waiting since the previous evening.  They were white, black, Asian, Latino, eastern Indian.  All ages.  

 Despite MSNBC’s Chris Matthew's claim that Palin’s supports were only rich, white and elderly, I saw a true cross section of America.  Considering that I live in a liberal city in a liberal state, I was really happy to see well over a thousand people lined up by the time the store opened.  I arrived a few minutes before 7:30, and the line went halfway across the plaza. (Quite a large plaza I might add)  The number of people nearly doubled by the time the doors opened an hour and a half later at 9:00.  The biggest surprise for me was the large group of people who were under twenty-five years old.  It was so exciting to see.  Another wonderful thing to see - there were only a handful of protestors, all of which looked like they were transplanted from 1968.

There were other organizers and political peeps there as well.  It was great to stand and just talk with people casually who were like-minded.  Some of them were fans of her policies.  Some of them were women who had never seen a fellow woman in public office who shared their views.  Most people were there because they believe that they may have found their champion.

 The last two Republican presidents (Bush, and W. Bush) did some things that were really great, and made some pretty big mistakes.  Since the day that Ronald Reagan left office, conservatives have been searching for a true champion.  There is now a generation of young Americans that have grown up without a truly inspiring leader on the right side of the aisle. 

There are other leaders in the GOP that are decent speakers with some conservative cred.  Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is now a member of the talk show crew, and his time as a Baptist minister certainly helps with the public speaking.  A lot of people are unhappy with how often Huckabee would try to get along with the democrats a-la John McCain. 

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney (Who I must disclose I am a huge fan of) is a very sharp speaker and looked tailor-made to be a president.  He has excellent economic credentials, ran the 2002 Olympics and was a successful governor, elected in a very liberal state.  However some people still have questions about the health care plan he tried to enact during his time in office.  He will no doubt have to answer those questions if he decides to run again.

Sarah Palin is a triple-threat.  She can rally a crowd while appearing personable.  She has conservative credentials, and she can tout a successful string of jobs.  She was elected to City Council, then Mayor, then was the Chairperson of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, and then finally Governor.  While she did resign her term as governor prematurely, she did so only because the frivolous lawsuits kept her from doing her job.  It was not often reported in the main-steam media that during her term as governor she enjoyed approval ratings in the high eighties.

She comes off like your neighbor.  She is hitting two cities a day, signing over a thousand books per stop.   When she entered the store and waved to the crowd outside, you would have sworn that Michael Jackson was in to sign copies of the Thriller album in 1984.  The cheers were deafening. 

She is a personable and genuine person, who is on what many people believe to be the ‘right’ side of the issues. (ba dum bum) For the first time in forty years, more people in the country are pro-life than pro-choice.  The tea party movement has not only shown disgust with the current administration, but with mistakes made from the Bush years as well.  They despise the rapid growth in government that has taken place since the year 2001.  Palin is a small-government reformer who could if elected to the presidency, reduce the size of bureaucracy and government the way Ronald Reagan did in the eighties.

That’s something we could all use.  Imagine a world with government half the size it is now.  Imagine a government not so politically correct that we have a ‘civil court’ trial for the 9/11 mastermind planners so that we can curry favor with the rest of the world.  Imagine a bureaucracy not so clogged with useless pencil-pushing jobs that soak up taxpayer money.  Imagine a government not hell-bent on pushing economic crippling bills like Cap-and-Trade and Health Care reform.  I imagine it every day. 

Run Sarah Run.

Before I really get rolling, I want to take a minute and talk about the horrific events at Ft. Hood that took place yesterday. 

I’ve always been a staunch supporter of the United States Military, and its personnel. I was coming home from work and saw it on the news when I walked in the house. It was one of the most disgusting displays of humanity that I had seen since September 11^th. This man, Maj. Nidal Malik Hassan, did something deplorable. He was known to be politically against the war, and had spoken about how Muslims should not be made to fight other Muslims. He had had a recent past of poor performance reviews, and decided to take the coward’s way out.

Chanting “Allahu Akbar” (god is great) he turned his guns on his fellow soldiers. He killed 13 and wounded over thirty others. This country and it’s military gave him a chance, a life, and an education. Nearly half a million dollars I hear in that education too. It’s disgusting that this is how he chose to show himself. He ended up being a terrorist, a scumbag, and a disgrace to the uniform.

I want to say that my thoughts and prayers are with the men and women of Ft. Hood. I also want to say that I wish they had killed him when he was taken down.

Okay, now onto what I was originally had written, which deals with the election victories for the GOP this week.

I’ll admit I did a little bit of partying on behalf of the GOP victories.   After losing two straight elections, it was a pleasant surprise to see some life breathed back into the Republican brand. These were not RINO’s taking home the gold either. These people were running as Tax-cutting, small-government, traditional-valued conservatives.  

The State of Virginia was painted red across the board, as Republican Bob McDonnell beat out Democrat Creigh Deeds, 58% to 41%. To have a Republican win with a 17-point margin of victory in a state Obama won soundly last year is fantastic for the GOP brand. McDonnell is not the only one celebrating in Virginia today.   The Republican candidates for Lt. Governor and state Attorney General also won decisive victories. Three-for-three in ‘The Old Dominion State.’

Virginia showed quite a turnaround in exit polling from last year’s results. In polls conducted by Edison Research, we saw a dramatic change from last year. In 2008 the number of people who identified themselves as members of the GOP hug at about 33%. This year it topped 37%. During last year’s election, the number of self-described Democrats was at 39%. This year it is down to 33%. 

Creigh Deeds spent a decent amount of time trying to show that McDonnell’s conservative cred meant that he was oppressive towards women, but according to those polled, McDonnell took women 54% to 46%, and ‘working’ women even preferred him over Deeds 51% to 48%. 

The top issues in Virginia were the economy by 47%, health care by 24% and taxes by 15%. Conservatives and Republicans both showed up in greater numbers than in 2008, and it paid off. 

In New Jersey, it was nothing short of divine intervention. This is the bluest of blue states, and an incumbent Democrat governor should have sailed right through to victory. Christie in fact led the race for most of the past few months. Even with Obama coming multiple times to campaign for him, Corzine still lost, 48% to 44%. (Independent candidate Jim Daggett took the remainder of the vote) 

Independents made up twenty-five percent of the vote, and they favored Christie over Corzine, 60% to 30%. Members of the GOP voted solidly for Christie, 91% and 6% for Corzine. Registered Democrats were less loyal, going 88% for Corzine and 8% for Christie. Moderates for the most part were split, but still favored Christie, 48% to 45%. Conservatives, who were out in huge numbers in New Jersey, favored Christie by 88%.

The most important issues in New Jersey were the economy with 32%, Property Taxes (Highest in the nation) with 26%, corruption with 20@ and health care, 17%.  

In a brief note about the special election of New York’s 23^rd district, all conservatives and Republicans can learn an important message here:

1)      1)  Pick conservative candidates, and not traitorous RINO’s who will either NOT champion liberal causes’ or betray their party by endorsing the Democratic candidate.

2)       2)  Learn whom in the party to trust more. Sorry Newt, but Palin’s endorsement won that round. Not only did her endorsement put Hoffman in the lead for a while, she proved to be a true force to be reckoned with. Hoffman nearly won as a third party conservative candidate in a blue state. People do like Sarah, and her endorsements. 

The elections also brought other surprises. The state of Maine became the 31^st in a row to vote down Gay Marriage. Maine is no red state, and I was sure this was going to pass with popular vote. Barack Obama may have won in what was called an electoral landslide, but he did not win in an ideological one. Many people voted on their anger towards president Bush, which is just moronic. Ya know, because he wasn’t on the ticket! 

The United States is still a center-right nation. People may have voted in change last year, but it wasn’t what they thought it was going to be. This is only the beginning. They woke up the sleeping giant, and the conservatives are being led to the polls once again.  

The winds are poised to shift next week in a few major elections.  While it is an unusual thing, watching for election results on an odd year, these certainly are unusual times.  Two of these races are for the gubernatorial positions of Virginia and New Jersey.  A Republican victory in either state could start the swinging of a pendulum.    Today Virginia is one of the most ‘purple’ states in the union.  Neither red nor blue, it is a true swing state.  This is also a race with no incumbent.  The GOP has put up state Attorney General Bob McDonnell, who as of this week is running with 55% support according to a Washington Post poll.  On the Democrat side of the isle we have state senator Creigh Deeds, who is running with 44% support. 

            If this were New York or Texas, this would not be such a fun race to watch.  We typically know who is going to win if the state is solidly Democrat or Republican.  But this is Virginia, a state with an outgoing Liberal Democrat Governor, and a republican majority in the 100-seat Virginia House of Delegates.  (The Republicans currently hold 53 of those hundred seats.)  This race could go either way, but the fact that McDonnell is 11 points ahead in a state that went for Barack Obama in last year’s election.

            Last year when Barack Obama won with 365 electoral votes to John McCains 173, the media and the entire Democrat party wrote off conservatives and Republicans as a dead breed.  It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate had won with more than 50% of the vote since Jimmy Carter. (With that landslide 50.1%)

            Just nine months into his presidency we are witnessing the results.  Massive spending increases.  I never thought anyone could outspent President Bush, but Obama proved me wrong in a matter of weeks.  He has continued to push a massive health care bill that the public does not want in any poll.  He has delayed sending troops to Afghanistan, however he has mulled sending them to Fox News.  The Tea Party movement is the beginning of what could be a huge backlash towards the arrogant presumption that the Whitehouse and entire democrat party have exuded since November of last year.

            In New Jersey you have a different entity altogether.  This is one of the most liberal, one of the most ‘blue’ states in the union.  Liberal Democrat incumbent governor Jim Corzine is in a race too close to call in any poll taken.  GOP challenger Chris Christie has been outspent 24 million to 9 million.  The fact that he is a stones throw away from winning this race with that kind of money being thrown to derail him is amazing.  Some would say a miracle, but then Richard Dawkins would have to step in and write a book about it.

            It would be an upset and a gift to the state of New Jersey if Christie pulled out the win here.  It would be a bigger message to Democrats in conservative states or districts if either of these two GOP challengers won.  It would signal that President Obama’s policies are not the current trend they were broadly proclaimed to be.  Politicians are scared of never getting re-elected, and they have a gift for seeing which way the wind is blowing, and switching sides.  Worrying about re-election would make some of them in conservative areas less likely to want to help Nancy Pelosi push her socialist agenda further.  It would be a potential gift for those of us who oppose that monstrosity of a health care bill she put forth Thursday, all 1,990 pages of it!

            Finally, there is a race in my home state of New York in the 23^rd congressional district.  Here we have a very conservative district in New York (One of the two some would say) where you have a three-way race.   Republican John M. McHugh was tapped to be Secretary of the Army on September 21^st, so Governor Paterson of New York called a special election.  Under New York law, there are no primaries for special elections.  If there had been, Doug Hoffman would have probably cleaned the clock of Deirdre Scozzafava.  She is a liberal Republican member of the NY state assembly, but secured the party’s nomination.  On the democrat side, attorney Bill Owens was nominated.  Doug Hoffman was nominated on behalf of the conservative party, who felt that Scozzafava was far too liberal to represent them in their district. 

            This race truly caught fire when Sarah Palin threw her support behind Doug Hoffman.  She still carries a lot of clout with conservatives in this country, and now Doug Hoffman is showing in the polls enough to possibly pull off an upset.  Palin has said she does not support a third-party movement in this country, but rather wants to show the Republican Party that they could pick better candidates.

            I wish Hoffman, Christie and McDonnell luck.  Any of these three winning would be a blessing, and it would be nice for a change to see the looks on the Democrats faces when they realize that their policy’s are truly not a well-received as they believe.  They still all need our support though, so keep it up!!