An Unnecessary Defeat?
by Patrick J. Buchanan

Why did John McCain lose?

Let’s start with those “headwinds” into which he was flying.

The president of the United States, the leader of his party, was at Nixon-Carter levels of approval, 25 percent, going into Election Day.

Sixty-two percent of the nation thought the economy was the No. 1 issue, and 93 percent thought the economy was bad. Two-thirds of the nation thought the war McCain championed was a mistake, and 80 percent to 90 percent thought the country was on the wrong course.

As a political athlete, measured by charisma and communications skills, McCain is not even in the same league with Barack Obama. He was outspent by vast sums, and his political organization was far inferior.

It is a wonder McCain was even competitive, dealt such a hand.

Yet, by Sept. 10, McCain, thanks to Sarah Palin, whose selection had proven a sensation, had come from eight points behind to take the lead, and Joe Biden was wailing that maybe Hillary would have been a better choice for Obama.

Then came the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the bailout of AIG, McCain’s assertion that the economy was fundamentally sound, and his panicked return to Washington to assist Bush and Hank Paulson push through a wildly unpopular bank bailout—using 700 billion in tax dollars to buy up rubbish paper the idiot bankers had put on their books.

The Establishment’s Man had come to save the Establishment.

Suddenly, it was McCain who was down 10 points, as the feline and feral press went on a wilding attack on Sister Sarah. He never recovered, though the McCain-Palin final push left egg on the faces of pollsters who were predicting a double-digit triumph for Obama.

Perhaps no Republican, in these circumstances, could have won, especially with that month-long bloodletting on Wall Street that wiped out $4 trillion to $5 trillion in stock and bond value, ravaging IRAs and 401Ks, portfolios and pensions alike.

Yet, McCain might still have won had he not, like his three fellow establishment Republicans Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush and Bob Dole, been inhibited by the Mainstream Media and his own Beltway beliefs.

Consider. In California, where a liberal judiciary had ordered the state to recognize homosexual marriages, voters, by 52 to 48, slapped the judges across the face and ordered the ban reimposed and placed in the California constitution. Arizona and Florida also voted to outlaw gay marriage, by landslides.

The New York Times deplored the “ugly outcome” of these three referenda and said voters were “enshrining bigotry,” thus calling the majority of Californians, Arizonans and Floridians bigots and their Bible-rooted Christian beliefs nothing but bigotry.

Good to know what they think of us. Yet, McCain, who might have been out front on these moral and cultural issues, paid only lip service—and lost Florida, and California by a landslide.

In Missouri, where McCain eked out a victory, a proposal to make English the official state language carried six to one. In Nebraska, a proposal to ban affirmative action carried 58 to 42, but lost in a 50-50 tie in Colorado.

Parental notification won 48 percent support in California, a far higher share of the vote than McCain got, while a measure to outlaw abortion except in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother got 45 percent in South Dakota. Had McCain made an issue of Obama’s support for a Freedom of Choice Act that would eliminate all state restrictions on abortion, he could have forced Obama to defend what yet remains a radical and extreme view in America.

While Barack was locking up black America, McCain failed to hold onto Bush’s share of the white working class, though Obama had the most liberal voting record in the Senate and long associations with the likes of Jeremiah Wright and ‘60s bomber William Ayers.

Perhaps fearful his “good guy” reputation with his old buddies in his media “base” would be imperiled, McCain ruled Wright off limits and seemed hesitant even to go after the Ayers connections. Lee Atwater would not have been so ambivalent. Leo Durocher put it succinctly: “Nice guys finish last.”

Ultimately, however, the Beltway Republicans are losing Middle America because they are ideologically incapable of addressing two great concerns: economic insecurity and the perception that we are losing the America that we grew up in.

Economic insecurity is traceable to NAFTA-GATT globalization, under which it makes economic sense for U.S. companies to close factories here, build plants in China and export back to the United States. Manufacturing now accounts for less than 10 percent of all U.S. jobs.

Social insecurity is traceable to mass immigration, legal and illegal, which has brought in scores of millions who are altering the character of communities and competing with U.S. workers by offering their services for far less pay.

These are the twin causes of death of the Reagan coalition, and as long as the Republican Party is hooked on K Street cash, it will not address either, and thus pass, blissfully addicted, from this earth.

LINK

Roseville and Granite Bay have ponied up big bucks for national candidates in this year’s presidential election cycle, records show.

Political donations by residents in the four Zip codes comprising the greater-Roseville region were on track to break local records this election cycle, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington-based nonprofit that tracks political donations.

Total area donations topped $677,722 by the end of August, putting the region on track to break the $685,775 raised during the last presidential race in the intervening weeks, records show.

This year’s figure includes donations to the presidential and congressional candidates and PACs made during the current election cycle up until Aug. 31, including during the primaries.

And despite the region’s large Republican registration, Democratic candidates and organizations walked away with a surprisingly large share of the largesse, according to a Press-Tribune analysis.

Affluent Granite Bay led the pack. Donations from the 95746 Zip code stood at $351,888 – about eight times as much as the average Zip code – according to the most recent tally.

The time covered includes the period in which both presidential candidates accepted individual contributions; Sen. McCain stopped accepting direct campaign contributions on Sept. 1 because he opted for public financing, a move Sen. Obama resisted.

Who’s on the receiving end? Records show Democrat Barack Obama led his Republican rival John McCain, $40,400 to $35,950 among Granite Bay residents.

But enthusiasm in the primaries for Republican presidential also-ran Mitt Romney dwarfed those. He had collected $68,550 from Granite Bay before the end of his run, records show.

The individual candidate totals should be considered a rough glimpse into an area’s donation preferences because they do not include non-itemized contributions totaling less than $200.

Placer County is the state’s second-most Republican county, with the GOP claiming 49.7 percent of registered voters to 29.6 percent for Democrats.

But that advantage doesn’t always translate into a clear fundraising trend.

The east Roseville neighborhood of 95661, which also includes a portion of Citrus Heights, had contributed $183,626, about $5,000 less than the previous presidential cycle.

Nearly 16 percent of that came from area developer Kyriakos Tsakopoulos, who donated $28,500 to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in March, records show.

Obama walked away with $21,128 from the Zip code, more than double his rival’s $10,027.

In the west Roseville Zip code of 95747, which includes Woodcreek and Sun City Roseville neighborhoods, residents had donated $78,327, more than $10,000 above what the Zip gave in the previous presidential election cycle.

Again, Romney towered over the other candidates, with $12,050 collected. But Obama led McCain $8,800 to $7,551.

In the less affluent 95678 Zip code, residents had contributed $63,871 by Aug. 31. That’s about $6,000 less than the total given during the entire 2004 cycle.

by Nathan Donato-Weinstein
Roseville Press-Tribune

LINK to article

By Rob Hotakainen | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON — Times are tough, but don’t worry about most members of Congress making ends meet.

Their collective wealth grew by 13 percent last year, leaving them in better shape than most Americans to make it through an economic downturn, according to a new analysis of personal financial reports.

Overall, nearly two of every three senators are millionaires. That includes presidential candidates Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill. In the House, 39 percent of all members belong to the exclusive club.

Only 1 percent of all Americans are considered millionaires.

“With a median net worth of $746,000, most members of Congress have a comfortable financial cushion to ride out any recession,” said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which conducted the study.

The 535 members of Congress, who earn average annual salaries of $169,000 and receive cost-of-living pay increases, had a total net worth of $3.7 billion last year. Although some are likely to take a hit from Wall Street’s woes, their average net worth soared by 61 percent from 2004 to 2007.

Link to article.

While Whites of this country are told not to talk about race, that race isn’t important, that you shouldn’t base any belief, hiring decision, or prejudice when it comes to race, we see yet another prominent Black American backing Obama at the voting booth over his own beliefs and poltical affiliation. And not just any Black American, one who served two Republican Presidents, inclulding the current one. That being Colin Powell. Today Former Secretary of State Colin Powell endorsed Senator Barack Obama, but says it wasn’t based on race. Earlier this year, Conservative talk show host Armstrong Willams and former US Republican House Leader JC Watts have also made statements that they would prefer Obama over McCain. But again, it’s not about race, well, at least according to their public statements. At least JC Watts had the guts to admit his recent thhoughts on who to vote for in this election are actually about race.

It’s a pretty sad day in America when gender and race preclude any form of common sense when choosing the next President of the United States. I guess the actions and statements of these leaders tells us that it’s ok to base your vote on race alone…well, maybe only if you’re a non-white American.

Democrats Attack McCain Even Though They Blocked Reform Efforts He Sought To Help Fix The Financial Markets

Obama’s Congressional Allies Have Been Attacking Sen. John McCain For Engaging In Negotiations On Legislation To Stabilize Financial Markets:

“In Interviews After The Meeting, Obama Pointed A Finger At His Rival For The Faltering Talks…” (Michael D. Shear and Jonathan Weisman, “Debate Still In Limbo As Democrats Blame McCain For Interrupting Process,” The Washington Post, 9/26/08)

Obama Suggested The Negotiations Were Damaged By Presidential Politics. “Obama suggested the talks were damaged by politics. ‘When you start injecting presidential politics into delicate negotiations you can actually create more problems rather than less,’ Obama said on CNN.” (Alison Vekshin and James Rowley, “House Republicans Undercut Bush On Rescue, Slow Talks,” Bloomberg News, 9/26/08)

But McCain Has Led Efforts To Reform Financial Markets:

The Washington Post: “[W]hen It Comes To Regulating Financial Institutions And Corporate Misconduct, Mr. McCain’s Record Is More In Keeping With His Current Rhetoric.” (Editorial, ”’Always For Less Regulation?’” The Washington Post, 9/19/08)

John McCain Urged Action More Than Two Years Ago, Co-Sponsoring Legislation To Reform Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Warning: “If Congress Does Not Act, American Taxpayers Will Continue To Be Exposed To The Enormous Risk That Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Pose To The Housing Market, The Overall Financial System, And The Economy As A Whole.” McCain: “I join as a cosponsor of the Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act of 2005, S. 190, to underscore my support for quick passage of GSE regulatory reform legislation. If Congress does not act, American taxpayers will continue to be exposed to the enormous risk that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pose to the housing market, the overall financial system, and the economy as a whole.” (Office Of U.S. Senator John McCain, “McCain Statement On Co-Sponsorship Of The Federal Housing Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act Of 2005,” Press Release, 5/26/06)

In 2002, McCain Called For Greater Oversight Of Financial Markets Following Accounting Scandals. “In the aftermath of the Enron collapse and other accounting scandals, he was a leader, with Sen. Carl M. Levin (D-Mich.), in pushing to require that companies treat stock options granted to employees as expenses on their balance sheets. ‘I have long opposed unnecessary regulation of business activity, mindful that the heavy hand of government can discourage innovation,’ he wrote in a July 2002 op-ed in the New York Times. ‘But in the current climate only a restoration of the system of checks and balances that once protected the American investor - and that has seriously deteriorated over the past 10 years - can restore the confidence that makes financial markets work.’” (Editorial, ”’Always For Less Regulation?’” The Washington Post, 9/19/08)

McCain Led The Charge To Remove Former SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt. “Mr. McCain was an early voice calling for the resignation of Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Harvey Pitt, charging that he ‘seems to prefer industry self-policing to necessary lawmaking. Government’s demands for corporate accountability are only credible if government executives are held accountable as well.’” (Editorial, ”’Always For Less Regulation?’” The Washington Post, 9/19/08)

And Obama Ally Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) Blocked Multiple Attempts At Reforming Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac Spanning Back To 1992:

“[Frank’s] Record Is Close To Perfect As A Stalwart Opponent Of Reforming The Two Companies, Going Back More Than A Decade. The First Concerted Push To Rein In Fan And Fred In Congress Came As Far Back As 1992, And Mr. Frank Was Right There, Standing Athwart. But Things Really Picked Up This Decade, And Barney Was There At Every Turn.” (Editorial, “Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/10/08)

“Two Years Later, Mr. Frank Was At It Again. ‘I Do Not Regard Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac As Problems,’ He Said In Response To Another Reform Push. And Then: ‘I Regard Them As Great Assets.’” (Editorial, “Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/10/08)

“A Month Later, Freddie Mac’s Multibillion-Dollar Accounting Scandal Broke Into The Open. But Mr. Frank Was Sanguine. ‘I Do Not Think We Are Facing Any Kind Of A Crisis,’ He Said At The Time.” (Editorial, “Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/10/08)

“Three Months Later He Repeated The Claim That Fannie And Freddie Posed No ‘Threat To The Treasury.’ Even Suggesting That Heresy, He Added, Could Become ‘A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy.’” (Editorial, “Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/10/08)

“In April 2004, Fannie Announced A Multibillion-Dollar Financial ‘Misstatement’ Of Its Own. Mr. Frank Was Back For The Defense. Fannie And Freddie Posed No Risk To Taxpayers, He Said, Adding That ‘I Think Wall Street Will Get Over It’ If The Two Collapsed.” (Editorial, “Fannie Mae’s Patron Saint,” The Wall Street Journal, 9/10/08)

Obama Ally Sen. Chris Dodd (D-CT) Led Efforts To Block Reform Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, After Receiving A Sweetheart Deal On Loans For His Own Houses:

Obama Joined Sen. Dodd – Both Top Recipients Of Fannie And Freddie Contributions – In Opposing Reform Measures And Weakening Existing Regulations. “During this period, Sen. Richard Shelby led a small group of legislators favoring reform, including fellow Republican Sens. John Sununu, Chuck Hagel and Elizabeth Dole. Meanwhile, Dodd - who along with Democratic Sens. John Kerry, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton were the top four recipients of Fannie and Freddie campaign contributions from 1988 to 2008 - actively opposed such measures and further weakened existing regulation.” (Al Hubbard and Noam Neusner, Op-Ed, “Where Was Sen. Dodd?” The Washington Post, 9/12/08)

Dodd Called On The Regulator For Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac To Lift Portfolio Caps. “Both Schumer and Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, have called on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator to lift the portfolio caps. They argue that allowing the two firms to buy more mortgages, at least temporarily, would inject much needed liquidity into the market and calm the financial markets.” (Michael R. Crittenden, “Schumer Will Seek To Lift Cap On Mortgage Portfolios Of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,” Congressional Quarterly Today, 8/16/07)

In 2003, Dodd, Chairman Of The Senate Banking Committee, Received Preferential Loans From Countrywide Financial On His Two Homes Which Saved Him $75,000. “Senators Christopher Dodd, Democrat from Connecticut and chairman of the Banking Committee, and Kent Conrad, Democrat from North Dakota, chairman of the Budget Committee and a member of the Finance Committee, refinanced properties through Countrywide’s ‘V.I.P.’ program in 2003 and 2004, according to company documents and emails and a former employee familiar with the loans. ... Senator Dodd received two loans in 2003 through Countrywide’s V.I.P. program. He borrowed $506,000 to refinance his Washington townhouse, and $275,042 to refinance a home in East Haddam, Connecticut. Countrywide wai ved three-eighths of a point, or about $2,000, on the first loan, and one-fourth of a point, about $700, on the second, according to internal documents. Both loans were for 30 years, with the first five years at a fixed rate. The interest rate on the loans, originally pegged at 4.875%, was reduced to 4.25% on the Washington home and 4.5% on the Connecticut property by the time the loans were funded. The lower rates save the senator about $58,000 on his Washington residence over the life of the loan, and $17,000 on the Connecticut home.” (Daniel Golden, “Countrywide’s Many ‘Friends,’” Portfolio, 6/12/08)

Obama Ally Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) Has Been A “Leading Voice For [Financial] Deregulation,” Led Efforts To Block Reform Of Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac, And Was Instrumental In The Collapse Of Bank IndyMac:

Until The Current Financial Crisis, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) “Had Been A Leading Voice For Deregulation,” Supporting Repeal Of Great-Depression Era Regulations, Re-Examining Corporate Oversight Laws, And Opposing Reducing Taxpayer Risks Associated With Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac. “Until the current credit crisis, Mr. Schumer had been a leading voice for deregulation: He ha s championed the repeal of a Great Depression-era law that prohibited commercial banks from underwriting securities; he has written an opinion piece calling for the Sarbanes-Oxley Act to be ‘re-examined,’ and he has opposed a bill that sought to reduce taxpayer risk in the event of a housing market slowdown by requiring Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae to sell their entire investment portfolios of about $1.5 trillion worth of mortgage assets.” (Joseph Goldstein, “Pro-Deregulation Schumer Scores Bush For Lack of Regulation,” The New York Sun, 9/22/08)

Schumer Called On The Regulator For Fannie Mae And Freddie Mac To Lift Portfolio Caps. “Both Schumer and Christopher J. Dodd, D-Conn., the chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, have called on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator to lift the portfolio caps. They argue that allowing the two firms to buy more mortgages, at least temporarily, would inject much needed liquidity into the market and calm the financial markets.” (Michael R. Crittenden, “Schumer Will Seek To Lift Cap On Mortgage Portfolios Of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac,” Congressional Quarterly Today, 8/16/07)

Here we go again. McCain’s moderate political views are showing up again, and not too soon. Only 5 days until the RNC Convention and McCain is already showing his true colors. For those of us on the Conservative side of the GOP isle, we knew this all along. The RNC caved on some very important issues so that McCain can feel comfortable with the platform. What about those of us who like the platform and are in this party because of it? If McCain doesn’t like the party platform than I suggest McCain find a different party. I’m not quite sure why he’s a Republican anyway. First George W. Bush let’s the Neocons take over the party and now McCain has pulled the GOP all the way to the middle of the isle. Just as the Democratic Party left many blue collar, pro-American voters over the past 40 year, I feel the GOP is leaving, or has left, many of us Conservatives out in the cold. I may have to find a new party.

“Republicans are putting John McCain’s campaign priorities above some of their pet issues, including drilling for oil in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and denying citizenship to the U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.

“The panel turned back a move to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants.”

“The platform acknowledges a human role in increased carbon emissions…”

“Committee member Trey Grayson of Kentucky called the document “the greenest platform we’ve ever had.”

Wow, I feel like this is the Democrat platform. I think my party has left me already…

Full article

Gotta question a guy’s ability to relate to the common man when he doesn’t know how many homes he has. It’s probably a good problem to have, but not when you want to be President. Did the Reps really nominate this guy with Fred Thompson as an alternative? Wow.

“John McCain may have created his own housing crisis. Hours after a report that the Republican presidential nominee-in-waiting didn’t know how many homes he and his multimillionaire wife own, Democratic rival Barack Obama launched a national TV ad and a series of campaign stops aimed at portraying McCain as wealthy and out of touch.”

Full Link

In case you haven’t heard….

“Individual Americans have a right to own guns, the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday for the first time in the country’s history, striking down a strict gun control law in the U.S. capital.

The landmark 5-4 ruling marked the first time in nearly 70 years the high court has addressed the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. It rejected the argument the right to keep and bear arms was tied to service in a state militia.”

LINK to article.

$8 a gallon Gas or a big fat Oil Derrick?

The two huge issues in the fall election -

Gay Marriage and Gas Prices.

The Democrats are amazing me – it is starting to look like 2006. Except this time it isn’t Republicans and spending, it is Democrats and Oil Drilling / Refinery Construction.

Anyone who thinks that real America is not going to react to the Dems selling themselves out to the Enviros has another thing coming.

Gay Marriage – I have already been accused of spreading hate for quoting scripture and pointing out that Homosexuals are advancing their agenda at the expense of religious freedom.

Some choices are wrong – the Democrats are going to stand up for $8 a gallon Gas and Gay Marriage. America is going to stand against that.

If you have any questions – let’s put commercials up showing Gay Marriage ceremonies and see how those play in swing states.

Dang it! There was no way I was voting for McCain, but now I might have stumbled upon a reason to do so. If we could get Madanna, Oprah, Alec Baldwin, Hillary and John Kerry to make this same promise I may have to vote for McCain after all.

“SUSAN SARANDON, who appeared in three films last year and won kudos for her TV movie “Bernard and Doris,” is still not a contented soul. She says if John McCain gets elected, she will move to Italy or Canada. She adds, “It’s a critical time, but I have faith in the American people.”

“I thought the whole point of feminism is that you’re not supposed to be defined by gender. I don’t understand the reasoning behind that, because I wouldn’t vote for Condoleezza Rice, and I hated Margaret Thatcher.”

LINK

This is great news to those of us on the right who can’t stand voting for McCain in any election!

“Former US congressman Bob Barr on Monday announced plans to run for president on the Libertarian Party’s ticket, in a move some analysts say could hurt Republican presumptive nominee John McCain.
“My name is Bob Barr and I’m a candidate for the presidency of the United States of America,” said the former Republican lawmaker, who played a key role in the congressional impeachment of former president Bill Clinton.

Barr said he was running because there was not “currently or anywhere on the horizon” any candidate who understood the principles of fiscal conservatism and basic principles on which he said America was founded.”

ARTICLE LINK

This is a good article on some of the protest going on about McCain being the GOP nominee.

Virtually all the nation’s political attention in recent weeks has focused on the compelling state-by-state presidential nomination struggle between two Democrats and the potential for party-splitting strife over there.

But in the meantime, quietly, largely under the radar of most people, the forces of Rep. Ron Paul have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September.

Just take a look at recent Republican primary results, largely overlooked because McCain locked up the necessary 1,191 delegates long ago. In Indiana, McCain got 77% of the recent Republican primary vote, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney, who’ve each long ago quit and endorsed McCain, still got 10% and 5% respectively, while Paul took 8%.

On the same May 6 in North Carolina, McCain received less than three-quarters of Republican votes (74%), while Huckabee got 12%, Paul 7% and Alan Keyes and No Preference took a total of 7%.

Pennsylvania was even slightly worse for the GOP’s presumptive nominee, who got only 73% to a combined 27% for Paul (16%) and Huckabee (11%).

As Politico.com’s Jonathan Martin noted recently, at least some of these results are temporary protest votes in meaningless primaries built on lingering affection for Huckabee and suspicion of McCain.

Link to full article.

The New York Times lands a bombshell on McCain today. Interesting to note they’ve sat on this story for quite some time and decided to release this after McCain has pretty much wrapped up the GOP Presidential Nomination. This is what conservatives have been saying all along, McCain is not the guy we want representing our party or in the White House. Anyone now doubt the liberal media bias?

New York Time article

From that rag: “A female lobbyist had been turning up with him at fund-raisers, visiting his offices and accompanying him on a client’s corporate jet. Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.”

There were too many in the race in the first place – and none of them were the “Classic Conservative”, so the votes kept getting split.

Looking at Huckabee winning three states today tells – three states as different as Louisiana, Washington and Nebraska… tells you that Huck is running for VP.

McCain is going to need a better choice than squishabee… because squishabee and McScam want to hand out bank of Amigo cards by the millions to new Democrat voters…

Apparently, I am not the only one that is having major issues with McCain – a very well written Blog Post on the Liberty Bulletin pretty much sums it all up.

The LB’s point is about the leftward yank of the Republican Party both by Bush and now by the establishment forcing McScam down our throats a la Bob Dole in 1996.

Now that same wise establishment is trying to force Doug Ose down our throats – Ose and McCain are partners in the Main Street Partnership, an organization dedicated to removing any conservative influence in the GOP.

READ HERE as this blogger says – “No Mas” – I am staying home.

We lost our chance to stand up for Romney – but we have a chance to stand up against the local establishment and stop a man who is a Gun grabber, tax-raiser, pro-choice and supports open borders, Doug Ose.

Don’t let McCain stop you from voting in June for Rico in the GOP primary…

This is an excerpt from this AP story

Note also that the MSM puts in the headlines that Clinton is loaning herself money… things that make you go hmmm…

Huckabee scored a series of Southern victories on Super Tuesday and has said he will stay in the race until someone has enough delegates to clinch the nomination.

Interviewed on CBS, Huckabee sidestepped when asked whether he might be an irresistible vice presidential running mate on a ticket headed by McCain. “I still want to be the irresistible choice to be the president,” he said.

McCain wasn’t talking on that subject, but the vote totals and exit polls made it abundantly clear that he was weak where the former Arkansas governor was strong — in appealing to evangelical conservatives in the Bible Belt.

A Louisiana primary and caucuses in Kansas on Saturday offer an inviting target for Huckabee, who has demonstrated a strong appeal to social conservatives.

McCain didn’t say so, but there is ample evidence he is pleased to have Huckabee in the race. In state after state, Huckabee has divided the anti-McCain vote with Romney, preventing the former Massachusetts governor from emerging as a more serious threat.

On Tuesday, McCain’s delegates at the West Virginia convention swung over to support Huckabee at the last minute in a successful maneuver designed to deprive Romney of a victory.

When the MSM lets the cat out of the bag about their dearest McCain… you know that they are starting to turn on him now that he is the definitive front-runner. It also proves that the left agrees with all those Right-Wing talk show hosts – collusion between Huck and McCain.

A good article about how McCain will act if he gets into office. It’s scary how many Republicans are behind this guy, even conservatives. It’s all a fraud. McCain says he’ll end the Republican Party as it’s known today, and I don’t doubt him one bit.

“RUNNING as a conservative, John McCain rolled up huge victories last night in New York, New Jersey and beyond. But if history is any guide, the McCain we’ve seen of late on the campaign trail is the most conservative McCain we’ll ever see.

He will return to his lifelong positions as soft on illegal immigration, skeptical of tax cuts and favoring strong federal control over things like campaign financing.

McCain has so radicalized key conservatives that some have vowed to turn themselves into suicide voters next November by pulling the lever for Hillary Rodham Clinton over him.

But if those conservatives sit out the general election, they will help Democrats make history by electing either the first black president or the first female president next November.”

Full Article

Good grief what has happened to our party? Any student of history will recognize the value of the two party system; this primary race demonstrates that the system is only a safe-guard and not a solution. The safeguard has likely failed us, leaving our country with the worst two candidates in the history of our nation.

We can still hold out hope that the remaining states realize McCain is an unacceptable candidate. This is not likely, but consider the delegate math. McCain needs roughly 37% of the remaining un-pledged delegates, this includes non-committed delegates from states that have already held their primaries. That’s a bigger chunk of the vote than he’s been getting in most contested states. We still have time for voters to wake up to the threat of a McCain candidacy. There is little hope for Romney or Huckabee to wrap up the vote prior to the convention, but it isn’t too late to take out McCain.

Should McCain win the nomination what is a principled conservative to do? McCain is a much bigger threat to conservatism than any liberal Democrat, but is it ethical to vote for somebody that is still an enemy to what you believe? Some conservative talking heads preach that we need to vote for McCain for no other reason than the courts, which only raises more concerns with McCain. I predict that should we be so unfortunate to see McCain elected, he will lecture us on why we need justices with moderate political views that believe the constitution is a living document.

The one compelling reason I’ve heard for voting for McCain is his age. If he were to bring on a true conservative as VP, we could hope his current diet of donuts and more donuts would relieve us of his leadership in short time. I’m predicting moderate Republican Governor Charlie Christ of Florida will be the VP nominee, so this won’t be an issue.

One last thought:
Placer County has a reputation of being a conservative area, but if we look at returns for the last few elections, this area is not actually very conservative. For example: in 2006 only 53% of Placer County voters supported parents having the right to know when a school takes their 12 year old daughter to have an abortion, Placer County’s only supervisor with a reputation of being conservative has endorsed a liberal candidate for congress, and yesterday McCain won here.

Perhaps the leftists in our party are correct: If the Republican Party is to remain viable, we need to accept the liberal ideas of the democrats and abandon the principles of Ronald Reagan.

If you think this is special – right here at home, we have a member of the Republican Main Street partnership coming to CD4 to spread the same Gospel… Doug Ose. Ose is a McCain delegate and Ose is a leader in the MainStreet Partnership…

I wrote the below in response to a ‘courageous’ anonymous blogger calling themself “Veritas”. I decided to introduce him to “Lux et Veritas”... Latin for light and truth.

A blogger calling their self “Veritas” made a post entitled “Render Unto Caesar” where he lambasted the religious right, claimed James Dobson was clamoring for attention and that the Bible verse containing the Words “Render Unto Caesar” was an example of us right-wing Religious Republicans not following our own holy text.

Veritas also went on to write that a McCain victory will be a victory for the “thinking man”.

McCain has long been affiliated with the Republican Main Street Partnership – a group whose express purpose it is to exterminate the Religious right from the GOP. This may not be what their website says, but their history of attacking religious conservative candidates for office – including our own Chuck DeVore, speaks for itself.

McCain has forfeited his Conservative base because he has spent 8 years sticking it in President Bush’ eye making a raft of bad votes that have been outlined here in this and other blogs. McCain has relied on non-Republicans to win a Republican primary and more recently, Mike Huckabee to split the base away from Romney.

Predictably, tomorrow will start the clarion call to “go for the win”... all over again. We did that once for Arnold, now our deficit is worse than it was under Gray Davis and we have tons more liberal Democrat judges to boot. Some Republican!

(Arnold’s name is also all over the Mainstreet Partnership’s website.)

The arrogance of Veritas’ high-minded post where has purports that the anti-Republican stances of McCain (see also embryo destruction in the name of science, preventing infastructure in the name of the environment, attacking Religious Conservatives, voting against Tax Cuts…) are something that we are going to have to accept and vote to support because the Bible says “Render unto Caesar” is absurd.

Veritas does not even understand the context of the scripture his misquoted. This further proves my point – the critics of the Conservative right act like they are intellectually superior (victory for the thinking man)... but don’t even understand or read what they are criticizing.

Those familiar with the Bible remember that passage of scripture was about a pharisee trying to trip up Jesus showing him a coin with Caesar’s bust on it. The pharisee was attempting to trick Jesus into saying something that could have been trumped up into charges of revolution. Ultimately, the pharisees were able to get the Roman rulers to murder Jesus Christ on the cross on trumped up charges (but not over this passage as Jesus rightly said, pay your taxes and follow the law).

Saying that voting and “rendering unto Caesar” are the same thing is a fallacious analogy indicative of a lack of biblical knowledge. Not voting for President (McCain v Obama/Hillary) is not revolutionary, it is someone’s right and it is also legal.

I am not going to arrogantly try to render an ad-hoc psychoanalysis on Dr. Dobson either…

I can speak for myself – I will not lift a finger to help McCain because of his Arnold-esque hostility directed at us Conservatives, he has not ever tried to offer us any sort of olive branches or conciliation at all and worse, he is a leader of a group whose express purpose it is to attack other Republicans.

I learned my lesson after I (and the CRA) went to battle in the special election of 2005 in support of Arnold – only to get blamed along with other conservatives for its’ failure. Arnold has gone way left after that and now McCain wants to carry that mantle nationally for the GOP.

I hope John McCain can get enough Democrats to vote for himself, because he has demonstrated that he could care less about half (or more) of the GOP!

However – if McCain has an epiphany and decides to become a Republican again…

Lux Et Veritas

McCain reminds me of Bob Dole in 1996. A real uninspiring candidate being forced upon us by the establishment.

At least Dole was somewhat Conservative – McCain is somewhat neurotic.

Sen. McCain Might Even Resort To His 2000 Plan To Raise Taxes:

Sen. McCain Recently Praised His 2000 Campaign Tax Plan. SEN. MCCAIN: “I made it very clear when I ran in 2000 that I had a package of tax cuts that were very important and impactful but I also had restraints in spending.” (CNN, [Unverified Transcript], Republican Presidential Candidate Debate, Simi Valley , CA , 1/30/07)

Unfortunately, In 2000, Sen. McCain Admitted His Tax Plan Included Have A Tax Increase. FOX NEWS’ BILL O’REILLY: “All right. So you want to target the – the middle-class people, and you’re willing to live with the rich people paying the taxes they’re – they’re paying.” MCCAIN: “Sure. And I don’t want to take any money. In fact, the program that I have gives them a slight tax increase, but the question is what do you do with the surplus. Governor Bush puts it all in tax cuts. I want to give middle-class Americans a tax break, spend it on Social Security, Medicare, and paying down the debt.” (Fox News’ “The O’Reilly Factor,” 1/20/00)

Sen. McCain Would Sign McCain-Lieberman Energy Legislation Into Law:

Sen. McCain Called Bush’s Record On Climate Change “Disgraceful,” And Urged The President To Support McCain-Lieberman. “Maverick Republican Sen. John McCain last week called the Bush administration record on climate change ‘disgraceful,’ and urged the president to support his efforts to pass mandatory limits on carbon dioxide emissions in the face of international scientific opinion that global warming is occurring and poses risks to future generations.” (“Fighting For CO2 Controls, McCain Bashes Bush Position,” Electric Utility Week, 11/22/04)

McCain-Lieberman Would Dramatically Raise Taxes On All Carbon-Based Fuels, Like Gas For Your Car And Home Heating Oil. “What is not widely understood is that [Sen. McCain] is currently sponsoring legislation that, in the name of fighting global warming, would dramatically raise the tax on all carbon-based fuels, including gasoline, home heating oil, coal, and to a lesser extent, natural gas.” (Roy Cordato, “McCain’s Costly Tax On Energy,” National Review, Link, Posted 1/10/08)

Sen. McCain Would Push For More Government Regulation On Top Of McCain-Feingold:

Sens. McCain & Feingold Have Called For Even More Campaign Finance Reform. “The bill Senator Feingold and I are introducing today is designed to put an end to the abusive, illegal practices of these 527s. I urge my colleagues to support swift passage of this bill and put an end to this problem once and for all.” (Sen. John McCain, Press Release, 1/31/07)

Sens. McCain & Feingold Have Called For Even More Government Regulation. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: “Mr. President, I am pleased to be joined by my good friend and colleague from Wisconsin , Senator Feingold in once again introducing legislation to replace the Federal Election Commission (FEC) with the Federal Election Administration (FEA). The FEA would serve as an independent body to enforce federal campaign laws – something the FEC has been unable, and often unwilling, to do. This legislation would terminate the FEC and establish a new regulatory entity. Using a new organizational structure and administrative law judges, we hope to avoid the routine partisan deadlocks that are now so prevalent at the FEC. This bill would authorize the new FEA to impose civil penalties, issue cease and desist orders, report apparent criminal violations to the appropriate law enforcement authorities, and conduct audits and field examinations of campaign committees. Finally, Mr. President, this bill would direct the Comptroller General to examine and report to Congress on the enforcement of the criminal provisions of the federal campaign finance laws. I urge my colleagues to support this common sense reform proposal.” (Sen. John McCain, Press Release, 2/1/07

In a clear and irrefutable sign of activist support, the CRA voted to endorse Rico Oller for Congress with 81% of the delegates in favor of Oller.

Eric Egland and Doug Ose split the remainder of delegates present.

The CRA understands that our endorsement goes to candidates whose record most closely mirrors our 14 principles.

CRA Scorecard favorite Ted Gaines (94%) was endorsed by a count of 15-1 for Assembly. Ted has established an excellent Conservative record and has also distinguished himself by endorsing Rico Oller over the establishment choice for the 4th CD.

The CRA has long been known for standing up for the core principles of the Republican Party – including our outspoken support for Governor Romney in these days leading up to super Tuesday.

These endorsements are also underscored in their importance because of Doug Ose’s past affiliation with the Mainstreet Partnership – an organization dedicated to removing the Conservative voice from the GOP and Ose’s past activities have also included attempted takeovers of County GOP committees to remove Conservatives from their ranks.

The Placer CRA and the CRA itself understands the gravity of the coming election on Tuesday for the National GOP and in June for the local GOP.

Polls on Fox news are showing McCain losing to either Dem nominee – is it any wonder when strong GOP areas are having to fight a conscience and future defining battle every few years?

Doug Ose and John McCain are not only tied together in ideology, but by the Mainstreet Partnership.

More anger from the Right. You cannot with good conservative conscience vote for McCain, not now, not Tuesday and not this November.

As the Democrats debated Thursday night, Ann Coulter was on Fox’s “Hannity & Colmes” declaring that if John McCain faced Hillary Rodham Clinton in the general election, she would vote for Clinton.

“She’s more conservative than he is,” Coulter said.

McCain also faces a conservative insurrection over his opposition to interrogation techniques that border on torture and opposition to drilling in Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The Wall Street Journal headed its editorial Thursday, “McCain’s Apostasies.”

That same day, Human Events headlined its lead story online, “Who hijacked the primaries?”

And then there’s Rush Limbaugh. In recent days, the supremely influential radio icon has been vociferous (even for him) in declaring that a McCain nomination will cause the destruction of the conservative movement.

“My so-called base is not rushing to vote for McCain,” Limbaugh said on his radio show.

“He relishes kind of tweaking conservatives,” said Don Devine, vice-chairman of the American Conservative Union.

“He doesn’t have, or has very few, friends in the leadership of the conservative movement. There is no question about it.”

Devine said he would likely not vote for McCain should he win the Republican nomination.

Article from the Politico

Watch the video here if you missed it on Fox….

VIDEO

This post is dedicated to anyone thinking of supporting McCain. Please reconsider, soon!

DO YOU KNOW THE REAL MCCAIN AGENDA?
Pushing The Democrat Position On Immigration, Taxes, Energy…

“A conservative is not a man that calls tax cuts that George Bush passed that revived the economy, ‘tax cuts for the rich.’ … A conservative is not a man that teams up with Teddy Kennedy to produce a bill that is nothing short of amnesty … A conservative is not a man who says that he wants to increase taxes, maybe 50 cents per gallon on the American people… That is not a conservative. I could go on forever and ever.” – MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough (MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” 1/31/08; LINK)

Sen. McCain Would Sign McCain-Kennedy Amnesty Legislation Into Law:

Sen. McCain Recently Admitted That If Elected, He Would Sign McCain-Kennedy Immigration Bill Into Law. NBC’S TIM RUSSERT: “If the Senate passed your bill, S.1433, the McCain/Kennedy immigration bill, would you as President sign it? MCCAIN: “Yeah. But look, the lesson is, it isn’t – one, it isn’t going to come. It isn’t going to come.” (NBC’s “Meet The Press,” 1/27/08 LINK)

Sen. McCain Would Not Champion The Bush Tax Cuts He Voted Against:

In 2004, Sen. McCain Said He Was Against Making The Bush Tax Cuts “For Higher Income People” Permanent. SEN. JOHN MCCAIN: “They want to make the tax cuts for higher-income people permanent, and I don’t want that.” (NPR’s “Morning Edition,” 6/16/04)

Sen. McCain: “I Don’t Think We Should Continue To Cut Taxes.” SEN. MCCAIN: “I don’t think we should continue to cut taxes.” (Sen. John McCain, Remarks, Washington , D.C. , 5/18/04)

• In 2001, Sen. McCain Was One Of Only Two Republicans To Vote Against The $1.35 Trillion Tax Cut. The bill lowered marginal rates, eliminated the marriage penalty, and doubled the child tax credit. (H.R. 1836, CQ Vote #170: Adopted 58-33: R 46-2; D 12-31; I 0-0, 5/26/01, McCain Voted Nay)

• In 2003, Sen. McCain Was One Of Only Three Republicans To Twice Vote Against The $350 Billion Tax Cut. The comprehensive bill lowered taxes by $350 billion over 11 years – including increasing the child tax credit and eliminated the marriage penalty. (H.R. 2, CQ Vote #179: Passed 51-49: R 48-3; D 3-45; I 0-1, 5/15/03, McCain Voted Nay; H.R. 2, CQ Vote #196: Adopted 50-50: R 48-3; D 2-46; I 0-1, 5/23/03, McCain Voted Nay)

- To be continued

Just when you thought your evil SUV was bad enough, or fixing breakfast - your carbon footprint is now the cause of a new, frightening horror… Zombie Attacks.

Maybe the Republican Mainstreet Partnership should take up this cause. Maybe we could see an Ose-Waxman counterpart to McCain Feingold – campaign Zombie reform.

The Mainstreet Partnership website talks about global warming and the new platform being proposed by the Bay Area Liberal wing of the Republican Party – adopts Global Warming into the lexicon.

Someone please slap the Mainstreet partnership upside the head! The GOP is not the party of high gas prices, small clogged freeways and wildfires. I think the Mainstreet Partnership missed the memo -

Zombie attacks might increase due to global warming, study shows

January 31st, 2008

A new study by scientists has suggested that zombie attacks might increase if the current projections of global warming are realized. “If the earth gets warmer, it means longer springs, summers, and falls, and shorter winters,” said John Carpenter-Romero, Ph.D., a zombie-ologist who co-authored the study. “And shorter winters means more time for the undead to prey on the populace.”

Dr. Harrister, the other co-author, and head of Zombie Robotics at Wayward Robot, Inc., explained that cold winters typically stalled the walking dead. “It is well known that zombies can’t operate in cold weather. It freezes their brains.”

The pair calculated a 32.782412% increase in zombie attacks if CO2 increased to twice its pre-industrial rate. “Clearly, this is a very troubling result,” said Dr. Harrister, “If we don’t do something soon, the streets will be filled with blood.”

LINK

This e-mail comes from Dan Dove, a Placer GOP activist from Colfax (Bruce Kranz’ district).

This is also typical of what this blogger is seeing from GOP activists all over the state. We feel like we are being “Bob Dole”d all over again.

Dan Writes -

Ken,

You raise a question that should really challenge everyone now that the Florida primary has been cast, and while his victory narrow, the media and his delegate count have gained strength in John McCain’s favor.

The answer for me is one that should be considered by all Republicans because it might provide them some direction for the California primary.

I WILL NOT vote for John McCain. (yes, that is a period)

The denial of my vote is not because he is lying about Mitt Romney “calling for a timetable to withdraw” which has been clearly shown as a lie.

The denial of my vote is because John McCain has been working from inside the party to do his utmost to destroy it since I can remember.

In a conversation the other day, I mentioned that I would rather let Hillary win than vote for John McCain and a friend asked me “why?”

My answer…

When 15 million illegal aliens are given the right to stay in the USA for the rest of their lives, who would we blame?
When ANWR is permanently shut down and Kyoto is signed pushing our economy into the tank, who would we blame?
When Guantanamo is shut down and torture redefined to suit our enemies, who would we blame?
When the Bush Tax cuts are rescinded, death tax expanded, and economy tanks, who would we blame?

I would rather blame Hillary or Obama and see the Republicans regain Congress in 2 years.

McCain is like Schwarzenegger on steroids…wait…I guess that means he is like Schwarzenegger.

Now, if someone says to me “You are not standing up for Republicans” I will say “McCain did not only fail to stand up for Republicans on many occasions, he knifed them in the back at all of the worst times”.

I will not vote for him, PERIOD.

If someone is on the fence, keep in mind that there will be other Republicans like me that cannot hold their nose on John McCain. He would destroy the Republican party by telling the conservative base to shove it whenever the opportunity arose. He would tear down the coalition that Reagan built and I will not be a part of it.

Regards,

Dan

Rush Limbaugh made a stir when he said, don’t expect me to support the Republican nominee…

What Rush must have seen is the power coming down on the side of John McCain. McCain is part of the new wave of Republicans that have drank the Kool-Aid of swinging way to the left of Center to do what they think they need to do to win elections… this has occurred since we went for the win with Arnold.

Like Ose – McCain has attacked other Republicans repeatedly and has been on the wrong side of embryo destruction legislation / gun control / opposing tax cuts in the name of defecits – when his real intent was to stick it in the eye of President Bush…

McCain’s name is all over the Mainstreet Partnership website as Ose’s was when he was in Congress.

Club member Ben Mavy sums up what Republicans are all feeling right now as Huckabee stays in the primary expressly to split the Conservative vote away from Romney to help McCain win. My prediction is if McCain pulls it off – we will see a McCain/Huckabee ticket.

Mavy writes -

My sentiments exactly. One thing that is being overlooked right now because of our complete distrust of and disgust with McCain is the economy. Our economy is in a financial crisis, if you have yet to come to that conclusion please take a look: LINKED ARTICLE. It’s a chart from the St. Louis Fed that should cause us serious reflection. The amount of money banks are having to BORROW to meet reserve requirements isn’t only unprecedented, it is obscene. I am not predicting gloom and doom, but we would be blind to rule out the possibility.

When FDR had the opportunity to help the country out of the great depression, he instead stifled the economy through the largest increase in the scope of our government ever seen. Mitt Romney captured it well last night when he noted that our economy is at a tipping point. We saw that Huckabee wants to follow FDR and McCain wants to place new burdens on US companies through ridiculous regulations. We have the chance to elect someone that is more qualified to lead this country than any candidate we have seen since Reagan. Mitt Romney has a unmatched record of turning around failing businesses, organizations, and governments. He has demonstrated this remarkable ability in the private sector, as a volunteer, and as Governor of Massachusetts.

As a candidate Romney has his flaws, but I am thrilled at the prospect of having someone of his integrity, ability, and convictions in the White House. I really believe that a Vote for Mitt Romney is not just a vote against McCain (which is reason enough), but a vote for a great man who can lead our country through a difficult time.

Ben

When it comes to congress – is Doug Ose going to have the spine to say no to welfare giveaways masquerading as stimulus? If his past record is any indication, he will vote to raise our taxes.

“Mainstreet”!? We need to clean mainstreet up, not walk down it!!!

Excerpt from the WSJ written by Peggy Noonan 1/25/08

“On the pundit civil wars, Rush Limbaugh declared on the radio this week, “I’m here to tell you, if either of these two guys [Mr. McCain or Mike Huckabee] get the nomination, it’s going to destroy the Republican Party. It’s going to change it forever, be the end of it!”

This is absurd. George W. Bush destroyed the Republican Party, by which I mean he sundered it, broke its constituent pieces apart and set them against each other. He did this on spending, the size of government, war, the ability to prosecute war, immigration and other issues.

Were there other causes? Yes, of course. But there was an immediate and essential cause.

And this needs saying, because if you don’t know what broke the elephant you can’t put it together again. The party cannot re-find itself if it can’t trace back the moment at which it became lost. It cannot heal an illness whose origin is kept obscure.

I believe that some of the ferocity of the pundit wars is due to a certain amount of self-censorship. It’s not in human nature to enjoy self-censorship. The truth will out, like steam from a kettle. It hurts to say something you supported didn’t work. I would know. But I would say of these men (why, in the continuing age of Bill Clinton, does the emoting come from the men?) who are fighting one another as they resist naming the cause for the fight: Sack up, get serious, define. That’s the way to help.”

WSJ article

Rudy Giuliani has hit the skids in a Florida freefall that could shatter his presidential campaign and leave a two-man Republican contest in the state between John McCain and Mitt Romney, a Miami Herald poll shows.

Despite hovering over Florida voters for weeks, Giuliani is tied for third place with the scarcely visible Mike Huckabee in a statewide poll of 800 likely voters.

Miami Herald link

The attached ARTICLE details how the abortion rate is at it’s lowest since 1974.

The rate is 11+ per 1,000 or a bit over 1%.

“Only” 1.2 million cases of legalized infanticide occurred last year.

Read the article and you can tell the slant right away – it makes you feel like only 1.2 million murdered “fetuses” is a bad thing. If it wasn’t for crisis pregnancy centers, Christians (and Mormons) getting in the way… the abortion mills wouldn’t be so upset about business dropping off.

This article illustrates that the abortion issue is a winner for social conservatives. Why? People are using contraception and more women are realizing that this is a life in their womb.

Even Doug Ose (who supports abortion at any time, fully funded with tax dollars as well), would acknowledge that Medi-Cal paying for one woman to have seven abortions is an outrage. (A good friend who works for Sac County has told me that several of his clients have had 3-7 abortions at a cost of $6,500 a piece to the taxpayers)

The voters must think so, too. Surveys still show strong majorities oppose taxpayer funded abortion and think abortion should not be legal after the baby (fetus) has brain waves and a heartbeat. (roughly 6 weeks)

The establishment Republicans run from this issue to their own peril while Americans are figuring it out on their own. Yet another place where the GOP has lost an opportunity.

Romney? One of the attacks being leveled against him is that he flip-flopped on this issue. I posted an article a few months ago from a Massachusetts paper lambasting him for being pro-life long before he decided to run for President.

McCain? used to be pro-life until he decided Lieberman and Kennedy were his best buddies. Endorsed by liberals such as Doug Ose and Jim Nielsen who are two of his delegates from California. (both are pro-choice)

Rudy? I am sure one of his mistresses had to have an abortion.

Fred Thompson and Mike Huckabee are right on this issue.

Rico Oller – as Pro-Life as they come. Another reason why Rico is the “Choice” of the 4th CD.

UPDATE: Steve Frank has also weighed in on this issue Steve’s Blog Post

Please note that Steve’s blog is having some technical issues – his post about abortion is January 20th’s post.

The number one issue for Republicans in this race should be judges, based on John McCain’s past and current positions Republicans CANNOT trust him:

Global Warming, Affirmative Action, the International Criminal Court, Guantanomo, Tax-cuts, McCain-Feingold, the Gang of 14, Amnesty(or Z-Visa if you don’t like that word), Christian leaders are “agents of intolerance”. McCain has not admitted to being wrong on any of these issues, with the exception of an apology to Christians for attacking Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson as “agents of intolerance.” I’m sure the apology was as sincere as any of his other straight talk.

As a person who believes in repentance and forgiveness I should comment on why these issues prevent me from EVER supporting John McCain. I believe that a man can repent and be forgiven, but that doesn’t exempt him from facing consequences.

I will not vote for someone who has cheated on their wife, period. McCain cheated on his wife with a beautiful 25 year old with enough family money to launch his political career.

Believe what you want about his supposed straight talk. I am grateful to him for his service to our country, but I would never vote for him.

McCandidate: 32%
Romney: 31%

Rasmussen Reports

Confessed to be in Romney’s corner but could anyone else tonight claim victory? They all had some nice zingers aimed at Romney but when it came down to it, Romney had the presence of a President. He was more articulate, confident, and passionate than anyone else on the stage, and he had a more masterful grasp of every issue that came up. I sure hope Fred Thompson will get behind the Romney campaign, for Fred’s sake. I’m sure he’s right on the issues but he has been unable to communicate it.

Favorite clip of the night was McCain responding to a question about what his principles were. His response was that they have been the same since the day he was sworn in as a cadet in the Navy. He goes on to describe placing his hand on the bible and swearing to blah, blah, blah… Said absolutely NOTHING about the constitution. Isn’t that in there? I predict talk radio will pick that up on Monday, they ought to.